Fyreslayers

> ‘*Ur-gold is all that matters. It is the essence of our god, the lifeblood of our people*.’ — Hursgar-Grimnir, Runefather of Greyfyrd Lodge
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Fyreslayers are ferocious Duardin, infamous for their fiery tempers and lust for gold. Tenacious and volatile, they are renowned throughout the realms as mercenaries, ready to fight for whoever is willing to pay their price. Kings and warlords will gladly offer the wealth of entire kingdoms for the services of a single war-hardened lodge; a bargain most Fyreslayers are only too happy to accept, such is their obsession with gold. But it is not simple greed which compels them. Rather it is a desperate quest by the Runemasters of the Fyreslayer lodges to locate the shattered auric fragments — known as ur-gold — of the fallen Duardin god, Grimnir, so that he might be returned to walk among his descendants and worshippers once more.

### **Goals and Ideals**

All Fyreslayers share a common goal — to locate and acquire the glimmering fragments of their god, wherever they might be found. Such has been their driving focus since Grimnir clashed with the godbeast, Vulcatrix, and both were consumed in the ensuing conflagration. However, each lodge goes about this quest in their own way. Some seek to honour Grimnir in the traditional fashion — by seeking out battle wherever it can be found, and offering their services to one side or the other. Others are more patient, and wait for potential employers to find them, or offer protection to those willing to pay a tithe. Regardless, Fyreslayers, like all Duardin, approach such contracts as matters of honour.

Once an oath is sworn, Fyreslayers will hold to it, whatever the consequences — and they expect the same of their clients. In the event of a broken oath or an unpaid debt, the wrath of the Fyreslayers will quickly fall upon those they once fought beside.

### **Society and Structure**

Fyreslayer society is patrilineal in structure, as well as patriarchal. In most cases only male Fyreslayers are permitted to bear the ur-gold runes from which their warrior castes derive power, or go into battle. Authority passes from the Runefather to the chosen Runeson, with the reigning patriarch of the founding family often leading a lodge from its inception. If a Runeson refuses to accept the new Runefather, they may split from the lodge to found their own. In rare cases they may declare barazakdum, the doom-oath, and leave their home and lodge forever to find honour in glorious death. Thus are the traditions of the lodges preserved. Despite the patriarchal nature of their society, however, there have been rare instances of matrilineal inheritance among the smaller lodges — often occurring when the male population of a lodge is decimated due to war or disaster.

### **Members**

Individual Fyreslayers, whether male or female, are considered muscle-bound maniacs, even by other Duardin. While females very rarely leave the safety of the lodge, males are encountered wherever there are battles to be fought and gold to be earned. Fyreslayers are inured to extremes of temperature and environment. Clad in little more than armoured kilts and heavy helms, they trust in the blazing runes of ur-gold stamped into their flesh to protect them from harm.

### **Tasks**

While it is rare for Fyreslayers to trust those outside their lodge, they may require go-betweens to act on their behalf. Some lodges will hire outsiders to act as messengers should they be called to battle, or even to notify their lodge that they will soon die and a Runesmiter should be dispatched to reclaim their bodies. Other lodges utilise the skills of native scouts to guide them through unknown territory.

### **Short-term Goal examples**

 **6** | Intimidate someone or something with a fiery display of your prowess.

### **Long-term Goal examples**

 **6** | You seek to ascend into the highest ranks of the Zharrgrim, to either forge keys anew and give praise to Grimnir, or to become one with the eternal flames they temper.

### **Sub-factions:**

#### Vostarg

The hammers of the Vostarg ring out upon their anvils like the drums of a war march. The eldest of the remaining lodges, harkening back to the times of Grimnir himself, the Vostarg are warriors without fear, mercenaries without peer, and killers all. Their legacy is one of the indomitable and the unconquered — their grand heroics drove back the armies of the Dark Gods in innumerable sieges. But their heritage is a tarnished thing, one of kinstrife and a scattering not unlike that which befell their Shattered God.

Despite the heroic countenance of the legendary magmahold of Vosforge, it could not withstand forever. When the last Runefather of Vosforge, Thorgar-Grimnir, fell, he had no chosen successor. The dread spectre of civil war would see the hold undone before the enemy host. All would have been lost if not for the Runemaster of Vosforge, who threw open the vaults and dispersed the ur- gold among the twelve Runesons and bid they wander the Mortal Realms.

Few Runesons are celebrated by the Vostarg, but vaunted highest among them are Bromhulf, who remained behind to defend Vosforge — an honoured Slayer who died in memory of the lodge; and Zhafor, the Father of Victories, who took up the mantle of Vostarg and preserved the legacy lost in the fall of Vosforge.

In this modern era, the Vostarg act under the leadership of Bael-Grimnir, who casts his judgments from atop the ruby-red Fyrethrone within the conflagerated halls of Furios Peak. Greatest of the Fyreslayer lodges, the Vostarg seek to surpass the triumphs of their ancestors and render forth new glories. Unmatched in their aggression, as well as their pride, they seek further plunder for their storied vaults.

* **Legacy of Vosforge**: Citing ancestral deeds and the memory of the Vosforge, you stoke the embers of glorious cooperation among all who listen. You can add your Training in Lore to any Test to foster cooperation and unity, and have Advantage on Opposed Tests when dealing with Fyreslayers from another lodge. Additionally, you can add your Training in Lore when making an Entertain Test to use the **Legendary Saga** Talent.