Dólin, son of Darun

[Elvorn]

Name: Dólin, son of Darun

Age: 79

Gender: Male

Race: Dwarf

Allegiance: Dûrgrimst Fanghur

Occupation: Dwarven Vanguard

Other:



Appearance:

Like most dwarves, Dólin has a solid, stocky build and stands just under five feet, placing him on the tall side of most of his kin. Though not considered to be one of the strongest of his race, he is athletic and capable of handling himself expertly on the battlefield. His gait is sharp and even, betraying his militaristic lifestyle and giving him the air of a person who is in a constant hurry. His face is angular and weathered, with a square chin, thick beard and heavy brow under which two piercing brown eyes gaze watchfully. Under his blunt nose, Dólin’s tangled, dark brown beard falls to his sternum, the three ends of which are braided and tied in intricate knots that symbolize devotion to his clan. His hair is tied back in a plait and falls just above his shoulders where it is fastened by a carved wooden band that was given to him by his mother at his coming of age.
Dólin’s clothing consists of a light undertunic and breeches covered by a thicker, knee length tunic of a dark blue color and heavy, travel-worn boots. Over that goes a short sleeved hauberk of strong dwarf mail girded by his sword belt, along with boiled leather greaves and vambraces sewn with silver thread in a trailing ivy motif. On his head is placed a helm of iron engraved with the sigil of Dûrgrimst Fanghur. Metal cheek guards and a nasal decorated with the same ivy pattern found on his vambraces help to protect his face from enemy blows while overlapping leather lames form an aventail to guard his neck.

His primary weapon is a short sword, designed to be wielded with a slashing or stabbing motion that accommodates his diminutive size and heavy armor. It was forged in an elongated leaf shape, reminiscent of an elven design, with a line of dwarven runes running down both sides of the blade. In dwarvish, they read: ‘Vren akh skilfz sartosaz zeitmen’, literally translated ‘War for mine family’s honor’. The one-handed hilt is wrapped in soft leather that has been sewn over a metal ring halfway down the handgrip to prevent the sword from slipping out of his hand. Above the grip, the bronze crosstree is forged in the likeness of an extended diamond that has been stretched out so that the points perpendicular to the blade form the limbs of the guard. The sword’s scabbard is crafted from hardwood wrapped in dyed black leather, with a detailed bronze locket and chape.

Along with his sword, he carries a round wooden buckler and an undecorated Feldûnost-horn bow. The buckler is made from thin planks of wood reinforced with metal strips and is covered with tightly stretched leather painted dark green. In the middle, an iron boss gives the shield structural integrity and is etched with the ivy design seen on much of his armor. On the back of the shield, two thick straps slide onto Dólin’s forearm, one just below the elbow and another at the wrist so that a heavy blow won’t break his hand. When not in combat, he keeps the buckler slung on his back with a padded leather strap.

The bow is shorter than average, standing about three and a half feet high, with a draw weight of about one-hundred-ninety pounds. Made from Feldûnost horn, it is relatively plain, featuring a dark finish and recurved limbs. Because of the high tension under which the string is kept, Dólin keeps the bow unstrung and tied to his pack vertically. The arrows are fletched with pheasant feathers that have been dyed green to match his shield; their heads are sharply tapered, designed to punch through armor and flesh with ease. He keeps them in a quiver made from Nagra hide and equipped with a drawstring to keep the arrows from rattling or getting wet. When he is on the march, the rest of his possessions are stored in a compact travel pack containing a bedroll, woolen blanket, canteen, flint and tinderbox, whetstone, beeswax for his bowstring, cram, and other lightweight essentials that he could not do without.



Personality:

Dólin’s manner could aptly be described as brusque or even impatient, with little tolerance for error in himself or others. He is easily frustrated when he fails at something, but will not give up without a fight; this accounts for many of both his successes and failures. He is completely devoted to a martial career, forming his habits and judgments around his adherence to his militaristic lifestyle. This makes it hard for him to make friends easily, but is also what makes him an excellent soldier. He is stubborn, obstinate, and not totally averse to disobeying an order if he thinks the lives of his fellows are at stake. Occasionally, this places him at odds with his commanding officer and he has almost been discharged twice for ignoring direct orders. He possesses a sharp mind and, despite his tendency to dig his heels in, has good judgment and can size up a dangerous situation quickly and accurately. Although relatively friendly with most humans, he is mistrustful of elves and dragons to an extreme, avoiding the former and viewing dragons as an unfortunate necessity in the war against Galbatorix. He has never met a dragon and seen one only once; he would never admit to being afraid of them, but nevertheless the fate of his parents instilled a deeply seated fear. His education was better than could be expected for the son of a moderately wealthy trader, and he can speak the human language fluently, as well as his native Khuzdul.

In his spare time, he keeps up a few correspondences with other dwarves of Dûrgrimst Fanghur, as well as a human tinker that he met in Farthen Dur named Alwar. These letters are some of the few items he keeps in his travel pack that are not related to fighting, along with a metal inkwell, a few quill pens and parchment. He reads voraciously on the few occasions when he can get his hands on a book, and is a lover of songs and tales.

His fighting style is balanced, utilizing both finesse and brute force to his advantage. Relying on his shield and armor to deflect attacks, he is free to bring his own counterattacks in close where he has the advantage. In tight quarters, his shield has a dual purpose; it can be angled so that a heavy blow will slide across and past the shield, using an enemy’s forward momentum to unbalance him and allowing Dólin to bring his sword down on his foe’s exposed neck or back. Whereas if the blow is light enough, his upraised shield will halt the arc of the weapon and he can slash or stab underneath his opponent’s guard. He is considered a fair marksman and can hit a man-sized target from a hundred yards away, though he has a tendency to hold the bowstring for too long while aiming, which tires his arm quickly.



History:

Born to a moderately wealthy trader, Dólin’s childhood was fairly nondescript. He was the obedient son of respectable parents and was expected to eventually fill his father’s boots and go into the shipping business. His father, Darun, was cheery and loving, always ready to laugh with his son over some shared joke. All of his free time was spent with his son, exploring the surrounding mountains, building spur-of-the-moment projects or travelling on the river. Because of all the time Darun invested with his son, Dólin’s primary influence was his father’s joviality and love of life. His mother, Grivsa, on the other hand, was stern and unforgiving. She had lost a baby in a miscarriage before Dólin was born and the grief from that loss seemed to wring out the last of her emotion, leaving her hard and cold, with no time for her son. Between Darun’s joyful spontaneity and his mother’s severe demeanor, his life balanced out to a cycle of thankless tasks interspersed with brief carefree interludes with his father.
All of this changed, however, during a raid on a dwarven village near Tarnag by the Forsworn.
Dólin’s father had finally decided to take Grivsa with him on one of his trading runs down the Az Ragni, and stop on the way back at the town where they first met. While he was unloading his wares, two dragons swooped down on the settlement and laid waste to the few dozen shops and houses surrounding the docks. There were no survivors.
When news of the raid reached Dólin, who was under the care of his grandfather, he was inconsolable. For days after the ceremonial rights he would sit in his room and refuse to speak with anyone, much to the dismay of his grandfather, who tried everything he could to engage his grieving charge, to no avail. Then, after three weeks of stony silence, Dólin came back to life.

Gathering a few possessions and his grandfather’s horn bow, he slipped away in the night, joining a caravan of Dûrgrimst Nagra who were travelling overland to Baragh. At the city, he swore a blood oath of vengeance against the desecrators who killed his family, vowing to see the end of Galbatorix and his riders or die in the attempt. The current Grimstborith, Havard, approved the young dwarf’s decision, as it was a matter of honor to avenge those who were condemned never to have a share in the dwarven afterlife. Joining the military, Dólin decided, would be the best way to help bring about the fall of the maniacal King.

While in Baragh, he apprenticed himself to Vhozdar, one of Dûrgrimst Fanghur’s Captains, as a squire to learn the trade of a soldier. For almost a decade, he worked for the captain; polishing armor, brushing and cleaning Feldûnost and waiting on Vhozdar’s guests as well as learning swordplay, studying strategy and tactics and taking riding lessons. In the years he served as Vhozdar’s shieldbearer, the aged dwarf became almost a second father to him, assuaging his sorrow and instructing him in the arts of combat. After his tenure as the captain’s squire, he enlisted in Dûrgrimst Fanghur’s army as a Third Private and through a series of skirmishes with raiding desert tribes and battles fought alongside the Varden was promoted to First Private in a matter of months.
Since the last of the Forsworn was killed, he has lobbied for more aggressive moves on the part of the dwarven Council and the Grimstnzborith, using his connections with influential officers in the army to advocate a forceful campaign against the southern cities in the Empire. He still visits Vhozdar when he is on leave near Baragh and they have a correspondence that is as consistent as possible with the current unreliable system of delivering letters across the mountains.