Description
Olaf is a heavyset dwarf four feet tall, with the marked width of girth and
dense physique of his ancient race. His expression belongs to one not given
to showy expressions, but rather one stoic and grim in nature. His rolling
gait and alert eyes are that of a canny adventurer, and his rock-steady
build seems capable of withstanding the most grievous of blows. His eyes are
a placid, flinty grey, remarkably similar to the hue of his braided beard.
His bluff, weatherbeaten countenance seems carved from the very rock itself,
implacable and obdurate, reflecting the unyielding warrior's spirit that
seems to live in this hearty creature. A closer look reveals a tiny birth
mark on his neck, in the shape of a shield, unusually well-detailed.
Role
Olaf Olafson and his humble beginnings
Added Thu Apr 26 10:25:53 2007 at level 1:
A baby dwarf was born in Akan, in the most holy chamber of the Stone's
Embrace, presided over by midwives and a holy acolyte. As the squealing babe
was washed and clothed in swaddling, a birth-mark caught the eye of the
Acolyte - a shield, too detailed to be an ordinary birthmark. It was
remarked that such a birthmark could only lead to a life of greatness, of
great feats and heroic combat.
In line with the prophecy named by the Acolyte who presided over his birth,
Olaf Olafson, son of Olaf Olafson, displayed a natural tendency towards
physical activity and sport, and soon this dwarven athleticism led on to a
fascination with weapons. Like his father, Olaf had a preternatural aptitude
for the arts of the warrior, and soon he took up full-time training as a
soldier of Akan. After serving his time in the guard force of Akan, he
decided to leave, even though he became one of the youngest and most
celebrated officers for his unblinking valour and ferocity in battle.
His life was beyond, beyond the gates of Akan, in the wide world called
Thera. Duty called to him to protect the innocent, as he had as a guard of
his hometown. But his duty extended to include all innocents in the known
Thera, and he became drawn to the teachings of the Light, of the 'good'
path. Like other dwarves, he was born with a tendency to kindness and
compassion, and a strong love for his own kin. Like other dwarves, he
regarded other dwarves with brotherly affection, and hated the vile
duergar, dark mirrors of the brave surface dwarves.
Olaf might just have been happy with defending his beloved hometown, but for
the influence of an elf, a devoted soldier of the Light named Luderadinal.
The older elf had willingly, out of pure compassion, joined the soldiers of
Akan during a particularly heavy battle between the dwarves and the orcs.
He was Olaf's spiritual mentor, so to say. With typical distaste of overly
fancy names, Olaf nicknamed his mentor Lud. Lud taught him of the world
beyond Thera, and of the duty he carried out unwaveringly, to protect the
innocent, convert the evil-hearted, and smite the unrepentant. Accordingly,
Olaf shared those views, and slowly learned to like the slender elf, even
if outwardly he made many jokes at the expense of Lud.
When Lud left to battle some other injustice in the world beyond, so did
Olaf. He ended up, like most beginning adventurers, in the splendid town of
Galadon, where he saw for the first time a cosmopolitan mix of people.
Signing on to the warrior's guild and graduating in record time, Olaf left
in search of duty, of destiny, and of a future of constant battle against
the unrepentant evil.
Ancestry
Added Thu May 10 11:41:25 2007 at level 41:
Olaf Olafson, descended from five Olafs and four Olaf Olafsons, carries much
of the attributes of his forebears - purity of heart, compassion, talent
with arms, discipline. It is a family trait, and a wise one, that all these
warriors learned caution to be best in a fight. Tactics, strategies, these
ideas held more weight than blind rage and charging in. In the same vein,
Olaf (the adventuring one) is a cautious fighter. He is not cowardly, and
will not hide from a fight he may manage to prevail over. But he prefers to
err on the side of caution, and live to fight another day, unlike many of
the dwarfkin, who are fierce fighters but often foolhardy.
Olaf differs from his forebears in the respect of his odd tattoo, and the
prophecy made at his birth. His life was destined for greatness, someday
becoming a Hero of Thera, shielding not just his homeland from the tainted,
but also the whole of Thera's goodfolk. He fights with the knowledge that
for each dark soul he sends to the Abyss, he is making the world a safer,
better place for innocent folk to live in. In accordance to his adherence
to the Creed of the Squires and the Maran, he tries his best to fight with
duty and purpose, and not fall to the blind bloodlust that is so easy to
embrace as a warrior, shedder of blood.
Olaf is learned with the most offensive of weapons, the axe. He will be
taking blows. For that, he has learned that combined with his fortitude and
armours, potions of protection can be very effective, allowing him to take
much punishment while dealing great sweeping strikes with his axes. It is
also in the same spirit that he embraces the Gates of the Forge, and hopes
to learn the art of armour-deflection, and perhaps also the Whispers of the
Great Siege, to make him a hardy fighter, with evasive tactics of stunning,
potions and pills of protection and healing, and quick recoveries.
For now, Olaf intends to master his second weapon, before he deems himself
worthy of climbing the ladder towards the pinnacle of Warriorhood, becoming
a Legend of the Battlefield. He also understands the roles he can play
while in the circles lower than the Heroes, such as retrieving the Radiant
Crystal Orb, and slaying younger darkhearts. He plans to stay until such
time as duty and destiny calls for his rise to the peak.