Gralnir Seidrshaper Backstory

Since Theren got unceremoniously killed off, I had to create a new character. This time Alex and I were both working on Hill Dwarves without realizing it. When we found out we were, we decided to go ahead make them brothers, since it seems our characters tend to end up dying during the same encounters. It ain't planned, but just seems to work out that way. My new character is a Hill Dwarf Psi Warrior, who swallowed an Ultros Symbiote (still figuring out how that will work and what it is) and will at the next level up move on to Wizard and then pick up Bladesinging when he can. I wanted to play something different than the usual Elf Fighter I seem to gravitate towards and I've been on a Star Wars kick lately. It'll be interesting to see how things work out with him. He might be a bit contrary and cantankerous, sort of like the old guy playing him. :-)

Gralnir Backstory

Aye, gather ‘round ye lot, for Gralnir, son of beard-braidin’ Dwarfs and a spell-slingin’ ones at that, has a tale to spin! A tale woven with the clang of steel, the crackle of spells, and some mind bending thoughts. With so many twists and turns of fate that’d make a Mind Flayer’s head spin!

Gralnir Leaping Off a Rock
Microsoft AI Image Creator - 2024

I figure since I've become keepah of this "damned" journal (it seems that them that write in it tend to die a hero's deaths aftah readin through it) that like the others 'afore me I need ta put in a bit about who I am, so that if it becomes someone else's problem to keep writin the story, they know who Gralnir was.

Picture this—me ma and pa, stout-hearted and defiant, fleein' their stodgy old Dwarfholt afore the Council's judgment could fall upon 'em for witchcraft, unauthorized sorcery or was it wizardry, mayhap knowing them as I do now, a bit of all the above. Needless to say they was different from other Dwarves. No matter, magic flowed in their veins like molten gold, and they couldn’t deny something so powerful in their being. They then sought sanctuary and were accepted to learn more of their crafts at the Inverness Magic Academy. Liking it so much there that they stayed on to eventually become professors in the Arcane Skills department. A life so different from the Dwarholt. 

Aye, 'twas there I took me first breaths just about the same time as me twin Dolgrim, and then grew up an Academy brat, amidst the crackle of spellfire and the whispers of ancient tomes.

Now, me twin brother Dolgrim, bless his clever soul, claims to be the eldest by a few beard hairs, though that is oft disputed by both me and pa. Ma just stands back, laughs and says she was there but ain’t saying who’s the elder - honestly, I think she may have forgotten. Well, he took to the ways of wizardry like a fish ta water and found grand success at the academy growing up with magic and being a Wizard. But me? I preferred the clash of steel, the rhythm of combat. Oh, I had me share of scraps growing up and even more'n a few singed whiskers from mishaps in the spell chamber - I have some skill, just not enough to work too hard at slingin spells like Dolgrim does. 

Though I dabbled in the arcane alongside my brother, my true calling lay in the path less-trodden, where blade and mind could dance together. At first it was just minor things and great fer playin pranks on family, friends and a few of the haughty professor’s kids that we hadta put up with growin up - derned Elves. Me have’n psionics musta been all that arcane magic me parents and brother exposed me ta growin up, not that they’d ever experiment on me intentional like. I don’t think me parents did any experiments that I remember, but brother dearest well that was a different story. While he ain’t got no psionic stuff, he learned to cast a LOT of Wizard spells and loves to experiment on his brother dearest.

The thing is I usually ain’t smaht enough ta tell ‘im no.

When we was going through the Academy, Dolgrim did one of his infamous experiments on me. One that resulted in me suddenly being able ta do even more things with me mind. He woke somethin up inside me head that weren’t awake ‘afore. Eventually, one of the professors figured out that I was playing around with psionic type abilities. When they tested me with ma and pa looking on, they found that I had more than a small amount of psionic ability. Not enough to become a Psion kind of caster, but enough ta keep things interestin.

From what I’ve learned from Barnum, one of the ones who tested me for me psionic ability, thought I had enough ta be one of them there Jedi Knights. He later claimed he was a former Jedi who had a falling out with the powers that be in the Jedi order, so he knew what he was talking about. After he left their Order, he found a place at the Academy to become a professor of Psionics. The Academy seems to be a place that collects its share of outcasts, misfits or other odd ducks that don’t fit elsewhere.

After getting over that I was a Dwarf who could do a bit with psionics, he taught me how ta stay alive using them, although I wasn't one for bouncing around like a grasshopper wearing and still be able ta wear Dwarven Plate Armor. Something else he weren’t supposed ta do according to the rules that govern the Jedi ways, he taught me how to make what I call a Sun Sword, though them Jedi call them Light Sabers. I can put one together over the course of a day, if need be. I tend to carry the different parts I need and a tinker’s kit, since they are a bit finicky at times, though if I can throw an Ioun Stone inside o’one, it takes on some extra magic from the stone.

Word got out somehow or another and a couple of so-called Jedi Masters kept hounding me to join ‘em or else. They never did tell me what the…or else would be. I weren’t too impressed with their recruitin methods. I got tired of them needlessly pressurin me and told them I needed ta think on their offah overnight. Then I asked Dolgrim to give me hand teachin them ta leave me be. When they showed back up the next day, we told them to scat and when they started to prattle on and threaten us, we beat on those two pretty good before runnin them off, tellin them ta stay away, until they got some manners. Of course, we didn’t need ta use any of our other skills, but just gave ‘em a good Dwarven beatin down. 

Anyways, them Jedi now tend to keep a respectful distance from me after we came ta that understanding. I also think they had a talk with Barnum who tends to keep an eye on me, even though he keeps sayin he ain’t got nothing ta do with them anymore. Though every so often the Jedi still send someone ta ask me much more politely if I’d be interested in joinin ‘em. It seems there is something about me being a Dwarf and all that can wield Psionics that really interests ‘em and they keep pesterin me. 

They ain’t bad people, but they do have their own agenda and according to Barnum it ain’t one they are all that upfront about. I won’t even discuss me thoughts on the Sith, when they came sniffin around ta bring me to their side of the Force. We don’t have much in common. Oh, I’ll do what needs ta be done ta keep livin, right quick and in a hurry, but I’m mostly on the side of good things and that ain’t changin.

Me psionic abilities were enough ta help keep me alive through my adventurin career – so far at least. They also allowed me ta eventually join my “big” brother, parents and Barnum at the Academy as faculty. At first as an adjunct professor of Psionics and eventually a fully tenured one. Though each year, I hafta ta go through the same drill with me new students about showin them how a dumb dwarf can do Psionics. I get ta teach some of the cruder points of how to use Psionics in battle ta those with the will and ability to learn. If they listen, they might live a bit longer, because when you’re fightin for your life, fancy dancy rules of etiquette tend ta get left behind.

But fate, that fickle wench, had another challenge in store for me.

When one of the elven professors crossed blades with me after a slight misunderstandin about something or other at one of the Academy’s taverns after I had a few ales too many. He challenged me ta a duel, to first blood and as he toyed with me. Aye, he danced like a leaf on the wind, his blade a symphony of death and beauty. And me? Well, I stumbled like a drunkard at a tavern brawl (which is something I’m pretty good at), me blows clumsy and uncoordinated. The damnedest part was that he was singing in Elvish the whole time he was beatin on me. Almost like he was performin for the crowd we had watching us. Yeah, I found out the hard way – as usual, that some are better with blades than I am. I’m just a lot better at keepin going even after the other side thinks I’m down and out fer the count and they're getting tired from beatin on me.

It was a humbling defeat, the likes of which I couldn’t abide. Yet, instead of wallowin' in defeat, because he beat me fairly, soundly, and good. I sought to rise above me limitations and swallered me pride, asked him to help me embrace this Bladesingin art as me own. To which the elf and his friends laughed uproariously saying no Dwarf could ever learn to Bladesong properly. 

Fueled onward by their doubts and jeers, I embarked on a journey of learnin', or more aptly wrastlin' with the complexities of Elvish speech which I needed to learn to be able ta Bladesing. But speaking and singing in Elf, twisted my Dwarven tongue into knots and had me spittin out nonsense for too long. Learning that elven prattle was a trial all its own! Though with the help of a magical headband, a gift from my ever-so-thoughtful brother Dolgrim, I persevered and am getting better at singing in Elven - it still hurts me head at times though. 

The Bladesinging steps and forms themselves were a challenge, but it’s just jumping around and swinging light swords like my Sun Sword, things that I’ve been doing since I was a lad - difficult, but manageable.

I’ve still not successfully sung my first bladesong, but I can feel that I’m getting closer ta being able to. Sometimes the song gets into me and I start to bounce around like a bunny rabbit and then it fizzles out all too quickly and I can’t control it. Being a Wizard too, is just more nonsense I haveta endure ta do it. Me singed beard is finally growin back full again. Dolgrim laughs at me casting, but offers pointers here and there that save me a lot of wasted effort.  

All-in-all learning this Bladesingin stuff is good for me and takes me way otta my comfort zone. Who knows maybe one day I’ll bounce around like a damned crazed bunny rabbit, though I doubt I’ll dance like a leaf on the wind. That would be a sight to see though a Dwarf bouncin around like that.

However, fate came knocking once more, this time in the form of that same elven professor, who’d started this whole Bladesingin nonsense. We’d gotten to know each other a bit while he actually was helpin me learn Elf talk and the performance part of Bladesinging. We’d become sort of friendly over that time and learned to respect one another. So it weren’t like he was tryin to take advantage or poke fun at meself this time. 

He came to me with a curious proposition – an opportunity to bond with a strange creature called an Ultros Symbiote. He told me the offer, was a chance to push the boundaries of me mind to places I’d never dreamed of. It seemed that me being a Dwarf who uses Psionics had garnered the interests of the Ultros, as well as them Jedi, and all too many others. Ultros was seeking me to host one of their little beasties for a good long while. I had heard whispers of legends of the Ultros, but I’d never given it much thought and didn’t know anything about their symbiotes.

Ah, but such gifts come with a price, a symbiote would need be lodged in me. I’d become its host and allow it ta grow and become whatever it was meant to be - though it would always be a part of me, even after it left me all growd-up. Through its bond it would pick up a few of me virtues, ways of thinking, and mayhap a few of me vices. While I would pick up a few of its abilities that I would keep after it left. An intriguing offer that made me want to learn more.

This was one of the few times in me life that I called a family and friends meetin to figure out this offer and what it might mean to me life. I invited my Elven friend to come and talk to us a bit about this offer. Even though I knew it was always me own choice. The truth be, I ain’t the smahtest Dwarf in the room and besides others might think of something that I might overlook. Even the Headmaster graced us with his presence and wisdom - he'd kept a close eye on me being a Psionic Dwarf too and this proposed experiment on one of his teachin Professors. We discussed and pondered the offer, weighin' the risks to me, against the promise of what might be. Oh, there were doubts, fears gnawin' at us all like a cave troll with a bone. But in the end, I decided to embrace the unknown and the possibilities that it might give.

The bonding was…unpleasant, to say the least and rather disgustin actually. Like swallowing a whole, slimy fish without gnawing on it at all! I've et some nasty things in me life, but that will go down as one of the toughest ones I've done, I couldn't chew on it nor spit it out. Especially, with me family and friends looking on while I gagged and turned purple. When I could breathe again, I let out a stream of oaths like few had heard before or since.

And yet, as I raise me quill to pen these words, I still can't help but feel a thrill coursing through me veins, a whisper of destiny callin' me forth to new adventures and untold wonders of what will be. Being host to an Ultros Symbiote and not having it behave like others symbiotes have in the past is interestin to say the least.

Do I feel different? A little, but it seems that the symbiote is taking its time and checking out its new host, before it decides to go off on some tangent that leaves me wondering what happened. From what I can see and feel so far, I’m still pretty much just me, just more like having been on a three day bendah and sufferin a bit for it. Though my ability to use telekinesis seems a lot more powerful and easier to grab onta things than it used ta be.

Perhaps my own Psionic abilities interfered somehow with the typical transformation inta a Psion. Which is interestin, frightenin and perplexin -- all at once. Oh, I imagine for us both, supposedly them Ultros symbiotes have never had a Dwarf host one before and don't know what to expect yet either. The Elf claimed with time and each challenge, that me bond with the Ultros will grow stronger and our abilities will change together, like the roots of an ancient oak sinkin' deeper into the earth.

While the symbiote hasn't been very talkative since it took up residence, but when I try to speak with it telepathically. I could feel it sort of wriggle around a bit and give me mind a gentle tingle, kinda like how I’d feel afta 4-5 ales to let me know it was alive in there. The symbiote hasn’t given me a name ta call it yet. Though when I hit the tavern for an evening with the lads and lasses here, it's still figurin out what me havin a drink or two does to it, thought it didn't seem ta mind the altered state of consciousness from time to time, but it clear it wasn’t something it wanted all that often. So, part of things that need ta change may be cuttin back on the ale a bit until, it grows up and out o'me. Gotta be a good symbiote daddy.

I also learned that the symbiote was a female, born of Ultros which it called "her other parent." I guess that she sees me as a sort of parent, which is a bit intimidating. Me…being someone or something’s parent is a pretty daunting thing, since I ain’t really been the Daddy-type.

Unlike Mindflayers who killed what remained of their host after they matured, which I wouldn't be too keen on. The Ultros symbiotes thought it was better to have a more positive symbiosis than killing something helped ya grow up. Hence why Ultros instructed them symbiotes to be as uninvasive as possible. It seems that Ultros was the last of its kind, a hermaphrodite who needed hosts to produce a variant of its people. All this has been a lot to figure out and unpack as I adjust to how the symbiote and I will move forward in this new way of living for us both.

Though I’ll still work at becomin a Bladesinger – eventually. But for now figuring out and survivin accepting this symbiote stuff has taken priority over becoming one. Plus, there is that little thing called the Witching Hour going on around us too, that Dolgrim and I have found ourselves involved with.

No matter, all this is… well…It’s a tale waiting to be told!