Danica Stormfighter

Chapter 1

See notes at end of chapter

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The young dwarrowdam hurried as she threw her possessions into a pack. In the next room her Adad and Amad were speaking in hushed tones, deciding what they needed and what to leave behind. King Gror had given them until sundown to gather their belongings and leave the Iron Hills forever. They were grateful for the mercy Gror had shown to them, he could have easily decided to execute them all.

Thardica, daughter of Leos and Beoth, son of Toth were simple folk. Beoth had been born and raised in the Iron Hills and, like his father before him, was a master craftsman of Mithril hauberks. Thardica had come from the Blue Hills to be married to a cousin of the king. Upon her arrival in the Iron Hills she had cause to meet Beoth. Dwarves are firm believers in the bond between a dwarrow and his One. Dwarrowdams are rare, so if they find their One, no one can come between them.

It took many years and many lost before they were finally blessed with a child. They were considerably older than most new parents at 173 and 180 years old, but they loved their pebble all the more for it. As older parents, they tended to allow their daughter a little more freedom than should be permitted. She was often found underfoot of the soldiers at training, Beoth having lost track of her yet again. Or wandering into rooms that were private or off limits. If cakes for the feast went missing, it was quite sure they could be found with Danica.

Danica was 34 when she and her parents were banished. Not quite at her coming of age but old enough to know the consequences of her actions. She insisted that she was simply standing up for herself; the daughters of Kros, the captain of the guard, had no right to call her names.

The most prized possession of a dwarrow is his or her hair. A dwarrowdam's beard starts to come in around the age of 40 and it is a great celebration when it is full enough to finally be braided into their hair. The event held on its occurrence is equivalent to a human girls coming out party.

On the eve of Krostal's Margu Zantith Danica snuck into her quarters and cut off the hair of not only Krostal, but of her 2 sisters as well!

Kros was furious and demanded of the king vengeance! His daughters had been defiled and debauched!

Grog was a hard king. He demanded loyalty and conformity from his people. He consulted the archivists to determine what the punishment should be for Danica, however they could find no precedent for her heinous actions. After meeting with his advisors it was agreed that the girl was obviously cursed. As such, he determined that what she had done, and indeed what she had been doing, was out of her control and banishment was the answer.

Gror was loathe to lose the skill of Beoth, but he was adamant that the parents needed to be punished as well. They had raised their child with no regard and must also pay the consequences.

Thus, they hurried to put together their most prized possessions. They were unsure where they would go...the humans of Esgaroth did not look kindly on dwarves. Many of them were refugees of Dale and, as such, continued to see them as harbingers of doom. They could not go to any other Dwarf Holding; Gror had sent word to all of the settlements detailing Danica's crime.

Over the years they wandered Middle Earth travelling from their home to Gondor. They spent a number of years in Minas Tirith; Beoth was able to use his mail skills to produce hauberks and armour for the Stewards of Gondor. Lord Belecthor II came to rely on the quality of Beoth's work, however the people of Gondor were suspicious of the dwarves.

It came to be that the family was harried from Minas Tirith; once again, they set out to find a home. They travelled further south, eking out an existence near Dol Amroth, eventually making their way north toward Rohan.