Stanach Hammerfell

Article written by Nancy Varian Berberick

For a Dwarf who never saw a good reason to leave his home in Thorbardin, Stanach Hammerfell (B: 276 AC) has had his share of adventure in the outlands. Stanach was born the son of Clarm Hammerfell and his mother is unknown. Skarr Forgebright, Clarm's brother, is Stanach's only known uncle at this time.

Stanach was known to have a thick black beard, with black hair, muscular arms, and black eyes with blue flecks in them. He was known to have worn an amethyst ring, which was his father's, a silver hoop in his left ear, and was very proficient with a sword. He was also a great smith before Wulfen broke all the fingers on his right hand.

War of the Lance

Apprenticed to the master-smith Isarn Hammerfell he helped create the wondrous sword Stormblade and was present when the god Reorx touched the steel and turned this masterpiece into a Kingsword. Long kingless, the dwarves in Thorbardin were ruled by a Council of Thanes rife with contention and threats of revolution. At the time of Sormblade's making, Glade Hornfel Kytil of the Hylar Dwarves – Stanach's kinsman – headed the council; Isarn intended the sword as a gift for Hornfel. It became more – the symbol that would confer a king's authority on the thane who owned it and make him the sole ruler of the Mountain Dwarves until such time as the Hammer of Kharas could be found. Left to guard the sword while his master rested, Stanach succumbed to a sleep spell. When he woke, the sword had vanished – stolen. Stanach made it his quest to find and return it, though the finding took him out into the world where the mighty conflict now known as the War of the Lance raged.

The sword found, Stanach returned home the worse for his adventures – his hands were too damaged to allow him to take up the craft he'd been trained for. With the help of his way-met companions, the elf Tyorl, the human woman Kelida, the kender Lavim Springtoe, and the ghost of the mage Piper, Stanach saw the rebellion in the mountain put down and his kinsman Hornfel installed as Regent for the King-to-Come. .

Post War of the Lance

Little was heard of him for a while. In truth, Stanach fell afoul of Dwarf Spirits, liking the drink too much for its ability to dull the pain of what he'd lost. How he fared through the civil war is not known, it's only known that he survived.
In his middle years, Stanach had yet another part to play in the history of Elves and dwarves. He was no longer the idealistic young dwarf who created Stormblade; neither was he the disillusioned, broken-handed sword crafter who made a keg of Spirits his consolation. He was a tavern owner, the Stanach's Curse, with close family connections to the thane of his clan. When he's asked, he goes into the world outside the mountain, this time with Kerianseray, the young Kagonesti Elf, a resistance fighter who would become the wife of Gilthas Pathfinder, the Speaker of the Sun. He fought beside Kerian as she and her band of warriors bedevil the Dark Knights occupying the elven kingdom. He stood as witness to her marriage to Gilthas and returned home.

War of Souls

Emotionally invested in the fate of the Qualinesti, Stanach was seen again during the time when the elves are trying desperately to evacuate their people before the Dragon Overlord Beryllinthranox destroyed their kingdom. He helped Jai, a young librarian through the tunnels as the elf tried to carry as much of the literary treasure of the kingdom to safety as he could.

It isn't known whether the librarian survived the destruction of Qualinost.

Neither was it known whether Stanach Hammerfell survived the flooding of the tunnels when the great city died, for his promise to the elf had been that he would wait until the young man returned, no matter how long it took. "I'll be here, right here in the tunnels. I'll wait."

Nothing more has been heard of him since.

References

Stormblade, p. 10-12, 26-28, 33, 66-69, 81, 85, 146, 162, 189, 229, 299, 315-316
Lioness, p. 49, 258
The Search for Magic, 'The End', p.

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This article has been viewed 2,121 times. It was added on June 1, 2006, and was last modified on June 2, 2006.

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