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Long after the
reign of King Raevil, in the Wyrmed Hills north of the Great Valley,
lived a large clan of norse called the Rholth. The Wyrmed Hills were
named for the Darkwyrms, a loose band of powerful and evil dragons who
together held sway over the forested hillside. They survived the threat
of the evil dragons and their minions by living in hiding among the
ancient trees. Several hollowed hills provided them shelter, but even
those havens were only minimally effective. When the dragon's minions
roamed the lands, the women, children and elderly hid in the secreted
hollows, while the men led the trackers through the woods, disappearing
into gulches and in tree-top hides. Among the other norse clans the
Rholth were known as the Rest-Granters of Eastwood, for their
innumerable kills of undead.
The youngest son of the clan's leader, Freki of the
Rholth, hated the dragons and the need to hide from them. He wanted to
live in the sunlight, free of the hated menace. Freki asked his father
to allow him to leave the lands of the Rholth in search of the norse
wizard, Belrus Snowbeard. He was reputed to live in the mountains east
of the Wyrmed Hills. Freki's father refused him at first, but saw the
dedication in his eyes and knew that one day Freki would challenge the
dragons. The clan leader only hoped that when his son did confront
their enemy, he had the weapons to win.
Freki was allowed to leave the Eastwood to find Belrus,
but his father would give him no one to go with him. If he was to risk
his life to change their position, than he was to risk his life alone.
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Freki left his
home to find the wizard reputed to have slain one of the Darkwyrms and
said to hold the secret to their defeat. The trip sook several days,
through the thickest regions of the forest and eventually to the
foothills of the Roughcut Barrier Range. The Roughcut Mountains were
sharp craggy mountains along the eastern coast. They saw more rainfall
than any other range of mountains in the human lands, and had more snow
upon their peaks than any other moutain in the kingdoms could claim.
Freki climbed the mountains and stood in a pass high above
the sea between two of the highest peaks in the range. He shouted for
Belrus, then, when he recieved no answer, he shouted to the gods to
deliver him from the dragons. Still no answer came, so he camped in a
crag near the narrow pass to await dawn's light to help him climb down
the mountain.
Midway through the night, Freki heard a tiny voice calling
his name. It beckoned him out into the night. Feeling no fear, Freki
stepped out of the makeshift tent and saw a small man, no bigger than
Freki's foot, with wings and very pointed ears standing in midair. The
tiny man failed to introduce himself, but beckoned Freki to follow him,
then flitted off in the stiff breeze. Unprepared for a cold trek
through the chill night, Freki hurried after the winged creature.
He found it difficult to keep up with the flying man, the
chilly wind kept whipping snow flurries before his eyes and the little
man darted ahead and stayed nearly out of Freki's sight. Finally, the
tiny creature turned and waited for Freki to catch up.
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