Annal of Ekkehard Valnir

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Ekkhard was a bear of a man, even into his twilight years when age had turned his beard as white and fine as snowdrifts. He was the last of the Valnir clan to fall when members of the Storm Legion swept through Iron Pine Peak – his enormous maul toppled many of Crucia's finest – but in the end they managed to topple the mountainous man. Before the captured mass of northmen, their commander blinded Ekkehard with a hot poker, and he was then chained with the rest of the surviving warriors to be marched toward Crucia's chamber for assimilation.

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Despite his blindness, it was Ekkehard who preached faith in Thedeor on the long death march toward the temple of Crucia. One night, when he had roused the northmen to a particularly passionate fervor, the commander dragged him out of line, stripping him of all but a few loose furs and beating him savagely. When they finished, Ekkehard was left for dead in the snow.

But Ekkehard was not defeated. He found the strength to limp along the roadway, following along the ruts left by their wagons. Just as his body began to fail, limbs turning solid with the cold, he cried out, “thedeor! Avenge my people! Grant me your strength, and I will crush the corrupted hordes of Crucia!”

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With that, the cold in his limbs deepened drastically, as if every vein had frozen all at once. To his surprise, he felt completely at ease, all pain vanishing, as if that very cold were lending him the strength to continue. He could feel the winds flowing around him, guiding him through the dark towards where the party had camped for the night. His first stop was the wagon where his maul had been stowed. He hoisted it up, thrilling at the familiar heft, and felt elemental lightning flowing out from his fingers into its shaft.

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Ekkehard moved confidently through the night toward where the prisoners were kept. He could hear the guards laughing over the fate of the bedraggled northmen, and directed his fury toward the sound of their chatter. They had no time to react as his charge propelled the maul into the first guard. As it impacted against the man's skull, currents of lightning ran through the guard, causing his body to spasm violently before going still.

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Ekkehard was prepared as the second guard rushed him, surrounding her in a flurry of ice and snow. Both Ekkhard and the guard vanished from the sight of the watching prisoners as a violent storm surrounded them. The woman came back into view only once Ekkehard knocked her with such thunderous force that it tossed her out of the flurry and into a cliff face with a sickening crunch. The snow settled back on the ground, and Ekkhard stood before the amazed prisoners. He hoisted the maul high and cried out, “Praise Thedeor!”

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The members of the Storm Legion quickly fell to the valiance of Ekkhard and the freed northmen, and from then on, Shaman of the north tribes drove back the Blood Storm with the bitter cold and fury of the wind.