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Background
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Born in a small clan, Grund was the son of a miner. The clan lived deep in the mountains. When Grund was young he discovered a small cave. Within the cave was a small shrine and upon the shrine was a single raw, uncut emerald. 'What a find', he thought. As he stepped up to the gem, it began to pulse with a warm soft glow. Then a very faint voice that echoed with the walls. It called to him, Grund could feel the firm but gentle embrace of land around him. What he had discovered wasn’t a cave, but a shrine to the land built long before his clan had come into the area.
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Grund spent a lot of time in the shrine and after some time, he began to learn of the land and how to draw energy from it. For years Grund meditated in the shrine. Slowly, because that’s how dwarves do things, he learned to harness the land in the form of magic. With that magic he was able to help his clan. But some within the clan were cautious around Grund, his magic was foreign to them and some called it 'unnatural', they would whisper whenever he was near.
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It was a few years later and Grund was meditating in the shrine when he heard a sound unknown to him. He turned to find a cave bear! The beast was more than twice the height of a dwarf and twice as wide. Grabbing his warhammer, Grund attempted to defend himself from the beast. But he was no match for its size and strength. With a great swip of the bear’s massive claw, Grund was struck down. As he lay there and his eyes about to close, he could see the shape of the bear change and before him was a creature on two legs standing as tall as the bear. The creature was the color of earth and eyes the color of emeralds. As Grund passed into unconsciousness, the creature spoke. “Child of the land, I am sending you to a land that will need your assistance. When you awake, look to the mark. It is the place you will need to go.”
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Grund did eventually wake. The sounds and smells were different. There was light everywhere. Sitting up, Grund found himself in a forest. There were trees, animals, and other things Grund had only seen a handful of times in his life. Instinctively he grabbed his chest where the bear and struck him. The wound was healed and in its place was a large bear claw scar.
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In an unfamiliar place, Grund wandered the area. Surprisingly, he was familiar with vegetation and animals he came across. Foraging for food and water, Grund spent days wandering until he came upon a small hovel of homes. Being cautious, he spent nearly a week observing the hovel. He wasn’t sure how they would react to him. One fateful day he heard a scream from the far side of the hovel. Moving to that side he could see a man injured lying on the ground and a horse darting around the area. A spooked horse? He thought. The people around him were frantic on what to do. Grund had to do something, caution would only end in the man’s death. He stepped out of the undergrowth, warhammer in hand. The villagers, startled by his sudden appearance stood their ground with children and women fleeing into their homes. As he moved towards the line he dropped his hammer, and in a very crude form of common, he spoke “Help” gesturing to himself and then to the fallen man. Reluctant at first, the people let him in to see the man. Grund knelt down next to the man and began speaking a prayer in a language known to a very few, even he didn’t know how he knew it. The injuries began to heal.
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Over the next few days, Grund continued to heal the man. He asked about something related to a bear claw. The only thing they knew was Bearclaw Keep. Grund thanked them for the information and headed out in that direction. After a week of travel, Grund did not travel the road because of his natural cautiousness, he arrived at Bearclaw Keep.
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Personality
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