Dorin Firebeard comes from a long line of dwarven runecasters, dating back thousands of years. While less than 1% of the clerics of Aetherum are dwarves, almost all of them are from the Silverflow clan. Most dwarves pay only lip service to the great god, more concerned with gathering wealth, honor and prestige for their family and clan. However, the clergy of the Silverflow have proven their worth many times over, aiding the clan with divine healing and guidance. Dwarven runecasters are taught the secret of imbuing ancient runes with divine energy. Needless to say, the dwarves guard this knowledge very carefully and never teach it to a non-dwarf.

Almost all dwarves from the Silverflow have light or dark brown beards and hair, going to gray as they get older. However, several generations ago, a dwarf named Thorin was born into the Silverflow clan with flame red hair. As most members of his family had before him, he became a runecaster of Aetherum. However, more than just Thorins hair color was different.

Thorin had a natural talent for carving and crafting runes and channeled the energy of his god with a strong will and devote faith. He was well regarded in the priesthood and many thought he showed promise. However, that changed when Thorin heeded the call of a new dwarven God, Marthammor Duin, the Finder-of-Trails and Watcher over Wanderers. (Pronounced: mart-hammer doo-in)

Marthammor Duin had arisen, along with a plethora of other dwarven deities, during a time know as 'The Flood'. For millennium, the god Aetherum had been the one and only god, but a series of events allowed his power to be invested into other, lesser gods. It is Morthammor's hope that forcing his clergy to travel abroad will bring about a renewed awareness of the outside world and force the Silverflow dwarves out of their stagnation and inbreeding.

About this same time, the dwarves experienced the 'Thunder Blessing', which caused a rise in both the number of children born each year and an increase in the number of twins. Because of this unexpected increase in an otherwise stable dwarf population, large numbers of dwarves began to explore and emigrate outside the dwarven holdings.

Naturally, many of these same dwarves turned to the new dwarven god of Travel and Exploration, Marthammor, for guidance and protection. The flame haired Thorin had always had a seed of wanderlust within his soul, so during this large exodus, he converted to Marthammors faith and set out to explore the world above. Of course it was a shock to his tradition bound relatives and other members of the clergy, who thought of his change in devotion as a betrayal of the dwarven runecasters.

However, after years of exploration, adventure and spreading the faith of Marthammor, Thorin returned to the Silverflow clan in the Great Rift. Now rich with material wealth and blessed by his god, he was welcomed back into the clan with open arms. He built a temple to Marthammor Duin, married a stout dwarven lass and had many red haired children. To each child he gave a choice: Adventure abroad for at least one year and receive his and Marthammors blessing or remain underground and follow the ancient traditions of Aetherum. No red haired dwarf has yet failed to receive the blessing of Marthammor and the line of Thorin is thought to be made entirely of disturbed fools, all worshiping the grand king of fools. For no sane dwarf would willingly leave the safety and stability of their family and clan to adventure above ground with all manors of strange, non-dwarf companions.

So, as one of Thorin's great-grand-children, Dorin Firebeard was also offered this chance to explore. Dorin gathered up his armor and iron-bound hammer and set out on his year of exploration and adventure, with only his faith in his god to guide him...