Kwar Beartooth

Kwar Beartooth is a War Priest of Torm played by Neenan. A Half-Orc with a difficult past and an unknown future, he finds himself thrust into the strange occurrences in Dreams and Darkness. Kwar is a DNDNext character in a 4e setting.

Themesong: "Wait" by Seven Mary Three ''I imagine long walks down the road. Things begin to bloom and the sky explodes. ''The damage is undone, and then I know. This has got to be a dream. ''Machines and luxuries don't last. I took my sleep for granted in the past. ''And I woke up half-dead in the hourglass. Why does that sound funny? ''Wait, you're almost there it's gone. You're almost there it's gone. ''You're almost where what follows you, does not bother you. ''I have walked the tightrope parts of me. I towed the line just far enough to see. ''I never found a gift you get for free. You pay for them dearly. ''I see my forever as one long night. If I can make it dark then I can make it light. ''I know that most of living done is done in the mind. Only thought survives. ''Are you tired? Are you uninspired? ''Has the miscommunication tried to eat you up inside? ''I am here, and you are here. ''And everything I want to know sleeps between your ears.

Description
Kwar is a massive Half-Orc, standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds. Though both of his parents were half-orcs, he still maintains the usual half-orc qualities: his face and shoulders are broad, and his lower canines and pointed ears are still pronounced.  His skin, though, is very close to a human shade.  Now past middle age for a typical Half-Orc, his brown hair has started to show signs of grey.

Kwar's most striking feature are his scars. The most massive is a large one that runs from his left cheek up to his forehead, cutting across what used to be an eye. Since losing this eye, he has worn an eyepatch in public, and somehow this makes him even more intimidating. His remaining eye is a unique shade of dark yellow.

Kwar is even more imposing in his armor, complete with a mask that hides his face. He is never seen without his Holy Symbol of Torm, and rarely without some kind of weapon.

Personality
Kwar's past has certainly driven his present persona. His passion for Torm and helping others is forefront, and he takes his role as a Cleric very seriously. He is, however, not the "church type." Though he marvels at Torm's houses of worship, his Orc blood pushes him to battle, and thus his roll in the church is much more of a "war priest." He loves the thrill of battle and defeating an enemy, especially one that crosses his church or his moral code.

Despite his love for Law, he is not the typical good character. While he believes in Torm's dogma, he holds his personal code of what is good and bad closer to his heart. He has never truly done anything evil, but he is very open to the fact that the Law may not do good things, yet it is the LAW. These beliefs served him well in Tantras, but do not always mesh with a larger church setting.

Otherwise, Kwar is likable and engaging, yet his gruff appearance and unimpressive cognitive skills are barriers some people can't overcome.

Family and Relationships
All of Kwar's family is dead, as far as he knows. While he made some close friends during his years in Tantras, he does not keep in contact with them. During his short time in Aglarond, he has only really made relationships with others in his church. He is familiar with Breemita Arroway but has never really gotten to talk to the Half Elf.

Though he does not know it, and not that it really matters, Kwar's great-grandfather was Testheron of the Bear Clan's older brother, making him the great great grand nephew to the infamous Barbarian.

Early Years - Family History and Melvaunt
Kwar knows little about his family, and that which he does know was told to him by his father, Xof.

Kwar's grandfather was a rather massive human who lived in The Ride. Here, he was a member of the Bear Clan, a rather powerful clan of nomads that ruled the Western Ride. One day, his grandfather led a raid on a group of Orcs from Thar that had moved into the Ride and threatened their resources. Needless to say, the Bear Clan was victorious, and Kwar's grandfather negotiated a peace settlement over the Orc's leader's beheaded corpse. Part of the settlement was Kwar's grandmother.

Kwar's father Xof was born a year later in 1413, and even as an infant, the half-orc was extremely large and strong. For a time, Xof and his parents lived peacefully with the Bear Clan. All this changed when Xof was 8 and a rival Clan attacked the Bear's camp. Xof's father was killed, and his mother took the opportunity to flee. Xof and his mother managed to escape on horseback in the confusion of battle. They did not stop moving until the next day.

Not knowing where to go, she continued south, hoping to reach a town. The first town she came to was Phlan, and it was made quite clear that Orcs were not welcome. She continued south and eventually reached Melvaunt. Although it wasn't easy, Xof and his mother made a home there, making sure to lay low and not draw attention to themselves.

Xof's mother died in 1435. By now Xof had taken the last name "Beartooth" after his father's clan, and had gotten a job at the docks, using his massive strength to load and unload ships. In 1440, he met a female Half-Orc named Tawara, who arrived in town on a merchant ship. Two years later, Kwar was born. According to Xof, 2 months after Kwar was born, his mother left without warning. Neither Xof or Kwar has seen her since.

Kwar proved worthy of Xof's lineage and grew up in Melvaunt to be a massive Half-Orc like his father. Together they worked on the docks and made a decent living.

Capture and Slavery in Mulmaster
It was 1465 when Kwar's world was shattered. Kwar and his father were hired to load a special ship that had to leave in the middle of the night. Kwar was uneasy of the situation, and his instincts were correct - both he and his father were ambushed while in the ship and stuck with a poison. They lost consciousness soon thereafter. They awoke gagged and in chains in a city they had never seen before. They were told that they were "property" now, and were considered slaves. They eventually learned that they were in Mulmaster. Both Xof and Kwar were forced to work in an iron foundry, and the hours and smell drove several other slaves mad with exhaustion. Xof, now near old age for a Half-Orc, did not fair well, and was struck down one day by one of the overseer's whips. Kwar went ballistic, and almost destroyed an entire workstation before he was subdued. He was taken away from his father and beaten in a cell. It was here where most of Kwar's visible scars came from, including the one that tore out his left eye. The next day he was told his father was dead.

Kwar struggled with his reality for some time, almost giving up. Almost one year to the day of his captivity, however, he was amazed when a group of Paladins broke down a wall and entered the building. Kwar did not gather all of what was going on, but it was clear that whoever had organized this little slave operation had overstepped his bounds even in Mulmaster. Later, when he had time to reflect on those few crazy minutes, he realized that the Paladins seemed to care more about punishing the overseers that freeing the slaves.

Temporarily free at least, Kwar fled the city as fast as he could. He managed to barter his way onto a merchant ship where he volunteered to tend the ship for free.

Tantras and finding Torm
The merchant ship landed in the city of Tantras to the south. Kwar again was uneasy about making a living in such a town, but he found that the Law was paramount here, and as long as he abided by it, he could succeed. By 1470, he had found the church of Torm. Never being exposed to a religion before, he admired Torm's fearlessness and lawful nature. He trained to become a cleric of Torm, to spread his word through the Law anyway he could. By 1472, he had risen in rank in the church and his physical stature and battle prowess caught the attention of the Marthinion family. Garolt Marthinion was a Golden Lord, one of the rulers of Tantras, and as such hired personal guards for himself and his family. In late 1472, Kwar started as a personal guard to the Marthinion family.

Kwar was happy with his position for almost 6 full years. The Marthinions were good and loyal people, if not a little pompous and of their wealth and social position. He was also earning a lot of gold, although most of this he gave back to his church. However, things changed in late 1478 when the Marthinion family's fortunes seemed to turn. Kwar never fully understood politics, but he was wise enough to know that the tide was turning against his employer. The Marthinion's future broke when Garolt's only son, age 10, was murdered, by an unknown faction. Kwar was with Garolt at the time, and saw the man break when he heard the news. Kwar left the Marthinion manor the next day, the same day Garolt was taken off the Golden Lord council.

Traveling East
Feeling that he needed to move on, Kwar said goodbye to his church and boarded another ship. He had heard of the struggle of the nation of Aglarond against the evil of Thay, and was interested in finding a calling there. He arrived in the capital in early 1479, and affixed himself to the church of Torm.

Current Whereabouts/Activities
Kwar has been in Veltalar for a few months, and has witnessed firsthand the chaos of the bombings in the city. He is deeply concerned about what is going on, and yearns for a chance to fight an enemy of the law - any enemy.