Haela Brightaxe

Haela Brightaxe is a dwarven demigoddess of battle and luck, one in spirit with goodly dwarves who love to fight and who live to cleanse Astora of evil monsters. As a goddess of chance, the Luckmaiden takes great risks in the battles she fights without hesitation, and when the hearts of dwarves joyfully sing with the fight's thrumming thrill, the Lady of the Fray gives a triumphant huzzah of support.

Description

Haela often appeared in a spectacular, albeit harmless, burst of sudden blue-white flames as a 6 ft (1.8 m) tall, heavily muscled female dwarf. Sometimes she was armored in fine dwarven scale mail or plate mail and at others she was clad only in her silver hair, a long, flowing mane and beard.

Haela's typical weapon of choice was Flamebolt, a two-handed sword oversized for her height always encircled by tongues of spiraling, but harmless, flames when she fought. The sword couldn't hurt her, and she often hurled it into the air only to catch it by the blade, vaulted upwards to a high ledge or balcony with a hand upon its edge, or exuberantly slid down the sword itself. She could cause the sword to vanish or reappear in an instant, although it required a few dozen seconds to manifest after being sent away and vice versa.

Every ten minutes or so, Haela could also call upon her titular Brightaxe, a shining throwing axe of silver as tall as a man. Within a minute, the axe would suddenly appear in midair before spending the next flashing through the air according to Haela's will, although she couldn't use any other magical powers during either length of time. The axe flew up to 140 ft (43 m), assuredly injuring whatever it struck and, if mortal, leaving the targets stunned and thus incapable of performing any voluntary actions, including spellcasting or activating magic.

Personality

Among the dwarves and their gods, Haela is well-known for her gregariousness and always upbeat attitude. The charming demigod delivers gallows humor quips with a wide smile and laughs readily and infectiously in her booming voice. She has a love of no-holds-barred brawls, but isn't unthinking, proving herself rather resourceful.

Divine Realm

Haela's domain is in Brux, the perpetual evening layer of the Beastlands. Her personal \"realm\" is a pleasant grotto known as Findar Endar, hidden by the ever-present mists deep within the surrounding forest. A simple cave serves as her dwelling and she keeps to herself, leaving the animals that dwell within alone. Finder Ender still exists in Dwarfhome, though her cave is a remote cavern tucked into the foothills of the divine realm.

The cave is protected by seven Guardians, einheriars made from the souls of her favorite fallen dwarven warriors that are her primary servants. Though they wield normal weapons, the Guardians have truesight, can't be turned and reform 2-5 days after being slain and dissipating.

Activities

The Lady of the Fray is rarely found at home, usually going through wildspace or a world like Toril where dwarves are enjoying battle but need help. She prefers making direct appearances to those she is assisting, and only rarely empowers a dwarf or weapon without appearing herself. Even so, that is when no other help is needed, or in situations where the dwarves need only to hold the line until she can arrive. Once she appears, she faces off against the foe of greatest ferocity or most dangerous to the present dwarves, battling for about four minutes and moving on to the second most pressing threat if the first is defeated.

Rather than actually fighting the enemy for those she is rescuing, her aid comes in the form of a distraction, keeping the enemy busy with her battle dance while the dwarves regroup and get the injured to safety. Haela heals dwarves only if she deems it necessary, and customarily only revives dwarves that die valiantly in battle, although if begged to by the dwarves, she aids nondwarven allies and companions as well. If the engagement takes longer than four minutes to resolve, Haela closes her appearance by healing around 2-8 dwarves, striking a single blow in earnest, empowering a dwarf and/or weapon, and then vanishing with her hand held high, already racing off to the next conflict.

Rarely does she stay in one place for long and she almost never returns to the same individuals or fights twice in a day. However, over the course of their lives, her favored dwarves, those of particular valor and boldness, might receive multiple visits from the Luckmaiden. Upon the death of such individuals, she carries them away to become her Guardians and avenges them if they are slain by hunting down their killers, no matter their strength or how long it takes, although she considers their blood price already paid if they are raised after she kills them.

Worshippers

Dwarves of all moral and ethical alignments venerated Haela the Hard, but the active worship of the Luckmaiden was seen in particular types of dwarves. Battle-loving dwarves that wandered the surface and had to face monsters and unknown dangers, particularly in the North, turned to the Lady of the Fray. Her active followers often exhibited berserker tendencies and a chaotic or neutral good alignment (though chaotic neutrality and true neutrality was also seen among her clergy).

Dogma

It was the teachings of Haela that freedom and validation could be found in the exhilarating nature of battle, and to rejoice in the power of one's swing, the sound of smiting worthy foes, and the challenge of the fray. Haelan clerics fought monsters whenever they could find them, either to destroy the evil beast, or just for the thrill of battle, though a noble, honorable foe would be shown mercy if asked. Priests and priestesses aided dwarves by traveling Faerun looking for conflict, wandering since there was no way to know when or where they would be needed. They relied on the Luckmaiden to guide them where they needed to be, and trusted her to see that they made it through the battle regardless of the apparent strength or numbers of the enemies they were cutting down. Those that believed in her benevolence would be blessed, and the besieged and beleaguered dwarves would always be saved through her by her faithful.

Haela's followers aided hard-pressed dwarves, as well as their known allies and companions, not only by fighting alongside them, but also by healing them and casting certain spells. Senior priests made use of their monster hunting experience by sharing great amounts of information regarding the tactics, secrets, habits, lairs, and weaknesses of specific creatures with their juniors and others who asked. Their goal was to ensure dwarven victory with minimal losses, and they wished to make all dwarves comfortable with their own combat skills, believing as they did that the survival of the dwarves would be dependent on their battle prowess.

Clergy

Haelan clerics were called the kaxanar, which could be loosely translated as "bloodmaidens". The vast majority of her clergy (85%) were female, and before the Time of Troubles they were entirely so, though the male members didn't seem to have a problem with the feminine title, difficult as it was to try and emasculate a raging warpriest painted in a fresh coat of blood.

Haela was particularly well regarded by shield dwarves, who made up 70% of her clergy, particularly those that wandered. Her cult among the younger gold dwarves of South Faerûn (that made up about 28% of her clergy) had been growing steadily, as both males and females among them were favorably disposed towards her love of unrestrained fighting, they themselves enjoying nothing more than a good battle against their old Underdark foes. Ironically, the other two percent of her clergy was primarily made up of the brutal duergar.

Rituals

Kaxanar prayed for spells in the morning, a ritual accompanied by the tracing of elaborate scars on their forearms that had originally been ritually carved there upon initiation into the order. Most scars were accepted geometric patterns, but a few iconoclasts among the "free-thinking" order used their initiation to carve profanities or lewdness into their skin. On each of the faith's holy days, the devout were expected to offer several drops of their own blood, as well as the blood of dwarven enemies, proportional to the follower's capabilities. Only one drop of blood per defeated enemy was allowed as sacrifice.

Relationships

Like most of the dwarven gods, Haela had always been in good standing with the majority of the Morndinsamman, respected as she was for her lively manner and pleasant company. She was thought to be one of the most recent additions, being the granddaughter of Moradin and Berronar rather than a direct descendent. She made sure to honor her more established and powerful brothers and sisters in the Morndinsamman, in part because she was the only active and widely recognized dwarven demigod in the Realms, by never acting against their wishes, though she accepted only Moradin as her superior.

Of her kin, she preferred the company of Marthammor Duin and Clangeddin Silverbeard, with whom her portfolio overlapped. Being a goddess of dwarven warriors that travelled far from home, she worked closely with the Finder-of-Trails, with whom she shared an interest regarding the surface world. The Lady of the Fray and the Father of Battles both had a love for combat and had good relations, with Clangeddin regarding her as both a daughter and a protegee. She also was one of Dugmaren's regular partners, assisting him in the exploits he so often got involved in.

Berronar was somewhat cool towards Haela viewing her antics (as well as those of Dugmaren and Marthammor) with patient humor. The Revered Mother believed the younger dwarven gods had yet to set into the rules dictated by propriety, and anticipated the day when they and their followers would settle down to traditional clan life. The greedy Abbathor, who was always interested in luck, had sent increasingly more dangerous threats to Haela ever since she spurned his interest. Like most of the accepted members of the Morndinsamman, Haela was an enemy of Laduguer and Deep Duerra. Others

Haela was so focused on the dwarves of Toril that she had little time for gods outside her own pantheon. Still, she could count several among her allies, including many from the halfling pantheon. Brandobaris, halfling god of adventure and stealth, shared a role with her as one of Dugmaren's typical accomplices. Arvoreen, halfling god of vigilance and dutiful defense, and Cyrrollalee, halfling goddess of friendship and hospitality, were also associates of hers. Others included Tempus, the Lord of Battle, Eilistraee, drow goddess of redemption and notable for her dancing swordplay, and Tymora, a goddess of luck possibly originating from the halfling pantheon.

Aside from the more unsavory gods of her own pantheon, Haela had traditionally dwarven enemies in the pantheons of orcs, goblins, kobolds, and evil giants. Also counted among her foes were Beshaba, Tymora's counterpart of misfortune, and notably Urdlen, the gnomish god of greed, though the mole hated everyone and everything.

History

Death

Haela, along with Gorm Gulthyn, died in the Morndinsamman's battle with the duergar deities Laduguer and Deep Duerra in 1383 DR. However, it was possible that she still had influence outside of Realmspace. The Second Sundering

In the wake of the Second Sundering, signs indicating the return of Haela in the Realms, as well as her duergar enemies, had begun to surface. Circa 1486 DR, a party of adventurers might have witnessed a female voice with no discernable source utter a Dwarvish battle cry, while the eyes of a statue dedicated to Haela Brightaxe flashed on their own. This supposed event was seemingly a result of the adventurers showing their respect to the late dwarven goddess within the halls of Firehammer Hold, a temple dedicated to the Lady of the Fray which, at that point, had been recently conquered by a group of duergar led by a durzagon known as Nalifarn.

Haela Brightaxe

Demigod

Basic Information

Titles

Lady of the Fray
Luckmaiden
The Hard
Battle-sister

Adjectives

Haelan

Pantheons

Morndinsamman

Serves

Moradin

Attributes

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Symbol

Unsheathed sword wrapped in two spirals of flame

Realm

Wilderness of the Beastlands/Brux/Findar Endar

Portfolio

Luck In Battle, Joy Of Battle, Dwarven Warriors

Favored Weapon

Flamebolt (greatsword)

Following

Worshippers

Barbarians
Dwarves
Fighters

Alignments

NG, CG, CN

Domains

Luck (Fate)
War (Duels, Tactics)

Favored Aspects

Monsters

Aasimar
Aasimon (Particularly Agathinon)
Asuras
Bariaurs
Celestial dwarves
Einheriar
Hollyphants
Incarnates of courage
Quesar
Warden beasts

Minerals

Bloodstones
Carnelians
Jacinths
Jargoons
Red-hued jaspers
Red-hued orls
Red tears
Crimson-hued rubies
Red spinels
Red-hued ziose stones

Colors

Crimson
Scarlet
Steel-gray

Manifest- ations

Aura of silver flames with blue-white and amber sparks