Chainbearer Hragom

Chainbearer Hragom was a gruakhai leader, renowned for leading the widespread slave revolution known as the War of the Axe and Shackle.

Youth

Hragom was born in 1445, the third child of an enslaved family. By the age of 12, he was shackled and put to work in the lumberyards of the frigid north.

Slavery

For over 20 years, the gruakhai labored in the vast forests of northern Mundus Minor. He grew to be a strong and steady man, taking care of his older siblings after their parents succumbed to illness.
Between the years 1472 and 1478, the first signs of an uprising could be seen across the north. Gruakhai struck against their masters, and some escaped into the deep woods to live free of their bonds. Hragom felt the call of these freedom fighters, but could not leave behind what remained of his family.

The War of the Axe and Shackle

In 1478, a series of slave revolts lead to a massive uprising against the humans of the north. Hragom joined the fight, and was found to have a good head on his shoulders, leading a series of cunning strikes against caravans and convoys on the narrow forest roads.
In the same year, Hragom swore devotion to the god Guthnoc, and made an oath to not remove the shackles on his wrists until the last gruakhai slave on the continent was free. He adopted the moniker of Chainbearer, and began to pray to The Hierarch for wisdom and resolve.
Through his deeds he gained a great amount of renown, and over the next three years, he was chosen to be the Chief of Chiefs - one who would lead the separate gruakhai clans in the war against the humans.
In 1481, influenced by the tenets of Guthnoc and wishing to avoid further unrest and bloodshed, he issued his famous Decree of Peace. Many settlements on their march south surrendered without resistance, slaves freed and grudges settled.
After over 6 years of war, the humans and the gruakhai came to peace talks. Hragom's subjects had marched through most of the continent, but were unable to advance beyond the lands surrounding Chikukema and the Shrouded Peaks.
Neither side was willing to endure a protracted siege, a treaty was instead signed, recognizing the independence of the newly carved gruakhai realms. The issue of ending slavery within the territories the Chikukema League proved to be a concession the humans were unwilling to make, and thus Hragom was forced to accept a bitter peace, for doing otherwise would have resulted in much more bloodshed.

After the War

In the years following the peace treaty, Hragom steppped down as the chief of chiefs, and instead began to act as an advisor and wise man to the kings and chiefs of the newly independent gruakhai realms.
In the following decades, it became customary for newly crowned kings to visit him in person upon their inauguration, to seek his counsel and ensure their rule would be a successful one.
Hragom perished of natural causes in 1513, at the venerable age of 68. He passed away before he could fulfill the oath he had given, and was buried still bearing the shackles of his youth.