Marjan Smith

 

Background

 

The village of Lorus is in Cortan, just on the boundary of the Kingdom. It is a small trading village, unremarkable except that it sits on a small ford, has quiet good soil and is surrounded by tribes.

 

Lorus is a mixed race village, the population is mostly Human, but are a few Dwarf families, and two Orc families living there; the village has a strong sense of community and comradeship.

 

Trading has kept Lorus alive. The village has established ties with many of the larger villages and towns further into Cortan, as well as the local tribes. It is this tribal trade which has kept the village going; Lorus will trade with anyone, and that openness and neutrality has meant that the village has rode out the many tribal conflicts and upheavals.

 

However Lorus’ trading status makes it a target for those who would wish not to pay for their food, and raiding by the tribes is not uncommon. The worst raids are during winter, when hunger drives the tribes mad.

 

One such tribe was the Duram Ogres, a strong tribe of Ogres and a few Orcs. They were under the rule of the immensely strong hand (fist?) of T’kran Duram. T’kran was an intelligent leader, he held his tribe together through guile as well as force. The tribe mostly hunted for food and traded a little. It was during a particularly harsh winter, when the faces of his starving family burned into him, that T’kran decided to raid Lorus.

 

The raid went badly wrong- during the attack a lucky shot by Lorus archer caught T’kran in the groin and he was captured. The tribes loyalty to their leader was so strong that no attempt to rescue him, (thus putting his life in danger) was made, instead his daughter Duell opened negotiations with the village. Lorus’ blacksmith spoke for the town. Jim Smith was as big as many of the Ogres, and not intimidated by Duell, as a result they had rather frank discussions.

 

Something happened during the talks, Duell liked the Human, and he learned to look at his world through her eyes. When it emerged that the villages had a problem with raiders and the starving Ogres an abandoned mine on their territory, an Alliance was proposed, a joining of the village and tribe. At first both sides laughed at the idea, convinced their negotiators had been bewitched by the other side, but with a creeping realisation both groups realised the negotiators were serious. Many tense meetings were held to discuss it.

 

T’kran, from his confinement spoke to his daughter and told her that he thought the Alliance a good idea, but would only ratify it for the tribe (or it would not happen), if he was released and she took Smith as her mate. She shocked at first and a slow week dragged by as both she and Smith (to who the village Elders had proposed that Smith marry Duell to seal the alliance), thought it over. They had many personal talks. During this waiting period the Ogres moved in to camp around the village, and all but acted as the protection the village needed without meaning to. The villagers fed the starving tribe and in their way also fulfilled the reason the tribe has come in the first place.

 

Before a decision was reached the village was attacked by a large, stupid, but determined Orc war band. A joint force of villagers and Ogres stopped them before they even reached the Ogre camp. In the victory celebration after Duell agreed to marry Smith. The Alliance was formed.

 

It was hard going at first, the two peoples did things differently. The Ogres had to adjust to the smaller, more ordered life in the village, and the villagers to the huge, loud Ogres. When the first profits from the fields, and yields from the reopened mine rolled in suspicions lessened considerably, and when Duell had her first child, the tension faded completely. Blood ties meant a lot to both sides, they understood they were one tribe, one village- Lorus.

 

Marjan was that first child, first of ten. He inherited his grandfathers strength, his mothers intelligence, and his fathers trade, becoming a Smith. As the First Child, son of the village leaders, and grandson to T’kran Marjan was expected to behave responsibility and properly at all times, be an living example of the Alliance. He was generally successful, and learnt to put his anger, his warrior instincts away until he needed them to defend Lorus.

 

In his 20th year trouble came. He’d taken over his fathers Smithy, and was training his own apprentice. A group of rich visitors came to Lorus and stayed over. They were looking for trade for Cortan merchants and were obviously nobility. Marjan got talking to several of them, particularly to one of their Clerics. They needed him to re-shoe their horses before they were on their way, and Marjan turned the job over to his apprentice while he continued to talk, then they were away.

 

After half an hour a rider galloped in the village. One of the visitors horses had lost a shoe and pitched its rider into a ditch, he had come for help. Almost all the village went to help, but the noble was lost. The horse was examined and it was revealed that the shoeing was badly done. The village went into shock- for one of their craftsmen, least of all Marjan, to let an apprentice make such basic mistakes was unthinkable, even those who were not in the crafts were surprised, it was carelessness of an unthinkable kind.

 

A special village Council was called. Marjan went before them, not to defend himself as many thought he would but to simply say that that he accepted full responsibility. The sentence was exile for at least 5 years. Marjan left that night in a deep depression, heading into Cortan.

 

Only an hour from the village he came across the camp of the visitors, the group were returning home with their dead. He went to slip round them but was found. Marjan thought he was in for a beating, or worse, but they invited him to join them for the night- as equally sorry that he had been up-rooted from his home as he was over the events before the death.

 

In the course of the evening the group became friendly and before the evening was over Marjan found himself agreeing to return with them and join their House. He was to contribute his skills as a Smith and the strength of his sword arm in the defence of the House.

 

Since he met up with that band Marjan’s activities have mostly been Smithing and guard duties. Marjan understands that as a new member of the House Cortan his duties are to be light and relatively harmless, but he itches to prove himself to the Baroness, to serve his House and in that way atone for the death he accidentally caused.