Underpriest Brogni Champion Lore
As the Dwarven holdouts of Gloomdeep Hold and the Skyiron Dominion recovered following the under-empire’s destruction, they began a race to the bottom. Both settlements dug deep into the earth to discover new materials, which they traded. Most prospectors chose to reopen the tunnels that were closed to slow the Demonspawn invasion of their realm many years before, hoping that these ancient passageways contained untapped veins of wealth. In their grand search, they discovered long lost archives of Dwarven lore — grand rune libraries that had been either abandoned or overrun by Siroth’s legions.
When word of these discoveries reached the Runekeepers of Gloomdeep Hold, several search parties were dispatched to bring back the troves of ancient knowledge. Few Runekeepers were as wise and revered as Brogni — although his journey to recover the lost artifacts would change him forever.
In his expedition, Brogni led a number of Runekeepers carefully through the passages that once swarmed with the life of his ancestors. Eventually, they reached a perfectly preserved archive — one that the Runekeepers of the time had barricaded, to protect it from Siroth’s forces. Brogni left his subordinates to begin the laborious cataloging, while he ventured deeper into the catacomb. As he wandered, he noticed an inviting green light emanating from deeper within, accompanied by a soft and sorrowful trill. Mesmerized, he delved deeper, abandoning his team. Finally, Brogni arrived in a primeval cavern, its walls aglow with glittering emerald, a gargantuan crystal at its heart. lts body thrummed with light, and the keening that had ensnared Brogni’s mind seemed to originate from this vast mineral. Sitting before this weeping gem and listening to its lament, he stretched out a hand to calm it.
When Brogni withdrew his hand, centuries had passed around him. His skin had turned a pallid gray, while his mind raced with the wailing song of the earth. He witnessed a doom that waited for the Dwarves, should they continue their path. He had to tell his people what he had heard. Taking some fragments of the grand crystal of proof of his quest, Brogni ventured back up to the surface.
Obsessed with what he had learned from the crystal’s song, he would become known as the Underpriest — an ancient cleric who preached of the scourge of the crystals, and Teleria’s lament. While he is bizarre to some Dwarves, many have sought the wisdom of this ancient, sallow-faced man who decries the Dwarves’ renewed expansion — for they would bring upon themselves a greater fall than their collapse at the hands of Siroth’s invasion.
Underpriest Brogni Storyline
Vast and wealthy is the Dwarven realm that lies beneath the Mountains of Despair, its halls of carven stone and gold glitter with splendor in the light of myriad braziers. But the Mountains are ancient, their caverns run far beyond the domain of the Dwarven King into the bowels of Teleria, and many are the mysteries that lie waiting in the shadows. There are some among the Dwarves who seek these mysteries. Such madmen willingly abandon the safety of their holds and venture into the forgotten passages below to live their lives as hermits. Most are never heard from again. But for every thousand failures, there might be one with strength enough to become a legend.
A long time ago, Brogni served the kingdom as one of the Runekeepers – clerics charged with gathering and preserving Dwarven lore. He was wise and learned in the ways of history, a mentor for many of his younger peers, and an advisor to the King who ruled at the time. But the deeper he delved into the legends of yore, the more questions arose in Brogni’s mind. He became obsessed with the origins of his race, the ancient birthplace that was said to lie far below the crust of the earth at the heart of the Mountains. With no answers to find in the vast libraries of the capital, he vowed to unravel the enigma on his own. His apprentices and loyal warriors at his side, Brogni left the realm of the Dwarves and set out to explore the ancient ruins that lay waiting beneath his very feet.
For years his expedition forged their path into the unknowable depths, gathering crumbs of the past with every ruin they discovered. The dangers they had faced are too terrible to recount, and one by one Brogni’s followers fell in battle, their remains entombed with what little honors could be provided. Before long, the old Runekeeper was left alone, wandering in the darkness without any hope of salvation. It was then he came across a cavern aglow with emerald light. Precious gems of all forms and sizes grew from the walls, glittering in the unnatural light that pierced the gloom. And amid the silence of the underworld, a soft trill full of sorrow and yearning called out to Brogni; mesmerized, he entered and followed the sound until it led him to a gargantuan crystal that sat at the center of the cave. Its polished body pulsed with light, and the keening that had ensnared Brogni’s mind appeared to have originated from within. There he sat down and listened to the song of the earth.
Many centuries had passed, and all memory of Runekeeper Brogni faded into dust. Thus there was no Dwarf left living to recognize the ancient warrior when he emerged from the deep to join his kin in the battle against Demonspawn. Yet they could respect his skill and the hatred he carried for the invaders. With his mace of arcane crystals burning bright, the stranger smote horror after horror, while the spell chants he uttered wreathed the Dwarven warriors in protective magic. In time, Brogni revealed his name and his origins – in part – though he would not speak to any soul of the wonders he had witnessed or the mysteries unraveled. For the time being, his only goal was to aid the Dwarves in their return to the surface and to ensure the tainted creatures of Siroth could no longer threaten the world beneath, and so he had pledged himself to the new Mountain King.
Now Brogni accompanies the Dwarven host to the world above. He is a strange creature, a cleric of an unknown religion who seems to have no interest in converting others. Yet. But whatever strange rituals he follows and whatever beliefs he holds, it is clear the Underpriest is no friend to the Demonspawn or their minions. That alone makes him a valuable asset to those who seek to further Lumaya’s goals in Teleria.