Eursda Veinbreaker
Marshal Eursda Veinbreaker (a.k.a. Deeproot)
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early Life and Rise
Eursda was born in the Artisan's District to a mason-clan. She was apprenticed as a stoneward - a kind of military engineer responsible for wallworks, defenses, and subterranean reinforcements. She gained renown after helping shore up the lower vaults during the Tunnel Quake of 689 LE, earning her clan's rare approval to shift from a trades path to military service. Rose through the ranks not by valor alone but through tactical brilliance, an encyclopedic knowledge of siege logistics, and fierce loyalty to Schruichterta.
Ving Tulgrim Goldmantle appointed her Marshal of Holdgate in 733 LE, recognizing her foresight in adapting city defenses to aerial assault threats.
Siege of Blackwake Flame
In 734 LE, with Ving Tulgrim away on a diplomatic mission to Spaf, Eursda commanded the city's defense against Azirkrun the Ash-Maw and his dragonborn legions. Seeing the Flame-Cleft Wall overrun on the third afternoon of the siege, she ordered the collapse of the approach tunnel beneath it. This deliberate sacrifice killed many dvaer defenders on the wall, but also stalled the dragonborn advance. She coordinated the ignition of the oil trenches during the fourth assault, driving off Azirkrun and preserving the city. She is widely credited with saving Schruichterta, though she refused personal glory. She attributed victory to "the stone, the flame, and the fallen." She never questioned the necessity of her decision to collapse the Flame-Cleft Wall, but she lived guilt for the fifty-odd dvaer defenders that died as a result of her command for the rest of her life.
Later Life and Legacy
Eursda served as Marshal for nearly three decades following the siege. She implemented sweeping reforms to Holdgate readiness, troop rotation, and flame-based siege deterrents. She retired in 761 LE to a quiet life as a master-at-arms and mentor to young Spou warriors.
She is buried in Hero's Hall beneath the Crucible Grounds, and she is the only Marshal interred there rather than in the military crypts. On her tomb, a golden plaque bears the inscription The stone did not yield, nor did she. Her rune-marked bronze hammer, Vrakturn, is mounted above the Kvuur Stone. The standing Marshal ceremonially touches it each Day of Flame.
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