Dûnya Dragonbane

Queen Dûnya Truesilver, called Dragonbane, was the sixth sovereign of Khûm, infamous for her dragonslaying exploits. The niece of the former king Havhed the Hammer, she was a deeply controversial figure in dwarven history, some regarding her as hero of the common folk, others as a glory-seeking brigand.

Appearance

In 68 2A, Dûnya was in the prime of her life. Her dark red hair was a mass of wild curls, cascading down the left side of her head. The right side of her head was marred with a wide swath of scar tissue, her right ear shriveled by dragonfire. Her skin was dark and lustrous as soil and there was an unquenchable fire in her eyes. She sometimes wore a thin mithril circlet, denoting her station as queen, but she kept the Dûvadaz socketed in the head of Zhagkûnar, her dragon-hunting spear. She was not fond of dressing her station and would often guise herself as a common dragonslayer.

History

First Age

Born a Truesilver of Truethrone in 802 1A, Dûnya wanted for nothing. The niece of King Havhed, Dûnya was surrounded by the dwarven royal court from a very young age. Apprenticed to her father Havdon Truesilver, she had no interest in gemcutting and instead desired nothing more than joining the crownguard. When her cousin Nazan Truesilver, Havhad's son and heir, died in a mining accident in 881 2A, Dûnya was unexpected elevated to the role of Havhad's new apprentice.
The two shared an uncomfortable decade together, Dûnya never quite capable of filling her cousin's shoes. A second shock came in 899 2A, when Thanatos invaded Auros and the orcs called for aid. King Havhed the Hammer answered that call, marshaling the crownguard and marching south to blunt the undead advance. One of Dûnya's greatest disappointments in life was that she, now the heir to the dwarven throne, was not permitted to accompany him.

Second Age

Dûnya spend the war's three decades mired in anxiety and boredom. As eager as she was for any report of her uncle's heroics, she was equally exhausted by the councilors and advisors he'd assigned to teach her the finer points of statecraft. When reports came of his death in 30 2A, Dûnya was stunned with the realization that she was now queen.

Reign

The first days of Dûnya's reign were beset by troubles. Considering the suspicious circumstances of Havhed's death, the people were crying for Khûm to withdraw from the Sister Empires once and for all. At the same time, the Hammer's ban on imported alcohol was deeply unpopular and transformed Port Sumpton into a smuggling hive. Human refugees, displaced by the Night Wars, were pouring into the Vamrathûl, ferrying a deadly new disease with them. A zealous new religious movement, calling itself the Mystriarchy, was accruing power amongst the Elder Clans.
On top of all that, red dragons, fresh returned from their flight, were wreaking havoc across the kingdom.
One of Dûnya's first acts as queen was to withdraw from the Sister Empires in 31 2A, the first of the three world powers to do so. To ease the public's outrage, she unseated her Master of Treaties, the controversial Good Minister Gizla, in 41 2A and repealed her predecessor's ban on the importation of alcohol. The black bloat and the Mystriarchy proved more insidious problems to solve and, in truth, Dûnya had no appetite for humanitarianism nor court intrigue required. The rampaging red dragons, however, proved much easier to solve.

Dragonslaying

In 53 2A, Vhaskolak Coin-Counter, an adult red dragon, returned to its lair in the Cracked Rim and laid waste to the surrounding countryside, including Fineforge, home of Clan Bladeforger. Hungry for any excuse for action, Dûnya gathered what clanguard she could and marched for Fineforge, intending to drive the dragon away. Against all odds, she managed to catch the famously paranoid dragon off his guard and slew the beast. She was immediately heralded as a hero, not merely for slaying the beast but also for donating all its sizable hoard to the displaced underclan.
Her popularity exploded overnight and Dûnya rode high on this sudden surge of glory. When a second dragon – Grazthaka Flamebelly– reared her head in 59 2A, Dûnya leapt at the chance to defeat another dragon and improve her standings with the people. Now, accompanied by a crownguard replenished by volunteers, she marched into the Mountains of Vapor to challenge the dragon. After an extensive hunt through the misty mountains, Dûnya emerged victorious and, once again, showered the dragon's treasure on the surrounding underclans.
Her reputation as a champion of the common people growing, Dûnya began to face her first resistance from the dwarven aristocracy. Many of her policies were challenge by the Peer Congress and, while the crownguard remained loyal as ever, members of the Elder Clans and even her own Clan Truesilver were beginning to take position against her. Searching for any means to shore up support, she canvassed the kingdom for any sign of another foe to fight. Upon hearing rumor of the Recluse nesting in the Glittering Hills, Dûnya summoned her soldiers for another dragon hunt. This time, the reward was substantially smaller, their prey not quite the rampaging terror the previous two had been.
All while Dûnya hunted her dragons, black bloat continued to savage the kingdom and the Mystriarchy rose in power and prominence by denying the cure to any who would not espouse their teachings. Dûnya remained popular among the underclans and the military, however, which seemed to please her well enough. Her next dragon, however, was not so easily fooled as the past three. Umbrakhar the Extinguished, unusual for its melanistic scales, descended upon her camp in the dead of night and nearly roasted the crownguard to cinders, had not a sharp-eyed sentry spotted the dragon's shadow against the stars. Dûnya, in gratitude, raised that sentry – Hvaka, called the Hornwinder – as a thane on the spot in 63 2A.
Her streak broke in 65 2A, however, when the newly-hatched Tyrodax the Wyrmling terrorized the human settlement of Skyhold and retreated within the unfinished statue of Havhed in the Range of Sovereigns. While the crownguard lay in wait outside the statue, Dûnya and a select squad of her dragonslayers infiltrated the statue through access tunnels to stir the dragon to fight. Little did they know the trap set for them as Tyrodax's mother – Zhoraska the Red Matron – stooped upon the unsuspecting crownguard. Working together, both dragons made short work of the dwarven army, leaving only Dûnya and her twelve dragonslayers – Makem the Mumbler among them – as survivors.
Her army obliterated, her support from the Elder Clans all but nonexistent, Dûnya was forced to consider drastic measures to have her revenge.

Personality

Dûnya was a natural thrill-seeker. Bored by the pomp and circumstance of the court, she craved action, adventure and most of all glory. She listened long to tales of victory and heroic sacrifice from the battlefields of the Night Wars and, such a fate denied her, she ought it wherever she could. Her authority and rank she also found nettlesome; she was fond of dressing and comporting like the common soldier, the life circumstance refused her.
Above all, Dûnya was concerned with her legacy. It mattered deeply to her how she was remembered; Havhed's shadow loomed long over her own reign. To this end, she was capable of deeds of great neglect, if they did not coincide with her own legend. Thanks to her inaction on black bloat during her reign, it killed thousands and became a problem for dwarven generations to come.

Relationships

Dûnya always preferred the company of common soldiers and petty dwarves to the nobles and courtiers of Truethrone. It was with her roster of rugged dragonslayers – hardbitten veterans of a dozen dragon battles – that she was most comfortable. Among them, she trusted Makem the Mumbler as her squire, Zhed as her bodyguard, Hvaka Hornwinder as her herald and Greqav as her scout. When push came to shove, however, she abandoned them – all save Nebez Queenshadow – to rot in Mystriarchy custody.
Among her retinue, Dûnya most valued her relationship to Nebez Cloudpeak, called Queenshadow, the Poet-Errant. Wherever she went, the queen was careful to ensure the silent scribe was not far away, that they might observe all her deeds to be recorded in the annals of dwarven history.
During their time together, Umber and the queen developed a romantic rapport. Both rough-and-tumble by nature, Dûnya admired him for his exploits and tales of worldly adventure, while Umber fell for her reckless charm and mischievous spirit.

Campaigns

The Menagerie

• Khûm: In 67 2A, Dûnya hired two mercenary companies – Menagerie and the Iron Word – to hunt Tyrodax the Wyrmling and Zhoraska the Red Matron, the final two red dragons remaining in Khûm. When both parties arrived in Truethrone, she disguised herself as a common dragonslayer to encourage drunken mercenaries to do battle. Her ruse was only revealed the following night, when she summoned both commanders to a joint meeting, asking them each to convince her why they should be hired (Chapter 3). Before she could make her decision, however, the Peer Congress – doubtless influenced by the Mystriarchy – voted to deny her access to the stockpile, forbidding her from hiring the companies. Not to be outdone, she snuck her preferred company – the Menagerie – out of the city and towards Krazvadan, where she revealed her ruse (Chapter 4). While the rest of the army marched north, Dûnya, her dragonslayers and the Commander's Tent marched to Tyrodax's lair. Along the way, Umber and the queen struck up a flirtatious rapport. Working together, they managed to slay the dragon – but not before a Mystriarchy force apprehended them (Chapter 5 – 6). As they were escorted northward toward the Sanctum in Stone, Zhoraska swore undying revenge on Dûnya. As part of the escape plan, Umber kissed the queen and, in response, she laid him out with a punch. While the mercenaries managed to escape, Dûnya and her dragonslayers were taken to the Sanctum but the wueen was able to get a message to her foreign allies, asking them to hire Yorgos of Nyre to bring his army to spring her from Mystriarchy custody (Chapter 7 – Chapter 8). When Dûnya finally rejoined the company at Snowperch, she came with a battalion of Iron Word soldiers, much to Chimera's chagrin. At the war council meeting, however, Dûnya drank poisoned ale and was instantly petrified (Chapter 13). It was Griffon who both unpetrified her and avenged her poisoning by throwing Brother Sorav from the mountain (Khûm – Chapter 14).

Name: Dûnya Truesilver
Epithet: Dragonbane
Ancestry: Dwarf
Born: 802 1A (Truethrone, Khûm)
Reign: 30 2A – 68 2A
Height: 4'0"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Brown
Alignment: Chaotic Good
First Appearance: Khûm – Chapter 3