Inain Lightlode

Inain Lightlode is a dwarven cleric.

Abilities

Inain has been designed for a 'generic fantasy' board, but does not work on D&D rules; he is a priest, not a warrior, and cannot do 'cleric spells'. He is a generic fantasy dwarf, with the usual strong constitution and mechanical way of thinking.

The clan's only priest, he spends most of his time working the mine with everyone else. This means he's as burly as the rest of his mates. He can't swing a sword, but he can throw a punch. He can use a range of mining picks and tools, but would never wield these against somebody.

Appearance

Inain is around normal height for his clan, at 1.3m (4'3"), and stocky. He has a full, black beard, kept neatly trimmed to around collarbone length. His hair is shoulder-length. His eyes, framed by wrinkles that tell of frequent smiling, are brown.

When working in the mine he wears safety gear like everyone else. At other times he wears simple loose-fitting shirt and trousers of white linen. For priestly work he wears ceremonial robes. He only has one set of these, so although he keeps them clean they look as though they're worn regularly. There are a few neat darns and mends.

It's not easy to tell behind the beard, but he wears a devotional symbol around his neck. It was a present and he's fond of it.

Religion

The god of the clan is Urmannel, or Urman'el, where the apostrophe represents a glottal stop. Urmannel is along the lines of a Big-Dwarf-in-the-Ground figure. (Dwarven imaginations do not place their gods in the sky.)

The clan dwarves don't believe in their god as such; they merely accept that he's there, and there is an Understanding that he is probably as busy as they are, so best not take up too much of each other's time. Prayer is along the lines of a friendly chat (or a reproachful one, depending on circumstances). Inain is much more serious in his belief.

Inain's priestly duties are part-time: he performs weddings, funerals and other rituals as required, and helps out the clan archivists when an extra hand is needed with research or filing. His personal devotions include praying daily (a proper one, not a quick chat), fasting once a year and generally trying to live a good, harmless life.

His author really wants to name his place of origin Zwergenberg, for no other reason than dorkiness.

Boards

Inain was created for [The Consultant]? storyboard, in which he has been sent by a clan member to consult [Archmage Algernon]? about the advisability of digging under hallowed ground (and how far under).

Inain in particular was sent because it was thought a priest ought to be able to cope with the spiritism side of the question (which would quickly bore most dwarves, who like concrete answers and minimum bureaucracy in their rules). With one thing and another, Inain's duties haven't allowed him to set off on this quest until Old Pon Nase, the senior geologist who set it up, became Dead Pon Nase and thus hard to reach for clarification.

Inain has begun to suspect there's more to the quest than Pon let on (why seek out such an important mage for a simple question?), but until he finds Algernon, he won't know for certain. And Thirty-Two East Tunnel won't be completed.