Bromgos Thunderhand
As a young lad, Bromgos spent far more time in the clan-hold’s libraries than his parents would have liked. One night, he stumbled (quite literally) over a rock that turned out to give access to a hidden collection. This collection contained some ancient mysteries of dwarven rune magic (though it took Bromgos some time to realize that).
Bromgos returned night after night, trying to make sense of the books. One night, as he was struggling to understand the ancient dialect the books were written in, the old librarian’s assistant Baern noticed that his secret stash was open and someone was inside. Confronting Bromgos, he was struck by the young Dwarf’s tenacity and curiosity. Baern decided to take Bromgos under his wing and teach him how to read the ancient books. Baern had not magical talents himself, but it quickly became clear that Bromgos did.
Over the next few years, Bromgos would sneak away at night after apprenticing to a mason all day and study the books. He knew magic was frowned upon in the clan-hold, but his curiosity definitely had gotten the best of him. Slowly but surely, with Baern’s help translating, Bromgos mastered several spells and had managed to record and translate many others from the ancient dialect they had been written in. Along the way he fashioned one of his mason’s hammers into a focus for his powers. It was a bit unconventional, but it allowed him to more easily conceal his studies.
In order to graduate as a full mason, he was assigned to lead several younger apprentices in the construction of a new archway. As a result spending his nights studying magic, he fell asleep (as he commonly did in the back section of his master’s workshop). He awoke to crashing noises. Quickly looking around, he saw the archway falling with his charges still below. He ran in and quickly drew some protective runes to protect the other apprentices.
In the end, no one was hurt, but his use of magic was definitely noticed. He was brought before the clan hold council and was sentenced to the loss of both of his hands (the traditional punishment for the study and use of magic in this hold). He was also stripped of his clan’s name and declared “Thunderhand”.
Bromgos was furious. His runic power had, after all, saved several lives with no bad side-effects. He vowed that if he were to somehow escape his fate, he would one day make sure that the runic powers were properly respected again in the clan hold.
Nearly resigned to his fate, one of the apprentices he had saved snuck into the jail the night before the punishment was to be carried out. The apprentice was able to free him from the cell and snuck Bromgos out of the clan hold.
Having been effectively exiled from his clan, Bromgos wandered the wilderness for years, practicing his skills and continuing to slowly translate the spells and notes he had transcribed. One day he came across a city that he learned was called Neverwinter. Gaining entry, he has begun searching for ways to return to the wilderness in search of more ancient sources of power.