Size: 120mm
Material: Resin (22 pieces+base)
Sculptor: M. Molovtzev
Painter: Silver Dream Studio
The Story of Grymaad Empty-Head
Legend has it that one day, deep below the earth, the dwarf-prince Grymaad was walking through the kingdom of the Utt-Ba’ard-Mongh, when fate dealt him an unfortunate hand. Just as he was passing through a heavy-set gate its girders broke, sending an avalanche of stone upon Grymaad’s head. Clambering from beneath the rocks, the prince managed to escape, but not before he was struck on the head by a large boulder.
The best dwarf healers were called upon to tend to Grymaad’s shattered skull. After some deliberation, to the devastating wound they applied a golden plate, a magic artifact with elven words of healing inscribed across it. After watching the procedure, either out of boredom or in jest, one of the dwarf brothers began to say that part of Grymaad’s brain was lost during this healing process. With time, the story caught on among the dwarves of Utt-Ba'ard-Mongh, and thus Grymaad became known as Empty-Head. The unlucky dwarf, however, never considered it an offense.
Grymaad lived on quite happily in the dwarf kingdom below the earth. His easy disposition kept the woes of the world at bay, and personal sorrows never weighed too heavily upon his shoulders. But no life is without its troubles. One day, fate struck again—snapping the cable of an elevator that carried within it twelve dwarves. In a moment’s time, the carriage hurtled downwards, falling deep into the gaping, fiery abyss of Fyrenn-Hal, taking forever the lives of its unhappy passengers. Grymaad was overseeing the lift mechanism that day, and so was blamed for the unfortunate deaths of his brothers.
Since the accident was not entirely his fault, the dwarf court of the Utt-Ba’ard-Mongh ruled that Grymaad should keep his life, but must also live in exile upon the surface of the earth, having no right to seek forgiveness, and no way to come back down to the dwarves’ underground kingdom.
Thus, on a cold and moonlit night, Grymaad left the underground dwellings and palaces of Utt-Ba'ard-Mongh for the first time in his life, seeking the mysterious world above.
***
The minds of dwarves are unyielding and greedy. Their passion for shimmering metals and precious stones is great, and often ignites their terribly hot tempers. Thus it was this passion for all things shining and lustrous that shaped Grymaad’s new life above the earth. He wandered near and far, seeking out the tombs of Elves, which he had heard were full of precious gems and magic trinkets. Soon, Grymaad learned that he could easily steal these elven treasures. At that time the elves defended their peace only from those who were known to walk upon the earth. Little did they know that a burglar from the underground had come up into the fresh air, and was lurking among their most sacred sites. Over time, Grymaad became the first of the twelve destroyers of elven tombs, quenching his thirst for gold as he pillaged the rich graves.
Once, as he traversed the bleak hills of the Bughuur-Dul Valley, Grymaad came across magic guardians of the elven tombs, Silver Crows, who gnawed out his left eye as they whirled about him screeching. Through this bitter experience, Grymaad discovered that these guards can only be seen in the reflection of magic night lights, and soon learned how to extract this light. Armed with his secret tool, he came back to kill them. During the battle with the ancient sentinels, Grymaad wounded one, only to be flooded with a familiar feeling. He hated to inflict death, and so decided instead to administer life, treating the wounded bird, which proved to be quite difficult. The magic crow survived, however, having acquired its true shape in the rays of the Scorching Mother Firren-Duo (Fyrren-Duu). Thankful for his life, the bird soon became Grymaad’s friend, a great companion and wise adviser to his everlasting wandering.
Upon another of his many adventures, Grymaad lost his leg in the snows of the Sheggh 'Ord pass, part of the mountains of Surad-Mongh. Spending days in the cold, his leg first froze over, and soon enough his right foot began to rot, exuding a horrifying stench that is familiar only to the most ugly and cruel creatures of this world. In the dark, Grymaad was followed by slobbering beasts, animals that glared at him with glowing red eyes, waiting to pounce as soon as he let his guard down. Tired of this ordeal, Grymaad found a cave where he settled and built a fire. With a tired shriek of pain, he swung his axe and let it fall to chop off his own rotten leg. Then, he lay back on the hard stone floor of the cave, and let his warm blood leave him. In the snow-covered mountains of Shagg 'Ord, the legless Grymaad remained for a long time, first consumed by burning heat, then utter cold, until he fell away into malicious delirium and finally a bleak darkness.
The silver crow, Rha'agheer, feeling responsible for his friend, flew off to find a magic salve made by the elven healer Fyrenn-Adunn. But the bird was unable to steal the healing concoction, he was not strong enough. As he feared the loss of his friend, he set off on a quest to find the dwarf brothers, Grymaad-Uttmaar and Finngar (Uttmaar / Thinnghaar). It was a risk for the elven bird to descend so deep into the innermost depths of Utt-Ba'ard-Mongh. Yet he made it with great difficulty, found the brothers, and told them the story of the exiled Grymaad.
Learning the fate of their exiled friend, the brothers of Utt-Ba'ard-Mongh set out to find Grymaad. They had always felt it was wrong that he was exiled so, and thus left Utt-Ba'ard-Mongh in secret, by the cover of night. Following Rha'agheer, who flew ahead and pointed out the way, the dwarves first reached the place of the elf, Fyrenn-Adunn, and began to devise a plan for stealing the much needed healing balm.
