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Torm

My husband is a humble man. He is also the single greatest man I have ever known. That is why I served him, and that is why I married him.

Allea asked all of the Companions to contribute a chapter to her epic tome - to talk about themselves in their own words. Torm, of course, didn't have much to say. It isn't in his nature to talk about himself in any manner befitting an epic hero - he is the quintessential Paladin. So instead I am writing this tale of Torm: his wife and faithful companion, Gwendolyn.

I met Torm for the very first time when he died. Auril, the Ice-Bitch Goddess, had gone a little power-mad and was threatening to recover an old artifact she had used to store a large portion of her power. The Companions were combating her every step of the way and it had finally come down to a simple move - destroy the artifact. It just required a human sacrifice.

"Aye, there's the rub," to quote one of my ancestors. Someone had to willingly give up their life to destroy Auril's power. That choice was an easy one for my then future husband, though I have been told that more then a few people tried for a different course - but then my husband is as stubborn as he is humble. The choice was made, the powerful players of the Realms assembled, and Torm bar Dartorm sacrificed his life to save the world.

To others (and myself), this seems like such a superbly heroic act - the stuff of legends. To Torm, it was just part of the path he embarked upon. It was a fairly straightforward and mundane act. It was part of the job of being a good man - and a great Paladin. So Torm died and came to stand before his Lord, TORM. This is when I first met the man who would be my constant companion for the rest of my life.

I have wept just three times in the entirety of my life (and since I am a Dragon, that is quite a long span of time). The last time I cried is a private matter between my husband and I. The second was when he asked for my hand in marriage. The first was the witness of his sacrifice and what he said to his god next.

TORM asked him very simply, "DO YOU WANT TO BE A GOD?" My love replied just as simply, though in complete and humble awe, "Thank you my Lord, but no. That is not my path. My path is down there." It was then that I fell in love.

TORM returned him to life (and that story is well told by Allea and the other Bards of the Realm) and offered me as a gift - a Silver Dragon mount for the brave Wyrmslayer Paladin. That is how I met my husband.

The only other tale that bears telling (for again, the great storytellers of the land know his other stories, and tell them better than I) is one of Jergen Brevith. Jergen has long terrorized the Companions and many innocent people in his quest for personal power and gain. He has been their supreme arch-nemesis, and time and again has escaped justice and retribution for his crimes. That being said, one evening, Torm and I had dinner with him.

Of course it was a little more complicated than that. Jergen, as he is want to do, suddenly appeared in our home in Saerloon. Before my husband or I could act, he casually informed Torm that he had poisoned a single person, here in Saerloon, and that only he had the antidote. The man would die within 5 minutes unless Torm gave an oath that he (and I) would come with Jergen to Waterdeep for the evening. He also made Torm promise that he would not try to apprehend or harm Jergen for the next 12 hours. Torm was able to tell Jergen was not lying and could do nothing but accept his offer. He told us where to meet him, and then promptly disappeared. So we teleported to the Great Palace Inn, where we were seated at a dinner table overlooking the bay. Jergen arrived a minute or two later.

"You get one question about what just happened, and then after that, I must insist we only talk of art and life and other enjoyable things."

"Who did you poison?"

"Ah, direct and to the point. I poisoned myself, actually. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you for some reason thought I was bluffing. But I had to be telling the truth, and dinner was going to go much better if I hadn't poisoned anyone of matter. Dragon Sand is nasty stuff - I wasn't even certain my partial immunity would keep me standing for the five minutes I needed. Now let us talk of those rare orchids in your garden and how the fair Simbul is doing."

And so we talked - mostly just he and my husband. For a single evening, two foes where able to chat like old friends about philosophy and history. Jergen confessed a longstanding crush on the wildest of the Seven Sisters and he surprised Torm with a poem of his own composing, about Torm's part in the final battle of Myth Drannor. Hours passed, and just before his period of grace was over he embraced Torm and thanked him for this respite from their roles. He left just five minutes before Torm's oath expired.

Later that evening I found my husband in our garden, near the "forget-me-nots." He wasn't so much sad as contemplative: "Another time and place, and we might have been brothers. I hope there is still time for him to change his path."

This is the man I love, my husband. This is Torm.
--Gwenathyltha beth Torm