[hider=Whurri Mooncheek][B]Name:[/b] Whurri Mooncheek
[B]Age:[/b] 51
[B]Gender:[/b] Female
[B]Race:[/b] Dwarf
[B]Physical Description:[/b]
[INDENT]Whurri’s as short as any dwarf, with a stout and rugged body that might remind one of a rock. She’s muscular and over the years she’s gotten a bit rounder than in her youth, but she’s still not particularly fat for a dwarf. Her hair is black with a few strands of grey. She keeps it in one long braid at the back of her head, which she rarely cuts as it’s a sort of sign of her wisdom and age. She’s got green eyes, a few wrinkles from frowning too much and tattoos in a tribal pattern that covers most of the left side of her face. Her clothes are of the finest fabrics she could find, extravagant, and often in the colours of red, blue and white. She wears a black cloak at all times, which she was sold under the belief that it would protect her from the supernatural in the world, but if it does or not she doesn’t know. She hasn’t experienced anything supernatural since buying it, so that’s something.[/INDENT]
[B]Skillset:[/b]
[INDENT]Whurri is a master at fighting with staves, whether they be long enough to wield with both hands or shorter to use one in each. The latter was a tactic she had to develop when the weaker staves broke. Her technique when fighting relies heavily on evading and doding, to strike back at the right moment. She’s competent with improvised weapons as well. It’s common these days for people to seek her out to become better at fighting themselves. She’s got the right mind and experience for it, but she doesn’t personally train just anyone. Whurri only accepts the most persistent and promising ones. They wouldn’t leave her alone otherwise. Her knowledge of nature is rather good. There are those who come to her for advice in certain matters. These matters are mostly concerned with love, life and death, but could also be regarding other topics.[/INDENT]
[B]Far Ancestry:[/b]
[indent]There once was a dwarf who dreamt not about digging deep for riches, but to climb the highest peak in the mountains above his home. He would tell others about this ambition of his, and they would laugh, because why would any dwarf want to reach the sky? The only one who didn’t laugh was his love. Yet, she didn’t want him to leave her. It would surely be a dangerous journey. However, one night while drunk he claimed he’d had enough of the mockering - that he would begin the climb the very next day. Of course, this resulted in further laughter.

A man of his word though, he left the dwarven city the next day to climb the peak.The climb was long and perilous, but despite the odds he made it to the top after days of climbing. Awestruck by the view, there he remained sitting for weeks until everyone below assumed him dead, then he climbed back down and returned carrying a pendant in the shape of a crescent moon. He told his story, how the moon itself had given him the pendant for paying it a visit.

The crescent pendant was passed down to his son, then to the son’s son, and so on among the Mooncheek family line. Whurri was given the pendant when her mother died. According to the legend, it was what kept the dwarf from freezing to death, keeping him warm and alive at the top of the mountain’s peak.
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[B]Character History:[/b]
[INDENT]She was born in the south, where the summers were hot and the winters mild. The climate on the surface didn’t concern many of the dwarves below though. Their city Thondarth was one of the largest dwarven cities, located in a bountiful area with a lot of ore, food and water. The water from the nearby sea was used to power their crude machines, being diverted down through carefully planned tunnels into watermills to power the production of food and refinement of ore. 

Her father was a smith, inventor and repairman. He was one of few dwarves whose skills were considered invaluable to the city. Her mother was a sort of mystic, a woman who could heal people with a simple prayer and a few herbs. Whurri had a lot of siblings when she grew up, and always had to fight to get any attention from her parents. It made her assertive at a young age. When she spoke most others would be quiet to listen, unless they were one of her siblings. 

In her early teenage years, she became the apprentice of a traveling monk. The dwarf had often visited the city before, so she knew him. Her parents didn’t object. She wasn’t sure if they would even notice that she was gone with all that they had to do, and everyone else they had to take care of. The dwarf monk taught her how to fight, meditate and respect nature. In a way, he was more like a parent to her than her own parents had been. He was intelligent, wise and had the experience of age.

No one lives forever though, and when her master died of old age Whurri wasn’t sure what to do with herself at first. They’d been traveling together for years by then. She thought about returning home, but figured she’d nothing to do there. There were still plenty of places she wanted to visit, so she went with a ship that sailed north and arrived in Dara.

She became a member of a group of adventurers there, who eventually ended up fighting King Pykas of Selander and carrying out the raid on Melazus. The ordeal with Melazus frightened her like nothing had before, and she wanted to find some kind of defence against it that would actually help.

Whurri returned to Dara with no clear goal for the future now that the group had disbanded. She used her share of the wealth from Melazus to buy an old mansion in the Shava district. It was long since abandoned and thought to be haunted, so she got it cheap. It was a large mansion with many rooms, an even larger garden and tunnels beneath it in the old catacombs. 

It took her years to restore it, but as she did she made friends in the city who came to help her. She invited the two most willing helpers to live in the mansion together with her once it was finished. They were a couple of young girls who had heard the stories about Melazus, the king and the sorcerer. They begged Whurri to teach them what she knew about the world, fighting and so on. She eventually accepted, and they became the first two apprentices in the new order of the moon. The name came later.
 
Whurri’s mansion became a sort of monastery over the years, where people would train and live. Her first two apprentices became respected monks that would train and invite new recruits into the order. Whurri kept to herself, spending her time down in the catacombs.[/INDENT]
[B]Psychological Profile:[/b]
[INDENT]Whurri is patient and stubborn, unmoving like a mountain when she needs to be or has set her eyes on a certain goal. She may favour peaceful solutions to problems, but she is not naïve enough to think that everyone can be negotiated with. She believes that everyone should learn how to defend themselves and those they love, so that nothing bad happens to them. It is partly why she started the order, and is teaching a select few how to properly fight at her home in the monastery. The order allows drinking and similar pleasures since she knows that it can help get someone through the day. 

She is considered wise, but claims that she knows nothing. It’s fairly common for people to seek her counsel and advice in personal matters, though she would like to know who begun that tradition because she finds it annoying and disturbing at times of meditation. She’s spiritual, worships nature and what spirits may protect it and the animals. When making decisions she would like time to think, to consider what solution may yield the best outcome. That is not always an option, and then she goes with any method that has previously proved itself true. Whurri rarely puts herself ahead of those in greater need, which makes her selfless. She can be a good friend to have, as she values her friends and enjoys time spent with them. She likes to laugh, and may even make a joke every now and then. She was more energetic and fun-loving in her youth though.

After the raid on Melazus she was afraid of traveling alone or even leaving the city for too long, which is how she ended up staying and buying her own mansion. She had nightmares for years, but thankfully they went away eventually. Whurri never meant to stay in Dara. Rosie and Isara convinced her that maybe she could do more good in the city than she could if she kept traveling. Her interest in Dara has little to do with the city itself. She wants what’s best for those in need, but stays in Dara for the chance to continue leading the order and spreading its beliefs. 
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[B]Equipment:[/b] 
[INDENT]
The crescent pendant – A family heirloom that is rumoured to have the ability to protect the one who bears it from extreme cold, and keep them safe in the worst of nature’s climates. Whurri believes there is some truth to the tale surrounding it, but thinks it is supposed to be more metaphorical until the pendant itself proves its dormant power.

Her weapon is a long metal staff which she had crafted with specific instructions for every part of it, so that it would be the best weapon she could purchase for money, with her own talents in mind. It can be split into two, either intentionally or if it was too block a too powerful blow. The two halves can easily be put together again with enough strength.

She wears light clothes and her black cloak in combat. Whurri relies on her own agility and ability to evade blows more than anything else. Her long braid is tucked into her clothes, so as to avoid getting it snagged on something.
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[b]Titles/Holdings/Power Base:[/b]
[indent]Whurri is the head of the order of the moon, the owner of its monasteries and its lands. She wants others to learn what her master once taught her, but also more that they may find useful in their lives. She is well respected in her own order, and among the poor, the homeless and the less fortunate. Her order gives out food to the poor, even shelter in some rare cases when someone is in desperate need of it. She has the poor on her side, without them having to wonder who she is really looking out for, but there are those who appreciate her for the improvements she’s made to the city too. 

There are around thirty monks living in the monastery in the Shava District, but a second monastery is being built close to the River Dara by another twenty monks. The majority of the members are female, but there are a few males too. Its mostly humans within the order, but most races are represented to some degree with dwarves as the second largest. The first two apprentices, Rosie and Isara, are the only ones to achieve the rank of master within the order other than Whurri. Rosie takes care of the monastery in the Shava District, while Isara is overseeing the construction of their new monastery outside the city.

The order gets its wealth from investments that Whurri once made into dwarven cities and business, not all of which are close to Dara, but she has a few of her siblings to help her keep it under control. The order also gets donations from some people who are feeling generous, or the new recruits who are forced to give up all their possessions to the monastery when they become members. It has happened that this has angered a wealthy family when one of their sons or daughters joined.

Whurri would like to retreat from the world, live alone, but it seems like there are those who still needs her so she doesn't do it. Her mere presence can demand respect, and that others listen when she talks. She prefers to remain passive and neutral, rather than start a war or feud with another city. She is for peace and prosperity. In diplomacy, she speaks for the poor and giving generously in a way that may make her less popular in wealthy circles. She respects traditions though, and doesn't want to see the city change too much other than when it comes to how it treats immigrants.[/indent]
[b]Relationships[/b]
[indent]TBD[/indent][/hider]