Iggy Neous

Iggy, like many Genasi, doesn't know his true parentage. Instead, he was raised by an old dwarvish couple, unable to have children themselves anymore, tough as any dwarf even in their old age. Despite appearances, he never stuck out in his dwarven family as much as you'd expect. He always had a home in his family, but his true home was with a hammer and anvil.

Iggy sought out the forge when he was 10, requesting an apprenticeship with his cousin, Layla. She was the best blacksmith in the clan, everybody knew it. She humored him a bit, amused by his enthusiasm, but Iggy took to the hammer in a way nobody expected. Soon enough, he was a smithing prodigy, outshining even her. It wasn't long before he was on his journeyman's quest, learning more about the craft from as many masters as he could. With the connections he'd made, and the reputation of his original mentor, it was only a matter of time before he joined the Blacksmith Guild. And damn did that boy make them more money than they knew what to do with.

Now, while many dwarves and smiths worshipped Moradin or even Laduguer, Iggy, was a bit different. No, he found solace in a mysterious deity, his one connection to his parents, as an emblem of a strange deity known as the Traveler was left on his bundle as a child. Not knowing what it was, his parents initially did nothing to sway this faith, but Iggy, later in life, found the truth of the emblem in his journeyman's travels. And in that moment, he retroactively realized felt the Traveler had touched his life in many ways. One aspect he learned of, for example, was that of his connection to artifice. It was through his forge he prayed to the traveler. Next to his tools, he kept a small altar, so as not to draw attention, but so that the Traveler may look over his work. And he did, and apparently, he approved.

One day, the Traveler spoke to him through the red hot forge. And Iggy talked back. He'd known that the Traveler's blessing was one to be wary of, but it was one he cherished. One day, after speaking to the traveler, Iggy was moved to create the most magnificent warhammer he'd ever made. He worked with his mother and father to embed beautiful jewels and to enchant it, truly it was a masterpiece. A masterpiece which he'd later give to Amadaeus Andromedus, a powerful nobleman who'd taken interest in Iggy's work.

Now, generally speaking, it's considered impolite for blacksmiths to screen their patrons for the reasons they have interest in taking up arms. After Amadeus, though, Iggy couldn't understand why. As Amadeus was no simple noble, he was preparing to stage a military coup, which he carried out using Iggy's hammer. He rose to tyrranical power, using Iggy's hammer. He destroyed the village he called home, using Iggy's hammer. After so much grief, Iggy joined a rebellion, and Iggy, using Iggy's halberd, he took back his hammer. With two of it's original contributors dead and gone, he holds this one of a kind weapon until he finds a worthy carrier. And though he still speaks to him, he no longer takes the superstition about the Traveler's gifts so lightly.