Legends & Lore: Ludwig Boltstorm
Today marks the start of a new series of articles about legendary characters, items and places in Etheria called "Legends & Lore". This week we take a look at one of the legendary personalities of Etheria, first seen on a card bearing his name from the Forcemaster vs. Warlord set -- [mwcard=FWC10]Ludwig Boltstorm[/mwcard].
Ludwig Boltstorm hails from the Anvil Throne, and is known across Etheria as one of its foremost minds, inventors, forgemasters and visionaries.
During his formative years, Ludwig (or Oudeeg, depending on how you transliterate the Anvillar Dwarvish) served as an apprentice to two of the top forgemasters in the Dwarven Lands -- Anzibar Orth (now deceased) and Forgrom Hammerfell. This was unusual in and of itself, because most masters do not take apprentices who have already served under (what they consider) to be their competitors. However, an exception was made in the case of Ludwig, since he had already developed a reputation for his distinctive and superlative craft, even in his first year. When Anzibar was found dead (foul play was suspected though never definitively proved), Forgrom Hammerfell invited Ludwig to be his journeyman apprentice, which he accepted.
During the remainder of his time with Forgrom, Ludwig learned much about the unique minerals and metals of the Anvil Throne region, knowledge that he would put to use much later in his life when he eventually teamed up with Forgrom and a small, secretive council of Dwarven Mages to help perfect the development of [mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ05]Harshforge Iron[/mwcard]
After many years of service to Forgrom, he eventually earned the title of forgemaster in his own right. Rather than starting his own practice in the Anvil Throne, he journeyed to the southern, desert expanses of Dsjer-Tet, where he stayed for almost twenty years, learning from the smiths and Mages there who still venerate the Elemental Lords, and practice the secrets of their arts.
Ludwig's nickname "Boltstorm" comes from the invention of his repeating crossbow, one of many creations that have elevated the perception of Dwarven ingenuity far beyond the mountain kingdom's borders.
He famously cites his travels in the Dsjer-Tet as inspiration for the the device.
One day, while in the marketplace, he noticed a weaver who had tinkered with his loom so that it was able to weave two pieces of cloth at the same time, one on the upstroke and one on the downstroke. Ludwig claims the repeating motion of the device served as his stroke of genius. Much to the consternation of the weaver (who had never seen a dwarf before), Ludwig ran to the loom, and began examining the wheels and spindles which drove the apparatus, making notes on his arms and stomach with a ever-marking stylus (another of his inventions) that he always carried.
Later, using those notes as a springboard, he developed the repeating crossbow, and much later, the repeating scorpoion, a massive weapon of war that the Anvil Throne commisisioned to defend against Blood Wave invasions.
Since his return to his home country, Ludwig has been instrumental in the creation of many new Dwarven notable objects, many of which involve Harshforge iron. As such, he has become something of a target of the Arraxian Crown, as well as mercenaries working (supposedly) for the throne of Ivarium.
