Thorne Lammergyre


This is a featured article, which means it is one of the best articles on The Edge Chronicles wiki. Despite this, we invite you to improve this page if you can.

"A recluse with a history that is hinted at by the old militia coat he sometimes wears, with a faded arm badge on which are embroidered the words "FIRST LOW TOWN REGIMENT, THE HIVE MILITIA"..."
—A description of Thorne[1]

Thorne Lammergyre was a grey goblin who lived in the Farrow Ridges in the Third Age of Flight. He grew up in Hive, but after the Battle of the Midwood Marshes and Glorious Revolution, he retreated to the Farrow Lake, with his pet lemkin Tak-Tak, for a quiet life away from the city.

He was one of the leading individuals in building the Farrow Lake community, and helped defend it from mire-pearlers in c. 619 ᴇ.ʏ.. When settlers began arriving soon after, he acted as the leader of the growing settlement.

Biography

Early life

Thorne Lammergyre grew up in Low Town, East Ridge, where his father owned a small tallow-candle store. The impoverished family lived in a timber-framed house, with 23 of them squeezed into two rooms. As a child, Thorne began working at a sap-press to earn money for the family.[2]

When he was twelve, he won a scholarship to the Sumpwood Bridge Academy, where he studied the properties of phrax crystals. At sixteen, is father died, and Thorne was forced to drop out of the academy to run the candle store.[3]

Military career

Battle of the Midwood Marshes

Thorne during the Battle of the Midwood Marshes
"There's crashing thunder and blinding lightning. Except it isn't; it's phraxfire. Explosions of phraxcannon. The dazzle of exploding shells. White-hot leadwood bullets are cutting through the air like buzzing woodwasps..."
—Thorne recounting the battle[3]

In c. 600 ᴇ.ʏ., Thorne was pressganged into the First Low Town Regiment of the Hive Militia, along with his friends Grablock, Grasp and Chafe Sireswill. Soon after, they began the long march to the Midwood Marshes. When Thorne reached the battlefield, the Great Glade Militia began firing upon his regiment, and he fell to the ground.[3]

The order was given for the troops to load, take aim, and fire, however, before Thorne could do so, a shell exploded just to his right. His comrades Grablock and Grasp were killed instantly, but Chafe survived for a few seconds, and Thorne watched his childhood friend die in his arms.[3]

Immediately after this, a Freeglade Lancer came charging towards Thorne, lance raised. Thorne lifted his phraxmusket and shot twice, however there was mud in the firing chamber, jamming the gun. He quickly grabbed the musket by the muzzle and swung at the lancer, striking his head and knocking him from his mount. Thorne then rushed over to the fallen lancer, drew his knife and repeatedly stabbed him.[3]

Thorne as a private in the First Low Town Regiment of the Hive Militia

The Glorious Revolution

"The Glorious Revolution, they called it. It was brutal, bloody. Kulltuft Warhammer was beheaded..."
—Thorne on the revolution[4]

After the battle, news quickly reached Hive of the defeat, sparking riots in Low Town. Kulltuft Warhammer's guards brutally suppressed these, massacring the rioters, whose ranks included Thorne's entire family. As the Militia returned home over the following days, talk spread of revolution.[4]

When Thorne himself arrived in Hive, and discovered that his family had been killed, he was enraged. He was enraged, and gathered a mob to march on the Clan Hall. They captured the Clan Chiefs and founded the Council of Hive. He would later be known as a "hero of the Glorious Revolution" for leading the rebels.[2]

After the Glorious Revolution, Thorne was plagued by a recurring nightmare of the Battle of the Midwood Marshes, and lived in fear that the the corruption would return to the city. He stayed in Hive for four years after the revolution, before eventually deciding to leave for the solitude of the Farrow Ridges, a remote, uninhabited region of the Deepwoods.[5] He slowly began to experience the nightmare of the battle less and less, although it never truly disappeared.[3]

Moving to the Farrow Ridges

The hive hut which Thorne lived in
"It took my father and Thorne ten years to build. And by the end of it, my father had taught Thorne everything he knew."
—Celestia to Cade on Thorne's early years in the Farrow Ridges[4]

In c. 604 ᴇ.ʏ., Thorne moved to the Farrow Ridges, where he met Blatch Helmstoft, who had been living there for two years. He became friends with Blatch and helped him construct his huge hanging tree-cabin. They spent eight years[6] working on it together, and by the end of this time, Blatch had taught Thorne everything he knew about construction.[7] He used these skills to build his own house, inspired by a traditional hive hut, which he made constant improvements to over the years.[8]

Meeting Cade Quarter

In c. 617 ᴇ.ʏ., Thorne met Cade Quarter, who had just finished building a small hut. After introducing himself, Thorne gave Cade two lakefish and said he would be back the next day. When Thorne returned, he brought Cade more lakefish and informed him of an incoming storm, before leaving again. The morning after that, when the storm had passed, Thorne travelled to Cade's hut again, to find it destroyed and Cade lying unconscious. Thorne brought him back to his hive tower and called for Celestia Helmstoft, Blatch's daughter, to administer medical aid.

Cade was unconscious for two days, and during that time, Thorne drew up plans for a proper weatherproof cabin for him to live in, which the pair began constructing after Cade's recovery. The pair, with some help from Celestia, spent the next three weeks building the new house for Cade. It was during this time that Thorne told Cade about his role in the Battle of the Midwood Marshes.

When the cabin was completed, Thorne became interested in the barkscrolls which Cade had been given by his father. He copied out the diagrams and notes, before preparing a practical model based on them.

Thorne, Cade and Celestia in the drowning pools

Rescuing Blatch Helmstoft

Four days later, Celestia came to Thorne asking for help. Her father had ventured into the water caverns the previous afternoon, but had not yet returned. The pair paddled across the lake in Thorne's coracle, picked up Cade, and then entered the third cavern.

The trio walked through the crystal caverns to the drowning pools, where they triggered the drowning tripwire. As the water level rose, they panicked and began shooting at the seal of the door with their phraxmuskets. Unable to break it open, they trod water as it rose towards the cavern ceiling, until Cade found a stalactite that had been marked by Blatch and pulled it. This triggered the floor to open and the group fell into the pool below, where they were imprisoned by the white trogs with Blatch.

Thorne, along with the other three captives, were soon moved to the High Cavern, and the Trog Queen informed them of their impending execution. Just before they were due to be killed, Gart Ironside dropped a rope ladder through the cavern roof and helped them escape. Thorne climbed the ladder to the hovering Hoverworm and flew the others to safety.

Intermediate years

For the next two years, life was relatively peaceful for Thorne. He continued to analyse the calculations of Thadeus Quarter, and constructed a small model using the phraxchamber from his phraxmusket. In c. 619 ᴇ.ʏ., he showed this to Cade and Celestia, before deciding to turn his attention away from phraxengineering in fear that the new technology could be used for warfare.

During this period, he helped Cade build a coracle, and also began eel farming. After seeing Phineal Glyfphith arrive at Farrow Lake, Thorne felt inspired to build an eel-corral, which was traditionally used by webfoot goblins to farm eels, their main food source.

Defending the Farrow Ridges

In c. 619 ᴇ.ʏ., mire-pearlers began arriving in the Farrow Ridges, with the intent of draining the lake and enslaving the locals. Thorne and his friends contacted anyone who they thought may be able to help, starting with the white trogs. The group ventured into the caverns and offered the Trog Queen large amounts of cave-cake, in the hope that she would agree to help. She declines, saying that she would only act if the mire-pearlers entered her caverns.

After the Doombringer arrived at Farrow Lake, Thorne and other important figures met at Blatch Helmstoft's cabin to discuss how best to defend their homeland. They decided that they would travel to Hive and buy a thousand phraxmuskets to equip the warriors of the hammerhead nations. This would be funded by selling a necklace that had belonged to Celestia's mother, and by entering Rumblix into the high-jump.

Mission to Hive

The winning bet on Dominix

Thorne, Gart, Cade and Rumblix flew for just over two weeks in the Hoverworm to reach Hive. Upon arriving in Hive, the group went directly to the Winesap Inn to meet with Thorne's old sergeant, Rampton Gleep. Rampton informed them of a collector named Landris Bellwether, who would buy Celestia's necklace. Later that day, after meeting with the prowlgrin breeder Tillman Spoke, the trio went to the Academy of Phrax Studies to meet Bellwether. In the meeting, Bellwether offered them 500 hivers for the necklace, noting that it would normally be priced at half that, but he felt it was worth extra coming from Thorne Lammergyre, the "hero of the Glorious Revolution".

In the high-jump, Thorne and Gart then decided to split the 500 hivers, betting 250 on Cade and Rumblix, and 250 on Whisp and Dominix. This meant that, despite Cade losing to Whisp, they still managed to raise the money needed to buy the phraxmuskets. Their 250 hiver bet became 10,000 from the 40-to-1 odds on Whisp.

With their winnings, the team purchased 1,000 phraxmuskets and 25 cases of ammunition from Tove Gripply, the quartermaster of the Hive Militia. At first, Gripply only offered 500 guns and a dozen cases of ammunition. Thorne then threatened to rip the "unearned battle honours" from Gripply's sleeve, and he relented, giving the supplies Thorne asked for. After acquiring the muskets, the group left Hive.

The Hoverworm returning to Farrow Lake in the blood storm

Return to Farrow Lake

On the return journey, disaster struck as the Hoverworm got stuck in a blood storm, the magnetised air currents ripping the phraxmuskets from the tarpaulin under which they were secured. All the guns were lost to the storm, and the group were lucky to make it out alive.

Shortly after returning to the Farrow Ridges, the mire-pearlers stormed Blatch Helmstoft's tree-cabin, capturing Thorne, as well as most of the other resistance leaders. They were kept as prisoners in the bowels of the Doombringer until the end of the battle, when the mire-pearlers were defeated.

Aftermath

After the battle, Farrow Lake had a population boom due to all the freed slaves. Thorne helped set up Fifth Lake Village, building housing for the new arrivals. He returned to studying phrax force, and decided to use the phraxchamber from the Doombringer to power stiltshops in the town. He functioned as one of the town's leaders as it grew in size. While Cade and Celestia were gone in c. 620 ᴇ.ʏ., Thorne cared for Rumblix, and then prepared a celebration for them in Sallowdrop Square when they returned.

Physical appearance

Thorne farming eels and wearing his Hive Militia jacket
"He had a broad round skull, a flattened nose, small ears pressed close to the sides, a square jaw. His eyes, set deep in his craggy features, were crystal blue..."
—A physical description of Thorne[9]

Thorne Lammergyre was thin, and unusually tall for a grey goblin. His bald head was round and broad, with a square jaw and small ears. His eyes were described as being dark crystal blue, set deep into his grey face.

Thorne usually dressed smartly, even when doing manual labour. He typically wore a topcoat and calf-length breeches, but no shoes, in tradition goblin fashion. He would also occasionally don his old grey militia jacket, for sentimental reasons. He began wearing it with increasing regularity during and after his trip to Hive in c. 619 ᴇ.ʏ..

Personality and traits

"It was thanks to Thorne that Cade had a full larder and a sturdy roof over his head. Thorne was always there for him when he had a problem..."
—Cade Quarter on Thorne's kind nature[8]

A kind and generous individual, Thorne was always willing to help others, whether he knew them or not. He was integral in creating the community in the Farrow Ridges, as he assisted both Blatch Helmstoft and Cade Quarter in the construction of their houses.

His experiences in the militia left Thorne seriously traumatised, and he spent years living with a recurring nightmare of the Battle of the Midwood Marshes. These experiences had a profound impact on his character, making him carefully consider the consequences of his actions. This was clearly shown after his initial discovery of phrax force, when he decided the Edge was not yet ready for the creation.

"Make it a thousand muskets and twenty-five cases of ammunition, and I won't rip those unearned battle honours off your sleeve."
—Thorne's outrage at the fact that Tove Gripply received badges for battles he never fought in.[4]

Thorne only ever showed anger at those who he felt were profiting off the suffering of others, such as the Clan Chiefs of Hive or the mire-pearlers who tried to enslave the inhabitants of Farrow Lake. Another individual he disliked, for this reason, was Tove Gripply, the quartermaster of the Hive Militia. He received awards for the battles he had a part in, however his life was never on the line, which Thorne resented. Thorne had a lot of respect for the Great Glade Militia, who fought against him in the Midwood Marshes, as he felt that they had a common enemy, the Clan Chiefs.

Thorne was somewhat of a jack of all trades, and quick to learn. The primary skills he learnt in the Deepwoods were construction (which he was taught by Blatch Helmstoft) and fishing. During his time at the Sumpwood Bridge Academy, he studied the properties of phrax, and he was able to put that knowledge to use, many years later, when decoding Thadeus Quarter's calculations. He was always willing to try new things, such as when he began creating an eel-corral after seeing Phineal Glyfphith arrive at Farrow Lake.

References

  1. ↑ Tumblr, 17/02/2014
  2. 1 2 Doombringer, Chapter 28
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6
  4. 1 2 3 4 Doombringer, Chapter 32
  5. ↑ In Doombringer, which takes place in c. 619 ᴇ.ʏ., Rampton Gleep says he hasn't seen Thorne for almost 15 years, meaning he didn't leave until c. 604.
  6. ↑ Blatch spent 10 years building his cabin, but Thorne only helped for 8 of those years, as he arrived in the Farrow Ridges 2 years after Blatch.
  7. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 26
  8. 1 2 The Descenders, Chapter 4
  9. ↑
This article is issued from Theedgechronicles. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.