Description:

Aukan stand 7 and a half feet tall and weighs between a tad over 300 pounds. His skin is blue-gray, mottled with dark and light patches, vaguely reministant of the granite stone of his home in the Sunrise Mountains. Lithoderms—coin-sized bone-and-skin growths as hard as pebbles—speckle his arms, shoulders, and torso. His skull has a jutting eyebrow ridge, wide jaw, and a couple of distinctive lithoderms as well. His eyes are a brilliant blue and they often seem to glow a little from underneath his furrowed brow. When he smiles however, his stern, dominating visage is transformed into a warm and friendly, albeit it still unusual looking, face, and his friendly nature shines through.

Background:
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Growing up with his tribe, as they made their annual migrations up and down the length of the Smoking Mountains, Aukan knew little of the outside world beyond the clan of dwarves with which the tribe met each year to trade. As he grew older, he became a useful member of the tribe, hunting well and proving his agility time and time again in races, cliff climbs and other feats of dexterity and acrobatics. Not perhaps as strong as some of his companions, he was definitely more agile however, and took pride in his speed, balance and flexibility.

In his 25th year however, Aukan fell down a dwarven mine shaft, and broke his leg. His tribe, folllowing their own traditions, moved onward and effectively exiled him as is their way. The dwarves of the Clan Hammerhand cared for him, and over the next year, he became a familiar sight in their tunnels, limping them hunched over. One of the few places with decent headroom was the forge rooms, and he began to learn the skill of weaponsmith, helping out his dwarven hosts - and becoming fast friends with the lead weaponsmith. The dwarf, named Bolgar Senior, had several sons, of which Bolgar and Fordin were two who Aukan particularly liked. The older son, Bolgar was unusual as dwarves go, being able to call upon magics, and often traveled with the dwarven brigades as they patrolled the mountains. Wishing to pay back their hospitality, and also keen to spend time in the open, Aukan often travelled with these patrols, hoping for sight of his old tribe, but also simply to enjoy the open mountain countryside.

Once, Fordin was taken by a Roc, plucked from the mountainside like a rabbit by a hawk, and it had been Aukan who had managed to scale the heights to rescue the battered dwarf from the giant bird's nest. As gratitude, Fordin's father had crafted a pair of magical scimitars, sized for Aukan's large hands. These weapons became Aukan's pride and joy, and he often practiced on the mountainside, whirling in a graceful dance so unlike the more clumsy nature of his heritage.

Occasionally, Aukan would descend with the dwarves to the low-lands, his curiocity of new lands taking him with them when they traded with the humans and he fast discovered how different the lowlanders could be - some would accept him without comment, others would be hostile even violent to him, simply because of how he looked. On one such visit to the lowlands, he had left his dwarven companions for a short period, and was wandering alone around the mining village of Maerch, and found that he was driven out of town by people trying to lynch him! Leaving them far behind, he moved up into the low mountains, where he encountered a group of human and half-elf adventurers, who were having trouble with some giants. Something made him intervene, and he helped them defeat the giants.

A human named Skallen, a faithful of Shaundrakul - the human god of wanderers, welcomed Aukan, and for a while, Aukan travelled with the adventurers, people who, like the dwarves, had shown him kindness and acceptance. When they parted, Skallen provided him with a pair of magic boots that allowed him to move faster and a hat that would allow him to disguise himself for when he needed to enter a town. He also picked up a few other trinkets that the group had discovered together in their adventures, including a pair of gauntlets that made him even stronger!

Months later, again walking the mountains, Aukan found the trail of another tribe of Goliath, and joined them for a few years, till a falling out with a rival led him to exile himself. During that time, he'd won the name "Swift Walker" from the chief of the tribe.

Deciding to return to the Smoking Mountains to seek his original tribe, he made his way to the dwarven hold of Clan Hammerhand, knowing that his tribe would stop there at least once every year. He was welcomed back as an honoured visitor, although it was a sad time, as Bolgar had just returned from a trade trip to Mordulkin, sadly with the body of his brother Fordin who had been killed in an ambush by Luthcheqian troops. When Bolgar left to take up new duties as a liason between Clam Hammerhand and King Hercubes, Bolgar's parents and surviving brothers were sad to see him go, as was Aukan, who considered the dwarf a good friend. As he waited for his tribe to arrive, Aukan continued to work with the dwarves, again helping out with the weaponsmithing, and earning their respect when he helped out in patrols.

As time passed, it became clear however that Aukan's tribe was not going to visit, and eventually, he moved out into the mountains alone, searching for any signs of them. After months of searching, he found only one sign - the bracers that used to be worn by his chief. They were lying at the bottom of a ravine, along with the grisly remains of many goliaths. It became clear that he was probably the sole survivor of his old tribe. Disheartened, he returned to the dwarves, to find that the Clan had had their own problems in his absence. Luthcheqian troops had ambushed another trade caravan, killing almost all the dwarves, including another of Bolgar's brothers! Bolgar's mother and father asked Aukan to seek out Bolgar to give him the news and to aid him in his return to the clan if possible. They provided Aukan with a locket, which had been enchanted by the power of Moradin to seek out Bolgar specifically...(OOC: 1 shot device?)