When Halda Headsplitter began suffering from recurring headaches, her parents exchanged worried glances. They suspected their daughter’s headaches were a symptom of growing psionic ability. So they took Halda to the Temple of Irori. The Iroran priests’ meditation training improved her concentration and self-control. Once Halda’s transition ended, she was able to cause mental confusion in others and heal wounds. In Highhelm, the ancient center of dwarven culture, psionic individuals faced social ostracism. Such powers were rumored to be a sign of Duergar blood. Tordek and Magda knew from past experience how challenging life for a dwarven mentalist could be.

20 years ago, Tordek’s sister Valmae began to develop the ability to read thoughts. She tried to keep her power secret, but people detected she was reading their minds. An uproar ensued with some even calling for execution. Though Valmae claimed the mind-reading had been unintentional, High King Borogrim the Hale exiled her. Halda remembered watching her aunt get on a boat and sail away never to return.

After a period of soul searching, Halda decided to leave Highhelm. The city was too conservative and stifling for her liking and she wanted to see the world. Better she leave on her own terms before someone invented a reason to exile her. She asked about contacting her aunt, but correspondence from Valmae had dwindled over the years. The last one had been four years ago from Caliphas, a city the family’s merchant business desired better trade relations with. Maybe someone there knew something about Aunt Valmae’s whereabouts. She decided to move to Caliphas.

The day of her departure arrived. “Oh Halda,” Magda said. “Only a mother can understand the pain of her baby flying from the nest. Please remember to write.”

Tordek placed his hand on his Halda’s shoulder. His grip was firm but she could see the glint of tears in his eyes. “Remember my daughter,” he said, “There is always a place for you with us.”

As Halda embraced her parents, her gaze fell on the great sky citadel. Was she running away? Should she stay and fight for her place in Highhelm? But no, she had thought this through. It was time to see if there was a life for her beyond these mountains. She turned and walked toward the caravan that would take her to Caliphas.

Current Activities/Habits: Halda works to establish relationships in merchant and adventuring circles. She is searching for her Aunt Valmae, surveying the mercantile market for good trading partners and mingling in the local adventuring scene for potential adventuring companions. She is cautious about discussing her psionic powers.

Future Goals/Desires: Halda wants to develop her psionics to their full potential. She would like to find a psionic mentor and/or organization for further training. Her greedy hindrance is as much about the desire for (psionic) power as it is money. She hopes to establish trade deals for her own personal gain and to help The Mountain Trading Company (her family’s merchant business). Halda wants to locate Aunt Valmae because she’s family and might become the psionic mentor Halda is looking for.

Other Family: Halda has two brothers. Her older brother Balgar is a dour workaholic who toils for the family business. He would probably only travel outside of Five Kings Mountains for work. Her younger brother Garin is a wild card. An openly gay warrior, he gallivants around looking for adventure, ale and attractive, muscular men. Unlike his older brother, he travels to foreign locales on a whim.

Greatest Fear: Halda’s greatest fear is becoming a “burnout,” a psychic who loses control of her powers. A burnout can wreak considerable destruction usually followed by a painful death. She is especially afraid of “burning out” and harming someone she loves. Her worship of Irori and desire for further training in her powers are partially based on this fear.

Campaign Epilogue: After Elias’s death Halda felt she could no longer stay in Ustalav. She moved to Almas, the capital of Andoran. There she founded the Aura Academy, a school for young and/or inexperienced psionics. She still assists her family’s merchant business when she can and helped broker several deals in Andoran. Every summer she takes a month-long vacation in Greengold. She is happy with her life.