Raryn Snowstealer

Raryn Snowstealer was an arctic dwarf and a companion of Dorn Graybrook during the Rage of Dragons of 1373 DR.

Description
He was almost as broad as he was tall. In, he had a goatee and waist-length white hair, wearing most often a polar bear's fur. His exposed skin had been burned to red by the sun, like most arctic dwarves. He wore deerskin boots, knee-high. .

Abilities
In his first encounter with Dorn Graybrook, Raryn employed a number of spells, including one that healed, and one to increase both strength and agility. Those spells possibly matched cure light wounds, bull's strength, and cat's grace.

He had a charm to help arrows pierce scales. .

One of Raryn's spells nullified poison through a connection to the earth, likely . Another of his spells softened up scales. Raryn often employed a charm to strike weak points, almost certainly find the gap.

Raryn could cast entangle. Raryn knew cat's grace. Raryn could cast petty charms on the ground, too. Raryn knew a spell for camouflage.

History
Raryn lived with his people, the Inugaakalakurit, on the Great Glacier until he decided to go out and see the world.

During the late mid-14 century DR, he traveled to Pilver's Creek for a bounty on a white dragon, posted by Stevvin Hightower. When he arrived, local bullies picked a fight with him; a newly arriving Dorn Graybrook spooked them away. The two of them went to Stevvin, who initially meant to hire Graybrook, but Raryn convinced him that he had experience with white dragons. Stevvin chose to hire both and pay them according to their contributions; Raryn was able to determine the dragon was actually a cryohydra. Stevvin insisted in slaying it, but after they slew a hydra, he betrayed both the dwarf and Graybrook, capturing them. Though Raryn warned him there was another, bigger hydra close by, Hightower did not believe him. Raryn and Dorn fled later in the night, but returned to measure their hunting prowess against the hydra once it struck Stevvin's camp. The two of them took Stevvin hostage after the fight to cover their flight.

Dorn and he joined forces after the encounter; the two later joined forces with Will Turnstone and Pavel Shemov, relying on the services of the wizards of Thentia for arcane provisions.

Year of Rogue Dragons
In 1373 DR, he and the rest of his companions were caught up in Sammaster's plot. During their journey, Raryn came back to his home village, but out of fear his people sold him and his companions to agents of Sammaster. He survived until the end of the mission and decided to come back to his people, hoping to forgive them.

On Hammer 23, after hunting an ooze drake the party learned of a flight of dragons rising to attack Ylraphon. . By early Hammer 24, the town had been razed, and the band agreed to accompany Kara to Lyrabar in a ship. Along the way, they spotted signs of another flight of dragons, and began suspecting a full-blown Rage of dragons. Further evidence mounted as they spotted more destroyed coastal settlements; during the trip, they were approached by a flight of silver dragons, the first ones Dorn's band had ever seen. The two dragons, Moonwing and Azhaq, were looking for Kara, who they explained, was actually a song dragon named Karasendrieth, whom they intended to take back with them. Dorn struck at the dragons rather than yield Karasendrieth; though the ensuing fight led to two casualties amongst the crew, Dorn's team ultimately prevailed. Kara afterwards explained that a Rage was underway, and the gold dragon king Lareth expected it to be one of the worst; the party, against Graybrook's instincts, chose to aid Kara in finding Helder Gorstag in Lyrabar for Brimstone.

The whole party met with Brimstone at his lair, learning he was a smoke drake. After a brief battle with Brimstone, who was possessed by Sammaster's notes while trying to read them, the vampiric wyrm bade them to attack the Cult of the Dragon and find clues; over Dorn's opposition, the party agreed. . On the evening of Ches 14, the party protected Taegan Nightwind, who set himself out as bait for the Cult by pretending to be drowning his sorrows in too much alcohol. They afterwards interrogated one of the cultists that they captured, learning that the cult hid in a dungeon beneath a tannery. After a fight, they captured the Wearer of Purple Cylla Morieth and managed to learn of Sammaster's plans for the Rage.

Taegan Nightwind agreed to petition Queen Sambryl to send warriors to fight the Cult of the Dragon close to Lyrabar, to which she ultimately agreed. Raryn, and the others instead left for Elmwood, which they found to be under Zhentarim occupation. After the fight, they joined Thoyanna Jorgadaul and other authorities from town in a small grove to which a small bird led them. There, after learning of the Zhentarim activities through the area, they decided to break their control over the town, blaming dragons for any damage. During their following raid, Dorn managed to secure a craft. They took the craft to Thentia, and then to Northkeep, where they were joined by Chatulio. After a battle against Sammaster's guardians, Dorn pleaded with the ghosts to allow his company to search the ruins. Surprisingly, he was heard out. After days of searching, they finally located a number of reliefs that showed the origins of the Rage.

On Mirtul 19 while searching across Damara, Kara, Dorn, Chatulio and Raryn came across the retinue of Josef Darag, from Springhill, who were retreating from the front after learning of King Gareth Dragonsbane's fall. They also learned that there was a village under attack by bandits, to which they went afterwards. . Dorn's group found the Monastery of the Yellow Rose on Mirtul 25, but it was already besieged by a score dragons. Noticing they were not in a Rage, they judged that Sammaster sent those dragons to cover his tracks, thus marking the location as one of great import. Though Malazan chased them off, while fleeing from Malazan, Chatulio spotted a corpse; Kara judged it to be that of a priest of Ilmater, and Raryn attempted to track its route from the monastery.

On Mirtul 27, dorn Graybrook and Karasendrieth's team managed to make it through the tunnels beneath the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, slaying the dragons beneath the monastery in the process. Arriving at the monastery, they were able to explain the situation to Cantoule and request he heal Karasendrieth. The Monastery of the Yellow Rose changed tactics against the wyrms under Raryn and Dorn's guidance on Kythorn 2, where they retreated into the halls and set up a trap, which killed at least one of Malazan's flight.

Kara finally managed to compose a version of the abate dracorage spell in 26 Kythorn, after the monks were pushed even further back. She took Dorn Graybrook and that discovery to the Galenas soon after, on 5 Flamerule. They found the hidden sanctuary in the Galenas on 8 Flamerule; though Tamarand was able to convince Lareth to listen, Lareth was indifferent to her tale and wanted to kill her, prompting Tamarand to challenge him for the throne of King of Justice. After Tamarand slew Lareth, he decided a number of fast fliers would be sent to break the siege at the Monastery of the Yellow Rose. Tamarand led the flight. During the siege, Raryn rode Azhaq.

By Midsummer, Dorn's party had returned to Thentia, and Rilitar had died, but considerable progress had been made in decoding Sammaster's notes.

On Eleint 12, Taegan and Jivex had rejoined Dorn's party, and taken to exploring the steppes of ancient Narfell, following Sammaster's explorations. Despite carrying a token of Gareth Dragonsbane's favor, they were attacked by a Far Quey raiding party. Kara attempted to lure in the Nars for a friendly talk, but they attacked when Brimstone attacked them, unbeknownst to her; they broke off after Pavel rescued their captain. Afrer the conversation with the Nars, they learned of the Hermit, joined by Brimstone. After a fight, The Hermit related upon Dorn's party that it had realized, during the first Rage, that the elves had built a citadel in Novularond, but knew little beyond that.

While returning to Novularond, Raryn rescued his niece Joylin from tirichiks on Marpenoth 14; later, they went to Raryn's home village. Unfortunately, his brother poisoned the party and delivered them upon Queen Iyraclea. When the Queen's servants arrived, they slew Wurik for trying to hide his brother Raryn. On 27 Marpenoth, Dorn's party, pushed by Iyraclea, arrived at a citadel in Novularond. Later that night, Zethrindor arrived with Brimstone, and attacked Iyraclea, considering she had broken faith with Sammaster. Through the ensuing fight, Zethrindor's spell appeared to annihilate Karasendrieth, Raryn, Brimstone and Taegan.

Kara had triggered the enchantment in the plaza, but Zethrindor's spell sent her off-target, leaving her mired halfway through in some void. She somehow improvised a manner to go the rest of the way. In the process, she, Taegan, Raryn, and Brimstone, who had been with her when she triggered the enchantment, materialized in the citadel holding the dracorage mythal. On arrival, after they fought a dragonbone golem, Brimstone confirmed they were near the dracorage mythal at last. They decided to split up, with Kara, Raryn and Taegan attempting to enter the fortress, and Brimstone heading out to find help.

On Uktar 17, Taegan and Raryn attempted to distract the guardians to give Kara and Brimstone the time to explore a way to get into the citadel. They failed.

Kara finally lost her battle to Sammaster's rage on 5 Nightal, when she attacked her companions for trying to stop her from suicidally striking at the tarterian wyrms in the valley, believing she'd kill them if she didn't kill herself. Brimstone decided to stop her, kill her, and slake his thirst by drinking her blood. They were stopped by the sudden arrival of the tarterians, and then by the metallic wyrms that had teleported themselves through Brimstone's hoard in Lyrabar. After defeating the tarterians, the dragons and mages there managed to break through Sammaster's ward.

On 6 Uktar, Sammaster arrived and called upon pacts with a number of wyrms from other planes to defend the dracorage mythal. Raryn joined the fight.

After the final battle, Raryn Snowstealer decided to return to his tribe, and help raise his orphaned niece.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Year of Rogue Dragons (The Rage • The Rite • The Ruin)
 * Short Stories
 * Rivals