Russell Thundercloud

"Before he became Russell Thundercloud, he was once Dyami who lived in the Acoma Pueblo, approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he was a child, he lived a happy life with his parents who taught him how to hunt and pay attention to his surroundings, to the point that he was always alert. Everything changed when his adobe village was attacked by an Apache warband and his parents were killed as they sacrificed their lives protecting their son during the raid. Shortly thereafter, he was grieving over the loss of his family until he was adopted by the residential medicine man Guyapi. Dyami was so upset that he wanted vengeance upon the warband but Guyapi disapproved because even though he understood what he was going through, his parents wouldn’t have wanted for him to do that since he was friends with his father. Dyami reluctantly let go of his hatred for now and lived with his stepfather.

As the years went by, he became a teenager, learning to be a medicine man under the guidance of Guyapi. Dyami thought it would be a good opportunity to control a spirit to do his bidding to seek vengeance against the apache but he knew Guyapi wouldn’t approve of this so he did it in secret, not realizing how little knowledge he had of the Kachinas since he was still in training. He was so blinded by grief and vengeance, he realized too late when he lost control of the spirits the moment they killed his stepfather. Ashamed of what he had done, Dyami exiled himself from Acoma and cut off his spiritual connections to the spirits, and therefore abandoning his roots.

Dyami traveled aimlessly throughout the Wild Southwest during a dry thunderstorm, which he chose at the wrong place at the wrong time the moment lightning struck a large gathering of tumbleweeds, causing a wildfire. He tried to escape from the flames but the smoke got to him, making it difficult for him to breathe to the point he passed out. He would’ve been dead if it weren’t for a couple of settlers who found him lying on the ground unconscious. Taking pity on him, they took him back to their home at a frontier town for recovery. When he woke up, he was scared and confused only for the couple to calm him down, telling him everything that happened despite the language barrier between them. After a while, the couple introduced themselves as Russell and Martha Gilmore. Dyami was touched by their kindness to him but he felt like he didn’t deserve it, only for them to take care of him like he was their own son, warming up to them.

During his teen years, he decided to adopt the name ""Russell as a way to show appreciation for their hospitality as well as ""Thundercloud"" to signify the importance when they first met. So he spent the rest of his life living with the Gilmores as he officially became part of the family. During his time at their homestead, Dyami learned self-defense techniques from Russell since he was a former Civil War Veteran, and Kindness and compassion from Martha. Even though he lived a quiet life, the town was not without its problems due to the prejudice he faced wherever he went but it hardly fazed him at all since the Gilmores were all the only people that matter to him. By the time he became of age, he decided to leave the nest to go off on his own, but not before saying goodbyes to the people who took him in.

What brings you to Brimstone? Looking to settle down and start doing odd jobs

What drew you here? To improve and learn new skills.

What are you running from? My past, I’m running from my past

What are you leaving behind? My home and my heritage

What was the drive for you to enter in the profession (concept) that you have pursued? Are you actively pursuing it? Reluctantly? Passively? To fight for others who can’t fight for themselves after failing to save his loved ones back at Acoma. Yes

What are the main motivations that drive you on quests of adventure? Go for the deeper answer, if it's money, what do you want money for? If it is power, what drives your quest for power? To find the warbands responsible for my parents' death and bring them to justice, as well as making some cash for weapons and supplies.