[CHAR] Blood and steel, a Dane's life.

[Vas Khaleen]

Name:Jarl.Yrsa Skardidottir

Nationality:Dane

Social class:Jarl

Age:26

Gender:Female

Magic: Galdir

Profession:Ruler

Weapons:
Sword - A dual edged longsword with a tight grip and a hard blade of crucible steel, its bone handle wrapped in fine supple black leather, and a short ornamentally inscribed guard with several Odin knot's.

Seax - A short dagger like weapon with a thick wooden handle colored red, and a crucible steel single edged blade.

Axe - Two feet in length with a durable iron head and a slightly curved edge.

Armor

-Crucible steel mail

-Iron plate helm

-Wooden round shield, tree of life painted in bright red on a yellow background.

Appearance:


Backstory:Yrsa was born to Jarl.Svein Skardisson only a few years after he had made the land she currently ruled his land, at the height of their aggressions with the Saxons who before dominated the region; she was the third child of the Jarl. the other two both males were groomed to be their fathers successor. Although Yrsa was taught to fight and rule as well, and with good reason as hazardous as life was in those times; both her brothers died in battle with great honor against the Saxons making Yrsa her fathers next in line to rule. He followed them to Valhalla several years later leaving the sixteen year old Yrsa to rule over the lands herself, with advisors she had known since childhood she became a just and balanced ruler supporting a persons freedoms over all else. Reaching new agreements with the Saxons both through trade and threats of force, as her standing army was well over three hundred men and women; all godless heathens ready to rip and plunder; or trade and live peacefully. The Saxons agreed to her peace, not desiring a long drawn out conflict with the Dane's as they could make more profit off of trade between the two groups, their cultures not entirely different from one another.

[Halvtand]

Farfar Arne Skalle

Name: Arne Thorbrandsson, known throughout Kjolr as “Farfar Arne Skalle” (Grandfather Arne the bald).

Nationality: Dane.

Age: 57.

Gender: Male.

Magic: None.

Profession: Farmer/Retired adventurer.

Weapons: One bearded axe, one longsax, a round shield, a knife, a bow and a quiver containing twelve arrows of Arne’s own design.

Appearance: Arne is almost completely bald with only a few grey, almost white hairs left on his neck. Above his clear blue eyes sits two big, bushy eyebrows and on his chin a magnificent beard which he always keeps clean and well-brushed. His face is wrinkled with age and sunlight and he has quite a big, red nose. The nose is pretty much the only part of his body with some colour on it. His recent life has kept him indoors and so his skin is pale in comparison to other hard-working people.

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Background: Arne was born is today’s southern Sweden as the son of a farmer and spent his youth as an adventurer. He has seen things that most people can only dream about. He has been all the way east to the Rus’ lands for trade, south all the way to the Arabs, where he has served as a Varjang. He has fought in more battles than he cares to count and claims to have seen the valkyries come for the brave dead after the battle even in foreign lands.

Now he mostly just sit at home. He bought a small farm in Kjolr one winter as he was recovering from an illness and simply stayed even after he became well. During the day he either tends to his little patch of earth or looks after the village’s kids so that their parents can work. He has always loved kids and his only regret in life is that he never found time to find himself a good woman and get some kids of his own. That is why he’s called grandfather, both because he is older than most men alive, and also because he is like a second father to many of Kjolr’s children. Arne knows a lot of the stories about monsters, gods and other creatures of the different worlds that are told to either entertain or scare children and adults.

Arne is known to brag a lot and has a very sharp tongue. His biggest flaw is that he can’t really face the fact that his days of glory are long gone. He has memorised Havamal (a long poem about how you should behave) and will often school youngsters with it if they are behaving badly. He can also both read and write, and does what he can to teach the children, although only very few have the patience for such things.

He has a long and eventful life behind him, once he was known far and wide for his strength and skill with both axe and sword. Now he is an old man and most of his strength has left him. He has realized that there is more to the world than the strength of one’s arm, that the mind, filled with memories and experiences can be as much of a weapon as any blade. He relies heavily on his mind in battle, and while his strength and speed might be dwarfed by the younger men’s, that is not the only way to fight. Arne is an expert at reading and predicting his opponent, and a master of his own reflexes. Thanks to this his sword finds it’s mark as true today as it did by pure might 30 years ago.

The thrall: Arne is, due to his age and various difficulties associated with it, accompanied by his thrall Torkell. Torkell (not his real name) is of the slavic tribe and knows very little of the Nordic language outside his regular commands (Pants, beer, seat, fire etc). He is a man in his early 20’s and relatively intelligent. Arne has often wondered if Torkell is not from a good family, and if he’ll some day be approached by a slav with a lot of money to buy Torkell’s freedom.
Arne is a reasonably good slave owner, not the best by far, but also a long way from the worst.

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[Tsar Gatto]

Tosti Svaarson

Name:
Tosti Svaarson

Nationality:
Dane

Age:
29

Gender:
Male

Magic:
None

Profession:
Raider (Berserker)

Weapons:
Tosti fights without restraint, with axe or blade, with or without shield, bare hands if need be – it matters not to him. He has spent his entire life practising and perfecting the art of death, and knows that one day he will fight beside the gods themselves in Valhalla. He knows the importance of the shield wall, and will do his part when needed, however he is most at his element in open combat, often vaulting forwards into the enemy ranks when the moment is right and he can inflict the most devastation.

He often carries a longsword, shortsword and handaxe on his person – using one or a combination of them as it suits him. He sometimes will carry a shield, again knowing the importance of protection when it is required. However whenever possible he will often dispose of it in order to wield two weapons simultaneously.
Tosti has before sustained grievous wounds, his recklessness not always being without risk. Fortunately the gods have thus far favoured him and he has always recovered after some time. He carries numerous scars, the souvenirs of his past mistakes in combat.

Appearance:


Backstory:
Tosti can be somewhat reckless at times, his will unpredictable and sometimes strange. He is a berserker, fighting as a practically unstoppable force on the battlefield as he holds absolutely nothing back. What appears to others as sometimes reckless or even insane behaviour is simply him giving into his bloodlust, devoting himself completely to combat like the warriors of ages past.
Tosti has been a raider since he accompanied his father on his first raid at the age of fifteen, slaughtering many enemies and relishing the first of much bloodshed and plunder – it was like the young boy was born to kill. He has developed a close bond with many of the other Viking raiders, having fought side by side as true Vikings many times over. He is a devotee to the gods, having a deep reverence and respect for them. He favours Odin, the Allfather – knowing that his affinity for slaughter is a gift from him, and in return Tosti pays tribute to him often. He also favours Loki, the trickster god – for life is filled with his little tricks.

As one of the finest raiders Tosti has brought back his fair share of gold and thralls over the years, he owns a fine dwelling with good access to abundant fishing grounds, his estate being worth quite a moderate amount. He also gives greatly to the gods, donating a sizable portion of his spoils to the village soothsayers on occasion. That being said he drinks and eats away much of his wealth, further driving his desire to raid as much as possible in order to better fund his somewhat extravagant lifestyle.

Tosti has not taken a wife, though he has a thrall concubine who he took from a village in the east-lands. He has a deeper bond with her than he would care to admit, having taken her now four years ago. Since she has since abandoned her Slavic deities and now follows the true Norse path, and they have shared much in their time together.