【
Full Name】
Gragnar son of Kurult
【
Aliases】
Gragnar the Wolf
【
Age】
22
【
Sex】
Male
【
Sexuality】
Heterosexual, but faithful to his wife
【
Religion】
Northern Pagan
【
Family】
Gragnar used to be part of the Kur tribe in the North, a cluster of three families with 40 living members including nephews and grandmothers. He however, has since broken off from them after courting a woman of a rival tribe, Helja, causing a series of incidents which ended up with both of them trying to start their own tribe and family with no other backup. Helja is thus, his only "family" now.
【
Birthplace】
Giant's Gorge, the North
【
Societal standing】
Chieftan Son, but disowned.
【
Former employment】
Guide, Hunter and Dealer
【
Rank and role】
Scout, Archer and Guard.
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【
Personality】
Gragnar is a rather no-nonsense person, with a rather harsh and cynical outlook of life. He sneers at the southerners double morale at times, but he knows restraint and rarely heckles them out in public, preferring to make snide and scathing hushed comments. Gragnar like many northerners respects might, but he also is known to bow before wise words. Ragnar is loyal and disciplined unlike many barbarians, but he only is loyal to those worth it, and the man has quite the high standards. Cowardice and foolishness can spell death out there, and he will turn his back at those with such traits. Gragnar highly reveres hunters, more above warriors, and he always likes to exchange stories with such individuals.
Gragnar on a personal level is cold and hard to approach, but once befriended, he honors each friendship a lasting bond, and much like a wolf and his pack, he will always jump to defend his friends, no matter whose side has the reason. Helja, his wife, is unsurprisingly the first person on such list of friends, being his soulmate.
Gragnar, however, is aware that his barbarian ways come with their own set of flaws, and he has made a conscious effort to learn civilized skills such as reading and writing. He is interested in scholars and what can they teach to him, but he has reservations about monarchist preachers. The double standards such religion has leave him baffled at best. Gragnar knows how to play deceitfully and use his cunning, but rarely shows it to people. He knows that the mind is one man's best weapon and only a fool would reveal his trumph card to one's opponents.
【
History】
Gragnar was born in the desolate ice wastes of the north, as the third son of a rather influential chieftain known as Kurult. He gained the epiteth of the Wolf on his birthday, for his father and hunters had felled a large pack of the beasts, an omen of victory which was seen favorably upon the elder tribesmen.
Thus, from an early age, Gragnar was groomed with care as one of the chieftain's favored sons, and he was educated in the arts of hunting, tracking and fighting other men, with the idea of him being one of the trusted men of one of his elder brothers. Yet, as if his birthday omen was right, Gragnar displayed traits that were seen as odd by most others. He was quiet, and rather cold to talk. Rarely did he laugh, and he seemed to be content with just observing the other children play. Like his epiteth he was becoming a lone wolf increasingly, and like one of such beasts he often wandered alone in the wild, not telling anyone where he had gone.
However, the true reason of his odd behaviour would surface when his parents, worried about his roaming attitude, had him accompany his mother in a trade with the southern people. There, he met one of the southerner scholars, and the miracle happened. The boy started talking, and being a source of many questions and intrigues. The astonished scholar of the Barren Hills claimed he was a smart kid, and as such he had felt out of his peers from a long time ago, much like other kids in other parts of the world. Enlightened on the true reason of his behaviour, Gragnar's mother allowed the kid to accompany him in her market bartering travels, in order to keep his mind sated. As a result, the boy became unusually literate for a barbarian, and as such he soon became one of the emissaries of the northern tribes in the barren halls whenever trade or talk was needed to be done.
The prospective of life as one great man remembered by many elders came crashing down, when one fateful day he was wandering on one of his lone hunts, he found something other than prey. He found a woman named Helja, and he was smitten by her. The girl also seemed to reciprocate his crush, and they started to meet. However, when word got out, both youths were in for trouble. For Helja was a member of a feuding tribe, and such a couple had to be broken. Stubbornly, neither bulged in and were expelled from their respective tribes.
However, Gragnar had a plan on his own, to start his own tribe. He travelled to the Barren Halls, and saw the announcement of recruiting. He seized the chance to earn wealth, and thus joined the Black Shields bringing his wife along.
【
Dreams, short term goals, and fears.】
Gragnar's dream is to be able to have his own tribe alongside the love of his life, Helja. However many obstacles lie ahead for it to happen. The north is an unforgiving place when you are alone, and as such Gragnar is going to need resources to start anew. For that very reason, he strives to earn sufficient gold among the Black Shields to execute his plan. He does not want to stay anymore than necessary, however. Southeners are a bunch hard to figure, and their customs are different enough than his own to be uncomfortable. He also worries of leaving Helja alone in this world, and dreads if something were to happen to her.
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【
Skills】
Having lived his entire life in an icy wasteland, Gragnar is a skilled survivalist and tracker, able to keep on his toes for days to slay a single target. He is also well versed to avoid frostbite and a decent swimmer. He knows where to find food when there is apparently none, and even some very basic first aid and animal husbandry. He is also good using his knife to skin animals and knows how to hide his tracks in the wild and be stealthy. He can make his own arrows. Gragnar is also one of the few barbarians with some notions on culture, and he knows how to read and write.
【
Martial prowess】
Gragnar is a skilled sharpshooter, and can make each shoot with the bow count as if it were the last. He is also skilled in using his twin handaxes wielded at the same time, or in conjuction with a shield (although he only wields a shield against archers and heavy armored targets, he is more hampered and less skilled when doing so). He is also half decent at wrestling (which is how barbarians solve differences when blood is forbidden to spill) and he can ride a horse acceptably, although mounted combat is an skill he has yet to learn. HeIn a pinch, he also knows some knife moves, but he prefers to use his dagger for skinning than for actual combat.
【
Combat style】
Gragnar's style is wolflike, in a contrast with more typical barbarians, which attempt to overwhelm an opponent with sheer brutality, in a bearlike fashion. Gragnar patiently waits out for an opening and seeks to outtire an opponent by controlling the pace, making use of perceived weaknesses or flaws in his opponents style whenever the opportunity arises. He makes few attacks, but unusually vicious ones. A pragmatist and survivalist, he has no qualms in playing dirty to get an upper hand, or attacking opponents when they can't defend theirselves. For that reason, his axes are a good choice. He can block his opponents with one hand and strike with the other, block with two hands, or unleash an unrelenting flurry of cleaving blows.
【
Weaponry】
A single piece bow made from hardwood at its back, with the corresponding leather quiver filled with arrows, twin handaxes in hip holsters and his obsidian dagger in a back holster in the hip.
【
Armor】
While normally not wearing any kind of armor, or just simple boiled leather as armor when hunting in the north, nowadays Gragnar wears a chainmail underneat his other garments, as well as reinforced greaves, boots, and gauntlets.
