Race:
Human (Adeptus Astartes)
Appearance:
Beneath his terminator armour, Askeladd has a stern young face that betrays his actual age. He watches the world through a pair of icy blue eyes that are flanked by thick blonde eyebrows. His aquiline nose hangs over a pair of lips that rarely leave a steady frown. Like most elder wolves, his canine teeth are elongated to fangs that look like daggers when he shows his teeth. His hair is kept tightly pulled back and braided, the thick braid running down the entirety of his back.
His terminator armour is untold years older than himself and as with all things time has taken its toll. Few of its parts are first hand and while a great effort has been made to maintain its colours, there is no way to truly hide that it has been rebuilt many times over its lifetime with any fresh parts that could be found. It is adorned with purity seals scattered about the torso and shoulders, with the pelt of a Fenrisian wolf resting on his shoulders as a mantle. Finally, it takes longer than ten thousand years for a Wolf to lose faith in the Emperor and as such, planted center on his chest is the Imperialis Badge meant to act as a symbol that he and his wolves are still loyal to the Emperor.
Personality:
"For the fallen Allfather, the Great Wolf, and humanity, die well brothers," has become the motto of Askeladden's company and is a motto Askeladden himself wears proudly. He holds the history of the chapter close to his heart, even naming his company The Claws of Fenris in honour of the fallen, going against tradition of naming it after its Wolf Lord. Askeladden loves humanity nearly as much as he loves his brothers. This produces some trials and tribulations for him though when supplies grow short and his only solution is to take from hands that refuse to give. The actions he has to take in these desperate times often lead to sleepless nights, but he does he best to always maintain his composure as an iron willed living embodiment of battle.
With his position, he has learned to be humble, he has learned to be fierce without violence, he has learned to demand and to take without drawing a bolter, he has learned the value of words for more than just stories. Askeladden has grown used to diplomacy, though should it ever fail him he is always ready to employ a frost ax to the problem with extreme prejudice.
Bio:
Aske was born in a small forgotten hamlet on Fenris, becoming the first child in over a decade to be born in his hometown of seventy. The son of farmhands, Aske was put to work as soon as his hands could form callouses and his feet could blister. Surviving winters meant months of preparations, little sleep, and fasting when crops yielded little and the hunts returned nothing. As soon as he could hold a bow he was sent to the woods when the crops had no need for tending, first with the company of one of his uncles, and after his first few hunts he traveled alone. At a young age, he learned to lure the fenrisian wolves to him, so that he could drive a spear into them as they came for a quick kill. In the winters he would hunt most often, suffering the windburn and risking his extremities turning black so that he could lure the desperate beasts out. Their meat tasted rotten as if they all lingered on death's door, but the meat they provided brought cheers from his home and gave him something other than grains and boiled vegetables to eat.
He soon grew to tower above the ageing population of the hamlet and with his strength and size their burdens more often than not became his. He was to tend to the fields, hunt for meat, keep watch over their stores, and wring the necks of bandits fool enough to think his people prey. Despite his efforts, he buried more of his kin each winter than the last. This went on until a member of the Space Wolves found the dying hamlet on a hunt and shared with those that could listen the glories of the Space Wolves. Askeladd heard this and felt the tugs to answer the call to something greater than the life of a farmer, but if it were not for the encouragement from his remaining family he would have never left. While he left, he was happy to go and live a life of his choosing, though he was sure he would never see the faces he left behind again.
First the introduction of the gene-seed nearly killed him many times over, then the decade of training did its best to try and kill him again. Of the 13 neophytes, he was one of the two to survive the process. The neophyte that survived alongside him and became his fellow Blood Claw became his lifelong friend, Eiryk Hardrada, with whom he has stared into the eyes of chaos many times and come out unscathed. They were placed under the tutulage of then Grey Hunter Aesir Canis, who would impart on the two everything he had known. Several decades into his service he had seen countless conflicts across dozens of worlds alongside his battle brothers. His purpose was cast in iron; To live for the betterment of mankind and slaughter all that dare threaten humanity.
He served his chapter well and found himself slowly gaining recognition for his bravery in battle against the forces of chaos. His company slowly moved farther and farther away from his former home and by the time word reached him of the fall of Ethelred's wolves, the desecration of Fenris his brothers were too far away to be of any help. They were too occupied with clearing forces of chaos to retreat without expecting even greater losses than they were already suffering. When his company first left Fenris they were 125 Wolves strong and along the way had drawn in two-hundred thousand of Imperial Guardsmen and Imperial Navy ships. Now there were fewer than thirty Wolves left and sixty thousand guardsmen. The fleet that had grown to consist of a Battlebarge, three gladius-class frigates, and a sword-class frigate were down to a badly damaged Battlebarge and a single half-manned gladius. Their Wolf Lord was dead, his Wolf Guard all but gone, and there it was put to a vote who would take the mantle of Wolf Lord. Aesir abstained, leaving only Askeladden for the position.
Now centuries old, Wolf Lord Askeladden commands a small retinue of Wolves and commands a Battlebarge named the Will of Bjorn. His company struggles to survive, only six of the original 125 still clinging to life. Sacrifices have been made and only a fraction of his original forces continue to fight for the betterment of man, but still they fight on with ferocity that would make the Great Wolf himself proud. Their battlebarge struggles along, the only remaining ship in their fleet, severely undermanned, wearing scars centuries old. In his retinue are his closest brothers; his former mentor, his former fellow Blood Claw, an Iron Priest, and two young Blood Claws eager to prove themselves to their commander. Together they continue to abide by the final order given to all wolves. To serve humanity and to die well.
Forces:
Sigurd the Snake - Iron PriestAesir Canis - Rune Wolf PriestEiryk Hardrada - Grey HunterHarald Gulhringr - Blood ClawMathias Lokabrenna - Blood ClawModified Thunderhawk - Altered to act as an incredibly cramped living space for six men during their brief planetary visits.
The Hand of Bjorn - Battlebarge
23,000 guardsmen and navy men
200 chapter serfs
Six additional Thunderhawks
Allegiance to Gregori:
Remains to be seen.
Personal equipment:
1x Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour
2x Wolf Claw variant Lightning Claws
1x Storm Shield
1x Frost Ax
6x Krak Grenades
1x Storm Bolter
1x Fenrisian Wolf Pelt
Prosaic
StarBoi
Skai
Member
