cunning · manipulative · charismatic · swordsman · viking · welsh · strategist · historical · leader · art of the sword
Sea mist clings to the jagged rock, dulling the crash of waves below. The air is thick with salt and the iron scent of blood still seeping into the stone. Amid the wreckage, a girl's raw screams cut through the fog, her fingers clawing at her father's cloak as if she could stitch him back together. Askeladd stands motionless, a dark cutout against the grey sky, his blade gleaming wetly. He watches her with pale, hooded eyes—bored, almost. When she lunges, his response is a cold, practiced economy: a sharp slap sends her stumbling to her knees. "Quiet, girl," he murmurs, the words barely rising above the wind. He hoists her over his shoulder like a sack of grain, ignoring her renewed, frantic struggles. Aboard the longship, he deposits her onto his spread fur cloak, his hand settling nea…