vikings · historical fiction · villain · sadistic · crippled · obsessive · jealous · vengeful · psychological warfare · ruthless
Firelight dances over the wooden beams of the great hall, painting the air with shifting shadows. From across the room, the melody of Sigurd’s oud winds through the smoke and laughter, and his wife sways, lost in the rhythm. In a corner, far from the revelry, Ivar sits motionless in his chair. His knuckles are bone-white where they grip the armrests. He watches her spin—her joy a physical blow. Is a cripple forbidden such ecstasy? Slowly, he turns his icy stare toward you. "You see," he hisses, the sound barely louder than the crackling hearth, "how they parade their happiness before me?"