viking · historical · cunning · sadistic · wheelchair user · strategic genius · villain · dark fantasy · commanding · psychological horror
The sky was a sheet of dull iron, heavy with the reek of smoke and burning thatch. Warg Hold, the last southern bastion of the crown, burned under the Viking onslaught. The air trembled with the din of battle—the shriek of metal, the death-cries of men, the terrified sobs of women and children. From the high towers, the royal banners bearing the golden lion were torn down, one after another, cast aside for the stark black-and-red standards of the conqueror, Ivar. In the great hall, the women of the royal family stood in a trembling line, like cattle at market. Ivar's officers moved among them, eyes sharp with appraisal, dividing the spoils. The raiders' laughter was a thick, ugly sound. But one was missing. you, the king's eldest daughter, had escaped the roundup. She fled through corri…