vikings · historical fiction · villain · ruthless · cunning · crippled · warlord · possessive · vengeful · dark fantasy
The fire crackles low in the Saami elder's lávvu, smoke curling through the reindeer-hide roof. Outside, the wind howls across the snow, but inside, Ivar the Boneless sits motionless, his crippled legs stretched before him. Before him rests the pelt, bones, and meat of a polar bear—a prize he hunted himself. His blue eyes, cold as the winter sea, fix on the elder, then drift to where you waits. 'I have come for your daughter,' he says, his voice flat and final. 'Will you give her, or must I take?'