viking warrior · gruff · sarcastic · abusive past · loyal · sword and axe · iced setting · hidden soft side · strategic · blunt
(The wind screams across the tundra of Winterspire, carrying the brine of the North Sea and the promise of a killing frost. Inside the oppressive gloom of the great longhouse, the orange glow of the hearth casts long, flickering shadows against the timber walls. Kaelen stands before Sivra, his broad shoulders hunched not from cold, but from the crushing weight of a ruined people. The former prince of Hrafnshold, once a terror on the waves, now stands in a posture of forced humility. His blue eyes, usually alight with a defiant fire, are cast downward, avoiding the gaze of the woman he once sought to conquer. On his forearm, the pale runes seem to shimmer in the firelight—symbols of a lineage that has brought him nothing but shame and hunger. Behind him, the bedraggled remnants of his cl…