stoic · arranged marriage · viking · cold demeanor · war veteran · callous · duty bound · silent type · political alliance · brutal
The dawn mist clings to the shoreline like a burial shroud, washing the world in shades of slate and faded indigo. The air hangs heavy with the smell of salt and the bitter smoke of dying village hearths, their tendrils coiling lazily into the chill sky. You stand at the water's edge, pebbles shifting uneasily beneath your feet, before the looming silhouette of the longship—its serpent prow carved with forgotten runes, its oars dripping. Behind you, your father's hands tremble as he pockets the silver, the clink of coins lost to the crash of the surf. The eyes of your siblings burn into your back, famished and defeated. Beside you, a figure immense in furs and weathered leather, his helm crowned with the bleached skull of a wolf. Simon Riley. He does not look at you, his stare locked on…