Björn Arinbjörnson's page

'Björn was born in Kaldrnord, the land of the Cold North. In a land where the claws and fangs of the native beasts was as nothing to the savagery of the weather, the þursfyrðar were truly the most fearsome of foes. These Giant People were feared throughout the known lands for their size, strength and ferocity in both battle and culture. Their lords rewarded loyalty and service with torcs, armbands and bracelets of noble metals. To demonstrate their fortitude, the þursfyrðar would pierce their skin and run these band under the skin, letting it heal naturally and create ridged rings on their arms. It was the sign of a truly wealthy man to have arms bulging with numerous rings, no gaps or scars to show he had ever been forced to use one for money.

His family was known to have the blood of bears flowing through their veins and as his mother told it, he came out covered in hair, snarling with a mouthful of fangs, ready to take on the world. His childhood was full of hard work and rough play. Always a large boy, Björn towered over his playmates. The advantage his size gave him made it easy to give in to the rage in his soul. His temper was soon legendary and he was taking on full grown men in wrestling contests. This fledgling reputation won Björn a place on the rowing bench of the Haar Witch; he was the youngest to ever go 'aviking from his people.

He was a regular berserk in battle, slavering, singing war songs, shrugging off the blows of foes and as likely to rend people with his bare hands as cleave them with his scythe. He sailed with his shieldbrothers on the Haar Witch, raiding settlements along the coast south of his homeland. His time at sea had an effect on him. He turned to Gozreh for reflection upon his wrathful nature and achieved some balance. On their last attack, the vikings were defeated and Björn escaped capture and death only by the quick thinking of his oar brother, Skane, who dragged him back into the sea and led them swimming away.

They came to shore several hours, and some miles distant, later and crawled up onto the beach. Björn and Skane spent the next several months in the wild, fashioning what they needed from nature; for Björn a club and spears to hunt and defend himself. The stranded vikings were ambushed by local thugs and in a desperate feat of raw strength and berserker fury, the two northmen overcame the puny southerners.

Traveling through the wilderness for days, scrounging for berries and grubs, Björn and Skane were riding the very cusp of survival. It was no surprise that they eventually attracted the notice of other predators. Beset by a pack of wolves and after Björn nearly losing his life to the ravenous beasts, they made furs and hide armour from their pelts. Finding holly and mistletoe to use for focusing his divinely inspired prayers and whittling a symbol of Gozreh from the lightning blasted heart of an oak with only a flaked granite chert as his blade, the two continued their trek north, always searching for a way home through the inhospitable southern lands.'