Aethelwulf “Wulf” Fyrebjorn was born into a typical Skald family on a small farm in the shadow of the fjords. He grew up tending the farm, fishing to supplement their food and learning to fight.
While his quickness did give him some advantage, he was never quite as big or strong as the others and was quickly bested in any direct contest he entered. Wulf began to dread the Allthing where even the younger children had begun to call him out to both prove themselves and to show him his place.
That was until he discovered the crossbow…. In the final year before he reached adulthood a strange trader came to the Allthing with many wonderous and foreign objects. While Wulf had seen crossbows before, they were mostly ungainly things that took too long to reload to be useful. This was a thing of beauty, he didn’t quite know what all the levers and switches were for, but when he picked it up, it just felt right.
Wulf sold his most precious possesions to obtain the crossbow, a shield handed down in their family for generations and a necklace of precious jewels he was planning on giving to Signe when he was old enough to marry. His parents would be furious, but it was worth it.
Wulf left the Allthing with a light heart, a lighter purse, and his salvation in hand. Wulf did nothing but train in secret with the crossbow for the next year. He discovered that he could catch fish with it while using a barbed bolt and a line. He became quite proficient at “fishing” and this became his primary duty, which in turn gave him more time alone to practice.
The next year Wulf left for the Allthing a little lighter in step. This year was going to be different. He was finally a man and this year he would make them treat him as such. The Allthing commenced as usual with rounds and rounds of heavy drinking. This was always Wulf’s favorite part and he dove into his cups as enthusiatically as everyone else. After they had been well into their drinking Ragnar Tuatlebain, one of the main instigators responsible for tormenting Wulf, stood up and began walking Wulf’s way. As Wulf watched Ragnar walk towards him he began to realize how much Ragnar resembled a fish, and wondered why he had never noticed it before. Those big buggy eyes…. the way his ears flapped about like gills…. the way his lips are moving like a fish out of water trying to breath…. What is he saying to me? Eventually Wulf realized that Ragnar was again calling him out and he heard himself accept. He then casually brought his crossbow up and put a bolt between Ragnar’s gills, that’s what you do to fish after all, right?
The hall went silent as Ragnar’s body fell to the wooden floor. Then it errupted into angry shouts calling for a trial. It was quickly determined that, since both Wulf and Ragnar were adults, that a duel to the death was allowed. Everyone had heard Ragnar call out Wulf and Wulf had accepted. However, since Wulf had used a crossbow, a coward’s weapon, during an otherwise honorable duel he must be banished from the villiage. Cowards have no place in Ulfen society.
Wulf left the Land of the Linnorm Kings and traveled south along the sea, which had always been kind to him. He worked sometimes as a fisherman, sometimes a bodyguard, or anything else he could do to make use of his skills. Most recently he was working as a sailor aboard the Valiant and managed to gather himself a decent amount of coin.
While docked in Port Peril Wulf decided that it was time to spend that coin on some much needed drink and he wandered in to the Formidably Maid to do just that……
