Fabled are the tales of battle prowess of the Ulfen berserkr, indomitable warriors fueled by an unstoppable rage.
As Eysteinn grew up, he listened to his mother telling him said tales, of Falgrim the Broad, Karl Jonsson the Scourge of Giants, White-Estrid, the linnorm-taming maiden. Among those tales, Eysteinn’s favorites where those of Thorgal Magnisson, the bearer of the famed blade Windsplitter. He liked them the most, for Thorgal was his father.
On his fifteenth birthday, Eysteinn Thorgalsson was to become a berserkr himself, following his father in battle. He was tall, strong and well-trained; but the rage, the unstoppable rage that would make him a true legend, just wasn’t there. Eysteinn had known a happy childhood, a loving and capable mother, a strong father to admire, a two smaller siblings to play with. Never once orcs had raided his town: the battles where a far-away thing, chased by his father on his longboat.
He just… lacked any anger towards the world.
This was shameful for Thorgal and the rest of Eysteinn,’s family, but the boy had many other qualities. First and foremost, craftiness. Once it became evident that he couldn’t be a berserkr, he started shadowing Old Palli, the lame herbalist who got the berserkrs in shape after a fight. The fighters scoffed at the old man, who never was a warrior, but Eysteinn learned from him how to strike where it hurts and how to make tonics out of mountain flowers and goat’s stomach. More important, he knew there were other ways to get the rage…
He went looking for Old Palli’s master, a shadowy figure called Grinmer, whispered of being a secret servant of the trickster god Lokki (uh… Calistria? Norgorber?), who had developed artificial means to cheat the unstoppable berserkergang inspired by Tor in his followers.
Eysteinn studied with Grinmer, and month after month he experimented, until he finally found the concoction that gave him a good surrogate of berserkr’s rage. It was a glorious day for Eysteinn!
But alas, dealing with Lokki’s lot is never without price. Thorgal wanted nothing to do with his son, now that tales of him cavorting with witches had spread. He owed a lot of gold to Grinmer and was unable to pay. He lost his status as a free man, and forced to become a thrall of Gorm Jokullsson, an inquisitor of Tor – to determine whether or not his ways are compatible with the ways of the Ulfen.
But he doesn’t care. Personal freedom can be earned, or bought, and thanks to the teachings of Old Palli and Grinmer, he has the means to do either.
Personality:
While strong and fierce like most Ulfen warriors, Eysteinn carries himself in a more subtle demeanor, opposed to the boisterous ways of the berserks. He doesn’t want attention on himself – and usually disguises his strength-enhancing mutagen as a generous dose of mead or other spirit “to get my blood pumping before the battle”. He is crafty and clever – he is starting to think that “in a furious rage” may just not be the best way to face adversity – but so far nature is still winning over nurture. Prone to help others using his alchemical talents (both out of kindness and curiosity to see if he is able to), his goals are, in this order: gain his freedom back, gain a place in the berserkr gang of his father, earn Thorgal’s respect back (and regain the surname Thorgalsson in the process), and last, be deemed worthy of Windsplitter, his ancestor’s sword.
Appearance:
Eysteinn is tall and with well-chiseled muscles – not big and broad like most of his kind, but wiry and flexible. He wears the furs and heavy coats of his people (useful to hide vials and potions that might look suspicious) over a light armor. Over a freckled complexion sports a short brown beard that only now, at twenty-two years of age, is starting to look full and healthy.
