[hider=Haljon Gunnarsson]

[center][h2][i][color=Cyan]Haljon Gunnarsson[/color][/i][/h2]
[img]https://cdn1.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/441/253/large/mathieu-aerni-001-nordheadhair-withoutstuds.jpg?1443928757[/img]
[color=Cyan][i]"Expect the worst and you can’t be disappointed. Optimism is the luxury of the young, the foolish and the dullard."[/i][/color][/center]

[center][h3][i][color=Cyan]Profile[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Full Name:[/b] Haljon Gunnarsson
[b]Titles/Nicknames:[/b] Bloodaxe, Bjorn's Butcher
[b]Age:[/b] 52
[b]Race:[/b] Human
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Heterosexual
[b]Combat Role:[/b] Tanky Berserker

[b]Hair Color:[/b] Brown/Gray
[b]Eye Color:[/b] Blue
[b]Height:[/b] 6'4
[b]Weight:[/b] 230 lbs

[b]Appearance:[/b] Haljon is barrel-chested, and his arms are unusually long. Possessing strong, angular facial features, he may be considered ruggedly handsome by some. His eyes are deepset and a dark brown, almost black. A scar travels from his forehead to beneath his left eye, and his nose is crooked from multiple fractures. Haljon's mouth is framed by a large beard, which is complimented by bushy black brows. He seems to be permanently coated in a layer of dirt or dust.

[center][h3][i][color=Cyan]Personality[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Overview:[/b] Haljon seems to project an air of great weariness; as if his many experiences are a weight to be constantly born. He appears to be a man who is trying to overcome a heavy past, one who must leave many regrets behind but must move forward regardless. What nuggets of wisdom he offers freely are given with the intrinsic knowledge that such knowledge was hard-won. Haljon is not exactly an affable companion, though he is a reliable and trustworthy one. He will drink and talk with all the rest, though none would ever call him boisterous, or say they were particularly close to him. Even so, few would have issue with him as far as drinking mates go, and none would dare voice a complaint when it comes to the field of battle. 

Haljon is driven by the hope that he can remake himself, and leave behind his past. He knows little more than fighting, having been a man of war since his teen years; and so he decided to remake himself in the great gladiator pits of the world. He wishes for people to cheer for and adore him, not cower fearfully in his presence. Haljon seeks new brothers-in-arms, in part to honor those he has lost. The greatest of his fears would be his inability to change, or a return to his past.

[center][h3][i][color=Cyan]Combat[/color][/i][/h3][/center]

[b]Strength:[/b] 9
[b]Dexterity:[/b] 3
[b]Intelligence:[/b] 3
[b]Cunning:[/b] 6
[b]Magic:[/b] 1
[b]Willpower:[/b] 3
[b]Endurance:[/b] 9
[b]Charisma:[/b] 3

[b]Weapons of Choice:[/b] Haljon brings a great bearded two-handed axe, along with numerous daggers.

[b]Armor/Combat Apparel:[/b] Haljon wears a cured leather cuirass and cured leather bracers, along with assorted furs. He keeps one shoulder mostly bare, while the other is covered in a bear skin.

[b]Fighting Style:[/b] Haljon will stand at the frontline, trading blows with the fiercest of the enemy. He will defend his allies if able, but his focus will be on the dismemberment of the enemy. Haljon will work himself into a frenzy and wade into their lines without fear of attack. He is enormously strong and durable, and his long experience on the field of battle loans him many tricks he may use in order to achieve victory over his foes. However, his aging body has robbed him of much of his former dexterity, and he has little tolerance for mind-magic. 

[center][h3][i][color=Cyan]Background[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b]Place of Birth:[/b] Small village in the north
[b]Social Status:[/b] Retired house carl/champion.

[b]History:[/b] 
Haljon grew up in a village located in the far north, one without a name or place on any map. Surrounded by an icy wasteland and having never experienced any season except Winter, the village survived through ice fishing and trading with the few merchants who dared venture that far north. Haljon had a normal, if grueling, childhood. As the village stayed at a nearly constant population due to the climate, children were expected to take large amounts of responsibility at an early age. They were taught that duty, particularly to the village, came before all else; that a person's word was the summation of their entire being, a terrible curse befalling all those who broke theirs. 

Eventually, war came to Haljon's villages, as was common in the North. The village's carls were called to join the host of their local chieftain, and as Haljon was of age he went along as well. He remembers little from that first battle, besides screaming, blood, and his axe-arm rising and falling with disturbing regularity. Afterward, he learned that he had apparently distinguished himself in the battle and that his chieftain, a man known as Bjorn, wanted to make him one of his personal hirdmen. Seeing it as an opportunity to leave behind his village life, he agreed. 

This chieftain, unfortunately, was quite ambitious. He sought to unite the North under one ruler: himself. And so Haljon fought in the numerous wars and bloodfeuds that followed the chieftain's ambition across the North. He became ever more capable and feared as a warrior, and began to be known as Bloodaxe, and later as Bjorn's Butcher. He was elevated to Bjorn's personal champion, and for thirty long and bloody years he fought in Bjorn's name. Eventually, however, Haljon had his fill. Bjorn was defeated and his head stuck on a pike, and Haljon fled the North and his fell deeds. He came to rest in a small coastal town in the Venatrian Empire, having heard tale of a tournament approaching... 

[/hider]