Hi! Just fishing around for some interest here. If you like the backstory, go ahead and check out the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/31892/posts/ooc] OOC![/url] [hider=Prologue] From Götaland to Österland, the earth quakes and rumbles, the waters thrash about in an unseamly manner. A wicked trickster hell-bent on devious plots heads way unto a festival of the gods. In Ægir's hall these gods laugh, sing praise, feast and drink merrily. For unbeknownst to them, a reckoning is approaching. A vile trick that would morph the creeds of prophecy for the coming of the ages. Meanwhile, a Geatish king ventures into Svealand and prepares for a declaration of peace. In the great hall known as Guldsten, a Swedish king does the same. An indescribable feast of wonderous occasions is laid out, the servant girls prancing around flirtatiously, the skalds preforming tunes of such elegancy. It is a celebratory time in Uppsala, peace has been declared, and with it breeds a new age of coming battle and war. ~ In Ægir's hall, a different story plays out. The gods cry out so loud that Yggdrasil shakes and trembles. Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor, has been absconded with. Gungnir, the spear of Odin, has also vanished. And Freyr's boar, Gullinbursti, was spotted by the entrance with it's guts strung up along the walkway. The hall was in uproar, that is, until Odin decided to give chase. Thor, Freyr and Loki followed, spreading out amongst the lands to catch the vile being. And there he was, caught in an open field near Ægir's hall. Útgarða-Loki, cornered by the four gods on all sides, was bound to his knees and beaten severely. With all their strength and rage combined, they drug him through miles of jagged, rocky terrain and muddy plains. A wooden platform was erected upon the entrance of Asgard, where the giant was strung up by his wrists. The gods casted stones upon him, and he spit upon them in return. Indeed, the giant was too big for conveying a normal means of the execution planned for him. Thus, Odin tied enormous ropes to a sharp, serrated blade, two large axes, and two large hooks. These ropes were fastened over a massive wooden beam lumbering over the head of Útgarða-Loki, and the execution was under way. The first rope was pulled, and a blade sharp as a razor sliced along the jötun's spine up to his neck. Blood seeped down upon the platform and into the soil. Two more ropes were yanked and pulled as if ringing a church bell, two massive axes cutting away along his back in unison. As Odin called forth a flock of Valkyries, they attached the hooks into the giant's rib cage through his back. With a powerful downward thrust on the last rope tied to the hooks, Odin broke, bent and spread backwards the jötun's ribcage along his spine so as to resemble the folded wings of an eagle. Thor and Loki climbed up the giant's back, tearing out his lungs and pinning them to his shoulders with spears. As the giant roared and shouted in horrendous pain moments before his death, Odin grinned and ordered his body burnt to ashes. Útgarða-Loki's screams were heard all the way to Jötunheimr, even thunderous storms bellowed over the ancient lands of Sweden and the Jutland Peninsula. Although with this trickster slain, the gods knew they were at a disadvantage. For they would require new weapons, new artifacts of which to give them an edge at Ragnarok. In Valhalla, Odin sat upon his throne and realized he would need many more einherjar for the coming of the end times if he were to overcome prophecy's foretellings. He sent down one of his sons to the mortal plane to relay a message to his people. ~ In the grand halls of Guldsten, all were nearly blinded by Baldr's appearance. As he approached the two kings and their people, he spoke and they were in awe. His voice vibrant and assertive. "[i]A blood eagle soars over the lands, amass your warriors and prepare for battle...sail west, my brothers and sisters, for the Allfather commands it.[/i]" As he left their presence, he proceeded to visit the Danish king along the Jutland Peninsula and utter the same phrase. Soon, chieftains from every corner of the northern lands reportededly had seen and heard Baldr himself. It was time, the largest gathered army of northmen would assemble and raid west. In nearly one month, a conglomerate of chieftains hailing from all across the northern lands feast, sing, dance and drink in the grand halls of Guldsten. They discuss the strengths of their clans, strategies for further raids upon the Saxon's lands, and various other future plots. It is the dawn of the year 865 A.D, and on the morrow they march for the hamnstad on the western coasts of Svealand. The Great Heathen Army has been assembled, and they will sail towards England's demise.[/hider]