Blitzy — Roleplayer Guild

Here's my CS, I realise the last two paragraphs of his background are extremely scant on detail but in all honesty I was just desperate to get what I had uploaded so that it could be critiqued. I plan to flesh out the latter part of his story tomorrow but that is the general gist of it.

    Gjorn Frost-Fist    

Male Skaal Nord | 29 | The Lord

Profile

§  Birthplace   

Skaal Village, Solstheim

§  Appearance   

Gjorn Frost-Fist cuts a formidable figure, standing at an intimidating 6 feet and 3 inches tall and muscled like an ox. Many in the village used to jest that he was supposed to be a bear but the All-Maker put the bear's soul into the wrong body. Gjorn has spent countless hours refining his physical form and ensuring he is as fit and strong as he can be, and it shows. He is broad-shouldered, with thick arms and legs, but the heavy-set Skaal makes no active effort to show off his form and sees it more as a matter of health to maintain than something to show off.

Gjorn has deep red hair, braided back away from his face so as to not obstruct his view. He does very little to maintain his appearance and as such his hair passes a few inches past the bottom of his neck when pulled back. Following this trend his facial hair has grown wildly out of control, forming a great orange beard that conceals his bullneck and reaches down to the top of his chest. His dark brown eyes are small and set wide on his face, but despite their small size are very betraying; Gjorn can rarely mask his suspicion or paranoia and it is evident to most at a mere glance. Gjorn has a chiselled, craggy face with a deep furrowed brow, subbed nose and a generally weather-beaten look about him. Nevertheless many would consider him fairly handsome, not that Gjorn particularly cares for what others would say. Gjorn's addiction has also impacted on his appearance in recent years. Gjorn's tongue and the inside of his mouth are stained a dark purple colour from the potions he consumes and this has begun to spread out to his lips. He has dark bags under his eyes and his skin has turned pale.

Gjorn's right eye is adorned by a deep gouging scar, starting a few centimetres above the corner of his mouth and finishing halfway up his forehead. The wound almost cost him his sight in that eye but he was thankfully saved by the medical expertise of the Skaal Village Shaman. He suffered this particular scar during a disastrous hunt, during which Gjorn's small party was ambushed by a sabre cat. The cat's claw almost took his eye, while its teeth almost wrenched his arm from its socket, leaving the scar of the cat's clenched jaw on his left arm by which to remember the incident. These are just two of many; Gjorn's body is marked all over with lesser scars and bruises, each one with its own unique, and in some cases slightly embarrassing, story.

Gjorn's attire is nothing if not practical. Used to the harsh climate of Solstheim, the more moderate temperatures of mainland Tamriel often cause him problems. Gjorn likes to mix comfort with protection in his clothing, so that he can always be both comfortable and protected at the same time. As such, he wears a simple cotton shirt topped with small, lightweight metal scales to provide protection to his torso. He never wears a helmet as he feels it obstructs his vision. His arms and legs are protected by light metal plates woven into the fabric of his shirt and breeches, but these only provide a very basic level of protection and would be easily bypassed by heavier weaponry. He carries with him a heavy fur cloak that his mother made for him while he still lived among his people, which doubles up as cover against the cold at night. He does carry a second set of simple clothes but will do all he can to avoid wearing them since he feels it leaves him vulnerable.

§  Personality   

At his core, Gjorn has always been kind-hearted and generous, always wanting to help others where possible, a set of ideals that was fostered and reinforced by the small community he grew up in, where being co-dependent is essential for survival. As a youngster, Gjorn was noble and loyal. Diligent and determined, Gjorn has a never-say-die attitude that has saved him in several seemingly hopeless situations in the past. However, as Gjorn has aged under the grasp of a drug addiction, his personality has changed, and all the things that made him a role model while young have withered and faded, leaving the once-mighty Skaal a prisoner in his own head and a shell of who he once was. Now, paranoia and fear have him in their grasp as his mental state continues to deteriorate.

As a Skaal, Gjorn was raised to believe in the All-Maker, a single deity that created the world and all life. A core principle of that belief was ‘one-ness with the land’, meaning that all life should be held sacred and protected. The Skaal believe that all souls are sent to Nirn by the All-Maker, and when a creature or person dies their soul is returned to the All-Maker to be reincarnated. However, with the Reiklings controlling the Thirsk Mead Hall, the Thirsk Nords coinhabited Skaal Village while Gjorn was growing up, meaning he was exposed to two very different ideologies growing up that caused a lot of confusion for one so young. Their tales of heroism and bravery inspired Gjorn, but at the same time their stories of bloodshed and killing for glory conflicted massively with the teachings of the All-Maker. Gjorn wanted to enjoy the lifestyle of the Thirsk while abiding by his ancestor’s beliefs, and so created a confused patchwork of religion in his own mind. Ultimately Gjorn reached his own conclusion; all souls return to the All-Maker to be reshaped and returned to Mundus. If Gjorn killed the evil and the corrupt, he was returning their souls for the All-Maker so that he might reshape them and return them just and good. However, since leaving the village, Gjorn finds himself doubting his religion. With every day spent on the mainland, Gjorn was exposed to new ideas and beliefs and the emphasis on religion in his life died away. He questioned why his God was real and everyone else’s was fake. With the development of Gjorn’s addiction it has become difficult to reason that all life is sacred when he holds such utter disregard for his own. The drugs have consumed his thoughts and left very little room for worship, putting the focus squarely on when he will get his next fix.

Gjorn is still friendly, loyal, caring, and kind. However, these admirable qualities are overshadowed by his paranoia, mistrust and fear. Gjorn's addictions cause him to suffer from fits, episodes of rage, hallucinations, and chronic insomnia, the latter of which alone is enough to mean he spends most days sleep deprived and in a foul mood. Gjorn's entire person is a struggle unto itself; he wants nothing more than to find his inner peace and return to who he once was, but at the same time lusts for battle and bloodshed, a desire he sates through his work as a mercenary, bounty hunter or bodyguard. Gjorn finds it difficult to interact with other people, as he fears the same wrathful judgement that he experienced during his time with the Skaal. He knows his addiction is wrong; he is ashamed and disgusted by himself, and the paranoia bought on by his addiction extends his self-loathing to being convinced that everyone around him hates him and looks down on him too.

One of the key side effects of Gjorn’s addiction on his personality has been the development of phobias and fears. In his youth Gjorn was fearless and resolute. Generally, Gjorn fears other people. More specifically, he is scared of them hating and judging him. He wishes he could be who he was before but knows he is not and sees what he’s become as despicable. Gjorn does not fear dying; in many ways it would be a relief. Nor does he fear combat; he relishes the rush, and is somewhat of an adrenaline junkie. Instead he harbours many irrational fears. For example, the scariest thing to Gjorn about living on mainland Tamriel is cities. Having always lived in a small village with no walls where anyone could come and go, the idea of people being herded and enclosed into spaces like this is intimidating and fills Gjorn with dread. As such, Gjorn avoids cities where possible.

Gjorn has given up trying to kick his addiction by now. He has suffered with it for almost a decade, and every previous attempt to get clean has ended in failure and just making the problem worse. He despises himself for his dependence and sees it as a great weakness, and his failure to kick the habit brings him great shame. He tries with all his might to keep it hidden from others. Consuming the whole dose would send Gjorn into a full-blown frenzy; to tide himself over Gjorn takes just a small sip from a diluted version that he makes, enough to calm the cravings and ward off the shakes. Gjorn has tried to ween himself off by reducing the dose and even using skooma as a substitute but nothing works. Gjorn refined the recipe as best he could to reduce the toxicity and addictiveness, but ultimately one of the key ingredients is a dark liquid extract obtained by pulverizing a nightshade flower; in small doses it enhances his reflexes but is well known to be poisonous and has caused great harm to Gjorn over the years.

Gjorn does not spend every day walking around in despair. He is unstable, to be sure, but is perfectly capable of a calm and composed demeanour, especially when not exposed to any sort of emotional triggers. Gjorn is a good singer and has found his singing voice is a great way to get some attention from women at inns. Like most Nords he can put away an absurd amount of alcohol, exacerbated by his almighty size, and has a terrible habit of declaring drinking competitions or challenges that turn relaxed nights at the inn into hours of drunken stupor and revelry. He is normally at his calmest and happiest when drunk, as it allows him to relax and be free of his looming paranoia and self-doubt. Annoyingly to his drinking partners, he seldom seems affected by hangovers, either. Gjorn has a good sense of humour but has been known to cause offence and take jokes too far. One of his favourite pastimes, surprising to many, is fishing. Fishing gives Gjorn a chance to just be quiet, clear his mind, and focus on something completely different for a short time, cut off from the worries of the rest of his life and with success meaning a fresh and delicious supper. For all his flaws, many people come to find themselves liking this Skaal outcast, even if he's not entirely sure of them in return.

§  Background   

On the 27nd of First Seed, Gjorn was born of the union between Brynjar Snowbeard and his beloved wife Nilina, under the sign of the Lord. He was born in Skaal Village on the island of Solstheim in the Sea of Ghosts, an island known as the “Jewel of Absolutely Nothing,” to a traditionalist Skaal couple with strict religious values. Gjorn was large even at birth, weighting almost 9 and a half pounds. Gjorn’s father Brynjar was a hunter, well-known throughout the village, and his mother Nilina was a fisherwoman, doing her part to supply food to the village by fishing the icy waters off Solstheim’s coasts. Both of Gjorn’s parents had huge influences on him growing up.

As a son of a hunter, Gjorn was raised as such. He was taught the basics of reading the land, laying traps, recognizing the flora and fauna and learning to track. However, he never excelled at the theory. He was taught at first to hunt with a bow, and was a keen marksman, though never any more than a fledgling hunter. Gjorn’s mother taught him how to cook, so that he would be able to care for his own family one day, and how to fish, so that he could find food even when the forests turned bare in the bitter winters. He learned to defend himself, scrapping and fighting with the other boys his age, and winning almost every time.

Gjorn’s ambition for as long as he could remember was to become the First Hunter of the Skaal; the man charged with providing for and protecting the people of Skaal Village. It was always in Gjorn’s nature to protect; he had been raised by a zealous father and mother that preached of the importance of family and community, and about protecting those around you and the land you inhabit in the name of the All-Maker. Gjorn demanded to be taught to fight, as young as seven years old, practicing with a wooden sword. He took a great shine to it and quickly found he was most comfortable with a weapon in each hand. When Gjorn was 9, his younger brother Yngvar was born. Gjorn knew as soon as he saw his younger brother that he would protect this boy with his life, and the two maintained a very close relationship growing up.

At 11, Gjorn met a young girl named Herkgi, his own age, and the daughter of his mother’s close friend and fellow fisherwoman Lillje. The two became close friends, playing together, exploring in the woods and climbing trees, accompanying their mothers on fishing trips and splashing each other with the icy water. It would be the start of Gjorn’s first and only romantic relationship; and Herkgi would be his first and thus far only love.
When Gjorn was 15, his life changed dramatically when the Thirsk Nords of the Mead Hall, a sub-section of the Skaal with a set of beliefs more akin to mainland Nords in their emphasis on great heroes and glorious battle, were evicted from the Hall, once again taking up residence with the Skaal of Skaal Village, holders of more traditional Skaal belief. It wasn’t uncommon; the last time the Rieklings had taken the Mead Hall had been 12 years ago when Gjorn was 3, and they had retaken it two years later when Gjorn was 5, meaning he had never been old enough to understand their different values and had dismissed them. Now, however, he found himself intrigued by their unique way of life. Gjorn has always been confused by his father’s preaching of ‘one-ness with the land’, his constant insistence that all life was sacred, yet he regularly killed the animals of Solstheim to feed his own. To Gjorn, it was hypocrisy, and the teachings of the Thirsk Nords seemed more in line with how his father behaved rather than what his father said. He quickly fell in with a group of Thirsk teenagers, forming a close friendship with a boy three years his senior named Hjadnar and his twin sister Helssa.  It was through Helssa that he was first introduced to the potion that would control his life, dubbed ‘Bear Essence’ by the Thirsk, a concoction of pulped nightshade flowers, powdered bear claws and ground canis roots. They claimed it brought them strength and visions, but Gjorn was wary and declined to part-take in the use of this concoction.

Still aged 15, Gjorn had his first real hunting accident. While stalking elk with a small party of Skaal and Thirsk hunters, the party was ambushed by a sabre cat with a pelt as white as the snow itself. Caught off guard, the party was vulnerable. The cat killed one member before setting its sights on Gjorn, who kept it occupied long enough, albeit not by choice, for the Thirsk to come up behind the beast and stick a spear in its skull. Gjorn passed out from the pain and woke up in the Skaal Village Shaman’s tent with his mother, father and brother looking down at him. His right eye would be permanently scarred, and he was lucky not to lose it, they had said. His torso was riddled with the scarred remnants of puncture wounds from the great beast’s teeth. When he was finally well enough to receive guests, Hjadnar and Helssa presented him with a string necklace adorned with the cat’s teeth, his first ever encounter with trophy hunting. When Gjorn presented his father with the trophy the next day he ripped it from Gjorn’s neck and threw it into the snow, al the while raving about ‘one-ness with the land’, disgusted with Gjorn and the Thirsk for thinking killing for trophies was acceptable.

The village was swept with illness just after Gjorn’s 17th birthday. By this time his relationship with Herkgi had evolved from close friendship into something more. Gjorn’s mother and brother were victims of the illness; a vile fever that left its victims vomiting blood for days before finally succumbing. His young brother Yngvar pulled through miraculously, but his mother did not. Gjorn’s family, himself included, were stricken with grief. His mother had always been warm and kind, and her death left him confused. He still makes an effort to take time out of his life to fish when he can, as it gives him an opportunity to reflect and remember.

Eventually, after almost four years, the Thirsk Nords decided the time was right to retake their Mead Hall from the Rieklings. A party of 18 Thirsk warriors set out, and Gjorn of course went with them, beckoned by his friends. The fight was bloody; Gjorn experienced his first kill that wasn’t an elk or some other forest creature and felt no guilt. By this time his beliefs resembled more Thirsk than Skaal, believing the battle he was a part of was glorious and just. All in all, Gjorn cut down four of the Rieklings before finding himself outnumbered and surrounded. Gjorn defended himself with all the fury of a cornered dog, using every bit of his strength to keep his attackers at bay, yet he still failed. The young Skaal was bested, surrounded, and a spear thrust from his demise when Helssa cut through the crowd. The carved through Gjorn’s attackers with ease and subtle grace, cleaving one Riekling in two before Gjorn’s very eyes. Yet when she looked down at him, her eyes were empty. Gjorn had never seen such strength or ferocity before. The veins of her face and her lips had turned a shade of deep purple, so dark it almost make them look black. Her breathing was sharp and rapid, and her whole body seemed to tremble. She didn’t breathe a word to him, just looking at him with no emotion, before wandering off into the melee to find more victims. At the battle’s end, the Thirsk were victorious. The Rieklings were all either dead or routed, and the Thirsk had lost only seven warriors, and Hjadnar was amongst the slain. When Gjorn thanked Helssa for saving his life, she looked at him blankly. She claimed to remember nothing, brandishing a vial of dark purple liquid and attributing her battle frenzy to it. She threw it to Gjorn and bid him to try it, and he slipped it into his pocket.

Over the next year Helssa and Gjorn developed a very close friendship, as if Helssa was replacing her dead brother Hjadnar with the young Skaal warrior. He visited the Mead Hall several times a week, fighting and hunting with the parties of the Thirsk and revelling in their tales of heroism. It was during this year that Gjorn first became addicted to the Bear Essence potion. Fighting and hunting, Gjorn was always slow, inferior in his strength and reflexes and bested by everyone. The Thirsk pressured Gjorn into trying the substance and he loved it. He was empowered, he stood toe to toe with Thirsk Nords older and stronger than himself and won. He bought down prey of monumental size, even a bear at one point. They harvested the claws, and at that point Helssa taught Gjorn the recipe. Gjorn was hooked almost instantly, initially more on the rush of power and adrenaline that its usage bought. However, as time progressed, and his usage increased, Gjorn’s dependency became one of chemical addiction.  Gjorn hid his usage from his father, who had thrown himself into worship of the All-Maker in the wake of his mother’s passing, as he knew he would disapprove. However, on hunting trips with Skaal parties, the other Skaal had noticed his methods had become increasingly more violent, and that he had begun killing animals as if more for sport than for food, even reportedly claiming small trophies when he thought no one was looking. Gjorn’s dad was informed and forbade him from visiting the Mead Hall anymore, blaming them for his son’s violence and disdain for his religion. Out of his people’s traditional respect for their elders, the 20-year-old Gjorn respected his father’s wishes.

Before too long, Brynjar’s wrath had faded and Gjorn was back visiting the Hall. Helssa showed him their refined recipe; utilising less of the crushed bear claws and grinding the nightshade further into harvesting a thick liquid from it rather than the pulp of the flower. It apparently reduced toxicity and enhanced the effects. Unknown to Gjorn, however, it became far more addictive and was accompanied by crippling side effects. He learned soon enough, collapsing into a heap in the village centre while skinning rabbits with his wife Herkgi, gripping the knife in a death grip while black foam and bile spilled forth from his mouth and his whole body convulsed in a violent and terrifying fit. His father saved him, braving the slashes of the flailing hand holding a knife to steady his son’s body and save him from choking. As the fit stopped and Gjorn lost consciousness, Brynjar discovered a vial of black fluid on Gjorn’s person. When Gjorn finally awoke, he could see the fear in his father’s eyes, and could not lie to him. He told him it was the Thirsk who had gave it to him, and that he had been taking it to enhance his strength. 

Brynjar was outraged. He rallied other Skaal, disgusted that the Thirsk had been poisoning one of their own and marched on the Mead Hall. Violence broke out between the two groups, resulting in the deaths of three of the Skaal and two Thirsk men. The Thirsk forbade Gjorn from ever returning to their hall, and Helssa herself spat at Gjorn’s feet before turning her back on him for the last time. Back in the village, Gjorn found himself full of rage, angry at his father for separating him from his friends and spilling blood for something that was not their fault. Gjorn ranted and raged, full of fury, and when a Skaal man tried to detain him he broke the man’s nose. Brynjar looked at his son, saw the fury in his eyes and the taint in his heart, and in that moment, Gjorn Frost-Fist died in his father’s eyes. Everything he had raised Gjorn to be, he had turned his back on and spat at. He had broken traditions, defied their religious creed and now, he was angry at his own father for protecting him even when he had poisoned his own body. Brynjar knew it was Gjorn’s fault and had still spilt blood for him, yet Gjorn responded with anger. Brynjar bid the elders banish Gjorn, exiling him from the village to never return, and the decision was almost unanimous. As he calmed Gjorn realised what he had done, and knew it was futile to beg for forgiveness. He visited his lover Herkgi, now with child, one last time, and was met with disgust and abuse. He spent his last night in Skaal village by the fire of his own hut, telling stories to his younger brother Yngvar like he had used to. Come dawn, Gjorn left as the village slept, knowing he would likely never return home.

From Raven Rock, Gjorn sailed for Skyrim, aged 22 and eager for a fresh start. He was still thoroughly an addict, and the few days on a boat without access were incredibly tough as Gjorn suffered from sweating, mild hallucinations and suffered another fit. His sleep became brief and restless. He eventually docked at Windhelm, but upon entering the city found himself terrified and overcome by a panic attack. The walls, the people, the big stone structures all terrified him. He practically ran from the gates, following the path to the small village of Kynesgrove. He settled in the mining camp, and stayed there for two years, using his strength to work Steamscorch mine for money. He took a lover there but never became attached to her in the same way as he did to Herkgi; knowing he was a father who would never see his child hurt him deeply. He made runs into Windhelm, attempting to overcome his fear, to gather supplies form the local market so that he could continue making batches of Bear Essence to fuel his addiction. As he did so, the paranoia began to set in, the insomnia got worse and Gjorn developed extreme anxiety, fearing he would be exiled from Kynesgrove before too long. As such he became something of a nomad. He travelled to Riverwood next, working the mill there for a few months, before heading south-west to Falkreath, where he served as a bounty hunter, taking down bandits and raiders in the hold and collecting the coin. He travelled to Markarth and fought the Forsworn alongside local mercenaries and the city guard. As time passed, his addiction and the resultant symptoms got worse as his dependency intensified.

By 24, having spent two years working as a sellsword in Skyrim for various Jarls, eliminating petty criminals for petty coin. It wasn't that Gjorn didn't enjoy it; his skills were finally being put to good use and no one was judging him for what he did. If anything, it was earning him respect. But Gjorn couldn't stand to be there any more. The people knew his face, they knew his name, and that played on his mind more than it ever should. Besides, he wanted to see more of the world. So, Gjorn justified leaving to himself, despite the fact he had no enemies and a steady income, and had begun to garner a good local reputation for himself. He headed south from where he had been staying in Falkreath, the only large settlement where he didn't feel trapped by walls and knew he could escape into the woods if he needed to. He crossed the border into Cyrodiil for the first time. He arrived first at Bruma, but moved quickly onwards, finding the city and its people off-putting. His next stop was Cheydinhal, where he stayed for a month living off the money he had saved from his time working in Skyrim, but couldn't find a reliable source of income. In a very uncharacteristic rush of blood to the head, Gjorn boarded a carriage headed towards the Imperial City.

Gjorn found his feet in the Imperial City Arena. It didn't take long for him to persuade the acting Blademaster to let him in; just once glance at the muscled Nord could send chills down anyone's spine. Gjorn couldn't stay in the Imperial City; he spent the nights in various inns on the roads in and out of town, close enough to journey in every day but far enough that he could journey in every day to spill blood on the sand. No one judged him; his bloodlust bought the people entertainment and bought him coin. Gjorn was only ever defeated a handful of times; he spent four years duelling in the sand, fighting beasts and men and beast-like men, and nine times out of ten it was the same result. Gjorn would walk out of the arena with a small sense of pride and a bag of gold, and the other would be carried out and sent to the crypts. Of course there were occasions where Gjorn was defeated, but through a combination of determination and luck he managed to avoid any real crippling injuries, instead adding a plethora of gruesome scars to his already substantial collection. On one occasion he was stabbed straight through the gut, but fortunately he had enough gold saved to afford a decent healer. It left its mark and kept him off the sand for a few months, but thankfully he has largely recovered without any long-standing consequence. It was the closest he had come to feeling like he belonged since leaving Solstheim, and for a short while he actually managed to come close to getting clean, forming close bonds with several other fighters. But the same as always, he could not resist the call for long, and his veins were back to running black soon enough. A change in Blademaster brought a change in Gjorn's fortunes; he saw Gjorn's substance abuse as unnatural and expelled him from the arena. It hit Gjorn hard that none of his 'friends' had jumped to defend him and destroyed the trust and normality he had begun to rebuild in his life. Four happy years came to an end, and just like that Gjorn was once again alone and without a place to call his own.

He moved west across Cyrodiil, eventually encountering a merchant caravan travelling for the High Rock city of Jehenna. For a few months now, Gjorn has been travelling with this caravan from Cyrodiil across Hammerfell, and eventually through southern High Rock. He offered protection in exchange for food, a fire and a small bag of gold. He does not trust his travelling companions, though, and never will. Slippery Khajiit merchants and cutthroat Imperial sellswords made up the bulk of the party, and Gjorn found himself camped in the woods near the camp rather than in it every night, making sure to cover his trail as he went so that he could not be followed to have his throat cut in the night. The party reached the village of Cloud Spring a day ago and are now on the cusp of arriving in Jehenna.

Capabilities

§  Attributes   

Major: Strength
Minor: Endurance

§  Skills   
Expert: One-handed Axe, One-handed Sword
Adept: Alchemy
Apprentice: Light Armour, Hand-to-Hand
Novice: Marksmanship

§  Weaknesses   

Addiction - Gjorn battles with addiction to a specific set of concoctions that he devised and adapted himself. These essence potions fuel his body with energy, providing Gjorn with inhuman reflexes and savage strength and speed for a window of time depending on the strength of the potion. He his able to shrug off most wounds that would stop a normal man in his tracks for as long as the potion lasts but feels the effects twice as hard once its effects wear off. The stronger the potion, the stronger and longer the effects and the harder he is hit by the comedown. A long term addiction to these relatively harmful substances has caused Gjorn to suffer from semi-regular violent fits, episodes of rage, extreme paranoia, hallucinations, chronic insomnia and often night terrors when he does sleep. The insomnia alone is enough to ruin Gjorn's mood. Years of battling dependency has greatly damaged Gjorn's psyche. Interaction with other people has now become a challenge. After the harsh judgement he faced from his own people, Gjorn fears the judgement of others and largely tries to keep his addiction a secret. Even when others bare no ill will towards the large Nord, he is suspicious and paranoid, often jittery and stumbling in his speech, making him somewhat challenging to hold a conversation with. He avoids eye contact as he knows he does not hide his emotions well and does not want anyone else to see how scared he is just conversing with another person. The combination of his stutter and heavy Skaal accent, Gjorn struggles to hold a conversation and has been frequently mocked for his speech. Having grown up strong and powerful among his people, it is tragic that Gjorn seems to have shrunk in terms of his confidence. In the hours following the use of one of these potions, Gjorn suffer from fatigue and nausea, often casing him to vomit violently. Long term use has left him with a slight stutter, and prolonged periods without ingesting the drugs cause him to shake violently and go ghostly white, suffering from hot and cold flushes, excessive sweating and migraines. However, the berserker trance that he can induce via these concoctions makes him an almost indestructible killing machine for a brief period of time, and is, in his eyes, worth it.

Insomnia - Of all the effects of Gjorn's addiction, this one affects him most on a daily basis. Without the aid of yet more chemicals Gjorn struggles awfully to sleep and has gone as long as six days without so much as an hour of sleep. The results are one incredibly large, mean and irritable Nord who can snap at even the slightest offence. When Gjorn has had a poor night's sleep, one would be wise to steer well clear as his usual personality is replaced by a foul, aggressive beast waiting to lash out at the slightest provocation.

Confusion of Beliefs - Gjorn is not quite sure what he really believes in. The influences of two different beliefs on his upbringing have turned Gjorn into a confused human mixing pot for conflicting ideologies that have resulted in a man that follows his own ideas, a patchwork mixture of the two, committing entirely to neither ideology. The confusion Gjorn struggles with makes it incredibly difficult for him to keep faith or fall in line with a cause or belief as he is always left asking questions which cannot be answered. Since coming to mainland Tamriel years ago, Gjorn has been exposed to numerous new faiths and beliefs from a wide variety of cultures. With every passing day his zeal lessens, as he questions why his supposed God is any more real or less than anyone else's. While his faith was always important to him growing up, Gjorn has found it less and less important as years pass. It was always crucial that Gjorn could justify his actions in the eyes of the All-Maker. With the development of Gjorn's addiction, it became increasingly difficult for Gjorn to reason that all life is sacred when he holds such utter disregard for his own body.

Fear of Cities - Gjorn grew up in an open village where people could come and go as they pleased. His transition from this environment to the cities of mainland Tamriel has not been a smooth one. He feels trapped and confined within city walls and one will often find that Gjorn is a much cagier, suspicious person within the walls of a city than outside them. Exacerbated by his addiction, Gjorn's phobia has steadily gotten worse in recent years, as the development of severe paranoia has made Gjorn scared of what's round every corner and he has on occasion hallucinated that the city walls are moving in to crush him, making him feel choked and claustrophobic. Many of his night terrors feature cities as the setting, even if it is not directly one of the negative parts of his dream. By choice Gjorn prefers to live in villages or towns as the freedom provided more closely resembles the environment in which he was raised, but the he can tolerate being in a city if he really needs to, as long as it's only for a short period of time.

§  Spells   

N/A

§  Tactics   

One would be forgiven for thinking that Gjorn's fighting style revolved around force and brutality; they would not be not entirely wrong. However, much of Gjorn's fighting style is actually far more calculated than many would perceive it to be at first glance. Gjorn is agile for his size and he knows it, using it to his advantage. The infusion of the 'Bear Essence' potion into his bloodstream greatly heightens his physical prowess and sharpening his focus on the fight. Gjorn waits for his moment, evading and goading his opponents until the perfect opportunity presents itself. The potions fearless of death and full of murderous rage. A split second gap is all he needs to turn the tide of combat, using a one-handed axe to rain heavy, forceful blows down on his opponent while using a lightweight shortsword in his other hand to pick them apart, targeting crucial muscles and organs in order to leave his opponent vulnerable to a killing blow. All of this can happen in seconds; a berserker frenzy in which dozens of blows can fall in the space of seconds, overpowering foes with the sheer brutality and cold efficiency of Gjorn's chemically enhanced bloodlust.

One area that Gjorn struggles with in terms of tactics is in tight spaces, since his fighting style relies on having extremes of space to manoeuvre around opponents and, if they can't be overpowered, at least outlast them. However, in confined spaces he has to improvise, and will often look to see what of his environment he can use to gain an advantage. With no magic as a backup and lacking any sort of ranged combat capability, Gjorn has to get in close, and in closed spaces this is often favourable, allowing him to get the upper hand. However, whereas his normal combat style is a methodical and picks apart opponents piece by piece, in these circumstances Gjorn is forced to rely purely on a crazed frenzy of strikes. Against mages and opponents with ranged capabilities, Gjorn struggles. The chemicals that course through his blood massively heighten his reflexes, meaning he is capable of dodging arrows and spells, having even chopped the odd arrow out of the sky with his axe before. However, if caught off guard and unprepared, Gjorn has no such boost to his reflexes and without any sort of ward or shield is exceptionally vulnerable to any sort of ranged aggressor.

§  Relations & Affiliations   

The Skaal of Solstheim: Gjorn left his village ashamed and disgraced, and has solemnly sworn to himself that he will never return. He has not seen another Skaal since he left, as it is exceptionally rare that a member of the close-knit community leaves. He left on bad terms; at odds with the village elders and having been disowned and shunned by his own father, whom he had always maintained a close bond with. Gjorn does regret the way he left and longs to go back, but knows he never can.

Brynjar Snowbeard: Brynjar is Gjorn's father. When Gjorn was growing up, him and his father had always been close, and it was from Brynjar that Gjorn learned all of his hunting and survival skills. Brynjar was always proud of Gjorn; he was kind and caring, he defended the vulnerable and helped those who couldn't help themselves. He was strong, and someone many among the Skaal looked up to. However, Brynjar was always a zealous man, and found Gjorn's lack of remorse when taking a life deeply disturbing, forming a rift between them. As soon as he discovered Gjorn had been using drugs to supplement his strength, Brynjar shamed his son. When Gjorn left the village, Brynjar swore that if Gjorn ever returned he would kill him himself.

Yngvar: Gjorn's plucky younger brother and best friend. Gjorn was a role model for Yngvar growing up, and even after Gjorn's disgrace his brother still defended him and begged him to stay, even declaring he would go with him at one point before their father got involved. Eventually Gjorn ordered his brother to stay for their father's sake and they said their teary farewells, with Gjorn knowing he would never see his brother again. As a memento, Gjorn took the small wooden spinning top that his brother made for him as a child, and carries it everywhere as one of his most prized possessions.

Herkgi: Gjorn's old flame and childhood sweetheart. Gjorn held her dearer than anyone else in this world. Herkgi was pregnant with Gjorn's child at the time he was forced to leave the village. After his disgrace, Herkgi turned on Gjorn like the rest of them. She reviled who he had become and said he was unfit to be a father, cursing his name.

Gjorn's Child: Gjorn does not know who or where his child is, or if they were even born. By now they would be 7 years old, going on 8. Gjorn hopes to see his child one day but knows it is unlikely and Herkgi probably hasn't even told them who their father was, given the way she acted towards him near the end. He hopes they are well and that both Brynjar and Yngvar have raised his child as one of their own rather than hold them to account for Gjorn's mistakes and flaws.

§  Opinions   

N/A

§  Other   

N/A

Inventory

§  Cash   

51 Gold Coins

§  Keys & Lockpicks   

None

§  Tools & Crafting Materials   

8 glass vials; four are empty, one contains nightshade extract, three contain Gjorn's 'Bear Essence' potion. He carries a small pestle and mortar for grinding ingredients. He carries large stocks of the ingredients he needs to make his potion; 2 lavender flowers, 2 canis roots, 3 nightshade flowers and 5 powdered bear claws. He also carries a whetstone for sharpening his weapons on the go.

§  Clothing & Armor   

Gjorn wears a shirt covered in lightweight steel scales, creating a compromise between mobility and protection. He has large scaled shoulder pads, and steel plated bracers to protect his forearms. His legs are unguarded, and he wears thick boots on his feet. He carries two more shirts to wear when he isn't wearing his armour. He also has a large fur cloak, which has been very useful in the northern climates of Skyrim, but has proved more of a hindrance in the more temperate climates.

§  Weapon & Ammo   

A steel carved Nordic style sword and a steel carved Nordic style war axe. He used to carry a small steel dagger with him as a backup but has never had to use it and thus sold it.

§  Potion & Arcane Supplies   

Three vials of his Bear Essence potion and vial of nightshade extract.

§  Jewellery & Valuables   

A small wooden spinning top hand made by his younger brother Yngvar. While not actually valuable, it has tremendous sentimental value to Gjorn, as it is the only reminder he carries of his home and his family.

§  Books & Documents   

Caravan bodyguard contract, a battered copy of A Tragedy in Black that he has been carrying for some time with the intention of eventually reading it, but has never gotten round to it.

§  Food/Drinks/Ingredients   

The caravan Gjorn is currently travelling with is stocked with fresh fruit and meat, meaning Gjorn ahs not had to carry his own food. Nevertheless, he has a few bottles of ale stashed in his sack.

§  Load Bearing Equipment   

A satchel containing Gjorn's alchemy equipment and ingredients. His weapons are fastened to his belt, along with a small sack that contains his spare clothes and Yngvar's spinning top. At the moment Gjorn is travelling with a caravan as a bodyguard and so has just slung his posessions onto that to save hismelf the effort of carrying it.

§  Other   

N/A
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