Vandy — Roleplayer Guild

House Name

House Hafrek

Sigil

House Words

Strength and Glory

House Specialty

Skavian Berserkers: The people of Skavia are said to have one of the finest fighting forces on Orlandis. The Skavian Berserker is their deadliest soldier. A sort of marine force specializing in everything from boarding enemy ships, to sustained infantry combat, to guerrilla tactics. The Berserker is a member of a shieldwall, a sort of phalanx/pike infantry and short sword unit hybrid. They can be utilized as heavy infantry but still have above average agility and stamina due to their extremely durable, yet light, Vyntic armor. The use a round shield made of hardened wood and steel along with a longspear and choice of short sword or battleaxe. Finally a Berserker is capable of entering into a 'battle trance' in which they seem to be completely impervious to pain. In this trance they become insatiably blood thirsty, causing many of their foes to flee in fear.
Ancestral Weapon

Stormbrytare, or Storm Breaker in old vyntic was forged for the first Hafrek king by house Balkr over three hundred years ago. It is a Runesteel battleaxe hardened with acid during the craft making in nearly eternally sharp. Rumor says that King Erik "The Dragon slayer" Hafrek and his shield-brothers once killed a dragon using Stormbrytare over two hundred years ago. This rumor may be false, but king Erik and his men did bring back a dragon's head to Hovedstad that to this day hangs over the deck of Drage.   

Important Members

Name
Crach "the Tyrant" Hafrek

Age
56

Appearance

Summary
Crach is an extremely impatient man. The youngest of the two sons of "Old Man" Thorir Hafrek, Crach felt he was underappreciated as a child. Because of this he began training himself in combat at a very young age, even for a Skavian. In his youger years he was one of the greatest warriors in all of Orlandis, a fact that he had no problem with sharing. However, despite his quality as a single combatant, his command ability on both land and sea suffered. His rashness often getting the better of him in strategic situations. 

He is however an astute administrator. This might be due to his great ambition and greed. He very effectively taxes Skavia for the "crown's interests." His lack of discretion however ensures that most of his vassals are aware that most of, if not all of the extra taxes go straight into his pockets. 

He is also a very cruel and hedonistic man. He executes farmers and nobles for their land, rapes peasant wives, and tortures petty criminals on a regular basis. Many of the common people believe that he s cursed by the gods, who knows he may be. He also holds a deep hatred for his much younger bastard half brother Loki, who he has tried to kill on two occasions. The last one causing a great scandal in the royal court and forcing Loki to flee to the southern parts of the country. Rumors of a civil war are brewing.

Name
Loki Drittsekk

Age
22

Appearance

Summary
The bastard son of Old Man Hafrek and a peasant girl from Terijas, Loki is personality-wise completely different from Crach. Even at his young age, many people believe he is destined to become a great man. He has trained his entire life to become a warrior and excels in both the individual and the strategic level. He is also one of the youngest men to achieve the rank of Berserker in Skavian history. 

On the administrative level he leaves something to be desired however. He can order troops around a battle field and achieve victories in what seem like hopeless situations but is dumbstruck by the idea that an army needs food to survive. Because of this flaw, he likes to surround himself with sound administrators to take care of logistics. 

Loki is believed to be one of the smartest men in the North however. With age he hopes to gain administrative abilities. First he needs to survive. His much older brother and king of Skavia is trying to kill him. Loki has fled to Grense, the southernmost duchy in Skavia. Here he has met his lover, Astri Biarni, the daughter of one of the most powerful Dukes in Skavia and an avid enemy of "The Tyrant." Rumors of a civil war are brewing.

Name
Sigi "The Barren" Hafrek

Age
45

Appearance

Summary
If ever there was a woman perfect for a man like Crach, it would be Sigi. The last member of the lesser branch of the Hafrek family, she is her husband's distant cousin on his father's side. A notoriously unfaithful wife, Sigi and her husband have come to an arrangement of "mutual freedom" from each other. Each are known to force peasant and low noble subjects to service their sexual desires. Sigi did however take this even further than her husband. After the birth of the couple's only son Svein, she had her ovaries removed by an Alturian sage. Because of this she has been given the nickname "the Barren" by her subjects. 

It is common belief that Sigi is even more cruel and greedy than her husband. Some even believe that she pulls the strings in some of the more horrible of Crach's deeds. There is one infamous story of a beautiful peasant girl from Erayis who Crach impregnated having her child ripped out of the womb and killed in front of the mother as she slowly bled to death. While this may be an exaggeration, many people believe the story.

Name
Svein Hafrek

Age
24

Appearance

Summary
Being raised by Crach and Sigi Hafrek, it is understandable that Svein has an intense anger problem and is prone to outbursts. However that is one of the only things he has in common with his parents. While he is rash, he is much more calm than either of his parents and finds no joy in torture, rape, or murder. This is not to say he is a chaste individual, he just enjoys the touch of a willing woman. While torture and murder are not things he enjoys, he uses them on occasion as tools to further his agendas. He is not seen as a benevolent person for good reason, however compared to his parents he is... nicer.

Svein is one of the greatest warriors in Skavia but has yet to reach the level of Berserker. He is a much better tactician than his father and shares his administrative abilities. He is also fairly greedy. Svein is a staunch traditionalist and hopes to bring Skavia even closer to its Vyntic roots. While he will fight on the side of his father in a war, he can at least understand that Crach is not a very good king...

Name
Astri "the Beauty" Biarni

Age
19

Appearance 

Summary
Astri Biarni is widely acknowledged as being one of the most beautiful young women in Orlandis, a fact that she knows well. Along with her looks, she is both intelligent and extremely charming. Her father often sends Astri to diplomatic meetings where she uses her abilities of seduction and wit to get the best results for her house. Despite her incredible beauty and powers of seduction, she remain a virgin. A fact that most of the more hedonistic people on the continent refuse to believe.

Astri also has a keen administrative mind. She is capable of everything from collecting taxes, passing legislation, and feeding an army. This creates a perfect balance between her and her lover, Loki. Astri however is not a warrior, she uses her charms to get out of most situations but would not be able to defend herself against a truly skilled warrior. This is her greatest weakness and one that may cause trouble in the future.

Courtiers & Retainers

Chancellor Raegnald Rodrekrson (Crach)
Chancelor Ylfing Biarni, the Duke of Grense (Loki)
Marshal Hallgrim Avaldi (Crach)
Marshal Jorund Erilarson (Loki
Vassals

House Biarni (Duchy of Grense)
WIP

Realm

The Kingdom of Skavia
Primary Holding

Hovedstad, The Island of Therifel 
Hovedstad, the old Vyntic word for capital city (and also know as the floating city by most of Orlandis), serves as a massive bridge over the Skavian channel between Therifel and Gardifel. It is a city built of the ancient ships used by the Vyntic refugees on their original voyage to northern Orlandis. (Well on the coast of Therifel anyway, the rest of the city is comprised of Skavian ships built throughout the centuries and even captured enemy vessels.) These ships are reinforced by stone support beams that reach to the surface of the shallowest part of the channel. Other buildings have also been built without the bodies of ancient ships and resemble the mead halls found on the mainland. Each ship has been refitted into serviceable buildings and are supported by an abundance of anchors. They are all connected by wooden and steel bridges nailed tightly together to keep the current from carrying the ships away. The King's palace is located on the central ship in the Floating City, Drage, the largest ship ever constructed in the history of Orlandis. 

Hovedstad is also the largest port in Skavia and its central trading hub. It attracts tourists from all over the world due to its unique construction and is viewed as Skavia's greatest architectural achievement. No man or woman who has ever visited the Floating City has forgotten its wonders. It is believed that the gods themselves watch over the city and its people because it has never been destroyed. Storm, war, and disease have all attacked the city, however instead of being destroyed it always grows larger. 

Vassal Holdings

Influence & Relations

To be determined with other players.

Exports & Imports

Timber: The abundance of forests throughout Skavia provide excellent timber for everything from ship construction to firewood. The timber trade in Skavia is the most lucrative career for both nobles and the common people. 

Furs: A great number of wild animals roam Skavia. This grants an excellent opportunity to the common hunter. The furs and shipped to the south where they are used in southern fashions.

Fish: Due to the unique position of the Floating City, Hovedtstad is the world's largest fishing village. The people there catch everything from shrimp to shark and sell in markets all over the world. 

Mercenaries: Skavian warriors are known to be extremely fierce, because of this a Skavian mercenary is greatly sought after. While this brings no direct income to the kingdom, Skavian kings have been known to lend out small units of troops to other countries for a hefty fee. Although relations between the two countries are seldom that friendly. 

Recent History

For nearly eighty years Skavia was ruled by "Old Man" Thorir Hafrek. Becoming king at the young age of 14, Thorir ruled his people peacefully and fairly. Civil strife was unheard of during his reign and not a single peasant revolt was raised during this time. He is believed to have been the greatest king of House Hafrek and perhaps in Skavian history. 

Twenty years into Thorir's reign his wife gave birth to Fjorn Hafrek, the heir to the Skavian thrown. She died in childbirth however forcing Thorir to remarry. He found a woman of low nobility from Perhyr and four years later she gave birth to Crach Hafrek. Although Thorir's obvious favorite was Fjorn, the son given to him by the woman he loved. 

Over the next twenty years the two brother grew up together. Crach was largely ignored by his father. This caused the young man to becom bitter and rash, often trying to prove his honor and worth to his father. During this time, Thorir gained the nickname "Old Man" Hafrek in his mid fifties. 

In 864 AE, Clan Friedyar from Vyntarland declared war on Skavia. They began raiding northern Therifel and burning down hundreds of acres of farmland. Crach Hafrek led his first ever battle against a Friedyar fleet in the sea of echoes in late 864. While the young man was an extremely gifted warrior, his rash strategies led to the largest Skavian naval defeat in 200 years costing the lives of 7000 Skavian sailors and 1000 Berserkers. He returned to Hovedstad in disgrace where he waited out the winter. 

Over the next two years Old Man Hafrek and his sons defended the northern coast in many naval battles and the odd large scale land battle. The most famous of which was the victory of Fjorn Hafrek in the siege of Nortdaven where he defeated a Friedyar army twice the size of his own. 

In the year 870 AE Crach Hafrek led a massive invasion of the Friedyar lands in Vyntarland. He razed the Clan's lands to the ground and killed thousands of its people. He ordered his men to rape the women and children. He also ordered them to kill two out of every three members of the clan that was captured. An order which caused a mass mutiny in his ranks. The mutineers had to be put down and silenced. He raped the chief's wife and daughters in front of him before slitting their throats and burning him alive. This enraged the other clans of Vyntarland and many of the southern clans began preparing for war. What was meant as a way to end the war swiftly backfired.

When Crach returned home his father was enraged. He banished the young prince and then executed all of his officers in hopes of halting Vyntic rage against the kingdom. Three other Vyntic Clans declared war against Skavia but the war only lasted for another year on the condition that the Skavian crown helped the surviving Friedyars rebuild. After the war ended however, a rogue Vyntic company of one hundred men murdered the majority of House Hafrek leaving only Old Man, Fjorn and his two daughters, Crach, and Sigi Hafrek a distant cousin. The company was hunted down and killed by the Vyntic chiefs in order to maintain peace.

For the next eight years Crach traveled Orlandis as a mercenary with his cousin turned lover Sigi. He visited every country on the continent and quickly became recognized as one of the greatest warrior in Orlandis. six years into their travels they were married and Sigi gave birth to Svein their only son. While in Voltaani, Sigi had her ovaries ritualistically removed by and Alturian sage.

When the couple and their baby finally returned home, they learned that Old Man Hafrek had done the impossible at the age of 72. He impregnated a peasant girl from Terijas who gave birth to another son Loki. The infant was immediately legitimized and his father treated him as he treated young Fjorn. Crach attempted to smother the babe but was unsuccessful. 

As young Loki grew up, it was quickly apparent that he was destined for greatness. The youngster learned the art of combat at a faster pace than even Crach. He was a quick study in everything from military tactics, to history, to mythology. He was an instantly likable person and had charm to rival his father's. 

By the age of 19 Loki was already accepted into the ranks of the Berserkers and was a veteran combatant. This is also when Old Man Hafrek's age finally caught up with him. At the old age of 91, he died in bed leaving the kingdom to Fjorn who was 57 years old and had no male heirs. 

The Skavian people held the largest funeral since the days when the first royal dynasty of Skavia was executed by Kristof the Zealot. The entire nation mourned for their beloved king and every vassal and subject without exception payed their respects to the old king. 

Three days after the funeral feats in Drage (and before the coronation o the new king), Crach murdered his older brother Fjorn in cold blood allowing him to succeed to the throne. The murder was blamed on a group of Stormbroken mercenaries staying in Hovedstad who were all executed without a trial. For the last three years Crach has ruled Skavia tyrannically. Even from the early days, the people knew their age of relative peace was over. Crach began using his powers to rape peasant and low noble women with greater regularity, execute farmers and miners for their land, torture petty criminals for fun, and worst of all raised the feudal tax by 30 percent. 

Three months ago Crach tried to kill the last real threat to his rule, Loki. Loki and his shieldwall had returned from a raid on the coasts of Stormtir (if that's not okay I will change it) and were resting in one of the many mead ships in Hovedstad. Crach himself attacked Loki with his own shieldwall. Only Loki and two other men were able to escape with their lives and fled to the Duchy of Grense. The Duke there was situated furthest away from the Floating City and was known as an avid enemy of Crach's administration. 

Ylfing Biarni, Duke of Grense has spent the last few months trying to convince Loki to lead a rebellion against his brother. He has even resorted to using his daughter Astri and her charms on the young man. Now it looks as if Loki is starting to agree.          

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Post Apocalyptic Superman

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