Your Name ∙ Roy/Spatzi
Contact Information ∙ PM, Cbox or E-mail
Time Zone ∙ CST


Character’s Name ∙ Brynjá fa Wyrmssköld et Krighav
Age ∙ 22 (November 178 HE)
Gender ∙ Female
Residing ∙ The Palace
Character Class ∙ Quasi-Noble, daughter of a Scanran Warlord
Occupation ∙ Foreign Courtier


Sexual Orientation ∙ Heterosexual
Gift ∙ As Alfhilde called it, Brynjá's "piece of Chaos" is a very crude illusionary Gift. Åsa, a hedgewitch, taught Brynjá simple spells and such but as charms and protection circles were not the forte of her Gift, Brynjá performs them poorly. Unable to teach Brynjá about illusions, Åsa could only hope that Brynjá would discover for herself how her powers worked. Over the years, Brynjá has come to know her Gift well enough that she can create illusions without the slightest whim or thought. These illusions may be something visible, something heard or smelt, or even said. However, the effect is only temporary––usually only long enough to serve a brief purpose in Brynjá's agenda. A more powerfully Gifted mage, or a person with the Sight, can easily see through these deceptions however.

Overall Personality ∙
Brynjá is generally perceived as an independent, determined person––some would even say ambitious. She seldom holds sincere interest in other people, except when their connecetion or opinion could be of use to her. In this way, Brynjá can be considered somewhat manipulative, although within the Tortallan Court she recognizes her part as very small. Thus her focus is not to become politically involved with Tortallans, but to act politically within her own circles to secure beneficial relations for her family in Scanra. Most often she portrays herself as cold, indifferent and imposing; especially when she feels compelled to impress a new acquaintance.

While independent, Brynjá's personality is more minxish than cold. To most people she meets, she presents herself as reticent and cool, but to those she allows herself to befriend she is sly and coquettish. She chooses to keep her feelings private, but she had no qualms about sharing her ideas or philosophies. More than anything, Brynjá loves a good verbal "sparring partner" with whom she can constantly debate and reason. Although she may reluctantly recognize these rare persons as "friends", Brynjá still does not trust them with her insecurities or true feelings––only Åsa and Bryndjólf have been so privileged as to been trusted with these.

Behind her passive and indifferent façade, Brynjá also possesses the vitality, strong will and survival instinct that Scanrans of lore are often portrayed as having. It was her innermost desire to survive that brought her back from the grip of the kildergast; it is her will that drives her independence; and it is her fierce nature that ties her deeply not just to her family circle, but to her countrymen and to her homeland. If she were given an opportunity to be more influential in the Tortallan Court than she is now, Brynjá would certainly be a force to be reckoned with.


Height ∙ 5'4"
Weight ∙ 115lbs
Overall Appearance ∙
A typical Scanran, Brynjá is fair with a thick, wild crop of gold hair. She is not tall or willowy, but neither is she short of stature and limb: but rather an average height and elegant, ample build. Her eyes are a piercing silver, rimmed in a dark, blue-grey; her lips soft and rosy, never as stern as the fine curve of her brow. She dresses so as to flatter her figure and foreign appearance, and although she sometimes deigns to dress in Tortallan styles, she prefers her own native garb. Finding Brynjá in Scanran attire becomes her most beautifully and surrounds her with an air of peregrinity.


Family History ∙
Wyrmssköld is situated in southwestern Scanra, nestled in the Wyrmæries––the westernmost branch of the Grimhold Mountains. It has farms and lands that stretch along the fertile hills to the coast, where a small raiding fleet is moored and brought ashore. The holding consists of its main fortress in the mountains, Wyrmshelm, the lesser manors of the overlord's vassals in the surrounding highlands, the outlying farms and two small coastal towns, Himmlen and Wyrmssee. The overlord himself lives in Sigrsgod, a centuries-old castle Sigandr began and his son Thormund completed. It is located in the foothills of the Wyrmæries and oversees some of the territory's best farmland.

When the kingship of Scanra was split between two brothers, the younger brother set out to explore and claim the lands west of the Grimhold Mountains. In Scanra, the king is known as Úlreng, and there are many tales told about his adventures in the western lands. Úlreng gifted the territory of Wyrmssköld to one of his warriors, a man named Sígandr. Sigandr and his fifteen vassals then left the king's company and began to settle in the Wyrmæries, and––as the story tells––soon encountered the dragons that dwelled there, and for which the mountains are named.

For years, Sigandr and his vassals coped with their losses from the dragon's raids and attacks. Sigandr resolved to set out and search out for the dragon Ísfylda, and after a seven day pursuit, he encountered and slew her. He then bathed in her blood and thus became invulnerable. He then cut what scales he could from her hide and made from them impenetrable armor. He also cut out her heart, which he brought home to his wife, who was with child. The remainder of Ísfylda's corpse he left for the other dragons to see that they may fear him.

Convinced that dragon's blood made a man invulnerable, he brought Ísfylda's heart before his wife and bade her to eat it so that his descendants may be as invulnerable as he. The lords of Wyrmssköld still lay claim to their dragonslaying ancestors, but they have long since accepted that Sigandr's "invulnerability" was more or less fantasy. However, the Gift occasionally shows up in the family once every three or four generations.

The hold's wealth comes chiefly from its own raiding and warfare. The farms in Wyrmssköld do not yield much, but luckily through his marriage to Alfhilde, Bryndjólf acquired the rich farmlands found in the eastern valleys of Krighav. In northern Krighav are also mines for silver and a Scanran metal called glireng. In the instance of Brynjá's marriage, possession of the mines and farms will pass to Lieffån while Brynjá and her spouse will receive a portion of their yields.

Although warlords and their vassals may be considered nobility, there is no presiding monarchy or interconnected aristocracy to unite them as a class. A "common" Scanran can, through raiding and battle, achieve the status of a warlord and hold equal standing with a warlord descended from land-holding warlords.


Family ∙

Bryndjólf fa Wyrmssköld, Father, 47
Alfhilde fa Krighav, Mother, 45, Deceased
Asúlf, Brother, 18, Deceased
Bjarne, Brother, 14, Deceased
Hjálmar, Brother, 12, Deceased
Lieffån, Brother, 7
-Åsa, Nurse, 43, Deceased
-Dagmar Egilsri, Handmaid, 16
-Ole, Dog


Birthplace ∙ Sigrsgod, Wyrmssköld, Western Scanra

Background ∙

Brynjá was born the eldest daughter of the Scanran warlord, Bryndjólf fa Wyrmssköld, a respected and feared man of considerable standing in the northern lands. As a babe, it was often remarked that she seldom cried, and was always healthy and strong; as an infant, she was quick to learn and soon became an independent, albeit obedient, child. She was early to grasp the gist of speech, but after several months of incessant and joyous babbling, she became reticent: preferring to say little or nothing at all and instead keenly observe the goings on around her. This strength of character, by an old Scanran saying, heralded that she would be followed by a succession of sons.

For once, the old saying held true. During the spring of her fourth year, her brother Asúlf was born––just as healthy and promising as she was. Within another four years, her second brother Bjarne arrived during the week of Midsummer; almost exactly two years later, her third brother Hjálmar was born. Though they too were quick and independent children, none of them became nearly so clever or observant as their older sister. Lastly came the family's darling Lieffån, a full fifteen years younger than his sister. Of all Bryndjólf and Alfhilde's children, Lieffån was the brightest and most light-hearted of them all. Although intelligent, Lieffån's warm-hearted personality struck fearful chords in his family: as a man, Lieffån could be cruelly taken advantage of by his peers––or worse.

They had good cause to fear for Lieffån, as during his younger years a stroke of misfortune struck Bryndjólf's household. While Lieffån was yet a wee tot, Bryndjólf set out on one of his many attempts to unite the divided, feudal territories of Scanra into a single, stronger state. His chief opposers came from the hot-blooded, east-Scanran family of Bána. To improve relations between the Bánas, Bryndjólf and Sròn fa Bána had arranged a political marriage between Sròn's son Cyttan and Brynjá. This effort, was not sufficient to mend their differences––during a council held between several key warlords, a skirmish erupted. Leaping to defend his disarmed and maimed father, Asúlf was slain by none other than Brynjá's intended, Cyttan fa Bána. Relations severed and hopes of unity abandoned, Bryndjólf and his vassals quit the council and returned to Wyrmssköld.

There, the grieving lord was met by a grim household: during his absence, a Scanran illness named the kildergast had taken the lives of many in his household. Bjarne and Hjálmar had both succumbed to the illness, along with Brynjá's mother figure and nurse, Åsa. Brynjá too was stricken by the kildergast, and although deathly ill upon Bryndjólf's arrival, her condition slowly improved over the following weeks––making her one of the very few to recover from the kildergast. With all of her three older children and many of the hold servants ill with the kildergast, Alfhilde had fled to Krighav with little Lieffån and remained there for the following year until she was assured that the kildergast had left the halls of Wyrmssköld.

Once she was well enough, Bryndjólf recounted what had happened to Asúlf and at the council to her. Brynjá received the news calmly, but she was deeply saddened by the loss of her brother. Next to Lieffån, Brynjá had adored Asúlf. Knowing Brynjá's attachment to her closest brother, Bryndjólf had kept for her a knotted bronze ring that had belonged to him; this Brynjá keeps in her possession always, and many times turning it about in her fingers on a restless night has brought her peace of mind or a conclusion to a difficult decision. It was also when Brynjá learned of what happened at the council that she determined never to allow herself to be a political pawn ever again: if ever there is an action she must undertake for the gain of her family, it will be of her own assertion. First and foremost in any Scanra's mind are the interests of their family, and perhaps that is why they all remain scattered and belligerent throughout the North.

With only one brother left to dote on and to inherit the hold, Brynjá took Lieffån's best interests to heart. Upon her marriage, possession of Wyrmssköld and half of Krighav would pass to him. What with the risk of Bryndjólf's vassals taking advantage of Lieffån, Brynjá sought more stable relations for her brother. Having connection in Tortall to provide the holds with ample stores and joint possession of Krighav to have extra defenses at his disposal, a move against Lieffån would be an unwise decision for any warlord to make. This in mind, even though yet Lieffån has hardly the strength to wield a sword or shield, Brynjá set out for Corus with the pretense of finding political connections.



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--Roy/Spatzi