Story

A thud, followed by the fading squealing of a Boar.
A goliath with white skin, long brown hair and an equally long beard makes his way over to the beast. He draws a knife and plunges it into its neck, looking over to Javelin pinning it to the ground by its hip. With a deep sigh, he laments his poor throw for the fact that it left the boar in such pain in its final moments.
He pulls his weapon from its corpse, and places the boar onto a large sled filled with many other beasts he had caught on this day. After taking a second to catch his breath, he turns the sled around and begins his march back home. Dragging the sled through the snow all alone, he thinks back on his life just a few years ago, as he’s been doing ever more frequently these last few years. He remembers the friends who helped him escape from solitude, and he remembers the countless drinks they shared together.

Then, he recalls his failure to save his friend.
He thinks back on when he left his friends to defend his home, and how they fell apart right after. He still sees one from time to time, but the other three could be dead for all he knows.

.

..

…

The man wonders, did he make the right choice? Could he have helped them onto a better path had he been there alongside them? These questions have been stuck within his mind for far too long now. Though as he sinks into familiar thoughts, a voice calling his name breaks through the fog. He has reached his home without realising it, and the people who greet him share urgent news. His eyes widen, he leaves the sled behind and rushes through the town. As quickly as he can, he bursts into his home, a tear falls from his eyes.

The man stumbles forwards, reaching towards a small, crying child. One which hasn’t yet even seen the world. Its mother places it into his arms, and a smile finally cracks through his stoic look. He raises the child high into the air, as it opens its eyes for the first time. It has his eyes.

Like autumn leaves in the wind, his guilts and regrets fade away. And he knows, given the chance to go back and change his path, he would leave everything exactly as it was, fearing he wouldn’t arrive at this very moment.

,

Additional Information

Even prior to the merging, Asger Haldor had become a Leader within the Goliath Tribes. Valued for wisdom beyond his age, his protective nature and overwhelming, unbelievable strength, it became clear that he would be etched into the history and myths of his people forever more.

Once the threat of A’Odon was overcome, many of Moriad’s followers decided to follow Asger as their leader instead. Moriad did not object to their choice, and instead encouraged those who align with Asger’s values to join him instead. Asger was hesitant about becoming a tribe leader at first, but other leaders within the burning tribes left him with no choice but to accept his position.

Following the merging, the tribes needed someone to represent them within the surrounding nations, as to clearly differentiate themselves from their northern neighbours from Burdðrheimr. If they wanted to survive within this new world, they had to ensure they would be seen as strong, valuable allies, and not simple minded barbarians.

Asger was unanimously chosen for that role within the Northern Alliance, given his ties to leaders within the Alliance, his surprising intellect, and his compassionate nature. Though certain members of the Northern Alliance had been hesitant about accepting the Bruning Tribes at first, Asger and his allies within the Alliance swiftly turned the tide in his favour, with only one state objecting to the tribes. Their stance seems to have shifted more into their favour in recent times, though.

Looking away from all of his accomplishments as a leader within the tribes, he had a busy personal life as well. He became fast friends with many other Chieftains within the Tribes, but remained very close with the people under him. Often joining them for dinner to hear both what brings them joy and woe.

He remained close to Lagal, one of his last remaining family members, until he too passed away from the sickness which afflicted all those who had their lifespans enhanced by the battle for dawn, though it seemed he was the one who held out the longest out of all, living well into his 130s.

Following his death, Nauki and Asger were left to decide between themselves as to who receives their bloodlines Primal Shard, but Nauki insisted that it should be Asger who wields it. Asger wasn’t satisfied with that decision however, and decided to embark on a journey to reforge his shard into two weapons. Nauki was furious when she heard of what he’d done, but Asger outright refused to remain a wielder if Nauki would not accept her shard.

[This is the part where I would write about Asger’s family, but Oscar DM’d me like two days ago about wanting to write up his Family, so you’ll have to wait a bit for that part]

For a while, he felt a great sense of guilt for leaving his friends behind in favour of his home, but his family alleviated that feeling greatly. Though he still wishes to see them all again, he accepted and embraced his choices, hoping that Maeve, Petir and Adren could find a similar sense of closure and happiness.

Asger and Toad regularly meet inform the other about their lives, and most recently decided to view a Tournament held within the Northern Alliance together