Appearance

Mentality

Personal history

Revna stared, unblinking, into the eyes of the aurochs bull. It stood a full head and a half taller than her, and its mass diminished her massive frame considerably. She was never supposed to get this close, or if she did, she damn well better not see its eyes. It stared back at her, snorted, and stomped a back foot. She didn't flinch, didn't move.
 
"Come on, then!" she cried, angrily at it. It seemed unperturbed. She took a threatening stomp towards it, and spread her arms, palms opened, bare and empty. It chuffed, then blinked slowly, and dipped its head, showing its horns.
 
Revna grinned, braced herself, prepared for the horns, prepared for the monster before her, prepared for imminent death. The bull took a step to the side, pulled up a clump of grass, then wandered off, bored, apparently, of the challenge before it.
 
"Ahhh, fuck you, then!" she shouted, dismayed. She didn't get it. A few months ago, if she'd been this close, this aggressive, she'd have likely been gored or trampled - or the beast would have at least shown some fight. But now things were changing. Ulfvyr was gone, and the tribe hadn't moved. Neither had the herds. Because someone had seen some other clan trap the great beasts and no longer needed to follow the migrations. But this bull had just given up. Just a few pieces of wood that it could have easily knocked aside, or leapt over, but it didn't even fight it. Instead it had become fat, lazy, and lifeless.
 
It made Revna angry. And restless.
 
____
 
 
The weather was turning. Revna smelled it in the air that this chill was different. The earth would frost in the coming days, and still Clan Eskir sat in their hillhomes. The herd... The livestock, would need to journey south, lest they get caught in it. But still the clan hadn't moved. She supposed it was nice to wait for news of Ulfvyr, but still, wouldn't Ulfvyr have wished them to travel south? He was clever, he could find the tribe - it wasn't as though their migratory routes deviated that much. If anything, them staying here would make it harder for Ulfvyr to find them.
 
The way things were changing didn't make a lot of sense. Was Jhorhald expecting The Eskir to winter in the hills and highlands? If Trygve had been here, she was relatively certain that he wouldn't have stood for this, but Trygve's trade route meant that he wouldn't be back for another few weeks, and he would be expecting to rendeszvous farther south than here.

Personality

Motivation

News had finally come of Ulfvyr. Trygve called for rites of mourning, and the old druid oversaw the funeral rites. Revna attended, a scowl on her face as she listened to the old man muddle through it. He was to be respected, but to watch his deterioration was painful - and then to see him paraded out before the clan and told to preside over such an imporant moment was almost insulting. Everyone had assumed that it was bad, but everyone was forced to confront the severity of the old man's mind treading the Halls of Carrion before his body.
 
Ivka should have presided over this, but Ivka wasn't here. Only one of two who refused to attend the mourning ceremonies for Ulfvyr, and for all of her cryptic ways, Revna hadn't quite prised the truth away from the enigmatic priestess. But Ivka had also been rather reclusive of late. Sometimes Revna felt like the only reason she'd eaten this month was because Saga and Revna had been making sure she had food.
 
Revna hated this part. She was lined up in a place of honor on the left side of Ulfvyr's cairn, along with the rest of his wives and children, save Ivka. His siblings stood on the right, and the old druid muttered and puttered at the foot, in front of the entirety of the tribe, occasionally bringing up Spinner, Weaver, Shear, Carrion, and Mercy, but in vague, unintelligible ways.
 
She felt like she was on display, and she didn't like that Ivka wasn't here. It meant that people kept whispering and looking at her. Well, maybe not her - the empty space next to her, and behind Saga. But it felt like they were looking at her, and that meant that she had to remain still, and stoic. It didn't sit well on her. By her nature, Revna liked action. She hated spectacle, hated the whole drama of all of this. All she wanted to do was make something happen.
 
If Ulfvyr was dead, they should be rallying a warband to go find him, and bring back his body to give him a proper burial. But Jhorhald had insisted that there would be time for that later. For now, the tribe needed to believe that Ulfvyr had been buried here, and he had been adamant on that point. The only reason Revna knew anything was because Ivka had told her, and when Revna confronted Jhorhald about it, he hadn't denied it. Both Ivka and Jhorhald had sworn her to silence after her outburst, and it rankled at her. She didn't understand either of their games.
 
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Froda was too young to be a Jarl, and so, as was the way of The Eskir, The Circle had to be drawn. Frigga, first wife of Ulfvyr, was the one to do it - to speak her claim on the seat at the head of The Great Table. Frigga was a warrior - tales of her battles were the thing of legends - the speed of her shield and spear were spoken of with awe and respect. Trygve was a trader, and his hesitation cost him. Jhorhald, the great bear of a man stepped forward to accept her challenge.
 
Jhorhald dwarfed Frigga, as she paced with sword and spear, and Jhorhald made the first boast: "One of us will breathe their last." - A murmur went up from the spectators. The Circle was common enough - the boast was less common. And to make such a boast against Frigga - Jhorhald was likely the only one in the clan who might have the confidence to put it to Frigga. If the declaration had been meant to intimidate Frigga, it missed its mark. Frigga had seen death too many times before to fear words. If it had been intended to manipulate her, though, it was a blow well-struck.
 
"I shall bare my heart before the gods." Frigga replied, removing her armor.
 
This battle was the most intense, and Revna studied it with great interest. She watched Frigga's feet, Jhorhald's movements - every little twitch and hesitation, momentary advantage, and minor mistake. She saw the opening an instant before Jhorhald, who saw it an instant before Frigga. And then it was done. The earth had its first taste of blood, and The Circle was closed.
 
The next morning, Jhorhald issued the challenge. Trygve answered, and joined Frigga in the halls of memory.
 
The day after that, Jhorhald issued the challenge again. Thira answered.
 
Then Jhorhald issued another, the following day. Bern.
 
Then Siggur.
 
Then Iord.
 
At the end, Jhorhald stood strong, having sent each of his siblings to the mud.
 
The next morning, when everyone assumed it was done, they woke to find another Circle drawn. This time, it was not Jhorhald who stood at the center of it, calling out for challengers. This time it was Siv, Ulfvyr's youngest sister. Peaceful, sweet, and beloved of Mercy. She had taken a vow of silence, so she could better hear the whispers of Mercy. She had never held a sword or weapon - never lifted a hand in anger in all her life. Many viewed her as a living saint.
 
Yet here she sat, silent, motionless, and still at the center of a circle. Before her, a rune of challenge. Beside that, an offering to Carrion. Jhorhald answered, reluctantly this time. "I shall bare my heart before the gods." He whispered.
 
Siv looked up at him slowly, then reached a hand out, opened it, palm up - empty. *I shall hold no iron* said the gesture. A whisper coursed through the spectators.
 
The battle was quick. Siv was no fighter, and Jhorhald was not cruel. It ended with a sense of finality, and it stirred Revna. She was angry, now. This was her family - killed one after another after another, in a circle that never should have drank lifeblood. And she had been watching. She was certain that there were gaps in Jhorhald's defenses that he wasn't aware of. She knew she could slip through them and put a halt to this. But she couldn't issue the challenge until the following day, as custom dictated. And even worse - Estil had begun to stand as Jhorhald's witness. As the druid closed another circle, and Siv's body was dragged off, Revna stood, her chin pointed upwards slightly, to match the gaze of the larger man. They spoke no words. Both reached an understanding.
 
The next morning, Jhorhald drew the final circle, and bellowed out his challenge.
 
Revna did not answer.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Ulfvyr Tahn Eskir - Husband

-Sigurd Ulfvyrsson - Son

-Asbjorn Ulfvyrsson - Son



Ivka Tahn Eskir - Partner

-Saga Ulfvyrsdottr - Niece