Berserkers

Berserkers are individuals (usually, although not exclusively, Humans) possessed by a bear spirit.

Although initially retaining some or all of their faculties, over time the spirit will become ascendant, destroying the mind and personality of the host. If a Berserker is created from an unwilling host, they are less likely to regain their own mind.

Berserkers can be controlled by sufficiently skilled Magic users, although this is far easier with Berserkers the magic user has created themselves, rather than with strangers.

The creation of Berserkers is one of the Crimes of Exile among Druids, acts which will always result in the perpetrator being expelled from the Brotherhood, regardless of circumstances.

Causes

A spirit must be summoned to possess the host, who must be dressed in the remains of bears, usually skins, but bones and claws can also be used to equal effect. The method of summoning the spirit can vary between practitioners, as the original Norse magical has been combined or syncretised with other magical traditions as the ritual spread outside of the Germanic nations.

Treatment

If the bear spirit is not yet wholy dominant, a Berserker can be cured if they chose to remove or destroy the bear belt, bones, or claws which are anchoring the spirit to them.

However this must be a choice made by the Berserker themselves. It is not possible for most others to remove the items unless they are exceptionally skiled in spirit magic or necromancy. However, even for the most skilled necromancer, this method is not reliable, and carries a serious risk that the Berserker will be left with permanent mental and spiritual damage.

Finally, if cure is not possible, a Berserker can be killed by destroying the relics anchoring the spirit to them, e.g. by smashing bones, or burning pelts.

History

The ritual is believed to have been invented by Norse priests in the 8th Century, and the earliest attestations to it appear in Norse sources, such as the writings of Þorbjörn Hornklofi (in which he described them as fighting alongside wolf-warriors, possibly a referece to Werewolves, although some have argued that these were in fact a variant form of Berserkers who drew on wolf, rather than bear, spirits.)

There are conflicting stories of their origins, with some magical texts claiming they were the result of an attempt to artificially create shape-shifters. The more commonly accepted origin is that Norse warriors would deliberately draw on animal, usually bear, spirits to give them prowess in battle.

Due to the relatively short nature of most ancient battles, the possession would be short enough that they retained most of their faculties, and the spirit could be banished, either by the Berserker themselves or by priests or sorcerors.

Some historians have argued that there were originally three classes of these possessed warriors, Bear, Wolf, and Boar. However this is an attempt to reconstruct the practise entire from archeological records, as no references to Boar Berserkers have been found.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare