Ragnar Askrsson, "The Godless"

Ragnar Askrsson

Life of Ragnar

Early life:

When Ragnar was just a boy, he lost his father to vikings. To survive he had to follow the band that killed his father, stealiong scraps of leftovers to survive, going from a pest and nuissance to a tollerated presence, facing lots of abuse.

Bear of Varnfjall:

After a couple uears. Ragnar had developped into a large and capable viking who was accepted by the band, nicknamed Bjorn for his shear size and ferocity. He proved himself particularly at the battle of Varnfjall where he single handedly defended a bridge killing more than 370 enemies single handedly, cloaked in a bear hide.

Rejecting God:

At Varnfjall a prince and priest were captured. Eventually, Ragnar grew to accept the monotheistic religion of this priest, but later on came to despise this God, seeing the suffering on this world in a new light and claiming that such a loving God would not allow this to happen, and that he rejects God and will build his own paradise on earth and wage war on God.

Present day:

Living in Winterheim spreading his message

Ragnar tells his story:

Ragnar Askersson, "The Godless" "Bear of Varnfjall"

I was just 10 when my father was killed...

"My father was a merchant, a simple man, making enough to afford us a comfortable life. When I was a boy I wished to join my father on his journeys, but he would frequently tell me I am too young and still have much to learn in the art of ship repair and survival.

And so I prepared, every day I would go to the ship builders and would watch as they worked and learn from them, honing my skills despite my age and becoming a prodigy amongst them. I remember they would openly celebrate me and show me off to the town.. Good days...

Once my father saw that I was fit, he told me he would take me on a journey, a long journey. He told me he was heading to a far off kingdom to sell some recently acquired luxury goods, I don't exactly remember what though.

The journey was great, we crossed the sea and made it to the main continent and began our journey. However, unfortunately, our journey had to begin in a dangerous country, one torn by war and Viking raids.

My father tried to rush and make it out of that country quickly, he said that this country is not safe for us and that we had to move quickly, even travelling far into the night. I didn't understand my fathers urgency until one day we we're ambushed by Vikings.

The ambush was quick, I was sitting under some furs keeping myself warm when suddenly I heard loud screaming and war cries. I look up to see a band of 10 men attacking my father and his caravan, the men fought valiantly but we stood no chance... I personally saw my father be run through with a spear..

Out of desperation, I found that I had no other choice or means of survival but to follow the raiders. I followed them back desperately to a camp, a camp belonging to a Viking band under the command of, who I later found out, to be a man called Ivar 'The Scarred'. A brutal man who I found out later wasn't as brutal as he seemed and was very caring to his men and who had their complete loyalty.

And so for years I followed, I followed the band going from nothing but a nuisance stealing scraps of left overs to a tolerated presence, barely noticed unless to be abused and belittled.

And for those years I trained, I trained and I watched from the shadows, waiting for a day when I can prove myself.

In the harsh conditions I grew strong, I grew strong and large into a towering presence, At 16 I was 6'5 with large broad shoulders and muscular build from years of hardship and distress, and from my stature I gained more recognition in the group and they accepted me more, allowing me to become one of them. A warrior.

And that is how I lived my life for years , little more than a simple warrior.

When I was 20 and I had grown even more, reaching my final stature at 6'7 and, with the newfound proper nutrition, a more muscular frame, I looked like a bear. I was nicknamed "Bjorn" in the group, meaning bear.

One particular day, at 21 we we're heading off into a particularly tough battle. We we're to meet an army which was larger, I would say, decently if not significantly larger than us at a place called Varnfjall. We we're to meet them on favorable grounds, a bridge with a large fairly deep river and no other nearby crossings. It was our band of 400 against their army of what I would say 1000 if not more lead by one of the princes of the kingdom we were raiding.

The battle started, the bridge became a bloodbath and our band was starting to lose ground from the bridge. I saw this and my heart dropped..

If we lost this bridge, we'd lose the battle and we'd all by killed brutally or worse.. I had to do something.

Cloaking myself in my bear hide and wearing the head as a cap, I rushed into battle with my battle axe, resembling a true bear I lived up to my nickname Bjorn. I rushed into battle like a berserker taking sole control of the bridge killing any foe in my sight, our band quickly left the bridge to me and formed a defensive U permitter around the mouth of the bridge with their spears and shield walls and left me to fight on my own.

Blood was flying everywhere, one after another I lobbed of heads or cut them clean in two, I saw limbs, arms, swords and shields flying everywhere but I only remember glimpses as my vision had gone fully red from rage. I killed 1, 2 3 and the count kept going up until I had reached a kill count in the hundreds.. After hours of fighting, the sun began to go down and I began to get exhausted, having single handedly killed what turned out to later be 370 men. I retreated to the back of our perimeter where I was hailed a hero.

Seeing the demoralized and weakened state of the enemy our band took it as a good opportunity to do a spear charge followed by a normal charge, and we won the battle, capturing the prince and his personal priest.

That day I received the title "The Bear of Varnfjall"

We celebrated our loot and our capturing of the prince and continued our journey, intending to use the prince as a hostage.

Throughout our journey I began talking more and more with the priest. He preached to me the word of his 'One God', a God unseen and untouched. He told me of the good nature of his God and preached to me his God's promise of eternal paradise in his heaven near his throne.

I ended up converting to this church, believing in this 'One True God' and became devoted. I started refraining from my usual pillaging and killing and looting and sat on the side lines defending and praying in my free time.

However, my zeal for this new God began to quickly ware. As I travelled through the land I saw the results of war in this war torn country, I saw the pillaging, the harm, the suffering and starvation, the massacres. My faith waned.

I tried finding a solution, something, some words from the priest perhaps? Nothing could convince me.. Nothing could bring back my love for God.. I believed in Him but when I thought about him I thought of nothing but hate, pure unfiltered hate. I couldn't get over this.

While sitting next to the priest I began talking..

'A God.. A God who claimed he was loving, who loved all his children.. A God claiming he was benevolent, just, a lover of peace and a God who wanted to see his subjects happy and prosperous.. This same God would allow all this destruction? All this starvation?? And for what? For us to join him in his Paradise?!?!?!

I REFUSE! *I slapped my fist on the ground, causing a visible impact crater*

I refuse this God! I will not wait until death to see an end to the suffering of this world! I will build my own world! I will renovate this one! I will turn this world into the paradise God failed to make!

I will turn war into peace! I will turn swords into plows and war axes to lumber axes! I will end the suffering of this world, I will end the starvation, I will end the greed.

I will end all that is bad and bring about all that is good and when this God turns his face to me and sees my work, he will invite me to his paradise.

And I will say to him, in a booming voice **NO! I REFUSE YOU! I HAVE BUILT MY OWN PARADISE, ONE WHICH YOU HAVE FAILED TO MAKE!**

And I will raise my legions and bring my bands of men and I will wage war on GOD

I will invade his Paradise and conquer that which is rightfully ours, I was slaughter his angels and create new ones in their stead and I will put GOD HIMSELF'S head on a spike!'

The priest looked over at me, horrified but intrigued and called me a blasphemer, told me I was a heathen and that I should be killed.

In retaliation I killed him...

And then I left, I said my goodbyes suddenly and boarded a boat and began sailing, hoping to find somewhere to build my paradise, to pool my power, spread my message and wage my war against this "God"...

And from that day forward, Ragnar the Bear became Ragnar the Godless

I found myself in a strange new foreign land, with races I had never seen and languages I didn't understand, however I managed to, through sheer luck, find a region which was similar to me in most aspects and settled there, the town, where I still reside evidently, is called Winterheim as you all should know.

I have no regrets.

I will wage my war."

*Ragnar puts down his pint*

*He pays he bill, says his farewells to the listeners and exits the bar, going back to him home for a good night's rest*