Torgny the Lawspeaker

"It is possible that Styrbjörn, whether he is aware of it or not, has become a tool of the Order. He must be stopped, Thorvald. Even if I am wrong and he doesn't serve the Order, he does not bring freedom to Svealand."

―Torgny to Thorvald Hjaltason, c. 985.

Torgny the Lawspeaker (fl. 10th century) was the old advisor of King Eric of Sweden and the Mentor of the local Hidden Ones active during the late 10th century. Alongside his apprentice, the skald Thorvald Hjaltason, Torgny fought against Styrbjörn the Strong as the Hidden Ones correctly suspected that the fearsome prince and his ally, Harald Bluetooth, were affiliated with the Templar Order.

Biography

After King Olof Björnsson was poisoned by the Swedish Brotherhood, Torgny used his influence as the thing's Lawspeaker to have Olof's brother Eric designated as the new King instead of his unruly nephew, the sixteen-year-old Styrbjörn, whom the old Mentor was convinced would inevitably become a tyrant like his father. Outraged by the thing's ruling, which he perceived as the theft of what was rightfully his, a vengeful Styrbjörn left the kingdom after promising to come back one day and to depose "The Usurper".

In 985, Torgny and Thorvald met with King Eric to talk about their plans to stop Styrbjörn and his army, who were marching to Uppsala. Discussing how the Templars may be using his nephew's plan to grow their influence, Thorvald explained his plan to build a palisade and volunteered to lead a small legion to attack the enemy in the Mirkwood. After Eric agreed with the plan, Torgny told Thorvald to go while he and the king stayed to convince the other council members.

Later, Thorvald informed Torgny and Eric about Styrbjörn's current numbers and his possession of an unusual dagger. While Eric chose to remain ambivalent to their plans, Torgny tasked Thorvald to kill Styrbjörn and acquire the dagger. Upon Thorvald's return, he told Torgny that Styrbjörn had survived his assassination attempt, but that he had successfully recovered the dagger. The Mentor then concocted a plan for Eric to use the dagger as a gift to Odin, in order to convince and uplift his council and army's morale. Secretly, he instructed Thorvald to take the dagger back after the ritual.

Choosing another champion to fight Styrbjörn, Torgny, Thorvald, and Eric met with Östen Jorundsson, a renowned farmer and warrior who was part of Thorvald's legion. They offered him the chance to become Eric's champion, and Östen accepted, wishing to avenge his friend Alferth. On the day of the battle, Eric's army held off the invaders while Östen bested Styrbjörn in combat. After Styrbjörn died from his wounds, the rest of his army fell to Eric's men. Torgny and the king then met with Thorvald and Östen to discuss their victory. While Torgny left with Eric to settle matters with the council, Thorvald gave Östen the dagger recovered from Styrbjörn and trusted him to hide it.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods