Where Sigurd Styrbjornson leads, men follow. As Eivor's adoptive brother, he is strong, fearless, charismatic. He could sail through the putrid, poisoned rivers of Helheim and spin it into a tale that would have every warm-blooded vikingr fighting for a place on his ship.
It's also clear to anyone who knew him well that Sigurd was perhaps to inclined to believe his own hype.
Gunnar the blacksmith has a special fondness for Eivor, having been oprhoned himself but at a much younger age. The people of Heillboer became his extended family, and after Varin's death, he carried that love of community to Fornburg, Now, well into his adult years, he yearns for a more immediate family he can call his own.
A common first impression of Basim is a mixture of danger and intrigue. Soon thereafter, one might get the senses of someone thinking several moves ahead. In fact, he is likely playing an entirely different game.
Basim met Sigurd Styrbjornsson on the same day he received a contract for a prominent player from the prince's homeland. He knew the gods had favored him, but he didn't care which.
As mysterious and seemingly aloof as the shadowy brotherhood he represents, Basim's ultimate goal is unknown even to his protege, Hytham, who is closer to him than anyone still living.
Valka has always lived apart from society. But this daughter of a seer (or "volva") was never welcomed or greeted with the same sense of hope and dread that her mother evoked. At least, not until she inherited that title and the generations of lore that went with it.
She cannot yet see as far as her mother once did, but she knows enough to understand that her thread is intimately intertwined with Eivor's.
When Hytham's world fell apart, the Hidden Ones offered him purpose. Now, he finds himself on an uncertain voyage with his mentor Basim, fulfilling the duties of his creed. He knows he will never match. Basim as a Hidden One, but he in certain he can be of great use to his Brotherhood, if only given the right chance.
The Hanged-God, Shield-Shaker, Graybeard, and Wanderer are just a few of the many, many names of Odin, the All-Father. Having effectively created the Nine Realms out of the carcass of a dead giant, Odin feels he should be exempt from any binding fate - particularly one that ends in the jaws of a monstrous wolf.
His thirst for power through knowledge is unquenchable. He sacrificed an eye for insight and hung himself on the tree Yggdrasil in the father of all near-death expereinces.
When not acting in his role as chief among the Norse gods, he wanders the mortal realm (midgard), often in the form of a bearded old man, wearing a long cloak, a wide hat, and carrying a staff. Classic Odin.
Ivarr and Ubba Ragnarsson were two sons of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok. When Ragnar was killed by the Northhumbrian King Aella, his sons sought revenge, and so began the invasion of the Great Heathen Army.
Legendary in their own right, Ivarr and Ubba led their army through many conquests across the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. They invaded Northumbria and got their revenge on Aella by way of the blood eagle, a ritual execution, the details of which I will omit, as I have just had my lunch.
From there, the brothers invaded the kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia, yet not merely for pillage and plunder. The brothers wanted control. It was the thrones they were after, and there wasn't much in their way to stop them.
Here's an interesting bit: Throughhout his campaigns, Ivarr earned himself the nickname "the boneless". though it is not clear why. He may have suffered from a rare degenerative bone disease. Some tales speak of him as having a fluid fighting style, as if he had no bones beneath his skin, while others say the name coined because of a certain... performance issue. I think it's fair to say the Danes are of the former camp, and the Saxons are the latter.
Ceolwulf II was a king's thegn, or noble, who is believed to have belonged to the C dynasty of Mercian kings. He served in King Burgred's court during the Danish invasion of Mercia, but like many nobles during this time, defected from the king's side when the going got tough, i.e. when the Danes started winning.
Ceolwulf was looking to make the best out of a bad situation, and most likely had the support of nobles who didn't want to die. So, he made a pact with the Danes to make him king, a move he hoped would spare his kingdom of their wrath. Talk about a back-alley rise to the top.