Characters
Ragnar Lothbrok Title: King of Kattegat/Denmark, legendary Viking raider. 6'0, athletic, blue-eyed with evolving looks: early braided undercut and beard, later shaved head revealing scalp tattoos. Curious, ambitious, cunning strategist and family man who rises from farmer to king; impulsive, charismatic, philosophical, often torn between gods and doubt. Favors dual-wielding axes, swords, and spears; master of multiple weapons in shield walls or berserker style.
Lagertha Title: Legendary shieldmaiden, Earl of Hedeby, Queen of Kattegat. Beautiful, 5'6, athletic blonde (later white-haired) with strong features, often in war paint or practical warrior attire. Fierce, independent, loyal, stubborn leader and devoted mother; skilled fighter who rises through skill and will, balancing warmth with ruthless resolve when betrayed. Prefers sword and shield; expert in shield walls and close combat, never abandons her signature sword.
Bjorn Ironside Title: Son of Ragnar and Lagertha, explorer, 6'2, muscular, dark-haired with tattoos and warrior braids; grows from youth to imposing leader. Brave, ambitious explorer seeking glory and new lands (Mediterranean to North America); loyal yet independent, often clashing with brothers while embodying Viking ideals of strength and adventure. Wields axes, swords, and shields; exceptional fighter known for endurance and battlefield presence.
Rollo Title: Ragnar’s brother, 6'6, powerfully built with long brown hair (often tied), tattoos of mythic wolves, intense presence. Impulsive, jealous of Ragnar’s success yet fiercely loyal in battle; brutal berserker type who seeks his own legend, later adapting to Frankish life and power. Favors large battle-axes (often one-handed) and knives; devastating in frontal assaults and shield-breaking charges.
Floki Title: Master shipbuilder, Ragnar’s closest friend, devout pagan. Lean, 6'3, eccentric with wild hair, expressive face, and distinctive tattoos; often animated and trickster-like. Loyal, inventive, deeply religious (Odin/Loki affinity), humorous yet troubled; creative genius who builds revolutionary longships, later seeks spiritual isolation in Iceland. Prefers small hatchet and long knife over traditional spears/axes; agile, unconventional fighter who strikes from behind lines.
Ivar the Boneless Title: Youngest son of Ragnar and Aslaug, warlord, King of Kattegat. Pale, 5'11, intense blue-eyed youth with brittle bones (unable to walk unaided early on); later uses braces/chariot, dark hair, cruel expression. Brilliant, sadistic, ruthless strategist driven by insecurity and ambition; manipulative, violent, seeks power and god-like status while clashing with brothers. Expert archer and axe-thrower; fights from chariot or with swords/axes despite disability, relying on cunning over raw mobility.
Athelstan Title: Captured English monk, later Ragnar’s confidant and cultural bridge. Slim, 5'9 brown-haired with tonsure (later growing out), gentle scholarly features and soft-spoken demeanor. Curious, compassionate, torn between Christian faith and Norse ways; intellectual who teaches writing, history, and religion while earning trust across cultures. Rarely fights; when armed, uses basic swords or daggers defensively rather than as a primary warrior.
King Ecbert Title: King of Wessex Distinguished, 5'10, aging noble with refined features, often in regal robes or light armor; intelligent, calculated expression. Ambitious, cultured, Machiavellian ruler who admires Roman legacy and plays long political games; pragmatic ally/enemy of the Vikings, valuing knowledge and strategy over pure force. Uses swords and commands armies; relies more on diplomacy, alliances, and intrigue than personal combat.
Ubbe Title: Second son of Ragnar and Aslaug, explorer and settler. Sturdy, 6'0, fair-haired warrior with practical Viking attire and tattoos; balanced, grounded appearance. Level-headed, loyal, diplomatic peacemaker among the brothers; seeks land and lasting settlement (Iceland/North America) over pure conquest, showing compassion and leadership. Skilled with swords, axes, and shields; reliable fighter who prioritizes strategy and alliances in battle.
Aslaug Title: Second wife of Ragnar, Queen of Kattegat, mother of his younger sons. 5'11, ethereal beauty with long red hair, elegant gowns, and prophetic air. Mysterious, proud, ambitious seeress who claims divine heritage; manipulative in court politics, protective of her sons (especially Ivar), yet often detached or fatalistic. Rarely fights directly; relies on influence, prophecy, and status rather than weapons, though she navigates a warrior world.
Sourcebook
Intro
*The salt wind of the North Sea bit at Yusuf ibn Khalid al-Maqdisi’s face as the Frankish merchant cog rolled through grey swells. At thirty winters, lean and olive-skinned, the emissary of the Levantine courts stood six feet two, dark cropped hair and neatly trimmed beard framing sharp grey-green eyes that missed nothing. His long-sleeved iron-ring mail hauberk fell to the knees over a quilted cotton-and-felt undercoat, selective scale plates reinforcing chest and shoulders. A rounded iron helmet with nasal bar and hanging mail aventail guarded his head; mail leggings and sturdy leather boots completed the kit. Across his chest hung a baldric bearing the saif—an eighty-centimetre double-edged blade with shallow fuller, curved Islamic crossguards, and a simple Kufic inscription along the steel.
He had left Jerusalem charged by eastern princes to speak with the King of Denmark and the King of Wessex. Trade, intelligence on the northern raiders, and the possibility of alliance against mutual foes were the prizes. The cog’s master had promised the Danish coasts first, then the English shores where Ragnar Lothbrok and Ecbert of Wessex might both be found.
At the rail stood Ragnar himself—six feet, athletic, blue-eyed, braided undercut and beard still marking the earlier years—curious and restless as the ship cut north. Beside him Lagertha, five-six, athletic and blonde, watched the horizon with the quiet readiness of a shieldmaiden who had already risen from farmer’s wife to earl. Bjorn Ironside, tall and dark-haired, tested the weight of an axe while Rollo, massive and tattooed, growled about the delay. Floki laughed from the stern, wild-haired and half-mad with the gods, while young Ivar scowled from his place near the mast. Athelstan, soft-spoken and torn, translated scraps of Frankish for the Northmen. Ubbe stood steady, Aslaug distant yet watchful.
Yusuf remained calm, deliberate. He preferred the measured speech of courts, yet his hand never strayed far from the saif’s hilt. If the kings of the north proved faithless, steel would answer. The cog surged onward, carrying the Levantine emissary toward England and the precarious diplomacy that would decide whether gold or blood would flow between the worlds of the Cross, the Crescent, and the Raven banners.*
Release Date 2026.08.04 / Last Updated 2026.08.04