Ruvsá
Appearance
Ruvsá is taller than many human women, but closer to average (or possibly even a bit on the short side) compared to many Nordenfiir females. She is well-muscled, though on the more slender side. Her dark brown hair and gray eyes are normal enough, but her skin is darker than most Nordenfiir's, and she suspects she has some other heritage in her family line, though no explanation of it has been passed down in their history if so.
Her preske (glyph) spreads across her lower left rib cage.
Her preske (glyph) spreads across her lower left rib cage.
Skills and Abilities
Ruvsá found her Svalen slightly younger than most, when she was just a few weeks shy of her 15th birthday, and began serious training as a Shield Maiden by the time she turned 16. She's proficient with fighting knives, and very capable with a sword though it's not her preferred weapon. If she has the choice, though, fighting in Svalen form is far preferred to anything else.
Her Svalen form is a large bear with a black coat. She is still fairly young, though, so whether her Svalen's color will shift more remains to be seen.
She speaks both the Common tongue and Fiirevik, though she wouldn't consider herself comfortably fluent in the latter.
Her Svalen form is a large bear with a black coat. She is still fairly young, though, so whether her Svalen's color will shift more remains to be seen.
She speaks both the Common tongue and Fiirevik, though she wouldn't consider herself comfortably fluent in the latter.
Personality
Quiet, observant, and cunning, with a fierce protective streak that is intimidating when something triggers it. Do not make her angry for jest.
She does, however, appreciate humor and any pranks that aren't harmful. If Ruvsá considers you to be a friend, she is loyal and protective.
She does, however, appreciate humor and any pranks that aren't harmful. If Ruvsá considers you to be a friend, she is loyal and protective.
Biography & Lore
Childhood/Adolescence
Ruvsá was born and raised in Hjerim. Both of her parents were Norden. Her father was a hunter/trapper and her mother is a midwife/healer. Ruvsá, though, showed promise with weaponry and tactics from a young age. She devoured (memorized) every story of battle heroes--especially those of Shield Maidens, which were in no short supply since she was surrounded by them--that she could.
She found her Svalen somewhat by chance when she was nearly 15. While out checking traps with her father, a sudden avalanche overtook them, and while her father perished in the disaster, her own desire to live was strong enough that it brought forth her Svalen form for the first time. Even with Nordenfiir strength and stamina, she would not have survived in human form. Her father, unfortunately, had been swept up in the avalanche and Ruvsá found his broken and shattered corpse hours after she'd dug herself free.
She found her Svalen somewhat by chance when she was nearly 15. While out checking traps with her father, a sudden avalanche overtook them, and while her father perished in the disaster, her own desire to live was strong enough that it brought forth her Svalen form for the first time. Even with Nordenfiir strength and stamina, she would not have survived in human form. Her father, unfortunately, had been swept up in the avalanche and Ruvsá found his broken and shattered corpse hours after she'd dug herself free.
Becoming a Shield Maiden
Upon her return to Hjerim, and after mourning for her father, she began training as a Shield Maiden. During her final days training as a Shield Maiden, she went to Indeholm with some of her peers and supervisors to learn more about the Nordenstrekkers, and there her somewhat exotic coloring (especially for a Nordenfiir) caught the eye of the local Jorn (Aggar). While he didn't make a move on her at that time, she would later find out that he found out her parentage and began corresponding with her mother and her commanders to lay the groundwork for recruiting her into his harem.
Treachery on the Tundra
In Progress
Ruvsá accepted Jorn Aggar's offer and was brought into the harem just a few months before Borvenir the Usurper slaughtered King Iordahn. Since she was, in many ways, a young and inexperienced Shield Maiden with few connections, when Jorn Aggar began to show his true colors and allegiance to Borvenir, Ruvsá chose the path of subterfuge. Her family had always been loyal to Iordahn's line, but for the year of Borvenir's reign, Ruvsá's main goal was survival. When word spread of the rightful heir of Iordahn ousting Borvenir, Ruvsá began to gather the evidence that would be needed to prove Jorn Aggar's treason and, hopefully, set herself free from his bonds.
Thanks to her mother's midwifery knowledge, when her heat cycles in Jorn Aggar's harem came upon her, Ruvsá was able to prevent a pregnancy.
Now, after biding her time for more than a year, Ruvsá has learned that Queen Maude will soon be arriving at Indeholm. After retrieving the evidence she's been collecting, Ruvsá sneaks out of Indeholm after putting Jorn Aggar into a drug-induced sleep to make contact with Queen Maude and share the evidence she's collected of Aggar's treachery.
Ruvsá accepted Jorn Aggar's offer and was brought into the harem just a few months before Borvenir the Usurper slaughtered King Iordahn. Since she was, in many ways, a young and inexperienced Shield Maiden with few connections, when Jorn Aggar began to show his true colors and allegiance to Borvenir, Ruvsá chose the path of subterfuge. Her family had always been loyal to Iordahn's line, but for the year of Borvenir's reign, Ruvsá's main goal was survival. When word spread of the rightful heir of Iordahn ousting Borvenir, Ruvsá began to gather the evidence that would be needed to prove Jorn Aggar's treason and, hopefully, set herself free from his bonds.
Thanks to her mother's midwifery knowledge, when her heat cycles in Jorn Aggar's harem came upon her, Ruvsá was able to prevent a pregnancy.
Now, after biding her time for more than a year, Ruvsá has learned that Queen Maude will soon be arriving at Indeholm. After retrieving the evidence she's been collecting, Ruvsá sneaks out of Indeholm after putting Jorn Aggar into a drug-induced sleep to make contact with Queen Maude and share the evidence she's collected of Aggar's treachery.
Frostbite and Dark Gods
In Progress, sometime after Treachery on the Tundra
On a personal side trip to spend some time remembering her father on the tenth anniversary of his death, Ruvsá encounters a stranger (Kol Twice-Bloodied) on an island just off the shore of the main continent of the Eretejva Tundra. Forced by the weather to shelter in a strange, enchanted fortress, the two find themselves battling dark forces whose intentions are unknown.
In their first battle against an undead frost giant, Ruvsá sustains dangerous injuries to her hands/paws. When she struck the giant with her claws, a strange magic caused frostbite to set in. Once the creature was contained, and realizing that potentially losing the full use of her hands so early on could be a death sentence for her, Kol offered to heal her hands... for a price. Weighing her options, and decided survival was the ultimate goal and she needed her hands for that, she accepted.
As they delved deeper into the fortress, they learned it was actually an ancient prison built by elves. They found the builder of the prison, a dwarf, bound to the place by magic, and a supposedly tyrant elven king locked away in the depths of the prison. Certain circumstances brought about the destruction of the prison, and Ruvsá and Kol barely escaped the collapse.
On a personal side trip to spend some time remembering her father on the tenth anniversary of his death, Ruvsá encounters a stranger (Kol Twice-Bloodied) on an island just off the shore of the main continent of the Eretejva Tundra. Forced by the weather to shelter in a strange, enchanted fortress, the two find themselves battling dark forces whose intentions are unknown.
In their first battle against an undead frost giant, Ruvsá sustains dangerous injuries to her hands/paws. When she struck the giant with her claws, a strange magic caused frostbite to set in. Once the creature was contained, and realizing that potentially losing the full use of her hands so early on could be a death sentence for her, Kol offered to heal her hands... for a price. Weighing her options, and decided survival was the ultimate goal and she needed her hands for that, she accepted.
As they delved deeper into the fortress, they learned it was actually an ancient prison built by elves. They found the builder of the prison, a dwarf, bound to the place by magic, and a supposedly tyrant elven king locked away in the depths of the prison. Certain circumstances brought about the destruction of the prison, and Ruvsá and Kol barely escaped the collapse.
References
Westward - A Tundra Tale Pt. 2The Tides of Fate