Karla the Warmaiden [Norn]

[FlyingSquirrel]

Player: AHandfulofVikings.3674


Character Full Name: Karla Karldottir

Character In-Game Name: Karla The Warmaiden

Nickname(s): Karla

Association(s): Hoelbrak/Knut Whitebear and his Wolfborn in times of dire need, but she mainly sticks to wandering. She's closest to Wolf.

Race: Norn

Class: Berserker (Warrior)

Skills and Abilities: Karla fights with two axes, primarily. She carries a bow for hunting and a warhorn that's rarely used, but mainly sticks to her axes.

Age: 54

Sex: Female

Hair: Blonde. She keeps it in a tight bun, but if she were to unfasten it, it would fall to her shoulders in ringlets.

Eyes: Seafoam Green.

Usual Garments/Armor: Karla, in traditional Norn fashion, wears little armor. Her chest is sparsely covered, so as to allow her whirling tattoos plenty of breathing room. Her skirt is made of a series of leather plates that overflow and interlap seemingly at random. Her boots have metal braces around her shin, while, above, she wears a shoulderguard.

Other: She has a stern face, with thin lips, high cheeks and a near-always judgemental glare. A series of scars decorate her face and chest, although they have all healed relatively well. Her shoulder tattoos are fairly simplistic knots, covering only her shoulders in a flawlessly white ink. Her face is covered in three dashes of white, the bottom and top coming from the left, while the middle dash comes from her right.

Her belt carries many items; her knife, for use with eating, skinning and anything else she needs a knife for. It also holds her two axes, her warhorn, and a variety of other items that she uses when necessary.

Personality: Karla is harsh and judgmental to those she doesn't know all too well -- she holds them up to a standard that few, including herself, could reach. But, as many other Norn are, she's quick to warm up to people, as well as quick to anger and quick to forgive. She finds herself most comfortable when she's in a group. She throws her shoulders back, she lets her voice boom, she tells more jokes, and she laughs louder. When she's alone, it's the opposite; she hunches her shoulder as if invisible winds constantly howl and gnaw at her, and often loses herself in thoughts for minutes at a time.

She enjoys battle, as every good Norn should, and relishes the opportunity to prove herself and add to her legend. She passionately takes every opportunity she can to prove herself, but, if things go sour, will quickly backpedal and warily watch her foe or challenge with caution. While she does not often make use of it, she has a tactician's mind, and when things turn against her, she is more than happy to use it. She just prefers not to.

History: Karla was born as the second of four children to a pair of Norns that went by the name of Karl and Morvena. Her elder brother, who was walking confidently by the time of her birth, was named Jarl. Her two younger siblings, twins that would come just as Karla reached puberty, were named Yorven and Thorven. She, along with many other norn children, had a hard childhood. It was not for lack of food or warmth, but more due to the fact that her parents were unyielding and unforgiving. They only wanted their child to be able to live well as a norn, and that could not happen if their children were craven or weak.

When Thorven and Yorven began to walk, their parents began to leave the homestead more and more, entrusting it and the two younger children in the care of Jarl and Karla. One day, when the parents were gone, a wolf pack strayed fairly close to the house. This was the first time this had happened without the parents, and a breakdown in communication occured. Yorven was lost and never found. The parents, when they returned, had plenty of emotions but ultimately came to accept it as a part of life. However, Jarl and Karla continuously blamed eachother, so much so that the incident forever drove a wedge between the two.

It was not long after that Jarl struck off from his family to go craft his legend. Karla stuck around and aided her parents in raising Thorven. She watched him jealously, giving him protection that would've made a Human prince jealous. He grew up without too many incidents, and when he began to swing an axe for himself, Karla departed to begin making her legend. She travelled north to Hoelbrak, quickly finding love and companionship in the arms of the Wolfborn. It did not take much convincing for her to swear herself to them.

With them, she found happiness. The brawls, the mead, the freedom; she found it all exhilarating. But, eventually, it began to wear on her. And when she heard travellers from the inn speaking her brother's name and praising his bravery, she remembered why she had left home. She had not left home to waste away behind the natural walls of Hoelbrak; no, she was out here to craft a legend, and she had been failing miserably in that regard. So, she made the Wolfborn well aware of her intents to leave Hoelbrak, and when no one rose to stop her, that's exactly what she did. She embraced the open road and wandered.