Ulf Alaric (oolf ah-lah-rik)
Jarl Ulf Alaric Egilson
Alaric is the current Jarl of the northern icy town of Ulfskiir in the Demesne of Ice. He has ruled the town for just over two years, after being appointed by a Moot to take over after the death of the previous jarl. Ulfskiir is the only town in the Demesne to have different types of Giants vying for its jarldom - and Alaric's frost giant kin were able to end the stone giant control of several centuries. Alaric's early rule has been beset by civil unrest, as the stone giants maintain bitter feelings about the recent Moot and its one-vote margin of victory for Alaric.
Despite this animosity and potential for unrest, Alaric has struck a conciliatory tone and tried to patch things over with the stone giants, hoping to usher in a new era of cooperation and mutual benefit. To his credit, some of the lesser stone giant houses seem to be winding down their protests and unrest, but the main opponent in the Moot and his staunchest supporters continue to cause problems for the town.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Alaric was born the third child of a frost giant family in the town of Ulfskiir. From a young age, he was given access to the best tutors giant-kin or humans could get, his parents wanting him and all his siblings to succeed in life. When he was young, before he grew too large, he enjoyed playing with the humanoid children in town, though he was very aware of his relative size and made sure not to hurt other children. As he got older and larger, he interacted less and less with humanoid children, though their world has continued to fascinate him through his 123 years of life.
At the young age of 31, Alaric was sent off into the wilderness for two years, to hunt and live amongst nature, as is custom in some Giant families. Alaric's two older siblings had gone through this trial and had emerged in good health and with a stronger understanding of the world, and Alaric determined he would be no different. On his trek, however, he strayed too far south and west and ended up around the side of the mountains, venturing into the Forbidden Forest and all of its dangers. According to his account and bards' retelling of the events, he came into contact with several hostile Giant clans and had to use diplomacy to avoid a fight or being taken prisoner. He slew several large dire wolves on this journey, skinning them and sewing all of their pelts into the leather tunic he still dons to this day.
After returning from this journey, Alaric's parents began to seriously evaluate their oldest children to determine their lots in life - while the younger ones were still going through the education and wilderness trials. The older two siblings were determined very competent but not quite leadership quality, so they were each given a good portion of the family's wealth and had marriages arranged with other prominent Giant families across the Demesne, becoming nobles in their own right. Alaric was identified as a potential leader, and his parents hired additional tutors and leadership coaches to help him build this quality into something he could use. When he turned 45, Alaric's father took him under his wing and began showing Alaric the family business, eventually allowing the younger Giant to run most things himself while the father enjoyed semi-retirement and watching his son flourish. Alaric would go on to lead the family estate for 75 years, and his parents were able to arrange a wonderful marriage for him with a beautiful Stone Giant from amongst the rival nobles in Ulfskiir (then known by a different name).
Alaric would have been more than happy running the family estate for the rest of his life, until his own children came of age and could be taught to assist or take over for him. Then, an unexpected event changed the course of Alaric's life forever. The jarl that had served for all of Alaric's adult life passed away from natural causes (though there are some - mainly the town's stone giant families - who believe it was not so innocent) and left no heir behind to inherit the throne. In accordance with Giant culture, the town convened a Moot of all the families, both Giant and not, to determine the next ruler. Having been raised for greatness and leadership his whole life, Alaric decided to throw his hat into the ring for consideration. Through several rounds of negotiation and indecisive elections, Alaric continued to gain more support amongst his fellow frost giants - despite his stone giant husband, who was very clearly torn between supporting his clan and his husband.
Eventually, after two long, grueling years of deliberations and elections, the final vote was held. The stone giants had coalesced their support behind one candidate, and all frost giants had joined together to support Alaric. The difference in the final election was just one vote, with no one abstaining, so the Moot officially declared Alaric the new jarl.
Portrait art by me using HeroForge
Age
123
Birthplace
Children
Pronouns
he/him
Gender
Male
Eyes
White
Hair
Salt and pepper, styled into a mohawk
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Icy blue, with visible scars on his face and arms
Height
21'8"
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
Comments