Sjæfír the Wind-Tracker (SHY.feer)
Sjæfír daughter of Tórstað, better known to history as the Sjæfír Wind-Tracker, was a major historical Wylden hero from the first century ATC. Along with her husband, Bjáræn son of Bjón, she was credited with leading the party that hunted and slew that last known Gáníswyrm on Icewall Glacier in 85ATC. Both heroes were slain in the battle.
Physical Description
Specialized Equipment
"When the soil-born came she met him,
fierce and fair, anvil axes armed;"-The Lay of Sjæfír the Wind-Tracker
Sjæfír was known to carry a pair of Runesmithed warhammers, each with an ice-axe backing the hammer head, named Brótátte ("Breaker") and Bírggen ("Echoes"). Both were lost in the battle against Tásje.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Friend of the Sisterhood
After the Battle of Gýðvjak in 84ATC (alternately known as the Battle of the Sisters), Sjæfír was personally chosen by the Sisterhood of Binnigðúm to locate and slay Tásje, the last Gáníswyrm known to inhabit Icewall Glacier. It is said that after being informed of Sjæfír's death carrying out her mission, the Sisterhood mounted an extraordinary expedition to the present-day Sjæfírafelle (Mt. Sjæfír) to recover her remains, whereupon they honored her with their own funerary rites, posthumously marking the Wind-Tracker as one of their own.
Religious Views
To Die Well is to Live Forever
Growing up in the shadow of death on Icewall Glacier tends to leave one with a fatalistic view of life, and Sjæfír was no exception, eagerly clinging to the stories which said that those who died bravely and well might be chosen to stand beside the gods eternally after death. From a young age, she strove to be the best in all things she attempted, and often succeeded, in her pursuit of a life well lived.
Social Aptitude
Sjæfír was precocious as a child, gaining an early reputation for being clever and outspoken. While she was known for being demanding of both herself and those with whom she chose to associate, all tales of her life agree that once her respect was earned, she was a fiercely loyal friend and companion.
Personal History
Daughter of Icewall
Sjæfír was "ice-born", or born within the boundaries of the glacier itself, in 59ATC to the grandchildren of Godswar veterans living in Ísejaköt, the fortress capital of Icewall Glacier Jórveif.
In 74ATC, at the age of 15, she met the "soil-born" Bjáræn son of Bjón, who hailed from Vhæjasvíg on the sea. She was far from warm toward her fellow ranger-in-training, and her heckling of Bjáræn would often push him to work all the harder to earn the respect of the fierce and beautiful Sjæfír.
During a training expedition in 77ATC, their party was attacked by a mated pair of Draugurbjörn, the massive and vicious "ghost bears" of the Wylden glaciers, which Bjáræn detected only moments before the ambush. Working efficiently together, Sjæfír and Bjáræn were able to slay one of the beasts themselves, despite half their companions being wounded or slain in the fight. Both were honored with highly-coveted Draugurbjörn fur cloaks for their deeds, and the two began discreetly courting afterward, marrying in 79ATC.
In 85ATC, after the Battle of the Sisters, the Sisterhood of Binnigðúm commissioned Sjæfír to lead a hand-picked force of two-hundred to hunt down and slay the Gáníswyrm Tásje, who had fled to the mountains south of Gýðvjak after her defeat. By this time, she and Bjáræn had become renowned for their skills in tracking Ice Troll raiding parties, and the couple happily accepted the mission. Though all others failed to find any trace of the wyrm, Sjæfír was able to locate her lair, and in the battle that ensued, both she and Bjáræn fell while slaying their quarry. Only ten survivors returned to report the outcome of the fight, but they unanimously praised the leadership of the young pair, and Sjæfír was named the "Wind-Tracker" for her seeming ability to follow the trail of the wind.
Seen in
Artifacts like Brótátte and Bírggen feel like the kind of things that might turn up eventually and be discovered at the course of a new story - got any plans for them?
Indeed! At the moment, I have no specific plans for Brótátte and Bírggen, but I do have the beginnings of a D&D campaign I started with a family group centered around another famous artifact. The game sort of fell apart, but I may tell that story still, and maybe these two will show up too at some point :)