Paul the Wise

Concept art for my viking story, The Drunken Sagas: Monsterous Mead.


Ragnarr "Paul the Wise"
Ragnarr grew up in the same village as Eric and they were childhood friends. Paul quickly came up the ranks of the vikings and was the youngest to win control of his own boat. Paul was lucky and a wise leader and lead his men to many great victories. There was once when they were sacking a Monastery and there was not getting in. Ragnarr faked his death and had his men bring his dead body in a coffin to the church doors and asked that they baptize him and perform the last right because he dead realizing that the Christian Church was the true way. The church oblige them and brought the coffin into the church. They baptized him on the spot giving him the Christian name of Paul. Once fully in the church Ragnarr burst out of the coffin and cut his way to the door and swung it wide open and the vikings sacked the church. After that attack he was always know as Paul the Wise.
Though on his next venture out Paul's crew met a horrible fate, because after he was baptized he lost the favor of the Norse Gods and all his luck. Paul was devastated. After that day every time he went a viking he met with failure. The last time he went out in command he lost his ship in a storm. Paul was bad luck and no one would follow him into battle any more. It looked like he was doomed to a straw death, however, Eric stuck by Paul through out all of this and Paul became the shadow second of command on Eric's ship.
Paul is the voice of reason on the boat, where as most are influenced by their gut and their emotion Paul is ruled by the voice of reason. He never takes out right control because he fears the reactions of the gods though he is always there to give his opinion which the crew often listens to.