Vear the Poet Warrior

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

Vear the Poet Warrior

Vear was born in a small town in Norway at the same time as Eric, this lead to them believing that they're fates were intertwined and a desire to work together. Though before Vear found himself in the company of Eric, he had been a warrior in the Norwegian King’s personal guard. While in the employ of the King Vear became deft at the use of the broad sword and few were his match in the keep. Though Vear made one fatal mistake and fell in love with the Kings daughter, he would write her poems and slip them under her door. Vear was as apt a poet as he was a swordsman; there was an argument on who blessed him more, Braggi, the god of poets or Tyr, the sword god. The princess quickly swooned to at the advances of this highly regarded guard, they were in love, they were foolish, and they were caught. The King flew into a rage when he found out what had happen, he condemned Vear to death. On the spot he was knocked to his knees and one of his fellow guards drew their swords and raised it to strike. The Princess pleaded for her lover’s life to no avail. Vear asked for a simple request, recite a death poem. The King allowed the request and gave him but 10 minutes to compose it. He sat quietly for a moment and then began to recite. The court fell silent for a long time after he had finished. The King was moved; he decided to change his punishment from death to banishment. Vear was given 1 day to be out of the King’s keep and 3 months to be out of Norway or he would be hunted down and killed. Vear had contemplated for a time spending his three months with his lover and dying a warrior’s death. Though she would not hear it and one night drugged him and had him set on a ship to Sweden. He awoke at sea he was confused and angry, thinking he had been abducted, he started to lash out at the crew, he took out about five men with his bare hands before a tall berserker knocked him out. When he awoke once again, he was much calmer and tied to the mast of the ship. The Berserker sat next to him drinking ale out of a horn asking the former guard about himself. Vear was reluctant to talk to the berserker; they were known to be bad luck, though this one seemed different somehow and started to speak when his earlier thought turned out to be true and their ship was attacked by a sea serpent. Quick as lightning the serpent killed four of the oars men and had wrapped its body around the ship. The berserker turned to Vear and cut him loose, hoping that he would recognize the real threat as the serpent. He threw him a sword and grabbed his ax and hurled himself at the mouth of the serpent. At that moment Vear started to head over to where the Berserker was doing battle with the head of the serpent and instead jumped over the edge of the boat and began to use his sword to gut the monster. Even though his valiant effort had killed the monster the fact that he was still wearing his chain main was about to have him dragged into Ran’s net (Norse equivalent of going to Davey Jones locker). Though in the next moment he was saved by the berserker, who placed him back onto the ship with the aid of whom ever was left on the ship. Once Vear had been revived the Berserker said, “I guess that makes us even then huh?” they both laughed and The berserker got the ship under way and opened a cask of ale and they all started to drink. Over ale, Vear told the berserker of his past and of his plans to gain wealth and return to Norway as rich as a prince and get his princess back. The Berserker liked this man and decided to help him on his quest and thus began a long friendship.

Pat the Irish

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

Pat was a hardheaded Irishmen who fought against the Viking occupation of Ireland. Armed only with his Burda club was woefully out number and thus was captured by a horde of Vikings and brought back to Norway as a thrall, which was the Viking slave class. He did not acclimate to being a thrall very well; he would pick fights, steal, and lie. How he survived the first few years was nothing short of a miracle. Through his time as a thrall he learned the Viking language and came to appreciate their country, in particular the ale he took to pilfering.

One day the village where he lived was being terrorized by a mad hill witch; his master gladly gave him to her in exchange for the her leaving the village alone.The hill witch quickly became infatuated with the young thrall; she placed glamour on herself to trick him into believing she was beautiful and desirable, and he quickly became infatuated with the hill witch and she made him her sex slave.

After Pat had lived with her for several years, the hill witch was approached by young nobleman one day about a warrior that he could not best. A few weeks before a young berserker and his companions came to his father’s drinking hall and challenged them to a contest of strength in exchange for draughts of ale. They were mighty and won many of their battles and quickly became hall favorite. No matter how the young nobleman tried he couldn’t beat the berserker so he needed help in order to regain his glory and his father’s respect. The hill witch agreed to help, though in exchange she wanted copious amounts of blood and gold.

The hill witch packed and small bag and she and Pat left the small cabin in the hills for the drinking hall down in plains by the fjords. Her scheme was simple, poison the young berserker before he fought with the nobleman. Before the fight she moved up to the young berserker she placed a vial of poison in his ale and encouraged him to drink it before the fight for good luck. He drank every last drop. The berserker fought the young nobleman and still he bested him. The young noble flew into a rage at the witch, and if it weren’t for Pat he surely would have killed her. The hill witch was bewildered; the poison should have killed anything that wasn’t a god or a frost giant. The witch had another plan, she knew the nobleman wouldn’t like it, but he would earn him the respect that he sought. She would place a glamour on Pat that would make him look like the nobleman and the next night he would fight the berserker and win. The nobleman protested but was convinced by the witch that it was the best course of action, he eventually agreed but only after she agreed to also place a glamour on him so that he could watch the contest as well, the witch hesitated, though when he offered more gold she agreed.

The next night Pat entered the hall disguised as the nobleman and quickly challenged the berserker to a fight. The witch quickly found a place next to the ring; she needed to focus on Pat or the glamour wouldn’t stand up to a beating, and the nobleman sat next to her to make sure that her man could beat the berserker. In the ring the two began their fight; they were matched blow for blow. The berserker was confused and surprised at the change in style that the nobleman fought that night, it was much more like his own and wild and unpredictable. Pat quickly gained the upper hand and knocked the berserker into the crowd around the ring. He hit the witch, who fell into the dagger that the noblemen had at her back in case she failed him. This did not kill the witch, as they are very difficult to kill it simply broke her concentration and every one lost their glamour including her. The witch grew crazy and flew into a blind rage, she froze the young nobleman and turned and attacked Pat. Realizing that the threat was no longer the nobleman but the witch, the berserker jumped up and took the brunt of the attack meant for Pat saving his life.

At that second Pat could see who the witch truly was and he was enraged that she had tricked him for so long. Pat flew into a rage and threw himself at the witch. Fighting her tooth and nale as she tried to cast her magic on him, her spells of ice and wind quickly started exploding out of her wildly and with no rhyme or reason. The berserker’s companions quickly ran into the ring to help fight the witch. One of the berserker’s companions threw a knife to Pat and he stabbed the witch, and she fell to the floor and shattered like glass. The glass hissed and crackled and a screaming specter exploded from the shards and flew away to the hills to the north, as witches are very hard to kill.

Pat was sitting in the rubble of the witch as the Berserker approached him with a large horn filled with ale, the berserker said, “I guess you won, so here is your prize.” They both laughed and shared the ale and became quick friends. Pat had nowhere else to go and found he enjoyed the company of the Berserker and his companions, so he decided to join them for more fights, women and ale.

I posted this today because this would have been Pat's Birthday, I think much like my portrait of my grandfather I will be doing a picture of Pat every year on this day.

Drunken Sagas: The Hill House background design

I really dislike doing backgrounds; there are so many rules one needs to follow to make a really nice and dimensional background and they really just don't come easily to me, unlike drawing people who are more fun and intuitive for me. However, this being said, I need to challenge myself more to become a better artist, and I need back grounds if I want to tell rich dynamic stories. So I challenged myself to try and make 2 background drawings a week, and here is the first.
This is the home and farm of Paul the Wise. He lives atop the a high hill that is easily defended from intruders, much to Eric's chagrin. Every time he comes to visit he complains about the walk up and Paul always just responds, "One day you will be glad that I found this hill." Eric would indeed be glad years later that Paul had found this hill and even more glad that he had the foresight to build and escape tunnel. Though until that day Eric is always looking for a way to get Paul out of his long house at the top without having to go up himself.

Sommar The Fallen

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


Sommar "The Fallen"
Sommar was once a proud Valkyrie in the service of Odin, once she descended to the Midgard to escape the constant veiwing of war and horror. She went to a tranquil meadow high in the mountains, she thought she was alone she was wrong. There was a young farmer, Agni, out trying to avoid his duty to his father's farm. Agni saw what she was instantly and looked for him Swan Plumage Cloak, which was how she travled from Asgard to Midgard, and grabbed it trapping her. Her eyes fell onto him and she fell instantly in love and would have gladly gone with him. Soon they were married and Sommar brought in a chest of chest of silver and a chest of gold. Agni had hidden the cloak in a locked chest under a rock in the middle of the woods, though Sommar didn't wish to return. They used the chest of silver and bought their own farm and cattle. They were happy for nine years, though the husband being lazy quickly spent all of the money in the gold chest, on gambling as well as refinement for himself. He was in debt, he needed to escape and one night went to the woods donned Sommar's cloak and flew away. Sommar was stuck and pissed at her no good husband she desired nothing more then to return to Valhalla, but to do that she needed her cloak back. She sold all of their cattle and burned their farm down and went on the road looking for Agni.
Sommar dresses in black until the day that she finds her cloak and kills her husband can return to being a Valkyrie and done the white, red, gold, and silver of her station.

Harold the Mythology Expert

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


Harold "The Mythology Expert"
Harold grew up in the same village as Eric and Paul, though he is many years older, in fact Harold had been in charge of watching them a couple of times. Which didn't always go well. Harold felt restless in the village and one night he decided to leave and try his fortune out in the world. On the road he met a man in a blue cloak and a wide brimmed hat, he asked Harold for a drink of water and a bit of food. Harold didn't have much on him but he gave the old man all that he had. The old man was impressed with his generosity and whispered secret words into Harold's ear and had him drink the dregs of his water pouch, filled with his back wash. After that day Harold was changed, he continued on his journey and at the next town he went to the temple of Odin and gave an offering and asked the priest if he could study under him. The priest allowed Harold to stay, Harold was there for a couple of years and left mysteriously. Harold continued on to study the gods and the worlds and moved around absorbing all the he could find and he started collecting books. Years later he ran into Eric and Paul again and asked if he could join them, he needed to go a viking and find something that he had yet to find in Scandinavia. Though after a couple of nights out drinking with Eric Harold kinda forgot his quest and became one of them.
In this world of gods and monsters some one needs to know what is going on, Harold is our viking expert in the strange and mythical. He is in your face and abrasive however, he is a good friend and has thrown himself in front of many swords for his crew members. Harold doesn't have just one weapon he like to dabble and try everything though he is not a master he is versatile and able to pick up almost any weapon and know how to use it. Harold loves to steal books and gets really pissed when he sees other vikings trying to burn books. Harold home almost rivals the Library in Alexandra with how many books he has stolen. Though a lot of those books are Bibles seeing as the vikings target monasteries, though Harold doesn't really care he just loves books.

Tu-Anh the Small

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


Tu-Anh "The Small"
Tu-Anh is from Vietnam and yes she some how made it all the way to Scandinavia. Not much is known how she got from one place to another. Though the way I heard it she spent time hiding in cargo holds and in barrels. She went the long way over land, take that Marco Polo.
Tu-Anh met Eric first in a tavern in Constantinople, Eric had been there with Paul to become part of the Varangain, Eric was not really the service type, but Paul believed he could do really well so Eric came along for the ride. Eric quickly became bored watching Paul start a fight and show his prowess to the existing Varangain, Paul was easily mopping the floor with them and he wouldn't be needed as back up. Eric went looking for something to do and that meant a tavern. Eric found the Rogue Elephant Tavern where Tu-Anh happened to be that day. Eric started to drink and Tu-Anh thought she had found an easy mark for her favorite con, The Drinking Contest. They battled with booze, it was a mighty and spectacular battle. In the end it was a draw, they both passed out on the floor and they both woke up in a jail. They were locked in there for a week before Paul who had become a Varangain saw them locked in there. Paul decided friends over duty and decided to break them out. Once Paul broke Eric out Eric insisted that they bring Tu-Anh along as well because they had become friends and he had alot of respect for some one who could hold their liquor like he could. She agreed not knowing that they would be going to the frozen north.

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.

Tedward the Navigator

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


Ted "Tedward"
Ted is the English navigator and cartographer who joined the crew after they had raided a monastery where he was studying maps of the world. When Ted saw that the Viking crew were mostly stealing beer he decided he would try and go with them to see the world, make his maps, and get drunk. The viking crew being over zealous started drinking early and didn't notice him on the boat. The next day at sea they found him and tied him up. Later on the boat was attacked by another group of vikings a bloody battle ensued. In the middle of the battle Ted was able to escape and took the sword of a dead man and came to the assistance of a lone berserker and was able to save his life. The Berserker was so grateful he allowed the Englishman live and in fact let him join his crew.

Ted is always getting lost, why he is the navigator is beyond me, he gets lost so much the other vikings made a deal with dwarves to make a magic compass that always points tedwards.

Ted is an archer and he wields a sword when he has to but with his keen eye of observation he can hit the feathers off of a chicken 500 feet away. Though he usually seems just as surprised as the rest of us that he did it.

Eric Berserker

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


Eric "Bloodaxe"
He is one of the main characters a Berserker based off of me (yes I am an ego maniac).
He wields two axes which he uses for both defense and for offense. He wears a bear skin as a cap and hat. While real beserkers would go into a battle nude, Eric walks around with out armor or a shirt.
He is a loyal character and would do anything for a friend, he is run by his emotions and his desires. This often leads Eric into trouble and into quick and rash decisions. However, he has a luck about him that makes people want to follow him.
He once had a spectacular mustache which was stolen by pixies to be used by their pixie king as a cape. He hates pixies.