Skuldr Thorason

Born in a one-room hut in the snowy tundra of Björju Island on the 2nd of Emberis, 1487, Skuldr Thorason spent his earliest years in the wilds. White Ursinefolk typically birth twins, but Skuldr's unnamed twin sibling was stillborn. While he was the only child of his mother, Thora Toklosdottir, Skuldr did have a few half-siblings through his father Nanook Tuqsun, many of whom he never met. In his earliest years, he and his parents moved somewhat frequently due to the scarcity of resources on Björju. When he was almost 2 years old, his family properly settled some distance outside of the city of Nylokni.

As young as 5 years old, Skuldr's parents began to teach him the skills necessary to survive in the frigid lands they called home. These skills included hunting, fishing, and hut-building. Thora, his mother, also taught Skuldr how to prepare the food he collected and create delicious meals with little ingredients. Despite this being at such a young age, Skuldr remembers these moments as some of his fondest memories. In contrast to his mother, Skuldr's father Nanook was much more absent in his life. As he was the founder and leader of the Sulijaq, a separatist group that was seeking to dismantle the Kingdom of Kalvete, Nanook was frequently away from home for long periods of time. When he was present, he focused on teaching his young cub how to properly wield a weapon and fight. Nanook was much harsher on Skuldr than Thora ever was, believing that the verbal abuse and rare physical punishment would prepare him for the difficulties of life. Their differing parental strategies caused Nanook and Thora to argue quite frequently, further affecting Skuldr's childhood development.

On the 21st of Perswyn, 1494, Skuldr's childhood came to an abrupt end. As his skills with hunting and combat had been improving, Nanook planned to have Skuldr join him in the Sulijaq and their rebellion. He had begun an effort to instill his ideals into his son whenever he was home, but Thora, who was a proud citizen of Kalvete, often worked to undo this when Nanook was gone. The 21st was one of the rare occasions where both his parents were present, and their differing views on the Kingdom and the role Skuldr should play in the Sulijaq led to a heated argument between the two of them. As Nanook had been drinking heavily, this argument turned into violence. In his drunken rage, Nanook slit Thora's throat and killed her. The trauma of witnessing such an event birthed a great fury inside Skuldr, who was only 7 years old at the time. This fury took two forms: A desire for vengeance against Nanook, and a sense of self-hatred for being too weak to protect his mother.

After fleeing from home, Skuldr spent around two weeks wandering the tundra of Björju Island. During this time, Skuldr was continuing to flee from Nanook, who was actively searching for his son. To fully escape from Nanook, a young Skuldr fled to the city of Nylokni. While living in the city better protected the young cub from his father, it placed him in a world that he was fully unfamiliar with. The skills he was taught as a child, such as hunting and fishing, did very little to help him navigate the dynamics of urban life. The earliest months of this new life were the roughest for Skuldr, as he was frequently stealing food and sleeping in the cold street.

Skuldr often frequented a small tavern named the Briny Glacier, as he often found success when scavenging through whatever leftovers were in the garbage. One night, when the tavern was closing for the evening, Skuldr was caught rummaging through the garbage by Hakon Erikson, the tavern's owner. Hakon felt pity to the young cub, and he decided to temporarily foster Skuldr while searching for a more permanent solution. During his stay at the Briny Glacier, Skuldr began to further practice his cooking skills while feeding himself.

Hakon eventually learned of Skuldr's cooking skills, deciding to take him in for a longer period of time. In exchange for food and shelter, Skuldr would work in the kitchen at the Briny Glacier. Skuldr agreed to these conditions, and he found himself working under Hakon for quite some time. Working here greatly expanded on his culinary knowledge, introducing Skuldr to ingredients and cooking methods he hadn't been able to access previously. Through the combination of this new knowledge and his preexisting skillset, Skuldr was able to help earn some recognition for the tavern across the Kingdom of Kalvete.

After spending a few years working under Hakon, Skuldr would soon find himself being adopted. The increased recognition Skuldr brought to the Briny Glacier eventually caught the attention of Elda Gormsdottir: A gourmet chef and food critic who was well-renowned throughout the Kingdom of Kalvete. She visited the Briny Glacier on the 27th of Auburan, 1498, intending to review their food after the establishment's popularity boom. She greatly enjoyed the meal she ate, so much so that she asked to meet the chef who prepared it. This chef was an 11-year-old Skuldr, and his skills greatly impressed Elda. After speaking to the young cub and learning his story, she felt sympathy for him. Elda quickly adopted Skuldr as both her son and an apprentice, giving him a loving home while personally teaching him the culinary arts.

Leaving the Briny Glacier, Skuldr moved to Elda's home in Hjarvat in the Highlands. As he now had a proper home and someone to rely on, Skuldr was able to once again use the skills he learned on Björju. After going hunting or fishing within the Highlands' wilderness, Elda would teach him elaborate recipes made from his harvests. Elda also taught Skuldr how to cultivate certain vegetables and spices, allowing him to assist in her personal garden. Once Skuldr was 15 years old, Elda hired him to work at her own restaurant in the city named Gorm's Hearth. It didn't take long for the growing cub to start seeing Elda as his mother. While she never truly replaced Thora, her loving nature and enthusiasm in teaching closely reminded him of his early years. Elda was even able to handle his angry outbursts, a product of the trauma surrounding his mother's death. Over the years as her child, Skuldr did eventually learn to better control his emotions.

Living and working with Elda brought Skuldr a small amount of fame in Kalvete. Elda often catered for various festivals and other events around the Kingdom, with the Valkyrie Festival being one she helped with annually. Working at Elda's restaurant and assisting in the Valkyrie Festival each year made Skuldr quite well-known in Hjarvat. Elda and Skuldr also occasionally traveled elsewhere in the Kingdom, once even catering for a royal banquet in Iskholde. As the banquet was to celebrate the birth of Kalvete's princess Freya Kepsdottir in 1508, Skuldr even had the opportunity to meet King Kepjur Ragnison himself when he was only 21 years old.

Over the many years Skuldr lived with Elda, he would often read her extensive catalog of recipes and food critiques. This told him many stories of distant lands throughout Asobria, places with adventures to be had and meals to enjoy. Skuldr dreamed of heading out and discovering the wide world of food for himself, creating his own recipes with the ingredients he discovered along the way. After taking a couple years to prepare his gear and speak with Elda, Skuldr eventually left from Hjarvat on the 18th of Fadewind, 1511. While the then 24-year-old Skuldr was well-prepared for life on his own, Elda assured him that she always had a place for him at home.

Skuldr spent his first few weeks on the road traveling through Kalvete, challenging himself to develop new recipes with whatever ingredients he could collect along his route. His routing first took him through Hjertlande, the ingredients of which were very familiar to him. After adapting his recipes to his limited methods of cooking on the road, Skuldr decided to begin properly writing them out to share them in the future. He chose to set another goal for himself, hoping to eventually complete his own cookbook of meals that was catered to adventurers.

Skuldr's route eventually took him to the Outlands, which required him to cross through Norderia of the Holy Empire of Acolytius. This was his first experience with the Empire, where he had to pay a tax placed against him for traveling through Halfmont. This gave him a firsthand perspective on the tensions between the two countries at the time, with him choosing to tolerate things despite having issues with the Empire's recent encroachments. As he obeyed these local laws, he was later able to fully enter the country without issue on the 6th of Dawnspring, 1512. He spent multiple months exploring the northern regions of the Empire, traveling through Norderia, Towerfirth, and Minaltum through the month of Lume.

Despite his efforts to distance himself from the troubles of his past, Skuldr did utilize the skills that Nanook once taught him. In Towerfirth, Skuldr had an encounter with members of the Crimson Cruor. While he emerged from this encounter relatively unscathed, it was the first battle Skuldr had that put his well-being in danger. During this battle, he discovered that the anger he had been carrying since his childhood could prove beneficial during combat. This was also his first encounter with what he would refer to as his "spirt guardian:" A ghostly manifestation of a bear that fought alongside him against the Cruor. This guardian of his wouldn't fight alongside him again for some time, but it always appeared when he was channeling his rage, serving to strengthen and protect him in his time of need.

Skuldr Thorason is best known for his membership in the Arcane Asobrian Adventurers, and he originally joined the adventuring party around this time. On the Day of Flame, 1512, the rest of the then unnamed Triple A ran into Skuldr outside of Boulderrest, Minaltum. After making introductions, it was decided that Skuldr would travel with the group through parts of the Province. While no one knew it at the time, Skuldr would eventually become a valued member of the group.

Not long after their meeting, Skuldr joined Triple A on the field of battle. While exploring the Garden of the Masons, the group had an encounter with followers of Thrulseth that was then interrupted by an Earth Walker. Skuldr not only helped to even the playing field against Thrulseth's followers, but he even dealt the killing blow to the Walker. This battle was only the beginning, as Skuldr continued to assist in the fight against Thrulseth throughout Minaltum, even playing a crucial role in the final battle against the lich. Feeling proud of his good deeds, Skuldr chose to continue adventuring with Triple A and officially joined the group and their search for the Dragon Aspects on the 8th of Harvestal, 1512.

Despite being happily welcomed in the Arcane Asobrian Adventurers, there were some difficulties adjusting to this new lifestyle. Chief among these was Skuldr's nationality, as he was the only member of the group who wasn't raised in the Empire, at least at the time. As his induction into the group happened shortly before Triple A's involvement in the Imperial Election of 1512, he was thrusted into a role that required familiarity with the region's governing systems and elected officials. Navigating this setting while also growing comfortable with his new friends was a challenge, and it prevented Skuldr from focusing on his culinary goals. Additionally, the frequent battles Triple A was involved in led to Skuldr harnessing his rage more frequently. Despite its usefulness in these battles, it caused his traumatic memories to be on his mind more often than they had been. His new friends in Triple A, however, were a huge help in his struggles as their trust in one another strengthened.

After Skuldr was fully inducted into Triple A, the adventuring party traveled to the Kingdom of Kalvete in their quest for the next Dragon Aspect. Entering the Kingdom on the 27th of Fadewind, 1512, Skuldr quickly took on the role that the rest of the party took on for him in the Empire, helping to guide them through a region that none of them were familiar with. As he also had a degree of local fame in the Kingdom, this was also used to benefit the adventuring party. Skuldr was even able to prevent Triple A from being detained by the Kingdom's government, as King Kepjur Ragnison recognized him from some years prior and opted to hear the group out instead of imprisoning them as Imperial infiltrators. This leg of Triple A's quest is when Skuldr fully cemented his friendships with the rest of the group, which later gave him a sense of confidence and comfort that helped him to better deal with his past struggles.

Despite how well he was doing with his new allies, Skuldr's past came back to haunt him during his travels. Nanook and the Sulijaq both became obstacles in Triple A's path early on in their journey when they attempted to plunder a relief transport. The sight of his father, as well as the cloak made of Thora's fur that he was wearing, made Skuldr freeze for most of this initial battle. Nanook's presence continuously caused issues throughout Kalvete, leading to Skuldr hesitating or freezing in battles where he was present. His father wasn't even involved in many of these situations and instead acted like a ghost; appearing briefly in the distance simply to observe and get into Skuldr's head. Nanook was still desperate to bring his son into his rebellion and planned to use this fear to do so. Skuldr recounts this time as when he felt at his weakest, even more so than his childhood.

Skuldr was also introduced to his half-sister when in Kalvete, being Sedna Nanuksdottir. Sedna first encountered Triple A by chance when they first arrived in the Kingdom, opting to temporarily join them along their journey. She and Skuldr quickly formed a strong bond, as Sedna shared similar trauma to him from the abuse of their father. Skuldr wholeheartedly believed in her initial claims of wanting to serve as a guide for Triple A, and he never questioned the times when she mysteriously disappeared for short periods of time. He was overjoyed at the fact that he still blood relatives that seemed to love him, and he was the most devastated when she betrayed the adventuring party. Sedna was actually working with the Sulijaq, having been manipulated and threatened by Nanook to believe that she was doing the right thing. This came to light in the Northern Rift, where Sedna turned against her half-brother on the 4th of Perswyn, 1512. In this moment, the fear Skuldr was feeling in his father's presence turned into a violent anger. After both his family members escaped, Skuldr initially swore to hunt both of them down and kill them, but the advice of his friends in Triple A and the disappearance of his 'spirit guardian' helped him to realize the issues with his anger.

Skuldr found some form of resolution for his family troubles not long after Sedna's betrayal, as the Sulijaq later attempted to stop Triple A at the peak of Mount Fjallzen on the 16th of Perswyn. Skuldr was forced to once again fight against his family, and it was a struggle for him not to give control to his anger. Once the fight was coming to an end, Nanook fled and abandoned Sedna at Fjallzen's peak. Instead of killing her, Skuldr recognized how she was also a victim of their father and granted her a chance to redeem herself. Sedna accepted his act of mercy, allowing the half-siblings to forgive one another. Sedna later moved in with Elda, who Skuldr was able to reconnect with a few times before leaving Kalvete again. Before continuing with Triple A's quests, however, he returned home to Björju Island to finally defeat Nanook. As he had regained control of his anger, Skuldr's spirit guardian appeared again to help him in this final duel. Skuldr chose to let Nanook live with his defeat, believing that it was a more fitting punishment. His spirit guardian, who revealed herself as the spirit of Thora, did kill Nanook in an act of personal vengeance. Before she fully moved on to the afterlife, she and Skuldr were able to talk one final time.

The aftermath of Kalvete brought Skuldr much closure regarding his past. While his trauma, of course, wasn't 'cured' by any means, the anger that was born from it heavily subsided. Knowing that his father was finally at rest, that he now had a sister at home with Elda, that his friends in Triple A were there for him through the worst, and that Thora was proud of the man he had become, Skuldr left Kalvete much better than he had entered it. From this moment forward, the rage he channeled in battle was no longer just fueled by the losses of his childhood, but instead by the unwavering loyalty and love he felt for his found family and the strong individual he had become.

After Triple A's venture through Kalvete, the adventuring party traveled back to the Empire to continue their search for the Dragon Aspects. After leaving the Kingdom on the 27th of Perswyn, 1512 and arriving in Vatepor on the 11th of Stellara, Skuldr and his friends would then make the month-long boat voyage to the Carcharian Isles. With Skuldr now at ease with some of his trauma, his focus was able to shift back to his original goals of creating adventurer-friendly recipes. With the ample time he possessed on the ship, he was able to properly write out the recipes he had developed across Impatria. He was also able to do some research on ingredients unique to the Carcharian Isles, already conceptualizing potential recipes that could use them. Alongside his culinary goals, he and his fellow party members also devised their strategy for traveling through the archipelago, deciding what places they should explore as they searched for the next Aspect.

Triple A arrived at Reefway, a colony of the Empire, on the 28th of Dawnspring, 1513. The first individual the group encountered after their arrival was Silas Rykan. Silas was a Half-Auri sailor who served on the Crew of the Ghost: A small ship comprised of political activists who wished to radically change the government of the Carcharian Commonwealth. Triple A found themselves being heavily involved with this crew and their efforts, which led to Skuldr and Silas growing very close to one another. While they initially bonded over the topics of shared childhood traumas and Skuldr's cooking, their connection continued to deepen until it blossomed into romance. Silas would later join Triple A after the Crew of the Ghost disbanded, allowing him to remain close to Skuldr.

Throughout Triple A's journey across the archipelago, Skuldr continued to contribute towards his party's main quest by providing his incredible strength. This proved most useful on the Day of Growth, 1513, where Triple A had traveled to Whakanua to rescue the captain of the Ghost Wehitara Oatunu. While other members of Triple A worked to free her from her cell, Skuldr served as a distraction by participating in the show fights. His opponent was none other than Rangtoa Naue: The Isles' Chieftain at the time. Skuldr defeated the experienced gladiator in front of his people, but this wasn't the only battle they would share.

During the Clash at the Crater on the 4th of Solvial, Skuldr and Rangtoa became isolated in Tapango Crater and had a rematch against one another. This second encounter went much differently, however, with Skuldr initially being defeated and left to die. In what he believed to be his final moments, Skuldr remembers feeling angry. Not only was this partly the anger he had felt his entire life, but it was also an anger at his failure to help those he cared passionately about. It was this anger that gained the attention of Ignivul, the Divine Dragon of Fire, to bestow his Aspect to Skuldr. With the newfound power it granted him, he was able to get back into the fight and help Triple A and their allies emerge victorious.

Now possessing his own Dragon Aspect, a newfound sense of responsibility came over Skuldr. The artifact served as a physical reminder of who and what he fought for. Like an ember that refuses to go out, Skuldr knows he holds the potential to ignite brightly when the situation calls for it. The Aspect of Fire not only represents his anger, but also his passion for his ideals and those he cares about. This is why Skuldr wears his Aspect on the front plate of his belt, proudly displaying his loyalty to everyone he meets.

Since acquiring his Dragon Aspect, Skuldr has continued to travel with Triple A and work as a hero throughout Asobria. After traveling through Q'Farrun and acquiring another Aspect, the adventuring party is now in the Janiib Sultanate. After arriving in the Sultanate on the 23rd of Lume, 1513, Skuldr and his friends have become involved in some of the region's politics as they traverse the desert nation. While Skuldr doesn't consider himself the best at negotiations, he remains steadfast in his devotion to what's right. Along his journey with Triple A, Skuldr will also continue to work towards his own culinary goals. In addition to his own adventurer-friendly recipes, Skuldr was also given another recipe to make from Elda, who sadly passed away on the 2nd of Lume. While she may be gone, the memory of her drives Skuldr forward. As his and Triple A's journey continues, Skuldr continues to follow his passions and embody his loyalty to his friends.