⚔️Serberia

Gullveig

A young prodigy walked through a brightly lit forest, barely dragging her feet. In the girl's hands was a bag, and in the bag — full to the brim with bread. Well, "full to the brim" as it were... Since the start of the journey, about half of it had already disappeared from the bag, and she was already glancing at it nervously with her sleepy eyes — would it be enough for the way back? Meanwhile, the path, clearly used mostly by animals, began to climb slightly uphill. After wandering here and there among ravines and small hills, it led to a small cave, inside which, on a stone mound, stood a small wooden figurine of Arteria. One might think it was an altar or a sacrificial shrine, and most likely the heroine of this biography thought so too, but most likely it was simply someone's grave.
— Hello, Mother, it's me. How are you, what are you dreaming about? — the girl began to speak to the figurine. — Oh, this, by the way, is for you, — she took a bun out of the bag, clasped it in her hands with the clear intention of breaking it in half, but hesitated (at that moment one could witness a fierce internal struggle) and still placed it whole by the statuette. — Don't worry, Mother, Gungnir's shelter has plenty of bread, I'm not eating anyone out of house and home... Probably. There. You eat and gaaaaaain your strength, — the last phrase got muddled due to an unplanned yawn. — I'll just take a little nap here nearby, okay?
The hot June sun spared not the weary young maiden, and she thought it best to lean against the nearest stump and close her eyes.
— Well theeeen. Soon I'll be eighteen, I'll finally live on my own, in my own house... I wonder, who will cook for me? Ah, whatever, I'll buy myself a little house closer to the bakery and then I won't starve, yeah. Though, I'll have to save up a bit more. Well, that's nothing, it's nothing. Could it be, — she briefly opened her eyes at a thought that she for some reason hadn't had before. — So it turns out I'll be seeing teacher Virgil less, and what if he suddenly says, "Go off and practice on your own, I've taught you everything." Mmmmmmm... I won't survive that, he's so goooood... Mother, if only we could get married... But how...
The words of the monologue grew longer and more muffled, and in the end the well-fed girl fell happily asleep, occasionally smacking her lips in her sleep. The sun slowly descended toward the treetops and the first evening breeze blew. A fox ran out of the thicket, flattened its ears upon seeing the person nearby, but still decided to take the risk and quickly snatched the unattended bun.

***

Years ago, along one of the most popular roads of Oygen, in the evening hours, a lone warrior was passing by. Whether he expected adventures or feats of arms, the company of a woman or the company of friends with a mug of beer — unknown, but that evening he heard a muffled, hoarse crying. Having searched the immediate surroundings, the warrior found near the road a newborn infant, lying in some rags under an old statuette of Arteria. It was a girl, to the warrior's relief warm and not frozen, however, clearly having lain there by the roadside for quite some time and crying for food. The wanderer bought her milk at a nearby farm, and the child fell asleep. Being acquainted with a very kind and influential baron, the man took the infant to nearby Baldr, where any orphan could be placed, regardless of origin and circumstances. There the baron gave the girl a name, as he gave one to all whom fate had left without this trait so important to every person — that name was Gullveig.

***

— So, today we will congratulate Gullveig on her coming of age... — the birthday girl stood before the mirror, adjusting the folds of her dress and daydreaming. — Gullveig... Mother, tell me, how can you name a living person that? Other children are named Ankora or Kalentia, but me...
The girl critically examined herself all over and stopped her gaze on her figure. On top of everything else, there was this too... She remembers well the day she first realized she liked Virgil. That day, she recalls, was accompanied by another, far sadder discovery — it was perfectly obvious that she was _fat_. Terribly, catastrophically _fat_. Fortunately, the baron's cellars were always open, so the problem was immediately eaten away with a piece of cheese and a jar of apricot jam.

***

From early childhood, Gullveig was very sleepy. However, the physician at the baron's estate, upon initial examination of the infant, found nothing particularly unusual — but who knows, perhaps her strange condition was the original reason the girl was abandoned to her fate.
And still, it did get in the way of living. As long as Gullveig can remember, she has always been extremely absent-minded and clumsy. Any task, any household chore — all of it would immediately go straight to Helheim the moment the young maiden took them up. Dishes broke, buckets of water for washing spilled, the woodcarving knife nearly became a murder weapon, and so on, and so forth. In the end, the girl nearly gave up on herself, but trial lessons in martial arts showed that at least in some things she was not hopeless. When the time came for her to finally choose a mentor, she chose the so handsome and so heroic Virgil — and although calling her an excellent student would be difficult, Gullveig did learn something from him. Among other things, such company (as well as the company of the baron himself) strengthened her Arterian faith — even to the point that she sometimes dreamed of Mother. In some ways, the story of Mother sleeping somewhere and guarding them all in her sleep reminded her of her own situation... And the story of her being found next to the statuette of Arteria strengthened the romantic feeling. Vegy even once found a place in the forest with a similar statuette — and although surely there was no connection to her own birthplace, she still liked having such a secret little spot where she could stroll, talk to Mother, and bring her a bit of bread.
Unfortunately, at 18 Gullveig was unable to leave the baron's estate as she had hoped. She was now already 20, and she still hadn't managed to save up money for housing, although she tried, for the obvious reason of being incapable of practically any labor. And still, the girl hopes for some good mercenary contract, or a job as a guardswoman, in short something that will help her get on her feet. And then, who knows, maybe she'll become for Virgil... Well, never mind, the main thing is to find work.
Ahead — a whole life full of hope.

Origin:

Baldr

+1 to strength, +1 to agility, +1 to endurance, +1 to perception, +3 to faith, +1 to spirit

Conviction:

Church of Arteria

✦ The character survives one mortal wound per game cycle. 
✦ +3 to faith, +1 to beauty, +1 to spirit.

Year of birth: 758 (Warlock)
Month of birth: June (narcissus), 5th
Cards: 1, 2
Skills: 1
Equipment: spear, heavy armor, an especially sturdy belt, shield, some Arterian religious trinkets (little amulets-bracelets, whatever is in vogue in this era), lots and lots of food.


Picture: after a hard training session, a typical day at the baron's estate.