Niðbjörg Járnulf

(Pics soon to come hopefully)

• Mundane Name: Nakisha McKinney
• Status/Caste: Gestir/Nomad
• Race/Period/Region: Human/9th century/Norway to Denmark
• Realm: None
• Fighting Style: florentine or sword and board

When I was about 7 I awoke washed up on a beach. Not knowing how I got there, where I came from, or even who I was I started walking up and down the shoreline. As night started to fall I looked for someplace out of the wind since the air seemed to get colder as the sun sunk lower. Curled up in a shivering ball I spent the night beside a fallen tree covered with leaves. Waking with the rising sun I continued my search until hunger drove me to forage for food instead. It was hard to find something to eat when you had nothing to hunt with or any memory as to what plants are edible. Several days passed in this manner, with some very close calls with some unsavory plants. One night I found a cave in which to stay the night. I was soon to learn that the haven had already been claimed by another. As I curled up for the night I heard a small faint rumbling sound from behind me. Scared beyond all reason I turned around. Two tiny little eyes seemed to glow not a few feet away from me. Slowly they came closer but the growl never got louder. Then the last rays of dusk awarded me sight of a small fluffy ball of a wolf pup. I extended my hand out and soon the growls became whimpers as he started to suckle my fingers. Being young and foolish I pulled the pup close and we both fell asleep. The next morning I gathered up the pup and went out searching for food. Soon I realized that the pup ate only meat, so we both learned how to hunt. Many days passed where I was roaming the hills with my friend looking for anyone. As I look back I can only think that I was going in circles or something, but I survived. Summer was almost half way over when I finally saw some smoke rising above the trees. Curious I drew closer, when I saw that there were people there just like me I started to rush forward. My friend though was smarter than me and blocked my way. Not quite sure what he was trying to tell me I waited and watched. After awhile I realized that despite them looking similar to me there was no one that resembled me. So I waited until night fall and snuck up into camp to look around. One man was still awake and seemed to be keeping watch. He wasn’t much of a problem for me to slip around though. I saw a long stick sitting close by and I noticed it had an odd tip on it. Something about it seemed familiar to me, so I moved closer. I couldn’t help it my hand reached out and grasped it. The clanking noise that it made alerted the man that was still awake though and he yelled at me. Not knowing what to do I took off running still grasping the spear. Before long I lost them in the woods and I stayed hidden until dawn. As I continued searching the hills I taught myself how to use my new weapon; catching plenty of food for my companion and I. Winter was on the verge of setting in when I finally found a village nestled among the hills a close to the water. I watched the village for several days, making sure that I stay out of sight. Finally I decided that I had learned all that I could by just watching and taking a deep breath I crawled out of my hiding place. I walked proudly into the village with my spear in one hand and my friend walking along my other side. I must have been a sight for the village in my raggedy dress carrying a spear with a half grown wolf cub walking by my side, for they quickly gathered around me. Before long the women had what I could remember out of me. That day was a blur for me but in the end they accepted us into the village and a woman who had just lost one of her children took me into her home. I stayed there for several years learning how to fight and hunt. I didn’t have much interest in the duties of a woman beyond cooking anyway, because for some reason it always saddened me whenever I was faced with it. As I grew older I started going on raids with the men each year, but soon I knew it was time to start looking for my past. Especially when weird dreams started to haunt me and my loyal friend started getting restless. So leaving behind the only family I could remember I set out on my own to find my past, and I have been traveling ever since. Villages have taken me in as a guest during the winter months in return for news and new stories, so far though I have not found anything of my past. My travels have at the moment brought me to the home of Ættflokkur Dimma Úlfur. More than any other village that I’ve wintered with, they have accepted me and my unknown past.

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