Sigga

*"Following on from her father The Lioness Sigga became a fearless ruler being instilled with warrior training and a proud follower of Elros, mainly known for being the second ruler of Linlan she would also be celebrated for creating the Shieldmaidens of Linlan and her war with the kingdom of Harthar."* - Extract from the Book of the North

Sigga was a human female being the daughter of Aldwic and the first queen of Linlan being the second ruler of the northern kingdom eventually joining the Council of the North taking her father's seat as he passed, in her youth she would garner the nickname of "The Lioness" after she slayed a lion proceeding to wear it as a part of her armour and also to showcase her trophy. During her time as a princess she would spend some of her time in Orgol with her uncle Sigge who she was naturally named after due to Aldwic's close bond with his brother, some of her visits would simply be to spend time with her uncle however she would eventually end up meeting Figgar Hammersword in Orgol for a grand feast held by Sigge who sought to introduce the Dwarf king to other members of other northern kingdoms in hopes of expanding their network where she would also meet Alin Blackhorn. Eventually Aldwic would pass and due to him having no sons his throne for Linlan would fall to Sigga who became the kingdom's queen and second ruler however not everyone was confident in her abilities as a sole ruler including other rulers within the northern region, one such kingdom known as Harthar would begin raiding and attacking Linlan's southern border killing all of the male warriors whilst the villagers fled further into Sigga's territory. Many of the females that lost their husbands, sons and brothers to the rival kingdom sought revenge for their fallen and Sigga would use this to create the first Shieldmaidens of Linlan being an elite force of warriors that protected her and specifically followed her and future queens of Linlan into battle, the war with Harthar would end in victory for Sigga who captured their ruler and leader Wulfa proceeding to bring him before the council who all agreed on his execution. Throughout her reign Sigga would give birth to two children a daughter named Eryn who was born with magical powers going on to become a wizard or "druid" as Northmen called them and Ealdwulf who eventually became the next ruler of Linlan serving as its third ruler and second king, Sigga would pass in the year 546 of the First Era dying at the same age her uncle Sigge did.

## Biography

### First Era

#### The Lioness

Born in the year of 482 of the First Era Sigga was born and raised in the heart of Linlan mostly shadowing her father during his king duties however as she grew up into her teens she had the idea of becoming a warrior just like her father, Aldwic hoped to have had a son to fill his boots as the next ruler but upon seeing Sigga's determination and dedication to learning to be a fighter he would arrange that her regular duties around the kingdom consisted of other things to help her learn such as hunting and sparring. When she was not training or hunting or doing any of her other duties Sigga was also allowed to take some of her spare time to visit the kingdom of Orgol where she would spend time with her uncle Sigge who helped her regularly with her training alongside meeting and hanging out with her younger cousin Beorne who would later become the next ruler of Orgol, in some of her visits to her uncle Sigga would also get the chance to meet Figgar Hammersword the king of Baramunz and the Dwarf lord Alin Blackhorn being the cousin of Figgar which Sigge organised a feast to help improve relations and introduce the Dwarves to other future rulers of the northern regions. Shortly before Sigga became the next ruler of Linlan at the age of 20 she would lead her first hunt after having participated in various hunts for several years where she would come across a considerably large lion, unbeknownst to her this lion and it's size were all magical with the beast being mythical more than a simple creature that inhabited the realm but regardless Sigga would hunt the beast eventually killing it and wearing it across her armour serving as one of her most valuable trophies. A couple of days after this event Sigga would be met by a hooded figure whilst on patrol who subsequently be a Druid and he would inform her of the lion she had killed was a protector of his group that lived in the woods, confused by who the person was and what group he had referred to she would simply ignore the man who left her stating that she would never be welcomed by his people or if she ever needed help they would refuse to provide aid.

#### Queen of Linlan

The year of 507 in the First Era would see Aldwic pass from his life and the throne would be left to Sigga to rule as the sole ruler and first sovereign queen of Linlan which held a lot of weight for her as she now replaced her father on the Council of the North alongside her fellow rulers, about 3 years after she ascended to her father's role small raids and attacks would commence across her southern border from which various villagers who fled towards better protected towns and keeps within Linlan would report to the guards that the raiders were barbaric killing and pillaging across the south. Sigga would send out one of her commanders to go and report on the destroyed villages to see if anything is recoverable and to come up with any clues that may tell them who conducted the attacks, they would eventually return reporting of a symbol being painted on one of the village houses in blood resembling the kingdom of Harthar which was led by Wulfa their chief. Sigga would storm to Harthar with only a few guards in tow straight to the chieftain's throne who remarked that she took her time getting here which only confused her as he basically admitted to his actions on her southern border, the chieftain Wulfa would simply explain that he had decided to do this before she had become queen but he was defeated in a duel against Aldwic who made swear to never attack Linlan ever again but since he was dead the pact no longer mattered. Alongside this he would also reveal that the truce that the Council of the North agreed to upon its formation was always shaky and merely served as a public declaration that none of the kingdoms would attack each other openly however since then other northern rulers have plotted behind the others' back, refusing to believe this as her father was on the council as now she was Sigga would continue to question why he chose to attack her to which he simply replied unlike the rest of the council Wulfa was not one for theatrics and was the only one confident enough to do what they all wanted to do stating that they all saw her as weak not being ready to be ruler her father was. The chieftain would let her go out of respect for the favour owed to Aldwic but threatened her giving her an ultimatum that if she were ever to return it should be with an army or to talk terms of surrender and after that she would depart to return to her own kingdom, upon her return she would inform her people of the situation and that despite the council's truce war was coming their way with Harthar.

During her preparations for war Sigga would be approached by a group of women who were victims of the village attacks from Wulfa offering their aid and also seeking revenge for the loss of their loved ones who defended their homes, the queen would grant their request of vengeance offering to personally train them to specifically serve and protect her in combat and on the battlefield providing them with combat training from herself and her top commanders eventually forming the Shieldmaidens of Linlan as the queen's elite guard. The war would last for only 2 years as despite Wulfa being a charismatic leader and ruthless in his attacks his barbarians were not disciplined and so only won minor skirmishes against Sigga whilst the lioness gained the upper hand on many occasions occupying various important settlements finally being able to attack the capital of Harthar, in the final battle Sigga would siege the settlement with her army however only entering the settlement with her Shieldmaidens of Linlan slaughtering any of the chieftain's men. Sigga would force Wulfa to surrender which having no other choice he would stating that it had been no different since he fought her father however she would this time bring the chieftain in front of the Council of the North where she demanded that they agree on his punishment, having seen her exert her newfound authority the rest of the council would agree and she proceeded to execute him on the spot leaving his kingdom to be ruled by someone else. At some point after the war Sigga would give birth to Ealdwulf and then 2 years later Eryn who would both live the majority of their youth inside of Linlan and both being trained how to fight however in her teen years Eryn came to realise that she was born with magical properties presumably due to the magical lion that Sigga had killed many years prior, despite knowing little about anything relating to magic Sigga would learn about a group of druids that kept themselves away from most of the kingdoms to practice their magic and learn in peace and solitude. With this knowledge however not knowing that this was the same group that had visited her in her own youth she would allow her daughter to be escorted to this group in the hopes that they may help her fully understand both what magic she was able to conjure and how it worked, on the other hand Sigga would continue to help and train Eadwulf to become the next ruler as she would never see her daughter again since her departure. By the year of 546 in the First Era the lioness would eventually pass leaving her father's kingdom to her son and daughter.