Runa Jordlösa/ Jørgensen

"Fear is useless and temporary"

## Runa Jordlösa

Runa is the leader of the Vinter Wolves. She was selected by the signs of the ancestors at the age of 17 and took full reign at the age of 18. She ended up going through a lot of trials to gain the respect and acceptance of her people. Eventually, after her merciless rule, she gained full control. At the age of 24 she ended up awakening magic powers, a taboo in her race, and was sentence to 'Tusen Kutt' to purify the taint and tossed to pit. She ends up surviving and escaping to Basita. Eventually, she met Sibir and made a deal, if she were to help him win the war, he would help her win back her home.

Once the civil war was won, she took back her clan with Sibir’s help. The clan was basically in shambles. The people were starving, the rules and strength she had once instilled into the people were gone, and people were dying. For the last 5 years she’s been healing her clan and building it back up.

## Personality

Runa is strong and can have a suffocating air of authority to the weak-minded. She adorns an expressionless façade and carries herself with a sense of seriousness. She usually is silent, observing, and contemplative. Because of this, she can be a bit hard to approach.

She is very direct and will not sugarcoat anything. She tells it how it is, no excuses. She tends to be brutally honest. Though, because she is a direct person, she has a hard time when people try to make her read between the lines of their words. Also, the longer someone beats around the bush, the shorter her patience falls. As she is a patient person, she isn’t below killing someone out of annoyance.

Runa tries to rule her people wisely with just efforts but tends to have a dictator approach. Barbaric wolves need to be put in their place a lot. Not just put in their place, but constantly shown that their leader is strong and fierce. Her wolves live in the moment; eat, drink, and be merry.

Runa has a steady heart when it comes to leading her people, making hard decisions without a second thought. Even when she isn't sure what is going on, she will take it as if she planned it. She adapts to the situation pretty easily.

Though, when it comes to her personal feelings, it's been shoved deep inside of her. She couldn’t afford emotions that could affect her rule. She needed to be rational and reasonable and for the most part, she is. She is a very self-assured person, confident in her actions as well as displaying a type of primitive grace. She can have sadist with masochist tendencies.

She previously had been racist, but after her adventures, it turned into more of an acceptance, yet werewolves will always be superior to her but she tends to be wishy-washy on that thought some days.

## Biography

Runa was a daughter of a weaponsmith. She has an older brother and twins for younger sisters. It isn't rare for the clan to bear many children, it's encouraged. As they are still replenishing the clan, more children are often smiled upon. Luckily, her parent was one of the rare cases that were united for love and they loved each other dearly. Growing up, she was able to witness love firsthand. She dreamed of having such love. Though, this is a dream is now long forgotten.

At the early age of three, her father began to teach her the ways of fighting and weapon-wielding. Teaching her to be able to use both hands, not letting her have just one dominant arm. He taught all his children this. It's not rare, many clan members do this and it's instilled in warrior training.

Her father was a popular blacksmith, his weapons were the best the clan could get. Growing up, Runa learned her family’s trade. Though, she never felt that this was a calling she wanted. This was more suited for her older brother. Her dreams were to be a warrior. At the age of six, gained her first hunting kill, earning the tattoo of three lines on her right forearm.

She enlisted at the age of eight, though she was late. Because she was late, she didn't get to choose the unit she wished to pursue, she was forced into the archery unit. For many years, she aspired to leave that unit to become one of the front men. Though her archery was very admirable, probably the best in the unit. She was offered to be a second to the archery’s commander. she refused. She refused to settle.

She was also admirable in her swordsmanship and she was going to make her dream come true. With her commitment, any weapon she picked up always left people in awe. She was starting to catch the eyes of the commanders.

Finally, at the age of ten, she put the skill of weapon forgery to use. She wanted to stand out and progress further up the chain. Her aim, to be the commander. There were many things she wanted to bring to the Leaders attention, many things she wished to change. Opportunities she felt could help the prospering clan. So, with the vastly large bones of her kills, she carved out a rather large boomerang. It was bigger than her tiny body. Boomerangs were known, but a large one, that was unheard of. She finished her forgery by wrapping leather around each end of the boomerang and used braided horsehair for a handle to grip on both ends.

With the weapon done, she had little time to learn how to use it. The first time she successfully threw the beastly weapon, she tore her shoulder blade right out of its socket when trying to catch it. Embarrassed, she merely popped that back in and let it heal for a couple of hours. It was in those hours of waiting did she meet her. She called herself Astrid and she was damn annoying. She could barely handle that pestering personality… Not to mention all her questions. She was happy, energetic, and always looking at the brighter side of things even if there was no bright side. It was annoying how idealistic she was. But, foolishly, Runa emotionally became attached to her, and desires not acceptable to the clan became present. She hated herself for such actions. She fell for Astrid and she became her weakness.

Astrid was her cheerleader as Runa tried her best to learn and master her vastly large boomerang. Astrid wasn't much of a fighter, just a farmer's daughter. Though, as she was learning her new weapon, she found time to teach Astrid how to fight. Every werewolf knew the basics, but anything more was pushing it if they had other duties. Astrid was going to take up the farm with her father, though she dreamed of going into battle. Somehow, Runa didn't want her to get into that bloodshed. It unnerved her.

After successfully mastering her boomerang, she took it with her on the battlefield. She was mocked, ridiculed, but she sure made them bite their words as she relentlessly tore through enemy after enemy. She used it as a shield, she used it like a sword, she used it like a boomerang, and when that thing flew, she used her secondary weapons until she captured it once more.

With how efficient she was, she caught the attention of the front line commander and was asked to be her second. This was a turning point in Runa's life. She gladly accepted.

Though, lingering attachments for Astrid has her heart being torn in two. As a second, it would be hard to meet with Astrid. She convinced herself that Astrid did not feel the same way, it was taboo. It could harm her position. Then Astrid confessed to her, it shocked her. Runa doesn't flirt, so she took the initiative and just kissed her.

It was at that moment that she wanted to fight for was the freedom to love no matter what gender. It was her goal to bring this fight to the light. Runa knew there were many that fight this every day and she was going to fight for them, she was going to fight for herself.

During the years as the commander's second, she earned the love and respect of many. People knew her name, knew her reputation, especially on the battlefield. Though, they didn't know her heart belongs to that of a girl. Warriors were asking her father for permission to unite with her. Luckily her father wasn’t one to let his daughter enter into a loveless unity. She denied all requestss.

At the age of 17, the leader suddenly died, his old age catching up to him. The whole clan was devastated. But, they celebrated his life. To them, death was their way to unite with their Goddess and become one with her. The ambassador took charge until the next leader was to be chosen. No one knew it would be so quick. During the celebration feast, they held the usual speech and as they rose their cups to the sky, Runa's cup was suddenly split in two. A clean line right down the middle. It wasn't normal. No one would have noticed if she wasn't standing next to her commander as her second. The commander stood in front of everyone along with the ambassador. It was a shock.

Everyone took that as a sign of her being the next leader and she was thrust into the position. For the first year, she went through some harsh training, training that was should have killed her. The commander oversaw most of it. It was then she learned that she was jealous and wanted her to die. Runa, she merely prevailed, she wasn't weak. Physical training wasn't the only thing she went through, she went through grueling studies on the land and its people.

She may have earned the respect from being the second of one of the warrior commanders, but that didn't mean she had their respect as a leader. When it came to battle, she had gained their utmost respect. Eventually, she surpassed the commander in strength, even the ambassador. Though politics, that was harder. But she prevailed. When she put her mind to it, she made great strides.

Once she became the Leader, she had the ceremony to get the tattoo of the Valkyrie upon her back. As she was the leader, she was to have the symbol to prove it. She also was given another tattoo, one that trailed around her left arm and ended at her torso. A symbol of a new journey.

In her reign, she fought for same-sex marriage. It had been frowned upon since the same sex could not produce heirs. She pushed the statistic of the clan's growing numbers, that they were well beyond being extinct. But also pushed the numbers of the growing rate of orphans. As they fought with the people of the steppe, countless children have lost their parents and their home. As the clan takes up responsibility for these orphans, they still needed certain care. They needed more options than just being a warrior. She also created work for the falling rates of people being disabled and unable to go onto the battlefield. She worked for the people, fought for the people, and during her reign, they were the most prosperous. She bowed down to no one and never relinquished any mercy.

In her reign, she was free to love another girl. Though everything wasn't all fine and dandy. The issue was merely silenced for Runa had the last person to speak out against same-sex fall to their bloody death on top of the highest mountain. After she stabbed them that is. She ruled with a merciless thumb. What she said, went, and she never backed down. That was how the people loved her. She never showed them weakness. Or so she thought.

The day her enemies, a group of Steppe that wanted the resources of their mountain life, found out that Astrid was her lover, they kidnapped her. She was tortured as they tried to find out about the clan. Astrid wasn't equipped to handle torture and she told them what they wanted to know. There were secret tunnels they could use to ambush the werewolves. So they dragged Astrid through the tunnels to ambush her people.

This was a grand battle and many had died. Though, Runa, with her strength and knowledge, put a stop to it. Turning the tables and having the enemy turn tail. She didn't pursue them as she was able to get Astrid back and had other plans on killing the group. Though she may have had Astrid back, she found out that she was the one to leak the information out to the Steppe. Before Runa could even cover it up, the commander witnessed the confession and told it to the people. That was an act of treason. With her merciless rule, even Astrid wasn't privileged to skip capital punishment. With a heavy heart, she was forced to order Astrid to undergo the 'Tusen Kutt'. A punishment that was made to humiliate the criminal right before killing them. It ensured that they will not return to the Goddess of Death's embrace. All those that choose to partake were to cut the criminal until the leader's turn. If they were still alive, the leader was to kill them.

As Astrid was tied to a pole, people of the clan were forced to come up and cut her. Many refused, many continued. She did do the one thing that the clan could never forgive. Not put the clan first and wolves died. When the final step came, Astrid was still alive, barely. Runa stepped up and with a hardened heart, stabbed her sword through her heart. She cut the ties that bound her dead body and tossed her to the pit that stood just behind the wooden pole.

After Astrid's death, Runa ruthlessly massacred the group that kidnapped her. She killed everyone, even the woman and children. It was the one time she let anger cloud her judgment, but she wasn't going to back down. She was going to finish this. Though this was only one group of the many groups they butt heads with. After the massacre, they seemed to back off a bit, fear gripping in their heels. Runa became a well-known name to be feared.

Because of the death of Astrid, Runa learned that it was best to push everyone away from her. Her brothers, her adorable sisters, and even her parents. She had to rule with separating her feelings and from duty. She became more ruthless, but she protected the people and lead as wisely as she could. She was respected by all.

Then, at the age of twenty-four, the accident happened that had her life twisting once more.

It was a mere hunting excursion that she participated in with the commander. They were attacked, ambushed, and Runa was about to witness a unit be annihilated. Her people were going to be killed. As she shouted for them, something happened, a force came out of her mouth so strongly that everyone lost their balance. It shocked her and her people. Though they gained the advantage and the death rate became minimal. They were able to chase off the people that attacked them.

Upon returning, the commander immediately had her jailed for having magic. There was no other reason for what was witnessed. Runa knew the charges and merely asked for the 'Dommen i Måneskinn Blomstest'. A judgment prepped from the flowers deep into the cave of their home. They are also known as the Moonflower. There is a spot deep in the caves that they use for meetings. This spot has these rare flowers that glow in the presence of magic. Without magic, they will never bloom. She had been at the place countless times, there was no way they would bloom.

But they did.

She was sentenced to the 'Tusen Kutt' not before being tortured by her former commander. When it was just the commander and her, she found out about the jealousy the commander held for her and how the commander wanted to kill her the moment she was chosen to lead. Runa had stolen her thunder. Runa already knew this, but it was confirmed. The tattoo upon her back, the one that told her that she was leader, was torn by the commander and she forced it to heal as a scar. Werewolves rarely scar, it was part of the torture.

As she was forced to survive the torture process, she was stripped in nothing but underwear and tied to the post. The very same pole that she killed Astrid on. The one that overlooked the pit in where her bones rested. She held her head poised and she took the cuts of the people. The majority didn't want to partake, they still respected and loved her. She told them pity was weakness and she needed none, but the people didn't listen. Instead, they held tears in their eyes. Some gritted their teeth and cut her due to threats from her former commander. When it became her former commander's turn, Runa held her impassive expression. This angered her. When that sword was shoved through her torso. She wasn’t supposed to stab her, the ambassador was. But, she missed her heart. It was unnerving that the woman missed until she heard the words she whispered so only she could hear, 'I want you to die looking over your lover's bones'. Then it all became clear and more than anything Runa feared that her former commander was going destroy the clan.

The ambassador, peeved, cut her ropes, and tossed her into the pit. It was a huge fall, but once she landed, almost all her bones broke. She should have died, but she didn't. She was forced to continue to live in darkness, feeling all the bugs creeping around her body, crawling around her as they gnawed on her open wounds. It wasn't like their tiny teeth could puncture her skin.

As much as she wanted death to take her, she survived. She even ate the bugs to survive. When your that starved, you'll eat anything. Her regeneration healed her. She even had to re-break some bones so they could heal correctly. As she finally got her body to move, she dragged herself around the dark space, blindly looking for a way out. She may have had night vision, but there was no light to even reflect any kind of vision.

She couldn't tell you how long she dragged herself in the darkness only gaining nutrition on disgusting bugs. But finally, she took the wrong step and she went crashing down into a rushing watering hole. She was dragged every which way until she resurfaced out of the mountain, falling into a huge lake. She rejoiced at the light, though it gave her a headache. She was glad it was in the dead of summer. She would have been good as dead if it was winter.

Weakened, she dragged herself out of the water and onto land. Though she was so weak, she wasn't sure she could continue and passed out.

Upon waking, she found that she was in a shelter of some sort. Her body had been washed, hair brushed, and her wounds mended to perfection. There was even a bowl of warm food sitting next to her on a chair. She found that a woman came across her body and put her back together. She escaped death, yet again. The woman she learned was Calilja, she claims to be a part of this 'sin' group and Runa wasn't too familiar with it. Though, with no home to return to, she ended up following this woman around. Her ties lied with the Bastian royals. It was unnerving to be in the heart of a place that didn't view werewolves as highly, it stressed her out. During this time she had learned the hard way to keep her tongue. She wasn't used to having to censor her thoughts. Mostly her racism. She had been a free spirit and now, she was getting a taste of what life is like outside her clan.

She followed Calilja around for a couple of years, following her into missions and being her backup. She had to listen to this 'no killing' rule, which annoyed her, but she pursued. She just never had the heart to leave the woman, she had done so much for her. That woman wasn't a werewolf, but she held a different kind of respect for her. Though, after a while, she decided to finally break away. She made such a connection with Calilja, it was hard. Though she made it through, still keeping contact with her.

Sibir had offered her a position with her advanced skill and knowledge she became more than a simple knight, a wildcard. In doing so, he seemed to have gained her trust and she let it spill about her home. It was hard at first to talk about it, but it became easier with time. He seemed very interested in her home. It was weird considering her people were werewolves and not a lot of people liked them.

As she did want to return home, she offered an 'I help you and you help me' offer. Asking for his support to take over her clan and gain an ally. To her, it has been very interesting learning of life outside her home.

Eventually, the Civil war was won. She was able to return home with the backing of Sibir and take back her position. She killed her former commander who threw the clan into shambles over the years. The people were starving, the rules and strength she had once instilled into the people were gone, and people were dying. For the last 5 years she’s been healing her clan and building it back up.

## Skills

Read and write Språket, Bastian,and llstari. Swim. Tracking. Hunting. Cooking (though she eats meat raw). Horsemanship. Hunt, trap, and fish. War tactics and strategist. Leadership. Sewing. Weapon forging (not at a weaponsmith level but enough to mend her boomerang). Gardening. Tanning hide.

## Powers and Abilities

**Magical Abilities**

**Battle Cry**: The user can shout in a high frequency that creates vibrations in the inner ear. As it affects the vestibule in the inner ear it can cause disorientation for a minute or two. Depends on how close they are to her. In dire situations and fueled by raw emotion, the effects can go as far as ten to twelve feet. Though, in this state, she can cause a few seconds of disorientation to herself. When merely using the magic normally, she can only reach as far as eight feet. The closer the victim is, the greater the effects.

**Werewolf** **Physiology**: Her whole body can tear itself up just to form the physiology of a wolf. This wolf is larger, bulkier, and just as blonde. This form is also stronger than her human self. It stands 5'5 to her withers making her just about over six feet with her head. She can do a half shift or a full shift, though she tends to be stronger in her half form and faster in her full form. Her half shift tends to have her about seven feet even. She is a bit more slender in this than in her full shift.

**Enhanced hearing, smell, sight, and strengt**h: Due to being a werewolf, naturally she has enhanced senses and strength. It intensifies after shifting. After shifting she can smell up to three miles. She can see up to twelve yards as well as having night vision. Though her night vision allows her to see up to nine yards. She can hear up to twelve miles away and fifteen if it's open ranged.

**Regeneration**: Naturally, she heals fairly quickly. Small cuts, scrapes, or wounds can be healed in a couple of hours. Broken bones and gashes, about two to three days. Anything direr can take up to a week.

**Martial Abilities**

She is ambidextrous doesn't matter which arm she uses. Though she prefers to use her right arm and surprise her enemies with her left. Because of this, she can use dual blades especially if she acquires a second blade in the middle of combat. She was taught how to fight with most primitive weapons as well as hand-to-hand combat. Her moves are quick, yet very abrupt. Even her dance with swords is just as curt with brute force. Marksmanship and archery. She is fairly good at throwing her weapons and hitting her target, no matter the size of the weapon she is throwing.

## Weapons

**Primary**: Boomerang. It is forged with the bones of her kills. If it cracks, it's easy to mend with more bones. Though it's very sturdy and with enough force, can tear the target apart. It also doubles as a shield. It can take a pretty good beating. The leather she holds onto on the boomerang is made with the hide of her kills. The boomerang stands just a bit taller than Runa at 6 feet. It also weighs about fifty pounds. (X)

**Secondary**: Sword. it is strapped on her left side so her right hand can easily grasp a hold of it. Dagger. This is normally strapped on her left side.

**Third**: Bow and arrow. Though, she normally doesn't have this on her person. If she rides a horse to battle, it will normally be on their saddle. Or she'll just pluck it from a nearby soldier.

## Armor

Runa normally decorates herself with the pelts and bones of her kills. In rituals, formal wear, or rallies, she will wear a headdress. Currently it a elk skull, Being in warmer climates, she tends to lose her need for a fur coat and well, anything that makes her overheat.