Sigfryd

Sigfryd is the Captain of the Ship "The Septon" and warrior of the Iron Islands.

## Appearance.

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Erik Shieldbreaker, a warrior on one of Lord Botley's Longships fathered a score of whelps on half as many salt wives - the fourth (or fifth Erik never cared to remember) of these whelps was named Sigfryd. As soon as the boy was old enough to learn he was trained for service aboard a Longship and taught the skills needed for an Ironborn reaver. With training sticks he thrashed his brothers and the runts of Erik's fellow warriors who they shared a hall with. On the fishing boats and as a helping hand on the seasonal raiding longships he learned to tie knots, rig a sail, judge the skies and swells of the sea and endure the swaying of a ship as if he were on dry land. At age nine whilst picking over a captured trading convoy he killed his first man, a wounded Myrish sellsail who begged in a tongue Sigfryd could not understand. Then when he was thirteen Sigfryd was gifted a long dagger and shield by his father and sent to join one of many independent raiders, all hungry for bodies and not so choosy about the quality. It was here he got his first taste of proper battle both ship to ship and in a shieldwall. Under the guidance of a half dozen raider captains Sigfryd grew into a strong young man and found his true calling was not in the rank and file of the shieldwall but as one of the wall breakers, skilled or powerful men who wielded long axes and mauls and who's role was to break through the enemy's front ranks or wreak havoc as the first aboard when they raided other vessels. A rising star amongst the small time raiders Sigfryd earned a captaincy under the Ralf the Burner at the age of twenty two. He named his Longship after his first kill, The Begging Myrmanand served well under Ralf, a man in love with the flames - he passed his skill if not his love of the fire onto his several proteges, teaching them the best and easiest ways to get a quick flame going, how to control it's path and more importantly how to kill it if need be. Eventually Ralf died of a wound taken during a minor raid and his small fleet of Longships fractured into numerous smaller bands. Three other captains followed Sigfryd and he led this small fleet in preying upon the shipping through the Narrow Sea. His small fleet grew until after a particularly good season, including a ship carrying one of the Iron Bank's shipments sellsails were hired to put an end to this particular menace.

In this confrontation Sigfryd proved himself to be almost singularly unsuited for larger command against a smart foe, he rushed forth at the slightest provocation, falling for every bit of bait laid for him, his strategy only ever amounting to boarding the nearest ship and butchering its occupants. This carried on until most of his fleet sat either at the bottom of the sea or captured, until only the Begging Myrman remained.

With only a single ship left Sigfryd fled from his foes until they gave up pursuit and then stole back in the night and struck them at an island they were using for an impromptu port. All packed into a narrow bay Sigfryd disembarked most his men and supplies off on the other side of the Island Sigfryd then sailed into the bay, put his ship to the flame and drove it into the centre of the sellsail fleet. Most of the ships burned and as the sailors scrambled to save the remaining few Sigfryd's men fell upon them. In the great slaughter and flames that followed only a pair of fat bellied cogs were salvaged and the sellsails cut down almost to a man, those that surrendered were drowned in the bloody morning tide as an offering of thanks to the Drowned God. Stuffed with loot the two cogs limped their way home to the Iron Islands where they were sold in exchange for a newly built warship, which Sigfryd refused to name, claiming the title would go to the first man he killed as its captain.

A year later it got its name when Rodrik Greyjoy declared for the Mad King and the Ironborn sailed once again. A Septon in a small Riverlands town refused to surrender his Sept's treasures and earned himself an axe through the skull. It was at Hag's Mire Sigfryd took the blow to the face that took many of his teeth and had to be carried from the field by his men.

Since that failed campaign Sigrfyd has kept himself to small time raiding, grooming the skills of his children and only occasionally joining on with larger raids.