Einar

"*A person's actions are often worse than their intentions.*"
—Einar regarding the nature of the Culver massacre.

**Einar, son of Cossack**, was a warrior and the heir of the Burned Dogs Tribe. He was among the few warriors to have been trained in combat by both his father Cossack and his father's mentor Ragnar the Elder. He was killed in battle during the Liberation of Culver, slain by Isamu Ha during a famous last duel. Historians have noted Cossack's actions and decisions as being instrumental to the downfall of the Corvus Renegades.

## History

Einar is the firstborn son of Cossack of the Burned Dogs Tribe. He has a dozen half-siblings and most of them bastards like himself, including Gudmund, Krea and Merek. Cossack was initially hesitant to groom Einar as a warrior or acknowledge him as a son, but when Einar began showing promise of a warriors path it convinced Cossack to start training him. He had a turbulent relationship with his brother Gudmund. Later in life, Einar married and had two daughters.

### ***The Reign of the Corvus Renegades***

Einar, along with his father and brother Gudmund, and the rest of his tribe were assimilated into a massive war party known as the Corvus Renegades. Einar was given command over a small raiding group to pillage along the coast of southern regions of Torrance. Einar became increasingly intrigued by particular members of the Eternal Companions that he encountered during the campaign, noting their broad background and various fighting styles from different locations across Sanctuary. Among his foes he knew by reputation was Chan Cao who had commanded a brigade of warriors to hinder Einar and his forces.

During the Battle of Culver, Einar and his splinter force breached the walls after its destruction. After the battle was won, and the leaders in charge of the defenses were gathered, Einar became well acquainted with Chan Cao and sought to understand his history on Xiansai. During Chan's escape, Einar discreetly observed from a distance instead of pursing him during a pivotal moment. Einar's decision to watch idly and allow Chan to successfully escape inadvertently lead to the Liberation of Culver weeks later. For his apparent mistake, Far'ukor ordered Ronar to rape Einar, but Cossack intervened. Cruelly, Far'ukor forced Cossack to rape his own son, though Cossack responded by sparing Einar and instead rape his lesser son Gudmund.

### ***The*** ***Duel of Fiends***

After the Culver massacre, Chan returned with a massive army commanded by his brother Ikeda. Thus commenced the Liberation of Culver, with Einar leading a charge against the first wave of belligerents. Einar's command to attack was heavily criticized, as he and his followers abandoned a strategic advantage within the city walls to fight in the open.

Einar and his forces were slaughtered within minutes. Shortly before his death however, Einar and Isamu met by chance on the battlefield and crossed blades for a duel; Isamu sported a fierce battlecry that stricken many of his foes, excluding Einar during their duel. Several soldiers on both sides briefly yielded to watch the two warriors face off, leading several men to dub it as a duel of fiends. Einar was defeated when Isamu parried and cut open Einar's chest, instantly killing him.

## Legacy

"*You're a crazy bastard like me, son. But you are also kind. And kindness doesn't kill your enemy. One day your kindness will get you, or someone you love, killed.*"
—Cossack to Einar.
Many scribes and participants during the Reign of the Corvus Renegades noted Einar's colorful personality, frenzied fighting style and success as a commander, combined with his frequent battle missteps, produced a mixed and often contradictory image. Einar's great barbaric skill is seen as integral to his ability to inspire warriors under his command, leading them into battle despite whatever odds were against them. The entirety of his life was under constant shadow of his father, learning and inspiring to be the next chieftain of the Burned Dogs Tribe.

The most distinguishing aspect of Einar that separated him from his peers was his reverence and honorable outlook. Many who knew him took note of his ferocity and violence in battle but never against people who were deemed innocent. During the Culver massacre, in which vile acts of looting, raping and murder took place, Einar was silent and absent from the event; his father took particular notice of Einar sparing some of the Culver citizens from harm by escorting them away from Corvus soldiers, but kept this knowledge to himself in fear that his son would be viewed as a defective follower.

### ***As viewed by Eternal Companion and Corvus Renegade leaders***

While Corvus leaders expressed mixed feelings on Einar's capabilities, especially when he lead an open attack on the Eternal Companions during the Liberation of Culver, many of the the Eternal Companions noted to have a degree of respect for him for allowing Chan Cao to escape, a pivotal moment that lead to a chain of events and allowed the Eternal Companions to respond to Imperator Far'ukor's actions in Culver by summoning an army. Essentially, Einar's defeat outside the city gave the Eternal Companions the advantage they needed to retake the city.

Imperator Far'ukor reportedly called him "that crazy devil pup". His father, Chieftain Cossack, often viewed his kindness and honorable intentions as a sign of weakness. During the Liberation of Culver, Einar's controversial battle charge outside the city walls enraged Far'ukor to the point of threatening Cossack for his son's actions. Executor Ikeda noted Einar's stunt cost the Corvus Renegades nearly one-third of their forces and thus allowed for a swift victory for the Eternal Companions. Upon the destruction of Einar's forces, Far'ukor abandoned Culver and gave command of the city to Cossack, sparking a debate among his followers if this decision was purely for punishment to Cossack for his son's tactical error or simply an act of cowardice of Far'ukor.

The soldiers captured who were brave enough to follow Einar into the open battle later commented that Einar's final speech before the charge was simply, "Let us not die like the poor souls in this city did. This day is ours and it belongs to no one else. Victory is outside these walls; defeat is in here". His battle speech, while short, has been the subject of debate among members of the Corvus Renegades and the Eternal Companions, as well as a few historians. While some assume that his intentions were simply to face a warriors death, some argue that Einar's words were rather of redemption for the atrocities committed inside the city during the Culver massacre.

Chan Coa, who had been present during the Culver massacre and allowed to escape due to Einar's idleness, gave a notable eulogy to Einar after the Liberation of Culver. Isamu, who struck down Einar during their duel in the midst of battle, also praised Einar's fighting spirit and valor. Einar was given a proper burial in a single grave outside the city walls. Many leaders of the Eternal Companions speculated that Einar, given his honorable demeanor, may have intentionally lead his forces outside the city walls as an act of defection toward the Imperator. Chan, who came to know Einar during his captivity, believes his battle charge outside the wall was an act of defiance against Far'ukor, and the supposed tactical error of leaving the city to fight in an open field was instead intentional and an act of psychological warfare to secure the defeat and downfall of the Corvus Renegades.

## Character and Appearance

Einar was a fierce warrior, arguably to a greater extent than his infamous father but lacked Cossack's brutality. Though a skilled fighter much like his father, Einar was a clever tactician up until his critical error during the Liberation of Culver upon the battlefield that lead to his death. Unlike his father, Einar was sensitive about hurting or killing the innocent; many times he was reluctant to participate in massacres. He had a love for red wine and his companion dog Dorgo.