Viking Chieftain

* Normal
* Armored
* Fire entity
* Fire snake

The **Chieftain** was the warlord leader of the Viking tribe. After his people were wiped out by Spear and Fang as well as losing both his wife and two sons, he is left as the only known survivor of his tribe and becomes a herald/proxy of a demonic entity. He was first alluded to in the season one finale before becoming the main antagonist of season two of *Primal*.

## Appearance

The Chieftain was a tall, muscular man with visible signs of age, such as a face marked by wrinkles and bags around his eyes. He has long brown hair and bushy eyebrows, with a large scar on his right eye. He also had a mustache and a beard that was tied into a braid at the end.

The Chieftain wore two layers of tunic - the top layer made of animal fur - boots, a black belt, and a silver pauldron on his right shoulder while his wrists are wrapped in bandages. Later, after setting out on his journey of vengeance, he donned a set of armor and a helmet with six horns.

Upon being transformed after he bowed down to the mysterious figure, the Chieftain's body was completely darkened and engulfed in flames. He lost his mouth and his eyes became red, yet he grew larger and more muscular, making him resemble a smaller, hornless version of the one who transformed him. Although he has no mouth while in his new form, he can summon a mouth in order to speak.

Being able to shapeshift he's able to turn into a gigantic flaming serpent with glowing yellow eyes and flames covering all over his body

After he defeated Spear, the Chieftain was prepared to defeat Fang, but he was forcefully transformed back to his normal self and dragged underground.

## Personality

The Chieftain was presented as a stoic and hardened individual, holding a position of authority in his tribe and a merciless enemy to those who earned his wrath. As a conqueror, he led his people in invasions of other villages for resources, including the capture of other humans, demonstrating his ruthless tendencies. The Chieftain seldom expressed emotion other than his authority and duty to his tribe. The initial exception to this was brief shock upon discovering the remains of another Viking, although he remained stable and focused. However, after seeing the massacre of the entire village at the hands of Spear and Fang, he reacted with visible horror to his peoples' deaths.

Despite all his cruelty, the Chieftain was shown to deeply love his family, as his main concern was whether his wife survived the tribe's fallout, and after realizing both her and their youngest child had perished, he lost composure and broke down in grief. He was similarly hesitant to set the arrow and burn their bodies during the Vikings' funeral, still in anguish from their departure, leaving his eldest child, Eldar, to finish the task. However, his grief begets a dark resolve for revenge against those who caused his loved ones' deaths, enticing back his brutal and merciless side.

The Chieftain's desire for vengeance was painful and unyielding, shedding tears at the loss of his wife and youngest son. He relentlessly pursued his targets and attacked them with great determination and rage. However, the Chieftain was willing to temporarily forgo his desire for revenge when he witnessed Eldar in danger, rushing to his side. When Eldar perished, the Chieftain had lost all hope for a time and was about allow himself to pass as well. This left him mentally vulnerable, and when given the opportunity to return and exact vengeance once more, the Chieftain quickly accepted.

In his new form, the Chieftain appeared to be nothing more than a single-minded weapon of vengeance, slowly-but-surely making his way across the land in a relentless search for the ones who took away everything dear to him. Soon when Spear was gravely injured in his final battle against him, the Chieftain thought he had won and that his revenge was final. However, his lust for vengeance had finally led to his ultimate downfall as the ominous being betrays him, strips him of his powers, and drags back down into the underworld.

## History

Little was known of the Chieftain's past, but it is shown that he was a conqueror who took part in invading and pillaging various villages around the world. He was also responsible for the subjugation and enslavement of other humans for his tribe. At an unknown point in time, the Chieftain and two vikings came to Mira's homeland to invade it, where he killed some of Mira's friends and had her lover killed in the process. ("Echoes of Eternity")

Some time after this event, the Chieftain and his eldest son, Eldar, left the village on a boat to acquire and/or deliver another group of slaves; when they returned, the Chieftain sensed something was wrong when Eldar signaled their arrival and received no response.

When the boat arrived at the docks, the Chieftain noticed that another ship was missing; seeing a trail of blood leading back to the village, he deduced that someone had used it to escape. He and Eldar rushed up to the village and found it shrouded in a thick red mist, with no traces of tribesmen. They soon came across the body of a Viking being pecked at by crows; as they inspected it, the mists cleared to reveal that the entire settlement had been slaughtered. In a sudden panic, the Chieftain checked his hut; finding no one inside, he then ran out into the village to search for his wife, Rikka. He first found her axe and then her body; he had little time to mourn her before Eldar arrived with the corpse of his younger sibling in his arms. Somberly confirming their passing, the Chieftain embraced Eldar in the shared loss.

The duo proceeded to bury the dead in a crypt that they sealed off with a large boulder before releasing their captured slaves and preparing a funeral for their deceased family members. The Chieftain nocked the arrow meant to burn the makeshift funeral boat, but was unable to loosen it in his grief, letting Eldar do the deed. With the boat and the remains of the village set aflame, the two set out on a new mission to exact vengeance against their family's assailants. ("The Red Mist")

Later, the Chieftain and his son had quickly tracked down the boat that Spear, Fang, and Mira had taken, resorting to ramming their own boat into it. Father and son fought with them in a furious aim to avenge their tribe and family, until Eldar fell into the river and the Chieftain dove in after him to save him from drowning. After making it ashore and confirming his son was alive, the Chieftain started a fire and waited for his son to wake, until a horned figure appeared in the fire, waking him up and he saw his son had returned with a deer for them to eat.

While they ate, the father and son affirmed their resolve for revenge and planned a new strategy. The next day, the Chieftain and his son scaled a mountain top and forcefully tamed two giant vultures in a last-ditch effort to attack Spear, Fang, and Mira and carry out their revenge. They flew off and tracked the trio down once more. But once again, Spear and Mira gained the upper hand. Spear bit the Chieftain's hand and threw him off into the forest, severely injuring him. Although he survived the fall, he witnessed Spear pushing Eldar off and fell to his death on a boulder near a river. The Chieftain swam to the other side to check on his son, but it was too late. His only remaining family member was gone. Now with nothing to fight for, the Chieftain is stricken with grief. He gives up and lets himself get swept away by the river. ("Vidarr")

Sooner or later, the Chieftain is washed up to the shore and is severely injured. He slowly succumbs to his injures as he awaits the three women from the sky to arrive and take him. But suddenly, goblin-like demons grabbed him and dragged him down to the fiery depths of underground instead. The Chieftain is then brought before a mighty and ominous being. The terrifying figure gives the Chieftain the opportunity exact vengeance on Spear and Fang. With his mind and heart tainted by his inner demons, uncontrolled anger, and lust for vengeance, the Chieftain agrees with the newfound master's offer and is brutally transformed into a fiery being before ultimately being returned to the land of the living in this new form. ("The Colossaeus, Part I")

Arriving on the surface, the Chieftain then tested his new form just to see how powerful it was; he summoned a Dane axe made out of magma and delivered a massive strike against the ground. Impressed by his new powers, he lets out a roar of vengeance and began his manhunt for Spear, Mira, and Fang. After reaching a river, he seemed to realize that they had left by boat once again and began marching downstream in pursuit. ("The Colossaeus, Part II")

The Chieftain's hunt took him across the open ocean, leading him to the Colossaeus formerly owned by a plundering, seafaring people and their cruel tyrant. His approach was observed from the vessel by an alarmed Kamau and his daughter. ("The Colossaeus, Part III")

The Chieftain's hunt led him to Mira's village where he attacks and kills some of the camels. Spear and Fang ran off to take on the Chieftain, but they were horrified by his monstrous appearance. In a blind rage, he begins to attack them with his new powers. Spear and Fang are completely overwhelmed and start to retreat to the top of the mountain. But that doesn't stop the Chieftain when he shapeshifts into a demonic fire snake and slithers after them up the mountain. With nowhere left to run, Spear and Fang had no choice but to fight the demonic Chieftain to the death.

The Chieftain attempts to kill Fang with his powers, but the dinosaur managed to save herself when she stopped, dropped, and rolled the fire out. Spear decides to take the Chieftain head on himself in order to keep Fang safe, but he ends up getting severely burned. Spear makes the ultimate sacrifice when he shoves himself onto the demonic Chieftain and they both tumble down to the very bottom. As the severely burned Spear lies motionless to the ground, the Chieftain believed that he had won, and his vengeance is final. However, just as he witnessed Mira rushing over to Spear's side, the ominous being betrays the Chieftain as its giant hand emerged from the ground and stripped him of his powers. He is then dragged back down into the underworld, his soul now claimed by the entity. ("Echoes of Eternity")

## Abilities

* **Combat Proficiency**: As the Chieftain of the Vikings, he is an extremely capable combatant; he appears to favor an axe, but also knows how to use a bow. He apparently considered himself and his eldest child to be sufficient manpower for a raid on another (presumably well-populated) settlement. The chief was skilled enough to trade blows with Spear and even gain the upper hand multiple times during their fight.
* **Weapon Proficiency:** Assisted by the Chieftain's already strong build and presumably lots of experience in welding of tools of murder, the Viking's skill of handling weapon is formidably effective, as can be seen in Chieftain's armed combat between Spear.
* **Tracking Skills**: The Chieftain appears to be a very competent tracker. By examining bloodstains on a dock, he immediately recognizes that some of the Vikings' captives have escaped by boat; the accompanying visuals imply that he was able to estimate their numbers and even rough species in the process.
* **Advanced Endurance**: The Chieftain was able to survive falling several hundred feet, crashing through thick tree branches, impacting the ground, and smashing his head against a rock. He was miraculously able to stand up after only a few seconds and even managed to swim across a river.

### Fire Entity Form

* **Fire Manipulation**: In his new form, the Chieftain gained the power to manipulate both fire and lava.
	+ **Fire Weaponry**: The Chieftain can create weapons out of fire, shown when he summoned an axe made of lava while testing his new form.
* **Earth Manipulation**: The Chieftain can manipulate the ground by creating eruptions and earthquakes.
* **Water Walking**: The Chieftain has demonstrated the ability to walk on the surface on water.
* **Shapeshifting**: The Chieftain can shapeshift into any creature, shown when he shapeshifts into an enormous demonic snake during his fight with Spear and Fang.
* **Supernatural Strength**: In his demonic form, the Chieftain possesses extraordinarily immense physical strength as he is able to hold his own against Spear and Fang.
* **Supernatural Resilience**: In his demonic form, the Chieftain possesses incredible enhanced durability, making him seemingly impossible to wound or kill, as seen when Spear knocks him off from the top of the mountain yet took no meaningful harm.

## Trivia

* The Chieftain is presented as a foil to Spear, being a rugged warrior who becomes consumed with grief and a desire for vengeance when his family is slaughtered while he is away from home; the circumstances of their situations are also in direct parallel to each other, such as their family's deaths involving an assault of a tyrannosaur and a thick red mist. However, their ideals oppose each other: The Chieftain actively captured other humans to be enslaved, while Spear does not actively seek conflict with others unless for survival. Spear also did not initially seek revenge; in fact, he was so overcome with grief over the loss of his family that he contemplates committing suicide. He only encountered Fang (who he mistakenly thought was responsible) by chance, and crossed paths with the true culprits shortly thereafter and finds kinship in Fang. By contrast, the Chieftain and his remaining child begin actively pursuing their family's killers immediately after performing funeral rites for the deceased. When the Chieftain's eldest son is killed during the fight against Spear and Mira, he then loses the will to live, and soon after foregoes his humanity in his desire for vengeance.
	+ The Chieftain also contrasts Kamau as a powerful warrior whose love for a family member allows him to be manipulated by another antagonist; his transformed state even bears a resemblance to Kamau's people in terms of size and proportions.
* The Chieftain's fate and transformation are very similar to the Viking Warrior/Lava Monster from the *Samurai Jack* episode "Jack and the Lava Monster". The only difference is the ultimate cause of the transformation is reversed, as it happened after the Chieftain died rather than before it.
* The Chieftain has two unique leitmotifs that constantly plays and gets remixed throughout the series. The first appearance was season 1 finale, "Slave of the Scorpion"'s soundtrack where the Vikings and their boats are revealed for the first time. In the episode "Vidarr", when the Chieftain and Eldar fights with Spear, Fang and Mira, a remixed and more intense version of the first iteration can be heard. Later in the same episode, when the Viking duo finds giant vultures, short bits of Chieftain's leitmotif briefly plays. After the Chieftain was empowered, a distorted version with choir constantly plays whenever he is on the scene.
	+ The second theme can be heard at the end of the "The Red Mist" where Chieftain and Eldar arms themselves with various gears, and when the Viking duo takes on the heroes with tamed vultures in "Vidarr", and the scene where Mira's backstory is revealed, and lastly when the Chieftain breezes through the mountain to chase after Spear and Fang. in "Echoes of Eternity".
* The Chieftain is the fourth most recurring character in the series, as Spear and Fang appeared in 19 episodes, Mira appeared in 8 episodes while the Chieftain appeared in 6 episodes.