Egil Styrbjorn

"Before you perish, know that your death will not be meaningless. The lord of skulls shall feast on your heart and drink of your blood, woman. And know, that in the times of Darkness that will soon come to engulf the world, the gods themselves will walk the land, leading their legions in the battle to end all battles. And in those End Times, Great Kharnath will cut down your Lady, hacking her head from her shoulders and great shall be the lamentation. Your goddess shall perish -- she knows this. And now, you too know the truth."

- High Jarl Egil Styrbjorn, to a dying priestess of the Lady of the Lake

Egil Styrbjorn is a mighty Chaos Lord of Khorne and High Jarl of the Skaeling city of Strovengaard. One of the most powerful of the Norscan chieftains, Egil rose to attain leadership of his clan by defeating his own father, himsef a mighty and far famed champion of Khorne, in single combat and hacking his head from his shoulders, thus ensuring his father's passage to the glorious Halls of Khorne. By doing so, the legendary hellforged battleaxes, Garmr and Gormr, mighty daemonblades forged in honour of the bloodthirsty wolves said to accompany the Blood God on his hunts across the heavens and bearing the bound essences of raging daemons, passed to Styrbjorn's possession. These blades were ancient, holy artifacts of the Skaelings, and had been passed down through the generations of chieftains from the father to son. Forged in the likeliness of snarling wolves, the hafts of the mighty weapons were inlaid with blood red stones, and the blades burned with crimson flame as they slaughtered, and in Styrbjorn's hand, they had slain thousands across hundreds of corpse-choked battlefields.

Styrbjorn's leadership saw the men of Strovengaard rise in power and prestige, as he led them to uncounted victories over the neighbouring Norscan clans, the Kurgan and Hung horse-tribes to the east, and the Empire to the far south. Clad in blackened Chaos Plate, and wielding the flaming axes of the Skaelings, he had been a unstoppable juggernaut on the battle-field. Devastating, and invincible. His strength and skill were beyond all compare, and his lifespan had been greatly extended by his masters, allowing him to wage countless wars against his foes, which in turn did please Khorne. But it was not only by his incredible strength and bloodlust that he achieved such glory amongst his tribesmen and the gods, but also through his savage cunning and intellect, which allowed him to outmaneuver and defeat his covetous rivals; less far-sighted and experienced Chaos champions.

Styrbjorn had always alternated his raiding targets, for a good hunter never held to closely to a single prey, his grandfather had told him, lest he exhaust it. He would raid on target for a half-decade, whether they be Kurgan or Imperial, before turning towards another race to vent his fury upon, allowing his enemies to grow soft and complacent with his absence, as well as affluent, making them more profitable targets in the future. The southerly kingdom of Bretonnia too has felt the brunt of the Norscan's fury, though regardless, it was under Styrbjorn's reign that a Bretonnian was inducted into the tribe. And this was no slave taken upon a raid, but a male child taken and set under the guidance of the shaman, a boy who had drifted across the northern seas on a rickety fishing coracle half-dead. Styrbjorn's god-touched eyes perceived the mark of the Dark Gods upon the child, for he had the ability to manipulate the Winds of Magic. Thus did Styrbjorn see the favour of his gods in taking this child as his own, and taught the child the ways of the Skaelings -- the ways of war, the rites to honour the gods, and how to live and die with the honour befitting a man of Norsca, and did name the child Bjarki, admitting him into his own household. Yet nonetheless, the presence of the shamanistic Bjarki never served to satisfy Styrbjorn's overpowering hunger for a trueborn son of his own, a mighty warrior who would be favoured by the gods, and able to carry on his name.

History
Egil Styrbjorn attained leadership of his clan by defeating his father in single combat, hacking his head from his shoulders, thus ensuring his passage to the Blood God's halls of battle. As a result, the ancient hellforged axes, Garmr and Gormr, heavy with infernal power and the bound essence of Greater Daemons became his to wield on the battlefield. Holy artifacts of his people, they had been passed down the line of High Jarls for generations. Under the chieftain, the Skaelings of Strovengaard attained many bloody victories in their devastating raids against the neighboring Norse tribes, such as the mighty Graelings and Vargs, as well as against the Kurgan horse-clans, and the slant-eyed Hung barbarians. Along the way, Styrbjorn had, as many warlords of Norsca, made an alliance with the Chaos Dwarfs, specifically with the Dwarf Lord Zumarah, in order to make use of his mighty Hellcannon, Ereshkigal-Namatar, so named for the twin daemons of blood, fire and industry bound in its creation. While Styrbjorn was weary of the excessive greed of the Dark Dwarfs, the power of the daemon construct proved enough for him to tolerate the presence of the Dwarf, paying him his geld of slaves and gold with every victory bought with the fury of Ereshkigal-Namtar. He had become particularly impressed with the cannon's might during his war with the Aesgar clan, as its power had reduced their mighty fortress to a flaming ruin.

Styrbjorn had slain tens of thousands personally during his countless battles and wars, and had amply demonstrated the favour of his god Khorne by doing so. Amongst some of his greatest achievements was to duel a mighty Dragon Ogre Shaggoth atop the Knife Peaks of Norsca, amidst a mighty storm conjured by the Dark Gods, defeating the primeval horror in single combat and carving its very heart from its chest. He alone faced a great serpent of the Undersea, spearing it through its belly and dragging it ashore before cutting its head from its neck. He took leave of his clan for a time to wander the darkened roads of the Chaos Wastes and smite the numberless monstrosities there to further show his power. He had ran with the terrible Ulfwerenar, hunted alongside the hulking white-furred Beastmen of Norsca, the Ymgir, and had feasted at the tables of the terrible Bloodbeasts of Khorne. This and more had Egil Styrbjorn, wielder of the legendary daemonaxes, Garmr and Gormr, had done. The bloodthirsty Chaos Warlord was truly the beloved of his grim god, and Khorne had lavished his favoured champion with blessing upon blessing. Hulking and mighty with sheer strength and power beyond both man and beast, an unstoppable killer with the Lord of Battles as his only lord, and he wore the favour of his war-like master like a mantle. Clad in black Chaos Plate, forged to resemble bloodthirsty, tusked wolves, carved with runes of holy favour, and which could turn aside any blade, Styrbjorn resonating a palpable aura of Chaos that touched the very souls of those near him, to even brush with the hellspawned warrior-king was to catch a measure of his bounteous favour, and to catch a maeasure of the gaze of the Dark Gods. Those of particular weakness of will and spirit would warp and twist, changed by the attentions of the gods by merely standing in Styrbjorn's presence.