"Form a shield wall. If we are to die, let us go to the gods with honour, standing on a pile of bones and broken skulls. Unfurl the banner and sound the warcry; we are Norsemen and will not be taken easily."
- —Ulfric Grondal[1c]
Icon of the Bjornling tribe as seen in Total War: Warhammer.
Ulfric Grondal is the Norscan high king of the Bjornling tribe. He governs from the settlement of Skjold. [1a][2a]
History[]
Early Deeds[]
Ulfric gathered three kingships worth of Norscan warriors to seek fortune and glory, embarking on a voyage to the fabled Southlands. However, their journey through the Sea of Claws was fraught with treacherous storms. Weary, starving, and disoriented by the cursed waters, they finally landed on a desolate and foreboding island.[1a]
Leading his warriors inland, Ulfric discovered what appeared to be a monastery. Believing it to be the source of their misfortune, he commanded his Berserkers to breach its heavy gates.[1b]
Upon breaking through, the Norscans charged inside, encountering cloaked figures who they slaughtered, unaware the gates had sealed behind them. To their horror, the slain figures rose again as skeletal warriors, spreading fear among the invaders. Realising their dire situation, Ulfric rallied his warriors to fight their way to freedom, though his losses were steep.[1c]
At Present[]
Even if that unsuccessful raid on the island populated by Undead monks happened many years ago, many of Ulfric's crew were lost during the raid and he has been troubled by chieftains accusing him of cowardice ever since. He wants to send his huscarls and a crew to relocate the island and take the monastery.[2a]
In Skjold atop an elevated rise surrounded by a wooden stockade is the King's Hall and several other low buildings belonging to High King Ulfric Grondal. Surrounded by his huscarls, shieldmaidens, and jarls, he lives well on wealth taken from plunder and trade.[2a]
The hall itself is a tall, single-storey building with beautiful carved doors, covered in intricate patterns and depictions of Norscan longships at sea. The king and his retinue spend their evenings in the smoky meadhall, playing host to Norscan and southern merchants and explorers who stay in the town.[2a]
This is where Bjornling voyagers come when they return from exploration, to share stories, boast of their exploits, and show off their plunder. The mead and the company is rough, but outsiders are a common sight and if they have a good yarn to share, they are welcome. The Norscans are not known for subtlety, and during a feast it is easy to detect the main challenger to Ulfric's rule. This is Jarl Hrothgar Olveksan, who has crossed the ocean and seen the green and deadly land of Lustria.[2a]
Olveksan is wealthy and wears trinkets stolen from the denizens of that New World continent. Important visitors like Olveksan stay within the King's Hall at his favour -- the lodging house is basic but better than the longhouses outside the stockade. Olveksan makes a good patron for any parties of adventurers planning to explore the oceans and will provide crew and maritime knowledge in exchange for glory and gold.[2a]
Another building contains the king's collection of maps from centuries of seafarers' journeys. These are inscribed on skins and parchments -- some stolen and others of Norscan origin.[2a]
In recent times the master shipwright Hafskael with his apprentices and thralls are working to build some of the finest longships in Norsca among which there is a kingship for Ulfric.
Yet for all his wealth, Ulfric is troubled -- his jarls plot to take his place while his only heir has sworn to kill him. His daughter was born a mutant and declared by Ulfric as unfit to live. His huscarls tossed her from the cliffs, but she survived. Many years later, she became a notorious pirate, calling herself Aranessa Saltspite, and High King Ulfric has heard that she's vowed revenge on the tribe of her birth.[2a]
Aranessa Saltspite is harrying Norscan vessels off the Bretonnian coast and Ulfric believes that she is deliberately targeting his dragonships. He wants someone to infiltrate her crew but knows she has no tolerance for Norscans.[2a]