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Norscans
Wulfrik
"Nothing chosen by the Gods can escape."
Wulfrik is one of the greatest warriors of the savage North, a champion of Dark Gods. A mighty giant of a man, bedecked in heavy black plate decorated with the skulls of his many kills, he sails the seas of the world aboard the legendary longship known as the Seafang. He has hunted long and ranged far in the names of his Infernal Gods, and has offered up sacrifices uncounted for their glory. To Khorne he offers their skulls, to Nurgle the contents of their slit bellies. To Slaanesh their still beating hearts, and to Tzeentch their final breaths.
- Animal Motifs: The wolf (and more Savage Wolves than Noble Wolves). His teeth are fangs, his laugh is said to resemble a wolf worrying at a bone, and his name means "power of the wolf" / "strong wolf".
- Barbarian Hero: Huge, respects only strength, wolf motif, lives only to kill... Actually gets called a barbarian (as an insult) by Viglundr.
- The Brute: Is noted to be bigger and taller than most Norscans, who are already bigger and taller than the average Imperial citizen.
- Genius Bruiser: Concocts a complicated Batman Gambit that leaves his enemies utterly annihilated far more effectively than any Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Omniglot: His Gift of Tongues lets him understand and speak any language (but not read it), all the better to start a fight by insulting someone and ensuring they get angry (and make mistakes).
- Religious Bruiser: What he's become by the end, in gratitude for the Chaos gods granting him his extraordinary gifts.
- Super-Senses: Has heightened senses including smell, like his namesake. Good for tracking dwarfs down dark corridors, less useful when he can still smell Sveinbjorn on Hjordis when he barges into their bedchamber.
Viglundr
The king of the Sarls, and father of Hjordis.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Subverted. Wulfrik leaves him alive, not because he's Not Worth Killing, but because a living Viglundr will soon face several very angry tribes on his doorstep that he won't be able to buy off or negotiate with, ensuring the ruin of his town and all his life's achievements.
- The Chessmaster: Is known to be favored by Tzeentch, and all his plotting has made the Sarls a very powerful tribe.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Loves his daughter Hjordis, and genuinely wants the best for his tribe.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Downplayed. While Viglundr is no stranger to violence, having obtained his father's approval by killing his brothers with a Neck Snap and then obtained the throne by doing the same to his father, his penchant for crafty statesmanship and backroom dealings marks him as a coward in Wulfrik's eyes.
- Parent-Preferred Suitor: Seems genuinely attached to Hjordis and wants her to lead a better life than to be married to a man who'll forever be off on some quest that will likely get him killed, hence his continuously trying to get her to marry Sveinbjorn.
- Theory Tunnel Vision: Grows obsessed with the idea of allying the Sarls and Aeslings over the course of the book, but never considers any way of doing so other than marrying Hjordis to Sveinbjorn.
Hjordis
Viglundr's daughter and Wulfrik's betrothed.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Although Wulfrik's not happy about doing it and there's no indication she was alive while it happened, she ends up flayed, her heart and womb ripped out and her hair chopped off.
- Sex for Solace: She sleeps with Sveinbjorn, although in her defense she thought Wulfrik had been dead for several months. Wulfrik came back at the very worst time for all involved.
Sveinbjorn
The crown prince of the Aeslings.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: Wulfrik finds him naked and getting frisky with Hjordis, and drags him out.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Not that he didn't deserve it. After making him a traitor in the eyes of his allies, Wulfrik puts a viper down his throat.
- Dirty Coward: While he does attack Wulfrik, he quickly gives up on the idea of a one-on-one (or even fair) fight after Wulfrik easily wipes the floor with him.
- Really Gets Around: Is a far better bed-hopper than warrior. According to Wulfrik the only children of his tribe who don't call him "father" are those who call him "uncle".
Broendulf
Viglundr's huscarl (essentially captain of the guard).
- All Love Is Unrequited: Is in love with Hjordis, but she only has eyes for Wulfrik.
- Beard of Barbarism: Subverted, he seems to be the only smooth-cheeked Norscan, which gets him no end of mockery from his hairier comrades.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: After he's captured by the Imperials and left crippled and blinded, Wulfrik kills him without even letting him hold a sword in his hand, denying him passage to Valhal.
- Unwitting Pawn: Wulfrik is stunned to hear Broendulf betrayed him in exchange for becoming Hjordis' husband in all but name due to Sveinbjorn being sterile. He shows Broendulf what an idiot he's been.
Jokull
A hunter that Wulfrik uses as his tracker.
- Handicapped Badass: Only having one hand does not stop him from being an excellent archer.
- Tentacle Rope: His left arm was replaced by a tentacle, which he uses to good effect while climbing.
Arngeirr
An experienced reaver and sailor aboard the Seafang.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: His kraken-tooth sword is so sharp that it can even disrupt ghosts, although it cannot deal permanent damage to them.
- Artificial Limbs: Lost a leg below the knee to a kraken, now has a peg-leg made from the bones of the man who caused its loss.
- Creepy Souvenir: His peg-leg is made from the skull and bones of his own father.
- Handicapped Badass: Despite his peg-leg, he's one of the most skiled fighters in Wulfrik's crew, and the last to fall to the elves in Ulthuan.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He's the last to die on Ulthuan, making a smokescreen to allow Wulfrik and Broendulf to escape.
Others
Zarnath
A Kurgan (Warhammer's version of Mongol and Turkic tribes) shaman who guides Wulfrik in his quest to be rid of the gods' curse.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He's killed via the torture of the blood raven (known as the blood eagle in reality): his back flayed, his ribs broken, and his lungs extracted, leaving him to choke to death.
- Ethnic Magician: He appears as a shaman of the Kurgan people to better hide his true identity.
- Godzilla Threshold: His last-ditch plan to get rid of Wulfrik involves animating a statue with forbidden Khemri magic. Even if it had succeeded, he would have spent the rest of his life on the run from the Empire's wizards for his use of such magic.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: He had a vision of his death at Wulfrik's hands, leading him to appear to Wulfrik in person to send him on various quests. Had he never done so, Wulfrik would not have gained the means to find and kill him.
Khorrak
The lord of the Chaos Dwarfs of Dronangkul (Fortress of Iron) who carries the Smile of Sardiss, an artifact Wulfrik needs to rid himself of his curse.
- Bodyguard Babes: Subverted. His elite guard are bald old dwarf women too old to bear children, and now fanatically defend the temples of Hashut.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He's soaked in highly flammable liquid before being set on fire in the sacrificial idol to Hashut.
- Mini-Mecha: Wears a suit of armor making him taller than Wulfrik and containing several weapons.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Subverted: Warhammer's Chaos Dwarves have a more Babylonian theme to their armor, with plaited beards and have small tusks in their lower jaw.
Baron Udo Kruger
The Imperial noble leading the city of Wisborg.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He's obsessed with his wife's cheating on him, but it turns out to be all in his head (all the more so because his wife is so ugly no sane man would try to seduce her). It even gets him killed when Wulfrik claims to have slept with her, enraging Udo into leaving the safety of the city walls.
- Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: The Baroness is repeatedly mentioned as being so ugly no sane man would sleep with her, and yet the baron is convinced she's sleeping around with half the city.
