History Literature / Wulfrik

'''Wulfrik''', by C.L. Werner (of ''Brunner the Bounty Hunter'' and ''Grey Seer'' fame) is an installment in the Warhammer Heroes range of novels by Black Library, which, as you can probably tell from the name, are a series of novels which center around the various Special Characters from the [[{{Warhammer}} Tabletop Game]] itself (yes, ''Warhammer'' existed long before ''40K'' was a glint in the collective eyes of the execs at GW).

'''Wulfrik''', by C.L. Werner (of ''Brunner the Bounty Hunter'' and ''Grey Seer'' fame) is an installment in the Warhammer Heroes range of novels by Black Library, which; as you can probably tell from the name, are a series of novels which center around the various Special Characters from the [[{{Warhammer}} Tabletop Game]] itself (yes, Warhammer existed long before 40K was a glint in the collective eyes of the execs at GW).

Set in the savage, Chaos-tainted Northlands of the Warhammer world, '''Wulfrik''' tells the saga of the eponymous hero -- the legendary Chaos Champion, Wulfrik the Wanderer of the Sarls. Cursed to an eternity of violent battle at the capricious whims of the Dark Gods of the Norscans for a proud, albeit drunken boast, the dark warrior now sails the seas of the world in search for the most vicious adversaries to pit his sword-arm against that he might prove his strength before his infernal masters. As his legend grows, raiders from Norsca and even further afield come to pledge their swords to his warband, hungering for the chance to fight alongside one so favoured by the Gods, and in the hopes that they might catch some of his greatness.

* {{Badass}}: Wulfrik and almost every Norscan. But Wulfrik in particular gets away with feats of strength that would make [[Literature/GotrekAndFelix Gotrek Gurnisson]] turn green with envy. The guy has a litany of heroic and unimaginably violent deeds established for him before he even turns up on page, and then proves why he such things to his credit by brutally slaughtering everything around him with not only great strength, but also great cunning.
-->"''Wulfrik the Wanderer was a name spoken of in awed whispers, and with good reason.''"

* {{Badass}}: Wulfrik and almost every Norscan. But Wulfrik in particular gets away with feats of strength that would make [[GotrekAndFelix Gotrek Gurnisson]] turn green with envy. The guy has a litany of heroic and unimaginably violent deeds established for him before he even turns up on page, and then proves why he such things to his credit by brutally slaughtering everything around him with not only great strength, but also great cunning.

* AxeCrazy: Wulfrik, mildly. Njarvord much more so. The guy gets very restless if he hasn't killed something in the last hour.
* AnAxeToGrind: Many, many Norscans favour massive battle-axes in combat. But the cake goes to Njarvord. Along with the limbs of the guy who handed it to him.
** Freaner, the deranged Chaos Lord, bears a [[EvilWeapon whispering Daemon Axe that drives mad all who hear it]].

* AntiHero: Wulfrik, is a hero in Antiquity's sense of the word as he's a man who accomplishes great things. On the subject of morality, he is, for the most part, an exemplar of what the Norscan race stands for -- strength, dominance, conquest, war, honour, courage and destruction.

** BadassArmy: The Norscans.
** BadassBeard[=/=]BeardOfBarbarism: EVERYONE. The only Norscan who doesn't have a beard is Broendulf, who is mocked and harangued as "Broendulf the Fair" by his shield-brothers, who never miss an opportunity to mock him for his girly cheeks. Strangely enough, he actually turns out to be as capable as any other veteran of Wulfrik's crew.

** BadassCrew: Wulfrik's warband, though they lose a lot of men in the attack on the Chaos Dwarf's fortress.
** BigBadassWolf: Wulfrik has a bit of a wolf motif, in case you couldn't guess from his name being Old Norse for 'power of the wolf.' Though he primarily got his name from his birth-mutation (Chaos mutations tend to be common amongst the Norscans as a result of the winds that blow down from the Chaos Wastes in the north) being that his teeth are unnaturally strong and sharp, much like those of a wolf. A lot of comparison is drawn between his habits (primarily his movements in battle) and those of wolves, as well.
*** Also, the Chaos Warhounds the Sarls bring with them during the siege of Volganof. They prove instrumental in disabling the Imperials' heavy cavalry.

** BadassLonghair: From Wulfrik's crimson scalp-lock, to Broendulf's golden mane to Njarvord's unruly crown of black hair, almost every Norscan keeps his hair long.

* AntiHero: Wulfrik, is a hero in Antiquity's sense of the word as he's a man who accomplishes great things. On the subject of morality, he is, for the most part, an exemplar of what the Norscan race stands for -- strength, dominance, conquest,war, courage and destruction.

-->'''Njarvod''': "You should grow out your beard! It gives the wenches something to hold on to!"

*** BigBadassWolf: Wulfrik has a bit of a wolf motif, in case you couldn't guess from his name being Old Norse for 'power of the wolf.' Though he primarily got his name from his birth-mutation (Chaos mutations tend to be common amongst the Norscans as a result of the winds that blow down from the Chaos Wastes in the north) being that his teeth are unnaturally strong and sharp, much like those of a wolf. A lot of comparison is drawn between his habits (primarily his movements in battle) and those of wolves, as well.
** Also, the Chaos Warhounds the Sarls bring with them during the siege of Volganof. They prove instrumental in disabling the Imperials' heavy cavalry.

** BigBadassWolf: Wulfrik has a bit of a wolf motif, in case you couldn't guess from his name being Old Norse for 'power of the wolf.' Though he primarily got his name from his birth-mutation (Chaos mutations tend to be common amongst the Norscans as a result of the winds that blow down from the Chaos Wastes in the north) being that his teeth are unnaturally strong and sharp, much like those of a wolf. A lot of comparison is drawn between his habits (primarily his movements in battle) and those of wolves, as well.

--> Freaner, the deranged Chaos Lord, bears a [[EvilWeapon whispering Daemon Axe that drives mad all who hear it]].

** Also, the Chaos Warhounds the Sarls bring with them during the siege of Volganof.

* AnAxeToGrind: Many, many Norscans favour massive battle-axes in combat.

Yet in his deepest heart, Wulfrik despises his curse, and despises even more those who think it a blessing and the Dark Gods who have brought him to such an end. His greatest wish to break free of their chains and return to his own personal quest for kingship over the Sarls and for the hand of his greatest love, Hjordis, daughter of Viglundr, king of the Sarls and Chosen of Tzeentch. Yet the king's ambitions drives him to bargain the princess away to secure an oath of peace and alliance with the barbaric Aeslings, the traditional enemies of the Sarl tribe. When a shaman of the Kurgan tribes, Zarnath, comes from the East seeking an audience with the Chaos Champion, promising to devise for him a ritual that will free him of his curse in exchange for various artefacts of dark origin in the possession of even darker races, the Wanderer, against the advice of his bondsmen, agrees to slay the Kurgan's enemies. The lure of freedom driving him on to test his considerable might against the greatest challenges he has ever faced. But the World-Walker finds that the greatest perils lies not in the curses of Gods, nor behind the hilts of bloody swords, but in the hearts of those far closer to him.

* SorcerousOverlord: The Thegn of Dronangkul, Khorakk, whom Wulfrik burns alive one of his own contraptions. [[spoiler:And also Zarnath.]]

* SorcerousOverlord: The Thegn of Dranangkul, whom Wulfrik burns alive one of his own contraptions. [[spoiler:And also Zarnath.]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: King Viglundr, a Chosen of Tzeentch, God of [[MagnificentBastard MagnificentBastards]], has a reputation as being a great warrior, having the earned the right of succession and the favour of his father by breaking the necks of his brothers in ritual combat (upon reaching full manhood, [[SelfMadeOrphan he sent his father to the burrow the same way]]). Subverted however in that despite being a great warrior, Viglundr's preference for scheming and negotiation earns him the scorn of "true warriors" such as Wulfrik, who sees Viglundr as a shadow of his predecessors.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: King Viglundr, a Chosen of Tzeentch, God of [[MagnificentBastard MagnificentBastards]], has a reputation as being a great warrior, having the earned the right of succession and the favour of his father by breaking the necks of his brothers in ritual combat (upon reaching full manhood, he sent his father to the burrow the same way). Subverted however in that despite being a great warrior, Viglundr's preference for scheming and negotiation earns him the scorn of "true warriors" such as Wulfrik, who sees Viglundr as a shadow of his predecessors.

** BadassBeard: EVERYONE. The only Norscan who doesn't have a beard is Broendulf, who is mocked and harangued as "Broendulf the Fair" by his shield-brothers, who never miss an opportunity to mock him for his girly cheeks. Strangely enough, he actually turns out to be as capable as any other veteran of Wulfrik's crew.

Yet in his deepest heart, Wulfrik despises his curse, and despises even more those who think it a blessing and the Dark Gods who have brought him to such an end. His greatest wish to break free of their chains and return to his own personal quest for kingship over the Sarls and for the hand of his greatest love, Hjordis, daughter of Viglundr, king of the Sarls and Chosen of Tzeentch. Yet the king's ambitions drives him to bargain the princess away to secure an oath of peace and alliance with the barbaric Aeslings, the traditional enemies of the Sarl tribe. When a stoop-shouldered Shaman of the Kurgan horse-clans of the Eastern Steppes seeks an audience with the Chaos Champion, promising to devise for him a ritual that will free him of his curse in exchange for various artefacts of dark origin in the possession of even darker races, the Wanderer, against the advice of his bondsmen, agrees to slay the Kurgan's enemies. The lure of freedom driving him on to test his considerable might against the greatest challenges he has ever faced. But the World-Walker finds that the greatest perils lies not in the curses of Gods, nor behind the hilts of bloody swords, but in the hearts of those far closer to him.

* AxeCrazy: Wulfrik, mildly. Njarvord

* GrimUpNorth: Norsca is this, and the Norse love every single moment of it.