Earlinator

Bjorn’s family lived on one of the islands around the Kingdom of Curonia, in a small fishing village. His father hunted seals and other sea creatures of the area, and his mother worked with other women of the village to provide clothing for the people of his village, along with preparing the hides which they would sell in the Kingdom of Curonia. In total, they had 4 sons and 6 daughters, though several would perish both before and after Bjorn was born. Prior to his birth, two of his siblings had died shortly after their births, and one of his sisters had drowned when she was knocked from a boat during a storm. When Bjorn was born, he had an older brother and 2 elder sisters. As a young child, he was often tended to by his older sisters. Several years after his birth, the war between Oren and the Alliance of Independent States began. Some of the men of his village set off to fight in the war, many heading to Curonia. During this time, his younger brother and two younger sisters were born, all three of whom survived their infancy. With this, the village was short on men, and at the age of 8, Bjorn began working to make up for the lack of manpower. As he grew older, he would work on some of the trade ships which would sell their furs to the Kingdom of Curonia. Upon arriving there, they became stuck when the ice froze sooner than normal. While staying there, he once again saw his older brother, who had saved up enough money to afford him a limited education for the time he was their. Soon before Bjorn was to depart back to his island, however, they received word that his brother, and many other men of their island that had gone to war, had been killed in an ambush by soldiers from Morsgrad. Thus, their ship took back the bodies of many of these soldiers, to be given proper burials in their homeland. Due to the death of these men, Bjorn lost all sympathy for the Alliance, and instead became indoctrinated into a pro-Orenian mindset. As he grew up, he became a competent hunter, making a fair bit of money from the furs he sold. During years that food was scarce, he and many of the others of the island would head to the Kingdom of Curonia to winter there, where he would try to learn more and buy some books to keep himself entertained during the cold months. As he grew older, he began to fight against the Alliance during these times, alongside many of the soldiers from Curonia. Upon the death of one of his close friends from Curonia, he met his friend’s sister, and shortly after they began a semi-serious relationship, which ended when he had to return back home come spring. Upon his return the following year, he found that she had been married off to some merchant family from the Federation of Sutica. Through this, though, he met her cousin. Throughout the winter, they built up a relationship. When it came time for him to return in spring, she agreed to marry him and return to the island with him. For a while, life was happy, and soon after she became pregnant. For his first winter in a long while, he would stay on the island. However, it was an especially difficult pregnancy, and come the delivery, Bjorn watched as both she and their newborn daughter perished. Overcome with sadness, Bjorn could not find it within himself to carry on on the island. Thus, Bjorn left his family what money he had, and he departed, hoping to leave his past behind him.