CHARACTER NAME: Haakon “One Eye” Brekke
CHARACTER AGE: 30

DESCRIPTION: Haakon is 6’ 1” tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has medium length brown hair and a beard. Haakon has blue eyes but unfortunately, only one remains. He lost the other one in battle. Haakon has an athletic, muscular build but is more lean than bulky. In spite of not having bulky muscles, he is still rather strong. Also, Haakon is quite agile for his size as well. He wears leather armor, has a broad sword, throwing axe, and a shield.

SKILLS: Haakon is trained to fight with one hand weapon and shield; fight with two weapons (one in each hand), and throwing axes. Being a Northman, Haakon is also a skilled sailor and trained in using the loadstone. When they return from raids, his a rather good oar walker. In the mead hall, he excels in the axe throwing contest. Haakon can also ride a horse.

FACTION:  GOOD

CHARACTER'S BRIEF BACKGROUND:

Haakon's father, Anders, was a warrior in his village. Haakon’s birth had complications which almost killed his mother, Edia. His family consists of his parents and three older sisters, Juli, Karin, and Dana. His sisters are now married and have families of their own. Haakon's father is too old to be a warrior and now farms.

Haakon was not typical because he developed a more altruistic, diplomatic, and less greedy personality than most Norse. Because of his “soft and caring” personal demeanor, he was often picked on by other children. They verbally beat him down with disparaging remarks whenever they could and Haakon would just silently take it. This, however, created his great need for social acceptance. Haakon either tries to hard to be part of a group or he becomes a passive outsider who simply watches the events. However, since Haakon had an excellent memory he was tolerated because of his ability to retell many of the Norse Sagas he had learned. He also could lead groups in drinking songs he remembered hearing over the years.

On Haakon’s first raid as a warrior was difficult for him because he was a young teen. He was wasn’t as strong as a full grown man. He fought well and received his first wound on the raid. It was slash on his right shoulder that left a scar. As he grew older and stronger, Haakon developed into a fierce warrior.

Haakon, now 18 years old, was a good soldier and now went on raids from his village to the east (northern Germany and Poland). During the next 4 years of raiding, Haakon proved to be an outstanding warrior. However, he couldn’t tolerate the killing the old men, helpless woman, and children. He also had difficulty when he saw his fellow soldiers raping the women. Finally, when he was 22, in order to stop one of the rapists, who was a friend of his, Haakon cut the man’s hand of unintentionally. To earn the trust back from his fellow soldiers and show his loyalty, Haakon, from that point on, was given the task of leading all the most dangerous assaults. This often meant he was the point of a wedge formation and the first to make contact with the enemy. While being the point on an attack against the Frisians, Haakon received a wound that earned him his nickname. He was slashed across the face and lost his eye. Since he now wears an eye patch, he is called, “One Eye”.

Finally, at the age of 25, Haakon earned the grudging respect from his fellow warriors and command of his own longship. Haakon made numerous raids over the next 5 years. He raided against the Poles, Germans, Danes, Frisians, and Franks. Now, by the time he is 30, Haakon is well respected as a war leader.