USV: Meet Rauthr the Red Raven

Hi all, I’m working on some really interesting stuff, and I thought it was time to give you a glimpse

Each of the factions in Markland (Raven, Wolf and Bear) has its own internal factions. While we have seen most of that in the Wolves so far (Thoromr versus Trion and Ineke), we will increasingly see that in the Valefolk-dominated faction of the Bears. We will also eventually see it in the Ravens.

To that end, meet Rauthr.

Like all of us, whether in our timeline or in the alternate history of USV, when we see an opportunity we like, we move to take it. Of course, we all have different guardrails as to whether we embrace such a thing. Most of us will be guided by our morals, risk, the law, and our capacity. Others, not so much. In USV#1: The Landing, when Eskil led his people west to find new land to settle, he did so guided by his desires and the gods. He wanted to ensure his people, culture, and faith all survived what he could see was an age of great change in Europe. The starkest component of that to him was the Christianisation of Scandinavia.

Seta, likewise was exposed to opportunities and choices, many of them bleak. In her later years in Markland she is much changed from who she was as a young woman, and stands strong as a moral leader with great wisdom.

Thoromr, for all his faults, managed to keep the peace in Lakeland long enough to establish the territories of the Wolves and eventually see those lands thrive, even if he had to wrestle with periods of violence and unrest.

And then, at the end of USV#3: Loki’s Rage, when a fleet of ships lands from Iceland, arriving just ahead of a storm, Faraldr the Greenlander delivers a large number of fresh faces. New Norse settlers. This was an effort to not just bolster the young settlements but to chase down the force Ineke had led over the sea from Iceland and, if necessary, destroy it.

Between the two fleets arriving within months of each other, and just as Trion has decided to challenge Thoromr One Eye for control of the Hall of Wolves, all these new people move into a new world that is in upheaval. And therefore full of opportunity.

One of those people is Rauthr the Red Raven.

You will see more of Rauthr soon in USV#4: Odin’s Hall and USV#5: Markland’s Rage. Rauthr will be welcomed into the Raven world. He has charisma and an energetic personality, and he sees the world through eyes that are drinking up all the opportunities around him. He will present challenges to established Raven powers, just as Trion did to Thoromr for the Wolves, and Loki does for the Bears. He also has a secret.

If you want to see what Rauthr is up to grab USV4 when it comes out later this year or subscribe to my Patreon. A series of high level articles there will start moving through events in USV4 and beyond by the end of next month (please note that while there is a free subscription on Patreon, most USV articles that will be going up there touching on events not yet published in book form will only be visible for paid subscribers).