Birvald

Name: Birvald
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual

Place of residency: Falkreath
Magic: Shapeshifting (Brown Bear)
Occupation: Monster Hunter

Personality: Heroic, Risktaker, Wildman, Strong Willed, Outrageous, Compassionate, Afraid to be powerless. Prone to crossing the line & martyrdom.
Personality test result: ESTJ-A (Leidinggevende);
Extravert, Realistisch, Op logica gericht, Plannend, Assertief
Looks: Birvald is a very heary, very tall (1,93m) and very strong man with brown eyes. You won't see him without his greatsword and battle clothes.

Philosophy: Man is not created equal. Nature is not fair. Help those who can’t help themselves. -> We, the ones who were gifted with extraordinary capabilities, should help those without.
Core values: Caring, Cooperation, Friendship, Help others, Help society, Loyalty
Quirks: His greatsword is called ‘Glötter’. He can’t help himself from making bear sounds sometimes. He writes very slowly, and not at all nicely. At home, he had a pet goat named Porky. He can have trouble controlling his temper.

History:

0-4
A quiet child he was, that Birvald, youngest of the family. There was nothing extraordinary about this toddler whatsoever. Except for his love and care for the animals near and inside of the (nomadic) tribe. At this age he obviously was naturally charming. People treated him as a child, living in an unforgiving landscape, should be treated. He was taught early on how to be as strong as he needed to be, to survive. And he loved it. Also, not altogether unimportant, Birvald had always had trouble sleeping during a full moon. This period in his life he spent most of his time with his mother, Birma.

4-10
Still overshadowed by the natural strength of his older brothers Birwin and Birwyl he sometimes fell short on food. That was just the way it was. You were either strong, or you were dead. However, sometimes, when the other tribe members were not looking, his dad, Birpa, would sneakily give him some of his food. You can’t stop a father from loving his kin. Also, his education in survival continued.

10-15
An early growth spurt resulted in Birvald being only a tad shorter than his brothers. He could finally physically compete with them. This was not only necessary for getting more food, his training in the art of combat started at around age eleven. It was also the first period of his life he had to come along hunting. Birvald was very excited for this. He felt very important, ensuring food for the tribe. There he first proved to be quite adept using weapons, and thinking on his feet. More So than his brothers. Instead of being envious, they were actually quite proud of their runt brother. They had no need for envious feelings, they had other talents.

15-21
Hunting, traveling, training. These were the things that engulfed his days during this period of his life. There was, however, one very special kind of training he had to do, next to fighting. You see, everyone in the tribe could shapeshift into an animal. It was tradition for every tribe member to start honing this type of magic, when they turned fifteen. At first Birvald had trouble shapeshifting. It required certain skills he had not yet fully developed. But Birvald, being Birvald, never gave up. He tried harder and harder. At the age of nineteen he was one of the most skilled shapeshifters in the tribe.

21+
Birvald had never had the chance to stray from the tribe. He had lots of duties. But now that his training was over, he had more time to himself. That’s when he discovered his hunger for adventure and purpose. But he was left feeling starved, because of the ways of his tribe. Your purpose was to be the best you could be, to serve the tribe. In and of itself, that is noble. But Birvald couldn't help but feel there was more he could do.
And then.. one fateful day.. they passed a town. They did not normally enter, they would just walk around. The was being attacked by a pack of Direwolves. Birvald urged the tribe to help the village. But they disagreed. When he wanted to help the townspeople anyway, they stopped him. For the first time in his life he felt defeated and locked up. But then.. a group of people started fighting the Direwolves. Killing most of them. The others fled. His father explained that these people were Monster Hunters. They slay beasts, to protect others and harvest parts of the beasts.
Surprisingly, the people of his tribe were supportive of his decision to become a Monster Hunter as well. The big downside, however, was that Birvald would probably never see his family again. It’s very hard to locate a nomadic tribe in such a big place. He owed his family so much, but alas he decided to go and life the life of a Monster Hunter.
Nowadays he has been hunting monsters for some years now and he has become quite good at it.


Archetypes:
- Ego: The Hero/Caregiver
- Soul: The Rebel
- Self: The Magician


Anecdotes:

An important lesson (8 years old):
“Woolrich?” A young Birvald asked. “Why does everybody listen to you?” Woolrich, a man with crazy hair, crazy beard and deep eye sockets turned and said: “Because I’m the tribe elder.” Birvald, now very confused, looked at the man for a while and finally asked. “People listen to you because you are old?” Woolrich chuckled. “Young one, do you know how hard it is to get this old in this environment?” The young man shook his head. Woolrich took this as a sign that the conversation was over and continued his daily activities. Birvald sat down and started to think about what the man had said. He didn’t quite understand, but he tried anyway. Finally, Birvald got up and went to Woolrich who was trying to get a bonfire started. “How did you get this old?” He asked. Woolrich’s whole beard moved because of the smile Birvald’s question had cast upon his face. He placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder and pointed into the distance. “Do you see that small patch of grass?” Birvald nodded. “We don’t see much of those, do we?” He nodded again. “I can eat that.” Alarmed, Birvald turned his head to the man. Woolrich chuckled and transformed himself into a sheep. Birvald had seen tribe members do this before, but he was still amazed by it. Woolrich strolled to the patch of grass, and curious Birvald followed. “I get it..” Birvald said softly. Then Woolrich turned back into his human form. His face, radiating satisfaction. “Never forget. Everyone had a way to survive the toughest conditions. And if they don’t, help them.” Quietly Birvald followed the man with his eyes when he walked back to his bonfire. Birvald kept quiet for two whole days after that.


Not everyone’s a fighter (17 years old):
Birvald was taking Porky for a stroll when he encountered Sniffred who was apparently looking a Dwarf Birch. Birvald stopped walking and looked at him. Sniffred turned his head and said: “Greetings Birvald, how are you?” “Fine. You?” Expecting Sniffred to say that he felt ill. Sniffred was a slim young man of fifteen years old. He had long curly long blond hair to over his shoulders. Birvald never understood how he had survived life for this long. On the other hand, he never asked about it either. “Ï’m very good, thank you for asking.” Sniffred said soothingly. “How are you still alive?” Birvald asked. Sniffred seemed a bit alarmed by the question. “You’re weak. You don’t eat much. And you have even more trouble with shapeshifting then I ever did.” Sniffred nodded understandingly. “I see your point.” He said, placing his hand on the Dwarf Birch. “I’m not sure either.” An answer you would expect from a fifteen year old. “I will help you.” Birvald then said. He absolutely surprised Sniffred with that statement. In the years that followed, Sniffred and Birvald became best friends.