Characters

Archival Entry: Born in Wyrdheim and raised within the rigid hierarchy of the New Voluskar Order, Silfra, then known as Odren, spent her early years in the shadowed cloisters of the priesthood. Orphaned at a young age, she was marked for service as a gothi adept but was ultimately expelled for failing to manifest the magical aptitude expected of her station. The official record is terse, and its omissions speak volumes. She vanished from public notice soon after, only to reappear cycles later under a new name and in altogether different company.

Scholars have long observed that Silfra’s transformation from a discarded initiate to a figure of historical consequence defies simple telling. Whether her rise was shaped by destiny, defiance, or some convergence of the two remains a subject of spirited debate.

Excerpt from Chronicles of the Fractured Age, Vol. III

Archival Entry: Little is known of Hamari’s origins prior to her arrival during the Aeldstorm events, though her speech, tools, and knowledge all point to lands — or worlds — far removed from Voluspa. Found unconscious and in the company of no one, she entered the historical record when Silfra Keegard brought her into Oldan territory. The earliest accounts describe her as guarded, analytical, and prone to questioning even the most basic assumptions of those around her. Whatever her past, her presence in the Fractured Age is consistently linked with moments of great upheaval.

Hamari is recorded in close association with Silfra Keegard and Elthar Valdriksen in the years that followed, though her role in their journeys is as much a matter of speculation as fact. Witnesses speak of her uncanny ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations, her sharp wit, and an unyielding refusal to bend to local orthodoxy. Whether these qualities mark her as an ally, an outsider, or something stranger remains unresolved.

Excerpt from Chronicles of the Fractured Age, Vol. III

Archival Entry: Elthar Valdriksen, firstborn of Thrainn Valdriksen and heir to the bloodline of Vulspir, occupies one of the more contested positions in the long chronicle of the New Voluskar Order. Once expected to succeed his father as Hofgothi, Elthar instead earned the far more divisive Ilvyrkan name Vígsmíðr, rendered in Nelvii as “Warmaker.” As Arkgothi of the Fifth Order, his campaign against Illvyrka remains a subject of enduring debate. Some scholars regard his methods as grim necessities shaped by circumstance, while others cite the brutality of the war itself as the reason the title followed him home. The effort ultimately failed, ending in his capture and a six-cycle imprisonment.

Upon release, Elthar returned to find his younger brother, Agnar, seated as Hofgothi. Whether this succession had been orchestrated or opportunistic remains uncertain, though Elthar’s later writings suggest he believed it to be the latter. Still, he offered no formal challenge, choosing instead to sever ties with both the priesthood and Voluspan politics and retreat to a self-imposed exile in the woods beyond Wyrdheim.

Whatever judgments history may pass, it would be remiss not to overlook the influence he held over Silfra. Raised within the Order’s cloisters, she viewed Elthar as both mentor and surrogate father. That bond, tested by upheaval, shaped much of her early life but would be reforged years later.

Excerpt from Chronicles of the Fractured Age, Vol. II

Archival Entry: Johra Valdriksen, daughter of Hofgothi Agnar and heir to one of Voluspa’s most influential bloodlines, stands among the most polarizing figures of the Fractured Age. Raised in the very heart of the New Voluskar Order, she rose to a level of authority rarely granted to women, a rise owed as much to her magical talent as to the weight of her lineage.

A constant presence in the formative events of the era, Johra appears frequently in accounts involving several notable figures, most often Silfra Keegard. Their early association has drawn sustained academic attention, particularly in light of the widening gulf that would later divide them. Where Silfra came to oppose the church, Johra entrenched herself within it. With hindsight, their eventual conflict appears almost inevitable, though few at the time recognized the storm gathering.

The particulars of her legacy remain contested, yet her impact is beyond dispute. Some historians cast her as a cautionary tale, others as an inevitable product of her age. All agree that the shadow she cast reached far beyond the years she held power.

Excerpt from Chronicles of the Fractured Age, Vol. II

Archival Entry: Few figures in Heimshuhl’s recorded history appear as frequently and elusively as the Bograz. Treated by the commonfolk with the same blend of awe and absurdity one might reserve for an especially persistent superstition, he nonetheless surfaces with suspicious regularity across firsthand accounts of the Fractured Age’s earliest phases. That he journeyed for a time with Silfra Keegard, Elthar Valdriksen, and the Kryslathi outsider, Hamari, is consistently reported. What remains difficult to parse is the nature of his involvement. He intervenes without directing, aids without explaining, and manipulates events while insisting he takes no sides.

In battle, he offers no violence. In decision, no guidance. Yet his influence is unmistakable. Survivors speak of him arriving without warning, inserting himself into moments of great consequence, and departing just as suddenly. There is no indication he seeks power or recognition. Indeed, those who press him for answers are met with silence, riddles, or vague platitudes. Some scholars have attempted to categorize him as a trickster, guardian, or sage, but the Bograz defies classification. He acts with purpose, though whose purpose remains a matter of speculation.

Excerpt from Chronicles of the Fractured Age, Vol. II