Burly Bros

Height: 10'5"
Description: A Borskall of slate grey fur, wearing a long bluish coat and carrying a unique crossbow; as high as her waist level when on the ground and propped up, it employs a fishing harpoon as its primary ammunition. The rope of the harpoon is usually winded around Usken’s shoulder. Her eyes are misty, an apparent sign of her blindness. Usken wears fingerless gloves so that she may use her fingertips to feel objects around her, as well as to read.

Usken is missing a finger on her left hand, though it does little to impede her ability to feel objects around her.

Personality: A wise and laidback Colossian known to take things in stride, chief of which is her own handicap.

Info: Usken is the mate of Norke and co-chieftain of Kollagskar. Despite being blind, Usken has pinpoint accuracy with her crossbow. While Nor leans more towards fishing, Usken leans more towards hunting land-based animals. She possesses two daughters that she has been raising quite well despite her disability.

Powers and Abilities:
- Sharpshooter: Usken’s unique crossbow fires a fishing harpoon that she carries behind her shoulder. The weapon is powerful enough to send the dense, heavy projectile breaking through armor. She does possess spare bolts in case her harpoon was lost.
- Sharp Senses: Although she gets a good degree of help from her fellow Kollagskaren, Usken is perfectly capable of fending for herself. Her other senses, especially her hearing, compensate for her lack of vision. Famous for her ability to strike enemies dead-on from long ranges, Usken uses her hearing, sense of smell and the feel of the wind on her fur to pinpoint where her enemies are, among a few other tricks she has learned over the years.
- Chainmail: Beyond her own natural hardiness as a Colossian, Usken’s coat further protects her from harm by deflecting blades and projectiles.

Weaknesses:
- Usken’s keen senses, especially her hearing, can easily be used against her. Strong smells and loud noises can overwhelm and cripple her.
- On top of already being slow due to her musclebound physique as a Colossian, Usken has a slight limp to her walk; stepping on a vicious bear trap years ago permanently damaged her left leg.

Trivia:
- Usken was not born blind. Cataracts are what led to her becoming blind. She still recalls a few sights she has seen when she was little, such as the Northern Lights and Nor; she can see them in her mind, although neither of them are particularly clear. For the most part, Usken does not mind her disability, though the unseeing mother wishes she could see Nor and the Northern Lights again and see what her daughters look like.
- Usken lost her finger when trying out an early design of her crossbow, where the clawed digit was crushed by the mechanism.
- Underneath the cloudy veil obscuring her eyes, Usken’s eyes are a pale, teal-like color.
- Usken can not only read braille, but can also perceive normal writing through feeling the embosses of ink used on paper.

Theme Song: God of the Gallows (Instrumental)

Appears in:
- Dimension Tide (briefly mentioned leaving the village)
- The Blind Ranger
- Tarstan Mead Hall

Name: Roanauk (“roh-nawk” or “roh-uh-nawk”)
Alias: Ice-Fist

Height: 8 feet
Weight: 2300 pounds

Gender: Male

Description: Roanauk is a Colossian of white fur, typically found wearing nothing but an ornate bluish kilt and wristbands.

Personality: Roanauk is calm and even-tempered, though becomes hostile when friends and family are threatened; doubly so when a young one is what is being threatened.

Info: The original founder of Vinterhost Village, Roanauk has only just now been awakened from frozen slumber to discover how his people evolved...

Powers and Abilities:
- Insulation: Roanauk’s fur insulates him against the heat and the cold, as well as providing some protection against physical weaponry and projectiles. Layers of fat further help protect him against temperature extremes and help dissipate blunt impacts.
- Shamanism: Roanauk is capable of summoning the elements to his cause and temporarily becomes immune to whatever element(s) he is summoning for that duration. Notable uses include leaping higher into the air, lifting boulders from the ground to throw them at his foes and calling down fierce lightning bolts.
- Size: Roanauk’s size provides some degree of thermal inertia, offering some protection against temperature changes and reducing damage taken from smaller weapons and projectiles.
- Strength: Powerful muscles lend Roanauk great strength and serve as armor, deflecting impacts and blades. He is capable of lifting three times his own weight above his head and hurl it a good distance away. (Limited to 3 tons.)

Weaknesses:
- Poison: Roanauk’s Blood is weak to poison.
- Half-Blind: Roanauk’s right eye is blind and so he possesses a blind spot on that respective side, though his other senses do compensate for it.

Trivia
- Roanauk's name is an obvious reference to Roanauk Icemist.

Theme Song: Holdt Ned Af En Tjorn

Appears in:
- Dimension Tide

Name: Gronnrig
Alias: Gronn

Height: 10'5" feet tall

Info: Gronnrig is a deeply caring and kind-hearted Colossian who constantly puts others before herself. She is a healer of both physical and psychological wounds. Once unable to control her healing powers, she has since learned how to handle them to their fullest, though their power is costly and often leave her drained.

Description: Gronnrig is a Colossian who can often be found wearing a brown cloak in which she carries around her tools. On her hands, Gronnrig wears golden metallic gloves. Her eyes are a light brown. Her “fur” in fact consists of thorns, which give her her peculiar green coloring and prickly texture.

Personality: Gronnrig is a deeply caring and kind-hearted Colossian, warm and welcoming to seemingly anyone and anything she comes across. She possesses a great deal of selflessness and is extremely compassionate. Gronnrig downright feels the suffering of others around her and so she rarely knows peace, but she does not care for her own peace of mind; she only cares for the happiness of those around her. In her spare time, Gronnrig enjoys playing the flute.

Powers and Abilities:
- Restoration: Through her knowledge and powers, Gronnrig is capable of treating injuries, whether they be physical or psychological. At their strongest, her healing powers, even more powerful than those of the Olgfolk, are capable of regenerating lost limbs in mere seconds. They can even heal spirits. These abilities are very demanding, however, and require a lot of concentration, typically leaving Gronnrig drained and weak. For that matter, she will most often treat non-serious wounds traditionally. In combat, Gronnrig prefers to keep her focus on ending the threat in front of her, instead of wasting her energy healing wounds that will simply return until the threat has been ended.
- Green Thumb: Possessing the Blood of a Beast, Gronnrig is capable of controlling plants, as well as growing them from the ground around her.
- Anesthetic: Gronnrig possesses one ability that she finds very useful when treating serious wounds; that of being able to put friends - and foes - to sleep. This extends from simply dulling the pain experienced and relaxing nerves to flat-out leaving her patients or foe in a coma-like state for a few hours. This is not often used in combat, or if so, only for short moments to buy time for herself to get out of a prickly situation, as Gronnrig prefers to deal with the threat instead of postponing the inevitable.
- Combat Medic: Disregarding Gronnrig as a non-threat is a grave mistake to make, as she can pack a serious punch if cornered. Her vast knowledge of anatomy and weak points, as well as pressure points, make her very dangerous to underestimate; the very knowledge she uses to heal can easily be used to maim as well.
- Nerves of Steel: No matter how upset or stressed Gronnrig becomes, she has the almost uncanny ability to keep her nerves steady and act rapidly and efficiently in the most dire situations. Where the slightest of mistakes can mean life or death for an ally, Gronnrig’s ability to keep her calm is extremely useful.
- Hør Meg!: The specific flute Gronnrig has was given to her by a Beastmaster. With a specific few notes, Gronnrig can call animals to her aid. Recognized as important and oftentimes a friend due to her being a healer, predators and prey animals alike are actually eager to help her. She can simply whistle the notes without her flute, but the sound has a much shorter range.
- Thorns: Gronnrig’s “fur” in fact consists of small thorns that can cut through and stick to opponents physically attacking her. They are very similar to the needles of a cactus. They grow back very rapidly, allowing her a constant supply of prickly protection.
- Sympathy: Gronnrig possesses the ability to feel the pain of those around her, allowing her to be aware of their hardships and leaving her better able to help them. This affinity, however, leaves her unable to know peace until her friends do; it is not an ability she can turn off at will.

Weaknesses:
- Gronnrig cannot use her healing powers for very long due to them being very demanding. Her concentration can also be momentarily broken by hard hits to her head.
- Gronnrig is incapable of feeling pain, her pain receptors long being dead from being horribly burned in the past. Because of this, she may not notice wounds on herself.
- Gronnrig is deathly afraid of fire; while she is fine around small fires such as candles, torches and fireplaces, the only reason she does not become a cowering, sobbing mess in the face of larger fires is her disciplined mind and steely nerves. Fire is also a weakness to her plant-made “fur”.
- Being around suffering individuals is known to weigh heavily upon Gronnrig.

Theme Song: "Pestvisan"

Trivia:
- “Hør Meg”, as seen in her powers list, is Norwegian for "hear me".
- The specific type of flute Gronnrig possesses is known as a low whistle. One such whistle can be heard here.
- "Restoration" is the name of the healing druid specialization in World of Warcraft, which have similar abilities to Gronnrig.
- “Grønn” is Norwegian for “green”.

Name: Skovska (“SKOV-ska”)

Height: 12,5 feet tall
Weight: 3,300 pounds

Description: Skovska is a stocky and heavily-built Colossian of white fur, which has a few pale grey spots dotting it. She is typically found wearing her brown smithing apron along with a toolbelt and smithing gloves. Her eyes are a bright, light blue.

Personality: Skovska is very friendly, but is notoriously reserved and taciturn, to a point where she is sometimes mistakenly believed to be mute despite not in fact being so. She is content with simply expressing herself through short intonations and humming - she is practically never heard speaking actual words. Because of this, she comes off as rather aloof and withdrawn, despite the fact that she has quite a big heart and cares a lot for her peers. Skovska is quite stubborn and strong-willed, a trait she most definitely inherited from her mother along with her stockiness and love of tea.

Info: A terse but kind Colossian, Skovska is a talented blacksmith who specializes in armor and weapons. Feared for her mastery of the long axe, she is the daughter of Korraz and Sirmaq and is the mate of Guardian Stronuff.

Powers and Abilities:
- Frykte: The massive axe carried on Skovska at all times, resembling a Viking long-axe, is known as Frykte (pronounced “frook-tuh”). Wearing its name well, the sight of such a mighty creature as Skovska wielding such a fearsome weapon is enough of a deterrent to convince potential enemies to turn tail. Skovska has mastered the use of the weapon and trains every day with it, knowing many different tactics to use against her foes with her axe. Frykte’s bladed edge is not the only area it can damage with; not only is the handle useful to bash and poke with and to block enemy attacks, the opposite side of the axe’s head can also deal damage with its pointed tips, with the blow itself delivering a nasty impact. The axe head can be used to hook the limbs, weapons and shields of enemies to trip and disarm them, or to move them to a direction they do not wish to go. A less common use of the hooked head is to use it for climbing, and more commonly, for chopping wood. Frykte is a solidly built weapon and is perfectly capable of handling the powerful forces applied to it.
- Like Mother Like Daughter: Skovska shares the brute strength of her mother, allowing her to overpower and toss around her foes like nothing. The maximum of weight she can lift is three tons. The tales of enemies being completely split in half by Frytke are in fact no myths at all; they are very much true.
- The apron Skovska wears is remarkably resilient against heat and blades, created this way so as to avoid injury during smithing processes. The same also applies to her gloves.
- Skovska possesses incredibly steady nerves and fights with as much precision as she smiths.
- While her mastery of Frykte far dwarfs her skill with other weapons, Skovska does know how to wield just about any other weapon she knows of. She often uses other weapons so that she knows how to build them more efficiently; for example, knowing what parts of the weapons takes the most hits when fighting.
- Skovska knows sign language, allowing her to communicate with deaf creatures or mute ones, such as her very own mother.
- Like her mother, Skovska is left-handed. Enemies used to fighting right-handed opponents may get confused when dueling her.

Theme Song: "Farsoten Kom"

Appears in:
- Dimension Tide
- No Grave but the Sea

Name: Boris “Bear” Koval

Height: 6’8”

Age: 35

Description: A large, brawny and hairy man dressed in a heavy furry overcoat and hat, usually carrying a hunting rifle with him. He can understand and speak English, though he does so with a very thick accent. His body has several, large scars from the many battles he has had with dangerous wildlife, including Ruzkar. His eyes are blue.

Personality: Boris’ deep respect for nature and animals prevents him from killing just any animal; he must have a good reason to do so. He is particularly admirative of the massive bear Ruzkar, who he has tussled to a standstill. The two have a deep respect and understanding for each other, a bond between two hunters of different species.

Info: Boris is a hunter tasked with conservation duties, including preventing the spreading of diseases such as anthrax and keeping the animal populations in check. He lives alone in the wilds with his wife Anita in a small wooden lodge near the ruins of Marlore.

Powers and Abilities:
- Woodsman: Boris is a skilled tracker and hunter, possessing a wide knowledge of the outdoor world and animal and plant life.
- Rifle: Boris carries a custom .375 rifle to hunt large game with. Made for hunting large game, it possesses immense stopping power, capable of literally stopping charging grizzly bears dead in their tracks.
- A Gun and a Knife: Alongside his rifle, Boris carries with him a .44 handgun as well as a hunting knife for self-defense purposes.
- Mother Russia Makes You Beeg and Stronk: Not called “Boris The Bear” merely for his large and hairy build, Boris is called so for his unbelievable physical strength. He is known to be able to tussle with bears bare-handed and come out on top.

Trivia:
- Boris’ rifle closely resembles the Marlin 1895, though its stopping power is more akin to the .375 Ruger Hawkeye.

Name: Hundak

Height: 8 feet
Weight: 2000 pounds

Description: Hundak is a burly, horned creature typically seen carrying a keg over his shoulder. His fur is light brown and his horns blue. He has a furry, braided beard, which he can often absent-mindedly be seen fiddling with. He wears a green flannel kilt and wields a throwing axe.



Personality: Fairly laidback, though he takes threats seriously. He loves a good drink and enjoys traveling.

Info: A mighty warrior who travels around the world in search of new sights to see and new drinks to taste.

Powers and Abilities:
- Immunity: Hundak’s body, through the sheer number of new foods and drinks he introduces to it, has steeled itself against foreign and harmful substances, lending him a high tolerance to poisons and toxins.
- Keg Smash: The keg carried by Hundak is fairly solid, allowing him to use it as a makeshift bludgeon, much like a wooden wrecking ball.
- Fire Breath: The liquid found in Hundak’s keg is highly flammable; if he spits it out, he can spew jets of flames from his maw. He is not hurt by the flames himself, thanks to his insulating fur and fat.
- Brawler: Hundak is a very melee-oriented fighter; a wall of muscle and a skilled brawler, he is dangerous to go against unprepared.
- Flame Retardant: Not only protecting him against harsh colds, Hundak’s fur and fat also help absorb physical blows and insulate him against flames.
- Hundak’s axe can be thrown very far; the spinning movement it makes when flung helps it build momentum to carve into enemies more easily.

Theme Song: "Born to the Fight"