| “ | With this hand I tore down the statues of Aulcus. Now I kill little men, in little wars. | ” |
— Fenris the Feared at the duel with the Bloody-Nine
| ||
Fenris the Feared is the champion of Bethod, King of the Northmen, and an unstoppable giant.
Appearance[]
Fenris is truly a giant of a man, over seven feet tall, bigger even than Tul Duru Thunderhead, with a body that bulges with cords of muscle. His face is in constant, twisted, sneering motion.
The whole left side of his body, from bald head to toe, is covered in tiny crabby blue writing, even his eyelid and lips. In battle, he wears great plates of black armour on one half of him; the blue half left bare, apart from the straps that hold the armour on. He uses no weapon, relying solely on his brute strength. There is a sickly horror that seems to wash out from him, which makes people feel weak and terribly afraid.
Powers[]
Half of his body is covered with magic runes in the language of Demons. That flesh is of The Other Side, and cannot be harmed; he can even recover from losing an arm. He is also thousands of years old, since he served Glustrod in the Old Time, so not only is he unstoppable, but immortal.
History[]
It is said again and again that the Feared is no man, he’s something else, probably at least a Devil-Blood. He goes back thousands to the Old Time, when Glustrod was his master. Glustrod gathered an army of Devil-Bloods including Fenris, for his war against Juvens, and the capture of Aulcus. It was he that wrote the signs upon the Feared’s skin; signs in the Old Tongue, the language of Demons.
Thousands of years later, after bad blood developed between Bethod and his old champion, Logen Ninefingers, the Feared became his new champion. It is rumoured that the Feared was dug out from under a hill by Bethod's sorceress, Caurib[1]. Fenris defeated a number of men in duels in the circle for Bethod, including Old Man Yawl.
The Blade Itself[]
Bethod sends Fenris the Feared and his translator White-Eye Hansul to The Union as his emissary to offer a peace proposal with The North. Lord Chamberlain Hoff grant them an audience with King Guslav himself, in the Open Council.
In the Open Council, the Northmen delegation are ushered in. Only then do they give the full terms of their offer, peace only in return for the territory of Angland. As the room erupts, Fenris the Feared removes his cloak, revealing his massive frame and tattoos covering half his body. He stabs himself in the arm with a dagger to show he feels no pain. And then challenges anyone in the Union to a duel for Angland in the northern tradition. Despite Jezal accidentally accepting Hoff refuses outright, dismissing the Northmen who leave issuing threats. Soon The Union is at war as the First Northern War begins.
Before They Are Hanged[]
More and more Northmen begin to abandon Bethod, to join Rudd Threetrees' rebels. They don’t like Bethod's witch, nor his allies from beyond the Crinna, his alliance with the Shanka, and worst of all, his champion Fenris The Feared.
In the battle at Dunbrec, Threetrees’ crew are ordered to high flank of Poulder’s line, supposedly the ‘safest place’. However Bethod lays on some surprises, first the Shanka attack, and then Fenris the Feared, dressed in his black armour. Threetrees’ voice is the only thing that stops the Northmen running. After shooting him with arrows doesn’t stop him, Threetrees orders the charge. During the mêlée, Threetrees finds himself facing the Feared alone. The old warrior gives it his best, but the Feared crunches him to the turf, mortally wounded. Eventually, the Feared is routed by Tul, Dow and Shivers, leaving behind him a devastated crew, its leader dead.
Last Argument of Kings[]
Eventually, Bethod is defeated in the High Places, and takes refuge in Carleon. With no time to put siege to the fortress, Logen Ninefingers offers a duel in the circle. Before the duel, Ninefingers asks the Spirits for advice on fighting the Feared. They tell him about his past with Glustrod, but even they don't think he can win.
On the day of the duel, the Feared wins the spin of the shield, and much to Logen’s relief chooses his own armour, rather than the Maker's sword he had brought. As the fight begins, Ninefingers holds his own despite the Feared’s immense size, but the monster’s blue side is invulnerable. Even when Logen cuts off his blue arm, the Feared picks it up and reattaches it. Ninefingers starts to get his arse kicked. At one point, he manages to push the Feared into the surrounding men, and Collem West sneakily loosens a strap on the Feared’s armour during a scrum. The fight seems to turn in Logen’s favour, when the Bloody-Nine emerges, until finally the Feared gets him in a bear hug. Despite all of the Bloody-Nine rage, the Feared begins to crush him.
Meanwhile, Dogman, Grim and Black Dow infiltrate the Carleon, and kill the sorceress Caurib, who has been using her powers to fill the Feared with strength. Outside, the Feared’s immense strength immediately weakens with Caurib’s death. The Bloody-Nine breaks his hold and gets an arm loose enough to stab the giant’s side. The Feared struggles, but the Bloody-Nine relentlessly presses his sword on, slowly through the Feared’s body, past the blue side and into the vulnerable flesh beyond. Fenris the Feared topples over dead.
Illustrations[]
References[]
- ↑ The Blade Itself, Part I, Tea and Vengeance