Character Portraits - Estrid (Patreon)

Everyone's favorite (because so far she is the only) Viking. Even though it hasn't been that long, I cannot even remember how Estrid came to be. I know I got the idea for some drama with someone not named King Brennus or Queen Avila coming from a foreign land into Caudium unexpectedly. From there, maybe I lost a bet with RJK or something, and thus we got a Viking princess from what is now modern day Sweden.

Her model is…uh…Estrid, I'm sorry. It is not one of my best. She is a bit difficult to work with. I knew I wanted her tall and a bit bigger than average (though not at all fat, as she would be in fantastic shape). Unfortunately, I created her character right before I really got my character creation process nailed down to minimize posing and expression issues. Additionally, the skin I picked for her, while the right tone, had a lot of texture map issues. That is getting fixed with Chapter 7, but Estrid is one of the main reasons I have expression presets for all main characters now. Way too easy to make her face look really weird or not properly convey the emotion you want.

Estrid's story is just getting started, but there are a few things we can discuss about her. She grew up in a culture very different from Caudium's. Princess Aelinia might like certain aspects of that culture (and not enjoy others). Caudium is very male centric with little place for women. Estrid enjoys great freedom and responsibility. She is expected to contribute and might even take over for her father as leader, after he dies.

A little quirk in our alternate history universe here. Estrid's father is "King of the Danes," but, as I mentioned, Estrid is from a town in what is modern-day Sweden. So, uh, is Roy that bad at geography? No, at least not in this case. In our alternate history, what would now be the people of Sweden conquered much of Scandinavia, including the Danish kingdom. They took the title King of the Danes as the Danish Kingdom had a lot of contact with most of Europe. It was a powerful kingdom before it was conquered.

As can be expected, Estrid is quite skilled in battle. In her warrior culture, it is everyone's duty to not just protect but go on the offensive for new territory and wealth. Caudium's military service still draws heavily from the under-privileged and conquered peoples. It has been centuries since Caudium had wealthy people serve in military positions. This is a culture shock for Estrid for sure.

You'll learn more about Estrid's personality as the story progresses, but she has a soft side beyond her tough exterior. In fact, you'll find out she has some very big fears. She views marriage as something inevitable for her, but, unlike say Kaylan, she is not seeking it out.

Now let's talk about the proposed marriage alliance between the two kingdoms. Estrid's father had attempted multiple times to correspond with King Aricellus to arrange this. With no response to any of these attempts, he decided to take the risk to send his daughter, along with some guards for her, to request it in person. It was a bold move, but definitely befits her father's risk-taking personality. With this alliance, the two kingdoms could crush King Brennus between them, and then turn their attention to another rising kingdom. That kingdom won't be mentioned for now, as it may play a key part in our late story.

Estrid did not wish to go, but her love for her father and sense of duty made her acquiesce. With our wonderfully modern times, it is easy to forget how long travel was in those days. A fun site I found that details journeys from Rome to other cities in the empire helps give you an idea. So long that I'm going to have to get creative once we start going on adventures. Maybe Cronut gets you a car and some gas? This means that Estrid spent quite awhile coming to Caudium. She is anxious to either return home safely (a long return trip) or get word to her father that she will be staying to get married (awhile even for that).

As far as the future for Estrid, it is going to get interesting. We get some more time with her in Chapter 7, but King Aricellus seems determined to not make a quick decision here. He has Estrid in his custody, so he does have that advantage. Since she is so new, I want to leave it at that. Her story is going to take awhile to play out, and it will have a significant impact on the overall story too.