Introduction

This land is cold, and so are the men who live here. This land is my home, it has given me everything, yet it has given me nothing. I am a champion of my people; I have never bought my own drink since becoming a man. The people here respect me, and also fear me.
I am Lord Duatr, Lord of Norway, and Champion of the Berserkers. I serve my king as loyal protector, and personal advisor. As Romans in Constantinople would say, I am his Achilles. I have known Olaf, King of the Norse for many years. I helped him forge this kingdom from the pretty warlords who once held power over men. Having saved his life countless times in combat, the king is forever indebted to me. This is the reason why I am the Lord of Norway. The people of this kingdom love me, because many do not fully embrace Christianity. I have to, because of my position, but most know that it is an embrace in name only, for I do not practice this religion. One of the freedoms that have been granted to me in secret is the ability of worship the old gods. These are the gods of our people, not this weak god of the Europeans. Alas I digress…

The Kingdom is in the smallest it has ever been. Once the people our lands owned a major portion our Europe. Our people had lands in Normandy, the Land of the Steppes, Sicily, and the British Isles. Many of those countrymen turned their backs on us. They broke away and now have their own petty kingdoms. As a result our once great but loosely connected empire is a shadow of what it once was. The king and I rule over the lands of the Norse, but not much else. Our only other possession is the lands of Orkneyjar and Caithness, a small trading post in the north of the British Isles. We still have one of the largest fleets, but our military is substandard to both the other people of Scandinavia and the kingdoms of mainland Europe. We will have to rebuild our military, and also use cunning diplomacy to survive.

I intend to write the history of our kingdom so that one day people will be able to look back and remember our greatness. I will try as my duty permits to recount every year in this journal. If I am to perish the journal will be passed on to the next champion, and this task will be his to complete.