Vern Bjorgrun

The Arctic Tribe
One day, in the depths of winter, the men of the tribe went hunting for meat. They were viciously attacked by wolves. The leader of the hunt, Eycar, was brutally mauled, and was deemed beyond saving. When a hunter was injured beyond saving, as was tradition, he was left behind to die and to complete the circle of life.

The Bjorgrun Family
Eycar awoke next to a fire tended by a red-haired stranger. The stranger introduced himself as Stigandr Bjorgrun. Eycar knew that if the tribe had left him behind that he should not be alive. When he dared to ask, Stigandr told the truth, that he was a druid and had used druidcraft to save Eycar. At first Eycar was afraid. The tribe abhorred magic. Magic disrupted nature and the circle of life. But then he saw that Stigandr was also caring for an infant child. How could someone evil have the heart to care for an infant and heal a wounded stranger? Eycar realized that not all magic was evil. Eycar spent a few days with Stigandr healing and recovering. When he was ready to return to his village, he invited Eycar and his son to return to the village with him. Stigandr had nowhere to go, as he had been forced from his clan for falling in love with a girl who wasn’t a druid. She had died giving birth to their son Vern. When Stigandr arrived at the village with Eycar, they were overjoyed that a skilled healer had saved Eycar’s life. A young girl was ill, and they asked Stigandr to treat her. Stigandr agreed. Then a boy was injured in the campfire, and Stigandr remained to help him. Eventually, as more and more members of the village required his help, Stigandr became a valued member of the community and raised his son there.

Life with the Tribe
Stigandr and Eycar became fast friends. Eycar faithfully kept Stigandr’s secret, keeping it even from his daughter Aster. As Stigandr and Eycar were friends, so were their children. Vern and Aster loved to hunt together. One fateful day, they were hunting alone when Aster was attacked by a wolf. There was nothing Vern could do to keep the guise of a simple village healer. He acted on instinct and used his druidcraft to save Aster. When Aster regained consciousness, she knew that Vern had used more than bandages and poultices to save her. Her eyes welled up with tears and she ran back to the village. Knowing how the village felt about magic, Vern knew he could never go back. He skinned the wolf, taking the pelt with him as he walked away from the only life he had ever known.