Wolf Priest Fengeir Starfang

[Frontline989]

Thought some would be interested in the background fluff of my new Wolf Priest HQ. He's a Ulrik model but I didn't want to use the Ulrik stats. Still in the process of painting him.

 

Wolf Priest Fengeir Starfang

 

Fengeir's youth was spent in an almost constant state of bloodlust and rage as he could find no sense of peace with the world around him. He had horrible nightmares of slaughter and seeing his family torn to pieces from a multitude of obscured horrors. When he took to battle his own warriors gave him a wide berth as he could often not distinguish friend from foe. Though unquestionably a great warrior his troubled mind prevented him from becomming a chieftian among his people as he could often not contain his rage even when no threat was at hand. All the tribe guessed that Fengeir would meet his end in a glorious battle but even then never finding peace. His name remembered but his legacy unfulfilled.

 

During the time of fire and water his tribe found themselves once more looking for a new place to settle. Fengeir took a small group with him with a rumor that one of the nearby tribes had found a stable bit of earth and that as their blood enemies they would kill them and take it for themselves. Fengeir set out with his scouts but along the way the storms threw their boats off course and they smashed against the rocks, killing all but brave Fengeir. Laying on the tumultuous shores and expecting death to take him, either from the crashing tides or a passing scavenger. The last thing he saw before he passed out was a comet streaking across the sky.

 

When he awoke he was healed from all his wounds but he found himself in an odd place. A great hall, filled with tapestrys and weaponry of kinds completely unseen to him before. Standing over his bed was a fearsome warrior in black armor with a horrifying wolf skull helmet. He introduced himself as Ulrik and told him he was to be a son of Russ.

 

Once his initiation and Test of Morkai was complete a new Wolf Priest stood where once had been nothing but rage and hate in the form of a man. The changes to Fengeir were startling, something about his change to a Space Wolf had soothed the ache in his soul and he now had zealous dedication to his new life. The awesome brutality of his mortal days stayed with him but his personality had been almost completely changed. It was said that Grimnar himself commented during one of his famed feasts that Fengeir was second only to Ulrik himself in his unrelenting fervor. Ulrik has said that Fengeir has become one of his greatest pupils.

 

The Great Wolf thought that Fengeir's ferocity would be best utilized in the service of Wolf Lord Bran Redmaw and to this date he has fought alongside Bran's Company. Believing that the comet was a sign of some future importance he has taken the name Starfang and believes that the comet has something to do with his destiny. He takes very seriously any rumors of portents and prophesy and studys the stars for deeper meaning. That he is a fearsome fighter is unquestioned but what has gone almost unnoticed is his ability to lead and inspire the troops he is charged with mentoring. He knows now that blind rage is not enough and that what truly matters is the Son's of Russ continue to live up to the ideals of their father.

[hendrik]

well written although i'm not sure one can immediatly become a wolf priest; i always figured they were drawn from the grey hunters. perhaps one of the rune priests can shed some light on this?

[Stormshrug]

There was something in one of the later Ragnar novels about an initiate going straight into the priesthood, but frankly, I found it kind of unbelievable there, too, and would lean towards that not being canonical, along with pretty much the entirety of the second Ragnar trilogy. They weren't bad reads, but there were a number of things that seemed out of place about them.

[Frontline989]

Thats a good point, the book's a bit unclear so I'd like to hear what others think. No big problem to adjust the fluff if thats the case.

[Stormshrug]

Serving for a decade or five in the Blood Claws and Grey Hunters is pretty standard progression, I think, though advancement is rather informal throughout the Space Wolves as I understand it, and has more to do with achievement than seniority. Of course it's relatively rare for people to be promoted too substantially all at once.

 

Then again, I did once battlefield promote a Blood Claw who brought down a Wraithlord in what ended up as a 1v1 battle after his squad died to the ranks of the Wolf Guard, where he remains today. I suspect most wolf players have a bit of a soft spot for insane acts of heroism in the face of overwhelming odds.

 

-Stormshrug

[Beef]

great story, There is nothing official about how a SW becomes a wolf priest, Ulrick's story in the codex shows that if a SW shows enough ferver or skill in battle they can be inducted to become a wolf priest. there is no set age limit. The wolf priest in the Ragnar book (the young one) was younger than ragnar (who himself is very young for a wolf lord)

[Stormshrug]

The wolf priest in the Ragnar book (the young one) was younger than ragnar (who himself is very young for a wolf lord)

 

Yeah, and Ragnar wasn't even a Wolf Lord yet in that book. He was still a Blood Claw at that point (technically part of the Wolfblade, but he never officially made Grey Hunter). This is on top of the fact that said Wolf Priest was totally untested in combat, with less battlefield experience than Ragnar.

 

I dunno, personally, that seemed a little improbable. Previous books had implied that even the Rune Priests (who presumably would want to make sure dangerously psychic individuals were out of the rank and file if only to protect everybody) waited a while to recruit, as one of Ragnar's packmates was implied to be a bit touched by the warp (though he died before anything came of it).

 

I would buy that maybe the Wolf Priests grab promising recruits and induct them as "Initiate Wolf Priests" or something of the like, but considering the reverence given to Wolf Priests and the usual habits of the Space Wolves, you'd think they'd have to earn their position on the battlefield. Heck, Ulrik the Slayer turned down becoming a Wolf Lord to become a Wolf Priest, implying that while it is a subordinate position, it's one of equal prestige.

 

That's just my take on that issue in the books, though. The lore is rather open-ended about the matter more generally.

 

-Stormshrug