Pipo of Alfuna

Early Years
Pipo was born in a settlement near Ustokol before it was purchased by kid ruler AC0N for the nation of Skjoldrbrodir. Pipo was very religious, and would study the Nostikur gods regularly. His parents were minor nobles; his dad was a brewer and shaman who was the son of a dwarf and a human, and although Pipo did not know much about his mother (left at a young age) she was rumored to be a descendant of an old Valkyrie-Elven bloodline, but his father was quick to dismiss those claims. he had 2 older brothers, although he is currently unsure about their whereabouts. Pipo always hung out at his uncle's house with his cousin, Breadstic, and they would discuss all the cool new military trends like gunpowder, siege engines, and plate armor. Pipo married at the age of 25, although it didn't last very long and they separated 2 years later and she moved to a far off world, beyond the borders of Rathnir. When Pipo turned 28, his father sent him to study in Ustokol, which is where he started his new life serving the great nation of Skjoldrbrodir.

Family
Growing up, Pipo of Alfuna did not know much about his family. He had a Dwarven-Valdic dad, but his mother left him when he was 5. Pipo's dad always seemed very secretive about his mother. He would always ignore Pipo's questions and inquiries about her. The only thing Pipo knew about his mother was that she was a very good story teller, and often told Pipo about great conquests and expeditions. Pipo's 2 brothers, Radzaik and Hanush, set out on some adventure of sorts when Pipo left to Ustokol.

Life in Rathnir
When Pipo arrived at Ustokol, it was a dark and rainy day. He was greeted by Eazy8, Grassel (Grassioso), and AC0N. They were in gear and told Pipo they would show him around in the morning. At dawn, AC0N toured Pipo around Ustokol. He could hear the waves crashing, the sound of the animals, and clinks of beer and mead in the tavern. Pipo chose one of the houses by the docks. It was an old forge which wasn't being used anymore. After some cleanup, Pipo made a small but cozy living space for himself. He enlisted in the army as a Himthiki soldier and trained hard for the upcoming war with Nova Roma. One day, when Pipo was walking around Ustokol, he came across a small doorway leading to a big brewing facility underground. It was filled with huge wooden barrels which had drinks inside them. Pipo remembered the time when he used to visit his dad in the brewery. Inside the brewery, he met the main brewer in Skjoldrbrodir, Anon (AnontheMoose). Anon told him all about brewing, and taught him how to brew different drinks like wine, mead, and beer. Pipo was very intrigued by brewing, so he continued to brew drinks as Anon's apprentice. With the war with Nova Roma over, Pipo was able to shift his focus to more civilian matters. He started figuring out recipes and selling drinks to supply the locally famous Ikea Pub, run by Gustavus Villhorn (BalloonDwarf715). He even opened a restaurant chain called "On the Rocks", which served Nova Roman and Valdic food and drinks. As life in Rathnir went on, it started to get repetitive. Little did Pipo know, opportunity, land, and fame was right around the corner.

Life in Eldham
Pipo was talking with his friend Zanogre about comically large spiders, when he was summoned to the court of High Jarl AC0N. Pipo had asked questions about the new land, and he got a gut feeling that this meeting held relatively high importance. AC0N told Pipo that he needed him to find suitable land on Eldham (New Enfys at the time) for a Skjoldrbrodir colony. He would make Pipo a Jarl of Skjoldrbrodir, with a Jarldom in the new Skjoldrbrodir Eldham land. Pipo joyously accepted this proposition, and set off on a long journey with Grassel (Grassioso), AC0N, and his thane, Sir Breadstic of the Pot (tasty_breadstic), to scout the lands of Eldham for Skjoldrbrodir to grow and prosper on this new virgin land. Meanwhile at the royal table, many names were offered up. Balgard, Halendishald, Gudelandet, Flodhestbjerg. Even "Switzerland" made it into the choices. But non of these names really hit the nail on the head for Pipo. One day, deep in thought at his chambers in a Skjolder Eldham Expeditionary Camp, he was writing away at night, in search of different names for his city. He kept looking through the sketches AC0N and Grassel had given him full of different spots to build, trying to reference their landscape to the name. But Pipo just couldn't place it. It was here he saw a grey rock on the ground. A relatively big one, covered in dirt and grass. It reminded him of a story his mother told him, of a big huge stone golem who rested in eternal slumber, providing Valdic settlers with a foundation to build their city. "Steinborg" Pipo thought. It kept ringing in his ears. He wrote it down with the other final contestants. A vote was cast the next day, then it came back as an almost unanimous vote for "Steinborg". With the money to maintain the city and the resources to build, the plan was in full swing. Grassel built a small tower with some well organized farms around it. We started carving out mountains, building houses, and taking in new citizens. It was a dream come true for Pipo. As the other Skjoldrbrodir Jarls started building cities of their own on Edlham, we knew this was the start of a prosperous reign we could never have fully achieved on Rathnir.

Raiding and Pillaging
With the Jarl's life slowly becoming more boring over the years, Pipo wanted something more exciting and thrilling. After the death of one of his best friends, Grassel, he was a sad old man, grieving the death of his fallen comrade. Despite his Valdic roots, he had never gone on raids and conquests much. It was always the traditional wars and organized battles, and even those were very, very rare. When he was sitting in his great hall, sipping wine and listening to his courtier's and magnat's feedback and updates on their individual towns and the realm in general, when one of his envoys handed him a message coming all the way from the Madman's Crownlands region in the Jarldom of Holmguard (ruled by Eazy8). It was dusted with some snow. When Pipo opened it up, he saw it was from the Magnat of the town of Reykjarholl, governed by Bobito von Reykjarholl. It read:

"Dear friend and fellow Valdic,

''I am starting a company of Varangian guard and various mercenaries and raiders at Reykjarholl. That pesky drunk Fitzimamba told me you were looking for an adventure, and I was wondering if you would be willing to join me. When you have made your decision, send me a letter so I can inform you of our next expedition. I hope to meet you soon, and I am sure the men would be happy to welcome you into our ranks.''

-Bobitu von Reykjarholl, Magnat of Reykjarholl, Skjoldrbrodir"

After reading this letter, Pipo sailed to Madman's Crownlands where he would join the company of Varangians in Reykjarholl, and finally quench his thirst for glory, fame, wealth, and blood.