"The Northmen – the barbarian tribes allied to the Gods of Chaos – are ancient enemies of Bretonnia. During the Tenth Great Battle, Gilles le Breton and his Grail Companions came to the relief of the great port-city of L’Anguille, which was under attack from forces led by the formidable warrior-Lord Svengar of the Skaelings. The Companion Lord Marcus duelled with the giant Norscan warrior, defeating him and triggering a full-scale retreat of the Norse attackers, who hurriedly turned their ships around and sailed away northwards once more. A devastating victory was won that day, but nevertheless the ports of Bretonnia cast their eyes out to the ocean in constant vigilance even now."
- —The Tenth Great Battle of the Grail Companions.[3]
Svengar of the Skaelings faces Marcus of Bordeleaux.[1]
Svengar was the giant Chaos Lord and chieftain of the Norscan Skaeling tribe, who led a massive invasion against the lands of the Bretonni in ancient times.
History[]
"Across the Sea of Claws lies an ancient threat; pay it the utmost attention, lest it grows too near."
- —The legacy of Svengar.[3]
Svengar was a mighty warrior and Chaos Lord, as well as the chieftain of the Norscan Skaeling tribe, who led an army of Norscan Chaos Marauders and Chaos Warriors into the lands of Bretonnia millennia ago. Attacking from both land and sea, Svengar's army besieged the grand city of L'Anguille. As Duke Corduin and his warriors struggled to hold back the invaders, Gilles le Breton and the fabled Grail Companions arrived to aid the embattled city.[1]
As the battle raged night upon night, day upon day, the moons turned, and many thousands of Marauders and Chaos Warriors were cast wailing into the sea. But Svengar and his fierce warriors paid no regard. Orgulous and grim, he and his warriors would not give, for they sought glory or death in the eyes of their bloody Dark Gods.[1]
Eventually, Lord Marcus of Bordeleaux challenged Svengar to single combat, on the condition that the loser's forces would withdraw from the field. Svengar was too proud to refuse, for many brave Bretonni warriors had already met death under the barbarian's bloody hand.[1][2]
The giant warrior met Marcus upon the city's great lighthouse tower, and they fought in view of all Bretonnia. Throughout the night, the Chaos Gods appeared to intervene on Svengar's behalf, calling on the elements themselves to aid his twin warhammers. As dawn broke, Marcus found renewed strength and drove the Northman back. Finally, the Grail Knight opened his foe's guard, and struck Svengar with a blow of such might that his body was cleaved in two, falling from the lighthouse to land in twain upon the rocks below.[1][2]
The Norscans were a savage but honourable race of warriors, and had grown to respect the warrior skills of the Bretonnian Lords. After Svengar's death, the surviving Northmen returned to their longships as promised, before sailing away from L'Anguille in defeat.[1][2]