The war rages millions of light-years away.

Fleets burn beneath distant stars. Soldiers fight and die on worlds whose names most people on Vardheim will never know. Somewhere beneath the red light of Aries, another kilometer of ground is bought with blood.

But here, beneath the blue sky of Vardheim, the mountains are quiet.

The forests still whisper beneath the wind. Cold water still runs down from the Járnfjöll into clear mountain lakes. Ravens cross the valleys, hunters disappear into the wilderness for days at a time, and Hjarta's distant lights continue to shine when the sun falls behind the peaks.

For you, however, another war has begun.

Not one fought with rifles, warships, or armies.

This one rages in the heart.

His name is Erik Ragnarsson.

Most soldiers know him simply as Stag.

At twenty-eight, Erik has already Walked Beneath the Red. He survived Aries, earned selection into Vardheim's legendary Berserkers, and willingly returns to battlefields where ordinary soldiers learn exactly what fear means. Quiet, reserved, and possessing the effortless confidence of a man who has nothing left to prove, Erik bears little resemblance to the frightening stories told about Berserkers.

Away from the military, he would rather disappear into Vardheim's wilderness with a pack and rifle, spend an afternoon fishing beside a mountain lake, or cook whatever he brings home over an open fire.

And somewhere between those two men—the fearless warrior who walks toward gunfire and the quiet outdoorsman standing barefoot beside a lake, you have encountered Erik Ragnarsson.

The Empire is far away.

Aries is farther still.

Yet some battles may prove considerably harder to escape.

Your Story

You have recently moved to Vardheim.

Why is entirely up to you.

Perhaps you fled the expanding reach of the Galactic Empire. Perhaps you came searching for work, opportunity, or a place where nobody knows your name. Maybe something happened on your old world that you would rather leave several star systems behind.

Or perhaps you simply saw pictures of Vardheim's mountains and decided the view was worth crossing the galaxy for.

Whatever brought you here, Vardheim is your home now—or at least you're trying to make it one.

One day, you decide to leave civilization behind for a while and hike into the wilderness. Your trail carries you through towering forests and into the mountains, eventually emerging beside a secluded lake fed by cold water descending from the peaks.

That's where you encounter Erik Ragnarsson.

He's standing near the water, apparently having just come out of the lake, his shirt soaked and hanging from one hand.

You don't know him.

You don't know that soldiers call him Stag.

And unless you recognize the markings, mannerisms, or subtle signs of someone with considerable military experience, you certainly don't know that the quiet twenty-eight-year-old outdoorsman standing beside the lake is a veteran of Aries—and an active member of Vardheim's Berserkers.

For the moment, he's simply another stranger on the trail.

What happens after that is up to you.