A Fate Inked in Blood

Bjorn, known to some as Bjorn Firehand, is Freya’s romantic interest, and he and Freya embody the archetype of the star-crossed lovers. Their love affair is forbidden because Freya is married to Bjorn’s father, and it is also potentially fated to end tragically. If anyone learns of their love, they could be killed. Bjorn is also Freya’s friend and archetypal ally. He helps her to face her challenges, and his loyalty and admiration reveal Freya’s worthiness as a hero. A third archetypal role Bjorn fulfills is that of the father-son conflict. This archetype is defined by tension between the two due to a separation during childhood that manifests when they meet again as men. Bjorn was in Nordeland for many years and was believed to be a captive of King Harald until three years ago. Now, Bjorn fights by his father’s side and makes a show of loyalty, but he also harbors a great deal of hidden resentment.

Bjorn’s physical appearance is an important aspect of his characterization. Freya calls him “alarmingly attractive” (8). He is tall and muscular, with “high cheekbones and chiseled lines” (8). He treats Freya with dignity, loyalty, and acceptance, revealing the quality of his character. As he tells her, “Nothing about you is ugly, Freya, least of all the scars you earned defending your honor and family” (73). This moment portrays him as a man of compassion and integrity. By the story’s climax, Bjorn learns to trust Freya as much as she trusts him. After he goes over a waterfall with her, Freya notes, “He’d willingly taken that plunge, trusted my magic would save us, believed we were strong enough to survive it” (380). The strength she refers to is the strength of their bond. Bjorn continues to stay by Freya’s side even as he sees her becoming more like the monster his mother saw in her visions. He tries to help her recognize those changes and urges her to change her relationship to The Tension Between Destiny and Autonomy. As a child of the gods himself, Bjorn’s character has parallels to Freya’s. The most significant one is how he’s been exploited for his abilities, developing the thematic look at Exploitation as a Means of Acquiring Power. However, Bjorn’s character is complex and intentionally ambiguous; he is vague about his past, and the novel’s subtext often suggests that he carries unknown depths. Bjorn’s motivation is similarly ambiguous, for although he declares his love for Freya, the revelation of his other betrayals throws doubt on the veracity of his claim. He lies to Freya about his mother being alive, his relationship to King Harald, and his loyalty to Nordeland, and Freya therefore wonders if he has lied about loving her, too.

Snorri is the chieftain—the jarl—of the Skaland territory in which the novel is set. He is the character who comes closest to being the story’s antagonist. As such, he can be viewed in the role of the shapeshifter archetype: a character who blurs the line between ally and enemy. When he first discovers that Freya is the shield maiden and recruits her to marry him and fight for him, he does so because of a prophecy claiming that the one who controls her destiny will unite and rule Skaland. At times, his reasons for desiring this goal appear ethical even if his methods are forceful. He believes that a united Skaland can better protect itself from external enemies, and that he will be a good and effective ruler. Based on this, Freya is willing to fight for him, but when her successes in battle show Snorri how much power he can gain, he becomes increasingly ambitious and reckless. When Freya questions the integrity of his motives, he becomes more of an enemy than an ally. As a political leader, Snorri also acts as a foil to Freya and the potential leader within her. As his ambition overshadows the sense of responsibility he once had for his people’s safety, Freya’s compassion and sense of duty are emphasized by contrast.

Because he is a skilled orator, Snorri’s ability to gain allegiance with his words reveals his skill at manipulation. Bjorn warns Freya that Snorri is “remarkably adept at twisting stories and myths so that they support his way of thinking” (72). Ironically, Snorri manages to mislead himself, too. Even though he knows that Freya is Unfated and understands that the prophecies about her are not guaranteed, he considers his connection with her to be his “promised destiny” (77) because the force of his desire is greater than the force of logic. However, Snorri’s relationship with Ylva adds depth to his character; although he was unfaithful to her once in the past, when Bjorn was conceived, he is unfailingly loyal to her in the present, causing Freya to question her unflattering assumptions about him. By contrast, Snorri’s proclaimed determination to rescue Bjorn from his captors throughout his childhood proves to be far less noble, for his efforts are a form of Exploitation as a Means of Acquiring Power. Snorri’s primary function in the narrative is to attempt to possess Freya because he must control her fate to make the prophecy come true for himself and his people.