Pantheon: Swedish/Scandinavian
Class: Hero
Level: Top Tier
Lineage: Mortal
Alignment: Good
Linked with: Hrothgar, Grendel, Wiglaf
For years now, the great hall of Heorot had bustled by day but been deserted by night. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, had been forced to abandon his mighty castle once darkness fell, as the inhuman monster Grendel, who lived in the nearby swamps, had made it his feeding and hunting ground. Champions from all over the land had come to do battle with the creature, and their bones littered his lair, testament to his invulnerability, and his cruelty. Word of the king's plight reached as far as Sweden, where a young man who was beginning to make a name for himself set sail and arrived on the shores of Denmark, requesting leave from Hrothgar to be the one to destroy Grendel. Although he was young, Beowulf had a certain determination in his eyes, and the king, knowing him as he was the son of one of his friends, and certainly desperate to rid his land of this evil, readily agreed, though he held little hope that this young Swede would prevail where all his greatest knights and heroes from Denmark had failed.
What is more, Beowulf swore that he would use no weapon against the creature, that he would face him on his own terms, without armour. He knew, as did all, that Grendel's scaly skin was able to deflect even the sharpest blade, and that no armour could stand against his marauding claws. As he and his men settled down for the night in the otherwise deserted hall, Grendel came calling as was his wont. Seizing one of Beowulf's men he tore him apart and ate him, but when he reached for Beowulf he encountered that for which the young man was famed in his own land: it was said that Beowulf's grip was so strong that not thirty men could unfasten it, and it was this that secured around Grendel's arm as they danced and fought and struggled through the night. Unable to break his grip, and realising he had been bested and was to die, Grendel frantically tried to pull away but only succeeded in escaping by leaving behind in the grip of his enemy his arm to the shoulder. With such a grievous wound, it was agreed when Hrothgar and his retinue returned in the morning, the creature could not survive and must surely die.
And die he did. But unbeknownst to anyone, Grendel was not alone in the swamp fastness in which he lurked and lived. His mother, almost as terrible as he, set out to avenge her son and fell upon the men of Denmark who, having celebrated long into the next morning, were drunk and drowsy and unprepared for a further attack, believing their enemy vanquished. Beowulf had by this time departed, laden down with gifts from the king, his quest over, his mission complete. But when King Hrothgar sent for him, and told him that his wisest counsellor and dearest friend had been taken by the fiend's mother, Beowulf swore to track her to her lair and put an end to her forever. Accompanied by the king and his men, they made their way to the dread swamp where Beowulf dove into the boiling, noxious lake under which Grendel's mother made her home.
As he swam down he was attacked by various marsh creatures, but fought them off until something huge gripped him and pulled him down, down towards the very seabed itself. There he was released and came face to face with the hideous Grendel mother. He fought her to the death, eventually taking her head off with a mighty sword he found there, but when the blood from the Grendel hit the metal of the sword it dissolved it entirely, leaving only the hilt. Returning to Hrothgar, Beowulf was again hailed as a hero and a friend, an ally and all but a son to the old king. He decided then that he must return to Sweden, and Hrothgar bade him farewell.
Beowulf performed many other acts of heroism during his life, ascending eventually to the throne of his people, but his life ended in one more magnificent feat of glory, courage and self-sacrifice. He had been ruling for fifty years by now, when the land was afflicted by the scourge of a terrible dragon. Enraged that its hoard of gold and jewels had been robbed, the dragon set out to punish all who lived in the surrounding area, and every day the land was laid further waste by his terrible fiery breath. Beowulf travelled to his lair with eleven handpicked men, and knowing that he could not defeat this enemy with his famous handgrip, he had a shield of iron made, that would stand against the dragon's breath. He knew though, being an old man at this point, that this would be his last battle.
And so it proved. Though he defeated and killed the dragon with the aid of his friend Wiglaf, the monster managed to seize him in its jaws and mortally wounded him. A short time later, relieved that he had once again saved his country from a predatory monster, Beowulf passed beyond the veil, but the tales of his deeds would live forever.