Olaf Olafson

“

Olaf. A true norn. A hunter and a warrior like none other before or after him. He was the last of his great line, now only living in tales around the fire.

— Holgi

Olaf Olafson, seventh son of Olaf, was a renowned norn who, along with his fellow norn Jora, aided King Jalis Ironhammer's Deldrimor dwarves and various human heroes in the battle against the destroyers. In the present day, many modern norn consider Olafson to be one of the closest figures in norn society to have served in a prominent leadership position.^[1]

Biography[edit]

Early years[edit]

Olaf Olafson was a norn born as the seventh son of his father who was also named Olaf. As the seventh Olaf in his family line, he bore the name with great pride. As Olaf reached adulthood, he became a warrior, a sojourner, and a hunter who prayed to the Spirits of the Wild and was given the gift of transformation by Bear.^[2]

Like most norn, Olaf valued freedom and individuality, and continually sought to challenge himself; for him, there was no greater point in life than to hunt and master the creatures of the wilderness. A great lover of ale, he became the four-time champion of the Great Norn Alemoot in his later years, and his fame attracted younger norn to his homestead in Varajar Fells to hear stories of his mighty battles.

Olaf eventually fathered a daughter named Olrun Olafdottir. Olaf's wife perished to the wurm Ssissth, and he could not find any other woman whom he considered his equal to become his new mate.^[3] Olaf's pride for his family name was diminished because he only had a daughter as an heir instead of a son. As the last Olaf Olafson, seventh of that name in a direct line, he was aware that his deeds had to become legendary and worthy of skaalds, or his family's name might be forgotten forever among the norn.^[2]

Adventures in the north[edit]

In 1078 AE, Olaf came across a party that included the Deldrimor dwarf Ogden Stonehealer, the asura Vekk, and human heroes. Although he was initially amused by the party intending to enlist him to rally the norn as allies to fight against the invading destroyers, he was willing to hear them out after learning that the norn Jora vouched for them.

Before choosing to aid the party, Olaf, Olrun and their norn friends intended to test the party's strength in a brawl. However, the destroyers assaulted the two parties and forced them to fight together. After the invaders had been defeated, Olaf inquired about the nature of these new foes and learned what they were called and where they were coming from: the Central Transfer Chamber whose asura gate the destroyers had taken over to spread their forces into the Far Shiverpeaks. Olaf initially dismissed the destroyers as a minor annoyance despite the party trying to convince him of the threat until Jora managed to sway his mind by pointing out that the destroyers would make for a challenging hunt.

Olaf accompanied Jora and the rest of the party to the asura gate connecting to the Central Transfer Chamber and helped destroy the gate, thus slowing down the destroyers' invasion for a time. In the conversation that ensued, Olaf promised to spread the story of the battle to his fellow norn so they could decide whether to come hunt the destroyers with the party or not. When Ogden inquired if Olaf would gather an army, Olaf pointed out that norn needed no armies and acted as individuals much to Ogden's frustration. The norn did promise to send word to King Jalis Ironhammer of the dwarves about meeting the party near the Eye of the North so they could prepare to fight the destroyers in greater numbers.

During this time, Olaf attended the Great Norn Alemoot to defend his crown as the reigning champion. He was surprised and angered when he was bested by a human woman, and he wanted to challenge her to another feat of strength which involved defeating a rabid bear with only a club. After learning of the female hero's success in the hunt, Olaf became smitten with her and believed her to be his equal in legend and love. He intended to turn her into his mate whom he expected to give birth to a dozen healthy half-norn sons and clean up his cave retreat from the dire spiders infesting it. However, the female hero outplayed Olaf by slaying his wife's killer, the wurm Ssissth, by herself and thus turning her legend greater than Olaf and preventing a marriage between equals much to Olaf's annoyance.

Later that year, Olaf kept his word and appeared along with his daughter Olrun, Jora, Egil Fireteller and Sif Shadowhunter to assist the humans and their allies in the Battledepths as their forces prepared to take the fight to the destroyers amassing in the Central Transfer Chamber. Ogden voiced his disbelief at only seeing a handful of norn instead of a larger force of them, but the norn assured him that their numbers would more than suffice for the hunt. The norn took their place next to their new allies, and witnessed the Transformation of the Dwarves.

Olaf and his fellow norn helped fight through swarms of destroyers and claim the Central Transfer Chamber before they defended it against waves of destroyers alongside the asura, King Jalis's stone dwarves, and the Ebon Vanguard. Their bravery bought valuable time so the rest of the heroes could descend deeper into the depths to defeat the Great Destroyer, the champion controlling the swarm.

In the celebration following the Great Destroyer's demise, Olaf boasted to the other norn how he had taught the heroes how to fight. Egil was quick to call him out on coloring the story, however, and Olaf admitted it. He nevertheless praised the heroes as the only humans who had been as brave as norn and as good hunters as he was.

In 1079 AE, Olaf served in a ministerial role as the master of vows during the wedding of Gwen and Keiran Thackeray. He bound the pair together in marriage in the presence of several cheering humans and norn.

Later years[edit]

Olaf became interested in ancient norn and dwarven artifacts and added them into his collection.^[4]

He ended up owning one of the largest farmsteads in the greater Drizzlewood Coast area. His property served as a gathering place for much of the region's norn population. These gatherings often encompassed an excess of indulgences, including song, dance, and drink.

As Olafson gatherings rose in popularity amongst Drizzlewood Coast residents, a group of human settlers found themselves flocking to his farmstead as well. These gatherings, though attended for lighthearted pleasure at first, eventually manifested into a sort of peace summit between the two races.

During one of the gatherings, the human settlements gifted Olaf a sword as a token of appreciation. Various sources claim that Olaf enchanted the sword so that it would serve as the only functioning key for his hidden vault in the region. According to legend, Olaf placed his valuables in this vault as protection against the increasing number of looters and suitors in the area.

Though Olaf was a respected member of the norn community of Drizzlewood, his success was a source of jealousy at times. One specific incident involved norn farmer and former Olafson friend Ike Ikeson. Ikeson frequented several Olafson gatherings, even attending several dinners hosted by the Olafson family. However, after hearing rumors of Olaf hiding his valuables in an undisclosed vault, Ikeson's greed overtook him. He strategically attended Olafson's social events with the goal of siphoning clues about the treasure's whereabouts. After a neighbor informed Olaf that he had caught Ikeson trying to break into the barn housing his sword, Olaf alleviated the problem by stabbing Ikeson through the abdomen with it, thereby damaging their friendship.^[1]

Legacy[edit]

Olafson's famous gatherings, which attracted norn and humans alike, served as a strong foundation for peaceful norn/human relations well into the modern day.

Over the centuries following Olaf's death, his descendant Erik Mathison and treasure hunters alike searched for his rumored bounty in vain although they were able to gather various clues to the vault's potential location. The Pact Commander eventually found Olafson's enchanted sword-key and pieced the clues together to locate the hidden treasure vault in northern Drizzlewood Coast which contained valuables, among which were artifacts blessed by Otter.

Related achievements[edit]

Jormag Rising: Drizzlewood Historian — Find all hidden history books around Drizzlewood Coast. (1)
Jormag Rising: Olaf Olafson's Secret — Explore the entirety of Drizzlewood Coast, and find the map pieces to discover Olaf Olafson's treasure key. (5)
Jormag Rising: Treasure Sleuth — Search throughout the Drizzlewood Coast for treasure hunters that have clues that lead to Olaf Olafson's treasure. (6)