the Shieldmaiden
Honorable Warrior - Slew Husband in a Fair Duel
This companion hails from Sturgia. An .XML file calls this wanderer Yarka. If this is canon, his full name would be Yarka the Shieldmaiden. Read more below ↓
Companion Story
Ever since a child she wanted to be a warrior, she trained with the village boys and old warriors. In Sturgia, a daughter who wishes to take up a sword can be seen as a good thing some do not see it that way, it can be seen as shameful - her father was the latter. Later on in life her family found her a groom - she agreed but upon first meeting they detested each other.
At a marketplace he insulted her, so she did so back and he hit her so she drew her knife and he his. She won. In Sturgia, fights and even murders like these can be legal if done in a fair duel.
(According to encyclopediaofukraine.com: Dueling was known to some extent in Kyivan Rus’. It was considered to be a trial decided by God and was used to prove guilt or innocence. For example, according to Povist’ vremennykh lit, Rus’ prince Mstyslav Volodymyrovych killed the Kasogian khan Rededia in a duel in 1022. The combatants had to be equal in physical strength. Women could use a proxy. [...])
The elders judged her duel fair and acquitted her of murder but excluded her from the inheritance. She could not return to her father's home and so she went off to live as a shieldmaiden as she always wanted - though, she realized, one cannot do this without family or land. And so she's a shield for hire.
(The companions_strings.XML file has this character as well and their story is noticeably different. Read more below ↓)
In Summary
I am a warrior. A shield-maiden, as the Nords say. It is not uncommon in the northern lands. Perhaps you have met some of us before.
Digging in the Files
| Source | Text |
| companions_strings.XML | <!-- companion #12, Yarka - shieldmaiden who slew her husband in a duel, as she was denied divorce - USED --> |
| companions_strings.XML [FULL LOG] | <!-- companion #12, Yarka - shieldmaiden who slew her husband in a duel, as she was denied divorce - USED --> <string id="str_npc_intro.13" text="{=8ya4JQyc}Greetings, stranger. You must be a stranger here, for few born here would speak to me." /> <string id="str_npc_intro_response_1.13" text="{=lDVo9y0g}And why is that? What's your story?" /> <string id="str_npc_intro_response_2.13" text="{=dZFO1esU}They must know something I do not. Good day, my lady." /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_a.13" text="{=05P003ev}When I was a girl, I chose to be a shieldmaiden, and accompanied my brothers on their raids. When I came of age, I was pursued by one of the finest warriors in our valley. All the girls dreamed of marrying him. I agreed to marry him on condition that he never tried to prevent me from going to war, and this pledge he made. " /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_b.13" text="{=ff0uDowD}Soon into our marriage he lost his ardor for me, and began to regret his pledge. When I sought to go raiding, he scowled and demanded that I stay home and give him children. He became jealous. When I cursed him back, he struck me with the flat of his sword. One day, in the marketplace, before all the people of our village, he accused me of lying with anyone who crossed my path, man or woman. I struck him. By the laws of our people he had not given me any grounds for divorce, so I demanded a fight to the death instead." /> <string id="str_npc_interrupt_1.13" text="{=9HTt6P0U}That is one solution to a bad marriage. Did you go through with this plan?" /> <string id="str_npc_interrupt_2.13" text="{=jxZSkF76}You dueled your husband? Heavens avert all evil. I have heard enough." /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_d.13" text="{=k767XKYO}My family begged me not to. So did most others.. But the elders said that, while there was no precedent for husband and wife to duel, there was nothing in the law to stop it. I felt such rage. It was though there was another person, a demon, inhabiting my body in my place. I turned down all offers of mediation and demanded that the fight go forward." /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_d.13" text="{=yczuEk0C} He fought to kill, but I was faster, and I slew him. I feel no regret. Let any man who imagines he can treat a shieldmaiden like chattel consider his fate." /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_response_1.13" text="{=5Y5mxebR}Well, it sounds like you can fight, at least. Do you need employment?" /> <string id="str_npc_backstory_response_2.13" text="{=0b8vP1ba}You soiled the sacred tradition of marriage! You soiled it with blood!" /> <string id="str_npc_signup_2.13" text="{=4m5w7HIP}If you have a company-in-arms, and you vow to honor your word and your debts, I am willing to serve in it. " /> <string id="str_npc_signup_response_1.13" text="{=zsXbMbnc}I have one, and I can do that." /> <string id="str_npc_signup_response_2.13" text="{=QQN2906x}Let me think about this a bit." /> <string id="str_npc_payment.13" text="{=s0Yanm4a}Very good. I would ask for {NPCPAYMENT}{GOLD_ICON} up front. I kill those who cheat me, and then afterwards it can be hard to collect payment." /> |
| wanderer_strings.XML [FULL In-Game LOG] | <!-- shield maiden --> <string id="prebackstory.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=rKeqsRyj}I'll tell you my tale. But I will warn you in advance: It is of no concern to me whether you approve or disapprove of what I did." /> <string id="backstory_a.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=o6ugLOZi}I came from a good family, with much land. Since I was a girl, I wished to be a shield-maiden. I practiced fighting with the village boys and the old warriors. But it is a strange thing - while some families in our lands take pride in a daughter who takes up arms, others accord it a great shame, and my father was of the latter type." /> <string id="backstory_b.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=R2haBQK7}I had no special desire to be married but my family found me a groom anyway. I consented, but my husband and I detested each other from the first. Once he insulted me in the marketplace, I cursed his manhood, he struck me, and I pulled a knife and he pulled his. I won." /> <string id="backstory_c.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=SfmWAuv3}The elders sat in judgment on our case. As it turned out, they had plenty of precedent. They accorded our fight a fair duel, and thus I was innocent of murder. On the other hand, I was excluded from his inheritance. I suppose that was fair, although I would have enjoyed wearing his jewels and riding his horse in front of his family." /> <string id="response_1.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=DhQ7lgNr}Indeed. No doubt such traditions encourages husbands to behave better than they might do otherwise." /> <string id="response_2.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=tbbQ3PZH}You slew your husband in a duel? Get away!" /> <string id="backstory_d.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=5mUCH99p}Suffice to say, I could not return to my father's house. I went on my way, happy to live the life of a warrior I had always dreamed of living. But soon I found out - the tales I loved as a girl, of shield-maidens who fought for honor, do not pertain to a woman with no family or land. One cannot fight for honor when one doesn't know where the next meal comes from. So I fight for pay." /> <string id="generic_backstory.spc_wanderer_sturgia_8" text="{=UCpJEIE3}I am a warrior. A shield-maiden, as the Nords say. It is not uncommon in the northern lands. Perhaps you have met some of us before." /> <!-- add nemesis - rural clan, husband's family --> |
