Vagnar Hefga[1], also known as Volsung Fá, is the leader of the Ascomanni and an Obsidian agent of Legion Zero Pavor Nocturnus. He is the father of Ragnar Volarus and Sefi the Quiet, and the husband of Alia Volarus.
Appearance[]
His build is much larger than the average Obsidian, with many characters describing him as the biggest human they've ever seen. Darrow O'Lykos describes him as being a full head taller than Apollonius au Valii-Rath and having at least a hundred kilograms of solid muscle.[2]
Despite being more than eighty years old, he only looks to be about fifty due to the use of age rejuvination therapy, which has left the sides of his skull webbed with blue worm veins.[1]
The front third of his throat is metal, with the trachea ribbed gray. At least part of this is a removable device that artificially deepens his voice in order to intimidate his foes.[3]
His left forearm and hand are of metal, with metal fingernails sharp as daggers that appear to slide on rails. His nose is also half scarred. he has a tail of hair so long it touches his ankles. his body is covered in metal plates and scars.
He wears armor that, according to Lyria of Lagalos, is "thick, rough, and jagged, festooned all over with spikes that are almost as long as those that make the crown atop his skull helmet."
Personality[]
Despite his profession as a warrior and his persona as a conqueror, Vagnar Hefga has little interest in war and violence beyond what is necessary to carry out his orders. He takes satisfaction and pride at doing his duty to help ensure a lasting and peaceful Society and the continued advancement of humankind, but has no desire for power or glory for himself.
In private, Vagnar dislikes the weight of his role as Volsung Fá, and looks forward to his retirement once his service to the Society is done, planning to live out the est of his days eating well, watching races, and swimming in the sea.[4]
He enjoys the beach, and believes that a single day under the sun with sand between his toes is worth ten years on a throne.[4]
When not maintaining the facade of a barbarian king, Vagnar enjoys the trappings of high culture, wearing silk kimonos and drinking cognac when he's out of his armor. He also enjoys attending the opera, with Giulio Cesare and Parsifal being listed as some of his favorites.[4]
Abilities[]
Weapons[]
Volsung Fá's left hand and forearm are completely made from metal with dagger-sharp metal fingernails that appear to be able to slide on rails.
The Fleshchain is a long chain that holds the skulls of several dozen Ascomanni kings.
Volsung Fá's Warsaw is made of a metal that Ephraim claims to have never seen. It glimmers in the light, teeth on the spear move along the length of the spear in a sawing motion. It's able to split along at least one section of the haft, being connected by some sort of wire.
Fist blade, it's crescent-shaped. not much else is known about it.
Fa uses his spiked armor as a weapon, smashing into his opponents and impaling them upon it.
Involvement[]
Pre-Saga[]
Like many Obsidians of Mars's south pole, Vagnar Hefga was taken from the ice to become a Stained, after which he served the Gold House Grimmus for several years and earned the moniker Pale Horse. He was considered the pinnacle of Obsidian genetics because of his physical size and musculature, leading House Grimmus to use him in breeding programs to produce stronger Obsidians. As part of these breeding projects he sired hundreds, if not thousands of children, and was even granted the privilege of temporarily returning to the ice for the specific purpose of siring more slaves for The Society. This resulted in the births of several of Alia Volarus's children, including Ragnar Volarus and Sefi the Quiet.[5]
At some point before 739 PCE, House Grimmus loaned Vagnar to Legio Zero Pavor Nocturnus, where he served under the command of Atlas au Raa.[6]
The Kuiper Belt[]
When Atlas was sent to the Kuiper Belt in 739 PCE after the deaths of Anastasia au Lune and Brutus au Arcos, Vagnar was one of several Gorgons who accompanied him on his mission to exterminate the Ascomanni.[7]
After Octavia ordered Atlas in 740 PCE to maintain radio silence and not return until his mission was incomplete, Atlas and his troops knew that they would never feel the sun on their faces again. Vagnar became Atlas' confidant and brother-in-arms, the two finding solace in the fact that they were spending their lives spreading the light of the Society.[7]
After the Battle of Ilium and The Fall of Luna in 743 PCE, Atlas realized that the only way to complete his mission was to treat the Ascomanni like ants, baiting them out to have them take poison back to their colonies. To that end, Atlas dispatched Vagnar and fifty Obsidian Gorgons to conquer small Ascomanni headmen at first, followed by their warlords, and then finally the Ascomanni equivalent of kings. As a result, word soon began to spread through the Ascomanni tribes of an invincible warrior from beyond the Void, blessed by the Allfather and declaring holy war against both Atlas and the Society. This led the Ascomanni to unify under the banner of Vagnar's new identity, Volsung Fá, which Atlas planned to use to punish the Rim Dominion for their rebellion against the Society.[7]
As a reward for his service to the Society, Atlas promised Vagnar a penthouse in Hyperion, a seaside retreat on Venus, a Pegasus ranch in Switzerland, a telomerase tank, a carver, a new name, twenty years of peace, and his granddaughter, Volga Fjorgan. While this was more than Vagnar requested, Atlas considered it to be less than Vagnar deserved.[8]
While Atlas returned to the Core in 747 PCE to join the Society Remnant in its war against the Solar Republic, Xenophon led Sefi and the Republic-aligned Obsidians away from Darrow so that Volsung Fá could add their capital ships, heavy assault infantry, and experience in modern warfare to his army.[7]
Dark Age[]
Volsung Fá revealed himself on Mars in late January 754 PCE, where he killed Freihild while the Alltribe was camped in the Valkyrie spires to harvest the kill from their Drake hunt. He was seen by Ephraim ti Horn and Ozgard after the fact. However, due to the lack of any other witnesses, some of Sefi's warriors, including Valdir, did not believe Volsung Fá was real, blaming Sefi for Freihild's death instead.
The following morning, he and the Ascomanni breach and board the Pandora, killing many of the crew and forcing the rest to flee. Volga Fjorgan and Lyria of Lagalos encounter him while being guarded by House Julii guards at a gravLif entrance when he floats up the shaft and opens the doors while their party is focused on the Ascomanni. He calls out to Volga and makes her an offering of Stains before killing all of the guards, during which Lyria and Volga flee.
At some point, Volsung Fá met in secret with several chieftains of the Obsidian tribes in the Republic, and convinced them to back him instead of Sefi as the leader of the Volk.
A little over two weeks after the fall of the Pandora, Volsung Fá arrives at Sefi's Royal Court with two dozen male Jarls of the Alltribe in a shuttle bearing the markings of a Republic diplomatic envoy, where Xenophon presents him before the court. He kills three Valkyries before announcing his identity, challenging Sefi to say she doesn't recognize him. Out of a combination of shock and Fá not looking as old as he claims to be, Sefi does not recognize him as her father.
Fá brutally kills Sefi in a duel and claims her throne, as well as her razor, which was formerly owned by Aja au Grimmus. He then orders his Ascomanni and those that follow him to kill, rape, torture, or enslave the citizens in Olympia. While the city burns, Fá holds a banquet, during which Ephraim, who was witness to the death of Sefi, attempts to kill him and Xenophon with a bomb he had hidden in Xenophon's pocket. Xenophon was killed, but Fá survived, killing Ephraim afterward by ripping his heart out of his chest. As Ephraim died, Fá declared him a worthy foe and ate his heart.
After the massacre is complete, Volsung leaves Olympia with Sefi's army and fleet, and a message for ArchGovernor of Mars Kieran O'Lykos that he promises to end any further acts of violence toward the Solar Republic if they give him Volga.
After Volga agrees to give herself up to protect the people of Mars, Fá and the Obsidian fleet depart for the Asteroid Belt.
Light Bringer[]
Gallery[]
Relationships[]
Family[]
Volga Fjorgan[]
Allies[]
Atlas au Raa[]
Gorgons[]
Vagnar is close to the other Gorgons. In Light Bringer, off-duty Gorgons are shown chanting Fá's name and toasting in his honor when his army invades Demeter's Garter.[7] Atlas refers to the other Gorgons as Vagnar's brothers and sisters, and Vagnar says that he misses them more than he can say.[3]
Enemies[]
Trivia[]
Sefi says in Dark Age that her father took her and her brother hunting one last time before he left the ice.[5] However, Ragnar said in Morning Star that his first father (biological father) went to become a slave before he was born and his mother never speaks his name,[9] while Atlas claims that Ragnar and his father never met.[7]