May 2025 - Patreon Exclusive - Valreik

Awooo! It's the end of the month, so that means it's time for some artwork. I tried my best to get both this month's and last's finished despite my health complications, but in the end I decided to focus my efforts on this piece. The others are still coming! I realized I have another month in there that we missed in the lead-up to Chapter One. So next month we shoot for two-three!

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Valreik - Link to finished piece

“Only he who binds deserves the right to claim. Only through the knot may surrender be sealed.”

Amidst the clashing of strong wills and even stronger desires, the Hersir warbands devised a contest of might to settle the rising tensions that might otherwise fracture their bonds. The Rite of Valreik offers a brutal path to undeniable victory for those bold enough to challenge their willing brothers and seize their place through force.

Two combatants enter the sands—equals in strength, will, and hunger. Armed with nothing but their bodies and a length of woven rope, they clash where might and cunning entwine together in a vicious dance of dominance. The goal is not to wound, but to overwhelm. To subdue their opponent with coils that yield not to desperate attempt to flee them. Every bound limb, every knot tied is a declaration: “You yield to me.”

Victory is not declared with words, but with the final tie cinched against sweat soaked fur — a seal of submission. The loser, bound by body and pride, offers themselves to he who conquered them. The winner claims not dominance alone, but the right to satisfaction and spilled seed—for himself, and for all those he wishes. Once freed, the defeated alone holds the right to challenge again—whether through lust, or in the name of honor.

For the other clans, Valreik is seen as a tradition of brutality. Yet for the warriors of the Hersir—for those who tread those sands—it is a trial of flesh and desire. Where the winds of power shift, and where pleasure is found not in cruelty, but in the indulgence of bonds tied and tensions undone.