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Aaricia |
Aaricia was a wise girl. She was very aware of signs of foul treason and twisted behavior grownups sometimes displayed and she more then once meddled in harsh conflicts to sort things out without heaving to use any other weapon than her voice.
Since she was a kid she had been very fond of the boy Thorgal Aegirsson, a bastard, a boy from the stars, son of Varth and Haynée, raised as a Viking by Leif Haraldson, leader of northern Vikings. Her father disliked the boy and more then once tried to get rid of him, even tried to kill him. But love grew stronger, Thorgal and Gandalf made up and the two got married. On the day of her wedding though, Aaricia was kidnapped by the Lord of the three Eagles, the daughter of Slive. Thorgal came after her though, settled things with Slive and rescued his bride.
Aaricia and Thorgal left the Vikings and after a while settled in a little village with farmers led by Caleb. There she got pregnant of their first baby. But before it was born jealousy of a female teenager got Thorgal falsely accused and taken prison and brought destruction to the village. The houses were burnt down and the people murdered. Aaricia escaped death by running into the sea. Barely alive she was taken aboard a ship and brought to the palace of Brek Zarith. There she gave birth to her first baby, a boy she named Jolan. Jolan had something special, like his father Thorgal. They had inherited that from their ancestors, whether they liked it or not. Brek Zarith, a scientist, soon had found out that Jolan possessed these powers and he wanted to use the boy for his own advantage. But Thorgal got to Brek Zarith first. They all safely escaped and settled on a little uninhabited island.
There was little time to settle down though. And former acquaintance of Thorgal, a woman named Kriss van Valnor forced them in joining her on a dangerous mission. Kriss knows she is a better fighter than most men and she doesn't hide that. Aaricia disliked her from day one, armed herself with a dagger and joined the team. During the adventure Aaricia proved to be a opponent not to be taken lightly and they found out more about the extraordinary powers their son Jolan posessed.
On their way home from the previous adventure Aaricia gave birth to her second child. They had entered hostile territory and circumstances had separated her from her husband. Aaricia found shelter in a cave were a she-wolf had found shelter for the same reason. The wolf pup and the baby were born at the same moment and Aaricia named her baby girl Wolvin (she-wolf)
Her marriage with Thorgal hadn't been easy from the start. They were confronted with misfortune, bad luck and strange mysteries and perils since day one. Her husband was different than other men. He was from the stars, from the gods perhaps and he wouldn't live by the barbaric rules and habits Vikings lived by. He was gone for long periods, wasn't even there when the babies were born and then one day he came back, tried to explain he had to leave for a long time, for as long as it took for the gods to forget him. And he just left.
He was gone for three years. Then news arrived in the village that Thorgal and a woman were spotted on a big warmongering ship and were responsible for the death of dozens of Vikings from the village Aaricia lived in. The people, mostly women who had lost their husband now turned against Aaricia and she and her kids were exiled from the village. When on the run she was ambushed by Kriss van Valnor and, with Wolvin, taken prisoner on her ship. She there found out that Thorgal was stil alive but had lost his memory, didn't recognized Aaricia nor his children anymore and had, with Kriss, gone in to barbarsim and slave trade. Aaricia and Wolvin were rescued by Jolan who proved in that adventure to be a much more mature hero than his age showed. Not much later Thorgal returned. His memories had come back and with that his past. Together with their childen they stayed on their island for a while but Thorgal became restless and they left in search for a better world. A world where a man could be free and live the life he chose for. They sailed over the seas for years, in search of that free world. But all they found were more adventures. And Aaricia wanted to go home, to a place Jolan and Wolvin could grow up with other children. It was obvious the world they were searching for didn't exist. So they decided to go back and changed the direction of the boat. But before they would see Northland again they would catch a lethal decease, be captured again and sold as slaves. They end up in an isolated province of the Roman empire, Avondland. Aaricia and her children were given away as a present to a Roman emperor and transported to the capitol by ship, and that her husband lies dead or dying on the cliffs of the island Syrenia.
Aaricia tries to escape several times and for punishment they are transported to the silver mines. Life in the mines is terrible and to make things worse, one of the guards appears to be her old enemy Kriss van Valnor. Kriss let them taste life in the mines for a while, but soon comes with a proposal to make a joint effort to escape the mines. For that they need the mental powers of Jolan
They managed to escape from the mines indeed and a long journey over land and sea is what followed. She learned that Thorgal and Kriss had a son, Aniël, who could not speak. They even found Thorgal who was wounded and exhausted and in a very bad shape.
But their escape had not gone unnoticed and when they made their way upstream in a narrow canyon, they were almost overtaken by a detachment of Roman soldiers. Kriss was hit by two arrows and had to be left behind, trying to hold up the enemy as long as she could. This gave Aaricia and her family, and Aniël, enough time to reach the end of the canyon before the Romans and, with the help of Jolan, blocking it. The last they heard of Kriss was her scream of death. And although Aaricia hated the snake more than anything else, she felt good for having come closer to her for a moment when they left her in the canyon and now even prayed for her.
And that, as we all know, is a quality not anybody possesses. This is what makes the difference between strong, independent ruthless women and real heroines.
Artwork taken from Thorgal 14, Aaricia, Thorgal 2, Het Eiland der Bevroren Zeeën (L'Ile des Mers gelées), Thorgal 4, De zwarte galei (La galère noire), Thorgal 6, De val van Brek Zarith (La chute de Brek Zarith), Thorgal 8, Alinoë, Thorgal 10, Het land Qâ (Le pays Qâ), Thorgal 11, De Ogen van Tanatloc (Les yeux de Tanatloc), Throgal 28, Kriss van Valnor
Aaricia and Kriss van Valnor never did get along very well
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