Njaral Gunnarsson

Njaral Gunnarsson is the Eorl of Sjarkhoelle. He is the oldest son of Gunnar the knife, the Kanslern of Rjuvik.
Njaral has the cunning of his father, and the warrior spirit of the old nobility. His joining of the two is the happy circumstance for Sjarkhoelle, a land surrounded on three sides by rich provinces ripe for raids and tribute. His ability to appeal to the old values in the service of the new order in Rjuvik quiets the smoldering resentment against Fulgar and the bandit ethos of most of the realm. Njaral has no need to set his men against his own people to pay Fulgar his tribute. Indeed, Njaral often greatly exceeds his appointed tribute and he and his warriors live well. Fulgar demands the same from Sjarkhoelle as he does from the other provinces for two reasons. One is to encourage the others to emulate the raiding success of Njaral, the other is because if too much of the treasury became dependent on Sjarkhoelle, that province and its Eorl would become too powerful. Instead Fulgar sees much advantage in leaving things as they are. No invasion can be mounted against Rjuvik by Svinik, Jankaping, or Hogunmark while her richest provinces are raided by Njaral and his warriors. Further, Njaral has the old body of true warriors in the realm. The rest of the forces which Fulgar could mobilize would be levies from the people or assemblies of the bandits. Sjarkhoelle is a critical province in the realm because of its raiding riches and its body of warriors. While Fulgar is wary of allowing Njaral to become too strong, overall Njaral is trusted because he is the loyal son of Gunnar the knife. Many suspect that Njaral is a favorite to succeed Fulgar as heir, but the King of Rjuvik does not discuss such things with anyone, even Gunnar.