Tales of Hakans origins change greatly depending on who you ask, some say he was a warrior that fought alongside Amantep’s horrible army, others say he was a hero who fought alongside people like Magnus. Regardless to what people believe, the most widely accepted origin was from the old mountains of troll teeth, now turned to ash due to the fall.
Some people would have you believe that Hakan walked from his destroyed home, across the lifeless wasteland, to the last haven of the world. However, this is unlikely. Regardless, it was during a time of great infighting and conflict for the human race that Hakan first appeared. It’s said that Hakan took one look at the two forces fighting and laughed madly, holding his massive halberd high above his head as he charged into the heat of battle. Cutting off heads and limbs, Hakan paid no attention to who was on whose side, merely charging in and killing any unlucky person that happened to get in his way.
When the battle was won and one side stood victorious Hakan continued to slaughter anyone who came near him, laughing manically. The one of the group called out to him in anger “Who the devil are you?! Can’t you see the fights over? Surrender now or die!” and wiping the blood off his blade the leader pointed it at Hakan.
Pausing and letting his halberd rest, letting it lean on his shoulder, Hakan looked across the survivors of the fight “Hehehe, Hahaha! Well Well! In that case I have a question, who’s the leader? Who’s the biggest and meanest of you all?” Out of the corner of his eye a man stepped forward a little, his face heavily scarred he shouted back “That would be me!”
With a grim smile Hakan threw his Halberd at the man, brutally cutting him in two and sending pieces everywhere.
“Wrong! I am! And if anyone has a problem with that I’ll be more then happy to crush your skull with my bare hands!
It was from these mad beginnings that Hakan created a small tribe, no better then bandits and murderers. But Hakan took its growth seriously and would regularly talk to them about the meaning of strength.
“Living is conflict. Only weak people will try to tell you otherwise. It is the law of nature, the strong survive and the weak die! The only way to get anywhere in life is by taking it, and once you have it… Become stronger then everyone! That way they’ll never be able to take it from you!”
“Some scraps of people will tell you we need to band together, and hide away, but I say no! That is the path to a quick and unsatisfactory death! So were going to go out there, find there little hidey holes and tear them screaming out! Hahaha! If we do it enough they’ll get stronger, and might actually give us a fight!”
“Now then, who’s going to try and kill me tonight and take the tribe? Hahaha!”
Hakan’s following was great, and his name was known far and wide. With his mad ranting of his ideals it did not take long for people from all over to come and challenge him, and he loved every moment of it. However, his constant raiding on peaceful villages and forts had aroused a large amount of resentment towards him, and so together the people enlisted the help of mages to put an end to Hakan.
During one of Hakan’s many raids he was ambushed by a large group of mages, together they used their battle magic to turn the very air to fire, incinerating Hakan. But to their horror Hakan walked out of the blaze laughing and began cutting them down, his very flesh boiling off his bones. In desperation the mages cast some of there most powerful spells on Hakan, sending a mighty barrage of magic that scarred the land indefinitely. Still the laughter came, and the shambling body that must have been Hakan lumbered forward, striking the mages down one by one.
It’s said the barrage took half his face showing off a blackened skull, his right shoulder had been turned to ice, his left hand was now made of stone and could not let go of his halberd, a hole the size of mans fist went through his belly and out the other side, and his legs were covered with blades of glass.
And yet he still laughed.
“Hahaha! Weak! You’re all too weak! What do I have to do to get a decent fight?! Ha! I’ll wait some more I guess… Come back when you think you can put up a decent fight!”
And with that Hakan disappeared… Becoming a legend and a god to many people.
During the turmoil at the start of the Burning Age, humanity was in constant warfare with one another. Resources were highly contested between groups of people, and everyday was a battle of survival.
Humans who felt all was lost, and those who never gave up, needed something to believe in, to give them hope. Surprisingly this would come in the form of the new god, Hakan. While Hakan’s madness and bloodlust may not have sat right with many people, his ideal that only the strong could protect anything rang true with many people. So they prayed to him, prayed for the strength to slay their foes and protect what little they had. The bloodshed would continue for years, and humanity became more war like and barbarous.
But then the god Magnus appeared and showed humanity another way they could live, a way they could protect their loved ones and live in peace at the same time. For the followers of Hakan this was a major blow as more and more people sided with Magnus and prayed to him instead. Ever since then the two religions have had a deep rooted hatred for one another, their beliefs in contrast to one another.
Today Hakan has a few cults spread out across the land, but for the most part it is a small gathering. Hakan is mostly worshiped by barbarians and outcasts, and only on rare occasions is he worshiped by common people. Some older humans still keep trinkets of Hakan, not totally abandoning the old ways.