Harald III Sigurdsson, also known as Harald the Ruthless, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. In 1030, at the age of 15, he joined his half-brother and Norwegian King Olaf’s war against the Danes. When Olaf died in battle, Harald fled in exile to Kievan Rus (Russia). After spending some time in the army of the grand prince of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise, he moved on to Constantinople and soon rose to the rank of commander of the elite Byzantine Varangian Guard in 1034. After amassing a great wealth during this time he returned to Kievan Rus’ in 1042, in preparation for his campaign to reclaim the Norwegian throne. In 1046, Harald became King of Norway and began invasions of Denmark and England. He died while fighting at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, a moment widely considered to be the end of the Viking Age.
In Blood of Steel, Harald is a military commander and the first general in the game to have a heavy attack. In the beginning of the sixth era, Harald the “Relentless” rules 160 islands with brute force claiming to be the ruler of the western seas and is hailed as “the last Viking King”. His Viking fleet is infamous for assaulting small harbors to warships without distinction. Caesar the Great supported Harald with this fleet in a bid to rule the western seas, a decision which will cost him dearly.
Harald fights with his axe and shield and has the special abilities: ‘Bloodthirsty Instinct’, ‘Rage Warfare’ and ‘Wind of Recovery’. ‘Bloodthirsty Instinct’ is where Harald’s violent state reduces the physical cost of heavy attack and the killing of an enemy restores health to all soldiers. With ‘Rage Warfare’, Harald orders all soldiers into a state rage, substantially increasing their attack, attack speed and movement speed at the cost of continuous bleeding damage. And when using ‘Wind of Recovery’ Harald can continue to recover health outside of battle. His troops can use their axes like projectiles, throwing them at enemies close enough to be in range.
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