*There are spoilers but they’re kept as minimal as possible to not wreck the story ahead of where some may have read.
For those who have only read Dan the Destructor, the first book in the Barbarians of the Storm series, the core of the story for you is the friendship dynamic between Fenrik and Dan. However, for those who have delved deeper into the BotS universe, you’ve probably come to realize that the dynamic between Fenrik and Erzulyn is the true core of the main saga. And then again, for those of you who have only read Dan the Destructor, me saying this probably has you like, “Wait… what the fuck?!”
The real direction for the Barbarians of the Storm series takes shape in the second book, Atomic Beasts and Where to Kill Them, and very early in that book, Fenrik and Erzulyn (along with Dan) have a meeting where their past and their connection to one another comes to the forefront. In that book, Erzulyn sets out on her own journey, which puts her on a path to eventually find herself standing alongside Fenrik later on down the road.
After the main story in Atomic Beasts is the short story The Fall of the Black Cathedral, which shows why Fenrik and Erzulyn have a massive and understandable rift in their relationship, regardless of Erzulyn’s apprehension of the very dastardly act she commits.
The title story in Eyes in All Shadows & Other Stories tells the tale of Erzulyn’s origin and shows how far back her and Fenrik have been intertwined. Granted, Fenrik’s presence in that story is very minor, but it shows their similar starts in life and how they first came to be allies and young lovers.
By the time we get to Swords Against Bastards, Fenrik is a prisoner and it is Erzulyn, with new knowledge about herself, her blood ties, and the future, that chooses to step towards the light. She aligns with Dan and Vasilia in an effort to rescue her betrayed former lover from the grip of a mad sorcerer who controls and manipulates atomic energy. This is where her biggest shift back towards Fenrik happens. However, even with Fenrik eventually freed, the two still find themselves at odds with how to deal with the apocalyptic road ahead.
It’s a great battle that neither Fenrik or Erzulyn were a part of that truly changes things. A great hero and leader falls, another leader slips into madness and achieves great failure, and this event changes the course for both Team Fenrik and Team Erzulyn.
In a strange twist, Fenrik ends up in 1984 Miami where he meets a woman that he falls in love with. With that, he discovers that he really hasn’t known true love until meeting this new woman, which paints Erzulyn in a different light for him. Additionally, this puts him on a path to right what he perceives as some of his wrongs with previous women in his life, as well as giving him a greater drive to truly protect those weaker than himself.
Once we get to An Axe to Eat the Gods, Fenrik’s initial drive is to atone for what he views as sins weighing heavily on his soul. This is also where Fenrik becomes less jovial and playful, as he begins to understand who he truly is and who he still must become. In a way, Fenrik becomes much more stoic and serious.
After witnessing the fallout of Xulgog’s failure, the true evil of her “resurrected” master, and the Drir superweapon that could destroy her world, Erzulyn questions her path and turns to the only person she knows she can trust and rely on, Fenrik.
Once the two reunite, there is a sweetness to it, and all the rocky shit that is their past no longer seems to matter. There is a love, there is a respect, there is a trust, but there really isn’t the romantic complications that previously drove a wedge between their interactions.
Both characters are coming to the realizations that they are becoming gods on a path to face-off with the most powerful embodiment of true darkness in the known universe. While they had similar upbringings, they also had very different paths through early adulthood. Despite all that, they have always known that their destinies were intertwined, and now they are coming to understand what that actually means from an adult point-of-view and they can see more clearly why forces within the cosmos have been pulling them together over the course of their lives. United, they can both become the light’s greatest offense against the darkness.
Going forward, there is now an additional link to their bond which comes from Fenrik briefly borrowing the Black Iron for his battle against the God of Eyes. As has already been known, the magical, sentient iron that makes up the Black Iron gets into the blood of those who fuse with it. The Black Iron also carries the memories and emotions of those it fuses with. Because of this, both Fenrik and Erzulyn will come to know each other fully and completely. Side note: this also applies to previous owners of the armor, which is why I name dropped (more than once) an unseen villain from a previous era early on in the series (hint, hint).
For those who have gone beyond Book I and even well beyond Book II, it should be clear that Fenrik and Erzulyn are both the main characters of this saga. Sure, Dan got the name drop on the title of the first book and he is very important, but I needed someone to be the audience’s eyes and ears entering this strange, barbaric world. Fenrik was always the hero and the main dude, but I had planned for Erzulyn to grow into someone just as important and at the forefront. This is also why I stress for readers not to skip over Eyes in All Shadows & Other Stories on their way to Book III.
What does the future hold for Fenrik and Erzulyn and the Barbarians of the Storm saga? Only I know, at the moment, and some things could alter and change, but I know the ending and where both of these characters that I love (and hopefully you do too) are going. But also, don’t think that they won’t have a slew of allies backing them up when the final battle goes down.
So, for those who have read beyond the first book, what are your thoughts on these two characters, their bond, them being the core of the series, and the path that is laid before them? Or just discuss them in the comments below. I always love seeing what BotS readers have to say about this world I love creating.