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Slade (Dark Knights of Steel)

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Slade, famed as The Deathstroke, is a legendary warrior and mercenary in Jarnlünd.

Origins

When Slade was a young man, the isles of Jarnlünd were united as a single kingdom under King Maxwell of the Clan Lord. He fell in love with Adeline, his trainer, when he was first learning to be a warrior. They married and settled in the capital city Gyllenhjem where they had had two sons: Grant and Joseph.[1]

Slade somehow gained supernatural strength, speed and resilience and the ability to quickly recover from grievous wounds. He became a mercenary and assassin working alongside a blacksmith named William Wintergreen.

Twenty-one years ago, Vandal Savage hired Slade and Wintergreen to kill King Maxwell. Wintergreen built a powerful crossbow which would allow Slade to shoot Maxwell from across Gyllenhjem and through the castle walls. Slade shot at Maxwell while he was with Lady Nora, the wife of the court magus Viktor who Slade believed Maxwell was having an affair with. Viktor walked into the room just as Slade fired; the arrow passed through Maxwell's neck and hit Nora in the chest, seemingly killing them both in front of him. Viktor called a terrible curse down on the land: he transformed the people of Gyllenhjem into Draugr and summoned an endless Allwinter, banishing colour itself from the isles.[2][3] Slade ran home as the Everstorm built around the city. He told Adeline what he had done and said that they needed to run.

Slade and Adeline managed to escape Gyllenhjem, but on the way their sons were caught in the spell and were transformed into Draugr.[4] Adeline left him and cut out his right eye, blaming him for their sons' deaths and all the other suffering the Allwinter had wrought. Nevertheless he still loves her deeply. At some point he had a daughter named Rose with another woman, who he describes as a mistake.[1][5] He deliberately stayed away from Rose, believing he would destroy her life too. Wintergreen, who had stood by Slade even after Adeline left him, also broke away from Slade to care for Rose. As only Slade, Wintergreen, Adeline and Savage knew the truth, many assumed that Viktor had killed Maxwell and Nora when he discovered their affair, a lie Slade also propagated to protect himself.[3]

Allwinter

When Slade killed Maxwell and the Allwinter fell upon the land, the Old Kingdom was torn apart by warlords known as Jarls, each trying to carve out their own private kingdom in the ashes. In this harsh land, men die young and so Slade is one of the oldest warriors still alive, and one of the few people who still remember colour. While he once lived for the thrill of battle, he no longer cared about honour or glory and became a mercenary, fighting for whoever could pay him the most.

Slade was once again hired by Vandal Savage, now a Jarl, to help in a war against rival warlord Black Mask. He assassinated Black Mask with a crossbow in the middle of the battle, resulting in his men breaking and retreating. Slade then withdrew from the battlefield, saying that he had been hired to win the war, and it was as good as won. As he left he advised Savage to spare Black Mask's fleeing men, but Savage had his ice witch Killer Frost kill them all.

At a feast Savage held the next day to celebrate the victory, Slade took no part in the revels and simply asked to be paid so he could leave. Savage told Slade that he planned to defeat the other Jarls and conquer their territory one by one, building an empire from the ruins of the Old Kingdom, but that a "monster" stood in the way of his plans. He offered Slade even more gold if he would bring him the monster and Slade agreed. He set sail with three longships of men and Killer Frost, but two of the ships were sunk by a Kraken along the way.

After six days of sailing they reached the remote Isle of Skyhjem and snuck inside an ancient temple, where they found a small group of people in robes conducting some kind of religious rite. Slade and the others swiftly killed all but two of the cultists: a woman and a boy. When Slade heard the woman call out to the boy, whose name was Alec, Slade realised that she was Adeline. Killer Frost shot Adeline with a spear of ice and went to grab the boy, revealing that he was the one who Savage wanted. Slade turned on the others and threw his axe at Frost, grievously injuring her. Savage's men retreated, but Frost warned Slade that Savage would make him pay for his betrayal.

Slade ripped off Alce's robe to see what made him so special that Savage wanted him, and saw to his shock that the boy had colour.[6] Alec ran to help Adeline, and to Slade's amazement her blood became red when it touched him. He pushed Alec away and went to tend Adeline's wounds. He pulled out the ice spear and Adeline passed out from the pain. Slade told Alec to take a cloak off one of the dead people to staunch her wound, and when Alec handed him the cloak Slade saw the blood staining it fade from red to black. He stopped Adeline's bleeding and told Alec to take him to where they had been staying.

Alec lead Slade to an inn where Slade sewed up Adeline's wounds and they fell asleep. When Adeline woke up hours later she tried to quietly wake Alec up and slip away, but Slade woke too. He asked Adeline who Alec was, and why he could temporarily break the spell of the Allwinter, but she told him it was none of his concern and they started arguing about him working for Savage. The noise woke Alec up and Adeline told him it was time to leave. Alec revealed that they were headed for Gyllhenhjem, the abandoned capital of the Old Kingdom, which was a long journey through dangerous terrain. Slade offered to go with them but Adeline refused, saying she would never trust him with a child after what he did to their sons. They left, but Slade secretly trailed them.

After several days, the journey took them through Icethorn Vale, a hundred mile-wide dense forest of frozen bramble-oak. Rose, who had been hired by Savage to capture Alec, was waiting for them just inside the forest. Rose attacked Adeline and, despite Adeline putting up a good fight, defeated her. Just as Rose was about to deliver the killing blow, Slade revealed himself by hurling his axe at Rose. Rose's precognitive powers allowed her to deflect the axe and she charged at Slade. They fought but he overpowered her with his supernatural strength, sending her flying through the air to be impaled on a thicket of thorns. He went to Adeline, and after a moment she begrudgingly allowed him to help her up. However, Rose ran up from behind and ran them both through with a branch. Adeline was killed instantly and Slade was grievously wounded.

Slade fell helpless to the ground, but just as Rose was about to kill him, Alec's rage and despair caused his magic to surge. He rose up into the air and released a huge wave of energy that knocked Rose away and shattered the land, momentarily restoring colour around them. Slade was only able to say "Impressive, boy", before he passed out, the world once again fading to grey.[1]

By the time Slade woke up and healed from his wounds, Rose had escaped. He buried Adeline under a cairn and initially planned to just leave Alec, but decided to finish what Adeline had started and help Alec reach Gyllenhjem. They rode in silence for four days and eventually Slade asked who Alec was and why he was trying to reach the old capital. They crossed onto a rope bridge over a canyon and Alec told him that he needed to get to Gyllenhjem to save the world, but when Slade asked how Alec replied that he didn't know. Slade was angry to learn they were making such a long and dangerous journey without a clear goal, and even angrier when Alec told him he was guided by a force called "The Green" which spoke to him in dreams. Slade incredulously asked if they were out in the frozen wastes because of the voice's in Alec's head, but Alec insisted his dreams were real, revealing that he knew about Viktor and what had happened to his sons, and said that this was his chance to atone for his past. Furious, Slade got off the horse and walked back along the bridge, abandoning Alec and their quest. Alec called after him but Slade yelled back that he was a hired killer and didn't care about saving the world.

Suddenly, a man fell out of the sky and crashed through the bridge, snapping the frozen ropes and sending them all falling into the chasm below. Slade was near the cliff face and was able to grab on and save himself, but Alec fell straight down. Slade jumped down after Alec and caught him. They crashed to earth together and survived, although Alec was knocked out. Slade quickly recovered and attacked the mysterious man, assuming he was sent by Vandal Savage. To his surprise, Slade discovered the man also had supernatural strength and could shoot fire from his eyes.

Alec woke up and released another blast of magic, telling them to stop fighting. He told Slade that the man was Prince Bruce from the Kingdom of El, a faraway land that Slade had never heard of. Bruce told Slade that he had no idea who Vandal Savage was and had not meant to harm them, but the grey and cold sunlight of the Allwinter had robbed him of his ability to fly when he was passing over them. Alec said that Bruce could help them and Slade reluctantly agreed to allow Bruce to join their journey and help fight the dangers in their way. Bruce agreed and the three of them started walking towards Gyllenhjem.[5]

After five days of walking they entered the Draugr-infested wasteland of Slen Rastløs, where they had to fight their way through multiple undead hordes. Bruce's powers continued to weaken as they got closer to Gyllenhjem, as the impenetrable Everstorm around the city blocked out the sun. Alec noticed how Bruce was exhausted after their latest fight and told him that he was under no vow to help them and could turn back, but Bruce insisted on going on. Slade sardonically observed that Bruce thought he was a hero and when Alec replied that he was Slade said heroes meant little in the frozen north.

When they were next attacked, Bruce was weakened to the point that a Draugr was able to slit his throat; he survived but was left mortally wounded. Slade dispatched the rest of the Draugr and told Bruce he could go no further, as he would surely die if he tried to go on without his powers. Bruce refused to abandon them, but Slade bluntly told him that he would simply slow them down and that whatever he was looking for he would not find it in Slen Rastløs. Alec assured Bruce that he had done enough and Slade told him he was glad to have fought beside him. Bruce accepted that he had to return south to heal and left them.

Slade and Alec continued on, and eventually took shelter from the storms in an abandoned tower. Slade told Alec that they wouldn't get through the Everstorm without a miracle. He asked Alec where he had come from, and Alec told him that his village had been raided by the Vandal Clan; when his parents were killed he fled into a swamp that was believed to be cursed and where the Vandals would not follow. Inside the swamp he had found a magic tree and was given the power of the Green, which told him he would bring the world from before the Allwinter back. Slade was still sceptical, and Alec said he would wonder why Slade was helping him if the Green hadn't told him what had happened to his sons. Alec said that he couldn't have known it would happen and it had been wrong of Adeline to blame him. In a rage, Slade grabbed Alec and yelled that he didn't know anything about him. Suddenly, a javelin of ice show through the window and impaled Slade through the back. Rose and Killer Frost, who had tracked them through the wastes, stormed into the tower. Rose threw Slade from the top of the tower into a chasm below.[2]

Slade survived the fall, but was severely injured. He attempted to flee from a horde of Draugr, but collapsed due to his injuries near a ridge. An armoured figure appeared on the ridge and sprayed fire from a handheld device down onto the Draugr, burning them away. Slade thanked the "stranger", but he removed his helmet to reveal that he was Wintergreen and Slade passed out.

Wintergreen carried Slade to his underground home. When Slade awoke, he told Wintergreen that Rose was now working for Savage but Wintergreen told him that was Slade's fault for ignoring her for her entire life and driving her to hate him. Slade grabbed Wintergreen in a rage, but his old friend showed no fear and simply told him that he knew what he said was the truth and Slade let him go. Wintergreen also revealed that he had written a book telling the true story of the Allwinter and how they had killed Maxwell and Nora.

Wintergreen told Slade that he had spent the last ten years tunnelling under the Everstorm to reach Gyllenhjem, planning to Viktor and end the Allwinter. He asked Slade to help him fight the magus but Slade said that they would need a greater magic than Viktor's and told him about Alec. They returned to the tower where Frost, Rose and Alec were still sheltering from the storm. They burst in and quickly killed Frost, but when Rose squared off against Slade he refused to fight her; instead he gave her William's journal and asked her to read it, revealing that he was responsible for the Allwinter. Slade admitted that he was a villain and William said that they all were. Alec told them this was true but they had a chance to be heroes by helping him end the curse of the Allwinter. Slade asked Rose to join them and she agreed, but told Slade she was doing it for William, not him.[3]

William's digger got them past the Everstorm and brought them up in the centre of Gyllenhjem. The party were mobbed by a horde of Draugr but they were able to fight their way through them to the castle. They burst into the throne room and were confronted by Viktor's servant Solomon, who charged at William and easily punched him across the room, then backhanded Rose away. Slade beheaded Solomon but they were then confronted by a band of Draugr lead by Grant and Joseph. Rose tried to destroy them but Slade stopped her. She told him that they were no longer his sons and were the enemy, and Slade sadly said that she really was his daughter.

Viktor overwhelmed them with a blast of ice magic and trapped them all in ice. He showed them Nora, frozen and kept at the threshold between life and death by Viktor's magic, and revealed that the entire purpose of the Allwinter was to prevent her from dying. Slade was enraged that Viktor had doomed the kingdom to save a woman who didn't even love him. However, Viktor revealed that Nora had rejected Maxwell's advances and they had gone to him to rebuff him in private to spare his dignity. When Slade shot them, Maxwell had just forcibly kissed Nora and she had pushed him away and struck him.

Viktor said he would kill Rose as revenge for what Slade had done to Nora, even as Slade yelled at Viktor to kill him instead. Just as Viktor was about to stab Rose with a blade of ice; Bruce charged in with Adeline, back from the dead. Bruce attacked Viktor while Adeline freed Slade from the ice. He asked her who she was alive and she told him that she remembered Rose killing her, darkness, and then colour; Slade and Alec both realised that Alec's magic had brought her back from the dead. Slade broke free and told Adeline to release the others while he joined the fight against Viktor, stabbing him in the back as he was fighting Bruce. Adeline freed the others from the ice and they all charged into battle against the Magus. Viktor overpowered the rest of them, but Slade was able to get him on the ground and was about to kill him.

However, Alec ran to where Nora was preserved in ice and released his power into her, restoring her to life as he had done with Adeline and breaking the curse. This ended the Allwinter and returned colour to the land. Slade told William and Rose he was proud of them, and Rose hugged him for offering to die for her. Adeline called out to him and Slade saw that all the Draugr, including his sons, had been returned to life. He tearfully embraced them and Adeline. Later, Alex told Slade they still had work to do and Savage was still out there. Slade told Alec that Jarnlünd needed a king, and that it should be him.[4]

Powers

Abilities

Other Characteristics

Equipment

  • Helmet: Slade wears a distinctive helmet with a single eye hole and horns.
  • Shield

Weapons

  • Dual Axes
  • Crossbow
  • Sword


Related

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #2
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #5
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #6
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #1


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