When Ysra, the firstborn daughter of Odin, sought to construct her mead empire, she wasn’t content to do the work all by herself. Not that she was trying to cut corners, of course! However, one of the most critical skills of any boss is knowing what tasks to dictate to your lessers. And what’s an empire that doesn’t keep loads of lackeys beneath the painted-nail thumb of an empress? So, Ysra set off, eager not only to eliminate the competition but to recruit them to her cause.
Lød was Ysra’s first target. His incredible talent for tinkering found him at the forefront of tomorrow’s automation—at the cost of enjoying the sparkle of today. Ysra easily swayed Lød to her side, hinting at mead fermenting robots fueled by the very brews that they create. There are some rumors that this partnership of ingenuity is why Ysra’s mead has the distinctive aftertaste of gasoline.
Knud wasn’t much of a hard sell either. Yrsa promised an array of alcoholic drafts—each offering unlimited muscular enhancement when consumed before, during, and after a good pump! Knud, with dreams of protein power brews and pre-workout punches, soon aligned with Queen Yrsa’s cause.
With Knud’s massive muscles bulging at Yrsa’s side, Yrsa’s intimidating enterprise exploded. But as her scheme expanded, Queen Yrsa’s health capsized. Not wanting to waste valuable company funds on a trip to the doctor, Yrsa investigated less… traditional medicines. On her holistic health journey, she encountered the twin shamans, Bar Rag and Rag Bar. Their obsession with Yrsa was nearly as potent as the corroded concoctions they would craft to soothe her ailments. Soon their salves would find their way to bar shelves as another product branded beneath Queen Yrsa.
With her liquor, wellness, and lifestyle brands dominating the realms, Yrsa needed eyes on her operation. The daunting danger of it all dismantling grew. That’s when Misti, an online organization guru, arrived. She burst in without warning, listing all that was operating inefficiently. At first, Ysra was outraged that someone would dare insult her budding empire, but that was when she came up with an idea. Ysra told Misiti that if she had so many problems with the way things were, she should fix them herself! To this day, Misiti is still embroiled in a never-ending quest to squeeze perfection from the pulp of Ysra’s meaderies.
A year had passed and Ysra was shocked when she learned she owed an astounding twenty-two silver coins in taxes. As any upstanding business owner would, Ysra looked for a loophole in the tax code. Along came Ulf. Ysra would have him ‘improve’ her financial documents, and in return, Ulf would get as much caviar–flavoured mead as he wanted!
When all was said and done, Ysra’s empire had the realm gripped within its tipsy, tightly gripped fingers, and as far as Ysra was concerned, nothing could ever change that.
All she had to do was take care of Barheim, and she would finally impress upon her father why she was worthy.