Not much is known about this era, except that he was born to the owner of a small music store in Sundsvall and sired by Bragi, Nordic God of Music. For as long as he could remember, Isak excelled in playing instruments. His memories are vague, but he remembered his mother vividly instilling a love of music from an early age. But those days did not last for long. A series of events left him alone, motherless, and nowhere to go. Shortly after, he left Sundsvall and began wandering the Swedish countryside. In due time, he was informed about his heritage and briefly met his father. Isak was gifted a dwarven-forged guitar named the Kärleksmaskin ("love machine"), which would eventually become his signature instrument and weapon.

Wandering & Beginnings

A young demigod traveling alone was like a bright signal for beings to take his blood. In general, those with some sort of otherworldly heritage would be a magnet for other mythological creatures, but Isak quickly found his perchant for trouble only made things worse. There have been several rumors that between his travels, Stendaal experienced minor scuffles with various Jötunn, elves, dwarves, and minor gods. The details of these various stories and events remain unknown except for a few. In the early days, after some bad luck with a pack of wolves left him clinging for life, led him to his first encounter with a Valkryie. After affirming that he's not going to die soon, she helped him patch up and tried to nudge him back to staying closer to towns and cities where it's more likely he'll have help from other humans. This would begin his life long friendship with Asta Oleson and the Hanged Witches, a Valkryie unit.

Eventually, he found his way to southern Sweden, particularly Gothenburg. It felt like a lifetime since he was surrounded by so many other people who had the same passion of music as him. One such person was Øyvind Landvik, a young fisherman who was visiting the area as his family's fishing company worked by the coast. Coincidentally, he is also a demigod, the son of the sea god Njörðr. They immediately hit it off with their shared sense of humor and how Isak's guitar playing complemented Øyvind's bass. Isak was invigorated to make music with Øyvind, which they did write the skeletons of a few songs; a prototype for what is to be Drowning Seiðr. Isak didn't care if they would get big or not, as long as they were having fun. But these days too came to an end, when Øyvind's family and job called him back to their headquarters in Norway. Their time was cut short, but Isak would always consider him his bassist. He couldn't keep wallowing in the what-ifs, and Isak continued on with his pursuit of music.

Moving to Berlin for a change of scenary, Isak was mostly a solo act. In between bar performances and being a hired instrumentalist, Isak made his own original music as well as commissions, posting them onto bandcamp for a small but passionate following. Most of his work was done in his apartment, recording his guitar and bass through his computer and using synths and a drum machine when necessary. It was a humble endeavor, and lonely aside from the check-ins from the Hanged Witches, but it's what kept the bills paying and allowed him to keep making music.

Things changed when Asta introduced him to an aquaintence of hers she met through working for Odin. A former berserker warrior and demigod son of Thor, Haldor, who recently permamently moved to Midgard. He was looking for a new place to live after temporarily borrowing Asta's barely used Midgard apartment, and she thought it would be easier for him to adjust with someone who was also a demigod. Haldor just so happened to also have a love for metal music and played the drums as a hobby. She knew both men needed a friend, and Isak couldn't say no to helping Haldor until he got used to Midgard. And thus, the guitarist started rooming with a battle-hardened warrior, while bonding over music and everyday life. They had to rent out a room in a music store to practice, but it was serviceable. As they continued their jam sessions, real musical chemistry began to form between them, and Isak realized that he now has a live drummer to record music with, not just a music program. Haldor in turn appreciates Isak's friendly demeanor, and looked to music as a positive outlet and a way to make a living. So the short term stay with Isak became long term, and the two official became a "band". Since drumming was only a hobby for Haldor, his skills were not up to par with one who consistantly practiced. This led to Isak and a local drumming teacher help with lessons. Haldor didn't have interest in an electronic kit, coupled with such a big and loud instrument, they moved to a new two floor flat with a basement they sound-proofed. To this day, this basement serves as Drowning Seiðr's recording studio and where they practice. Their first endeavors were back to doing covers in resturants and bars, but it was a start.

The first couple of shows caught the attention of Josef Sommer, a man who is half-Huldufólk and knows their way around business and planning. The pair were skeptical at first, but after Josef demonstrated how he could use his rune magic to add little things in their performances like stamina, Isak became intrigued with how else he could help. Even with Haldor's doubts, Isak decided to trust Josef for now. If he were to pull something off, the elf would be no match for two demigods anyhow. So in the beginning, he was in charge of booking shows and helping with performances, but the more time he spent with Isak and Haldor, the more at ease both parties became of each other. Josef was still not above underhanded methods of negotiation, but it was for the sake of the band, and to look after Isak and Haldor. Whatever underlying motives Josef held, he lost interest in it, from Isak's perspective.

One day, Isak got a text from Øyvind, stating that he's got some free time to visit. He informed Isak that he struck a deal with the sea god and his family company to give him less jobs for breaks, and now, he can see Isak more often. The guitarist, true to his word, kept the bassist spot free for his old friend. There were some debates (particularly from Josef) about choosing a different musician who could reliably show up, but Isak was stubborn. Isak still covered Øyvind's bass parts if schedules failed to align, but then the stars would align, and all members of Drowning Seiðr would be present. The band has released it's first full length album online as well as CDs and merch. It consists of reimaginings of Isak and Øyvind's previous music mixed with re-recordings of Isak and Haldor's sound, along with a couple new songs. They managed to retain some of Isak's previous fans, but are a cult hit in the local scene and through word of mouth in social media.