Snake

"I've eaten more than my share of free grub. It's time for me to pay the price for that food..."

- Snake prepares to defend Ketil's Farm

Snake (蛇) is a warrior who is employed by Ketil as head of his farm's guards. His real name is Roald (ロアルド).

Appearance
Snake is in his 30s. His oriental saber and equipment suggest that he possibly had been in the service of Roman Emperors in Constantinople as a Varangian Guard.

Personality
Snake is compassionate and a man of reason. During the Ketil's Farm arc, Snake often shows to be genuinely concerned for other people, free men and slaves alike. He has saved Thorfinn and other slaves countless times from brutal treatment with both reasons and his intimidating combat prowess. However, due to the times he was brought up in, he still views slaves as beneath others and openly believes that their masters can do whatever they want with slaves. He also expresses no concern with having children beaten for stealing food even though it was done for survival.

Snake rarely lets his emotion gets the better of him, however when his comrades are slaughtered by Gardar, he quickly gets angry when seeing his men being treated like mere pawns. Despite Sverkel and Thorfinn attempting to reason with Snake and make him stop his quest for vengeance, Snake refuses to see Gardar as anything less than a slave and decides to murder him to avenge the deaths of his soldiers.

Snake seems to have a strong bond with both Ketil and his father but refuses to explain further, replying that they are mere strangers. Snake is also a man of honor, staying on the side of Ketil's family despite being aware the fake story of Ketil due to feeling indebted to Ketil for letting him stay there when most needed, seen when he goes to fight against Canute despite knowing they didn't stand a chance against Jomsvikings.

History
Although it is never stated in the manga, an anime original line in Episode 41 (S02E17, The Road Home) confirms that Snake was a warrior of Miklagard (the Old Norse name of Constantinople), implying that he was a member of the Byzantine Varangian Guard - an elite unite of bodyguards employed by the Byzantine Emperors, comprised of mostly Norsemen and Rus.

Abilities and Powers
When he meets Snake in Chapter 59, Thorfinn notes that Snake is as good a fighter as Askeladd and may even be better in some aspects. When they fight in earnest in Chapter 86, Thorfinn can't close in on him thinks to himself that Snake is strong and faster than anyone he had ever fought before. He realizes Snake must be a seasoned warrior and wonders what someone like him is doing working as a guest on Ketil's farm. Snake is able to effectively combine speed, strength and strategy into his fighting. He can swiftly counter as he corrects his falls, strike at his opponents with great speed, and has the strength to decapitate opponents in one blow on the battlefield (Chapter 92).

Snake has a good understanding of military strategies, as seen when he is sent to do reconnaissance with Fox when Canute's troops arrive at Ketil's Farm (Chapter 90).

History
Роальд