Ankholt

**Ankholt** is an NPC who accompanies the party through the back half of The First Loop on their mission to reach Sealheart Isle.

## History

### Background

Ankholt's background is not entirely known, as he is very guarded about his own history when talking to the party, and expresses hesitation towards letting them know more about his personal life (For example, he is clearly displeased by the party meeting his mate, Eivor in Jötenburg.)

The one part of his life that Ankholt is somewhat open about is the death of his father. At some point, an unknown amount of time in the past, Ankholt's father was killed by Urson's. As a result of his father not coming back from the hunt to provide for his family, Ankholt's brother passed away as well, leaving him without two family members in a short amount of time. This grief caused him to form a lifelong grudge against Urson, and a driving desire to kill him.

Despite the loss of his family, it is known that Ankholt now moves with a pack, though it is unclear at what point in his life his current pack came in, or if he has been with them all his life.

At some point, Ankholt entered a relationship with Eivar, another firbolg. Eivar may have been a part of Ankholt's pack, but it is known that Eivar was raised as an orphan in Jötenburg, where Ankholt said in passing his pack could be found.

### During The First Loop

When the party first met Ankholt, he was in Steamcliff with Lapure. It is unclear what his connection toLapure is, and what he was doing in Steamcllff with her prior to the party's entrance, though it may have been due to her procuring The Moonthrob Pearl

Lapure sends Ankholt with the party to watch over them as they take the Moonthrob Pearl to Sealheart, in order to make sure Magna does not gain access to it. Ankholt's interest in this mission lies solely in the fact that the party will be bait for Urson, and he will finally be able to exact his revenge.

Throughout the journey, Ankholt is very guarded, never fully gaining the trust of all of the PCs. However, due to Godiva and C.0.R.3's relentless attempts to befriend him, he eventually becomes on friendlier terms with them, and on less hostile terms with the rest of party as a whole.

Through most of the trip, Ankholt remains in his "hybrid" form, as a bipedal polar bear, only shifting back to his firbolg form when entering towns, showing he is more comfortable in this form.

In Jötenburg, Ankholt visits with Eivor, where the two quickly enter a dispute about Ankholt's mission to seek out and kill Urson. Eivor cannot understand Ankholt's commitment to exacting revenge, even when it may mean death, and Ankholt cannot let go of his resentment for Urson. Though the two never fully see eye-to-eye on the matter, they are able to reach a peaceful resolution, with Ankholt promising to settle down when he returns, and the party promising to keep him safe.

On Sealheart, Ankholt helps the party to take out Urson's men who were awaiting them on the beach, going so far as to encourage them to continue on without him. He also takes great pains to attempt to keep The Lunar Queen's wolf from attacking the party, eventually able to assert dominance over it after a difficult altercation. He is able to get it to aid them in a later fight again Urson and the remainder of Urson's party. During this fight, the party helps Ankholt to defeat Urson, but they refuse to kill him (mainly due to Godiva's pleas not to.) Ankholt requests that the party allow him to use the Moonthrob Pearl's wish to bring his father back in return for allowing Urson to live, and the party reluctantly obliges.

When Ankholt delivers the pearl to the temple, and it is revealed that the Pearl contains the imprisoned Calicose, Ankholt is in shock, identifying Calicose as his god. At the request of Calicose, Ankholt attempts to kill the party, saying he cannot defy the will of his god. He is only stopped by Calicose quickly growing bored of the display, and stopping the conflict.

## Personality

Ankholt has an outwardly aggressive demeanor. He is very reserved about himself and his personal life. At first, he has no interest in being friendly with the party. Even when he warms up to them, he is hesitant to share anything about himself with them. He expresses hesitance for them to meet his pack, and specifically asks for them not to seek them out, as he doesn't want to risk leading Urson to them.

It may be that Ankholt simply struggles to express his emotions in general, as he ends up needing the guidance of the party in order to resolve his conflict with Eivor, expressing that he has no idea what to do or say to mend their relationship.

Ankholt is shown to care deeply about the important people in his life. For example, the death of his father and brother had a profound effect on him, and it is clear he has spent a great deal of time struggling to cope with their deaths. Also, he clearly cares strongly about Eivor, expressing a deep desire to keep them safe multiple times.

Similar to this, he is protective of those he cares for. Again, his desire to keep Eivor and the rest of his pack safe reflects this. Likewise, he even shows similar feelings towards the party, demanding that they go ahead and stay safe while he fends of Urson's party, and The Lunar Queen's wolf.

## Relationships

* Eivor - Ankholt's mate. It is unclear the duration of their relationship, but it is clear Eivor cares for him, as they are deeply upset at the idea of him going to Sealheart to face off with Urson.
* Magna Urson - Ankholt's longtime rival. After Urson's father killed his own, Ankholt became bent on revenge. It is unclear if Urson is purposefully avoiding Ankholt, since Ankholt claims he needs the party to act as bait.
* Juliet Lapure - Ankholt has some sort of working relationship with Lapure, though the extent and duration of this relationship is unknown. Lapure clearly trusts Ankholt enough to keep tabs on the party for her.

## Trivia

* Ankholt wields dual **Axes of Manslaying,** of which the party routinely refers to as "The Axes of Mansplaining."