Jorek

* Current Egyptian Armour
* Original Hyperborean Armour

Jorek is the eldest son of Stormlord Vrothar, he is a worthy heir in his father's eyes- a true son of Hyperborea and fierce warrior who doesn't hesitate to jump into action when the time calls for it (and sometimes when it doesn't). He has joined the impossible quest to retrieve the First Weapon to keep his younger brother, Bo, safe on this strange world. He will not return as a failure or without his brother's place secured, especially now that he has refused the call to arms and avoided his duty as a citizen of Hyperborea to uphold his duty as older brother.

## History

### The Quest

Jorek, had been enjoying another day of training and sparring before being informed by a guardsman that his brother was confronting his father- he quickly hurried to the throne room to be a reasonable middle ground between the two stubborn characters. Bo requested his father give him a trial to prove his worthiness. The request could not be denied according to the Court's own rules, the Stormlord had no choice but to offer Bo a proposition- a quest he could accept or refuse. He gave Bo the impossible quest of finding the First Weapon, a mythical artefact wielded by their ancestor and founder of the Court of Storms. A quest that would take him to his precious Earth at long last. A quest that Jorek would take alongside his brother to keep the younger man safe. The only hint they have is that to the Stormlord's knowledge it was last used in the city of Rome.

To prove themselves to Dúrnir the Gatekeeper, Jorek and his brother were made to partake in a trial against mechanical beasts in the workshop of Hamar the Weaponsmith. The Brothers truly proved themselves when Dúrnir accidentally released the Knottheart captured from an Undromite vessel. After saving Dúrnir and subduing the 'living' metal dimension-twisting heart they were finally at the precipice of destiny. Jorek pushed Bo through the aurora and jumped in after.

### Greenland

The brothers landed first in Greenland, where a young anthropology student, Stefan, looking for his missing professor saw them tumbling through the sky. He and his professor were investigating local burial rites and received a tip-off about Sukkartil, a viking burial mound shrouded in superstition. They found something, a piece of a larger charm, but his professor disappeared overnight. Stefan explained that he went to the police but they hadn't done anything- he tried to call out of town for help but there was no service anywhere in town. He takes the brothers with him to the cell tower, the two are unfamiliar with the technology but recognise deep gouges in the metal as claw marks from some mighty beast. A little perturbed by this apparent sabotage Stefan mentions a ship in harbour that may still be able to radio out for help.

He drives them back to town but a spirit taking the form of a deer steps into the road and enraptures the three of them. When they wake up from the trance it is night, the deer is nowhere to be seen and the car's battery has died- the brothers use their lightning powers to recharge the battery, at this point Stefan realises the two men he are travelling with are not merely tall men but perhaps something else.

The brothers try to retrace the steps of Professor Knudsen, starting at the man's clearly ransacked hotel room and then visiting the pastor and local hobbyist rune translator Father Gabriel Jørgensen. After their meeting with the priest they are harassed by a pair of cops whose eyes turn black and they realise that something has a hold over the people in the town.

They arrive at La Question, and introduce themselves and the situation to the crew. The brothers realise the charm the crew has found in their salvage is similar to the one Stefan found. The lights of the town go out completely and Kigatilik reveals itself for the first time as it attacks the ship- injuring Harkness, kidnapping Stefan along with the two pieces of the charm. It's attack reveals that the creature has an affinity for the black waters of the Arctic Ocean- forming some sort of gateway to escape through.

In the dark, something rocks the ship as a giant earth spirit marches onto the land to prevent the slaughter of the corrupted townsfolk. After an initial misunderstanding from Jorek and Bo, the three of them work together to stop the dark spirit Kigatilik from completing his unbinding. Sangilak, the earth spirit, gives the Hyperboreans a choice- to take the bound Kigatilik with them or to return him to Adlivun for the time being.

Their work completed the brothers go with the crew of La Question. In the days that follow, Jorek helps out around the ship and tries his best to catch a fish by throwing lightning bolts.

### Quebec City

The Captain organises things while disembarking so that McCain can meet with an 'old friend' to get papers sorted for the brothers to go to Rome, while Chef and Diego show them around the city. They visit La Fleur Centrale, a fancy restaurant that combines French cuisine with locally sourced Quebec ingredients. Jorek temporarily embarrasses himself in front of Chef, who smoothly recovers and apologises on his behalf. Afterwards the two brothers split up, with Jorek going with Chef to visit an old friend of hers for a wine tasting.

By coincidence both are within range to respond when two wrestlers, Angelfire and Timekeeper threaten a man in a busy street. The brothers cautiously choose to aid the man when Timekeeper starts getting aggressive- believing the brothers to be bodyguards. After the wrestlers beat a hasty retreat the man reveals himself to be Constantine Duchesne, owner of the EWL and former employer of the two wrestlers that just attacked them. He offers the brothers a chance to fight in the ring, offering money and glory which they are varyingly receptive to and insists they visit the arena for a tour as his way of saying thank you.

Diego takes the brothers to McCain's contact who agrees to create counterfeit passports for Jorek and Bo in exchange for a favour in lieu of payment (or rather refuses to take payment or produce passports without them doing this favour). They are told that his previous client refused to pay and that they are likely still in a warehouse nearby. They attack the warehouse- taking care of the hired muscle in less than a minute- leading Metalmark to abandon the suitcase full of money when he realises he's outmatched. They return to the counterfeiter who is elated that they brought much more money than he had asked for, McCain threatens him and he shares some of the ill-gotten gains back to the brothers.

They then visit the Colisée d'Extrême to get the guided tour Constantine promised, midway through the tour he has to take an importnat business call and while they wander around into the locker rooms they find Angelfire and Timekeeper. This time Angelfire explains the situation- they were the top wrestlers in the League and don't know why they were let go they just want to confront Constantine to find out why- as they believe it is because of their secret relationship.

The brothers agree to confront Constantine alongside the wrestlers. Constantine tells them that it's not because they're gay- it's just the future arriving. He releases a gas that incapacitates the wrestlers but merely stuns the hardy Hyperboreans on whom he releases MARU. A robotic fighter capable of replicating metahuman abilities and advanced fighting styles. The robot proves hard to even lay a finger on- it is fast and strong but, after cleverly realising that the robot is programmed to defend Constantine, they are able to defeat the robot as it throws itself in front of their attacks to protect it's master. Unfortunately, MARU explodes when hit with a particularly powerful blow and in the chaos, Constantine was able to escape into a secret hatch.

The brothers rest up and say their goodbyes to Angelfire and Timekeeper who have uncertain futures ahead of them now. The brothers then go to another fancy dinner, this time as the Captain's guests. They enjoy one last meal with the crew of La Question. The Captain gives the brothers a beacon, telling them that if they're ever lost in the Atlantic- La Question will be there, no questions asked. With that they are escorted to the airport to depart for Rome.

### Rome

#### Catacombs

It wasn’t long after the brothers had landed in Rome that their adventure continued and the search for the weapon ignited. They were greeted in the Airport by a distant relative of theirs, Hermes, who gave them gifts and some rather helpful information. The brothers were told to go find the goddess of Rome, as if anyone knows the comings of goings of the eternal city, it’s her. Being led down deep underground into the depths of the city the brothers quickly stumbled into the bizarre. Stumbling into a hidden lab of a renaissance scientist and alchemist they met and freed a homunculus, who introduced himself as Piccolo Adamo. He had been suspended in a contraption and asleep for hundreds of years after his creator had died in the hunt for eternal life. Soon after a sarcophagus propped against the wall with mysterious brass pipes fed from beneath the floor began to make noise- as if someone were inside and scratching to get out. Piccolo jumped to release his father from the coffin but the brothers stopped him at first. After some discussion they decided to open the coffin of Piccolo's father- his desiccated corpse mindlessly attacked the brothers as soon as he was released- his body reanimated by a mysterious green gas that Piccolo called the 'Gas Vitale'. The brothers with their new friend followed the gas delving deep into the catacombs below the city. Smashing skulls of the restless undead to set them to rest once again and expelling the gas within. Eventually they made it to the goddess of Rome. Terrifying and primal, the She-Wolf gave the brothers a mission for the information they required from her.

The source of the gas was coming from a portal to this world from another, the She-Wolf gave them a simple instruction, get rid of the unwanted guests and close the portal so that the bodies in the catacombs would be allowed to rest once again. Although as the brothers were to find out, it wasn’t that simple. After beating up *A LOT* of imps the brothers where eventually overwhelmed and Piccolo taken. Heading after them it was here the boys discovered the truth. The unwanted guests were not invaders, more refugees, and the gas possessing the bodies were by-products of their escape bringing forth malign spirits from their world. Avaea explained to them that her people are in trouble and have been forced to flee their world, Avernus. The brothers figured if they helped these creatures return to their world it would be *far* better than the alternative. So they agreed to free Lord Mantus, god of Avernus, from the Fomorians that had captured him.

#### Avernus

Avaea brought them through an underground spring and on the other side they surfaced in a small temple in a hellish landscape. They battled a few of the Fomorian lurkers and made moves to get to Mantus' Palace- as they crossed a lake of lava and liquid fire they were spotted by the Fomorian Lánurú who held back his forces from pursuit. The brothers entered through the secret entrance that Avaea had described to them previously and made their way past a number of devious booby traps until eventually they came up into the throne room. It was there they found Mantus- bound by enchanted seaweed that tightened whenever they tried to break it. They had a chance to quickly speak with the underworld God- finding out that the Fomorians had tricked him and stolen his Infernal Spear with which he commanded supreme power in Avernus- before the Fomorians returned to gloat and demand the god's compliance.

The brothers realised that Lárgluin, the Fomorian commander, was wielding the spear and launched an attack against him which quickly turned into an epic battle against the Fomorian Invaders. The brothers eventually managed to return the spear to Lord Mantus, who quickly freed himself from the confines of his throne. As Mantus escaped his binds an inky black cloud rolled through, rescuing each of the Fomorians bar their commander who cursed Lánurú's name and tried to run but was struck down by the wrath of Mantus.

Grateful for their assistance Mantus granted the brothers one request- which they made to find more information on the first weapon. He gave the brothers an old tome from his library with information that would help them on their quest. This was where the pleasantries ended and he warned the brothers never to return and to keep him out of the war that was coming- as he would be involved on neither side. This only left more questions in the brothers' minds. The Avernals were extremely grateful to the brothers and they returned home and the She-Wolf was satisfied that what she had asked had been achieved- while the method was not what she had expected of them. She told the brothers the information she had about the weapon- it was no longer here but when it *had* been in Rome, it was kept in the Vaults of the Vatican. She told the brothers she would shape the passageways below Rome to get them straight into the Vatican...

#### Vatican

The brothers arrive in the Vatican in the middle of a firefight between security forces and the Seven Deadly Sins- a team of villains under the control of Cardinal Sin. The security forces take immediate decisive action against the trespassers- who decide discretion is the better part of valour. They run into Nick Balthasar who correctly surmises they've just come back from a hell dimension from the potent smell of brimstone and offers to send them back- the hard way. He initially assumes they're demons using the Sins as a distraction so they can complete their true mission and he fights them up until he realises they're not smart enough to pull that off (his words) and leaves them fighting a smoke clone.

After this they stumble across a False Pope and his guards while trying to get away from the chaos in Saint Peter's square. The "Pope" has his guards attack the intruders and when the guards are defeated the brothers watch bemused as the Pope quickly packs on some serious musculature and attacks them. When defeated this "Pope" reverts to their true form- a gray ooze.

They decide that to know what's really going on they'll have to join the melee outside, assuring the security forces they're here to help they attack the Seven Deadly Sins all while the hologram of Cardinal Sin lectures the Catholic Church on their failings. They overcharge Acedia's battery pack and she disappears in an explosion of blue light, enraging Luxuria. A local hero, The Inventor flies in to help- mostly aiding the wounded security forces get to safety with the rest of their cohort. Jorek traps Avarice in the sword soul- Avarice reveals he may not fully be in control of his actions and agrees to remain in the sword for the duration of the fight. While fighting Gula and Superbia, Avarice is released from Jorek's sword and is very quickly brought back under the mental influence of Ira, exploding in anger at Jorek for "lying" about their deal.

The Inventor mentions Ira has been hanging back, and Bo realises he must be the one controlling the other Sins. After targeting and injuring Ira, Avarice suggests to Superbia that the Sins retreat- having sustained too many losses, he plays to her ego by telling her she's the only one who can save them.

After the Sins have been defeated, Pope Xavier requests an audience with the three heroes that saved his life, he tells the brothers that they shall have unfettered access to the Vatican archives. Which they use to ask the archivist to translate the templar tome, he reveals that it's encoded and the medieval cypher will be somewhere in his files. In the meantime he invites the brothers to check out the vault where the First Weapon was kept before being taken by the Vandals to Tunisia, as they descend into the vaults they find a statue of a stealth operative and a wounded Balthasar bleeding out and resting against a wall. He admonishes the brothers for being late and informs them of how the Seven Deadly Sins were a distraction so these mysterious operatives could steal something from the vaults. Balthasar readily agrees to cast a spell to teleport the brothers to Tunisia, in exchange for a few pints of Jorek's blood.

The brothers introduced Piccolo to Leonardo, who quickly accepted the homunculus and the responsibility for looking after him. The four of them went to Leonardo's mansion and ordered in gelato. Sleeping in a real bed for the first time in days, the brothers enjoy a restful sleep.

The next morning the brothers enjoy a late breakfast and say their fond farewells to Piccolo and Leonardo. On their way to the Archivist they are approached by the rude messenger squirrel, Ratatoskr, who brings a personal message from Odin: "Ragnarok is Coming"

Shaken by this news the brothers return to find the archivist's research complete- the tome had been translated and described a siege of Alexandria where the 'Divine Arms' was used to mixed effect- summoning a storm that prevented Saladin's forces from capturing the city but also prevented the crusaders escaping by sea. The writer, Brother Lanslet, did not know the ultimate fate of the weapon but the account mentioned the hiding place under the fortress- a map of the city is given- with the location of the former fortress highlighted. With their new information they ask Balthasar to rearrange the spell to transport them to Alexandria which he performs in a blood bank some way from the Vatican due to the agreement that Jorek give Balthasar some of his blood and because of the intense spatial protection wards around the holy see- wards he notes the brothers broke through with ease. When informed that Ragnarok is coming Balthasar simply and calmly dismisses the thought as impossible.

### Alexandria

#### Arrival

When they arrive in Alexandria they visit a tourist shop and "buy" sunglasses and a tourist map they use to find the way towards the old fortress. On the way they are attacked by Brother and Sister, two mages who were tracking Balthasar and instead found the Hyperboreans. Sister begged Brother for a chance for fun and he relented- allowing her to attack the strangers. After their intense fight damages an electrical pylon the brothers absorb the city's electrical grid to fire into a single blast directly at Sister who soars away across the city. Brother abandons the fight to rescue her.

Their epic attack drains the city of power. They head into the underground fortress complex, quickly realising it is filled with traps and puzzles. They eventually make it to the final room where they fight Zabar'Irashu, the Burning Guardian. They find the seal binding the djinn to service and free him. He thanks the brothers and departs.

#### Calamity Strikes

Calamity Sam threatens to unleash his Calamity Machine on the city of Alexandria with the intent of flattening it. Jorek and Bo save people from a car crash, help control a crowd and save some children from being trampled, save people from a burning building and save people from a collapsing bridge. They are approached by Lightspeed who tells them he will be able to destroy the Calamity Machine in approximately 2 minutes, if they can simply distract Sam for that long.

During the fight Calamity Sam demonstrated his power and the brothers demonstrated their resilience as they were thrown around and through the walls of the historic Citadel of Qaitbay. The brothers lured him into a trap, combining the waters from the aquarium and all of their lightning combined but still he shrugged it off with only minor damage. Having not landed a single scratch on him and suffering many injuries themselves the brothers grew desperate and, knowing they only had to hold on for Lightspeed to deactivate the machine, Jorek trapped Calamity Sam inside his swordsoul.

Jorek waits feeling a pang of dread as his blade begins to flicker and spark. Calamity Sam had used his power to brute force his way out of the soulscape, damaging the sword and it's connection to Jorek in the process. Jorek was then forced to watch helpless as Calamity Sam brutally beat down Bo culminating in Sam breaking Bo's fingers with a sickening crunch. Sam taunted the brothers, telling them they'd at least have front row seats to his Calamity Machine. Jorek passed out just as the Calamity Machine began exploding.

#### Road to Recovery

Jorek awoke in a hospital bed, alongside his brother and a stranger in the corner. The stranger revealed himself to be Lightspeed and apologised for letting them face Calamity Sam alone, that he should have found another way. Jorek realised that Bo's hand was badly mangled, with a number of metal pins in each of his fingers. When Bo woke up, he was obviously in pain and afraid that he'd never play guitar again but put on a brave face for his brother. The doctors told the brothers about their injuries, that each would need rest and explained to Bo that the difference between human and hyperborean physiology was too much to tell for sure if his hand would ever fully heal though he doubted it would be as instant as the young hero wanted.

Jorek and Bo then got to meet with a number of people grateful for all they did, the two had truly become heroes. For a second it felt like it might be worth it- but Bo had lost a hand and Jorek couldn't sense his connection with his sword. Jorek's confidence had been shaken by the defeat, even while the people who he had saved thanked him all he could think of was his loss. They visited the restaurant that would become known as Al-Joreki's Unwilling to stay still, the pair set off for Cairo- hoping to find a new lead about the First Weapon.

They felt the loss of their weapons keenly when the two depowered brothers had to defend a bus from bandits led by Khopesh, a minor villain from Egypt who used the ancient sickle-like swords to effect against the weakened duo. Ultimately though the brothers won out and Jorek took a blade with him as a temporary replacement.

### Cairo

When they first arrived in Cairo they had very little to go on- Saladin may have seized the first weapon from the Termplars, but that wasn't much of a lead. Not long after they began trudging through the city they noticed a book store called "The First Weapon". They headed inside and Jorek quickly began interrogating the older gentleman on the meaning of the store's name. The gentleman explained that the "First Weapon is Knowledge" and when asked told them his name was "Mr Djehuty". Quickly, the pair went from being a curiosity to a nuisance in the eyes of Mr Djehuty who offered them an ultimatum- he did, in fact, possess knowledge about the ownership of the First Weapon they were hunting for. In exchange for this information they traded away the stone tablets gifted to them by Hermes- Mr Djehuty told them that the First Weapon was currently in the hands of the Cult of Apophis.

#### Love in the Air

Returning to the streets of Cairo with a new lead to follow, they were approached by Hermes again who whisked them away to speak with Aphrodite. Aphrodite took pity on the broken creatures before her and offered to fix Jorek if he would bind himself to her service. As *the* goddess of love she could easily reconnect his soul with his sword and she demonstrated as much- reactivating his sword with pink lightning. Jorek was about to accept her offer when they saw a giant winged boar descend from the sky. From it's saddle stepped Freyja who offered an alternative deal- she would help them to fix themselves by getting them in touch with the local gods to heal Jorek's soul and Bo's body. The pair decided to take Freyja's offer, much to Aphrodite's chagrin. And while they were already upsetting deities, the brothers told Hermes that they had traded away his gift which seemed to really wound him.

#### Trials of the Gods

Freyja gave the brothers a herbal mixture that would allow their souls to ascend to the ethereal plane. They were transported to the desert dunes of the Duat accompanied only by the untalking Hildisvíni. They could see the temple of the gods at the rugged hills, just out of reach. They walked towards them for what felt like an hour but got no closer and decided there must be some magic stopping them. The brothers approached a caravan of wanderers and spoke to an old man called Shamat. Shamat told them that the Gods did not see many petitioner these days but that he wanted them to bring his son to the afterlife because he had died outside of Egypt. While talking with Shamat they were caught in a sandstorm where they were both forced to confront their Shadow selves- they sent Shamat away on Hildisvíni. Each were taunted by their duplicate with their insecurities and the brother's darker or guilty thoughts had to be said aloud to defeat the shadows for good. Jorek admitted that he did not feel like a good brother and Bo admitted that he wants to stay on Earth. When both shadows were defeated the sandstorm fell away and they saw the path to the temple.

They approached the steps and were soon joined by Hildisvíni and an amazed Shamat- they had circumvented the gods will to petition them directly making them powerful or perhaps even royal. The first trial on the road was gratitude- they placed their hand on the door where it was pinched by a scarab beetle until they named five things they were grateful for. Shamat named his new friends who had saved him more years of wandering as one thing he was grateful for.

Jorek was grateful for:

From here they completed a puzzle involving different sized containers and carried several casks of wine and beer up the path. They came to a door that lead to a replica of a historical town inside. The streets ran red with blood and the moon and stars twinkled from the ceiling. They encountered an Echo of Sekhmet and were forced to confront her, Bo realised she had a thirst for blood and encouraged the party to trick her into drinking the wine which lead to the same outcome as when Ra sought to stop her rampage the first time.

They reached the temple of the Ennead, not existing in the Duat, nor on Earth or anywhere but itself. Here they met Horus and the form of Djehuty was revealed to be Thoth. The gods debated the heroes' worth with Horus as their advocate. Seth arrived as the gods were wrapping up their decision and declared that as the God of Storms and Foreigners, the brothers were his domain. He forced the heroes (who he dismissed at first as bad replacements for himself) to fight against the Devourer as a judge of their ability and moral fibre. He was surprised when they won but as agreed he helped Jorek restore his power, only a small fraction, enough for him to nurture his bond with his sword himself and to regain his lost confidence.

In exchange for more information on the Cult of Apophis they agreed to one more trial- to rescue Shamat's son and all the warriors who had died on an ill-fated campaign to Iram of the Pillars.

### Todd Stool and the Lost City

They returned to their bodies and said goodbye to Hildisvíni. Jorek found a map in his pocket leading them to the Wadi Rum and Bo received a vial of water labelled "Boon of the Life-Giving Nile". They arranged transport and arrived by the next day at the tourist village of Shakaria. There was a palpable tension in the air when they arrived- the military was trying to move people away from town as quickly as possible. Jorek antagonised the colonel of the military unit who ordered the brothers immediate arrest. Bo persuaded his brother to go quietly but when they were thrown into the cage Jorek made a point of breaking his handcuffs.

Inside the cage they met Todd Stool, a man who had received a terrible curse and who was also looking for the lost city. They compared his compass to their map and decided that fate had clearly brought them together for a reason so the three began planning their escape when they were set free. A little confused, the three men were lead to Dr Ian Brighton and Dr Leo Wechsler- they'd heard of Bo and Jorek's heroics and hoped they could help the cause of discovery. They were on a time limit to excavate a site they believed to be the lost city of the desert- Iram of the Pillars. But they had to move fast before the Jordanian government transferred control of the digsite over to a team of national archaeologists. Complicating matters were the film crew for the Nouveauville Dune, who had been granted exclusive access to the Wadi Rum. Jorek impatiently asked what this had to do with them (despite having just been saved from a cage), Wechsler cut the explanation short and told them they'd been threatened by a team of supervillains. He wanted them to find these villains and make them confess that they were sent by the film crew thus giving unrestricted access back to the dig crew as the Jordanian military was allowing no access to the Wadi Rum without proper documentation.

They went to the Film crew, looking for clues as to these supervillains location or for a way to walk into the desert without helping anybody else. Here Todd was mistaken for a crew member due to his alien appearance and they found themselves face to face with famous movie director Sidney Nouveauville himself. He explained that they had been threatened by villains too- he'd given them a substantial quantity of money to make them go away but they'd also stolen several expensive cameras and lights. This setback would mean that production would have to be stopped and the movie put on ice. His security had seen a truck careening off towards the cliffs but their vehicles were kept locked up (ironically to prevent theft) and by the time they were unlocked and ready the truck had disappeared from view.

They left the film crew and found the "villains" who had stolen the equipment. They were just roguish locals who had created their own villain personas and had bluffed their way through intimidating the film crew. They got the equipment back, the fake villains knew where the *real* villains were hiding out so the brothers and Todd knew where to head next.

As they departed through the desert to get to the real villains they were attacked by the Golden Lotus who were targeting Todd for his past transgressions against them. Jorek got a chance to use his newly repaired sword to fight against Spring Blade, while White Claw focused on Todd and the Hyperborean protecting him. Having not counted on Todd having such powerful allies the assassins retreated with a smoke bomb.

Jorek cut portals up the cliffside for the trio and they arrived undetected at the supervillains camp. They caught the mercenary Ace of Spades and the bandit Khopesh unaware and quickly subdued them. Deathstalker was their third member but seeing her "allies" already beaten she decided it wasn't worth the effort and told the heroes (and Todd) that she would cancel the contract to scare the dig team away.

They returned to the outpost and chose to side with the film crew, they were given special credits from the director immortalising their contribution to artsy science fiction movies forever. They rode out in jeeps to the film location and then followed the map to what seemed to be the archaeologist's dig site- they blasted their way through the sandstone floor and into the lost city of Iram. From here they avoided ancient booby traps, falling rocks and deep crevasses and followed Todd's compass to an open atrium where every surface was covered in tally marks and ancient desiccated corpses in Egyptian armour stood braced. There was also a man, speaking an old dialect of Nabataean which only Bo and Jorek could understand, he seemed to have gone crazy over time, unwilling or unable to leave the room which housed the Betyl of Al'Shaya. Bo began distributing the waters of the Nile to the fallen Egyptian soldiers in the hope this would be enough to take them back to the homeland. The Fallen Star Champion began fighting the trio with his ancient power from the meteoric shard, when he was defeated he began to rapidly regenerate as a beam of light from the Betyl to the champion intensified but the Betyl was snatched by Todd and sent to his dark mistress via a small teleport spell and the champion began to collapse as a wave of energy burst outwards causing the cave structure to start collapsing.

The three reached the surface and went their separate ways- having achieved their goals and needing to continue on in different directions. Bo and Jorek found out the name of Todd's benefactor and did their best to persuade Todd not to trust Malice- saying her chosen name could well be an indicator of possible ill-intent...

### A New Lead

#### Skorn the Godhunter

Having returned from Jordan successfully returning the souls of the Egyptian soldiers to the afterlife as the barge that transported them reached the docks they heard the beating of wings through the fog. Looking up into the sky they managed to quickly get people out of the way as a dragon came down breathing a burst of fire forth that caused a crane to drop it's heavy load. The armoured assassin, Skorn the Godhunter, had dropped off the drake's back and was preparing to ambush the brothers as the dragon came around for another attack. When Skorn struck, Jorek asked his brother if he could handle it and without waiting for an answer cut a portal into the sky above the dragon driving his blade into it's back striking a critical blow. The two of them, dragon and hyperborean plummeted down towards the water below, smashing through the barge- placing the men aboard in peril. Bo abandoned the fight with Skorn to rescue the men aboard but the giant didn't fight him either diving without hesitation into the water even with their heavy armour on.

Jorek waited in the water, expecting the fight to continue but Skorn dived past him to where the dragon had sunk. Jorek helped Skorn pull the dragon to the surface and waited warily with his brother as Skorn removed her helmet revealing herself to be a female fire giant (though a particularly small one). Skorn desperately tried to rouse her firedrake and once she was sure Rofi was alive, she addressed the heroes thanking them for helping save Rofi from drowning. She then told them they were equal for now and that she would track them down and catch them next time.

#### Promises Kept

After this Jorek and Bo were pulled to the temple of the Ennead to speak with Horus again- they had succeeded in their trials and so he told them of the Cult of Apophis- who had the first weapon in their possession. He told them of Apep's goal to return the material world to the void, that Earth was his battlefield for all of creation (Horus hypothesised that there may not be anything special about Earth just that Apep kept attempting his invasion on Earth out of spite) and that he returned in cycles, beaten back every time by an alliance of heroes and gods. Cycles that echoed the struggles of the dead Elder Gods- and whose divinity had been spread across the universe with the beginning of creation. A cycle of destruction kept hidden from humanity and even the other gods of Earth- believing that knowledge of this cycle could limit their ability to live full lives. Horus also indicated that this next iteration would either be the last in the cycle, or the end of the Ennead.

As a manifestation of the void outside of creation he is strengthened by destruction of civilisation and order- the motivation for his cult to cause disasters. Horus tells the brother that to this end they are planning to attack the sunken city of Atlantis- though he regrets he cannot be more specific.

#### Ghostship

The brothers head west, across the Mediterranean aboard the Fletcher Morecambe an empty cargo ship bound for Tangier to bring back much needed humanitarian supplies to Alexandria. Captain Pepper welcomes the heroes aboard and offers them all the comforts he can provide, which admittedly isn't a lot. Both of them appreciate the free ride but between the bare bunks, the cramped conditions and Kigatilik's nightmares they have trouble sleeping. A couple days into their journey as they sleep for the night they are both woken from their nightmares- it's quiet. A blanket of fog has enveloped the ship and the engine has stopped making the ship the quietest it's been the whole trip. They hear shuffling footsteps down the corridor and Jorek tries to get back to sleep while Bo tries to explain the bad vibes he's feeling. The radio starts playing- **loudly**. The brothers go to investigate and open the door only narrowly avoiding the thrown radio which shatters against the wall. They see George and Scar in the kitchen, George reassures the brothers that John (the ship's electrical engineer) will repair the electrical systems and the ship will be moving again shortly. He tells the brothers to head back to bed and not to wander the ship in the dark. The lights briefly come back on, as if backing his point, only to go out again shortly after.

It's soon discovered that John is dead, apparently electrocuted while repairing electrical systems. Bo and Jorek overhear George and Paul talking about the "special cargo" and a quick accusation of superstitious nonsense from one to the other. Bo and Jorek get separated aboard the ship and find themselves in increasingly creepy and unnerving situations- hearing whispered voices, seeing a ghostly apparition and for Jorek- being trapped in a room with John's body. Jorek asks George and Paul about what they're hiding, they reveal that they were asked by "the museum" to smuggle Egyptian grave goods without their captain's knowledge. Jorek assures the Captain won't find out when they offer to get them in touch with someone who can get them into Atlantis. After being separated again the perpetrator of these hauntings appears in the form of a jagged but distinctly humanoid figure composed of lightning, the brothers stand and fight but their attacks only seem to make it stronger. The lightning ghost reveals that it knows Bo and Jorek specifically, and that it wants revenge for what Bo did. Jorek pulls the ghost into his soulscape to keep it away from the rest of the crew while the brothers try to figure out what to do. Bo realises that he created the lightning ghost when he overcharged Acedia and walks over to the ghost and drains it's energy back into himself- knocking him into a coma that would last for the rest of the trip. The lightning ghost is made flesh and blood again and the three of them leave the soulscape, the girl is an amnesiac claiming not to remember any of what happened. Jorek vouches for the strange new girl who has appeared aboard the ship and that's enough for the Captain.

Jorek, left alone on the ship, stays loyally by his brother's side day and night waiting for him to wake up while the newly christened Nemo learns more about the rest of the crew.

Jorek is called to the deck by George- Phobomenos has come to summon him back to Hyperborea as the council has called for war preparations. Jorek refuses to the disgust of Phobomenos who insinuates that Jorek is a coward and a traitor with no honour.

#### Intrigue in Tangiers

When Bo first awakes from his 72 hour nightmare he is not particularly cordial or grateful towards his caring brother who has watched over him tirelessly those past few days and nights and the two get into an argument. Bo tells him he didn't have to come and Jorek saying that obviously he did and what's more he just gave up his chance to go back. Nemo walks in during the moment of silence that follows but the awkward tension almost sends her immediately back out. She thanks Bo for saving her from her lightning form and he apologises for causing the lightning form in the first place.

Nemo tries her best to get the brothers to communicate- though there's still a tension- while they shop for new clothes. She persuades the brothers that they deserve a little rest and relaxation and drags them off to the nicest hotel in the vicinity- The Tangier Grande. The brothers are surprised to find out they already have two luxury rooms booked in their names at behest of the owner of the hotel- Mr Drake. Nemo bats her eyelashes to get her own room forcing the uneasy brothers to share a room. The three of them head down to the bar to meet with Mr Drake- finding the elderly British gentleman smoking in a booth. He explains that the rooms are complimentary but he does have a job he'd like them to help him with.

Drake explains that the Nazis have come to the city looking for a weapon buried by Nazis that escaped the allies after the war- Tesla's Missing Death Ray. He pauses while Nemo gives an encyclopaedic description of the Nazis to Bo and Jorek. Drake then explains that his father had dedicated his life to looking for the weapon and that he himself didn't believe it existed until recently. He had retired from the intelligence service to run the hotel in the city as a way of keeping his promise to his father- that he'd make sure the weapon stayed out of enemy hands. Now that it was real though he needed backup as he had scoped out the enemies overwhelming numbers- he wanted Jorek to infiltrate as the Reich's ideal ally- a blonde-haired blue-eyed Hyperborean using codes the Axis powers had broadcast into the aurora during WW2 when they tried to form an alliance with Hyperborea. Jorek warned him that guile wasn't his strong point but foolishly Drake did not heed his warning believing the mission to be simple enough to not fail. The four of them drank together and Bo decided he wasn't going back to sleep- Kigatilik had mentally tortured him during his coma. When Jorek awoke alone in his room he was meant to be sharing he searched the hotel for his brother, waking Nemo up much to her chagrin and eventually finding his brother dishevelled at the breakfast bar. Bo flashed him a tired smile and refused to admit anything was wrong.

Bo and Drake waited hidden across the street while Jorek infiltrated the Nazi occupied bazaar. Inside the bazaar was a full military unit of clones and Nazi supervillains. Jorek nearly broke cover multiple times while speaking with the sneering Nazi commander and then suddenly the ceiling shattered inwards, glass raining down and the bazaar was instantly filled with chaos. Bo rushed to his brothers aid, having seen the threat to be from the sorcerous siblings known to him only as Brother and Sister. Inside Jorek fought against Brother and Sister while being caught in the Nazi's crossfire. The Nazis escape using Grinsen's power. Sister promised Jorek a slow death for what he'd done to her- pulling down her high collar (unseasonal in Morocco even in winter) and revealing the scars on her neck from their last encounter.

The brothers regrouped together and fought brother and sister, brother was hit hard early in the fight leading Sister to go into a somehow even more furious rage and her blades ripped through the bazaar. Brother cast a spell giving Sister a power boost- restoring her stamina and imbuing her with dark energy. Her scars turned black along with the sclera of her eyes. Even with her extra power though she still could not beat the brothers and as she began to collapse she cried bitter tears and shouted that it wasn't fair. Brother hearing his sister cry stumbled to his feet and summoned a dark portal beneath them that they fell through before the Hyperboreans could hurt her further.

On the ride back to the hotel, Drake was quietly furious that his plans had been foiled- the weapon was still at large in the city and the Nazis had all but for a few clones escaped. When they got back he made an excuse to go be by himself and the brothers met up with Nemo at the massage parlour. Though not before noticing a sign advertising a meet and greet with famed celebrity and demigod Hercules.

#### Continued Labours of Hercules

After relaxing for a while Nemo asked if they knew Hercules. As it turned out, she had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the guy and wanted to get a bit closer to figure out why that was. Plus, she reasoned, they might be able to get her a couple free autographs that they could later sell.

Together the three of them cut the line and- after a brief misunderstanding where Hercules assumed they had come to fight and get some free clout- had a chance to speak to Hercules. Besides being more of a bloviating, self-aggrandising frat-bro than Jorek- Hercules was also quite helpful, arranging for his agent to get them tickets to Atlantis in exchange for a couple pictures for the gram. Along with three signed copies of his book- The Continued Labours of Hercules. After having spoken to him, the three agreed that the book must have been ghost-written.

### Saving Atlantis

During the events of Saving Atlantis Jorek, along with his brother Bo and the teen heroes Loxley and Fahrenheit, aided King Khoral in thwarting the Sea Witch's conquest. As well as saving the Olympic athletes and preventing Surface City from being sunk by the Cult of Apophis who had hoped to sabotage Atlantis-surface relations.

#### Keeping the Peace

After enjoying King Khoral's hospitality, the brothers asked him to take possession of their third of the Kigatilik totem. He agreed in exchange for their help hunting escaped Atlantean extremist Volix Urden who had already used his techno-sorcery to disable the weaponry of the squad of Atlantean soldiers sent to apprehend him- a trivial task for the man as he had been the mind behind the creation of Atlantis' magitech weaponry. King Khoral told the brothers that they were on the clock as the terrorist had hidden caches across the city before his imprisonment and that with every cache he found his arsenal increased.

Bo theorised that the weapons must have some kind of link to Volix in order for him to so effectively disable them and that this link could be exploited to find him . King Khoral gave them free reign to use the laboratory of the Atlantean Royal College, where they met head technician Halvunna who at first was very dismissive of them. However after their mission to hunt Volix was made known to her she suddenly became more compliant and interested- offering to help reconfigure the conductor gauntlet to find him. During the reconfiguration Bo revealed that he was more than just a pretty face and the two nerded out while Nemo and Jorek rested with their eyes closed. When the work was complete she told Bo that, as he was indebted to her, he would bring her along to their confrontation with Volix- just to watch, from a safe distance. Bo agreed to her terms.

They found Volix after he had found the final piece of his armour, he told the brothers they were too late and donned the helmet. They fought and the brothers were unable to lay more than a scratch on the man before they began working in unison. During the fight the brothers were trapped in black force bubbles and during this time Halvunna approached the villain and, in the words of Nemo, began fangirling. As the brothers began breaking out the bubble Nemo blasted Halvunna with the conductor gauntlet to stop her from attacking her boys from behind. The brothers rejoined the fight against Volix, with Volix throwing Jorek through the support pillars of an archway and Bo using his sonic shake-up to create disharmony in Volix's armour. Volix uppercut Jorek into the stone archway above and the structure collapsed on Volix. Bo and Jorek regrouped as Volix dug his way out with his armour's enhanced strength. Volix summoned up his strength to unleash a powerful darkwave, which the brothers were able to evade and the feedback left him debilitated and open for Jorek's strike which sent him flying back into the rubble pile and knocked his helmet from his head.

### Reunion with La Question

After finding out from one of the cultists held by the Atlanteans of an archivist in New York who will have answers for them they called in their old friends on La Question to give them a ride. Having got rid of Kigatilik the night before, both brothers were in good spirits as they greeted their oldest earth-friends. Jorek was quick to go to Chef, within the first five minutes which won McCain a bet from the Captain. Nemo went with Jorek to be his wingman, though he approached solo first. Chef was busy preparing a veritable feast for the brothers and the kitchen was quite small so Jorek found himself in the way wherever he stood with his gigantic figure. Calling in Nemo to introduce her to Chef- Jorek blushed a little as Nemo teased him and complimented the radiant Josephine Jules. Nemo suggested to Chef that it would be good for someone in the travelling trio to learn how to cook and suggested Jorek for the role- with Chef happy to teach and Jorek "happy to learn anything from her".

During the dinner Jorek and Chef stole glances and gazed at each other when they thought nobody was looking, though Chef never lost her composure. Harkness told Jorek that his injuries were more or less fully healed, except on cold nights when he feels them again. After dinner Nemo and Bo sidled up to McCain to see if he could teach them how to read people and the three of them ended up *totally non-chalantly* watching as Jorek and Chef spoke after dinner. Chef took Jorek by the hand and lead him away from prying eyes as he told her he had something important to tell her. The three onlookers, now joined by Diego, pretended not to be disappointed.

Under the twinkling stars, Jorek and Chef spoke in soft tones and then he kissed her. An act that surprised the normally unflappable woman, who wistfully told Jorek that their paths were still not aligned just crossing for a brief few days. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and called him her little cherry before heading off for bed. Jorek glumly slumped over the railing and staring into the sea below saw a green glow. Then from beneath the water a harpoon shot up past him, and he heard the tell-tale thunk of other harpoons hitting the ships hull.

The Vile Tide, the ghostly ship of the Dread Captain Fane rose above the sealine as his skeleton crew began clawing their way aboard the deck of the ship. McCain came from the below decks swinging a fire extinguisher and knocking a skull clean off- he told Jorek to follow Bo who had launched himself to the pirate ship telling him that they'd handle it over here. Jorek focused his energy into a chain lightning clearing the deck and giving the crew time to regroup ready for the next wave. As he cut a portal across to the pirate ship Fane thanked Jorek for freeing him from the Sea Witch as he could now be a free agent, the brothers fought against the ghostly captain while the crew of La Question fought against the skeleton crew. Working in tandem the brothers were able to break through the Captain's superior swordsmanship with overwhelming force and the power of **Family**.

After vanquishing Fane and returning to La Question, they grouped with the crew who were finishing up dispatching the skeletons- Chef with her trusty saucepan, McCain with his fire extinguisher and the Captain still in his silk pajamas. The Captain told the brothers it was always much more exciting when they were around, but that would be enough excitement for one night.

That's when the sky tore open. A black and white rift, like someone took a knife to the canvas of the sky. From that rift something fell. Someone. The brothers heard the clamouring of the crew. The man who fell from the rift in the sky was Ultiman. Over the coming days they would learn of this man's deeds- as Earth's greatest hero and champion against injustice. Nemo inadvertently revealed a lot more about Ultiman than the rest of the crew- she told the brothers of his origins, his powers, his weaknesses and his presumed off-world status.

#### Supply Run to Puerto Rico

Ultiman's arrival unfortunately meant that their course to New York would need to be diverted to the Caribbean where Doc could get medical supplies from an old friend in Puerto Rico. On the other hand, as Nemo pointed out, this meant a chance for some rest and relaxation. Together with Nemo and Diego the brothers headed for the beach where Bo and Diego joined a game of beach volleyball and Bo made a sizable impression on the local ladies- in particular one Isadora Arias who invited Bo (and technically his friends) to karaoke at a local bar. Diego had let slip to one of the women that Ultiman was aboard their ship and she had posted about it on social media. This would come back to haunt the group later when it was revealed by Ford Armstrong that ANIMA had tracked the unique dimensional energy signature of Ultiman to Puerto Rico and had combed through social media to find reported sightings. Leaving his brother and McCain to fight the gunslinger, Jorek left the bar to protect Josephine and the others from metallic brain drones. After dispatching a number of these drones with a mighty tempest he was approached by a huge metal minotaur. The villain announced their intention to take Ultiman and fought against Jorek- grabbing him and thrusting him through both walls of a business and out the other side. During the fight Iron Bull grabbed Jorek and flew straight up into the sky, Jorek summoned all the power of the storm to strike at him like a lightning rod. The two began to drop out of the sky before Iron Bull's power armour rebooted and the autopilot evacuated him while Jorek continued to tumble towards the ground. Jorek managed to cut a portal to save himself landing with a heavy thud on the La Question.

Regrouping at the ship, Bo disposed of the drones scanning the ship and began working with Curly and Harkness to insulate Ultiman's energy signature so the ship couldn't be tracked. Once they were done he shrouded the ship in a stormy fog and Jorek cut a huge portal for the ship to escape leaving their pursuers behind in Puerto Rico.

#### Bermuda Triangle

During a particularly harsh storm the crew of the La Question picked up a distress call. They discussed the possibility that it was a trap from Ultiman's pursuers but knew that they had to answer it anyway and steered into the storm. Jorek and Bo readied themselves for the rescue, or the trap. What nobody could've expected was to be transported to an extradimensional island inhabited by dinosaurs. The La Question was damaged during the storm and had to undergo repairs while Bo, Jorek and Nemo went ashore to find the source of the distress call. They came across Leo Beck who told them he was the only survivor of the shipwreck the trio were searching for. He took them to his hideout- a forest clearing hidden from view and surrounded with traps. Leo told them that his crew had been taken by the cannibals that live in the cliff caves and only come out at night.

As the sun got low in the sky, Leo told the trio it was best to wait until after sunrise to get moving again- the dinos may sleep but night is when the cannibals come out in force. They fell into an uneasy sleep but were rudely awoken by the sounds of cannibals preparing for an assault. The tension was broken by the immediate carnage of a pitched battle in the dark. Jorek fought blindly against his assailants and was hit with a venomous dart and in the chaos of the battle the hideout caught fire. His vision and body fading, Jorek watched helplessly as Nemo was carried away by the masked cannibals he tried desperately to call out for Bo- who had disappeared during the battle- but no sound came out as he fell unconscious.

The next day he was found by Leo who apologised for escaping the battle the night before and told Jorek that the cannibals would have taken Nemo to their cliffside caves

## Personality

On Hyperborea he is the dashing son of the Stormlord whose combat prowess is widely admired and envied by his warrior peers, but on Earth he is very much a fish out of water.

He often tries to impart wisdom to his younger brother to mixed effect.

## Powers, Abilities and Equipment

### Hyperborean Stormblood

Jorek is the scion of an ancient Hyperborean lineage of warriors leading back to demigods of both Æsir and Olympian blood. He can trace his ancestry straight back to Zeus and Thor. This means that in addition to the increased speed and strength granted by his Hyperborean physique he is capable of withstanding electrical attacks.

### Thunderer's Blade

Jorek's soul-forged weapon- the manifestation of his soul and desire for battle- took the form of a sword composed of pure electricity. When he pulls the blade from it's sheath it booms out with a thunderous roar and the lightning that forms the blade dances out into it's wicked form. By stabbing the sword into the floor he can summon swirling stormclouds that strike his foes. With the blade he can cut open portals that can be up to 500ft apart, though usually he cuts the portals with smaller distances to traverse obstacles or to get an advantageous angle on his enemies. A portal can also be made directly into the blade's soulscape where he can face an enemy in a fair fight.