Vornir, Prince of Jotun

**General:**

Vornir is the son of King Vanargand. Formerly a neutral evil half-frost giant monk, he later became a ghost and then returned to life as an outsider with half-dragon like qualities. He now rules over the north with Vera as his queen.

He was the first major antagonist of the party and was initially far beyond them in power. When they finally were ready to face and defeat him, Tamamo No Mae had mutated his body with the blood of The World Serpent in an unholy ritual.

Vornir made an unlikely alliance with the party when they journeyed to Niflheim. He stopped trying to kill them and even help them defeat Tamamo No Mae in exchange for them using their influence with Hel to let him leave Niflheim. After the blood witch's defeat, he returned as a ghost and has joined the party in their quest to defeat Tamamo No Mae, Master Sharuk and Loki's Reincarnation.

During the final battle with Legion, he was able to will a new body into existence with wings and even greater power.

**Appearance:**

Vornir in his original form stood more than seven feet in height and wore no more than a loincloth, a cloak, laced sandals and exotic looking jewelry. His body was perfectly muscled and sculpted like an Olympian statue carved from a shimmering block of ice. his long black hair was swept back, partially braided and falls to his lower back. his deep red eyes contrast starkly with his pale blue flesh. his face was handsome, like an ancient temple carving of a god, with high cheekbones and backwards curving horns.

Once infused with the blood of the World Serpent, Vornir's body underwent a mutation. his mouth was now filled with fangs, his fingers and toes ended in claws, his horns had grown larger and barbed. Spikes covered his chest and shoulders. Vestigal aquatic fins grew on his arms, legs and ears and his body was covered with scales as well as scarification from the blood ritual. He had grown a long, serpentine tail, which he has to coil around his waist, arms, and shoulders multiple times like belts in order for it not to drag behind him.

As a ghost, her returned to an incorporeal version of his original form.

During the final battle with Legion, he willed a new body into existence. This one had larger horns, a muscular body and draconic wings like Vera's. By this point, he had come to love her and wanted a body which was biologically compatible.

When Vornir was first encountered, he spoke with a cold, calm, self-assured arrogance and vanity. He seemed to hold utter disdain for most creatures, commonly referring to them as primitives or "fit only to grovel at my feet like a dog." When enslaving other beings he often acted as though he was being generous and merciful all while threatening to "crush you like an insect unless you submit to me." In truth, he was devoid of mercy and compassion, ordering his Neanderthal slaves to slaughter or enslave women, children and elderly non-combatants for daring to lay their "filthy, unworthy claws" on a piece of the Staff of Loki.

Secretly, Vornir loathed his human half because he believed it stunted him and weakened him. He despised his father, Vanargand, who viewed him as a runt and unworthy to inherit his clan. His father was the only being that he feared and he had hoped to earn his respect by assembling Loki's staff and becoming stronger. When faced with a worthy foe, Daleth, Vornir fought until both were severely injured but then retreated rather than risk his death. his father viewed him as a coward for this.

Vornir's sadism was revealed yet again when the party learned that he had captured a guild member during his earlier battle with Daleth. Momiji had found her mostly encased in a block of ice, suffering from frostburn, her teeth pulled out, her skull battered. Despite this torture, she had been able to resist betraying information about the guild. However, after transforming, Vornir was going to interrogate her again using his new telepathic abilities. Momiji granted her a mercy killing to spare her more pain and prevent guild secrets from being used against them.

**Post-Transformation:**

After transforming, Vornir was even more prone to violence. When fire elementals appeared on his father's boats, he ended up doing more damage than the elementals, sinking several ships as he annihilated them with ki blasts. He was less afraid of his father after he transformed, but still showed him some respect in that he didn't treat him as a subordinate. Unlike before, he was now willing to backtalk his father and challenge him. Since his father seemed impressed with his transformation, he was more determined than ever to prove himself worthy to be his son.

During his final battle with the party, in which they baited and ambushed him, he seemed to hold the initial advantage and arrogantly boasted while thrashing them. However, they did not go down as easily as he expected and this time they could actually injure him. Once they were able to turn the tables on him, he fled again.He was confident that the could not catch him and intended to heal, return to battle and finish them off. When Vera caught up with him, he expended all of his ki trying to destroy her with one blast but despite badly injuring her failed to finish her off.

This allowed Adam to catch up to him and blast him with the staff of Amun Ra in the back as he ran, a blast he could have deflected if he had stood and fought. Vornir died in disbelief of his defeat. In the afterlife, he saw the soul of Jormungandr in Niflheim and tried to reach, in vain, for the power that would never be his. He then seemed to accept his death as being due to his own unworthyness.

**Post-Death:**

However, Vornir's ancestors recognized his soul as tainted and did not accept him. Thus, he has wandered the wastes of Niflheim in exile, battling monsters to feed on their flesh. When the party initially encountered him again, he was overjoyed at the chance for revenge. They could kill him again and again but he was already dead and could just get up and keep fighting until his enemies were slain. However, when he realized the party had made an alliance with Hel he put aside his revenge for a chance to bargain for his release.

Vornir revealed to the party that he had always been suspicious of Tamamo No Mae and hated her for manipulating him and his father. He blamed her for his being unable to rest in peace. As a result of his conversations and battles with Vera, he came to respect her above the rest of the party. He saw her as a kindred spirit in a sense that they were both half-breeds who had grown up being spat upon and used that rejection to fuel their desire for strength. In subsequent conversations with the party, Vornir has been observed to have been humbled by death in general.

Vornir has admitted that his so called destiny to plunge the world into another ice age was a lie. He now views the party, collectively, as strong enough to defeat him if he tried. His new motivations became to make Tamamo No Mae and Loki's Reincarnation pay for using him. He also hoped to return to his life and see what he could achieve with his own training rather than relying on blood magic. He promised to help Vera in her quest to destroy the dragon orbs if she vouched for him to Hel and later Vera offered to become his queen were he to regain his body, with the two forming an unexpected attraction to one another.

Ultimately, Vornir was able to persuade Hel to let him return as a ghost and he travels with the party to defeat their shared enemies.

**Post-Game:**

After the victory over Legion, Vornir has done his best to be an effective leader of the North with Vera at his side. Vera is mostly able to keep his sadism in check. He is a harsh king but not unnecessarily cruel. But, he is a warrior spirit first and foremost and feels stifled in such a role. He longs to help Vera continue her quest to find the dragon orbs.

**Abilities:**

In life, Vornir seemed to be at the peak of physical ability and wielded mighty ki blasts.

When he was in the possession of the Staff of Uttercold, he used it to call upon an avalanche to bury Ren and then later a boreal wind to assist his attempts to escape.

His transformation granted him telepathy, poisoned blood, the ability to deflect natural projectiles and greatly enhanced his physical abilities. His tail could last out and constrict captured foes.

When encountered again in Niflheim, he was revealed to have trained and improved. He could use his ki blast as part of a flurry of blows and he could use the quivering palm technique. His spell resistance had also improved.

As a ghost, Vornir reverted to his original appearance but he is now incorporeal. He took a while to figure out his new abilities but eventually learned to interact with physical objects and possess people.

In his outsider form, Vornir regained a physical body as well as wings. His monk abilities have increased in power due to his continued battles.

 Vornir, being a Frost Giant, was vulnerable to fire, but his great reflexes and the staff of Loki offered him some protection.

**Post-mutation:**

His arrogance and vanity led him to underestimate the party, who had also grown significantly in power since their last encounter.

Despite his apparent confidence, he was shown to prefer to flee from a foe whom he thought he might lose to. This resulted in him being shot in the back by the Staff of the First Flame rather than being able to deflect it.

His transformation also made him recklessly violent, which demoralized his army and caused him to run into an ambush by the party and away from the protection of his cultists.

**Ghost:**

Vornir is no longer vulnerable to fire as a ghost, but he is vulnerable to anything undead are vulnerable to now. He struggled at first to master his incorporeal body but is now able to do so.

**Resurrection:**

 Vornir is effectively treated as a native outsider and is vulnerable to anything that can affect them.

Vornir's initial goal was to assemble the fragments of the staff of Loki. He succeeded in conquering several villages, slaughtering many innocents and taking many slaves to acquire all but the fire stone which was in the party's possession. He planned to hunt them down and retrieve this last piece.

However, after fighting Daleth to a standstill, he returned home to his father's kingdom. his goal then became to discover a way to further tap into the power of his blood. his father's mysterious foreign female advisor, (whom he ultimately wanted to kill for her 'insolence'), advised him that he would need to absorb more of the blood of The World Serpent to do so. Upon doing so, Vornir convinced his father to rally his armies and march South. The two of them planned to burn Mournwood Forest to the ground, slaughter everything inside, and wipe out the Illuminator Guild completely.

Vornir's ultimate goal was to halt The Thaw and plunge the world back into a second ice age that Jotun may reign supreme. He also believed that with his full power realized he could transform himself into a full-blooded Jotun. Then, he would surely prove himself worthy to his father and perhaps may even surpass him.

Vornir failed to achieve these goals as he was killed by the party and ended up failing to live up to his father's hopes. In the end, he died realizing that he was always unworthy.

**After death**

After Vornir's ancestors recognized his soul as tainted and did not accept him, he wandered the wastes of Niflheim in exile, battling monsters to feed on their flesh. When the party initially encountered him again, he was overjoyed at the chance for revenge. They could kill him again and again but he was already dead and could just get up and keep fighting until his enemies were slain.

However, when he realized the party had made an alliance with Hel he put aside his revenge for a chance to bargain for his release. He offered to help them to defeat Tamamo No Mae and Loki's reincarnation as punishment for manipulating him.

Vornir has admitted that his so called destiny to plunge the world into another ice age was a lie. He now views the party, collectively, as strong enough to defeat him if he tried. He hoped to return to his life and see what he could achieve with his own training rather than relying on blood magic. He promised to help Vera in her quest to destroy the dragon orbs if she vouched for him to Hel.

Ultimately, Vornir was able to persuade Hel to let him return as a ghost and he travels with the party to defeat their shared enemies. Vornir hopes to master his spirit form and possibly find a way to get his physical body restored as well. He may also allow Vera to become his Queen if such a thing occurs.

**Resurrection:**

Vornir is torn between wanting to rule over his father's kingdom well and not wanting to settle down just yet. He wants to help Vera continue to quest for the dragon orbs.

Vorinir was born the son of the King of Jotun, Vanargand and a human priestess of Loki. During his birth he was infused with the blood of Jormungander the World Serpent to give him a direct link to Loki's bloodline. However, his mother died giving birth to him.

As a youth, he was looked down upon as a runt or half-breed and it was clear that the other giants only tolerated him because of his father who was hardly impressed with him either. Tamamo No Mae had him trained by Master Sharuk in martial arts and he proved to be a prodigy, surpassing even his instructor. Vornir was then told by Tamamo No Mae that if he could assemble the staff of Loki he could plunge the world into another ice age and rule over it. With the aid of his father's neanderthal servants he began attacking southern villages in search of the piece of the staff. He strove to prove his might to his father and his people.

Vornir massacred most of and enslaved the rest of Rikka's tribe of kobolds to obtain a part of the staff which allows its wielder to change their appearance. He later killed Furt's goblin village to obtain a gem to set in the staff which gives him some power over cold.

**As the party's Nemesis:**

After encountering the party, he implanted abyssal parasites within them (given to him by Tamamo No Mae) that would kill them in 6 weeks, 6 days and 6 hours unless they brought him a heat controlling stone that was part of the staff from the Desert of Desolation. When they returned, he tried to claim it from them only for his armies to be met with high ranking Illuminator Guild members which fought him as the party fled.

Vornir battled Daleth until both were severely injured and then he and his forces fled rather than face the chance of death. However, they did manage to take one female Illuminator as prwasoner. Vornir tortured her brutally trying to learn the secrets of the guild but she told him nothing. Vornir then, under Tamamo No Mae's urging, began a blood ritual to infuse himself with the blood of The World Serpent. After days of agony, he has transformed and returned to find that Tamamo No Mae had been defeated by foreign agents.

After these agents caused some chaos in his kingdom, they slipped away undetected. Vornir convinced his father that they should march out with his entire army, burn Mournwood Forest to the ground, slaughter everything inside, and wipe out the Illuminator Guild completely. Vornir was convinced that this will force the party, who he believed was still out there with the last piece of the staff, to show themselves. However, he still believed them to be an inconsequential threat. He was more concerned with personally crushing Daleth and believed that between his powered up form and his father's assistance the guild head was a dead man.

The party baited Vornir as he arrived at the forest with an illusion of Daleth. He charged ahead of his cultist followers and into an ambush by the party and their gold pin guild member allies. There, after a difficult battle, he was ultimately forced to flee. The party chased him down and after failing to kill Vera with a full powered ki blast he tried to flee again. He was shot in the back by Adam wielding the Staff of the First Flame.

**After death:**

In death, his soul was sent to Niflheim and he accepted that he was never worthy of achieving his goals, attempting to join his ancestors in becoming one with the mountains.However, they would not accept him after his soul was altered by Tamamo No Mae's blood ritual. He was left to wander the wastelands surviving off of whatever creatures he could hunt and kill.

When the party initially encountered him again, he was overjoyed at the chance for revenge. They could kill him again and again but he was already dead and could just get up and keep fighting until his enemies were slain. However, when he realized the party had made an alliance with Hel he hit Ren with the quivering palm technique and offered that he could either kill them or he could help them defeat their enemies in exchange for his release from Niflheim.

The party after some discussion agreed to the alliance.

Vornir revealed to the party that he had always been suspicious of Tamamo No Mae and hated her for manipulating him and his father. He blamed her for his being unable to rest in peace. As a result of his conversations and battles with Vera, he came to respect her above the rest of the party. He saw her as a kindred spirit in a sense that they were both half-breeds who had grown up being spat upon and used that rejection to fuel their desire for strength. In subsequent conversations with the party, Vornir has been observed to have been humbled by death in general.

Vornir has admitted that his so called destiny to plunge the world into another ice age was a lie. He now views the party, collectively, as strong enough to defeat him if he tried. His new motivations became to make Tamamo No Mae and Loki's Reincarnation pay for using him. He also hoped to return to his life and see what he could achieve with his own training rather than relying on blood magic. He promised to help Vera in her quest to destroy the dragon orbs if she vouched for him to Hel.

Vornir led the group to where he had attempted to commune with the world serpent, expecting Tamamo No Mae to be there, which she was. He brought Vera to her as a "captive" offering her up as a sacrifice if he could rejoin her. She seemed pleased with her "failed experiment" and was about to slash Vera's throat when Vornir released her. He and the party got a drop on Tamano No Mae and forced her onto the defense, battering through her mirror images and other defenses.

When Tamamo No Mae was forced to sacrifice her elite cultists and transform, she proved to be a strong foe. However the party ultimately defeated and captured her. When she tried to transform into wind and flee, Vornir dealt the final blow to knock her out. The group then went before Hel and Vornir was able to persuade her to let him return as a ghost. He returned with the group and the captive Tamamo No Mae to the temple of Master Penumbra and the Githzerai on the Astral Plane.

Tamamo No Mae had attempted to bargain for her release in exchange for information crucial to their quest but the party did not listen to her "tricks" and Vornir told them not to trust her.

Upon arriving, Vornir was shocked to see his old master, Master Shruk among the Gith. Vornir watched as Sharuk panicked and jump at Master Penumbra from behind, killing him with a sneak attack using the quivering palm technique. Some of the Gith students then began to battle each other. Sharuk revealed that he had been planning a coup for some time. He was Master Penumbra’s greatest student but had fallen just short of passing all the trials. He was insulted by the idea of some “foolish false Gods” from the material plane being trained to be greater than he was - saying that only Gith could be true martial masters.

He then told Vornir that he was disgusted at himself when his student surpassed him. He returned to Master Penumbra and trained harder than ever before. Meanwhile, he developed his own style on the side (combining dishonorable tactics like sneak attacks). He had trained Vornir at Tamamo No Mae’s request in exchange for dark knowledge that he used to become stronger. The blood witch, hearing all that was transpiring, laughed at the group for failing to hear her warning.

**Defeating Sharuk:**

 Tamamo No Mae's attempts to escape were thwarted by the party. Vornir along with the party goaded Sharuk by saying that he was too much of a coward to face them at their full health. They said that if he was so sure that they weren't reincarnated gods, they should be allowed a week to train and face him along with his top students. The week of training was granted and Tamamo No Mae was given to the emperor of Hanashima as a prisoner while Vornir focused on learning to reliably interact with physical objects while informing the party of Sharuk's tactics. Vera suggested during this time that if he were to get his body back, they could rule the north as King and Queen and Vornir said that he might be open to this.

Vornir, being a ghost, was denied the ability to participate in the tournament. He watched the party fight against Sharuk's students and narrowly prevail against them. However, when Ren tried to face Sharuk he was clearly outmatched, Vornir tried advising him from the sidelines. Vornir and Vera decided to intervene. Vornir possessed Nardak, Sharuk's samurai bodyguard and had him jump into the ring to "protect his master."

Nardak had served Master Penumbra and had failed to stop Sharuk from killing him. He was duty bound to take his own life. However, Sharuk had enough people supporting him and recognizing him as his people's leader so he was able to order Nardak not to. Vornir told Nardak that he could simply fail to resist Vornir controlling him and then be allowed to take his revenge. This seeming interference allowed the party to renegotiate the battle.

Ren left the ring and Vera and Momiji stepped in. Vornir had Nardak fire shots at Vera with his longbow but conveniently miss or not break through his natural armor. Then, when Sharuk's back was turned, Vornir had Nardak fire at him - saying that honor was reserved only for the honorable and Sharuk had already shown he had none. The entire party then surrounded Sharuk and ganged up on him. Vornir dealt severe damage by having Nardak charge, letting Sharuk dodge his puppet, before flying out in ghost form and putting his incorporeal hand through Sharuk and unleashing all of his ki at once.

He then battered Sharuk badly with physical blows, his defenses weakened by having to defend against multiple enemies. Ren dealing the blow that rendered him unconscious and Nardak beheaded him, ending the threat. Vornir then watched as Master Penumbra's spirit returned, telling the party that Loki's reincarnation had taken over the Githyanki and saying that they had completed the Trial of the Zodiac. After awakening more of their divine power, he departed, telling Vornir that perhaps he could change and he may very well regain his body soon. Vornir felt confident about his growing power and was eager to end all of those who had ever thought they could control him.

**Further Journeys:**

Vornir accompanied the party on their journeys to the Plane of Fire and Air - meeting with Bahamut and Tiamat and being forced to gain humility in the presence of gods. He joined them in meeting Alexandria the Lich in her extradimensional library - annoyed by the Sphinxes and their riddles barring the way. He also joined them on their quest to find the Garden of Eden and saw them resist Lucifer's temptation. When confronted with the tree of knowledge and their apples with the ability to grant wishes, he resisted his own temptation to take revenge on the group and damn them all. Vornir no longer wanted revenge and the group was able to break Fafnir's curse, ending his looming threat to the guild.

When the party returned to the guild, revealed his return to his father and his love for Vera. It was uneasy since as far as most people there knew, he had returned days after trying to destroy the forest. One of the guild members, Sigurd, had also had a brief romantic history with Vera. Vornir wanted to eviscerate him but was forced to restrain himself - vowing to "challenge him for her hand" later.

The guild ultimately agreed agreed to let him and his father join in the assault on Loki's castle. Vornir helped the party fight their way past the traps and defenses until they cornered Loki.

**Resurrection and the Final Battle:**

As Loki tried to talk down the party, agreeing to a truce and to not go through with genociding the Gith to increase his power, Vornir wanted to destroy him for everything he'd done. But, Vera stopped him and he reluctantly agreed to spare the reincarnated deity. Vornir then assisted the party in the desperate battle against Sharuk who possessed the mass of half-digested souls in Vlaakith's machine and became Legion. He was able to will a new body into existence, becoming an outsider. This new body was decidedly half-dragon like, wanting to be compatible with Vera.

The party was ultimately able to prevail after as desperate fight that left Vornir and Vera nearly drained of life force. Loki fled during the fight.

**Post-Game:**

With Vornir and his father weakened, Klaus took the opportunity to thrash them for once enslaving him. The dragon did not want his daughter to marry into the Jotun clan. Vera confessed her love for Vornir. Sigurd accepted her rejection and parted ways to continue his own journey but Klaus disowned her and flew away never to be seen again.

Vanargand accepted the union, proud of Vornir and his queen's power. He then departed via the rainbow bridge to return to Niflheim, his home plane. Vornir, for the first time in his life, felt accepted by his father and also respected him. Vornir and Vera then returned to Icefang Keep in the North to build a new kingdom. Vornir is torn between wanting to rule over his father's kingdom well and not wanting to settle down just yet. He wants to help Vera continue to quest for the dragon orbs.