Jotunheim

*"Any man who has the brains to think and the nerve to act for the benefit of the people of the country is considered a radical by those who are content with stagnation and willing to endure disaster. I may be but small, but I will die a colossus."*

-Jotunheim

## History

Born in the Final Empire, Jotunheim's past was obscure. He emerged as a powerful mage in the body of a child, sometimes even an infant, and countless stories about the origin of his form. Sometimes it was a curse. Sometimes it was to fool and unnerve his foes. Sometimes, he had just never grown up. Jotunheim gathered the rebel forces in the Final Empire under his banner, winning his follower's trust by keeping them safe and and guiding them against impossible odds. He mentored a generation of heroes, including Tolumvire of Arendur, who served him as an apprentice for three years. After the Final Empire's fall, Jotunheim pledged service to Tolumvire as a member of the Illuminated. He and the mages of his rebellion took up residence in the Tower of the Illuminated, setting up a research team. Jotunheim and his team were sidelined after Tolumvire's exile, but were restored after his return, with Jotunheim being named the Grand Master of the Illuminated. He unlocked the secret of essence - to its creation, its displacement, and its alteration, allowing him to reshape human traits. In the wake of Xiloxi Drutreu's army during the Demon Wars, Jotunheim moved the Tower to a transitory state, severing his allegiance from Arendur, yet preserving all the research undertaken in the country.

It was around this time that Jotunheim attempted to break free from his childlike curse. He was temporarily successful, but the attempt ultimately backfired and took a great toll on him. To maintain an adult body, he had to take frequent recourse to his laboratory in the Tower of the Illuminated.

Despite Jotunheim's best-laid plans, Tolumvire was not finished with him. Working with Doctor Curtin, the demon lord would push the ruins of Arendur into the material plane, wreaking chaos in the local settlements. Curtin would emerge from the rubble of the city, declaring the foundation of a new nation. He would rally an army would him, uniting the colonies and wood elf communities under his banner. Many Arendurian expatriates would return to their home, fully expecting to pledge their service to the familiar figure of the doctor. As always, Curtin demurred, and invited the Illuminated to return. Jotunheim reluctantly agreed, and was persuaded to lead a republic closer to his original revolutionary principles. He would be installed as the first Pontifex Maximus of the Republic of New Arendur, a reluctant ruler in turbulent times.

## Personality

Jotunheim was a larger than life figure with a complex personality. He had a flair for the dramatic, relishing in taking the form of a child and in the theatrics that ensued. He was an excellent judge of talent, cultivating a loyal following of young, scrappy mages, nurturing their talent, independence, and spark. Many great wizards would emerge from his tutelage, including Tan Blackhand and Tolumvire of Arendur. When the Final Empire was brought down, Jotunheim took to the task of governance seriously, but was often outmatched by his more ambitious rivals. His normally exuberant personality took a more somber turn when the Demon Wars began, leading him to try and break his curse and declare that he had "grown up". Believing the best of Tolumvire, he was loyal to him to the end, yet became bitter and withdrawn, realizing that he had been used, made a tool of imperial power in opposition to all his ideals.

Jotunheim's magic was little known by the outside world, but pertained to matters of the soul. He was able to overcome the usual barriers surrounding essence transfer, and was noted to have a powerful familiar. He was able to create a laboratory within the composition of the human race could be altered and empowered, and used this method to try and overcome his curse.

## War of the Philosopher-Kings

Jotunheim and the Illuminated would come to the aid of Forester's Town to drive off the coalition led by Twin-Emperor Brennen. They would deploy a contingent of mages led by Tan Blackhand, many of whom perished in the fighting. Though initially loath to do it, Jotunheim initiated a summoning ritual to call upon and bind the demon lord Tolumvire, setting the former leader of Arendur on the hapless attackers. After Tolumvire's defeat, Brennen would decide that the Arendurians were determined to fight to the death, and that he would pay too high a cost for victory.

By the end of the war, Jotunheim's mind was increasingly adrift, much of his humanity, identity, and sense of self lost to the ravages of his curse. More and more of his duties were taken on by Tan Blackhand, the Master of the Light, who in time became Acting Grand Master of the llluminated, and following a vote of no confidence against Jotunheim, Pontifex Maximus.

## After the War

Jotunheim was almost entirely silent and absent by the end of the war. When the Reich laid siege to the Tower of the Illuminated during their war against New Arendur, they would destroy what remained of the Grand Master of the Illuminated, grounding the Tower and dooming the mages to a grim slaughter.