The Jotunborn War
Struggle for Equality
When the Bifrost was sealed from Midgard, those that made it into the other realms were not all fleeing from the torments of Hel and her hoard of undead. There were a few that slipped through the cracks, following their Ladies demands to set the worlds ablaze. These followers of Hel were those that felt the blood of the great Jotuns coursing through their veins. They laid dormant, waiting for their time to strike once they were safely on Vanaheim.
The slaughter started two years later after their feet touched the soil from the otherside of the portal. Men, women and children of every race were cut down by fang and claw in their unquenchable thirst for blood and destruction in the name of their Goddess. That day was forever marked in Vanaheim’s memory as the Hel’s Gate Massacre, which led to the persecution of the Jotunborn race as a whole regardless of the fact that many fought, protected and died for others at the hands of the Helites.
It was only natural that the others acted out of fear, the Jotunborn tribes were driven out into the wilds of Vanaheim and left to survive in the new landscape whilst the Hel followers burned it from under them. That was until the tribes were approached by Skadi. She sympathised with them, and many of the Jotunborn turned to her in their greatest need as out of all the Gods she was most like them. Though Skadi was Vanir, her size and build resembled that of the Jotun. They begged her to speak for them, to try to convince the rest of Vanaheim that they were not the monsters they should fear. Skadi brought their concerns to Njord and Nerthus as well as the other Gods, petitioning them like she had the Aesir many years ago. She returned to the Jotunborn people with a choice. Kill those that would bring about the continuation of Ragnarok and the destruction of Vanaheim, or perish alongside them.
They accepted.
First, they had to look within their own numbers and uncovered an unsettling amount still loyal to their dark mistress. Putting them to death left the Jotunborn fractured and chaotic, especially since finding some of the more prominent members of their tribes were followers of Hel and still loyal to the the Jotun blood of Fenrir and Jormungandr that coursed through their veins. This gave the Helites time to get a foothold in the mountains, forests and waters of Vanaheim, attacking outwards in every direction like an infection, stretching throughout the land leaving only scorched earth and death behind.
It wasn’t until three Jotunborn, one a Canine, one a Trollan and one a Reptilian, stepped forward together in service to lead an effort of conjoined peoples, that the true downfall of the Helites began. The newly formed coalition of Reptilian, Canine and Trollan stood united under one banner for one purpose; to prove their loyalty to their new home and eradicate their own kind for the salvation of Vanaheim and its people.
Djordic Longtooth, a towering black wolf and elected Alpha of the combined Canine Jotunborn stalked through every square inch of forest on Vanaheim, destroying every shrine and slaughtering every Helite the pack came across without mercy. They delved deep into the very earth beneath their feet to sever them at the roots.
Sigurd Serpenteye, an emerald scaled reptile took to the water with his kin to both figuratively and literally cut the head from the snake, known as Auslaug Fafnirsdottir. She was a prominent leader of the Helite’s that had integrated herself into society as a self proclaimed Seer. Many had looked to for guidance and she was responsible for turning many to follow the three great monsters that rose from the depths of Niflheim.
Finally, Helga Bonebreaker, an ashen skinned Trollan led her warriors into the mountains, delving deep into the caves and up onto the very peaks, until all that was left was for the united tribes to destroy the stronghold and makeshift temple to Hel, Fenris and Jormungandr at Lofors, where the last of the Helites took their final stand.
The battle was bloody, flesh was torn asunder to expose bones that were cracked and splintered in quick succession. Those that took to that fight that day likened it to the second rendition of the horrors they had fled onto the Bifrost to escape; that is was truly was Ragnarok reprised. Many fell, including Helga Bonebreaker at the jaws of a monstrous wolf that the skalds likened to a true child of Fenris. Shattered shields and blunted weapons gave way to a true primal carnage as the beasts within the Jotunborn blood took precedence over sense. The blood lust of the Jotunborn became unquenchable as claws tore into flesh, jaws tightened and ripped into throats, and brutish strength crushed skulls. The frenzied hoards only ground to a halt once the last of their foes had been slain and every idol was shattered. Finally, the walls gave way, nourishing the earth with the rivers of blood that spilled forth.
With the temple in ruins and the last of the Helite’s vanquished, the last of the tribes came face to face with the Vanir. Njord and Nerthus welcomed them with open arms, calling each of them a brother and sister of Vanaheim. From that moment, the Jotunborn were held as equals, having paid their way in blood. The Trollan followed Skadi into the mountains, the Canine packs split and melted into the forests, continuing their nomadic way of life, as the Reptiles inhabited both the land and sea making their homes along rivers and lakes.