Lore – Jokull

Jokull Horde

The Jokull Horde emerged from Harald Omdal’s secret laboratory on Europa, where the legendary Archmage of Buskerud engineered Radi-Mons with capabilities far beyond simple warfare. What began as an ambitious experiment in human evolution has evolved into a formidable force that turned against its creator in 2287, now operating under the enigmatic leadership of Maren Fjeld across the frozen reaches of the Five Realms.

Distinguished by their ice-adapted physiology and unique reproductive technology, the Jokull Horde utilizes the Vöxtr machine to create beings of precise design rather than chaotic mutation. Their forces include the adaptable Krabba, the intelligent Fenormr, the mighty Kynvakt, and the transcendent Ísmarr—humans transformed into shape-shifting beings capable of surviving environments that would destroy baseline humanity.

Under Maren Fjeld’s leadership, their current interpretation of Nordic heritage manifests as vehement hatred for non-Nordic humans, whom they view as contaminants to be purged. Yet beneath this supremacist exterior lie deeper complexities: their deference to female leadership, the Vöxtr’s dormant protocols, and the unexpected sophistication of creatures like the peaceful Grávombs hint at unrealized purposes. From strongholds in Yosemite, Europa, and the Arctic territories, they represent a force whose true potential—whether for transcendence or destruction—remains suppressed by those who would twist Harald’s vision to serve their own ends.

Krabba

Ground Foundational Melee

Krabba are the Jokull Horde’s primary melee ground troopers, resembling giant crabs the size of motorbikes with shiny blue shells and mantis-like claws. These versatile warriors disrupt enemy formations through their unique stance-switching abilities, controlled by a psionic-chemical gland that responds to battlefield conditions.

In Fjör (vigor) stance, Krabba move with enhanced speed and flexibility, their shells becoming elastic as they dart across the battlefield with rapid, precise strikes. When switching to Skjold (shield) stance, they transform into nearly immobile fortresses, their exoskeletons hardening to deflect attacks while their raised claws form protective barriers for allies.

Fenormr

Ground Foundational Ranged

As the Jokull Horde’s foundational ranged attackers, these cunning and intelligent serpents can expel jets of corrosive bile that melt through armor and tough materials. Many Fenormr possess the remarkable ability to learn and speak human languages, adding an unsettling dimension to battlefield encounters.

Beyond their ranged attacks, Fenormr excel at immobilizing targets with their powerful constricting muscles. When coiled around psionic enemies, they establish a psychic link that allows them to siphon Aether, preventing spellcasting while maintaining communication through shared heartbeats.

Grávomb

Ground Worker Non-Combat

Pacifist creatures resembling large, armored hybrids of beavers and groundhogs, Grávombs serve as the Jokull Horde’s essential resource collectors and builders. Despite their imposing size, these gentle giants focus entirely on extracting Helionite, mining Zephyrium, and constructing vital structures within the Horde’s frozen territories. Their inherently non-aggressive nature makes them unique among Radi-Mons, dedicated to maintaining and nurturing their arctic environments.

Beyond their construction duties, some Grávombs have developed remarkable culinary skills, preparing meals suitable for both Radi-Mons and humans alike. This unexpected talent, combined with their industrious nature and peaceful disposition, makes them invaluable support units.

Glacierwurm

Ground Siege Ranged Massive

Massive siege units of the Jokull Horde, Glacierwurms are colossal worm-like creatures that tunnel through ice and earth with terrifying ease. These behemoths can unleash freezing mist breath attacks with extraordinary range, capable of reaching high-altitude targets and making them ideal for confronting large human battlecruisers or starships. Their ability to create strategic tunnels and ambush points, combined with their devastating anti-air capabilities, makes them invaluable assets against both ground fortifications and aerial armadas.

Due to the immense resources required for their creation and maintenance, Glacierwurms are deployed sparingly and only for critical engagements. While their size and power make them nearly unstoppable against large targets, they struggle against agile fighter jets that can exploit their slower reaction times.

Kynvakt

Ground Psionic Hybrid

Standing as the elite guardians of the Jokull Horde, Kynvakt are formidable fusions of polar bear and humanoid form, each towering over three meters tall. Their massive frames are adorned with intricate runic armor powered by psionic crystals that pulse with otherworldly blue light. These crystals serve dual purposes—focusing their considerable Lunar psionic abilities while marking their elevated status within the Horde’s strict hierarchy.

Unlike typical Radi-Mons that rely on raw aggression, Kynvakt demonstrate remarkable intelligence and tactical acumen. Their mastery of Lunar psionics allows them to create protective barriers of crystalline ice, enhance their already formidable strength, and manipulate gravity to pin down enemies. This combination of overwhelming physical power, psionic versatility, and strategic thinking makes them exceptionally effective battlefield commanders—embodying both the savage might and calculated precision that defines the Jokull Horde’s approach to warfare.

Vöxtr

Structure Production Central

The Vöxtr stands as the technological heart of the Jokull Horde’s reproduction system, a colossal machine crafted from sterile alloys and powered by crystalline cold-fusion technology. Meaning “growth” in Jǫturmál, this central structure uses advanced quantum mechanics to replicate eggs from a single human ovum, creating armies through controlled genetic scripting rather than the chaotic breeding methods of other Hordes.

Its rows of incubation chambers and psionically-interfaced control panels allow the Primarch to choose each egg’s developmental path—whether Krabba, Fenormr, or anything recorded in the Jokull’s selective but powerful genetic pool.

Ísmarr

Amphibious Advanced Psionic

The Ísmarr represent Harald Omdal’s most radical experimentation—humans transformed through the Jokull variant of the Nucleus Virus into beings that transcend conventional biology. Unlike other Radi-Mon conversions, Ísmarr retain full human consciousness while gaining the ability to shift between three forms: a perfect human disguise with jellyfish-like internal composition, a massive ethereal jellyfish capable of spaceflight, and a versatile half-beast form combining human upper body with translucent oral arms. Their bodies, composed of 88% water with no conventional organs, grant them near-immortality and the disturbing ability to consume prey whole while absorbing their memories.

Despite their inability to reproduce—all Jokull procreation remains centralized through the Vöxtr—many Ísmarr have developed a hypersexual culture due to their transformed physiology’s heightened sensitivity. Female Ísmarr often utilize their half-beast form for intimate encounters, while males typically focus on combat applications. These perfect infiltrators can survive in any environment, from deep ocean to hard vacuum, requiring only periodic water immersion to maintain cellular integrity. Their existence embodies the Jokull Horde’s terrifying fusion of human intelligence with alien physiology, creating warriors as beautiful as they are monstrous.

Human Form: In their human form, Ísmarr appear completely unchanged from their original appearance, making them perfect infiltrators. However, this familiar exterior conceals a radically altered interior. The Jokull virus replaces their entire internal physiology with a jellyfish-like composition—approximately 88% water, with no bones, brain, heart, or conventional organs. Their muscles become semi-liquified yet remain functional, and their blood is replaced by a translucent body fluid that serves as both their consciousness medium and life force.

Full Beast Form: When assuming their true Radi-Mon form, Ísmarr transform into massive, ethereal jellyfish-like creatures. In this state, they can fly through space and penetrate planetary atmospheres without harm. Their translucent bodies emit a mystical blue aura, and they can manipulate ice and moisture at a molecular level through quantum crystallization.

Half Beast Form: The Half Beast form represents the Ísmarr’s most versatile state. In this form, the upper torso remains human (often enhanced to supernatural beauty) while the lower body transforms into oral arms and bell structure. Many wear fur cloaks or other garments that end at the waist, where their human form seamlessly transitions into translucent, undulating oral arms.

Reproduction and Sexuality: Ísmarr cannot reproduce. All procreation within the Jokull Horde remains centralized through the Primarch’s use of the Vöxtr. Regardless, due to the concentrated neural nodes and heightened sensitivity of their transformed lower body, many female Ísmarr utilize Half Beast form for sexual encounters. The increased stimulation surpasses conventional human anatomy, leading to a hypersexual culture among Ísmarr despite their inability to reproduce. Male Ísmarr usage patterns are less documented, though combat applications appear more common.

Regeneration and Weaknesses: While immortal through cellular regeneration, Ísmarr can still be killed through complete dehydration or overwhelming physical trauma that disperses their body fluid beyond recovery. They must periodically immerse themselves in water to maintain cellular integrity.

The Frost Binding

Ísabinding

Ísabinding, known as ‘the Frost Binding’ to outsiders, is an ancient ritual practiced by the Ísmarr to test whether visitors possess the spiritual fortitude to survive in Jokull territories. Drawing from old Norse traditions of ritual exposure and berserker trials, this ceremony determines if one can withstand the primal forces that the Ísmarr have mastered through their transformation.

The ritual requires the visitor to be stripped and bound with kelp ropes to an ice formation under the aurora borealis, recreating the Norse practice of útiseta (sitting out) where seekers would expose themselves to nature’s extremes for visions. An Ísmarr in half-beast form then envelops the visitor with their translucent oral arms, creating a living cocoon. Within this embrace, the Ísmarr’s body fluids—which maintain no temperature—slowly seep through the visitor’s pores, inducing a controlled hypothermic trance. In this state between life and death, the visitor experiences hereditary memories carried in their blood, witnessing the deeds of their ancestors in vivid detail.

Those of true Nordic heritage witness their lineage’s sagas unfold, while others see whatever ancestral memories their blood carries. The Ísmarr can taste these genetic echoes through their oral arms, learning the visitor’s true heritage without words. Survivors emerge with temporary immunity to extreme cold and a deep understanding of their bloodline—a gift the Ísmarr call ‘frost-sight.’ This practice echoes the Norse belief that wisdom comes through suffering and that one must die symbolically to be reborn stronger, making it both a test of worth and a twisted honor to those deemed worthy of witnessing Jokull secrets.

FAQs

Why does the Jokull Horde show such deference to female leadership despite being created by a male archmage?

This apparent contradiction reveals the complex psychology embedded in Harald Omdal’s creation. When engineering the Jokull Horde, Harald programmed them to respond primarily to his genetic lineage rather than himself personally—a safeguard that ultimately backfired. Since genetic inheritance flows most directly through maternal lines in Norse tradition, the Horde’s bio-psionic programming interprets female carriers of Nordic genes as more “pure” sources of authority.

The rebellion of 2287 exposed this design flaw when Maren Fjeld, leveraging her position as the mother of Harald’s daughter, successfully turned the Horde against its creator. The Vöxtr system itself reinforces this matriarchal tendency—its ovum-replication technology requires a female Primarch to function optimally, as the machine was designed to work with the natural reproductive cycles and psionic resonances unique to women. This biological imperative, combined with the Horde’s programming to seek the “purest” Nordic authority, creates their seemingly paradoxical preference for female leadership within an ideology of genetic supremacy originally conceived by a man.

What makes Ísmarr sexuality so intense, and why do they pursue intimate encounters despite being unable to reproduce?

The transformation into an Ísmarr fundamentally rewrites human physiology in ways that dramatically heighten sensory experience. With their bodies composed of 88% water and consciousness distributed throughout their translucent fluid rather than localized in a brain, every part of an Ísmarr becomes a potential erogenous zone. The neural networks that once connected to specific organs now flow freely through their entire form, creating cascading pleasure responses that can overwhelm partners accustomed to conventional human anatomy.

Female Ísmarr particularly favor their half-beast form for intimate encounters because the oral arms contain concentrated neural nodes originally designed for predatory sensing. When repurposed for pleasure, these hypersensitive structures deliver stimulation that surpasses anything possible with human anatomy. The inability to reproduce has paradoxically intensified Ísmarr sexual culture—freed from biological imperatives of procreation, they pursue pleasure as an art form, a means of connection, and a reminder of their lost humanity. Some scholars suggest this hypersexuality serves as a coping mechanism for their transformation, while others view it as an evolution beyond human limitations.

How can the Vöxtr create diverse Nordic creatures from a single woman’s replicated eggs?

The Vöxtr’s ability to generate Krabba, Fenormr, and other distinct species from human ova represents one of Harald Omdal’s most brilliant and disturbing innovations. Rather than introducing foreign DNA, the machine uses a process called “adaptive genetic scripting”—essentially reactivating dormant evolutionary pathways that exist within all human DNA. Every human carries genetic echoes of our evolutionary history, from ancient marine ancestors to more recent mammalian relatives. The Vöxtr’s quantum core doesn’t add new genetic material but rather selectively awakens and recombines these sleeping sequences.

When creating a Krabba, for instance, the Vöxtr activates crustacean-linked genes that have been dormant for hundreds of millions of years, then uses Zephyrium-enhanced mutations to scale and modify these traits into a combat-ready form. For Fenormr, it draws upon our reptilian ancestry, enhancing and reshaping these genetic memories into massive serpentine predators. The machine’s psionic interface reads the Primarch’s will, using her neural patterns as a template to guide which evolutionary paths to activate and how to combine them.

This process explains why only those with Nordic heritage can properly interface with the Vöxtr—Harald programmed it to recognize specific genetic markers he associated with “pure” Scandinavian lineage. The machine essentially treats the Primarch’s eggs as a genetic library, using advanced quantum manipulation to write entirely new creatures from very old biological code. It’s not creating from nothing, but rather composing from notes that have always existed within human DNA, waiting for the right conductor to arrange them into new forms.

Does Harald Omdal’s vision for the Jokull Horde extend beyond mere genetic supremacy?

While the Jokull Horde’s current actions paint them as irredeemable supremacists, careful analysis of Harald’s research notes and the Vöxtr’s design suggests a more complex original intent. The machine’s capability to create beings that can survive in environments lethal to baseline humans—from Europa’s sub-ice oceans to the vacuum of space. This hints at preparation for challenges beyond simple territorial conquest. The Ísmarr’s superhuman ability to traverse space without vessels and deep psionic potential, and even the Grávombs’ peaceful nature all suggest design choices that prioritize adaptation and survival over pure aggression.

Some scholars theorize that Harald’s true vision was corrupted by those who seized control after his exile. That he programmed the Horde to defer to Nordling lineage rather than himself personally indicates he intended for someone else—perhaps someone who could see beyond his own biases—to eventually guide them. The Vöxtr itself contains dormant protocols and unused genetic templates that seem designed for creation rather than destruction, including theoretical patterns for beings that could terraform dead worlds or establish communication with non-human intelligences. Whether the Jokull Horde will forever remain tools of hatred or eventually fulfill some grander purpose remains to be seen.

What role might Nordic mythology and values play in the Jokull Horde’s future evolution?

The Jokull Horde’s current interpretation of Nordic heritage focuses solely on genetic purity, yet they ignore the rich mythological and cultural traditions that actually defined Viking-age Scandinavia. True Norse culture valued not just strength but wisdom, not just conquest but exploration, and not just racial bonds but oaths of loyalty that could unite former enemies. The Prose Edda speaks of Ragnarök not as an ending but as a cycle of destruction and rebirth, where even the gods must die for a new world to emerge.

Intriguingly, the Jokull Horde’s structure already contains echoes of these deeper traditions: the Krabba’s stance-switching mirrors the Norse concept of adapting to fate’s changing tides, Fenormr recalls the world-serpent that both threatens and defines the cosmos’s boundaries, and their deference to female leadership mirrors the Norse respect for völvas and seeresses. Should the Horde ever encounter leadership that understands these cultural depths rather than surface-level supremacy, they might transform from embodiments of Nordic culture’s misinterpretations into something that honors its true legacy: explorers of unknown realms, builders of impossible bridges between worlds, and warriors who fight not for purity but for the survival of all creation against the dark forces threatening it. The question remains whether such leadership could emerge before it’s too late.

Jokull Heroes

Ulrik

Astrid

Maren Fjeld

Runolf

CHARACTERS