Fjorskar

Rufus Sewell as Halgrim Lindqvist

GENERAL Name: Halgrim Lindqvist Birthdate: September 1, 1923 Faction: N/A Codename: Fjorskar Position: Adjunct Faculty/Lecturer, joint appointment with the Depts. of Archaeology and Anthropology, Columbia University Hometown: Uppsala, Sweden FAMILY STATISTICS Partner(s): NA Height: 6'1 Father: NA Weight: ~190 lbs. Mother: Kajsa Lindqvist Hair Color: Black Siblings: Sigrún Tjäder, Joakim Lindqvist Eye Color: Dark brown Children: NA

Background

Halgrim was a seasoned field Archaeologist working his way to a curatorship at a Museum when things went awry during a dig in Northern Norway. He was part of a modest team of four which had been sent to excavate and catalogue a putative burial mound. Unfortunately, what they found inside the mound wasn't what they expected: the enormous skeleton of some kind of beast was strewn about, and the remains of a human arm, long desiccated, sat trapped in the lid of a stone chest. Halgrim was the unfortunate individual who opened the chest, and so was the one possessed by the amulet-bound spirit within. The spirit transformed Halgrim into an enormous chimeric beast (part wolf, part dragon, part ram, and part raven) which proceeded to slaughter his fellow archaeologists. He awoke the following day to find himself wearing the amulet and covered in their blood, with no memory of what had happened. When the local authorities found him wandering towards the closest town, he was unable to explain himself, and nearly catatonic. The claw and teeth marks on his colleagues seemed to point to a bear attack, and without his memory he initially agreed with that assessment. But as time passed from the incident, he realized he couldn't remember where the amulet had come from, nor could he rid himself of it; any attempt to turned him back into the beast.

Worse still, none of the staff or students at the university seemed to trust him anymore, and for no discernible reason other than the supposed bear attack. He found it impossible to be among his peers; the ones who didn't rudely ask about the incident would stare when he walked by, and whisper behind his back. Even the students began to.

So he left for the US, accepting a teaching position at Columbia University for a pittance of a salary simply because they could get him a visa and out of the country. Here he hopes to determine what happened to him without the weight of others' judgment constantly on his mind.

IC Events

Traits

Powers

• Torn Heart: Halgrim's amulet contains a powerful spirit which is possessing him. When he's particularly stressed (angry, in danger/fearing for his life, etc.), this spirit can take over and transform him into a enormous chimeric beast. The beast is a bipedal wolf-man with a ram's horns, hard, chitnous scales under its fur, feathers in a mantle on its ruff, and enormous claws on his hands and feet. The beast's scales give it a sturdy hide to withstand powerful blows—it'll take more than a few bullets to bring it down. Its horns are strong enough to break concrete given enough speed; its claws are sharp enough to rend average metals, and its teeth can pierce numerous forms of man-made armor.
• Charge: The beast can rush forward in a burst of speed, either to break holds or to ram into something (preferably with its horns). This ability can't be used often; maybe twice at the most during a transformation.
• The Moon Which Breaks the Night: The beast's howl can inflinct the minds of those who hear it with overwhelming terror if they're not strong-willed enough. This requires a fair amount of concentration to do, and the beast can only perform it once or twice during a transformation. The closer the victim is the stronger and longer the effect, but by 30 yards the effect is negligible (unless the victim is particularly prone to panicking). Being out of visual range of the beast also significantly reduces the effect, as does sound dampening (eg. covering ears, headphones with loud music, etc.).
• In the Air Tonight: The beast's sense of smell and hearing is acutely strong, and its eyesight is similarly keen, particularly at tracking small movements.
• Nevermore: In either form (human or beast) Halgrim has an incredible memory for the things that form experiences, and is insightful in surprising and unexpected ways.

Skills

• Scholar: Having studied archaeology and ancient history at Lund University, Halgrim is thoroughly familiar with academic life and the twists and turns of its ivory towers. He's a capable researcher and writer.
• Multilingual: In addition to speaking Swedish and English fluently, Halgrim can also make casual conversation in Danish and German, and knows a smattering of Old Norse, and he can recognize a number of different futhark rune forms.
• Field Archaeology: Halgrim has done a fair amount of field work, and is familiar with the various tools and methods used in artifact location, preservation, and identification.
• Outdoorsman: As part of his field work, Halgrim became very familiar with living outdoors while on assignment, and is fond of and very familiar with camping in all its forms, from soft 'car-camping' to hardcore backpacking.
• Cooking (Swedish): Halgrim's mother Kajsa refused to let a child leave her home to live as an adult without teaching them to cook, and her son was no exception. Halgrim's used this to trade with other immigrants now and again; some of them, would kill for their mother's homemade fyrstekake, and he's ready to help them out.

Advantages

• Archaeologist: Halgrim has a PhD in Archaeology and Ancient History, from Lund University in Sweden, and prior to the events surrounding the dig site disaster in Norway he was considered an up-and-coming potential faculty member. He's published papers about Ancient Norse sites in Scandinavia, and during the war documented a great deal of artifacts from Denmark and other territories overrun by the Third Reich as part of an effort to ensure their repatriation once the war was ended.
• Teaching Position (Columbia University): Though his students think he's gruff and sometimes off-putting, few would describe him as an unfair or incapable teacher.
• Family Ties: Although his family are saddened that he's left for America, they still love him, and write to him frequently. They're a source of information about goings-on overseas, and constantly try to put him in contact with extended family who've previously come to the US.
• Intimidating: Halgrim's size and heft make average people think twice about crossing him.

Flaws

• One Step Closer to the Edge: Due to his possession by the amulet, Halgrim is at a lower tolerance for stress, and because stress can trigger the transformation, he's hyper aware of it as well.
• Hungry Like a Wolf: No matter how polite and mild-mannered Halgrim might seem, he puts off an Apex Predator vibe, and anyone not entirely oblivious to such things will have a hard time not noticing it. Coupled with his height and size, it can be hard for him to interact with more nervous individuals.
• Immigrant Song: There's no denying that Halgrim isn't from these parts; his accent is foreign, as is his turn of speech and his religion. More broadly, his entire interaction with all of the world seems foreign, like he's a man — or creature — very out of place.
• Head like a Hole: Halgrim has no memories of anything he does while transformed, nor does he have any control over what happens.
• Voices Carry: Due to the gruesome events surrounding Halgrim coming into possession of the amulet, he left for a teaching position in the US to get away from the rumors and sideways looks. But even on the other side of the Atlantic, tongues will wag…
• About Last Night: The transformation can only last for a handful of hours at the most, and his clothing is entirely destroyed in the process. (Save the amulet, which merges with him temporarily.) Once the transformation has ended, either due to exhaustion or being knocked out, he won't transform again for another day or more.

Miscellany

Music

Howl - Florence and the Machine

A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night may still become a wolf when the Autumn moon is bright

Bury It - Chvrches

Cover up that you're ruthless, nobody's every going to notice, and I am catching on, and I am seeing in red

Valkyrie: Bloodshed, Lacuna, Atonement - Varien

Monsters slip inside our souls, waiting to come alive

Friction - Imagine Dragons

You can't fight the friction, you can't take the pressure, don't tell me to be strong

Hell Above Water - Curve

I think I'm ready to kill, the next person who doesn't fit

Saltkin - Purity Ring

Into a bright bound sea-surrounded fury, our bodies will return

The Weapon - Rush

He's not afraid of your judgment, he knows of horrors worse than your Hell - he's a little bit afraid of dying, but he's a lot more afraid of your lying

Human - Of Monsters and Men

If I lose control, I feed the beast within, cage me like an animal, a crown of gems and gold

Inspirations

The Wolf's Luck (comic)

Gallery

Logs

▼ Show logs

1965-11-07 - Dealing with Blood Witchlings (log: adam ambrose halgrim social)

1965-11-06 - Turkish Treasures and Irony Abounding (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-11-04 - Learning of the Sacrifice (log: dead-girl halgrim jp plot strange the-disappeared)

1965-11-02 - Just Some Honest Shoplifting (log: constantine elmo halgrim julie mike-matthews namor social)

1965-10-29 - Lace Only Gets You Caught (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-10-28 - They Did the Mash (log: dirk halgrim jp julie social vitale)

1965-10-24 - What Was Above Lurks Below (log: adam halgrim social wither)

1965-10-23 - Fine Wine-ing and Nemesis Assigning (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-10-19 - Crossing a Blood Witch (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-10-16 - If You Had Just One Question (log: halgrim loki social)

1965-10-13 - Jaen and Gin Rickeys (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-10-12 - When to Feed a Stray Cat (log: elmo halgrim social)

1965-10-11 - Office Hours (log: halgrim social vitale)

1965-10-10 - Forces of Nature (log: halgrim social wither)

1965-10-07 - Ashes (log: carson halgrim social)

1965-10-07 - A question of trust (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-10-06 - Punks in the Garden (log: carson elmo halgrim jay jean-grey julie mike-matthews plot weird-weaponry wither)

1965-10-02 - Arguments in Semaphore (log: ambrose elmo halgrim social)

1965-09-30 - Accursed in Connection (log: ambrose halgrim social)

1965-09-28 - Tracking Cantrips are Useful Things (log: adam ambrose constantine halgrim social)

page 1 of 41234next »

---