Njóla

Njóla (Fólk nowl-laa) is the Goddess of Death and ruler of the underworld (Ofantún).

Name
Originally in Mærrlopt she had a different name, that has been lost to the times and even she can no longer remember it. Njóla means “darkness” in Fólk and was bestowed upon her because she was blinded by Ǫrvar and that cast into the depths of the oceans. The underworld, which was later created and became her domain, is full of darkness and only monochromatic colours can be perceived.

Ruler of Ofantún
Njóla is one of Ǫrvar's X daughters. She became the Goddess of Death and the ruler of Ofantún after betraying Ǫrvar. Her betrayal was speaking to the Vándr Náttúra without Ǫrvar’s consent. Some suggest she was seeking peace between the Gods and spirits, whilst others believe she was conspiring with the spirits to take over Mærrlopt.

Ǫrvar was furious with the betrayal, and punished her by firstly removing her sight so that could never again see Mærrlopt. Then he whipped her mercilessly before casting her down to Ersnon where the salt water of the sea scarred her wounds forever. Finally she was imprisoned in Ofantún.

However, when Ǫrvar threw down His spear to create land on Ersnon the spear inadvertently created a tear between Ersnon and Ofantún. This tear allowed Njóla to form liaisons and an alliance with the Vándr Náttúra. They had offspring together. As part of their alliance the Vándr Náttúra were to be good, and in return she would collect the dead to defy Ǫrvar and Óstertívar by stopping the God’s human progeny from return to Mærrlopt. Some suggest that she was collecting the dead to bargain for peace between the Gods and spirits.

Her plan for bargain for the release of the dead back to Ǫrvar fail, as Ǫrvar manages to still claim the fallen who serve Him (through warriors) and He is not interested in those who are not worthy of serving His army. The Vándr Náttúra are also greedy and claim any who are lost in the seas.

She however discovers that collecting the dead increases her powers and that she can use them as an army. With Ǫrvar only understanding war, she decides to build her army and one day capture Mærrlopt. However to reach Mærrlopt she must first conquer Ersnon, which requires something to allow her to rise out of Ofantún and be a physical entity on Ersnon. She finds that through the Elemental ‘Death’ she can realise this.

Family
Her father is Ǫrvar, the ruler of Gods.

Powers
As the ruler of Ofantún her power resides in the dead that she collects, who are those that the Vándr Náttúra do not collect from the sea or who are deemed worthy of serving Ǫrvar in Mærrlopt. The dead are being used to build an army, for which it is believed she will then challenge Ǫrvar and Mærrlopt.

Appearance
She appears as a scarred woman who always wears garments that have a low back to remind all of her punishment for betraying Ǫrvar, whilst she will lament that she wears the gown to remind humans of the brutality of him.

She has gained power over the years as she collects the dead (those not claimed by the Vándr Náttúra or Ǫrvar). They give her power and she is building an army with the dead.

To the Islanders in the Maze, she portrays herself as larger than life male warrior of their ilk.