Ymir

Sharpened teeth fill the mouth of this huge, shaggy creature, whose face lands nearer to an ape's than to any man's. His feet stay bare, and nothing covers him except a sleeveless tunic.

Ymir's devotion to Floki runs deep. He calls the man papa and takes on Thorkell at his bidding without a second thought. Bulk and muscle do not make him fearless, though: after Thorkell drives him through a wall, he freely tells Floki that he is scared. Food holds obvious sway over him too, whether he simply loves it or has long gone hungry, since the mere pledge of a full belly is enough to haul him back onto his feet.

Nothing is known of where Ymir began; his past goes entirely unexplained. He surfaces amid the clash at Jomsborg, the moment Thorkell crashes into the building where Floki has taken shelter and Floki calls the giant out to meet him.

Ymir's first blow launches Thorkell clean through a wall, and Floki urges him to finish the job. Thorkell simply hauls himself upright and answers in kind, sending Ymir smashing through a wall of his own. Rattled, Ymir admits how frightened he is, but Floki eggs him on, promising that killing the warrior will win him an endless supply of food. Up he rises again, swearing to give it everything he has, and while the brawl keeps Thorkell busy Floki seizes the chance to steal away with his men, quipping that monsters are best left to entertain each other.

Thorkell takes the fight in the end and Ymir passes out. Trussed up and beaten, he becomes the subject of Thorkell's appeals to Asgeir for permission to keep him. When Asgeir observes that such a creature must devour enormous amounts, Thorkell counters that he will surrender half his own portion, then sulks once the request is denied.