Laufey looked out over Vimur.
The witch Gjalp had doven in.
So had she crossed the river? Was the young witch living in the fog over there, creeping from monolith to monolith like the shadowy beasts so many claimed to see?
No.
With a creature as weak as an Asgardian to care for, that was too big of a risk.
No, she'd be on this side. And her diving into the rushing water suggested that wherever she was hiding, it was close to the water. According to the community, there was a shrieker eel in the food-supply that hadn't been before.
Laufey looked down to the churning water at his feet.
Gjalp was on the river.
Turning, he called to his party.
"Why're you saving those things, anyway?" Loki asked as Gjalp added the fresh bones and shell-pieces to her pile.
"For my coming-of-age ceremony. When the ceremonies come around, every jotun who is coming of age is recognized at Utgarda. Those being recognized will typically be decorated with all sorts of things. When Greip came of age, we used roc-feathers and scraps of old fishing-nets to decorate her. Everyone in the village worked hard to find slivers of precious stone from the quarry nearby to give her. Afterwards, Greip gave the stones to Helblindi, the second prince, who was coming of age alongside her. It's tradition to exchange such things at the ceremony." Picking up one of the shells, she turned to Loki. "I don't want everyone to work themselves to the bone for me when it's hard enough as it is for them to get by. I decided to decorate myself. I have plenty of other things stashed away at home to work with."
Loki nodded, seeming to process this.
Then he asked, "What actually happens when you come of age?"
"Not much. You're formally acknowledged as an adult, no longer an adolescent. You can court properly. Those who are firstborns become eligible for any inheritances coming their way. A few more job-opportunities open up. Warriors can enroll in Laufey's army if they so choose. But in the ancient times, there was a lot more meaning behind it, most of which is lost. The tradition still carries on, though." Gjalp shrugged.
He nodded.
"... Does that mean your sister was seeking to court the prince?"
"Nah. Her suitor lives in a community near Muspelheim— The geyser fields. His name is Surtr, and he's one of the very few smithies we have. I suppose I can see the appeal he has. He's big, but then again he's descended from Skymir, the largest of warriors. He's good with his hands and takes care of his home. But I think he's a bit of a—"
"Drift-brain?" Loki asked in amusement.
"I was gonna say mammut-turd, but that works too." Gjalp shrugged.
"Then who are you into?"
"There's a dag youngling in Laufey's court. His father is Hraesvelgr, and he was named after a servant of the third king Bergelmir. Vafthruthnir was a great and powerful sage, a dag who was said to be able to trick day into becoming night with his magic. This youngling is named after him. I only met him once. He's plenty smart, though really timid, and has to have help with a lot of the things he does because his leg is twisted. He's half my age, though. Still a youngling."
"... Bergelmir...?"
Gjalp got the feeling that Asgardians were only ever taught things about their own culture. Jotunheim was rather secluded from every other realm, but stories were told to younglings about other places, namely Asgard.
"Gunnlod taught me that in the beginning, jotun were a lot like trolls. But we gave up our immense size and sheer brutal strength to learn magic and trade, while the trolls gave up sentience to become larger and fiercer. But the first jotun were divided, and often fought amongst themselves. They were torn by war and power-struggles until the first king, Ymir, united them all under a single rule, and gave each community a voice through his court. His son, Thrudgelmir, established more defined laws, protecting the rights of weaker castes and jotun. Thrudgelmir's son, Bergelmir, stopped the killing of younglings who were 'different' and malformed at birth. Because of this, the wise dag Vafthruthnir swore allegiance to him, and together they forged much of the jotun society we have today." Gjalp explained.
Loki shook his head in amazement. "Wh... what king is Laufey?"
"The eighth, if I recall correctly."
"... We're only taught back to Buri, Odin's grandfather..."
"That's because Asgardians are weird and dumb as rocks." Gjalp declared.
As she went to sit at the cave-mouth, Loki came to kneel down across from her. Following her gaze, he looked down to the dark waters of Vimur, the air starting to become dusky as the sun went down.
"... What are jotun taught about the war?"
The question took Gjalp by surprise. She blinked several times, processing the question.
Eventually, she answered, "The previous king, Farbauti. His census-taker, Olvadi, informed him that the population was growing too quickly for this realm to support it. So as he lay on his deathbed, he presented his only child, Prince Laufey, with the Casket of Winters, and ordered him to use it to ensure Jotunheim's survival. By this, he meant lay siege to Midgard, freeze it over, and make it a second Jotunheim for the surplus population.
"Gunnlod tells me that Laufey at first refused. But then a Midgardian mage by the name of Thijalfi brought a party of his comrades here using magic. Together, they killed the younglings of a poor farmer, who then went to Laufey for aid when the group attacked his community as well. In his outrage, Laufey fulfilled Farbauti's dying command. The place where Thijalfi came from was obliterated, and Laufey began to seek out the ones who came with him when Odin appeared.
"Jotunheim's army was chased back here. The war lasted several centuries, claiming the lives of many and destroying much of our realm. When Laufey finally surrendered, Odin stripped us of the Casket and left."
Gjalp gave a grim, crooked smile. "But the population is no longer unbearable, and hardly grows at all."