Disclaimer: Trollhunters belongs to Guillermo del Toro.
An hour after Claire left Jim's house, her little posse showed up at her own. It was dusk outside, and her father was serving them all Chorizo. "Gracias, papa," she smiled at him. He winked at her in return, walking upstairs. He had just approved her going to Mary's house for the night, which none of them had any intention of doing. Her parents were fine with her staying over at someone's house on a school night; they trusted that she would get all of her work done well enough to keep her grades up. Darci's dad was usually out at night, so he was fine with her staying somewhere else, as long as he was told where it was. Mary's parents never cared enough to ask.
Their plan was set. They were going to leave in the direction of Mary's house, meet up with Toby, then make a beeline to get under the canal. They were all on watch for any signs of a massive troll trying to eat them, as Jim had expressly warned her abut his own run-in with Bular tonight. He was supposedly strolling around the city, though, not near where they were. Hopefully. She couldn't tell exactly tell Darci and Mary that she knew that they were going to run into a man-eating troll, so she settled for telling them to keep an eye out.
They set out on the sidewalk, the sun coloring the sky with waves of red and orange. As soon as they rounded the corner, they spotted Toby on the phone. She knew that it was probably Jim and noticed the way that he didn't hang up when it went in his pocket. Relief washed over her, knowing that they had backup that had already been in this situation. Toby nodded to them as they came up to him and fell into step next to them. "So, Claire, are you ready? I've been told that it's one of the most glorious sights I'll ever see in my lifetime, so the bar has been set a little high for me."
All she felt was a tight knot in her gut with far too many butterflies to be able to fit in it. She sighed. "Not really, but who can really be ready for discovering another world with things that can casually crush you with nothing but the weight of their arm?"
Mary nodded, walking closer to her with her phone tightly gripped in her hand. She looked utterly terrified, but Claire was proud of her for sticking with them. Slightly touched, too. Darci, on the other hand, looked excited, much like Toby. She was walking next to Toby, who looked more excited about a girl actually wanting to be near him than he did about trolls. She rolled her eyes, relieving some of the tension in her gut.
On their way to the trail cutting through the forest, an angry roar came from behind them. They all froze, feeling terror creep up behind them. "Run." Claire's voice was small, and she wasn't sure id the others heard it. "Run!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, glancing behind her.
A black mass that she assumed was a troll was on all fours behind them, pawing at the ground like a bull readying for a charge. They all took off in a dead sprint, Claire hoping that the trees would slow down what she guessed to be Bular. "I will drink the blood from your skull!" He roared, making Mary scream. She was running faster than she had ever seen her move before, tears in the corner of her eyes. Darci didn't look scared, but she was sweating. Toby was somehow in front of all of them, screaming ohmygosh, ohmygosh repeatedly. Darci pulled up next to her, yelling, "Get the armor! Get out the damn armor!"
Claire didn't respond but pulled out the amulet. She knew that it would slow her down, so she would only activate it once they were near enough to the bridge to make it out. The edge of the tress was getting closer, but so were the pounding footsteps behind them. Bular roared again, and she heard a vaguely English accent cursing. Blinky! Her heart soared, since that meant that AAARRRGGHH! was close too.
None of them slowed down when they got to the slanted portion of the canal, her and Darci sliding down it. She knew that would hurt later. Toby and Mary managed to keep their footing and run down the slant, which she silently marveled at. Claire held up her amulet as she made it to the bottom and spun, reciting the incantation. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Her armor flashed over her, and she really hoped that Jim was on his way. She was too tired from their earlier training to put up too much of a fight.
AAARRRGGHH! caught Toby, who had jumped off the incline, and kept Mary from falling at the bottom. Blinky was shaking something with two hands and covering it with the other two in the way that one would cover a lighter. Something started glowing a sickly green between them, and when Bular burst from the trees Blinky yelled, "Take this, you homicidal troglodyte!" and tossed what she could see was a rock at him.
Bular scrabbled for purchase as he slowed himself to a stop, his eyes widening as he frantically batted the rock away with a hand. A moment later, Claire figured out why as it exploded in the air, dust raining down around them. Bular lost his battle for a grip and tumbled down the incline end over end, roaring as he did so. Blinky pulled out another rock, similarly shaking it with a maniacal grin on his face. Bular pushed himself off the ground, pulling out both his swords and snarling. Claire summoned Daylight to her hands, entering a defensive stance that Jim had managed to cement in her head. Daylight was parallel to the ground, at her chest level and pulled close to her body. Its tip was pointed at Bular.
Blinky cackled as he chucked the other stone at Bular's feet, but then sprinted for the portal under the bridge. He motioned for her to follow, and she didn't even spare the Gumm-Gumm a glance as she followed him into the portal. Behind her, there was an explosion and another of Bular's roars. "Coward! Come and face me, fleshbag!" Claire snorted to herself. That was a definitely nope from her.
The portal closed behind her as she jumped through it, quickly grabbed by AAARRRGGHH! to keep her from falling into a massive void beneath them. She paled, only just now realizing how close to dying she came. Twice.
The mossy giant set her down, examining her carefully. Mary, Darci and Toby were all there, having gone through without her notice. Darci rested her hands on her knees, breathing hard, but smiled at her when she caught Claire's gaze. Mary had collapsed against the wall, cradling her arms and shaking. Her eyes were fixed on some non-existent point across from her and wasn't responding to anything. Claire was extremely worried. Toby was leaning on AAARRRGGHH!'s leg, breathing harder than Darci but seeming far more alert. He nodded to her when she looked to him.
Blinky walked to the edge to the right of them, stepping down. She was about to cry out until a spiraling staircase of crystals lit up and she skipped a breath of her own. Mary was shaken out of her stupor, and she got up, using the wall as support. Darci and Toby both stood up straight, attracted to the edge to look across the glowing expanse. Blinky smiled at their astonishment, gesturing with two of his arms for them to follow him. "Shall we?"
Claire caught up to him on the way down, annoyed at the ease with which he carried himself, both pairs of arms held behind his back. "What did you throw at him?" She was genuinely curious, especially if she could use those. Grenades seemed like they would be a useful part of a Trollhunter's arsenal.
"Those were magical crystals known as Dwärkstone. They're very rare due to the way that they must be mined, but we have a vein of them near Trollmarket. It's the value that's the problem. However, that was an occasion that was more than worth their use. Did you see his face? It was priceless! If only I could have captured it somehow… it would be nice for the former Trollhunters to see their slayer so disgruntled." He seemed exceedingly pleased with himself. AAARRRGGHH! snorted behind them, and she saw a large grin on his face.
"Proud of Blinky," he said. Blinky grinned back at him. "Brave fighting Bular like that."
"Ah, it was nothing. I was not near him."
The Krubera smiled at him despite his humility, and they all reached the bottom. A large hole in the wall cast a bright light across the base of the staircase, and the humans covered their eyes as they walked through it. When their eyes had adjusted enough, they all gasped. Claire felt her jaw drop at the majesty of the underground city before her, all built around the largest crystal she had ever seen in her life. She could feel warmth radiating off of it, as if it was the sun itself. It really was the most beautiful thing she had seen in her life. Blinky walked in front of them, arms wide out as if he was displaying the very world before them. "Welcome to Heartstone Trollmarket." Pride was obvious in his voice.
Next to her Toby grumbled. "Dammit, I owe him ten bucks now."
Claire's armor left her as she committed the view to memory. It was absolutely breathtaking, the glow, the bustle of the trolls, the wonderful architecture… She focused on the trolls, some of which had noticed their little group and were openly gaping at them. A large orange one with hair covering his eyes approached them, a large stone club in his hands. He had a metal harness of some sort. "Humans?" He all but growled.
AAARRRGGHH! moved in front of them, establishing that they were under his protection. "Friends," he said back, with a threatening undertone. The troll nodded, setting off in the direction of the glowing center-stone.
Blinky muttered something under his breath to AAARRRGGHH!, then turned to them. "Brace yourselves," he said. "There's about to be trouble."
They started walking again, more trolls openly staring as they crossed through the streets. "Why?" asked Claire.
Blinky gestured in the direction of the troll that had 'greeted' them. "One of Draal's subordinates," he said. "He's most likely reporting to him now."
"Subordinates?"
"Draal is the head of the law enforcement organization here in Trollmarket. I believe you would call them the police."
Darci raised an eyebrow, walking closer to them. "What do you call them?"
Blinky made some sounds that none of them understood, but then translated it for them. "Warriors of Honor."
They came up to an area close to the center of the market, close to the glowing stone. "That is the heartstone," Blinky explained. "It is the life force of troll kind, meaning that as long as we bask in its glow it provides us with all the nutrients we need. Otherwise we would have to scavenge for sustenance. It is the lack of a stable heartstone that drove the trolls of old to feed on humans."
Claire stared at the heartstone, marveling at the way it rose from the depths. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen or felt. She felt the comfort of her parents back when she was a small child, as if she was being swaddled in love and protection. She shook it off at the thundering steps behind her, reminding herself of Rule One before she turned.
"Humans? Here?!" She assumed that the gigantic blue hedgehog with horns was Draal. She'd be lying if she said that he wasn't intimidating, what with his massive size and horns. She zeroed in on the nose-ring, thinking that if it came to a fight, she could grab it and use it as leverage against him. Other trolls joined in a crowd around them, emboldened by Draal to the point of ignoring AAARRRGGHH!'s growling. They yelled insults at them, screaming about fleshbag invaders. "Human feet have never sullied the ground of Trollmarket before!"
"If you could remain calm, Draal, then I could explain their presence." Blinky said. Draal was taken slightly aback, not expecting the historian to stand up against him. Blinky put a hand on her shoulder, motioning for silence from the crowd. "This is Claire Nuñez, your new Trollhunter!" To her, he whispered, "They'll need some proof."
As the crowd started yelling at the impossibility, she held up the amulet and recited the incantation. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" She made a mental note that surprise on a troll looked very similar to surprise on a human. The trolls had all fallen silent, Draal gaping openly at her. His face contorted into a semblance of rage.
"This can't be! What honor does a human have? What strength do they have? When my father fell, this should have been mine!" he stepped forward, ready to grab the amulet and pull it off her. Heart pounding as the hostile troll came close, Claire held up her arms.
A blast of light made everyone shout. Draal had been propelled by the amulet a few feet back, where he was shaking off his disorientation. The bull-like Troll pushed himself off the ground, anger clear in his exaggerated movements. Draal started to walk away, throwing a final remark over his shoulder. "We'll see what Vendel has to say about this."
AAARRRGGHH! turned a frown (she wasn't sure he could glare) one the crowd, and they quickly dispersed from the silent threat. Blinky clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "Splendid job, Lady Claire! You have gained some respect from the trolls by not backing down."
"So did Blinky." The rumble came from the mossy giant, who was busy watching to make sure that the crowd really did disperse. "Held ground. Trolls didn't expect. Blinky braver now."
"Ah, I decided that if I was brave in the future then there shouldn't be anything stopping me from doing it in the here and now. I have some expectations to uphold from family, you see." Blinky grinned at them, his eyes blinking out of sync.
The other humans rushed up to her. "That was so cool, Claire! The way you got the amulet to blow him away – it was all like, 'Boom! You ain't getting me, spoiled brat!'" Toby, as always, was excited at the display of magic. Darci nodded, and Mary was on her phone. Claire walked behind her, looking over her shoulder. Surprisingly enough, she actually had a signal. She was texting someone labelled as Tight Jeans Hank in her contact list, and Claire rolled her eyes.
"Really Mare? Can't Tight Jeans Hank wait until after we get the mind-boggling discovery of another world out of the way?"
Mary waved a hand dismissively. "The world spins on, Claire, whether we know it or not." She held her phone to her chest, sighing dreamily. "True love doesn't wait for you to get comfortable."
"Well, I'm all for seeing the training now that we're here." Darci crossed her arms over her chest. "If that big black one shows up again, I'd like to have some level of preparedness."
Blinky nodded, starting off in a new direction. They all followed him, taking in the sights around them as they did. The girls saw a market area, and started talking between themselves, making plans to visit it later. Claire saw Toby say something to Blinky, who stroked his chin with a hand. She caught up to hear what they were saying. As she did, Blinky was telling Toby something. "Well, I wanted to tell him first, but I suppose I could tell you."
"Tell him what?"
They looked at her, and Toby smirked. Blinky continued, not noticing anything of the ordinary. "Tobias just asked me what kind of troll Jim had become. I'm not entirely sure, since so little is known about them, but I believe I figured it out."
"Well?"
Blinky shook his head. "Not here," he said. "It would attract unwelcome attention to mention them in the hearing of others."
Toby and Claire exchanged a glance at that. The only other thing they had heard of troll being reluctant to converse about was Changelings, and those were considered inherently evil. If Jim was considered inherently evil, Trollmarket wouldn't be too keen on accepting him.
The rest of their short walk to the Hero's Forge was filled with wonder and stares from trolls. Once they reached the bridge, they all gaped over the side at the lava flowing around it. Mary was still taking pictures of everything, but she had promised earlier not to share them with anyone. Darci snickered, nudging Mary who was taking pictures at the edge. She screamed and the rest of them laughed at her. Finally, they walked into what Claire saw as a coliseum.
"Welcome to the Hero's Forge," said Blinky, spreading his arms. All the humans were gasping, marveling with each other over the expansive height of the ceiling and the heroic statues around them. "Very impressive, is it now?" AAARRRGGHH! smiled at the humans, enjoying their enthusiasm.
Darci frowned at the statues, pointing up at them. "Are those statues of the other Trollhunters?" Blinky nodded.
"They are not statues, though. When a troll is felled, they revert back to the stone from whence they came. Trollhunter's remains are taken here, where they are reassembled into their bodies."
Their jaws all dropped. "That's so metal," whispered Toby.
Mary piped up. "Trollhunter makes it sound like you guys hunt yourselves or something."
"No. Hunt bad trolls. Gumm-Gumms."
"Way to make the bad guys sound real threatening." Toby crossed his arms, seeming unimpressed.
"In troll speak, Gumm-Gumm means bringer of horrible, slow, painful and thoroughly calculated death." Claire gulped. She knew that she wasn't expected to fight sunshine and rainbows, but that was a bit much.
Toby had adopted a look of surprise. He looked at the ground and muttered something. Blinky shrugged, saying, "The Gumm-Gumms, however, stopped being a problem long ago when they were exiled to the Darklands. Only one of their evil number now walk free, and you encountered him tonight. His name is Bular."
Darci nodded. "Yeah, him being unspeakably evil doesn't surprise me." Then something else seemed to occur to her, and she covered her mouth, a horrified look flitting across her face. "Wait, you said they ate people."
"I did indeed, and Bular most definitely does not deviate from that practice."
"All those missing persons cases that never got closed…" And then Darci turned to look at her. "What if Jim…?" Claire immediately shook her head.
"He's fine. I can feel it." She needed to make it seem like she had no reason to be concerned because she did not want to fake it.
Darci and Mary nodded looked at her doubtfully, but Blinky cleared his throat. "perhaps it is time to commence the training. If you could all take a couple steps back." They all moved back a couple feet, even AAARRRGGHH!. "A few more, if you will." They shuffled a couple more feet back. Blinky threw his hands in the air. "Ah, very well." He pushed a knob on the pillar that he stood next to.
Suddenly, the coliseum blazed to life around them. Scythes swung from the walls and pillars burst from the ground, spitting fire at them. Claire screamed in surprise, jumping back. In the confusion, she lost sight of her friends but decided to just focus on staying alive. She frantically ducked under a blast of fire and sprang away when a massive blade swung past her. Blinky clapped for her, shouting, "Excellent reflexes, Lady Claire!" Mary screamed from somewhere to her left.
"I thought training meant starting with the basics!"
Toby yelled his concurrence. "Yeah, with less grindy things!" She heard another gout of flame, Toby screaming. She was more focused on dodging the deathtraps near her.
"Blinkous Galadrigal!" As suddenly as it had started, the arena ground to a stop, blades notching back in the wall and pillars folding back into the ground. Panting, she let herself fall to the ground, trying to process what just happened. Her clothes were blackened in some places, and she was pretty sure that some of her hair had been singed off. She looked over herself, spotting a flame on her leggings and frantically patted it out. She breathed a sigh of relief when her health was assured.
"Blinkous Galadrigal!" The person seemed insistent, whoever they were. Walking over to where Blinky was and away from the deathtrap that was the Hero's Forge, she saw Blinky roll his eyes. She put her hands on her knees next to him, trying to calm her heart down. She looked up at the decidedly maniacal troll.
"Your name is Blinkous?"
"Horrible name, I know. But at least I'm not named Dictatious."
A troll emerged from the door to the arena. With a start, she realized that he looked old. She wasn't aware that was possible for a race made of stone. He looked as if he had the horns of a goat, and his hair was a stark white. He walked with a distinct hunch, but she didn't know if that was normal or not for his kind of troll. When he drew near to them, she saw that his eyes were foggy, as if he had cataracts. Of course, that should also be impossible for rocks, but what did she know?
"I wish to meet the Fleshbag supposedly chosen by the amulet."
Mary and Darci walked over, Toby deciding that he would stay with AAARRRGGHH!. The old troll lifted up Mary, who squeaked and paled in fear. "I am Vendel, son of Rundle, son of Kilfred."
Mary seemed to compose herself. A difficult task when being dangled upside down by a goat made of stone. "Uh, I'm Mary, daughter of Li, daughter of Yuan?"
The ancient troll continued, shaking her slightly. "Produce the amulet, Trollhunter." Her phone came out of a pocket. Vendel caught it, examining it closely before crushing it between two of his massive fingers. Mary let out a small gasp as her eyes went wide and her face lost all of its color.
"My phone…" she whispered. Darci rolled her eyes.
Claire raised her hand, getting Vendel's attention. "I think you're looking for me." She pulled out the amulet from a pocket inside her coat.
AAARRRGGHH! laughed when Toby climbed onto his back. Vendel looked over to him, his eyes tightening. The large troll smiled at Vendel, Toby peeking out from his perch on his neck. "Amulet chose," he said to Vendel. His ever-present frown deepened to a glare.
"So Draal tells me." He huffed to himself, drawing up his height while examining Claire. "Ridiculous! However, the amulet has been known to make ill-fated choices." He shot a look at Blinky. "As you know better than most."
Blinky crossed his arms, seemingly taking offense at what the old troll implicated. "It is no fault of mine that Unkar picked a fight with Bular his first as Trollhunter. Besides, this one has already met Bular without any training and survived."
"Indeed?" Vendel turned, focusing all his attention on her. "Perhaps you are not as weak as your fleshy exterior suggests."
"Nor as ignorant." Claire was done with him looking down on her. She spoke the words of greeting in troll language, conveying her honor at being allowed in Trollmarket.
Vendel's surprise was palpable. He cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at her. "And Trollmarket is honored to have you." He spoke in a much rougher voice, as if it was a line he was forced to say. "Regardless, there is one way to know for certain whether the amulet has chosen one who is worthy. The Soothscryer."
Blinky nodded. "Very well." He nodded to Claire, gesturing for her to go to the center of the Forge. As she neared the rings engraved into the floor, a totem rose from the floor, blades whirring and slabs of rock gnashing together inside of it, glowing ominously.
Vendel threw an arm towards it. "Behold, the Soothscryer!" Trolls were very dramatic, Claire was learning. Still, the veritable buzz-saw and rocks slamming together at its mouth did warrant quite a bit of concern from her. Her eyebrows rose as she looked to Vendel. The old troll scoffed, as if she should have already known what to do with it. "Insert your right hand, Trollhunter."
That did not sound like something that she wanted to do. Her eyebrows rose even higher, and she felt a bead of sweat make its way down her temple at the sight of the totem. "I'll, uh, get it back, right?" Claire chuckled nervously.
"That is part of the test."
"Well, isn't that just swell," she muttered under her breath. She motioned over Mary and Darci. "C'mon, help me up." They each kneeled at the base of the Soothscryer, cupping their hands and holding them out. She stepped into them, and they hoisted her up. She observed the pattern of the blades, hesitantly timing it so that her arm wouldn't be crushed between the rock. As soon as it opened up again, she threw her fist forward. Everything felt fine until she realized that it hadn't stopped, and the rock slammed on to her arm.
Claire screamed more in surprise than in pain. It didn't hurt, oddly enough. Darci and Mary struggled to hold her up as her legs tried to buckle away from the Soothscryer. After several long seconds, the Soothscryer opened once more, allowing her to yank her arm out and fall onto her butt in her desperation to keep her arm intact. Shaking her head, she stood up, trying to figure out what just happened. She examined her arm, which appeared unblemished despite the trauma it just went through.
"Hmm." Vendel strode over to it, examining the mouth of the totem as if he would find something inside it. He turned back to Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! Blinky crossed his arms. The old troll sniffed disdainfully. "Inconclusive."
"What the hell does that mean?" She was not going to stick her arm back in that thing.
"It means, Trollhunter, that a human has never borne the mantle before. The Soothscryer will need more time to render its judgement." Vendel leaned down, bringing his face to her level. She saw what appeared to be stars in his eyes, and she would have gasped at their ancient quality if she didn't dislike him so much. "Let us all hope that you survive long enough to find out." With his part over, he sauntered off, probably to go throw his weight around in other places. He paused next to Blinky. "You have changed. Whether it is for the better or not remains to be seen." Blinky held himself high as Vendel continued past him.
Finally letting the gravity of the situation reach her, Claire sat down. She rubbed her temples, feeling as if the world was spinning underneath her. "Ay dios mio. What have I gotten myself into?"
Darci and Mary sat on either side of her. Darci grinned as she rubbed her shoulder. "That something more that you've always wanted to find." Mary leaned into her, her expression still slightly vacant. She wondered if this was what Jim had gone through when he first got his amulet.
Her thoughts turning to the half-troll, she wondered what he was doing right now.
Jim was listening in on the phone that Toby still had in his back pocket. He had cooked a dinner for his mother for when she walked in from work. He loved the way her face brightened, despite the massive bags under her eyes. She had already gone to bed, after some convincing from him. She had to sleep whenever she could. Currently, though, he was filled with nostalgia. Old Vendel, still alive and grumpy.
Both him and Draal's voices had managed to fill him with a joy that he had never felt except once before, and that was with Claire. But they had convinced him of something that he realized he never truly believed.
Everyone was alive. He could save them.
He was more determined than ever, but he knew that he couldn't go anywhere yet. Claire still needed him here, and he would introduce himself to the elder of Trollmarket and its most avid defender before he went gallivanting to the Old World. Speaking of the Old World, Blinky would be coming to his house as soon as the humans left so that he could teach him about it. He was especially excited to hear what kind of troll he had been combined with.
He heard Toby tell the trolls that it was time for them to leave. "Humans are diurnal creatures. We need to sleep during the night, because we have to get up early in the morning for our education," he explained to Blinky. Jim nodded to himself, happy that his friends would be able to get some sleep. Their trek from Trollmarket to their homes was uneventful, and toby hung up when he got into his house, bidding Jim a good night. Jim settled himself in the kitchen to wait for Blinky to come to the back door.
A few moments later, Blinky was assisted by AAARRRGGHH! over the fence, and the giant himself leapt over. Jim opened the door, inviting them in with smiles and knocked his horns on theirs. Jim situate himself in one of the chairs, with AAARRRGGHH! sitting down in front of him and Blinky continuing to stand. "Claire performed quite admirably for her first time in the Hero's Forge. Almost as if someone had told her about it." Blinky gave Jim a mock glare.
Jim chuckled as he held his hands up. "Wasn't me. That was all her." He rested his hands in his lap, leaning back. It felt good to be talking to his surrogate father again. "I am training her in swordsmanship, though. Something came up during it that'll probably interest you, Blinky. Some weird energy surge between the amulets. Made both of us feel really good, and she was able to mirror all of my moves, no matter how complicated they were. As soon as she tried to do it herself, though, she couldn't."
"That is indeed very interesting. I hope you won't mind if I still have her train in the Hero's Forge."
"Not at all. That's where I trained, I know how helpful it is."
"Good." Blinky rubbed his hands together. "I will look into this phenomenon with the amulets, see if there's anything similar to this in the books. I'm not expecting to find much, regrettably," he warned Jim. The half-troll nodded, expecting something like that. Blinky continued. "Now, onto more somber subjects. I do believe I've found you variant of troll, and it is both good and bad news." Jim motioned for him to continue. He was excited to hear about this, but now also apprehensive. What could be bad about half of his being other than the things he already knew about?
"I believe that you are half Jotun." AAARRRGGHH! grunted. He seemed to be agitated at Blinky's suggestion.
Jim cocked his head at the Krubera. The giant shook his head. "Jotun strong," he said. "But don't care. Everyone else beneath them." Jim frowned. That didn't sound good at all. Then he made a connection, and his brows furrowed with confusion.
"Wait, Jotun? As in frost giants? From Norse mythology?" He wasn't all too surprised to learn that they were trolls. It made sense, if one thought about it. Gave their myths a basis in reality, and much of their inspiration was clear if they really did share their land with the Vikings of old.
"Indeed. The Jotuns, as AAARRRGGHH! said, are an excessively imperious people, deeming all races, both troll and human, lesser when compared to their own. They are very large, too, rivaling the Krubera in terms of mass. However, theirs is much more evenly distributed, making their form appear as overly large humans. In terms of strength, they outclass that of the Krubera due to their more humanoid structure, which is proven true in you. Very little else is known about them. They guard their borders jealously, not hesitating to kill any who approach near them. I'm afraid I can't tell you of their culture or really anything else pertaining to them. Despite having the largest and oldest kingdom, no troll other than the Huldufólk have been allowed within their borders, and even then, the entirety of the Huldufólk swore an eternal fealty to the Jotuns. Huldufólk did however side with the Gumm-Gumms, but every effort has been made to sever contact between Trollmarket and the Old World after the war that saw them banished to the Darklands. I do not know of their fate, only of their cruelty. No Jotuns involved themselves in the war, though."
Jim blinked, trying to absorb the onslaught of information. Once he felt as if he had sufficiently digested it all, he found a most pressing question: "How does Trollmarket see Jotuns? Will they recognize me as one?"
"And that is the heart of the matter. Jotuns are far too secretive. They are legends, and the common troll is wary to the extreme of their mythical might. However, your second quandary is your saving grace. I don't even know if you really are a Jotun. They are supposed to be a pale blue with raised markings over their body, as opposed to the carvings of most trolls. Perhaps they pale with age?" Blinky stoked his chin, muttering theories to himself before he noticed that he was still with Jim. The Trollhunter grinned fondly at his father's antics, before yawning tiredly. He was slightly surprised he could still do that.
Blinky frowned at him. "My child, have you been getting enough rest?"
"I thought trolls didn't need rest. Besides, I've had things to do, plans to create, and a Trollhunter to teach."
"My goodness, whoever told you that?! Of course we need rest, same as every other living creature. We may not sleep often, but that is due to the influence of the Heartstone, which you do not have supporting you. Even then, we must rest ourselves at least once a week. How long has it been since you slept?"
"Uh…" He did a mental count. "Two days?"
Blinky glared at him, and AAARRRGGHH! shook his head sadly. "Jim need sleep. Not sleeping bad."
"Well said, old chum. Why have you been pushing away your rest?"
"Like I said: things to do, plans to create, and a Trollhunter to teach."
Blinky shook his head. "That is not ample reason. You had best rest. We will continue this lesson later."
"No, it's fine!" he insisted. "You're already here. I'll even write it down if you want."
Blinky sighed. Jim knew that the troll's weakness was that he could not resist teaching those eager to learn. It was his favorite thing to do. "Very well. The next time I give you a lesson, you had better have all this memorized."
Dutifully getting out a pencil and a notebook, Jim nodded his assent. Blinky took a deep breath before he began his tale.
"Of the trolls that you have spoken of in your tales, only the Quagawumps and Gato are native to the Americas. Every other kind of troll travelled here, hiding away on the boats of human colonists. The event is known as the great Exodus and spanned nearly a century, before we had a larger population of trolls here than most kingdoms. We fled oppression and prejudice, absolute rulers and wars, much as your people did. The difference was that we came here with the intent of starting a new nation. When we discovered the largest Heartstone ever recorded, we severed all communication with the Old World and prevented any immigrants from reporting the find to the kingdoms there. They would only come to conquer what became our sanctuary. In accordance with the newfound equality and freedom of our new state, we banned any troll from identifying themselves by race. Even now, most trolls could not tell you their own race if you asked, as that knowledge was buried to prevent the hatred and conflict prevalent in the Old World."
"While this is really fascinating and all," interjected Jim. "You were going to teach me about the Old World."
"I was trying to tell you how different it is to what you know. Your heritage is everything there, or at least it was when we left. There are several major troll nations in what you know as Europe, but only a couple of them will not respect the authority of the Trollhunter. There is an old treaty signed by all kingdoms that forces them to recognize your authority. However, you will still face much prejudice." Here, Blinky took a breath, seemingly troubled by the topic. "Most will assume that you are a cross between two troll kinds. There is a special, vile name that they have for those trolls. They will call you a tark."
AAARRRGGHH! sucked in a breath, frowning into the distance. "Bad word. Don't ever say."
"How bad is it to be called that?"
"Imagine the worst thing that you can possibly call a human based on their race. Magnify that, as they are also insulting and demeaning your ancestry along with you. Then you have that word."
As part of the majority, Jim had never really experienced or given much thought to racism. He had never really understood the reason for it before, and never looked that much into it. It wasn't a problem around Arcadia. "Trolls can be racist. Huh," he said to himself. Then he looked back to Blinky. "Will they refuse me based on that?"
"Not openly, no. But they still may accost you and attack you verbally for it. Your life will be very hard. Do not let them find out that you are half-human, that will make it far worse."
"For my plan to work, I'm going to have to."
Blinky closed his eyes. He held his temples with his top two arms and clasped his two lower hands, rubbing them nervously. "What in Deya's grace would force you to endanger yourself?"
Jim snorted, thinking of several different times. "I want to unify the troll world."
Blinky froze. He opened his eyes, peering at Jim. "Do you have any idea the magnitude of the task that you suggest?"
"I'm not expecting to finish it by the time I come back here. My goal is to simply get them to talk to each other for now." He didn't think that was too hard of a goal, but Blinky said that everything that they knew about them came from at least four hundred years ago. Not exactly the most up-to-date information by any standard. He would be going into this blind, but he would make sure that he was damn well prepared for it.
"Even that may prove to be too difficult a task for anyone. Even the Bane of Gunmar."
"Not the Bane of Gunmar. Not yet."
"But I assume you have a plan for that as well." Blinky examined his surrogate son closely. In the end, he rubbed his horns against Jim's an exasperated fondness becoming prevalent. "I have known you for all of three days an already I can feel greatness being radiated by you. If anyone can accomplish this, it is you. But I must ask, for what reason?"
He pulled back from Blinky, a sigh coming from the loss of contact. "A united troll world would've meant that the Gumm-Gumms wouldn't even be an issue. Gunmar was pathetically weak coming out of the Darklands. The only reason that he was able to take over is because of Usurna and the lack of aid from any other trolls."
"You underestimate the vastness of their armies."
"You overestimate how many can get through the bridge."
Blinky tapped his chin for a moment before conceding. "A fair point. And the troll kingdoms did unite briefly to combat the Gumm-Gumms… but there is not a common enemy left to unify against anymore."
"I'll find something, Blinky. I always do." He glanced at the clock, reading it as three o'clock. "You guys should probably get back to Trolllmarket."
Blinky nodded. AAARRRGGHH! pulled himself off the floor, waiting for Blinky to open the door so he could squeeze himself out. His mentor turned back to him. "Next time I will tell you of those who do not respect the authority of the Trollhunter. It is them that you will have to avoid."
Jim nodded, smiling at them as a goodbye. AAARRRGGHH! helped Blinky back over the fence before vaulting it himself, waving at Jim over his shoulder before plodding off on his knuckles into the night.
Closing the door, Jim let his smile drop. He massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling more tired than ever before. Despite what he told Blinky, though, he had no intention of talking to Morgana any time soon. He would be forced to confront her again eventually, but that was a battle for another day.
He trudged over to the couch and plopped himself down on it. For now, he would watch Gun Robot and forget about all his problems, just for a little bit. He looked down over the notes he had taken, throwing them onto the table. He would worry about those later. His eyes trailed up his chest to the softly pulsing amulet. He wished he could take it off and throw it on the table as well. Or through a wall. Either would work.
The armor remained stubbornly attached to his body, though. He felt anger and frustration rise within him, and he sat up straight as he felt a guttural frowl make its way through his throat. Jim started breathing deliberately, counting to ten to control it. He hated how intense his emotions were as a half-troll, and once more he felt disgust rise within him as he contemplated his changed self.
He raised his hands next to each other, examining the differences between them. The longer he looked at his right hand, though, the angrier he got, so he quickly abandoned the activity in favor of focusing on Gun Robot. Jim sternly reminded himself of why he was doing this in the first place.
He just wanted to stop being the Trollhunter. Just for a little bit.