Egill

Egill
Also known as	Egill One-Hand
Relatives	Unnamed father
Affiliation	Clan Völsung
Occupation	Poet
Biographical information
Marital status	Single
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Appearances
Portrayed by	Rahul Kohli
Appears in	8 episodes
Debut	"The Bride-Price"

Egill was a character from Twilight of the Gods voiced by Rahul Kohli. The thrall of Leif, he was his master's obedient servant until being freed.

Biography

Egill defends his honor.

In his youth, Egill made sculptures that he tried to sell on the street. Each one would come with a story. He didn't find success and one day, during his walk home, he was beaten and left in the street. Another boy, Odric, found him and nursed him back to health. The two became friends, then eventually, lovers. It was Odric who introduced Egill to carving magic runes into driftwood. Odric's brother caught them in a compromising situation, which led to a holmgang between Egill and the brother. Egill's father was proud of Egill for standing up for himself in such a manner, and then Egill managed to successfully kill the older boy, restoring his honor.

Egill defends his home from Leif.

When Egill was fifteen, Leif killed his father before his eyes. Leif took him in as his thrall and Egill grew to love his new master. He became a poet and continued to learn the ways of magic over the next ten years of servitude.

Ulfr attacks.

When Sigrid's wedding to Leif was abruptly canceled by the interference of Thor Odinson, she and Leif put together a team to go after Thor in revenge. Hervor was the first to join, with Egill also selected from the Völsung village. He was reluctant but dutifully followed his master. While seeking their next ally, the Seid-Kona, the witch's guard dog, Ulfr, attacked them and bit into Egill's arm. When the Seid-Kona demonstrated her magic to heal him, she tied their fates.

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Physical appearance

Egill was an attractive, dark-skinned man. He was slim with a short beard, brown eyes, and shoulder-length, dark brown hair.

Powers and abilities

Storytelling: As a poet, Egill had the ability to tell captivating stories, which was requested of him by his traveling companions.

Magic: Egill had knowledge of magic and could use it to perform subtle but useful tricks. He primarily employed runic magic, carving ancient symbols into driftwood and activating them to mislead his enemies. In some cases, he was able to perform greater feats, such as making a knife too hot to hold or blocking the strike of a weapon. It wasn't enough to make him a skilled fighter, but it was enough to help him save those he cared about.

Appearances

"The Bride-Price"

"Heretic Spear"

"You Will Gladden His Ravens"

"The Worm"

"The Scapegoat God"

"Now Hear Of..."

"If I Had a Hammer"

"Song of Sigrid"

Norse origins

Odric's brother, killed in Egill's holmgang

Egill may have been influenced by the main protagonist of Egil's Saga, Egil Skallagrímsson, who was a poet, sorcerer, and scholar of runes, all similar to Egill. He was the grandson of Úlfr Bjálfason, who was one of the likely influences on the character of Ulfr. Skallagrímsson challenged a man to a holmgang (a fight to the death on an island), as Egill did, but his opponent never showed up, so he later killed the man and his brother. The man had a third brother, who Skallagrímsson faced in another holmgang, ripping his throat out with his teeth. This mirrors Egill's use of his carving knife to kill Odd's brother by cutting his throat. While these similarities are likely no coincidence, much of Egil Skallagrímsson's tale is nothing like Egill's, nor are his appearance and personality.

The sticks Egill uses to cast his spells seem to be based on stafsproti, which are Icelandic sticks with runes carved into them. In the Vatnsdæla Saga, stafsproti were used to strike a man thrice on his left cheek to make him forget and thrice on his right cheek to make him remember. Egill similarly uses his sticks to toy with peoples' minds, though not in this particular way.

The Seid-Kona refers to Egill as "ergi," which was a Norse insult toward male practitioners of seiðr magic. Such practices were not respected for men and men who performed them were considered effeminate or inadequate.

Egill says that he was named for Egil One-Hand, who is a character from the legendary saga, The Story of Egil One-Hand and Asmund Berserkers-Slayer. Apart from taking on the "One-Hand" moniker, Egill has little in common with this character.