Náskári [ˈnauːˌskarɪ / now-sk-ow-rih] / Náskárar [ˈnauːˌskarar] – The ravenfolk. Word is an old poetical kenning for raven. Ná = corpse; skári = bird (young seagull).
Níðstöng [ˈniðˌstœiŋk / neethe-stunk] / Níðstangir [ˈniðˌstauŋkɪr] – An incredibly dangerous type of svartigaldur, used to curse someone with awful magic, bringing complete ruination to them. In Icelandic folklore, a níðstöng was often a raised pole with a horse’s head impaled on it, facing the location it should curse. In modern times, níðstangir have been raised against authorities and people, usually with a cod’s head on the pole.
Nykur [ˈnɪːkʏr / nih-ker] / Nykrar [ˈnɪkrar] – An underwater creature, often towing barges for the marbendlar. A terrible creature from Icelandic folklore in the guise of a horse. It lived in lakes, luring people into the waters.
Seiðmagn [ˈseiːðˌmakn? / say-th-mack-n] – Sorcerous energy, found in nature. Seiður = sorcery; magn = power. Compound word is similarly structured as rafmagn = electricity.
Seiðskratti [ˈseiːðˌskrahtɪ / say-th-skra-tih] – A practitioner of seiður, highly skilled and learned in its application. In Icelandic, used to refer to a malevolent sorcerer. Seið = sorcery; skratti = fiend.
Seiður [ˈseiːðʏr / say-th-er] – Type of sorcery. Type of magic from old Norse paganism.
Skoffín [ˈskɔfːin / skof-een] – A type of small, wild animal, terribly ugly and dangerous. From Icelandic folklore: a spawn of a fox and a cat, with the cat being the mother.
Skramsl [ˈskramst / skrah-m-sill] – The language of the náskárar. Archaic word for cawing. More common, modern word for cawing is krunk.
Skrumnir [ˈskrʏmnɪ / skrum-ner] – The sorcerer in a tribe of náskárar. Old poetical kenning for raven.
Skuggabaldur [ˈskʏkːaˌpaltʏr / skugg-ah-bal-der] – A type of small, vicious animal, similar to a fox or a mink. Very dangerous to livestock and hard to kill. From Icelandic folklore: a spawn of a fox and a cat, with the fox being the mother.
Sorti [ˈsɔtɪ / sort-ih] – Dangerous sorcerous narcotic. Word for something pitch black; can also refer to thick, heavy fog or weather.
Stiftamtmaður [ˈstɪftˌa?tˌmaðʏr / stiff-tamt-math-er] – The governor of the colony of Hrímland; the stiftamtmaður acts out the will of the king and rules in his name. Historical political title in Iceland, from when Denmark ruled the country. The stiftamtmaður served as the highest royal authority and representative of the king in Iceland. The country was separated into units of amt, which amtmenn governed, the stiftamtmenn governing the entire country.
Svartigaldur [ˈsvatɪˌkaltʏr / svart-ih-gal-der] – The vilest, most heinous kind of galdur.
Tilberi [ˈtʰɪːlˌpɛrɪ / till-buh-rih] – A simple creature made with galdur, usually to work simple repeated tasks. In folklore, a tilberi was most often used to steal milk from nearby farms. Tröll [ˈtʰrœt / truh-tl] – A troll.
Útburður [ˈuːtˌpʏrðʏr / oo-teh-ber-th-er] – The word for an newborn infant which was carried out into the freezing wilderness shortly after being born. In Iceland’s history, famine and shortage has been very common, resulting in these kinds of practices. Many folklore stories deal with the guilt and horror caused by the spirits of these newborn children.
Vættur [ˈvaihtʏr] v-eye-ter/ Vættir [ˈvaihtɪr] – A kind of nature being or spirit. Illvættur [ˈitˌvaihtʏr] is malevolent. Landvættur [ˈlantˌvaihtʏr] is one of the four landvættir in Iceland, protecting the country from outside threats.
Eitt
Garún removed her mask and stepped away from the wet graffiti to see clearly the whole of the hex sigil she’d painted. It was difficult breathing through the filters on the leather mask and it felt good to taste the fresh air. It was dark, the only light came from the pale moon that sat low in the sky. She relied on insight and feeling when she painted, so the dark didn’t bother her. She didn’t need to see to know if the graffiti was good or when it was ready. She simply felt it, but it was a raw feeling. She wanted to be sure, so she slipped the goggles over her eyes in order to see the sorcerous seiðmagn bleeding from the paint.
Sharp geometries jutted out unexpectedly from the red and obscure graffiti, and even though the paint wasn’t dry yet the seiðmagn already radiated powerfully into the environment. Exhausted from the work, Garún felt dried up after using so much delýsíð paint in such a short time. While she painted, the emotions expressed within her art were amplified by the delýsíð in the paint and cast back to her in a vicious psychedelic cycle: she was the snake that fed on itself. Now, it was complete. Garún turned down the volume of the electronic music booming in her ears and focused on letting the painting speak to her.
The graffiti was in a good location atop the store Krambúðin and with luck it would be weeks until it was discovered. All the while it would continue to bleed seiðmagn into the environment, where it would infiltrate the subconscious of those nearby. It would slowly infect their minds and sow the seeds of discord. If left undisturbed, the painting would become as a death mask over the building and its neighbourhood.
Krambúðin was a store owned by Sigurður Thorvaldsen, a merchant who ran several enterprises in the greater Reykjavík area. The one below Garún’s feet had become one of the most popular colonial stores in the city since Sigurður had moved to Reykjavík and set up shop almost the same day as the occupation of the Crown began. Not for the soldiers, but for all the people from the countryside flooding to the city to work for the army. The Crown needed a large working force, especially to build the forts in Viðey and the barracks on Seltjarnarnes. Sigurður had pushed those out who threatened his business, threatening, blackmailing and maiming – but, above all, profiting. By the time occupation became colonisation and the forts of the colonial masters were built, Sigurður Thorvaldsen had become a wealthy man and Reykjavík a fully grown city.
The graffiti
