Byggvir: the Light Elf of Freyr's resistance

Byggvir was a Light Elf of Alfheim and the husband of the Dark Elf warrior Beyla. Imprisoned for seeking the forbidden history of his own people, he fell in love with his fellow captive across the oldest divide his people knew, and the two fled the endless elven war over the Light to join the resistance of Freyr in Vanaheim. There Byggvir stood with Kratos against Odin and the Aesir, endured capture at the hands of Heimdall, and lived to see the fall of Asgard.

The Prisoner of Alfheim#

Byggvir was born in Alfheim, home of the Elves, and like every son of his people he took his part in the war against the Dark Elves over control of the Light. The conflict had consumed that world for as long as any elf could remember, and its cause lay buried in a history that neither side was permitted to examine. Byggvir came to believe that the truth of that history might hold the seed of peace, and at some point he tried to uncover restricted information on the origins of the Elves and their division. For that trespass he was imprisoned.

His captivity changed the course of his life. He was locked away alongside Beyla, a warrior of the Dark Elves, an enemy by every teaching either of them had ever received. During their time in prison the two grew close, and by the time they escaped they had become lovers. The war showed no sign of ending, and neither side had any place for a Light Elf and a Dark Elf who had chosen each other over the Light. The couple left Alfheim behind and made their way to Vanaheim, where they joined the resistance that Freyr led against Odin and the Aesir.

Exile clarified what prison had begun. Like his wife, Byggvir turned a critical eye on his own people and the endless conflict over the Light. He held that the more time he spent away from it without feeling the need of its aura, the more he understood that it was something he should no longer crave or blindly fight for.

Freyr's Resistance in Vanaheim#

Byggvir served in Freyr's band alongside Beyla, Lunda, and Birgir, harrying the forces of the Aesir from a hidden camp in the wilds of Vanaheim. When Kratos, Freya, and Mimir first came to Vanaheim, the resistance ambushed and surrounded the Spartan as he entered the camp, standing down only when Freyr ordered it. Even then, with Kratos still half a stranger and so lately an enemy, Byggvir greeted him politely, an openness that drew a scolding from his stoic wife for being overly friendly. The habit was typical of him. Where Beyla was blunt and sparing with her words, Byggvir was warm and talkative.

After Kratos helped Freya break the curse that bound her to Midgard and the two reconciled, Byggvir and Beyla accepted the Spartan fully as an ally, and they brought him the request that mattered most to them. They asked him to acquire a book from a restricted library in the Forbidden Sands of Alfheim, believing that it held taboo information on the history of the Light and Dark Elves, and that such knowledge might be a first step toward peace between the two sides. It was the same forbidden truth that had once cost Byggvir his freedom. When Kratos returned with the book, both elves gave him their thanks.

Capture, Rescue, and the Fall of Asgard#

The war against the Aesir reached Byggvir directly when he was captured along with Freyr by Heimdall and his Einherjar. He did not wait for rescue. When Kratos and Atreus returned the moon to Skoll and Hati, the eclipse that fell across the sky gave Byggvir the cover he needed, and he slipped his captors and fled. Birgir stumbled upon the wounded elf after his escape and brought him back to the camp, where the big warrior held a steady healing sigil over his injured ally. Byggvir then joined the effort to free Freyr, aiding the rescue alongside Kratos, Freya, and Atreus. Once the Vanir god was safely returned, Beyla asked her husband to promise that he would never let himself be captured again.

When the alliance of the Nine gathered for Ragnarok, Byggvir and Beyla were present at Tyr's Temple on the night before the attack on Asgard, and they stood in the world-travel chamber as Kratos gave his final words to the assembled host. In the battle that followed the two came to the Spartan's aid when he signaled his allies to regroup, and he set them to helping the Midgardian refugees reach safety. When the fighting ended they were last seen resting among the survivors in Hoddmimis Holt, sharing their fond memories of Freyr, who had given his life in the war. As Kratos and Atreus passed by, the two elves raised a drink to them.

Bearing and Nature#

Byggvir carried the unmistakable look of the Light Elves. His complexion was a pale grayish white, traced with intricate, flowing markings of light blue that followed the contours of his angular face, and his eyes shone an almost electric light blue with a vivid white intensity. He wore a circlet of curved, linen-like material that formed a halo shape around his head, with muted blue fabric draping down his back. His layered white robes were slightly tattered and worn, bound with strips of bluish gray fabric at the waist and a wide beige belt hung with pouches, while brown cords crossed his shoulders. Against the pale clothing he wore a vivid necklace of small jewel pendants in teal, turquoise, red, peach, and amber gold. Like all Light Elves, he could levitate and fly with ease.

In temper he was the opposite of his wife, friendly where she was guarded and talkative where she was silent, yet the two were bound by the same conviction. Both had seen the war over the Light from opposite sides and judged it empty, and both wagered that the truth of their people's history, however forbidden, was worth more than the Light itself.