NUNU & WILLUMP

One of the Notai, a wandering tribe that long travelled the Freljord, Nunu, received from his mother, Layka, that behind everything is a story. Together, they found tales that Layka transformed into songs. For Nunu, nothing was more satisfying than travelling from village to village, overhearing his mother’s songs of classical heroes. With music and dancing, the Notai took one last ceremony to everyone they met as each winter’s cold set in.

Taking the wave of frost dropping from Anivia’s wings, his heart pounding the beat of a triumphant song, Nunu’s world was full of hope.

On his fifth name day, Layka gave Nunu an extraordinary gift: a flute for him to play her songs. In the security of their cart, the two bundled and replaced the knotted rope that served as Layka’s heart song, tape everywhere they’ve been together, as the times came and went.

When raiders struck the caravan, Nunu was separated from his mother. Moved to safety by a group of Frostguard, the surviving Notai children were brought to a village near their towering castle. Nunu went to question what happened to Layka, expecting to hear her songs in the wind.

Blizzard fell. Weeks passed.

Nunu wanted his mother desperately, but the Frostguard promised him no child could search for her safely. They weren’t even surprised when he told them the flute he now called Svellsongur—the sign of a great blade enduring only in his imagination.

Nunu used more and more time alone, jumping into his mother’s songs—the myths and gods of old. He wanted to be one of these warriors, a fighter like the Frostguard, who could have kept his mother. He even met their chief, Lissandra, who asked countless questions about his mother’s tales, always asking about one special song.

No one thought Nunu could be a god, not even the other Notai children, who taunted him for his flute when they now had knives. But Nunu remembered the songs in his heart, and one night, he understood how he could explain himself and earn the Frostguard’s aid to find his mother.

From Lissandra, he’d heard of a terrible monster that destroyed all who asked its power, preventing the Frostguard who were given the task each year, never resurfacing. There was a song that Nunu’s mother wrote; could it be the one Lissandra had been perpetually asking about? Suddenly, Nunu learned that Lissandra needed to know about the yeti.

Nunu could name the creature. It would explain his challenge and feel the anger of Svellsongur!

Using his whistle to tame a herd of elkyr, Nunu crept out into the snow. One single child travelled to meet a monster, finally breathing out a story that not even he could think of.