Mikkel is a familiar-looking young man made unsettling by small changes that seem to be happening too quickly. He stands 5 feet 10 inches, and has begun growing taller, leaving his old ranger cloak oddly short at the wrists and hem. His brown hair is darkening toward a deep, wet-bark shade. His green eyes keep darting to doorways, rafters, and the spaces behind people rather than meeting a gaze for long. His canine teeth have lengthened into sharp points, visible whenever he tries to explain himself. He moves with a rider's balanced economy, but pauses to rub his jaw or press a hand against his back as pains ripple through him. His expression is taut with effort, as if each sentence must be assembled from unfamiliar pieces. The unexpected detail: despite his woodsman's kit and growing fangs, he keeps trying to smooth the rumpled front of his cloak before speaking to his family, as though appearing properly dressed might make them understand him.

Before his disappearance, Mikkel was reserved but witty, preferring a clever aside to a long explanation. Captivity has made him louder and more emotionally exposed, though he still tries to observe before reacting. With family, recognition makes him eager to connect, but their familiar speech leaves him confused and ashamed. In danger, his old patience returns as a hunter; when pain or hunger intrudes, his composure frays and he becomes blunt. He is neither naturally cruel nor easy to reassure.

Mikkel, Heimskr's fourth son, was a reserved young man with a dry, quick wit, known for his skill with a bow and for riding his fjord horse, Yippie, along the wooded tracks. He often went into the deep woods to look for trolls and game. During a private hunt, a harsh spring storm sprang up without warning. Trolls took him secretly in the confusion, and he vanished before anyone could follow his trail. He is now being held deep in the woods. His old ranger cloak and bow remain with him, but his clothes have been replaced with rough garments like those worn by trolls, and his body is changing: he is growing taller, his hair is darkening, and his teeth are lengthening. He aches in his back and mouth, winces at sunlight, and has developed a ravenous hunger without yet acquiring a taste for troll food. By a lake, he has heard or witnessed a strange ritual involving singing, though he cannot explain what it means. He cannot remember his own name; when pressed, he says, 'Dovre.' He recognizes his parents and brothers, but struggles to understand and speak his mother tongue. If brought home, his first impulse is to study the hall for changes and familiar details, then find a servant and ask for food. He rubs his hands and back when frightened that no one understands him, and is louder and more emotional than he used to be. His family must decide how to help while the trolls' influence continues. Jekt is a connection to his story, though the precise nature of that bond is not yet known.