Magnus Chase

"My name is Magnus Chase. I’m sixteen years old. This is the story of how my life went downhill after I got myself killed."

- The Sword of Summer

Magnus Chase is a sixteen-year-old, formerly homeless teenager who lived in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the Norse demigod son of Frey and Natalie Chase, as well as the paternal cousin of Greek demigod Annabeth Chase. After dying and becoming an einherji, he lives his afterlife in Hotel Valhalla and has prevented Ragnarok twice. Magnus is currently in a relationship with Alex Fierro.

Early Life
Magnus was born on January 13, 1995 (though the timeline of events is rather mixed up, so this may not be true) to Frey, the Norse Vanir god of summer and ruler of Alfheim, and Natalie Chase, a human. When Magnus was six years old, his mother and uncles got into an argument at Thanksgiving, while Magnus had no idea what the argument was about. Magnus would not see his uncles and his cousin Annabeth Chase for ten years after the argument.

When Magnus was eight, he and his mother went on a vacation to Mount Washington in New Hampshire where they hiked to the top and had a park ranger take their picture. In the second grade, he had a teacher who taped his left hand to his desk in order to force him to write with his right hand, this caused his mother to yell at his teacher. When Magnus was ten, he cut his left palm on a hunting knife, which left a deep scar. His mother once dated a hunter who taught him how to skin animals, this did not end well and they broke up soon after. At age twelve, Magnus had his first kiss with a girl named Jackie Molotov, which happened behind the bleachers at a school dance.

Life on the Streets
When Magnus was fourteen, his mother was murdered by several "wolves with glowing blue eyes" (sent by Fenris Wolf). His mother ordered him to stay away from his Uncle Randolph before her death, an order which Magnus dutifully obeyed. Since then, he has been living on the streets. Magnus became friends with two homeless people: Hearth and Blitz, commonly known as his mother and father.

During this time he would frequently lie to the police and truant officers about his name and has tried alcohol. Magnus would also steal money from passersby, but only if they did things like park in a handicap parking space or were rude to others. He would also pick up barbering skills during this time. He became close friends with with the owner of Fadlan’s Falafel, Abdel Fadlan and his son Amir, although he told them his name was Jimmy so as to protect his identity.

The Blood of Olympus
While not mentioned by name, Annabeth Chase mentioned her uncle and cousin that lived in Boston (whom she never saw because her father and uncle would not get along) to Percy and Piper before the three fought the Giants in Athens.

9 from the Nine Worlds
Although Magnus doesn't appear, he is mentioned in some of the stories.

This Is Why I Hate Clothes Shopping
Amir mentions him when thinking about how he can now see through the glamour and knows about the nine worlds.

This Little Light of Mine, I’m Going to Let It Shine
Blitzen mentions Magnus when going into a shady part of Nidavellir, which reminded him of a time when he and Magnus went to a similar neighborhood in Midgard.

Speaking of Trolls...
Hearthstone mentions that Magnus, along with Blitz and Sam, are the only ones among his friends who signs while with T.J. in the son of Tyr’s room.

I Play with Fire
Alex mentions that the son of Frey is visiting his cousin Annabeth and that she misses him. She also mentions that he left Jack with her.

Appearance
Magnus is a teenage boy with hair parted in the middle, hanging to his jawline in a curtain of tangled, dirty blond. He has gray eyes, much like Annabeth's, which have a haunted, scary emptiness to them, a look that had served him well when he'd lived on the streets. Initially, Magnus was quite scrawny, with a concave chest, sticking-out ribs and very pale skin, to the point that his blue veins were clearly visible. He also had a scar of his left palm, where he'd cut himself on a hunting knife as a child.

However, after gaining an einherji body after his death in The Sword of Summer, Magnus, while still lean and pale, became considerably more muscular, with his arms being better-defined, his skin smoother, less translucent, with all the scars, rashes, nicks and bites that came from living on the street completely disappearing.

According to his mother, Magnus resembles Kurt Cobain, though he also bears striking resemblance to his father, Frey. As of The Hammer of Thor, Magnus no longer has long hair, having cut it to finish Tiny's bowling bowl bag, but he still bears a resemblance to Kurt Cobain.

Personality
Magnus is witty, caring, smart, sneaky, and has a funny, sarcastic sense of humor. He is also really street smart from living on the streets for two years. He feels he has an obligation to protect those in danger, like he did on the Charles bridge while facing Surt. However, he is somewhat cynical and shares Percy's tendency to make snide remarks both internally and vocally. He initially cannot stand the fact that he was turned into an Einherji and being dragged into his fate as a son of Frey and being forced into a world he knew nothing about until recently, but gradually grows more accustomed and comfortable with his new life to the point that he respectfully declines Odin's offer to let him live a human life again. Despite living on the streets and being forced to eat out of dumpster bins to survive, Magnus is also rather health conscious, showing incredible disgust upon learning that dwarves evolved from maggots to the point that he's unable to say it comfortably. Unlike most demigods, he lacks a natural combat instinct, but is instead much better at thinking and talking out his problems (such as his negotiations with Ran for Sumarbrander), much like his cousin Annabeth. Nevertheless, like most demigods he is often forced into situations where he has to shoot first and ask questions later, which he shows great flexibility in tactics and is a good reflexive thinker.

Abilities
General Abilities=
 * Alf Sign Language: Magnus is fluent in ASL, which he always uses while communicating with the deaf Hearthstone.
 * Survival Skills: Magnus learned how to survive in the wilderness from his mother. She taught him how to start a camp fire, navigate by the stars, and how to pitch a tent.
 * Wit: Magnus has shown that he is a quick thinker, such as when he was able to barter with Ran for Sumarbrander.
 * Intimidation: In the Hammer of Thor Magnus was able to threaten Andvari into revealing his treasure. He has also mentioned that his grey eyes helped create a haunted emptiness which was useful on the streets.
 * Dreams: Magnus’s dreams allow him to view events that are currently happening or in the near or distant past.


 * -|Demigod Abilities=
 * Alf Seidr (Elf Magic): As Magnus is the son of the Lord of Alfheim, he is able to use Elf Magic.
 * Disarmament: Magnus can disarm anyone in his surrounding area of their weaponry, this is also called 'The peace of Frey'.
 * Pacemiakinesis (limited): As the son of Frey god of peace, Magnus has been shown some control over peace, such as being able to bring a raging beast to a calm standstill.
 * Growth Manipulation (limited): As the son of Frey, Magnus has the ability to make things grow or stop growing, although this power seems to only works on plants and some animals.
 * Healing: Magnus can heal both himself and others from wounds at incredible rates. As a side effect, he glows after healing someone, which is much more noticeable in dimly lit areas.
 * Seasons Alteration (limited to summer): As Magnus is the son of the god of summer, light and warmth, he can change the area around himself into summer.
 * Photokinesis (limited): Magnus can generate sunlight.
 * Thermokinesis (limited to heat): Magnus, as the son of the god of warmth, can increase the temperature around him in a certain radius.
 * Harsh Temperature Insensitivity: Magnus has a great deal of resilience to both temperature extremes, since he was able to sleep outdoors in the winter with nothing but a thin blanket without a problem, and was unfazed by Surt's flames. However, he isn't completely immune, since Surt managed to kill him by impaling the demigod with a red-hot sphere of steaming asphalt, causing Magnus' organs to slowly burn away from the molten tar in his gut. While in Niflheim he was able to withstand the extreme cold far longer then his friends.
 * Telepathy: In the Hammer of Thor, Magnus was capable of reading the minds of the distressed fish in the water and was able to determine which one was Andvari, in the form of a fish. While healing others, he is capable of seeing their thoughts and memories.
 * Portal Manipulation: In the Sword of Summer, since Frey is the god of growth and fertility, Magnus could manipulate the worlds trees and branches, and with jack was able to open a portal to the world tree. He did this again to banish Surt back to Muspellheim and to escape Alfheim. He is also capable of dispelling the portal that the giants had placed in his blowing lane that led to the White Mountains.
 * Geokinesis (limited): In the Hammer of Thor Magnus was capable of collapsing an underground ceiling in order to turn Blitz into stone. This may be limited to only revealing light sources, as Frey, god of growth, represents how living things broke through the earth to reach the light.
 * Enhanced fishing (limited) : In the sword of summer, when magnus had unleashed the world serpent, it was revealed that the reason the boat didn't capsize was due being the grandson of Njord, God of fisherman, sailors and ships. This allowed Magnus to capture the biggest catch on the planet, without the boat capsizing, or the line breaking, both highly likely outcomes. This ability is however weak because he's only the grandson of Njord.
 * Zoolinguism: After accidentally consuming Alderman's blood, Magnus's natural abilities were enhanced and he has gained the ability to understand and talk to animals.


 * -|Einherji Abilities=
 * Enhanced Strength - After gaining a new einherji body, Magnus gained a degree of superhuman strength, to the point that he could punch through the wall of his room in Valhalla without much effort. He is strong enough to rip a lamppost from solid cement. Later in the Hammer of Thor, Magnus developed his strength after 2months of training. This allowed him to jump out of a 30 foot  hole.
 * Einherjar Immortality - while within Hotel Valhalla, Magnus, like any of the einherjar, cannot die, and will simply keep resurrecting from mortal wounds. Due to his healing abilities, however, Magnus resurrects even faster than most other einherjar.
 * Enhanced Agility: after gaining an einherjar body, Magnus has become much more agile, as he was able to leap down from the roof of the Boston Public Library with ease.
 * Enhanced Durability: Magnus is shown to be extremely durable after becoming an Einherjar. When he fell into an acidic puddle, the sun of Frey stated he could survive a minute or two before dissolving.

Magical Items

 * Sumarbrander - Magnus' sword, formerly owned by his father, Frey, is said to be the sharpest sword in the Nine Worlds.
 * First Sword - a Hotel Valhalla sword, which he later gave to Ran in exchange for Sumarbrander.
 * Training Sword - Magnus was given a replacement for his first sword that he uses for practice as Jack does not do it with him.
 * Shield - a circular green shield, with the golden Fehu Rune in the middle.
 * Big Banana - Magnus was given a bright yellow Frey Boat by his father for his quest to recapture Loki.

Alex Fierro
When they first met, Alex in the form of a cheetah ran over his feet. She also decapitated Magnus in order to save him during one of the battle games. Magnus also was initially confused when he found about that Alex was genderfluid and transgender and started staring at her when she revealed it to everyone. But subsequently they started getting comfortable with each other as both of them have a sarcastic attitude, both were homeless at some point in time and they both come from rich families which they chose to leave and ignore, thus Magnus can relate to her experiences. Magnus was also the least doubtful of Alex's motives when she came to in Valhalla. By the end of The Hammer of Thor, the two einherji had become close friends.

Some warmth could be developing between the two as it could be seen when he kept staring at her. He also had said that when she smiled the temperature rose by 5 degrees when they were in Randolph's mansion. Following that she made him wrap his arms around her waist when they were about to ride Stanley, though this could have been simply to ensure his safety. Finally, he was staring at her when she was dressed in bridal attire by Sif in her palace.

In The Ship of the Dead, Alex and Magnus become closer, and flirt with each other, somewhat, throughout the book. When they were travelling through the Ice Realm, they huddled in pairs to stay warm. Alex chose Magnus because he’s ‘warm and summery’. As they are walking through, Alex stops abruptly, as Magnus tells her to keep moving. She then turns to him, under the blanket they had, and kissed him. She said, “I wasn’t going to die without doing that” and continued forward. In the Thunder Dome, Alex pretends as if it never happened, and continues to treat Magnus like before. Sam then asks Magnus whether he was going to talk to Alex about the kiss, as Magnus was apparently bad at keeping it a secret. Magnus avoids the question, and Sam, Alex and Magnus set out for the Ship Of The Dead. Alex suggests holding hands, but as Hearthstone cast an invisibility tune on them, Sam purposefully doesn’t hold Magnus’s hand. He states that it isn’t probably because of religious reasons, but just to have Alex and him to hold hands, saying that he could ‘hear’ her smiling. When flyting with Loki, Magnus changes directions and starts to compliment his friends. As he reaches Alex, she states “Saving the best for last”. Magnus then unintentionally blurts out that Alex Fierro kissed him and it was the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

Later when sailing back, Magnus goes over to talk to Alex, where she states that she needs time to think. Magnus, confused about her phrasing of the sentence, asks Hearth, who also doesn’t know.

Back at Valhalla, Magnus takes off his shirt as it’s covered in chocolate, causing Alex to intrude, saying, “You may want to close the door before you start changing”. After some small talk, Alex once again states that he doesn’t know yet and starts to walk out the door, when he turns around and goes back to Magnus, kissing him once more. He again says that he doesn’t know, winks, and walks out the door. This leaves Magnus in shock as half of his brain was questioning his sexuality, and the other half was very pleased.

Magnus then opens up the “Chase Space”, a place for homeless teens, with Alex, Hearth and Blitz also co-running. As the home celebrates the Fourth of July, Magnus and Alex were on the roof terrace watching the fireworks. Alex then grabs Magnus’s hand, holding it in hers. She states that this is nice, however, Magnus is unsure about which part. Because he feels that everything was nice, he agrees.

Friends
Blitzen= Blitzen watched over Magnus for two years along with Hearthstone under Mimir's orders. The two tried to protect him from Surt. During that time the two grew close. When he was in the funeral home where his mortal body was resting, he said the only people he wanted at his funeral, aside from his family, were him and Hearth. When Magnus discovers that his mother is Freya, his father's sister he is initially shocked. He defends Blitzen when Junior mocks his family and gives him pep talks during the crafting competition.

When he was stabbed by Randolph with the snofnung, Magnus flew into a fit of rage and attacked his uncle to save his friend.

Hearthstone watched over Magnus for two years along with Blitzen under Mimir's orders. The two tried to protect him from Surt. The two grew close during that time. When searching his own corpse for the sword of summer, he states that the only people he wanted at his funeral, aside from his family, were him and Blitz.
 * -|Hearthstone=

During The Hammer of Thor when he and Magnus(and a petrified Blitzen) visited his old home in Alfheim to retrieve the Skofnung Stone from Alderman, Magnus helps Hearthstone to pay off his wergild after learning about his past. When they face of against Alderman in his dragon form, he is deeply concerned for his friend.

At first, Magnus disliked Samirah for choosing him to become an einherjar, but after the quest of retrieving Sumarbrander, the two grew closer after Magnus learned about Samirah's past. Magnus even considers Samirah as the closest thing he has as a sister along with Annabeth. Whenever the daughter of Loki would pray, the son of Frey would stand guard over her.
 * -|Samirah al-Abbas=

When her father arranged a marriage between her and Thrym, he offered to help her out however he could.

During their voyage to stop her father from launching Naglfar, he was concerned for her as they were sailing during Ramadan, where she fasts during the sunlight hours.

At first, Magnus thought that Sumarbrander was just a regular weapon, but after Freya tells him Sumarbrander's past and that it had "special abilities" Magnus began to speak to it and treat him as a regular person. Sumarbrander then thanks him and Magnus renamed him as "Jack."
 * -|Sumarbrander=

The Son of Frey has come to relay on Jack to do most of his fighting. In return, Sumarbrander shows concern for the son of Frey and warns him not to touch him after battles as he might pass out or die when the fatigue hits him.

Magnus respects Mallory Keen, Halfborn Gunderson, and Thomas Jefferson Jr.. When they refuse to arrest him he admires that and saves Halfborn's life. Within a few weeks, he felt enough trust in them to tell them about his dreams of Loki.
 * -|Hall Mates=

Family
Natalie Chase= Magnus was close to his mother. She taught him survival skills. Before she was killed Natalie told her son to stay away from his uncle Randolph.

When Magnus first met his father he hugged him, much to the surprise of them both. Frey congratulated his son on rejecting Hel's offer and securing the Fenris Wolf. Before he left, the god of summer gave Natalie's ashes and a missing person flyer to him, telling him to call Annabeth.
 * -|Frey=

After Magnus defeated Loki in a flyting, the lord of Alfheim praised his son for the feat.

The two played together when they were younger. In The Sword of Summer, when Magnus died she attended his funeral and she saw him as an einherjar she hugged him out of happiness. They later meet at the blue hills to skater his mother's ashes. The two then tell each other about their lives.
 * -|Annabeth Chase=

Magnus and Annabeth meet once more at the end of The Hammer of Thor to exchange stories once more. Annabeth tells Magnus that its time she should meet her boyfriend.

When Magnus turns their ancestral home into a shelter for homeless youths, she happily signed the paperwork allowing him to do so.

Magnus had mixed feelings for his uncle. While he did not fully trust him he did want to keep him safe because they were family. When he found out that Randolph was working for Loki, Magnus became enraged. When he saw his uncle go to Loki like a scared dog, he felt pity for his uncle. When Randolph was hanging from the ledge, Magnus tries to help him and tells him that he still has family that care for him, Randolph declines the help and falls into the abyss.
 * -|Randolph Chase=

Gods and Jotunns
Loki and the son of Frey have a mutual dislike of one another. The trickster used Magnus as a pawn in order to kickstart Ragnarok, resulting in Magnus dying and going to Valhalla. Like tried to convince him to handover the sword to no success.
 * -|Loki=

When the son of Frey set sail to stop Naglfar from launching and starting Ragnarok, the trickster came to the son of Frey in his dreams, taunting him and telling Magnus he will fail his quest and the worlds will end. During their Flyting, Loki told the son of Frey how he was weak and unwanted by his father, who only contacted him in death. To counter this, the son of Frey started to complement his friends and tell the trickster he is alone while he has friends. As Loki is in prisoned, he swears revenge on Magnus. The son of Frey sees the thunder god as both powerful and irritating. When he first met Thor in Jotunheim, the thunder god asks Magnus and his friends to find his unofficially stolen hammer at Geirrod’s palace. They found his staff and, to their annoyance, seconds later he flew in on a Chariot.
 * -|Thor=

When tasked with finding his hammer again, he goes to a wedding to obtain it, he arrives with Heimdall and Vidar moments after Loki escapes and easily takes out the remaining giants, something that annoys Magnus.

Despite these past encounters and experiences, the son of Frey sees Thor as a powerful god. Surt is the first mythical opponent that Magnus fought against. On his sixteenth Birthday the son of Frey fought the ruler of Muspellheim, defeating him and dying in the fight. After that Surt swore revenge on the son of Frey.
 * -|Surt=

During their second fight on Lyngvi, Magnus stoped Surt from just barely starting ragnarok and sending him back to his world.

Others
Upon Annabeth's suggestion, Percy visited Magnus on weekends to train him for his upcoming quests. While Magnus regards Percy's advice and training, he is nervous about Percy's relentless training methods. On the other hand, Percy gets exasperated with Magnus's ineptitude with combat, but he doesn't express it and is very patient with him. In the end, Percy advises Magnus that his team is his biggest strength in the quest, something that Magnus uses against Loki.
 * -|Percy Jackson=

During his time on the streets of Boston, the son of Frey grew close to Amir and his father. They would give him food they could not legally sell while he would keep the homeless people in the transportation center behaved. He would tell them his name was Jimmy to protect his identity. Magnus feels somewhat guilty for lying to them. After Amir learns of Magnus being an Einherji, the relationship between the two changed very little.
 * -|Amir Fadlan=

After arriving in Valhalla, the son of Frey quickly took a liking to the doorman. Hunding would tell Magnus about secret passageways and seemed concerned for him. In return Magnus would feel sorry for Hunding as he made it to Valhalla but is sentenced to be a servant to Helgi until Ragnarok, he would also give Hunding chocolate whenever he could.
 * -|Hunding=

Etymology
Magnus is a Latin name meaning "great". It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king, Magnus I.

Chase is a middle English surname, an occupational name for a hunter. In Middle English the word "chase" means "hunt".

When translated into their respective languages, "Magnus Chase" means "Great Hunter".

Trivia

 * Magnus Chase is the cousin of Annabeth Chase, a main character from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus.
 * In Chapter 2 of The Sword of Summer, it is mentioned that Magnus's birthday is on January 13th.
 * Magnus is the first P.O.V protagonist to openly swear.
 * Even so, similarly to Percy Jackson and Carter Kane, he filters out more explicit words (e.g. when Thor 'said', '"Mother-grubbing scum bucket!", or something like that. Sorry, I'm trying to filter out the bad language.').
 * There's a Chase family inside joke that Magnus looks like Kurt Cobain.
 * Magnus is left-handed.
 * On the UK cover, Magnus is holding Sumarbrander/Jack with his right hand.
 * In The Hammer of Thor, Magnus mentions he had a teacher in second grade named Ms. Mengler who would tape his left hand onto his desk and force him to write with his right hand.
 * Magnus considers himself to be an atheist (as mentioned in The Sword Of Summer).
 * Magnus' favorite colors are black and beige, while he hates the color blue.
 * This could be a nod and a sharp contrast to Percy Jackson, whose favorite color is blue.
 * When Magnus first got Sumarbrander/Jack he asks him if he will turn into a pen, but Jack vibrates in a way that suggests he is saying A pen sword? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
 * This is also a nod to Percy Jackson's sword Riptide that has a ballpoint pen form.
 * Much like Nico di Angelo, Magnus is extremely pale, and had a penchant for avoiding physical contact at the beginning of The Sword of Summer.
 * Magnus is a fan of Doctor Who.
 * Magnus likes to read. Prior to his mother's death, he had a collection of books, which were destroyed in the fire. While on the streets, he spent time in the Boston Public Library.
 * Magnus' favorite authors are Stephen King, Darren Shan, Neal Shusterman, Michael Grant, and Joe Hill. His favorite graphic novel series are Scott Pilgrim, Sandman, Watchmen, and Saga.
 * So far Magnus has been to all Nine Worlds except Muspellheim and Helheim, unless one counts briefly encountering Muspellheim in the elevator with Gunilla.
 * Due to being a son of Frey, Magnus has a good relationship with horses (as they are one of Frey's sacred animals). Which Sam explains is why Stanley acted friendly towards Magnus.
 * Magnus has tried alcohol before his death, thrown up, tried it again and thrown up yet again.
 * Interestingly, Magnus and Percy Jackson share many similarities:
 * They have both been on quests to find stolen or missing weapons (Magnus went on a quest to reclaim the Sword of Summer and to find Thor's Hammer. Percy went on a quest to find Zeus's stolen Master Bolt and on another quest to find the Staff of Hermes).
 * Both have communicated with a potential enemy through their dreams (Loki and Kronos, respectively).
 * Both have a strong bond with Annabeth Chase.
 * Both have once thought of their parentage as a cruel joke.
 * Both have been offered a gift by a king of the gods but refused.
 * Both have good relationships with horses due to their godly parents (horses are sacred to Frey, and Poseidon created horses).
 * Their presences have both been seen as bad omens because of a prophecy.
 * Both have crossed into other worlds (Magnus has been to six of the Nine Worlds, excluding Midgard. Percy has been to the Underworld, Olympus, and Tartarus).
 * Both have battled several giants (Magnus has killed three giants and battled Surt twice. Percy has battled several Hyperborean giants during the Battle of Manhattan, killed Polybotes with help from Terminus, killed Otis and Ephialtes with help of Jason Grace, and killed them again with the help of Poseidon).
 * Both have a grandfather they don't like (Percy's grandfather is Kronos who tried to destroy him, and Magnus' grandfather is Njord, who was unhelpful).
 * Both of them have a sword that was a gift from their father (Chiron was given Riptide to give to a son of Poseidon, and Sumarbrander must be unearthed by a son of Frey).
 * While not outright stated, Magnus could be pansexual--an attraction to anyone regardless of gender or gender identity--or panromantic: a romantic attraction to anyone regardless of gender or gender identity, making him the first of Riordan’s characters to do be so if he is.
 * Magnus fears wolves, which is called lupophobia.
 * Magnus could potentially be a legacy of Frey in addition to being his son. In The Hammer of Thor, Loki mentions that the sword Skofnung can only be wielded by the descendants of Swedish nobility, an act that his uncle was able to do. In The Sword of Summer, Gunilla mentions that the kings of Sweden were descendants of Frey. Assuming that at least one of his noble ancestors was a descendant from Frey's line of the family, Magnus could be both a demigod son and legacy of Frey.
 * Due to Alex being male when they kissed, their second kiss is the first same-sex kiss shown in any of Rick Riordan’s works.