Fenia

Fenia Characters Adapted from Other Works First Appearance: Grottasöngr Nationality: Swedish subjects Species: Giantess Cause of Death: Implicitly drowning Relatives: Menia (sister) Occupation: Slave, Miller Appearing in: "The Old Grind" by Laura Frankos Fantasy set in OTL Type of Appearance: Direct POV Nationality: Indigenous Orcadian subject of Norway Religion: Polytheism Date of Birth: 9th century Occupation: Miller, Soldier Parents: Unnamed father and Menia Spouse: Cubbie Roo Relatives: Unnamed uncle

Fenia (or Fenja) is one of two giant slave women (sometimes considered sisters) who, according to the Grottasöngr, are indirectly responsible for salting the oceans.

According to the Grottasöngr, Fenia and fellow giantess Menia were purchased by King Fróði of Denmark from the king of Sweden. Fróði was in possession of a pair of magical mill stones that could create anything a person wished, but were much to heavy for any mortal man to work. The stones were held in a mill called "Grotti". The giantesses were strong enough to grind, and, at Fróði's command, they created gold, peace, and happiness. However, Fróði would not let them rest, and soon, they used the mill to produce an army lead by the sea-king Mysing. Mysing and his host killed Fróði and took his possessions, including Fenia, Menia, and Grotti. As they sailed away aboard a ship, Mysing asked them to grind out salt. Soon, they ground out a enough salt that the ship sank, and Grotti was left at the bottom of the ocean, grinding out salt for eternity.

Versions of this legend appear throughout northern Europe. Not every version gives the two enslaved millers names. One version does not blame Grotti for salting the entire ocean, but for the Pentland Firth between Orkney and mainland Scotland.

Fenia in "The Old Grind"

Fenia was a gyger living on the island of Orkney who ran the salt mill Grotti with her mother Menia in the early 10th century. In 910, Fenia decided that she wanted to see the world. While Menia initially objected, she agreed to allow Fenia to go out into the world for a year. Fenia arranged for the dwarves Alberich and Erka to fill in for her at Grotti.

Fenia swam from Orkney to Scotland. The tattooed warriors she encountered ran from her. She moved to England, and was impressed with how fast the people there ran from her. She arrived at a monastery just after a Viking attack. One, Brother Ethelred, fainted at the sight of her, as he was unready to encounter a giantess while fleeing a Viking raid. One of his fellow monks explained to Fenia that the Vikings were attacking. Fenia decided to ask the Vikings for passage. While the first Norseman she encountered was terrified, he took her to their leader, Ganga-Hrolf, or Hrolf the Walker; he was too big ride a horse.

When he met her, Ganga-Hrolf asked Fenia to simply call him Rollo. While he wasn't initially interested in going to Francia, Fenia finally convinced him that the sheer size of the country meant that the Franks had more wealth than the English.