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Image from Laurie Allen
Hjalmar, played by Australian actor Mark Lee, is the general of the Nord army and Voden's right hand man. We first meet him in the episode "Xinca" when the Nords invade the Territories and slaughter the Terrons. We didn't see much of while Arina, one of Voden's other important people, was still around. After her departure, we get to know the character of Hjalmar.
In the episode "Centaurs" we get the first major taste of the character. Hjalmar is a loyal servent of his king. We can also tell by small ways that he fears the king, but the demands are usually met with a "yes, milord." He patiently, even if uneasily, listened to Voden's fantasy of one day having the Centaurs leading his army.
In "A Terrible Silence" Hjalmar is hunting a deer, and Dar saves him from a rogue tiger. Hjalmar shows a muddy sense of honor. While he was warned not to kill the deer, he does it anyway. Later in the episode, however, he saves Dar's life because Dar did the same for him. He takes Dar and Tao as captives to the elephant graveyard, a place that he knows to fear. Hjalmar might fear the legends of the elephant graveyard, but it is clear that he fears his monarch more.
Hjalmar was involved with his king when they were trying to find the Eiron lost city of Mydoro, but a better clue to the inner workings of the character is found in the episode Regeneration. In that episode, Hjalmar must fight the captured Arina once she returns. He missed her while she was gone. It was her sanity that was most appreciated because he fears Voden's madness. Hjalmar has taken it as his very solemn duty to stand in the spaces between the mad will of Voden and his men. He feels that if he were not there his men would suffer horribly at Voden's hand.
At the end of the season, Hjalmar shows unexpected nerve and stupidity. He chooses to betray openly his King, Voden. In doing so, he tries to upset the balance of power and for a brief moment it does seem as if Hjalmar will no longer be the obedient lackey. Unfortunately, his moment of triumph was short as Voden stabs and kills him.
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