Floki
From Vinland Saga
Floki is a supporting character in Vinland Saga, a senior Jomsviking commander whose resentment of Thors leads him to order the assassination that starts the entire story. Smug, cautious and always scheming for position, he is power without courage. He is voiced by Atsushi Ono in Japanese and Keith Silverstein in English (Netflix dub).
About Floki
Floki is a senior Jomsviking commander, a cold schemer who once served beside Thors and Thorkell. It was Floki who hired Askeladd to murder Thors, clearing his own path to power within the order, and he continues plotting from the shadows as the Jomsvikings fracture. Smug, cautious and cowardly beneath the rank, he is the kind of enemy Thorfinn's fists alone could never fix.
Appearance
Floki is a heavyset, well-groomed commander with a self-satisfied expression and the polished armour of a man who fights politics more than battles. He carries himself with the confidence of rank, but around genuinely dangerous men, Thorkell, Thors, later Canute, a nervous deference creeps in. His look is that of a courtier in a warrior's order: everything about him is maintained, calculated and slightly too pleased with itself.
Personality
Floki is ambitious, envious and cowardly, a man who mistakes proximity to power for power itself. He resented Thors for looking down on him, or for simply being everything Floki is not, and that resentment festered into murder by proxy, the only kind of fighting Floki truly excels at. He flatters whoever is rising, betrays whoever is falling, and survives regime changes that kill better men, which is precisely the quality the story holds up against warriors like Thors and Thorkell.
Background & Story
Floki served in the Jomsvikings alongside Thors and Thorkell, climbing by connections while Thors climbed by ability. When Thors deserted, Floki saw both an insult and an opportunity: he quietly hired Askeladd to kill Thors, removing a rival and a reproach in one contract. Through the invasion of England and Canute's rise, Floki keeps himself close to the throne, commanding Jomsviking forces for the crown and positioning his own family, his grandson Baldr, to inherit command of the order, whatever it costs anyone else.
Key Relationships
- Thors: His former comrade and the object of his lifelong resentment; Floki ordered Thors' death and hid the fact for years.
- Askeladd: The mercenary Floki hired to kill Thors, a contract between two schemers who never trusted each other.
- Thorkell: A fellow Jomsviking commander whose open contempt for Floki's kind of power is a constant humiliation.
- Canute: The king Floki attaches himself to after Sweyn's fall, serving the crown while advancing his own family's claim on the Jomsvikings.
Quick Answers
Why did Floki have Thors killed?
Floki resented Thors, who he felt looked down on him, and wanted a rival removed. He hired Askeladd to do it so his own hands stayed clean.
Who voices Floki?
Atsushi Ono voices him in Japanese. In English, Keith Silverstein voices him in the Netflix dub and Jay Hickman in the Sentai dub.
