Glossary of Finnish terms
Quick answer
Väki is magic, Lykky is the balance of a place, Sisu is endurance, the kynnykset is the Threshold where portals stand, and Hiisi is the corruption eating the balance.
Among the Trolls uses Finnish words for its systems rather than translating them, and the game is better for it. Here is what each one means, and where it shows up in play.
The words you will meet first
| Term | Meaning | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Väki | Magic; the old power that lives in things | The magic system, potions, the sealed Väki box |
| Lykky | Luck; the balance of a region's energies | The world's mood: animals, resources, tool wear |
| Sisu | Endurance, stubborn perseverance | The first-death cutscene and the survival framing |
| Kynnykset | The Threshold; where the portal arches stand | Portals and the place they occupy |
| Tietäjät | Shamanic keepers of the islands | The people who forged the portals |
| Hiisi (Hisii) | The corruption | The world's decline and creature behaviour |
| Kalevala | Finland's national epic, compiled by Elias Lönnrot | The source of the game's mythology |
The mythic figures
| Name | Who they are | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Ilmatar | The air's daughter, who became the Water-Mother | Lore notes and the world's origin story |
| Väinämöinen | The sage born old, the world's maker and memory | Lore notes |
| Sampsa Pellervoinen | The Son of the Field, who sowed the first harvests | Lore notes |
| Mielikki | Goddess of the woods and animals | The respect rule in hunting |
| Aallottaret | Water nymphs: drowned women envious of the living | The sea and its dangers |
How to read these words in the game
- Väki and Lykky are a pair. Väki is what you do; Lykky is how the world answers. The store page tells you to balance them, and that is the honest description of the magic system: prepared magic against a region-wide resistance.
- Sisu is not a resource. It is the game's name for the attitude the survival layer demands, and it is introduced at the moment you first fail.
- Kynnykset is a place, not an item. The Threshold is where portals stand, and the game treats crossing it as a serious act.
- Hiisi is what you are fighting. Not an enemy so much as a condition: the corruption that makes the forest quiet and the creatures hostile.
- The Kalevala is the source, not the plot. The game borrows figures and cosmology from the epic and adapts them, adding its own interpretation where the poems leave room.
A note on pronunciation
The game's material includes Finnish dialogue and song, and at least one reviewer specifically praised the attempt at modern Finnish pronunciation in the music. You do not need to get it right; the game treats the language as part of the world Anna is returning to rather than as a test.
Sources
- Store page (Väki and Lykky, Kalevala creatures): Among the Trolls on Steam
- Devlog #6 "The Myths" (Ilmatar and Väinämöinen lore notes), Devlog #8 (Mielikki), Devlog #9 (kynnykset and the tietäjät): Steam news archive
- Demo hotfix #2 (the Sisu cutscene): Steam news archive
Game imagery on this page is official promotional material, used for reference.
