Portal Pages and the kynnykset
Portals are stone arches standing in the kynnykset, forged by the tietäjät. Each one needs a Portal Page bound to its destination before it will open a dungeon passage.
Portals are the spine of Among the Trolls. They are not fast travel: they are inscribed stone arches standing in a place called the kynnykset, the Threshold, and each one is opened with a Portal Page bound to its destination. Understanding them is understanding how the game hands out its story.
What the portals are
In the game's own folklore, portals have never been convenient doors. They are described as oaths of stone, carved with runes and guarded by silences as long as winters — structures people say the forest swallowed and spat back out when someone speaks the right word.
What you see in play: solitary arches among birches and lichens, made of ancient stone, marked with a symbol Anna has the unsettling feeling she has seen somewhere before. They are not carved into rock or rooted in the earth. They stand in the kynnykset, the Threshold.
Who made them
The portals were forged by the tietäjät, the shamanic keepers of the islands, using arts few still remember. That thread ties directly into Anna's family: her grandfather was a shaman, and the glyphs on the arches match the glyphs on her bracelet, an old gift from him. The Threshold "does not forgive those who cross it carelessly," which is the game's way of saying preparation is not optional.
Portal Pages: the key
Once you have located a portal, opening it requires a Portal Page. The game describes the pages as being bound to a destination and to its "word" — reading the metaphor literally helps:
| Element | What it means in play |
|---|---|
| A Portal Page | The key to one specific dungeon destination |
| The page's "word" | The name or idea that page is bound to |
| The arch | The door itself, which does nothing without the page |
| The Threshold | The place the arch stands, treated with respect |
Each time you find a new page you know you can open a passage. The game frames that moment as a promise: the passage may hide knowledge, treasure, or take you somewhere no other path could reach.
What is on the other side
Portals lead to dungeons — places that remember. Stepping inside is described as putting your foot into an ancient tale and finding out that the fairy tale sometimes bites. Each dungeon has its own identity and its own story, and when you finish exploring one you may return the way you came or emerge somewhere else entirely.
Working with portals
- Find the arch, note its glyph, and check it against Anna's bracelet.
- Secure the Portal Page for that destination before you commit.
- Prepare consumables: food, water, potions and arrows.
- Go in with a plan for the exit, because some exits need something else first.
- Bring back what you find; pages and knowledge carry forward.
Sources
- Devlog #9 "Portals & Dungeons" (the Threshold, the tietäjät, Portal Pages): Steam news archive
- Devlog #11 (the bracelet glyphs, the merging worlds, more islands): Steam news archive
- Official site devlog listing: amongthetrolls.com
Game imagery on this page is official promotional material, used for reference.
