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Creation Myths
Midgard and the World Tree
The Norns
Asgard
Odin the Allfather
Heimdall
The Vanir
Kvasir the Wise
Thor
Frey and Freya
Valhalla and the Valkyries
Baldur and Hoder
The Ragnarok
Creation Myths:
At the beginning of time, there was no world, only
Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void.
In this moved strange mists that eventually split to reveal an even deeper Gap with two regions on either side of it: ice-cold Nifelheim, the Land of Mist, to the north and burning hot Muspelheim, the Land of Fire, to the south. At the most southern end of the world sat Surtur, the Demon of Fire with his flaming sword.
Deep in Ginnungagap was a continuously bubbling spring -- Hvergelmir, the Well of Life, whose water was instantly turned to ice. The ice piled up above the Well and became Ymir, the greatest of the Giants and the father of the Frost Giants and the Giant Kin. Ymir grew to life and was fed milk by the cow Audumla. The ice broke off him, licked away by the cow. Each piece of ice became a Rime Giant, the fathers of witches, warlocks, ogres and trolls.
Needing food, Audumla licked at the ice around her and uncovered the first of the Aesir, Buri. He had a son Borr who married the giantess Bestla and was the father of the Aesir who planted the World Tree and made the earth.
The world was supported by the ash tree called Yggdrasill, which was always green. Its roots led to different worlds: one to Asgard, the home of the gods, one to Jotunheim, the land of the giants, and the third to Nifelheim, the place of eternal mist and darkness.
The Norns:
The Norns also tended Yggdrasill, watering its roots daily from the Well of Urd to keep the tree from withering. In this they worked against the creatures of evil who were eternally trying to destroy the tree; the Nid Hog who knawed ceaselessly on a root, and also the serpents and harts farther up in the Tree.
Asgard:
Odin the Allfather:
Odin was always in search of wisdom. He traveled to Jotumheim in disguise to learn what they could teach, and also to the land of the dwarves. He hung for nine days from the branches of Yggdrasill, to gain the secrets of the dead. And he gave one of his eyes in trade to Mimir for a draught of the water from the Fountain of Wisdom. This Mimir later became Odin's advisor.
Heimdall and the Bifrost Bridge:
Heimdall, the White God, the Watchman of the gods, was the guardian of Bifrost. Born at the beginning of time, he had nine mothers, wave-maidens from beyond world's end. He rode a horse with a glittering mane, and had the great Giallar Horn hanging from his shoulder, which he blew to announce the passages of the gods, and to warn of Giant attacks. He had teeth made of gold, keen eyes, and ears so sharp he could hear the grass growing.
The Vanir:
After messages had been sent, a Giant maiden named Gullveig arrived in Asgard as emmisary from the Vanir. She walked among the Aesir for a time, but then wandered to Midgard and showed the humans how to sin. For this, she was punished by being thrown into a fire, yet each time the flames rose around her she walked forth unharmed. She departed Asgard for Uhland, to tell the Vanir of the Aesir's treachery.
An army of the Vanir approached Asgard, led by Niord, Lord of Vanaheim. Odin approached him and explained Gullveig's deception, and when Niord accepted the tale, a truce was born between the races. To seal the truce, each one of the Aesir and the Vanir spat into a golden crock. Niord stayed in Asgard as a sign of faith, and his children, Frey and Freya were born there.
Kvasir the Wise:
Two evil Dwarves, Fialar and Galar, took advantage of Kvasir's trusting nature and lured him to their lair where they killed him. They drained off his blood into two vats and a kettle, and mixed it with honey to make a magic mead, aptly called Kvasir's Blood, which could make any who drank it into a poet, scholar or seer. The dwarves hoarded this mead until it was taken from them by the Giant Suttung. Suttung kept it until Odin tricked it from him so that he could spread it throughout Asgard and Midgard.
Thor:
Frey and Freya:
Freya was the Lady of Love and Beauty, though she often rode to battle beside Odin, in her golden chariot drawn by two cats. She was given the right to choose any of the heroes destined for Valhalla and take them to her own home, Folkvanger. She had a great love for jewellry, and that led her to sell herself to four dwarves for the golden Brising Necklace, Brisingamen. For this she was punished by Odin, and made to wear Brisingamen for the rest of eternity as a reminder of her acts.
Valhalla and the Valkyries:
The Valkyries were immortal warrior maidens, some of them Odin's own daughters, sent by Odin to collect the souls of the valiant warriors from the battlefield and deliver them to Valhalla. The maidens wore helmets and carried spears, and rode on flying horses. Sometimes they would fly about the world disguised as swans, to find those who were fit to enter Valhalla.
Baldur and Hoder:
One day, Baldur became saddened, and grave. In his dreams, he sensed danger, and death. The Aesir were frightened by this, and so Odin saddled his horse and rode nine days and nights down the tunnelways to Nifelheim, to visit the land of the Dead. Once there, he roused the spirit of a prophetess, Volva She spoke of Baldur's death.
Upon returning to Asgard, Odin heard from Frigga his wife that a promise had been exacted from "everything which lives or grows or moves upon the earth, everything that comes out of it or descends from it or moves in the waters which touch it", that they may not harm Baldur. Relieved, the gods were easy again, and they now found sport in flinging weapons at Baldur and watching them bounce away, leaving him unharmed.
Watching all the laughter and brightness was Loki, now bitter and wicked, and determined in his hate of Baldur. The golden beloved god had been the envy of Loki for long years. Stealing out to Midgard, Loki gathered up a branch of the plant mistletoe and formed it with his black arts into a dart. This dart he brought back to Ida, brought to Hoder who stood apart from the activities of the others, for, being blind, he had no weapon and could not see where Baldur stood. Loki gave him the dart and directed his hand for the throw, and Baldur fell dead on the plain by Hoder's hand, for mistletoe does not grow out of the earth and therefore was not bound by Frigga's oath.
The gods petitioned Hela in the land of the Dead for Baldur's return, and she replied that if every being in the world wept for Baldur, he would be released. Otherwise, in Hel he would remain. When this became known, Hermodur, the messenger of the gods, went far and wide over the worlds, asking everything in the world to weep; the stones, the plants, and the people. Only one being refused to weep, and that was the seeming Giantess calling herself Thokk, who was in truth Loki in disguise. From that day on, Loki became the sworn enemy of all in Asgard.
Hoder was later killed in justice by Odin's youngest son, Vali the Avenger. He was welcomed in Hel by Baldur, who blamed not his brother but Loki for his death. Loki was also punished, later, when caught alone on Midgard. He was dragged away into the deep caves below the world of men, and bound upon three sharp stone slabs. A venomous serpent was hung above his head so that the vemom dripped upon him. Loki was only to be released upon the day of the Ragnarok.
The Ragnarok:
When man's evil reaches its peak, the Fimbul Winter comes, which lasts for three years without ease. The wolf Skoll, which had been chasing the sun since its creation, finally catches and swallows the bright orb. The Moon too is swallowed, and the stars quenched in blood. Two cocks crow: the red cock Fialar in Jotunheim and one with a golden crest in Asgard, and thus begins the Ragnarok.
The children of Loki break free: the sea swells and crashes against the shore as the Midgard Serpent swims ashore, spraying venom over the sea and air; Hela and her minions ready for attack, following Loki; the Fenris Wolf breaks his chain and advances with jaws gaping. The ship Naglfar, made from dead men's nails, sets sail over the floodwaters. The sky splits, letting Surtur and the Sons of Muspell come in fire. When they ride over the Bifrost, it breaks behind them and falls to the earth in pieces. Heimdall blows the Giallar Horn at the Gates of Asgard as the Aesir meet together and the World Tree itself trembles.
The Aesir ride to battle. Odin rides against the Fenris Wolf, and is killed by the beast, though Odin's son, Vidar, then kills the Wolf and avenges the Allfather. Thor advances with Miolnir held before him to fight the Midgard Serpent, whom he defeats though he then dies nine paces away, fatally poisoned by the Serpent's venom. Frey battles Surtur, but fails, for he had given away his magic Sword in gaining his wife. Garm the Hel Hound and Tyr fight, and each slays the other. Had Tyr still both his hands, he would have prevailed. Loki and Heimdall, too, fight, and each kills the other.
Surtur spreads his fire over the earth, burning up all of creation. Darkness falls.
A new earth slowly rises out of the sea, green and bright, with endless forests and meadows. The great seas recede to leave waterfalls and rivers crossing the land. On Ida's Plain where had been Asgard, stand Vidar and Vali, survivors of the Battle, and also Magni and Modi, Thor's sons, bearing the hammer Miolnir with them. The earth opens, and from Helheim step Baldur and Hoder. Some Vanir come out of Vanaheim, and soon new buildings sprout from Ida's Plain. On Midgard, a man and a woman emerge from the deep place called Hoddminir's Holt, where they had escaped from Surtur's fire. From them, Midgard was repopulated. In this way was the Word of Hope fulfilled, that word which Odin spoke into dead Baldur's ear as his pyre was built: "Rebirth".
Midgard and the World Tree:
Borr's sons, Odin, Vili and Ve, fought against Ymir and eventually killed him, releasing the icy water that was his blood. The water drowned all the Rime Giants but one, Bergelmir. Ymir's body was cast into Ginnungagap and became the world. His blood became the seas and rivers, his flesh the land, his bones the mountains, and his teeth the stones and gravel. A "heavenly vault" was spread over the earth, supported by four mighty dwarves: Nodri (north), Sudri (south), Austri (east) and Westri (west). Odin and his children took sparks from the realm of Muspelheim and made the stars. They fashioned the Sun Chariot from molten gold from the realm of Surtur. The Chariot was drawn by the horses Early-waker and All-Strong and steered by the maiden Sol. The moon was drawn by the horse All-Swift and driven by Mani.
Under the World Tree, beside the Well of Life, was a hall where lived the Norns, the three sisters named Urd, Verlandi, and Skuld. These three knew more than any, for Urd could see anything in the past, Verlandi the present, and Skuld the future. The Norns often appeared at the births of heroes to spin his fate and give gifts of good and evil. They told Odin some of the fate of the world, and it is because of them that the Aesir came to know about the Ragnarok.
Asgard was the home of the gods, situated high up in the branches of the World Tree. The first palace built was Gladsheim, the Place of Joy, where Odin and his queen Frigga lived. In Asgard there were palaces for all the Aesir, and in the center of the land was the plain of Ida, where grew wondrous gardens.
Odin was the King of Asgard, and also the god of War and Wisdom. He had an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir who could carry him through the clouds and over Midgard. Two ravens perched on his shoulders: Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory). These two would go out in Midgard and bring back information to Odin, where he sat on his high peak called Lidskialf, or Heaven's Crag, from where Odin could see anything that went on in the world.
The Bifrost Bridge was the road that led to Asgard from other parts of the world. It was shaped as a beautiful rainbow bridge made of fire, water, and air.
At one point, Mimir warned Odin that he would need an alliance with the Vanir in order to survive against the Giants. The Vanir had been born out of the upper air and lived in Uhland, a place high above the top of Yggdrasill. They had never visited Asgard or Midgard, and had never been seen by any Aesir or human.
From the crock of gold that was the sign of the truce, Odin shaped a man, Kvasir, who remembered no childhood, as he came into the world fully grown. Kvasir had all the knowledge of the Vanir and the Aesir, and so was loved and honored in Asgard and in Midgard. He would travel wherever he was needed, and spread wisdom along the way.
Thor was the son of Odin, and husband of Sif. He bore the great war-hammer Miolnir which would break whatever it hit and would return to its master's hand after being thrown. A flaw in the hammer's making, however, gave it a shortened handle. Thor drove in a chariot drawn by two goats, Cracktooth and Gaptooth.
Niord of the Vanir married the Giantess Skadi and had two children, Frey and Freya. Frey was the Lord of Fruitfulness and Peace, and the ruler of Alfheim and its elves. He fell in love with and married the Giantess Gerda, though he gave his magic Sword of Sharpness, which fought of itself, for the match.
The most beautiful palace in Asgard was Valhalla, one of Odin's residences, which was built beside the Field of Light.. It was a vast hall with five hundred and fourty doors, made of spears and roofed with bright shields, where breastplates lined the benches inside. The pillar that held up the center of the hall was a living tree, the leaves of which fed the magic goat Heidrun whose milk was the mead that the slain warriors drank. Here, the bravest of the dead warriors of Midgard were summoned to feast with Odin. No matter how drunk the warriors became, there were no headaches the next morning. With the dawning of the day all would take up their arms and go into Odin's Field to fight each other to the death. At battle's end, all would rise from the field and return to the Hall to feast.
Baldur the beautiful was beloved by all the gods, as he was the kindest and gentlest of any of them. He lived in Breidablik on the plain of Ida, and was the son of Odin and Frigga. His twin brother Hoder was different; he was blind, sad and quiet. Hoder was darkness to his brother's golden light.
The Day of the Ragnarok was to be the Twilight of the Gods, the Last Great Battle. Baldur's death was a portent that warned it was near, as was the binding of Loki. The Battle was to take place on the Plain of Vigrid.
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