Before the Sun and Moon were charged to count
the days, no sky crowned the land below and no flesh and thought lingered in the emptiness
of Ginnungagap, the void of everything. To the sides of Ginnungagap were the realms
of elemental fire and elemental frost; Muspelheim and Niflheim respectively. To imagine
either is to see the world around you made from a single thing in its purest form. The fires of
Muspelheim raged and roared unchecked; while the freezing wasteland of Niflheim stood silent and
unstirred, its clear skies shimmering with frost. By chance or intent, the fires of
Muspelheim spread from its blazing home and the ice of Niflheim crawled from its cold
prison. Their only path was towards Ginnungagap. In the middle of the void, the hottest
and unchained flames licked and struck the coldest and harshest frost. An explosion of
water followed, creating something into nothing: The first being to ever exist filled the
black expanse with the first scream of birth. This creature was called Ymir – The
Screamer. A being both man and woman, a giant so massive only the world could rival
its glory. Under its skin of eternal frost beat a heart like a red furnace, spreading the
flames of Muspelheim throughout the giant’s veins. As Ymir wandered Ginnungagap,
a cloud of vapour followed him and ice melted from its pores in great waterfalls.
Every night, when Ymir slept, creatures such as giants were washed out from its pores and
birthed into existence. One of these creatures was the celestial cow Adhumla, who found
nourishment in the salty ice of Ymir’s skin, who in turn supped upon the cow’s milk. As Adhumla
licked, Buri, the first of the Æsir, cracked free from Ymir’s skin and inhaled for the first time.
Buri became known as the forefather of all Æsir. His grandson Odin along with his brothers wandered
the void in the puddles and clouds of Ymir, a being as bright and hot as the sun, but
as uncaring and indifferent to those around as the coldest glacier. Ymir trampled as many as
it created but paid neither thought nor attention. Odin, the heir of the Æsir saw the pain
of those around the senseless destruction and felt the sorrow for the giant’s victims. An
end had to be put to the chaos and order brought into existence. Thus Odin hatched a plan along
with his brothers Vili and Ve to fell the giant and build a home to its neglected offspring.
Ymir possessed strength beyond all of its creations combined a thousand fold, but its
mind was no more than that of a massive insect. The three Æsir brothers struck from three
directions, tearing holes into Ymir from whence the fires of Muspelheim burst into
Ginnungagap as they did during the giant’s birth. Ymir screamed and swung in blind confusion, but
could do nothing against the overwhelming assault, then finally fell in a pile of sputtering
pieces of ice and molten flame. From the body parts of Ymir, the
three brothers created the world Midgard, which sprang into life instantly from
the giant’s fertile essence. As the world grew, so were the first mortals created from and elm and
an ash, Embla and Ask. Once all was in good order, the Æsir built their home above the clouds
to watch and govern over their creation and in this realm they built their great hall,
Valhalla. Midgard’s days were tranquil and uneventful as living things in
flourished and the Æsir multiplied. Odin, the father of men, the king of the Aesir;
the lord of the gods, the lord of the dead; the attacking rider, the shield shaker; the
blazing eyed one, the one who rides forth; the god-protector, the battle blinder; the
one of the host, the hanged god; the victory bringer, the father of the slain; the mighty
old man, the one eyed one. Once upon a time, Odin slew the father of
his grandfather, the two-gendered giant of ice and fire Ymir: He and his fellow Aesir
set about to create Midgard from the bones, blood and flesh of the primordial being. Once
creation stood glorious under the sky, the All-father sat on his throne of Hlidskjalfin
in the realm of Asgard, the highest of the Nine Realms.
But, for Asgard to rule over the other realms, Odin sought Mimir, the master of hidden lore.
Mimir offered Odin the path to complete his ambition with the sacrifice of his left eye.
As his bloody eyeball fell into the Well of Mimir, he saw that in order for him to rule
all of the nine realms, he would have to sacrifice himself and be reborn after death. After
devising the most sensible plan to accomplish this, Odin fell on his own spear Grungnir
and hung himself by the neck on one of the boughs Yggdrassil, The World Tree, for nine
days. His agonizing endeavour complete, Odin climbed down and all nothing was a secret
to his mind. The realms were in his grasp. As the master of death: Odin’s halls are
the home of the spirits of Midgard’s dead as well. Thus, his home came to be known as
‘Valhalla’, the halls of the dead. By his decree, all those who died in honourable
battle would find their eternal home in Asgard in a never-ending orgy of battle, feasting
and drinking. Thor, son of Odin, the wielder of the hammer
- Mjölnir; the strong archer, the mighty thunder; the one who rides alone, the one
with the wide forehead, the loud rider, the guardian of the shrine.
Thor is a fearsome warrior of flaming locks red hair and a mighty red beard. As his wagon,
dragged by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, rolled across the sky from adventure to adventure,
his hammer spat thunder and lightning. The goats also provided him with sustenance.
After a stout slam of Mjölnir on the animals’ heads, the thunder god needed only spare the
bones and skin after his feast. The goats would grow flesh inside their skin and around
their bones during the night and stood pristine and unharmed next morning.
What motivated Thor was simple: He enjoyed fighting, merrymaking, food, drink and lovemaking.
In that order. Where one of these could be had, the carriage of the thunder-lord was
not far. This single-minded, reckless and pleasure-seeking behaviour lead him to many
misadventures, tragedies and outright disasters; often involving his anger, then his hammer
in quick succession.None knew the bite of Mjölnir better than Jörmungandr, the world
serpent. Once upon a time, Thor went fishing with the
Jötunn Hymir, a giant, in a competition to win his titanic beer-brewing cauldron of infinite
drink. Thor caught the world-serpent and hoisted it on Hymir’s boat. Angered by his loss,
Hymir tossed the world serpent back into the ocean of Midgard, denying Thor his prize of
eternal drunkenness. Thor, angered by the loss of his catch and
such a vile betrayal, slew Hymir with Mjölnir and took his cauldron. Jörmungandr would
forever bear a grudge towards Thor and the rest of the Aesir. In Ragnarök, the end of
the world, the World Serpent would find his revenge by biting Thor, envenoming him; but
fell from the wounds caused by Mjölnir. Loki, the thief of the Giants, the foe of
the gods, the forger of evil. The sky one, the bound one, th slanderer and cheat of the
gods. If a situation has a chance for mischief or
personal gain through the undermining of another, The trickster of the Aesir was not far. It
remains to be seen whether the bane of Asgard seeks his own glory through subterfuge or
if it is only his nature to be a divine pain. Loki was the son of the Jötunn, Fárbauti,
and the Aesir, Laufey, a woman clothed in fiery leaves and nettles. Often Loki is referred
to as Thor’s brother, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Even with his Aesir
heritage, the trickster only visited the halls of his extended family to spread discord and
general annoyance. The masters of Asgard were never happy to
see him in one of their feasts. Once upon a time, during an gloomy feast after the death
of Baldr the Beautiful, Thor had enough of Loki’s drunken insults and vile comments,
and threatened to smack the evil gutter-mouth’s head off his shoulders and toss his remains
far to the east, where no one has to endure the sight of him ever again. Loki, of
course, taunted the thunder god more, even slipping from his mouth the truth of
the death of Baldr, and ran away disguised as a salmon down a waterfall from Asgard.
Thinking he had escaped the wrath of the Aesir, Loki rested at the base of the fall.
However, his pursuers were not far behind and trapped Loki in the grip of a horrible
serpent, whose venom dripped from its mouth and burned Loki’s skin like acid. The trickster
would find a way to escape his torment and fight alongside the Jötnar against the Aesir
in the flames of Ragnarök. Freyja, lady of the Vahnir, the fiercely bright
one, the goddess of beauty, love and fertility.She hails from the realm of Vanaheim, home of
the Vanir. Unlike the mighty Aesir, the Vanir were great
sorcerers and magicians. Freyja, the head of the Vanir, practiced a special kind of
magic, known as ‘Seidr’, which she discovered and taught to the Vanir and the elves. This
magic could weave and unravel the wellbeing, desires and fates of any being the practitioner
set their hands upon; and none could resist the touch of Freyja. When the
Aesir had established themselves in Asgard, Freyja sought them out with the
rest of her order and offered the magical services of the Vanir in exchange for gold
and other pleasures. The lords of Asgard used the great powers of the Vanir to gain an upper
hand on their brothers and sisters, until the halls of Odin were filled with heavy silence,
shadows and betrayal. One could pay for a Vanir’s services, but
what if another paid more? Odin had enough of the discord of his kin,
and demanded the Vanir to pay equal tribute to every lord of Asgard and atone for their
dishonourable actions. A squabble ensued, leading to the Aesir –Vanir war, where terrible
magicks and the flames of battle ravaged the realms of Asgard and Vanaheim. In the
end, where no side could claim victory, Odin brokered a truce with Freyja, taking
her brother Freyr as hostage, while giving Mimir the Lore master to the Vanir in return. Baldur the princely, Baldr the shinning, the
beautiful god of light, joy and purity, son of Odin and his wife Frigg.The Vanir might
have been masters in subtlety and the craft of word, but even they paled in comparison
to the lord of poetry of one Aesir. Baldr stood tall, lean and fair as porcelain
with a head of beautiful, blonde locks and a pair of rosy lips from where sweet poetry
flowed out like golden honey. His visage caused hearts to skip no matter the race or state
of life. Poetry and the arts of the skald were appreciated
in all the realms, but what the Aesir valued most was Baldr’s gift of premonition.
While the Aesir were mighty warriors with enchanted weapons and armour strong enough
to withstand the mightiest blows; cunning, guile and magic could bring down even the
strongest within Odin’s host. But, Baldr could see the plans of the enemy; his gaze
burned through all deceit and mystery, while his mouth revealed the truth. So valuable was the gift that Baldr’s mother
Frigg wove an enchantment over him. He would be invulnerable to blades and arrows, hot
and cold; he would feel neither pain nor the wasting of age. This enchantment brought joy
to the Aesir, who took merriment in shooting the skald with arrows, axes and rocks, while
he stood still and sung poetry without a hint of a flinch. It remains a
mystery whether the Aesir enjoyed this festivity more than Baldr’s poetry.
Loki, clever as he was, found the only weakness of Baldr, the only thing Frigg forgot to protect
her son from. Gathering mistletoe from the east of Midgard, Loki fashioned the plant
into arrows. Disguised as a blind old man, he entered Asgard and presented a wager that
he would be the one to slay Balder with an arrow, asking Thor to point him in the direction
of the target. The arrow found its mark and Balder was slain,
never to be seen in the realms of the living until after Ragnarök. Tyr, the one-handed Aesir, son of Hymir the Jötunn, the god of war, law, honor, and glory.
A norse warrior wishing victory in battle would be wise to pray to Týr. Even while
crippled, none could best him in armed combat and none could match his bravery. It was just
his bravery and willingness to put his health and well-being on the line that left him with
only his sword-arm. Back when Týr could still hold a shield,
the wolf Fenris, son of Loki, ran rampant in Asgard, causing mischief, murdering unearthly
livestock and generally befouling the realm with his vile presence. Council after council
of the Aesir came to no conclusion as to what was to be done with the beast.
Many, such as Thor, suggested the mangy horror be put down with a hammer, but Odin denied
such plan, claiming Fenris was not worth spilling blood on the pure realm of Asgard. A thought
bounced around that until a proper way to dispose of Fenris came about, the beast should
be chained and bound until that time. But, Fenris was no ordinary wolf, so he could
not be trapped as any wild animal.The Aesir came before the great wolf and presented him
with a challenge, preying on his arrogance. They claimed the wolf to be the mightiest
of wolves, but were wondering if he could break any set of chains put upon him. Fenris
took the bait and challenged the Aesir to bind him so that he could not break free,
but were they to find such a chain that could hold him, they would have to swear an oath
to release him. The Aesir, fingers crossed behind their backs, agreed. Twice was Fenris
bound and twice he escaped, breaking the links as if they were twigs.
Out of ideas, the Aesir commissioned all the dwarves of the realms to construct a devious
and clever chain. The masters of mining, crafting arts and deep places did as they were asked
and called their creation ‘Gleipnir’. If one is skilled enough in handicrafts, they
too may attempt to forge this unbreakable chain, using these items: -The sound
of a cat's footfall -The beard of a woman -The roots of a mountain -The sinews
of a bear -The breath of a fish -The spittle of a birdImpossible for a mortal;
but a day’s work for a dwarf. The Aesir looked at the chain in shock; it
was no more than a bright and slender length of cloth. However: Thor, strong as he was,
could not rip the cloth apart, and neither could Týr’s sword cut through it. This
wondrous thing had promise. Once again, the Aesir came before Fenris,
during one of his rampages, and challenged him to break free of the enchanted cloth.
Smelling the cloth to be of some craft beyond ordinary metal making and weaving, the great
wolf added a clause to his wager: in addition to the previous oath to let him free, one
of them must place their arm in his mouth as collateral. The Aesir looked
at one-another, none wishing to put their arm on the rancid black tongue
and between the vile, yellow and black teeth of the beast. Týr, without
hesitation, volunteered, placing his arm on the massive tongue of Fenris. Bound by Gleipnir, Fenris could not break
or slip from his fetter. The Aesir laughed, while Týr’s forehead glittered with beads
of sweat. Enraged, Fenris clamped his jaw and took Týr’s arm, much to the surprise
of his peers. Frigg, mother of the gods, wife of odin, queen
of the Aesir, goddess of marriage and domestic arts.
The fair wife of Odin is a powerful Aesir almost matched in power by Freyja of the Vanir.
As with Baldr, her son, she too possessed the power of foresight, but not as potent.
Baldr was her dearest son and greatest treasure. So much did Frigg care for him that she petitioned
for her boy to be invulnerable. The Aesir, loving Baldr for his gift and pleasant nature,
advocated for her wish and brought her case to the ‘Thing’, a meeting of powerful
beings. At the Thing, Frigg took oaths from every
tree and bush, every disease and ailment; metals from copper to steel vowed to never
bring harm to Baldr along with the rocks that bore them. Even the winds, flames and rivers
swore they would not mar his skin. Loki, eavesdropping, as was his custom, heard
the oath-swearing and felt envy towards this upstart. This golden-haired, foolish boy,
who was given all the praise and protection in the world; while he, a self-made Aesir
of his intelligence and prowess, was left to skulk the realms and apologize for everything
he did. Disguised as an old woman, Loki stole his
way to Frigg and asked what had occurred in the council of all things. Frigg revealed,
in her pride, that her charming words convinced everything living and lifeless to swear never
to hurt her and Odin’s son Baldr, listing all who swore.
Loki, attentive as he was, heard the list and noticed Frigg made a mistake. One thing
out of everything that made up the realms had not sworn the oath: mistletoe. Leaving
Frigg with no knowledge of this, Loki went to gather mistletoe and fashioned arrows to
kill Baldr. After his next transformation to a blind old
man, he shot the great Skald in the heart, killing him and leaving Frigg in inconsolable
despair, retching in tears. Heimdall the watchman of Asgard, the whitest
skinned of the gods, the god of watchfulness, sight, hearing and loyalty.
Outside Valhalla on the moors, a figure of a man stands watch. His skin is whiter than
alabaster and his golden armour and helmet glimmers in the bright sun of Asgard. On his
belt, this ever-vigilant guardian carries the horn Gjallarhorn with a loud virtue, an
echo that would not subside once the horn is blown. This lone guardian was set before
the rainbow bridge of Bifrost to guard the entrance to Asgard and the dwellings within.
Heimdall the horn blower is charged by the Aesir to keep an eternal vigil and warn the
high lords of coming threats. None is better suited for this purpose, since Heimdall can
see farther than any known being, needed little to no sleep, and could see such tiny details
as the sprouting of grass or the growing of a sheep’s wool. Nothing escaped
this golden guardian’s gaze and thus the gates of Valhalla weresafe until
the coming of Ragnarök.During Ragnarök, Heimdall will blow on the Gjallahorn and alert
anything with ears or anything with capability to hear. His horn rings so loud, it can be
heard in all of the nine realms as clear and loud as if it was no farther than a few steps.
When the horn sings, all of creation can count its days at an end, for everything shall be
cinder and ash until the new world rises from the seas.As the swords of the Aesir and their
enemies clash, it shall be Loki who slays Heimdall and the trickster will find his end
at the hands of the horn-blower. A sparse few tales are there of Heimdall.
An Aesir whose task was to stand still and stare at the worlds beneath Asgard had no
time for frivolous adventures. Perhaps his focused nature was the virtue that saw him
as the end of the chaotic and unpredictable Loki. A Vanir and the twin-brother of Freyja, Freyr
is the physical representation of male vitality and sexual vigour. He is the god of fertility, virility and prosperity.
Much like his twin-sister, Freyr enjoyed the comfortable and finer things
in life. Not that our strapping figure of manhood was
a wastrel, quite the contrary. Freyr was known to wield a mighty sword Skirnir and go into
battles. Along with his brothers and sisters, he stood against the might of the Aesir, during
the Aesir-Vanir war, and charged valiantly on his golden boar against the mightiest beings
in the realms. At the end of the war, according to the treaties
of peace, Freyr along with a few others of his kin were sent as hostages to Asgard in
exchange for Mimir. During this time, Freyr was seen more as an Aesir than a Vanir and
adopted their customs as he lived along with the mighty warriors as one of them. During
his stay, Freyr met the Jötunn Gerdr and the two fell in love. As a condition
for their marriage, Gerdr’s servant insisted he give up the sword he
used in the war against the Aesir. He accepted, but this choice came at a cost.During Ragnarök,
Freyr would fight against the fire giant Surt. Without his sword, Freyr charged the giant
with a great antler, but lost his life in the fight. As decreed by Odin, those who fall in glorious battle, their swords drawn and battle cries
in their throats would find their souls ushered to Valhalla by the Valkyries, mystical flying
warrior-women. Before they could pass Bifrost, the rainbow
bridge, the souls were greeted by a horrible figure: A woman half-dead and half alive,
whose one side is blue like that of a drowned corpse; while the right was bright and rosy
as that of a young woman. Those who look upon her feel the true dread of death. Her name
is Hel, goddess of the dead. Hel resided in the place in Niflheim named
after her. Her mansion stood past a fetid and gloomy swamp and beyond a black lake.
The shores of her abode were littered with the mangled and bloated bodies of the long
dead and their miasma suffocated the land in a foul cloud of vapours and vicious carrion.
This daughter of Loki assessed who of the dead should pass into Valhalla or should taken
by her to her baleful mansion. Her spindly fingers poke and prod at the petitioners before
her as she searches for axe-wounds, spear-holes or the lost shafts of arrows.
Many have tried to scar themselves to fool the dark woman of the underworld, but mortal
tricks are nothing compared to her power.Once upon a time, when Baldr was killed indirectly
by Loki, the Aesir and Vanir wept for him, and pleaded Hel to release the beautiful youth.
She agreed, but only if every single being in the realms would weep for him. This
bargain would have succeeded if it were not for the Jötunn, Thökk, who refused.
There are those, who state Thökk was none other than Loki looking out for his daughter’s
possessions. Njord The wisest of the Vanir and father of
Freyja and Freyr and their unnamed sister. This old lord of the vanir Vanir was known
for his powers over flames, seas and the winds. Unlike his offspring, Njord prized forethought
and good council over the strength of arms. His calm nature was what would see him alive
after the end Ragnarök.Fishermen call upon his name and thank him for a bountiful catch and those, who honor him
by assuming the thoughtful and serene form of Njord can expect a bountiful
catch; those who are not capable of such feats are better off drawing their swords and charging
against the giants and spawn of Loki at the end of all things. Like Freyr, Njord was
a part of the hostage deal between the Aesir and Vanir after their war. As a sensible being,
he took his new position with dignity and brought good council to the Aesir. Also like
Freyr, it was at this time the wise father of the Vanir found his mate in the halls of
Asgard.The great hunter of the frozen wilds, the Jötunn Skadi had lost her father in one
of unfortunate incidents caused by Loki. Seeking recompense for her father’s death, Skadi
demanded tribute from the lords of Asgard: a husband from their number as she was now
alone in her own halls. The Aesir agreed, but insisted she made her choice by the bare
feet of the unwilling suitor.Pair after pair walked past her gaze under a curtain. Too
wrinkly, too calloused, too misshapen, thought Skadi. She looked hard and long until a beautiful,
well-groomed pair walked into view. She thought this to be Baldr, the most beautiful of the
Aesir and called for the suitor to be revealed. The curtan flew up and she saw the face of
an old silver fox, the Vanir, Njord. Bragi What Baldr had in male beauty, Bragi made up in
the gold of his words. This Aesir is the lord of poetry and skaldship, meaning the art of
telling stories and sagas. It would be foolish to think that Bragi was another wastrel, who
spent his days reciting stories and fiddling with his instruments. After all, one must
experience battles, strife and love, before one is able to sing of them.The Einherjar
of Valhalla enjoy the company of Bragi, for who else would sing of their exploits, battles
and glorious deaths with such soul and power. It is one thing to die in honourable battle,
but what good what good would that be, if there were no songs or sagas to remember the
hero by.The art of poetry and skaldship came to the world from the blood of Kvasir. After
the Aesir-Vanir war, a truce was made with the Aesir and Vanir lords spitting into a
cauldron to seal their oath of peace. This saliva would transform into the being known
as Kvasir, who roamed Midgard, singing songs and telling stories. Kvasir was killed by
two dwarves Fjalar and Galar, who wanted to be as great as Kvasir. They mixed the amazing
being’s blood with honey and made a mead, called ‘The Mead of Poetry’. Any who drank
this mead would be turned into a master of words; either a skald, a poet or a scholar.The
lords of the realms noticed the art of tales and song erupting in Midgard, and wondered
whence such a thing sprang from. Bragi recognized it and named it the blood of Kvasir, the very
stuff of poetry. Vidar In Asgard stood a cottage surrounded by tall grass, trees, and
high piles of lopped boughs. Here lived Vidar, the silent. A strong Aesir, who preferred
solitude and tranquillity over the feasts and hunts of his brethren; and good shoes
over shield rings and swords.He saw and cheered for the exploits of the other Aesir and the
deeds of Thor, but wondered why they were so worthy of mention. After the three trials
of Thor, Vidar went to try the same himself; drinking the sea dry, eating a bathtub full
of meat and lifting the world serpent Jörmungandr off the ground as one would a piece of string.
At the end of his feats, he shrugged and went back to his cottage to fashion more boots.
No one has ever heard of this, since Vidar kept silent on the matter, never giving the
whole thing another thought.Vidar’s peaceful life ended at the beckoning of Heimdall’s
horn, when the sons of Loki attacked Asgard, and the realms were plunged in the flames
of Ragnarök. At this time, the silent one had fashioned an excellent pair of magical
boots made from discarded soles and heels. As he went to show his proud craft to his
father Odin, he saw the awful Fenris wolf swallow the lord of Asgard whole. No longer
was Vidar silent. He yelled, dismayed, and ran stomping and sword held high towards Fenris
to save his father. The wolf stretched its black jaw around Vidar and tried to chomp
the youth as a chaser for Odin. The great wolf, unknowing of Vidar’s might, opened
his mouth to his own demise. The boots of Vidar smashed Fenris’ black tongue through
his bottom teeth and his mighty arms ripped the top asunder as if it was paper. However,
this deed of unbelievable valour came too late. As the last battle ended, Vidar had
survived, embracing the still body of his father. Idun The Aesir of eternal youth,
and apples, and the wife of Bragi the Poet. This fair dame was highly prized in the halls
of Asgard, for she kept an orchard of special golden apples, known for their rejuvenating
properties that stayed the advances of old age.The gifts of Idun were known throughout
the realms and especially the eternal enemy of the Aesir, the Jötunn. Thjazi the Jötunn
roamed the snowy forests of midgard and chanced upon Loki and Thor on a hunting expedition.
The two had caught a bull and planned to eat it as their meal. The jötunn noticed this,
and transformed into an eagle, sat on the branch of a tree and cursed the fire, removing
it of its virtue of heat. Try as they might, the meat of the bull would not cook. Thjazi
revealed himself in eagle-form, and said he had cursed the fire, but would give its virtue
back if they would give the eagle a piece of their feast.The Jötunn ate so much, Loki
had to stop him before every scrap was gone and charged the great beast with a spear.
The eagle dodged and grabbed the spear, taking Loki to the skies with him. For untold leagues,
Loki’s feet smashed against the tops of trees and stone piles. He pleaded for the
eagle to stop and bring him down. Thjazi agreed, but only if Loki would bring him Idun and
her apples. With Idun and her orchards gone, the Aesir grew old and grey. Loki, realizing
his mistake, went back to Thjazi to steal her back. Using the same trick, Loki transformed
into an eagle and Idun into a nut and carried her away. Thjazi, realizing this subterfuge
chased Loki as an eagle as well.As they approached Asgard, the other Aesir noticed Loki was chased
and shot Thjazi down into his death. The Jötunn’s daughter Skadi swore vengeance against the
Aesir, but was recompensed with a marriage to one of their court, Njord. Mímir The keeper of the fabled well and knower of many secrets and lore. This solitary
figure sat on the moors of Mimirsbrunnr, attending his well and sharing its waters with those,
he saw worthy. Odin came to Mimir in his ambition to rule over the realms, and sacrificed an
eye to drink from Mimir’s Well. As the All-Father quaffed, he learned all there was to know
about anything and all knowledge what was to happen.Mimir saw his end in the Aesir-Vanir
war. Caught unaware, the Vanir came to that, who aided the chief of their enemy and hewed
off his head with an axe, so his wisdom could never help anyone again. Odin, knowing of
the wise Mimir’s demise, collected his head and brought it to life with special spells
and potions. The lord of the Aesir kept the head as council, until it was given to the
Vanir as a part of the hostage exchange.Odin and Mimir knew the everlasting peace between
the two warranted the death of the lore keeper. Had the Aesir and Vanir not fought as one
in Ragnarök, the conclusion of the battle of battles had been worse if not an absolute
nightmare. Forseti The lord of gold and silver was an
Aesir, who lived in the gold and silver hall of Glitnir. Forseti’s task was as arbitrator
and accountant of the Aesir, dealing justice and financial arbitration between the lords
of Asgard as virtue of his just and meticulous mind. While the Aesir would prefer to solve
their differences with a good fistfight, Odin decreed that in order to retain unity and
peace in Asgard, an arbitrator should be named so that the war-like Aesir would not turn
the realm into a bigger tavern brawl than it currently was. It was bad enough a number
of uncountable Einherjar roamed the halls of Valhalla in a rampage of hunting, drunken
merrymaking and killing eachother, while a giant black wolf lurked in the forests as
the Jötunn raided Asgard and kidnapped Aesir maidens for their apples.In
the end, the arbitrator kept the peace between the Aesir and the realm struck together as one in Ragnarök. Ullr The son of Sif from a previous marriage and the step-son of Thor. Ullr possessed a
magical shield, known as ‘Ullr’s Ring’, ring being a metaphor for shield. This Aesir
can be described as the shield-carrier of Asgard. While the others charged, Ullr held
his shield aloft, guarding his brethren from blows and arrows.Ullr was also the oath-keeper
of the Aesir. When his kin wished to swear important oaths, they would swear them upon
Ullr’s Ring. These oaths kept the shield unbreakable and impenetrable as long as the
oaths themselves were not broken. Ullr would sail on this shield because of its buoyant
virtue and if he sunk, the Aesir would know a sacred oath was broken. Váli The son of
Odin and the Jötunn Rindr. Váli’s birth had not been forseen by Rindir, in fact: She
had no idea Odin had impregnated her, when he came to her hall dressed as an old woman
and laid with her. The result was a boy, who grew to adulthood in a single night for a
single purpose.Odin, knowing of the fates of his kin and the realms from his ritual
of self-sacrifice and drinking from Mimir’s well, knew a son of his would find his fate
in avenging Baldr’s death, when Loki shot the beloved Aesir, disguised as a blind old
man. But what Odin’s vision showed him was that an old man had killed Baldr and Váli
would slay him. The slain Aesir was Hodr, whose visage was that of the murderer, but
in truth was innocent. After this incident, Váli swore upon Ullr’s shield to make amends
for his mistake and never bathe or groom himself until justice was done.After the Aesir found
the culprit in a pond below Asgard, disguised as a salmon, Váli bound Loki to be tortured
by the poisonous snake as punishment before his escape upon the eve of Ragnarök
Sif The wife of Thor and the lady of golden
fields of wheat, and vegetables. This maiden of the Aesir was not half as wise as frig
Frigg, unskilled in the Idun’s craft of growing magical fruit, and hardly as strong
as Skadi’s little finger. Sif was as simple and uninteresting as an immortal being could
be, and the perfect wife for the bull-headed, violent Thor. Her name means
‘arranged marriage’.That being said: without Idun, Thor would never have received his magical hammer Mjölnir.
During one of his mischievous rampages, Loki decided to
cut the golden locks of Sif during her sleep. As Thor came to his bedchamber to see a bald
maiden on his bed, the thunder lord smashed through his wardrobe, where
he heard the snickering trickster. He threatened to break every bone in Loki’s body for this insolence.Snivelling,
Loki pleaded for his life and promised to deliver something wonderful to Thor as an apology. Thor agreed, but still broke the
trickster’s jaw as he sent him out. Loki went to
the cave of the dwarves Brokkr and Sindri, pleading them for gifts to appease his debtors.
The two saw the wretched being with his bleeding lip, black eye and ripped clothes, and decided
the creature before them could not afford anything from their forge. Loki was not stupid. He sighed, theatrically, and said
he would go to the dwarfs’ rival and get something better
from them. Angered, Brokkr and Sindri, in an attempt to prove Loki wrong, fashioned
a new head of hair for Sif and Mjölnir for Thor in addition to a few other weapons, but
demanded Loki’s head as payment.Loki would give his head, but refused to give it to the
dwarves as his neck was not a part of the bargain. The dwarves sewed Loki’s lying
and scheming lips closed instead and left, satisfied with their compensation.
