The Primal Frost-Giant King
The Æsir worship Ymir the Frost Giant King. Dread Ymir rules icy Valhalla, where the dead dwell in a realm of long halls, snowy glaciers, and eternal drinking, wenching and fighting. Ymir represents the Earth to the Nordheimir, and both the Vanir and the Æsir spring from Ymir. Battle for the Nordheimir is not only the basis of their economy and social life, it is also the basis of their religious life, for Ymir is worshipped by doing battle all day, then eating, drinking and singing all night. Indeed, even those activities have religious merit, for ale is the drink of bold Ymir and as such is sacred and consumed in large quantities. It is said among the Nordheimir that it is possible to come into direct contact with Ymir if one drinks one’s self unconscious. Thus, inebriation is a religious obligation as well as a social activity. Life is meant to be embraced with savage enthusiasm and death is to be met in the same manner. The Nordheimir believe in an afterlife, and the afterlife often mirrors how one lived life and met one’s doom. For the common folk, the afterlife is dull and dreary, a life spent gathering and serving the warriors. For valiant warriors, however, the afterlife is
filled with fighting and feasting in the snowy plains and halls of Valhalla.
Ymir and the Nordheimir Pantheon
NordheimirReligion
Nordheimir Religion
Ymir is the primal frost-giant king and god of both the Aesir and Vanir. To the Nordheimir, he represents the Earth itself, which they perceive as formed entirely of ice and snow. He is worshipped not in elaborate rituals but by doing battle all day, then drinking and singing all night. Ymir appears predominantly in the creation myth of the Nordheimir, who have little enough need for the gods save as sources for their tall tales and wild songs. He is said to have been the first living being, created from thawed ice just before the second creature, the primal cow Audhumla. His only nourishment came from milking Audhumla. Ymir’s body produced the first humans, a man and a woman congealed from the sweat of his left armpit. From these sprang the races of Vanir and Aesir. Atali: Ymir’s daughter Atali is an enchantress who lures wounded men to their deaths in the ice. She has a number of brothers who resemble huge, rime-bearded Nordheimir warriors and who ambush her victims with their great axes, if the poor mortals have not already died of exposure. She brought seid to the women of Nordheim (see the section on Nordheimir Völvas on page 62). Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 1 sp/ level/month to the local temple, increasing to 8 sp/ month during the raiding season (typically two months during autumn, after the harvest is in). Benefits of Worship: Atonement, Faith. Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Must have at least three levels in the barbarian class. Priests of Ymir are expected to be warriors first and foremost; many a raider has retired to become a priest after years of battle and slaying. Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: sorcery teaching is available (Curses, Divinations and Nature Magic only).
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