TALES
OF
NORSE MYTHOLOGY Written and Illustrated by
Lauren McGowen
Fantastical stories with characters one can relate to have always fascinated me. In the last few years, I have also discovered a great appreciation for history. These two things led me to something I really enjoy: mythology. My irst dive into mythology initially led me to Greek mythology. It was not until my high school mythology class where I did a research project about Norse mythology that I fell in love with these tales. I was already familiar with modern depictions of the characters Thor, Loki, and Odin in comic books, so I was really intrigued to learn about the stories that inspired those interpretations. In Tales of Norse Mythology, I wanted to bring new life to the original Norse myths. I used a combination of illustrations and writing to depict these stories in their entirety. With this book, my goal is to reach those who may not know the stories well, or at all, and take away a new appreciation for Norse mythology. Taking notes from The Poetic Edda, The Penguin Book of Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, and other sources I assured that these stories are true to the original myths while also adding my own personal touch.
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TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
The Main Three v - ix The Creation Myth 1-3 Treasures of the Gods 5-9 The Fortification of Asgard 11 - 15 Thor’s Wedding 19 - 23 Ragnarok 27 - 35
THOR Thor is the main god in Norse Mythology. He is known as the god of thunder. Thor is known as the defender of Asgard and Midgard and protects them from the giants. Thor also plays a role in agriculture and fertility. He is short-tempered but well loved by all. Thor is the strongest of all of the gods and has a belt, Megingjord, that doubles his strength. Thor’s weapon is the hammer Mjolnir. He also has iron gloves, Jårngreipr, that help him grip Mjolnir.
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LOKI Loki is known as the trickster god. Loki is included amongst the Aesir gods, however his family relations set him apart. His father is the giant Farbauti and his mother is Laufey. Loki and Odin are blood brothers because they swore an oath. Loki loves to play tricks and is constantly hopping between being on the side of the Aesir or against them. Loki has the ability to change his shape, into any person or animal he wishes. Loki has lying shoes that allow him to run in the sky or on water.
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ODIN Odin is the ruler of all the gods, as he is one of the wisest and oldest. A common name for Odin is ‘All-Father’ because he is the ‘father’ of all the gods. Odin became one-eyed when he sacriiced his eye for a drink from Mimir’s well, which granted him wisdom. He has two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who sit upon his shoulders and whisper all the news they see and hear. Every day they ly all around the world and make it back by breakfast to tell Odin everything they saw. Odin has a spear named Gungir that will penetrate anything and will always ind its mark.
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T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • xi
THE CREATION MYTH
B
efore there was anythIng, no Earth, no sKy, no oceans, no stars, there was only the Ginnungagap. The Ginnungagap was a vast area of mist formed between two lands; Nilheim, the land of elemental ice, and Muspelheim, the land of elemental ire. These two lands met to create steam and from this, drops fell together that transformed into the being Ymir, the irst of the giants. Ymir was neither male nor female, but also simultaneously both. Because of this, Ymir reproduced asexually. Another being was formed from the drops, this time being a cow named Audhumla. Audhumla nourished Ymir with her milk and she was nourished from licking salt from the ice of Nilheim. From her many licks, she uncovered Buri from the ice, who was the irst of the gods. As Ymir slept, more beings were born from the sweat in his armpit. Out came a male giant, a female giant, and a six-headed giant. All giants descended from them. The god Buri married one of these giants and then they had a son named Bor. Bor then married Bestla and they had three sons: Odin, Vili, and Ve. Odin, Vili, and Ve were trapped in the Ginnungagap. They knew something had to be done as they could not stay there forever, as eventually the lames from Muspelheim and the ice from Nilheim would kill them. The three knew they had to create the universe and to do this, they unfortunately would have to kill Ymir. So, while Ymir slept the three brothers killed him. From his body, they set about creating the universe. His bones became the mountains, his blood became the oceans and seas, his skin and muscles became the soil, his teeth became the rocks and Tales of Norse Mythology • 1
pebbles, his hair became the vegetation, and his brains formed the clouds. Finally, they used his skull to create the sky. They grabbed sparks from Muspelheim and threw them into the sky to create stars. From Ymir’s rotting body parts, out crawled worms who started to transform into dwarves. Odin, Vili, and Ve were worried about the sky falling so they asked four dwarves to hold it up. Their names were Nordri, Austri, Sudri, and Vestri and they were sent out in each direction of the world. Yggdrasil, the tree of life, was now formed. It contains each of the Nine Realms: Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods, Midgard, the world of humans, Alfheim, the home of the light elves, Nilheim, the world of mist and ice, Jotunheim, the home of frost giants and mountain giants, Muspelheim, the world of ire where Surtr bides his time, Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir gods, Svartalfheim, the home of the dwarves, and Helheim, also known as Hel, where those who did not die honorably go. Midgard, known to us as Earth, was empty. Odin, Vili, and Ve quickly realized they needed to populate the Earth. They walked along the edge of Midgard looking for people and
stopped on a beach, where two logs of wood stood tall in the sand. One was made of ash and the other of elm. The three stood the logs up in the sand. Odin stepped forward and breathed life into them. Next was Vili, who gave them wit and heart. Finally, Ve sculpted them into the shape of people. He gave them ears to hear, eyes to see, and mouths to speak. Their names were Ask and Embla. They became the parents of everyone in Midgard. And so, it began.
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One Page Illustration
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TREASURES
OF THE
GODS
O
ne late nIght, LoKI founD hIMself to Be in a mischievous mood. He snuck into the locked bedroom of Thor and his beautiful wife Sif. Loki grinned to himself and pulled out his knife, making quick work of cutting of all of Sif’s long, golden hair. Leaving it scattered on the loor, Loki snickered and sauntered of back to his bedroom. Upon morning, Thor was awoken by a scream. He frantically sat up in bed and looked over at his wife, now sobbing and touching her bald head. “Loki,” Thor growled. “I know it is he who has done this.” Storming out of his room, Thor pounded on the door to Loki’s bedroom. Loki opened the door, his face showing nothing but innocence. “Yes Thor?” Loki asked. Thor grabbed Loki and held him above his head. “What is the meaning of this?” Thor bellowed. “I am not sure what you mean,” Loki smiled. “It was only a joke.” Thor glared and gripped Loki harder. “A joke? Replace it right now or I will break every bone in your body.” Loki rolled his eyes. “I can’t replace it, it doesn’t work like that.” Thor started to snap one of Loki’s bones before Loki yelped out, “Okay okay! I will go to the dwarves and have them replace it!” Thor dropped him and Loki scrambled to stand up and hurried away from Asgard to Svartalfheim, the cavernous home of the dwarves. There he entered the cave of the sons of Ivaldi. “Sons of Ivaldi! I ask of you to make me three treasures, one of which must be a golden head of hair.” said Loki. “What is in it for us?” the dwarves asked. “The thanks and friendship of the gods.” Loki replied. Tales of Norse Mythology • 5
The dwarves shrugged and decided they had nothing to lose and got to work. They began to spin a golden head of hair, forged a spear, and fashioned a ship. The dwarves handed these items to Loki. After giving countless thanks and compliments, Loki left with the treasures and started to head back to Asgard. Loki stopped, feeling mischievous yet again, he turned and headed into the cave of the dwarf brothers Brokk and Eitri. “Look at these treasures!” Loki announced, holding out the items made by the sons of Ivaldi. “Have you seen iner craftsmanship? I bet you two could not make something better than this!” Eitri scofed, “Of course we can.” “Are you sure about that?” Loki smirked, leaning in towards the dwarves. “Aye,” Brokk answered, crossing his arms. “Hmm…” Loki pretended to ponder, as if the idea had not already formed in his mind. “I challenge you to make treasures better than these and present them to the gods! I bet you cannot do it, I will even wager my own head on it.” The dwarf brothers were pleased to hear this. The head of Loki would put an end to his trickery. The dwarves agreed, told Loki to come back when they were done, and started to get to work. “Brokk,” Eitri said. “No matter what, do not stop pumping the bellows.” “Aye.” Brokk replied and got to work. Eitri placed a pigskin in the forge as a black horsely lew into the cave. This ly was of course none other than Loki in disguise. The ly landed on Brokk’s hand and bit down 6 • Lauren McGowen
hard. Brokk ignored it and continued pumping. Eitri pulled a golden-haired boar, Gullinbursti, from the forge. “Remember Brokk, no matter what keep pumping the bellows.” Eitri said. Brokk grunted in reply and Eitri went to place a block of unlawed gold in the forge. The ly moved from Brokk’s hand to the back of his neck, biting down even harder. Brokk winced but continued pumping. Eitri pulled a gold arm ring, Draupnir, from the forge. “Remember Brokk, no matter what keep pumping the bellows.” Eitri reminded once again. Brokk nodded and Eitri placed a great hunk of iron on the forge. The ly moved once again to the space between Brokk’s eyes, biting down hard enough to draw blood. The blood dripped into his eyes, blinding Brokk. “Agh!” Brokk yelled and let go of the bellows for a split second to swipe at the ly. “Brokk!” Eitri shouted, coming back with a hammer, Mjolnir, in his hands. “It was almost perfect, but now the handle is too short.” The ly buzzed out of the room. “Ah!” Loki, now back in his usual god form, entered the cave. “Are we ready to present these treasures?” The dwarf brothers grabbed their items and followed Loki to Glaðsheimr, the halls of Asgard, to present to the gods. When they arrived, Odin, Thor, and Frey were waiting. “What do you have for us Loki?” Odin asked. “I present gifts made by the sons of Ivaldi. First, a golden head of hair for Sif.” Loki said, holding the golden locks out. Thor took the hair and turned to his wife. He placed it atop her head. The hair, now reattached at the roots, glimmered in the sunlight. Sif smiled and twirled, happy to have her hair back. Thor looked over at Loki sternly and nodded. Loki smiled and pulled the next gift out, a long spear. “This is Gungir. A spear that will penetrate anything and always inds its mark.” He handed it to Odin. “This last gift is Skidbladnir, a ship that can fold up into your pocket and always has a favorable wind.” Loki said and gave the folded up cloth to Frey. Tales of Norse Mythology • 7
The gods all looked quietly pleased with their gifts. Eitri and Brokk stepped forward with their gifts. “This irst gift is for Frey, a golden-haired boar called Gullinbursti. His bristles of gold light up the dark, can run in water or air, and will never fail you.” Eitri said. Frey smiled brightly, petting the boar. Loki shifted nervously. “This next gift is for Odin, a golden arm-ring that will drip eight similar gold rings every ninth night.” Brokk said, handing the ring to Odin. Odin slipped it on his arm and hummed a noise of satisfaction. Loki’s palms began to sweat. “And inally, this last gift is for you Thor. A hammer, Mjolnir, it will never break and will always come back to your hand. The handle is a tad short but it is still a mighty weapon.” Eitri inished and passed the hammer to Thor. Thor stood up, smiling. A smile from Thor was a rare occurrence. “This is perfect! Mjolnir will help tremendously when ighting the giants.” Thor boomed. Loki’s eyes jumped back and forth from the dwarf brothers to his fellow Aesir gods. This is not how he planned for this to go. The gods took no time in deciding Brokk and Eitri as the winners. The brothers turned to Loki. “Now now, I am sure there is something else I can ofer you. Perhaps some treasure?” Loki said, backing away and holding his hands up.
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“No Loki, that was not the deal.” Brokk said. “I-” Loki started before running of, up into the sky with the use of his lying shoes. Thor grumbled and got up, chasing after Loki. Within a few minutes, Thor dragged Loki back in and plopped him in front of Brokk and Eitri. “Now wait!” Loki shouted. “I told you that you could have my head, but not my neck. You have no claim to that.” The gods chuckled, realizing that Loki had outwitted the dwarf brothers. “Fine. Since your head is mine I will settle with sewing your lips together.” Brokk said, taking his brothers awl and sewed up Loki’s mouth with a leather thong. Loki ran out of Glaðsheimr and ripped the thong out, letting out a loud scream.
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THE FORTIFICATION OF ASGARD
I
n the early Days of AsgarD, when the gods were still trying to make Asgard their home, there was no wall protecting them. Asgard was left unprotected, but such a wall would take many years to build. The gods were anxious about this lack of a wall and worried about their safety. The answer soon came to them in the form of a man dressed as a smith. The smith arrived with a stallion at his side and asked Heimdall, the watchman, to speak to the gods. Heimdall hesitated but reluctantly escorted him to Glaðsheimr. The gods and goddesses all gathered in the hall, with the exception of Thor, who was of ighting trolls. The smith stood before them with his stallion at his side. “I have heard rumors about how you need a wall built around Asgard. I am here to ofer to build that wall.” The smith said. Odin quirked an eyebrow, but waited for the man to go on. There was always a catch. “I can build this wall in eighteen months and in payment I ask for the beautiful Freya, the sun, and the moon.” The smith inished, smiling over at Freya. Freya scrunched her nose in disgust and looked over at Odin. “Absolutely not.” The noise of the hall began to rise with arguments from all the gods. Odin shushed them and looked back to the smith, “Please wait outside while we discuss.” The smith nodded and exited the hall, his stallion trailing behind him. As soon as the doors shut, the hall erupted into chaos. “There is no way! We can’t give up the sun!”
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“Or the moon!” “Or our Freya!” A loud clearing of the throat echoed from the corner of the room. Loki stood, picking an invisible thread of of his cloak. “I have an idea.” Loki started. “We give the smith only six months to complete the wall and he can have no outside help.” “He could never inish the wall in that amount of time.” Heimdall said. “Exactly. We get a portion of the wall completed for free. Then we can complete the rest of the wall ourselves.” Loki replied. The gods murmured amongst themselves. “I like this plan. Call the smith back in.” Odin said. Heimdall opened the doors and beckoned for the man to come back in. The smith strode back up to the gods with his stallion. “You can have six months to complete the wall. You can have no outside help. If you complete it in this time, then the sun, moon, and Freya are yours.” Odin proposed. The smith stood there dumbfounded. “Six months? That is impossible!” “Those are our terms. Take it or leave it.” Odin said. “Can I at least have the help of my stallion, Svadilifari, to transport stone?” the smith asked. Odin began to protest before Loki nudged him in the side. “Come on, what diference can the stallion make? There is still no way he will complete it.” Odin grumbled before looking back over at the smith. “Fine. You may have your stallion. Six months.” Odin and the smith went about swearing oaths on both Draupnir and Gungir. An oath on 12 • L a u r e n M c G o w e n
Gungir is the strongest oath there is. The smith started working that very night. He disappeared into the mountains with Svadilifari to collect stone. He came back at sunrise with an impressive amount of stone and quickly got to work. The gods looked on anxiously as the smith made quick work of laying in the stone. Loki rolled his eyes and drawled, “Please. You are all worrying over nothing. Look how much he has left to go! And with so little time.” “Yes, but that horse pulled quite a bit of stone.” Frey pointed out. “And? It is the irst day. The horse will tire soon.” Loki replied. The months passed and the smith and Svadilifari continued building the wall. The wall was enormous in size, taller than any man and stacked so tightly nothing could budge it out of place. The day before the six months were up, the smith was almost done and the gods frantically called a meeting in Glaðsheimr. The hall was illed with panicked chatter, arguing, and the sound of Freya crying. Odin strode in and called for silence. “Now, who was the one that came up with this ridiculous plan?” Odin asked, looking out over the gods. Loki stood in the back of the room, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. Freya looked up from her tears to glare at him. “You. It was you, Loki.” she said, sneering at him. Loki looked up and pursed his lips. “I seem to recall that it was a mutual decision.” “But it was your idea! You are the one that led us to this terrible decision.” Odin yelled.
“I only ask one thing before I am forced to go with this man, and that is to see Loki’s head on a spike.” Freya said. “C’mon, I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. I will see to it that the smith does not inish the wall before sunrise.” Loki said, nervously wringing his hands. “You better get us out of this or you will die a painful death Loki.” Odin said. Loki gave the hall a devilish smile before trotting out of the hall. The sun began to set and the smith whistled for Svadilifari to come to gather the last of the stone from the mountain. When the horse did not trot up next to him, the smith turned to see Svadilifari staring at a mane at the edge of the woods. She was grazing on the grass and sauntered towards the stallion. The smith whistled again but his stallion continued to ignore him. The mare touched her head to Svadilifari’s neck, before taking of into a sprint in the woods. Without a moment’s hesitation, the stallion bolted after her, deep into the woods. The smith stood there dumbfounded, whistling a few more times before giving up and began to head to the mountain alone. It was only a few more stones, he could simply carry the rest up himself. The sun began to peak out over the horizon as the smith inally hoisted up the stone he managed to gather during the night. It was not enough. He would not inish the wall before the sun reached its peak in the sky. Svadilifari was nowhere to be seen. The gods gathered around the wall to watch the inevitable failure of the smith. A few gods began to chuckle and Freya looked quite pleased. The smith grunted and threw down the stone he had in his hands. “Trickery! You have cheated!” Odin laughed, “We have done no such thing. We have kept up our deal of the bargain.” The smith hufed angrily and began to change shape. Within moments, the smith had been transformed into a looming mountain giant. Thor, who had just arrived home moments ago, stood before the giant with a grin and Mjolnir in his hands. With one quick blow of the hammer, the giant was crushed to bits. The gods cheered and laughed. The sun, the 14 • L a u r e n M c G o w e n
moon, and Freya were all safe. Finishing the wall takes many months more and is not as secure as the careful work the smith did, but nevertheless it is completed. A number of months pass with no sight of Loki. Eventually, Loki sheepishly arrived back in Asgard, with a foal at his side. This foal was diferent though, being eight-legged instead of the usual four. Loki gives the foal to Odin as a gift and the foal is named Sleipnir, becoming Odin’s steed for years to come. No one dared to ask Loki about the parentage of Sleipnir, although it was widely known throughout Asgard that Loki is the steed’s mother.
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T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 17
THOR'S WEDDING
O
ne MornIng, Thor laZIly awoKe anD BlInDly graBBeD out for Mjolnir. However, the hammer was not in it’s usual spot. Thor cracked open one eye and looked around, but the hammer was still nowhere to be seen. He quickly sat up, fully awake now, and started tearing apart his room, throwing of the covers and looking under the bed, but still no sign of Mjolnir. His irst thought when things go awry is: Loki. But Loki would not dare to steal Mjolnir. Although, Loki would be most likely to know where the hammer ended up. Thor left his room in search of the trickster god. “Loki!” Thor exclaimed, bumping into him in the hallway. “I need your help. Mjolnir has gone missing from my rooms.” Loki raised an eyebrow. “And you’ve checked everywhere?” “Yes. It is not there.” Thor said. “Even under the bed?” Loki asked. Thor groaned, “Yes, even under the bed. Can you help me ind out where it went or not?” Loki chuckled before agreeing and they headed of to Folkvang, the abode of Freya. When they arrived, Loki quickly headed up to Freya. “I need to borrow your cloak.” Loki said. Freya owned a cloak made out of falcon feathers that transformed the wearer into a falcon. “Whatever for?” Freya asked, looking suspiciously at Loki. Thor stepped up beside him. “Mjolnir, it’s missing. Please.” Freya raised her eyebrows in shock before nodding and handing over the cloak to Loki. Loki threw the cloak over his shoulders and headed out towards Jotunheim, the home of the giants. There, Loki saw Thrym, the chief of the giants, sitting upon a mound T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 19
and braiding collars for his hounds. “Excuse me, have you seen Thor’s hammer?” Loki asked him. Thrym grunted in affirmation. “Yes. I have buried it eight miles into the ground. I will only give it back if you give me the beautiful Freya as my wife.” Loki sighed, “Alright.” He headed back to Asgard. “Freya! Congrats, you’re now a bride. Get your gown on, you’re marrying the giant Thrym.” Loki announced, handing the cloak back to her. Freya calmly folded her hands in her lap and glared at Loki. “Oh? You are just going to pass me of to go marry a giant?” she said. The ground around her began to shake and Loki side-eyed Thor, who was avoiding eye contact with Freya. “Listen I-” Loki started. “No. I will not hear. Get out of my sight.” Freya said and turned her head away from them. With Freya’s refusal, the gods decided to call a meeting in Glaðsheimr to igure out a plan to get Mjolnir back. The gods debated and threw out various ideas for hours, Loki shooting most of them down. “Heimdall,” Loki said, turning to look at the god. “You have not spoken yet. Do you have an idea?”
Heimdall shifted. “Yes I do, but you will not like it.” “We are all ears.” Loki replied, holding his arms out. “I think Thor should dress up in disguise as Freya. We can put him in a bridal veil, keys around his waist, and Freya’s Necklace of the Brisings around his neck.” Heimdall said. Some of the gods started chuckling. Thor stood up, the tips of his ears burning, and said, “No.” Loki put a hand on Thor’s shoulder. “I like the idea. I think it will work quite well actually. I can even go as your maidservant.” Thor frowned but he could not deny that it was a good plan. The gods started getting together the garments to transform Thor into a bride. Loki shifted into a maidservant, now fully in the form of a woman. They took their time draping Thor in various wedding cloths and jewels. Freya went up to Thor, the Necklace of the Brisings in her hand, and draped it around his neck. “I like this plan. A lot.” Freya said and smiled cheekily at him. Thor glared back. Thor and Loki, fully clad in their bridal attire, headed over to Jotunheim. They entered the great hall and there was already a massive feast laid out for them. Thrym welcomed them and they sat down to eat. Thor took no time in digging into the feast. In minutes, Thor had eaten a whole ox, eight salmon, and the entire tray of pastries that were set out for the women. Loki stared incredulously at Thor before Thrym tapped her on the shoulder. T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 21
“She sure is eating a lot.” Thrym commented. Loki laughed and waved her hand nonchalantly. “Oh Thrym, she was so lovesick she could not eat for days.” “Oh!” Thrym nodded and gave a curious look at his bride. He leaned over Loki towards Thor. “I would like to give my bride a kiss.” he said, before pulling up the veil and being met with Thor’s piercing eyes. “No!” Loki shouted, pushing Thrym back. Thrym’s mouth was agape. “Her eyes… they are so intense.” “She has been so lovesick she has not slept for days!” Loki said. “Oh.” Thrym smiled. “Well! I think it is time for the ceremony to start!” Everyone got in their places. Thor was sitting on the altar and Thrym brought out Mjolnir.
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Thor’s hands itched to touch the hammer again. “I will place Mjolnir in my lovely bride’s lap.” Thrym said and gently placed the hammer down on Thor’s lap. Loki smirked and ducked for cover. Thor stood up, gripping Mjolnir and ripped the veil of. In the same movement, Thor threw the hammer at Thrym and killed him with one shot. Thor proceeded to throw the hammer around the room and killed the rest of the remaining guests. Loki crawled out from his hiding spot, now in his usual god form. “Are you done?” Loki asked, brushing dirt of his shoulder. Thor grinned and ripped the rest of the wedding dress of. “Aye. Let’s go home.” And back to Asgard they went, Mjolnir back in Thor’s hands.
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T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 25
RAGNAROK
B
alDer was the seconD son of ODIn anD everyone loved him because he was pretty like the sun. Everything in his life was perfect, except lately he had been having bad dreams about the world ending. He dreamed of the sun and moon being eaten by a wolf, of darkness and terror, and of death without end. Balder decided to go to the gods for help and told them all about their dreams. The gods were troubled and concerned. Loki, who stood outside the hall eavesdropping, smiled. Odin decided to ind the cause of his son’s bad dreams and put on a gray cloak and broad brimmed hat. In this disguise, Odin was known as The Wanderer. Odin mounted Sleipnir and headed of to seek out some answers. He asked and asked and nobody knew the answers to his questions. Finally, someone led Odin in the direction of a grave in Helheim, the underworld of the dead. Odin stood by the grave of the wise woman and called for her to rise. After pleading and demanding, the wind picked up and before him stood a woman. “Why have you called me here?” she questioned. “My name is Wanderer. What news do you have from Hel?” Odin asked. She pondered for a moment before smiling. “Balder will join us soon. We have been busy brewing mead and preparing a feast for him. Yes… not long now.” Odin frowned. He began to speak again before the woman interrupted. “You are not Wanderer. You are Odin.” she said. “And you are no wise woman. You are Angrboda, lover of Loki and mother to Hel, Jormungdur, and Fenrir.” Odin replied. Angrboda’s smile grew wider. “Go home Odin. I will not rise again until Loki is released from his binds.” And with that, she disappeared. T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 27
Odin was confused, Loki was not bound. Odin returned back home to Asgard and told everything he heard to his wife, Frigg. Frigg refused to believe that her son would die and gathered herself to travel around the earth. She went up to everything that could harm Balder and made them swear an oath to not touch him. Fire cannot burn, water cannot drown, iron would not cut, stones would not bruise. Frigg also asked every creature to not hurt him, asked the trees, and made sure every disease could not reach him. Everything was set. She had an oath from everything, except mistletoe, as it was small and unimportant. Frigg returned home to tell everyone the good news. All the gods had gathered outside to listen. “Balder is safe! Nothing can harm him now.� She announced. There were murmurs of disbelief amongst the crowd. They did not believe her. Frigg sighed and picked up a stone, throwing it at Balder. At the last moment, it swerved right and missed him.
There was a hush of silence over the crowd before they cheered. Everyone started gathering various rocks and sticks to throw at Balder. Balder was laughing and happy to know he was free from harm. The only one who could not participate was Hod, Balder’s blind brother. Loki, who stood watching the afair from the sidelines, frowned and shapeshifted into an old woman. He approached Frigg and tapped her on the shoulder. “Did you think of everything?” Loki asked. Frigg smiled. “Why of course. I did everything except mistletoe, as you cannot make anything harmful out of it.” Loki nodded and snuck back into the shadows. He transformed back into his original form and returned back some time later. He approached Hod, who was standing confused as everyone continued celebrating and throwing things at Balder. “Hod? You seem sad.” Loki said. Hod startled before turning in the direction of Loki. “Loki? Is that you? Can you tell me what is going on?” Loki smirked. “Of course. They are throwing things at Balder because they cannot strike him. Everyone is having a great time.” Hod frowned. “I wish I could participate. Loki took hold of Hod’s hand and placed a dart made of mistletoe in it. “No worries, I was about to throw this. Here, throw it in this direction.” He said and led Hod to Balder. Hod smiled, happy to be included in the fun, and threw the dart at Balder. Silence followed. The dart had struck Balder in the heart and he fell. The gods all looked at Hod in shock, who was now standing alone, Loki nowhere to be seen. Within the next few days, the gods set upon making a funeral for Balder. All the beings in the nine worlds were so upset they were all there to attend the funeral. Hermod, another son of Odin’s, could not stand it. He rode nine nights to reach Helheim to try and get Balder back. T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 29
There he meets up with Hel, who agrees to give him back. Hermod is about to ride back of to tell everyone the good news when she interrupts him. “However, I can only bring him back if everyone in the nine realms wants him back.� Hermod nodded, knowing that would be easy, since everyone loves Balder. He returned back to Asgard and informed the gods what Hel told him. The gods went about sending messengers throughout the nine worlds. Person after person, being after being, creature after creature, they all said yes.
Except for one. Loki. “Let Hel keep him.” He said. Balder was stuck in Hel. The gods were distraught. Meanwhile, Loki was out of control. He was constantly feasting and killing other gods. The gods decided they had enough. “It must have been Loki in disguise who killed Balder! It’s always Loki.” Thor said, grabbing Mjolnir and standing up. “Aye, it must have been. We must capture him.” Odin said and went about retrieving Gungir. Kvasir, the wisest of the gods, also stood up to join them. Loki, who had been standing outside the hall listening in, heard all of this and ran of into the mountains to hide. There, he had a house that he resided in. During the day, he turned himself into a salmon to hide in the stream surrounding the home. At night, he sat by the ire and used a ishing net to catch his food. Odin, Thor, and Kvasir looked and looked before inally spotting a house in the distance. Loki heard them approaching and panicked, throwing his ishing net into the ire. He quickly transformed into a salmon and leaped into the stream. The three gods inally approached and saw the simmering ire. “Look! There is a ishing net burning in the ire.” Kvasir pointed out. “He must have taken the form of a ish, I bet he is in the stream.” “Good observation. We can catch him in there.” Thor said and went about making a new net from the twine Loki left in the house. After the net has been made, they spent hours throwing the net in the stream over and over, but Loki kept evading it. ‘Ha! They will never catch me.’ Loki thought to himself. Feeling bold, he swam up to the waterfall and proceeded to jump of it. However, Thor was quicker. Thor grasped Loki by his tail, crushing it in his ists. To this day, that is why salmon we know have a slender tail. Loki, now back in his regular form, was taken to a cave. Thor and Kvasir yanked Loki into the cave, forcing him onto his knees. “Easy!” Loki scofed. T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 31
He looked up to see who else was in the cave. His two songs, Nari and Vali, as well as his wife Sigyn, who was holding a bowl, stood before him. “Hey, they didn’t do anything!” Loki said, glaring up at the gods. Thor and Kvasir ignored him. Before Loki could get another word out, the gods turned Vali into a wolf and made him kill his brother. Sigyn let out a scream in horror as she watched her sons kill each other. Loki watched in silent horror before the gods dragged Loki over to three stones. They put one behind his shoulders, one under his loins, and one beneath his knees. Taking the remains of Nari, they bound Loki to these rocks so he could not escape. Finally, they grabbed a snake, fangs dripping with poison, and placed it above Loki’s head. The snake began to drip poison on Loki’s face. Loki let out a scream that shook the cave. Sigyn quickly stepped up to hold the bowl she had with her above Loki’s head, catching the venom. The gods left, leaving Loki trapped. Every time the bowl ills, Sigyn must turn and empty the bowl. For a moment, venom will drip onto Loki’s face, making him scream and jerk. This causes what we call earthquakes. The following days are yet to come. It will begin with a normal winter. However, it never ends. This is known as The Fimbulwinter. Brothers will kill brothers, fathers will kill sons, mothers will kill daughters, sisters will kill sisters. Wolves will eat the sun and the moon and no one can see the stars. There will be constant earthquakes, causing the mountains to crumble and destroying anything still standing. This will destroy all remaining shackles and bonds. Fenrir will escape and there is nothing he cannot eat. He will eat everything in sight and nothing but lames follow him. All the oceans will lood, causing Jormungundr to rise and spew venom. The venom will poison all the sea life and then it will splatter back into the air, killing all birds. All who see Fenrir and Jormungundr will know death. 32 • L a u r e n M c G o w e n
The is the beginning of the end. The sky will split apart with the sound of children screaming. Surtr, the ire giant, will come down from where he awaits in Muspelheim, and destroy the rainbow bridge and Bifrost. Loki, now unbound, will helmsman the ship, Naglfar, illed with a crew of the dead. Hrym, leader of the frost giants, will captain the ship. They will set about to a battle plain called Vigrid. Heimdall, the only one who has seen how this will all happen, blows the Gjallerhorn to call the gods to Vigrid. First, Odin will ride Sleipnir to Mimir’s well to get advice. Mimir whispers something to Odin about the future. The gods will arrive on Vigrid and the battle will begin. Odin will ight Fenrir. Thor will ight Jormungundr. Frey will ight Surtr. Frey will be the irst to fall, weak to the laming sword of Surtr. Next, Thor will kill Jormungundr but he is not far enough away. T a l e s o f N o r s e M y t h o l o g y • 33
The venom sprays back at him and kills him. Odin will stab Fenrir’s mouth with Gungir but Fenrir will bite it and swallow Odin. Odin’s son, Vidar, will watch him die. Vidar has two diferent shoes, one is normal and one is made of all the leather scraps people throw away when they make shoes. If you want to help Vidar in the final battle, you should always throw away your scraps. The great shoe he wears will hold Fenrir’s jaw down and Vidar will rip his mouth apart. Fenrir will die and Vidar will have avenged his father. The remaining gods battle the frost giants and the undead troops from Helheim fall to their inal death, never to rise again. Loki, the only one from his legions still standing, stands smiled, crazed, and bloody. Heimdall, who has also not fallen, spots Loki across the ield. He will grab his sword, Hofud, to battle Loki. “Ah Heimdall! Breathe it in! Isn’t it great? The smell of Death? It’s beautiful.” Loki taunts, turning his face up and taking a dramatic breath. Heimdall does not speak. Instead, he will strike his sword and Loki will counter it. As they ight, they will remember all that had come before this moment. They both will fall at the same time. Lying there taking their inal breaths, Loki will turn his head over to Heimdall. “I won.” He will say weakly. Heimdall will shake his head. “Vidar, Odin’s son, survived. As well as Vali. Magni and Modi, Thor’s children, are still alive. They took Mjolnir from Thor and together they are strong enough to wield it.” Loki will scof. “That does not matter. Everything is destroyed.” But Heimdall can see further than Loki. Yggsdrasil, the tree of life, will have two people hidden in it. Their names are Lif and Lifthrasir. Their descendants will help repopulate the earth. Rebirth will always follow death. Loki will want to reply, but he inally dies. Heimdall follows right behind him. Surtr will raise his laming sword up and cremate the world. That is how everything ends. But, there is what will come after the end. The green earth will arise from the gray oceans. The sun’s daughter will take her place and shine brighter. Lif and Lifthrasir will come out of 34 • L a u r e n M c G o w e n
Yggsdrasil and populate the earth. Asgard will be gone but Idavoll will stand where it stood. Vidar, Vali, Modi, and Magni will be there. Balder and Hod will return from the underworld. And everything begins again.
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