#mimir's corpse

[spring-heeledjack]

(mild gore under the cut)

LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO MY BABY

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

Today in underrated God of War 4 scenes:

(Relevant part scripted under the cut)

Atreus, as Kratos and him stand in front of the Tyr triptych: What do those runes on the sides mean?

Mimir: Not runes. Symbols... from different lands. They mean -

Kratos: War.

Mimir: Aye.

Atreus: How do you...?

Kratos: *Looking at the Omega symbol* This one I know too well.

Atreus: ...Oh.

[whackk-kermitt]

Dealing w/ Your Gremlin Behavior

Genre: Platonic Headconnons

Warnings: None

Request: What if Y/n was another God, who was basically a little chaotic gremlin; they see you as their child/sibling.

≫ ────── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ────── ≪

Kratos

You give him a headache.

He will not hesitate to tell you to shut up.

You ramble about stupid things so often that sometimes he believes his ears will bleed.

Kratos has to hold you back by the collar when he sees that dangerous glint in your eyes.

The one that lets him know you want to try and make friends with the creature that wants to make you it's dinner.

That one that tells him that you're going to do something stupidly dangerous while claiming that you're helping.

You're not helping. You're just giving him one more thing to worry about.

When I say he's worried, I mean worried.

Atreus has done some dumb things, but you were wild and almost feral sometimes.

He's extra hard on you and even more strict with how he trains you.

Congrats, he'll drag you out for hunting and training more often than Atreus.

He's absolutely terrified that if he takes his eyes off you for even a moment, you'll piss off a troll or a soul eater.

Can't take you anywhere.

But he'd kill for you.

So I guess you can stay.

Just please stop trying to bite everything that's trying to kill you.

Atreus

Atreus thinks you're hilarious.

Bonus points when Kratos is yelling at you, not him.

But most of the time you've roped him into your shenanigans and he's taking heat too.

Half the time he watches and cheers you on, the other half he's right there with you.

Mostly because things have gone horribly wrong and he's trying to help fix it before Kratos comes along and catches you two.

Mimir

He can't do much more then tell you off if you to something stupid.

So, that being said, gremlin has free rain.

Until he tells Kratos to be his hands and smack you around some.

Then you better start acting straight, cause Kray don't play.

You are never allowed to carry him.

Never again.

Not after last time!

Sometimes though, its just good fun to watch you be wild.

Makes him miss being young.

And, you know. . . his body.

Freya

She has no patience for it.

Behave yourself, at least around her.

When you go gallivanting and come back with scraps or bruises, she'll scold you endlessly while tending to them.

"I'm speechless." While proceeding to talk for hours about how reckless and stupid that was.

She was horrified when she watched you insult a draugr's 'dead mama' while slashing it in half and doing a victory dance over its corpse.

What has she gotten herself into?

Yet despite your feral behavior, she enjoys being motherly again.

She has no problem cleaning you up and making food for you.

She just wishes you'd be more careful.

She's so afraid of overstepping and becoming too protective of you.

But she's not afraid to curse you for a day, a simple binding spell, to keep you in the house when you've gone too far.

You're grounded!

Sindri

You leave the house all clean and spiffy.

Always returning covered in dirt and mud, leaves on your clothes and in your hair.

He'll always frown and point to the bath he prepares for you when you leave.

You make his eye twitch every time.

You'd just grin and get to it.

Arguments over cleanliness while you're staying with him.

He knows you can't help the trouble you always find yourself in, but he knows you won't avoid it.

He knows you thrive on chaos.

He hates that about you, but he cares too much to let you go off with nowhere to go if something bad happens.

So his door is always open for you.

Even if it means you're dripping blood and dirt on his clean floors.

He just makes you clean it.

Brok

He's a gremlin.

So he loves that you are as well.

You two get into so much shit together it's hard to think you're both still alive.

Sindri is over it.

Heimdall

Absolutely not a fan of it.

Don't even start with him.

And for the love of god, stop trying to sneak up and bite him.

It was amusing for a while, but it's getting old.

He always has to hold you back when he see's you're about to do something stupid.

He will absolutely pretend to not have a clue who you are if you get caught doing something you're not supposed to be doing.

Lots of scolding and 'don't do anything I wouldn't do's.

If you were literally anyone else he would've fed you to Gulltoppr by now.

Baldur

He loves the chaos.

You keep him on his toes and his head on a swivel.

You are a challenge to put up with but damn you're fun!

Nobody makes him laugh quit like you when you're poking the bare.

Literally.

Please stop. What the actually fuck are you doing?

He actually 'died' jumping in when that dead bear wasn't really dead and decided it didn't like you poking it.

But hey, he's got a new rug and a fun story so yippee!

≫ ────── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ────── ≪

NOT PROOF-READ Might come back to this one and fix it up some more. It feels kinda empty right now; I'm off my game.

•Kermitts Masterlist•

[space-blue]

Tyr, worried : is everything all right?

Mimir : aye friend, we're just looting, be right along.

Atreus, conversational but a little ashamed : my dad likes loot.

I haven't laughed THIS HARD at a video game since playing Disco Elysium. Came out of left field.

Yeah. Kratos likes loot. We like loot. I literally just looted an apple that extends my life. Sorry for being a corpse looting garbage god. X'D

[ohnothisisathing]

VOD watching Fit’s second day of Stardew Valley and taking Fit cautiously praying to Hausmaster for a leek as his subconscious mind in the corpse hole wanting food and asking the deity he’s most familiar with while he’s a mimir and dreaming about being a vengeful, bi farmer.

[prince-toffee]

I have such a specific design idea for adult Atreus/Loki that I have to talk through it with somebody.

Like I mentioned in another post, Loki's horns are inspired by Mimir's because Atreus always thought he looked cool. But the horns are also vines, they're a part of a helmet, so when the helmet opens up the horn-vines pull back running down his back. The entire armour he wears is made of 'plants' tree bark mostly, that he can move and manipulate to his fitting due to the Vanir plant magic Freya taught him over the years. Maybe he can absorb whichever tree he touches to repair the damaged pieces his armour after battle, and each tree gives him a different effect.

Maybe some moss on the tree bark as well, mushrooms and flowers growing from it. Maybe a mossy back from which he can grow mistletoe arrows.

He has a cape, more exactly Freya's feather cloak, which allows her to transform into a falcon. In Norse myths Loki steals it from her, in here she gifts it to him.

His helmet mask has a skeletal design in honour of his daughter Hel, who always felt freakish when other kids were scared of her because the left side of her face looked like that of a corpse. So in a small step of many by Atreus and Angrboda to try to normalise it in their lives he decided to wear her face proudly on his journeys. Atreus goes from land to land helping gods and mortals alike, so the face becomes a symbol of good rather than fear.

Under the helmet Atreus has plenty of scars. He grows out his hair (I love that voiceline in the game). He has a mirror tattoo of the one Kratos has, only in yellow, his mother's colour, and on the right, not left like Kratos. After a deadly confrontation, a Mjiolnir to the face or what not, the left side of his face becomes horrendously scared. He doesn't mind. He jokes to his worried daughter, 'Hey, at least we match now, right?' The conversation ends with a warm hug. Atreus is a big hugger and carrier, Hel barely walks on her own, he just carries her everywhere.

On his chest plate, near his heart, he wears the Huldra Brothers family brand. Sindri disapproves of course. But it's a constant reminder to Atreus of his failures, to be better.

He wears high-heels, which are light elf crystals so he can form light bridges wherever he walks. It'd be a fun mechanic if his block was a kick, where he kicks his leg high in the air and it creates a barrier as it trails the foot. Not married to this idea, but I think it's neat.

He'd obviously inherits the axe. But Leviathan is the name of Loki's wand/staff in Norse Mythology so maybe the axe is broken, and then reforged into a staff, and Sindri's forgiveness arc can be weaved in with that. His obviously still has his bow and arrows, maybe he can run a chunk of Mjolinir across the bow string to create weather-arrows, helps with watering crops.

It'd be neat if his fighting styles represented his 'children' Fenrir, Jormie, Hel. Sharp wolf claws on his fingers. Choke holds and strangulation (you know, like a snake). And then for Hel he just lifts up Baby Hel and her touch desingrates enemies on contact... or something, I don't know.

Anyway, bye!

[komotionlessqueenmm]

PART ONE

Okay so this is a list of my headcanon/preferences, with links leading to each post. I give a basic summary of the headcanon/preference, then what fandom it belongs to, and who from said fandom is involved. Plus whether or not it was requested, just because.

1.) You ask if you can peg them. (X)

• It (Movie 2017)

• The Bowers gang.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

2.)They react to the phrase "Fuck me running." (X)

• Vikings (TV series 2013)

• Ragnar, Rollo, Harald, Halfdan, Ivar, Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Alfred.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

3.) They react to you telling them you're allergic to bullshit. (X)

• Vikings (TV series 2013)

• Ragnar, Rollo, Harald, Halfdan, Ivar, Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Alfred.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

4.) You ask if you can peg them. (X)

• Horror movies addition.

• Dr. Herbert West (Re-animator 1985), Dr. Daniel Schreber (Dark City 1998), Ash Williams (Evil Dead 1981), Stu Macher (Scream 1996), Bo Sinclair (Wax Museum 2005), Eric Draven (The Crow 1994), Otis Driftwood (House of a Thousand Corpses 2003), Djinn (Wishmaster 1997), Josh Lambert (Insidious 2010).

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

5.) How do they feel about you being more badass than them? (X)

• Assassins Creed (Video game series)

• Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Connor Kenway, Edward Kenway, Jacob Frye, Bayek, Desmond Miles.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

6.) They react to you telling them to bruise your esophagus. (X)

• American Gods (TV series 2017)

• Mad Sweeny, Shadow Moon, Mr. World, Technical Boy, Low-Key Lyesmith.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

7.) They react to you telling them "I wanna choke on your dick until I pass out." PART ONE (X) PART TWO (X)

• Miscellaneous fandom's

• DIDN'T WANNA LIST THEM ALL, JUST LOOK INTO THEM YOURSELF LOL. (ALL AND ALL THERE ARE 14 PEOPLE)

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

8.) They develop a mommy kink, & along with a bit of a lactation kink, because of how busty you are. (X)

• It (Movie 2017)

• The Bowers gang

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

9.) You let them design your next tattoo. (X)

• The Lost Boys (Movie 1987)

• David, Marko, Paul, Dwayne.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

UNLISTED : How would each of the bowers gang react if the other members walked in while they’re being pegged/fingered/eaten out. (X)

• It (Movies 2017)

• Bowers gang

(REQUESTED)

--

10.) The basics of their yandere obsession with you. (X)

• Type O Negative (Band)

• Peter Steele.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

11.) Basic relationship headcanons. (X)

• The Black Phone (Movie 2021) crossed with Stranger Things (TV series 2016)

• Vance Hopper.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

12.) The basics of their yandere obsession with you. (X)

• Star Wars (Solo triplets)

• Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, Matt Solo.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

13.) How would magni and modi handle their child being named Thor’s successor? (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Magni, Modi.

(REQUESTED)

--

14.) What is the relationship between magni and modi’s children and their family? (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Magni, Modi.

(REQUESTED)

--

15.) Magni, Modi, and Baldurs children reacting to their parents death. (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Magni, Modi, Baldur.

(REQUESTED)

--

16.) Freya learning she is a grandmother. (Baldurs daughter) (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Baldur, Freya.

(REQUESTED)

--

17.) Will Kratos take you in after the death of your father Modi? (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Modi, Kratos, Atreus, Mimir.

(REQUESTED)

--

18.) How will they react when you die in place of them? (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Magni, Modi, Baldur.

(REQUESTED)

--

19.) Romantic headcanons. (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Baldur, Magni, Modi.

(REQUESTED)

--

20.) How do they react to you having visions of dark things? (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Modi, Baldur.

(REQUESTED)

--

21.) They react to finding out you're pregnant with their child. (X)

• God of War (Video game 2018)

• Magni, Modi, Baldur.

(REQUESTED)

--

22.) They react to finding out you're pregnant with their child. (X)

• Actors.

• Tom Cruise, Antony Starr.

(REQUESTED)

--

23.) The basics of their yandere obsession with you. (X)

• The Witcher (TV series 2019)

• Geralt.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

24.) They react to you yelling "VIBE CHECK!" as you hit a victim with a baseball bat. (X)

• Slashers addition.

• DIDN'T WANNA LIST THEM ALL, JUST LOOK INTO THEM YOURSELF LOL. (ALL AND ALL THERE ARE 23 PEOPLE)

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

25.) How do they react when you ask them to lay on top of you for the first time in your relationship. (X)

• Slipknot (Band)

• Corey Taylor, Joey Jordison, Mick Thomson, Sid Wilson, Jim Root.

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

26.) Romantic headcanons (X)

• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (Video game 2017)

• Lucas Baker

(REQUESTED)

--

27.) He reacts to you being an absolute tech wiz. (X)

• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (Video game 2017)

• Lucas Baker

(REQUESTED)

--

28.) Being Rocky's little sister, and falling for Ivan Drago. (X)

• Rocky IV (Movie 1985)

• Ivan Drago

(REQUESTED)

--

29.) Platonic relationship with The Grabber. (X)

• The Black Phone (Movie 2022)

• Albert Shaw

(REQUESTED)

--

30.) Syd is a dilf/gilf. (X)

• Cocaine Bear (Movie 2023)

• Syd White

(REQUESTED)

--

31.) He's got a breeding kink. (X)

• Batman Forever (Movie 1995)

• Dick Grayson

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

32.) He loves his plus size sweetheart. (X)

• Rocky IV (Movie 1985)

• Ivan Drago

(REQUESTED)

--

33.) Reactions to their partners nipples being pierced. (X)

• Miscellaneous fandoms

• DIDN'T WANNA LIST THEM ALL, JUST LOOK INTO THEM YOURSELF LOL. (ALL AND ALL THERE ARE 9 PEOPLE)

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

34.) What is Valentine's Day like with them? (X)

• Miscellaneous fandoms

• DIDN'T WANNA LIST THEM ALL, JUST LOOK INTO THEM YOURSELF LOL. (ALL AND ALL THERE ARE 9 PEOPLE)

(NOT REQUESTED)

--

[feathered-serpents]

I cannot stop thinking about Hel, the goddess, aka Atreus and Angrboda’s future daughter. Here’s some random guesses/stuff about her I made up

- I figure her name will not be Hel at birth, and she will only be known as Hel after she’s grown fully into the mythological role Hel fills. “Hel” is still more like a title than a name, everyone in her family refers to her by her birth name

- I have no idea what that name will be and have a feeling it will be a LONG time before we even get a clue so I’ve been calling her Calliope or “Poppy.” I’m not that attached to it. I just have to call her something

- Speaking of her birth, Freya is absolutely the one who delivers her. While Kratos takes a very tense Atreus out hunting under the guise of “this is where you are most useful.” Really Freya and Angrboda just needed to get his very attentive but worrisome ass out of the house for a couple hours because he was NOT helping the vibes

- She achieves her mythological half-dead half-alive state through some sort of botched resurrection. Right now in my head, she gets sick very young. As a toddler or even in infancy. Similar to Atreus’ childhood sickness, and her family tries to save her but their efforts only half work in the most literal sense possible. I imagine, they wouldn’t even know something had gone so wrong at first, but would realize it when Hel starts to lose feeling in one side, and then that side begins to bloat, and rot like a corpse

- I thought about her being evil or angry because of what happened to her but then I thought… what if she was kind? She’s sort of a manifestation of the terror at the idea of death verses a more gentle truth to it. I still think adjusting to her body would be a process, but I like if the outcome was her ultimately being. Kind. Especially to the dead, the people of her kingdom

- To lighten the tone, I wrote this random dialogue between Mimir and Kratos babysitting a baby pre-sickness Hel while Atreus and Angerboda are on a date night or something:

Mimir: Wow, she’s a beaut eh?

Kratos: Yes.

Mimir: Have you given any thought to what you’d like her to call you?

Kratos: Would it not be grandfather?

Mimir: Bit of a mouthful for such a wee lass to say don’t you think?

Kratos: She will grow.

Mimir: Sure, but why not come up with something else? While she’s little at least.

Kratos: There is my name.

Mimir: Oh for- you can’t tell your own granddaughter to call you by your name!

Kratos: I do not see the problem.

Mimir: Papa?

Kratos: No.

Mimir: Prefer gramps?

Kratos: No.

Mimir: Smartest man alive, brother. Give me time, I’ll think up something you’ll like.

[blastovkatamarinecromancy]

My DnD OC, Althorr the Utgardian. He's a Drow Elf Ancestral Guardian Barbarian. He was adopted by a Norse tribe of Barbarians from a region called Utgard.

I used references for the rune tattoos on his body. According to the guide I found online, the arrow pointing up on his abs is called "Teiwaz"which symbolizes Victory, Masculine Gods, and used as a Warrior Rune. The crooked H on his chest is prnounced "Hagalaz", which symbolizes Air and Transformation. So basically, it's a prayer to "Transform" to a "Masculine" god, kinda like a magical based HRT.

The tattoos on his biceps are Thorns, which are the symbol for the norse god Thor, who Althorr is named for. The Rune on his eyepatch is the symbol for Odin or Wotan.

More lore under the cut

Backstory:

Althorr was a foundling who was rescued as an infant from the harsh elements by a pair of hardy Norsemen from the Utgard tribe. His parents' corpses were found huddled around him trying the best they could to shield him from the cold. Other than being Drow Elves, there were no indications as to why they were there; the best guess is that they lost their way in the unforgiving forest and got caught in a blizzard. (His foster parents are named Valter and Theruize Utgardson. They passed away peacefully of old age at 85 and 87 respectively)

Althorr grew up with the Norsemen and learned their ways. His biggest aspiration as a child was to become an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, a position of great respect and reverence within the tribe, the closest thing they had to a high priest.

At the age of 12, it was time for his coming of age ceremony, the first step toward being an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian. He will be required to preform one of the various deeds that his ancestors performed in order to commune with them in spirit.

He started with a tried and true deed: camp out in the wilderness, fast for three days and nights, and then break his fast with the heart of a small animal that he hunted with his bare hands. Upon completing this deed, the spirit of his great-grandfather appeared before him.

However, the spirit would not recognize him for the simple fact that he is not blood related to him. The spirit advised the young Althorr to seek another path, because he can never be an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian of the Utgard tribe.

That was 320 years ago. And during all that time, Althorr tried every deed known to his tribe's oral and written history in order to commune with the Ancestral spirits to prove his worth! And every time, he gets rejected! His fellow tribesmen feel that it is unfair and solemnly cheer him on. He has become a fixture of Utgard, as he has watched over seven generations of Utgardians. Although he spent most of his time in the forest surrounding their little village (earning him the Hermit background), he is still a well-loved and recognized member of their tribe. Countless men and women tell the stories when they were rescued or aided by Althorr over the many years, some even owing him their lives!

One such Utgardian is Gytha "Granny" Petersen, an ancient woman who knew Althorr since her childhood. Gytha made it her mission to comb through as many manuscripts, rune stones, and any record that was kept of deeds used to commune with the Ancestral spirits. Granny's research determined two things: 1) to call a spirit, the deed performed must be equal to or greater in significance than what that specific spirit accomplished when they were alive. That's why there are so many deeds! And 2) the older the spirit, the more authority they had among the other ancestral spirits.

Knowing that, Granny theorized that getting the approval of the oldest spirit is the best path for Althorr to receive the blessing of the Ancestors. And there are no older ancestor than Wotan! His legendary deed, a sacrifice of himself to himself, is know even beyond Utgard and the Norse tribes. Wotan sacrificed his right eye into the well of Mimir after hanging himself for nine days and nine nights at the tree of life Yggdrasil. To exceed that, Althorr will have to do the unthinkable: retrieve the eye of Wotan!

Althorr sacrificed his right eye to the well of Mimir and dove after it into the icy cold psudo-waters. He was submerged within it for nine days and nine nights in the abyssal darkness. Until at last he saw the golden sheen of Wotan's eye. He quickly retreived it, and escaped with his life from the clutches of Nidhogg, the icy Wyrm from the depth of the world tree. Upon reaching the surface, Wotan' eye in hand, he was met with the spectral stares of thousands of his Ancestral spirits.

The most senior members were not happy with him, and felt he committed sacrilege by even touching the eye! They were about to attempt to shove him back into the well as punishment, when hundereds of the newer spirits rose up against them in anger! These were spirits of people who personally knew Althorr, some of them grew up with him and knew him from when he was a child. Others only knew him after he became a fixture of their tribe. Many of them were those who owed him their lives and now were in a position to finally pay him back, even if it is after their death!

"How dare you do this to my boy?" Said one of the two very familiar Norsemen, the spirit of Althorr's adoptive mother "this boy toiled for centuries! He's more Utgaridan than you'll ever be!"

A fight was about to break out again, but was interrupted by a soul quake of cosmic magnitude. Every living and dead soul felt the tremors to their core as the spirit of Wotan materialized among them.

Wotan's spirit has become so powerful, that it diffused its essence in every nook and cranny of the Norselands. It assumed a vaguely humanoid shape for the first time in centuries, which was a momentous occasion in and of itself!

Thanks for finding my eye Wotan not so much spoke, as was being felt but alas I need it not any more.

Wotan then winked, and the sun was eclipsed for a brief moment. He then started again with

Keep it!

Wotan dissipated once again; with his disappearance, the eye of Wotan hovered gently, before ramming itself into Althorr's empty eye socket! The millennia that the eye spent in Mimir's well of knowledge, coupled with Wotan's own natural powers and hunger of knowledge, has created a powerfully curious magical item. Althorr could barely contain the flow of information into his mind. His only respite was whenever he closed his eye, which is why he wears an eyepatch.

Finally, at the age of 332, Althorr is able to start on his path to becoming an Ancestral guardian Barbarian! He decided to travel the world to make up for all the decades he spent as a hermit away from society. It could be a subconcious nudge from the Eye of Wotan, and its hunger for knowledge and new experiences, which influenced this decision. Gytha Petersen, who has long since compiled her findings of Norseland culture and stories into various books, helped Althorr facilitate this desire by tasking him with the job of reaching out to scholars and librarians across the realm with copies of her books. That's right! Meet the book-selling Barbarian, Althorr the Utgardian!!

[izthepup]

Their Reaction to a Hybrid

If you don't want these places exactly and want it to be wherever, ignore where it says where you two were, and just look at their reactions and the animal. If you want. SPOILERS FOR GARM!

———Kratos———

- You two had gone adventuring in Svartaflheim

- Well, at Dragon Beach

- You two— or three, if Mimir is there— decided to go back into the boat

- Suddenly, something had burst out of the water 

- Somehow, it was a mix of a.. Dreki and a dragon?

- They weren't even in the same family, the only similarity?

- They were both reptiles 

- Probably a result of experimenting with magic

- You two did defeat it though

- "Kratos, have you ever seen anything like it?"

- "No. It is a wild animal. It attacked, we killed it. It does not matter how it looked."

- Wow he actually said a lot, he only grunted at the 'No' part.

———Freya———

- You two were in Midgard, looking around

- Suddenly, out of the bushes, a Stalker came out

- Except, it wasn't like a normal stalker... the deer half wasn't deer.

- It had a more wolf like face, and a wolf like centaur part

- But the legs seemed to be able to leap the same as before, if not better 

- Unfortunately, it wasn't friendly

- So you two had to kill it, but inspected the corpse after

- "Freya. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

- "No... it is quite interesting though. I wonder if it was born like this, or fused with magic. It's too bad that it wasn't friendly..."

- She seemed interested 

———Atreus———

- You two were in Jötunheim

- Just exploring a little farther out than usual by where the Wretches had nested, before it got cleared out

- Oddly enough, there was an odd looking wolf

- It then started padding up to you

- It looked like a mix between a Wulver and a normal wolf

- "That is... one odd looking wolf."

- Atreus watched it, his bow at the ready

- It had the claws and spikes of a wulver

- and the build, fur, and muscles of a wolf

- But it was bigger than a normal wolf

- It was friendly at least?

- "Atreus, have you ever seen anything like this?"

- "No... but it's kinda amazing. It wouldn't be as amazing if it attacked us, though."

- He seemed like he was interested and curious. 

- He probably tried to learn about hybrid creatures like it

———Mimir———

- You two were in Vanaheim

-  Just exploring and adventuring

- Of course, several enemies were there

- But, oddly enough, they seemed to be trying to attack something that wasn't you.

- You were able to get a better look, and saw it was a Gradungr

- But it didn't look like a normal one, it seemed like a mix between a Gradungr and a wolf

- You decided to take out the enemies, and see if the hybrid was friendly or not

- It was though

- "Mimir, have you ever seen anything like this?"

- "No, (Sister/Brother/Sibling), this is new to me. I wonder how it came to be like this."

- He seemed some what excited and confused. 

- Excited because something new, confused because he's never seen a hybrid like that.

———Sindri———

- You were at his house

- Fenrir had created a rift and was there too

- But another animal followed? 

- It was like a mix of a dragon and a hafgufa

- Pretty much build was full dragon

- some parts were glowing, with the jellyfish tentacles trailing off the wings and tail 

- It was friendly though, and approached you and sindri

- "Sindri, have you ever seen anything like this?"

- "Nope! But I'm going to stay away because who knows where it's been. I do wonder how it was born though. These two creatures don't even breed!"

- He was interested in learning about it though, and excited to learn about something that few have ever seen

- it probably tried to lick his face several times

[angyvalentine]

For a long time, no one spoke a single word. The request came totally unexpected and left Kratos completely dumbstruck. There surely should have been another way – any other way.  Mimir and Freya were both looking at him with sorrow in their eyes, while Athena had an indefinable expression on her face – he couldn’t tell if she was sneakily happy about the bomb Freya had just threw at him.

He couldn’t hear any thought from Lysandra, and the blindfold on her eyes didn’t help at all. Every time he looked at her, mute and still, it was like having her corpse statue right in front of him. But Calliope… Calliope was a whole different story. It was like she was challenging him to oppose. Again, seeing his daughter looking at him with so much hate was the umpteenth stab right into his tired heart.

«You cannot ask me that.» he murmured, after a while «I… I can not do it.»

«Why not?» Calliope spoke first, almost growling «It surely would not be the first time.»

Lysandra jerked her head toward her daughter, slightly opening her lips – but again, he couldn’t hear a single word. Calliope stared at her, unable to understand why her mother was still reprimanding her for talking to her father that man in such a manner. And again, she heard the voice of her mother, clear as crystal, chastising her.

«NO! No, mother! He stopped being my father the moment he forsook me, the moment he forsook us both! Why are you still defending him?»

Lysandra clenched her fists, tight-lipped, but didn’t lose her composure. Yet, Calliope refused to listen to her. She was too young, even as a spirit, and way too angry after what she had seen, after what Athena told her.

Her mother had been tortured by Hades just because she was Kratos’s wife, since he had killed Persephone. And while she was safe in the Elysium Fields, waiting for her mother to reach her there after paying for her sin of loving a monster, Lysandra was literally in Hades’s hands. Unable to catch Calliope as she was out of his reach, Hades had taken the chance to vent his anger on the wife of the man who killed his Queen. Kratos had previously forsaken her, and her mother had gone through hell just because of him – and she would have never forgiven him for that.

And now he dared to say he couldn’t give up on his memories of them?

«Brother…» Mimir hesitated for a moment, but for once he couldn’t find the right words.

«I cannot do it.» Kratos repeated, lowering his gaze.

«WHY?!» Lysandra caught Calliope a moment before she could throw herself at him «You could have saved us both but you chose not to! Your revenge was more important than us!» she grasped at her mother’s arms, tears falling from her golden eyes «You didn’t think even for a moment to come back to us! Why won’t you let her go now? You owe her that much!»

«Calliope…»

«No, don’t “Calliope” at me now! What would change for you? We have never been your priority back then, war was always your first thought, even when there was no need for it. Mother always told you so, and you never listened! What would even change if you’ll lose all of your memories of us, now?!»

Heavily in angst-mood - still I dunno if anyone’d be interested in it... so in case just let me know what you think of it pls x)

[woundedheartwithin]

On the mountain he stood with Brimir's sword, On his head the helm he bore; Then first the head of Mim spoke forth, And words of truth it told.

Poetic Edda, Sigrdrífumál stanza 14 translated by Henry Adams Bellows (1936)

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[sunshinewrit-ing]

Norse Mythology

ig: @sunshine.writing

As with every culture, there are many different interpretations and I tried my best to use the most popular ones. There are also many different versions and spellings for the names of the gods and goddesses, but I used the anglicized and most popular spellings. 

Aesir and Vanir

The Norse gods are divided into two families, the Aesir family, and the Vanir family. The Aesir family is the larger of the two and is mostly connected with war and government and includes the gods Odin, Thor, Loki, Baldr, Hodr, Heimdall, and Tyr. The Vanir family includes the fertility gods and goddesses such as Njord, Feyr, and Freyja. Both families reside in Asgard but don’t see eye-to-eye as shown through the Aesir-Vanir war. 

Besides the Aesir and Vanir, there are also female deities known as Disir, Alfar (elves), Jotnar (giants), and Dvergar (dwarves).

Aesir Gods and Goddesses

Odin - Odin was the King of the Aesir clan and known as “the father of all gods.” He’s depicted as a one-eyed, bearded old man wearing a hat and a cloak. He was said to have slain the first being known as Ymir before carving up his body to help create the Earth. He was one of the most powerful and revered of the gods and associated with wisdom, knowledge, healing, death, and war. He also ruled over Valhalla. 

Thor - Son of Odin, he was regarded as the strongest of all the Norse deities because he was tasked with safeguarding Asgard. He was the most popular of all the gods and worshipped by most Vikings. He was the god of thunder and lightning and wielded the Mjolnir. He rode a chariot drawn by two massive goats called Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir.

Loki - Loki was considered a “blood brother” of Odin. He was known as the trickster god and was equipped with the ability to shapeshift into different forms. He was the chief engineer behind the death of Balder.

Frigg - Frigg was the wife of Odin and the queen of the Aesir gods. She was the only one allowed to sit next to her husband and always stuck by her partner even though he had many extramarital affairs.  She was worshipped as the goddess of the sky and associated with wisdom, marriage, family, and fertility. She was blessed with the power of divination but never revealed her visions to anyone. 

Baldur - Son of Odin and half-brother to Thor, Baldur was the god of light and purity. He was described as fair, kind, and handsome, whose beauty was unparalleled. He was the epitome of all things wise and good and often praised for his mercifulness. Also thought to be immortal, he had been prophesied to die and was slain by an arrow made out of mistletoe, his death orchestrated by Loki. 

Heimdall - Heimdall is the son of Odin and no less than nine mothers, and is the watchman of the god. He dwelt at the entry to Asgard where he guarded Bifrost. 

Tyr - Tyr is the god of War and the Lawgiver of the gods. The bravest of the gods, he makes the binding of Fenrir possible by sacrificing his right hand. He’s the son of Odin and the son of the giant Hymir.

Idun - Idun is the goddess of spring or rejuvenation and is the wife of Bragi. She was the keeper of the magic apples of immortality which the gods must eat to preserve their youth. 

Bragi - Bragi is the skaldic poet of the Aesir and his name means “poet”. He’s the son of Odin and possibly the giantess Gunnlod, and the husband to Idun. 

Vili and Ve - Vili and Ve are the two brothers of Odin who helped to slay Ymir to create the remaining seven realms. They’re the sons of Bestla and Borr and were raised in the realm of Nifelheim. 

Forseti - He’s the son of Baldr and Nanna, and is the god of justice and reconciliation.

Gefjun - She’s the goddess of agriculture, fertility, abundance, and prosperity. Her name can be translated to “Giver” or “Generous One.”

Sif - Sif is the wife of Thor as well as a giantess and the goddess of grain and fertility. She was one of the Asynjur and mother of Ullr.

Fjorgynn and Fjorgyn - Fjorgyn, also known as Jord, is a giantess and the mother of Thor through an affair with Odin. Her masculine form Fjorgynn is the father of the goddess Frigg, the wife of Odin. 

Sol and Mani - Sol and Mani were the beings who drove the sun and the moon in their courses through the sun. They were sister and brother, and both were fair and beautiful. Sol had to travel at great speed, pursued by a wolf named Skoll who would eventually devour her. Mani kidnapped two humans named Bil (waning) and Hjuki (waxing), children of Vidfinn, and forced them to travel with him. Like his sister, he was also being chased by a hound named Hati Hrodvitnisson. 

Ullr - Ullr is the god of sports, particularly archery and skiing. He’s the son of Sif and Egill and step-son to Thor. 

Hoenir - Hoenir is a warrior god and is the travel companion of Odin and Loki. He was also part of the creation of Ask and Embla. He goes with Mimir to the Vanir as a hostage in order to seal a truce to the Aesir-Vanir War. He’s the god of indecision, avoidance, and mystery. 

Vidar - Son of Odin and Gridr, he was known as Vidar the silent, the possessor of the iron shoe, the enemy and slayer of Fenrir, the avenger, and he who inhabits the homestead of his father. He’s a warrior god and an excellent fighter. 

Hodr - Hodr is the blind god of winter and warriors. Oftentimes he’s depicted with a bow and arrows, or the spear that Loki used to trick him. He was the son of Frigg and Odin and twin brother of Baldr. Sometimes he’s thought to be a god of darkness.

Vali - Son of Odin and the giantess Rindr, Vali was born for the sole purpose of avenging Baldr. He kills Hodr and binds Loki with the entrails of his son Narfi. He’s the god of vengeance.

Vanir Gods and Goddesses

Freya - Freya was the goddess of fate, love, beauty, gold, war, and fertility. She ruled over the meadow of Folkvangr and owned a torc or necklace known as the Brisingamen as well as a cloak made of falcon feathers. She rode a chariot drawn by two cats and was accompanied by a board called Hildisvini most of the time. She practiced Seidr, which is a form of magic that allowed her the ability to control and manipulate the desires and prosperity of others. 

Freyr - Freyr is associated with sacral kingship, virility, peace, prosperity, sunshine and fair weather, and good harvest. He’s the son of Njord and the god of fertility, rain, and sunshine. His twin sister is Freyja.

Freyja - Freyja, twin sister and counterpart of Freyr, was the goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death. Her father was Njord. Pigs were sacred to her, and she rode a boar with golden bristles. 

Njord - Njord is the god of seas, wealth, wind, and fishing. He was the father of Freyr and Freyja. 

Nerthus - Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. She was also associated with peace and prosperity. She was the wife and sister of Njord and the mother of Freyr and Freyja.

Gullveig - Gullveig is a sorceress and seer with great love and lust for gold. She was speared by the Aesir, burnt three times, and yet thrice reborn.

Odr - Odr is the husband of Freyja

Norse Creatures

Dwarves - Also known as dark elves, they’re small creatures that originated as maggots from the corpse of Ymir. They live underground in Svartalfheim (literally means “home of the black elves”) and are said to have crafted the finest weapons and jewelry such as Mjollnir and Gungnir. In certain myths, they’re portrayed as turning to stone if exposed to sunlight. 

Draugar - The Draugar are the undead. Some myths describe them as creatures who drink blood, they’re more similar to zombies than vampires. They possess superhuman strength and can increase their size at will, but have a constant stench of decay and appear as a dead body. They often live in their graves to defend the treasure they were buried with but can also enter communities to torment those who wronged them in life. They’re said to be able to enter the dreams of the living to torment them, and would leave behind a gift so the victims knew the encounter was real. 

Elves - Elves are separated into two different types; Dokkalfar, or dark elves, and Ljosalfar, light elves. Dark elves are thought to be the same as dwarves and light elves are described as more beautiful than the sun. They’re generally described as having an ambivalent relationship with humans.

Fenrir - Fenrir was the son of Loki and the giantess Angroboda. He was raised by the gods of Asgard to stop him from wreaking havoc across the nine worlds but the gods ended up deciding to chain him up. It’s believed that when Fenrir breaks his chains to get his revenge, it will lead to Ragnarok, the end of the world. 

Fossegrimen - Also known as the grim, he’s a water spirit who plays the fiddle mimicking the sounds of the forest, wind, and water. He can be bribed to teach his skill with an offering that he deems sufficient. He’s also known to lure women and children to lakes and streams where they drown.

Huldra - Wardens of the forest and part of a group of Ra that protects various locations. Female Huldra are described as beautiful and seductive, with a long tail of a cow and their back covered in bark. They can disguise themselves as young women to walk in the world of men but their power of illusion is broken if someone sees their tail. They lure young, unmarried men into the forest and keep them as slaves, lovers, or sometimes they’ll suck the life out of them. 

Jormungandr - Also known as the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr is another child of Loki and Angrboda. He is a snake or dragon that lives in the sea surrounding Midgard. He is described as an enemy of Thor and during Ragnarok, the two are fated to slay one another. 

Jotnar - Jotnar, meaning “devourers”, are giants with powers that rival the power of the gods. They’re the enemy of the gods and the Jotnar embody chaos. Many of the Asgardian gods are descended from Jotnar such as Odin and Thor. 

Kraken - Aquatic monsters that are believed to live off the shores of Norway and Greenland. They’re depicted as gigantic octopi or squids. They mostly ate fish but when it rose to the surface, it was believed to cause large whirlpools which would help it attack ships.

Valkyries - The female helping spirits of Odin, depicted as elegant maidens who ferry the slain to Valhalla. Their name means “choosers of the Slain”, which hints at their more sinister side, the fact that they also choose who lives and dies in battle. They would sometimes use malicious magic to ensure their preferences.

Sleipnir - Odin’s mighty eight-legged horse is the child of Loki and Svadilfari. It had eight legs so that it could have one leg in each of the Norse worlds. 

Mare - The Mare monster gave people bad dreams at night by sitting on them in their sleep. Often they were witches whose souls took the forms of animals, but normal people, particularly adolescents, were also thought to become Mare when their spirits wandered. It was believed that when the Mare touched a living thing, people, cattle, or trees, it would cause their hair to become entangled. 

Trolls - There are large ugly trolls that dwell in forests and mountains, and small gnome-like trolls that live underground in deep caves and caverns. They’re depicted as not very intelligent and malevolent but can show kindness in exchange for a favor.

Norns - The three principal Norns served as the caretakers of the tree of life, but their care only slowed the death of the tree. 

Ratatoskr - A squirrel that runs up and down the tree of life delivering the messages of the gods. He enjoys stirring trouble between the wise eagle that sits atop the tree and the hungry dragon that swells in its roots. 

The Nine Realms

Yggdrasil - Yggdrasil is the mighty tree whose trunk rises at the geographical center of the Norse spiritual cosmos. It’s believed that the nine worlds are all held in the branches and roots of the tree of Yggdrasil. It’s commonly said to be an ash tree.

Niflheim - The realm of fog and mist. It’s the darkest and coldest region of all the realms. It’s one of the first two realms and is placed in the northern region of Ginnngagap. Hvergelmir is located in Niflheim, which is said to be the source of the elven rivers. As Yggdrasil started to grow, it stretched one of its large roots far into Niflheim to draw water from Hvergelmir. 

Muspelheim - The land of fire. Muspelheim was created at the same time as Niflheim but was created far to the south. It’s a burning hot place filled with lava, flames, sparks, and soot. It’s the home of the fire giants, fire demons, and is ruled by Surtr.

Asgard - Home of the Gods. The most commonly known realm, Asgard is located in the middle of the world, high up in the sky. It’s the home of the gods and goddesses and is ruled by the chief of Aesir Odin. Inside the gates of Asgard is Valhalla, the place where half who die in battle will go for the afterlife and the other half go to Folkvangr.

Midgard - Home of the humans. “Middle earth” is located in the middle of the world below Asgard. Midgard and Asgard are connected by Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. It’s surrounded by a large, impassable ocean that is occupied by the Midgard Serpent. The first two humans were Ash and Embla and were sent to Midgard after being created from tree logs by Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve.

Jotunheim - Home of the giants. Jotunheim consists mostly of rocks, wilderness, and dense forests, and lies in the snowy regions on the outermost shores of the ocean. There is no fertile land in Jotunheim. Jotunheim is separated from Asgard by the river living which never freezes over.

Vanaheim - Home of the Vanir. Nobody knows where exactly the land is located or how it looks. 

Alfheim - Home of the light elves. Alfheim is located right next to Asgard in heaven. The god Freyr is the ruler of Alfheim. 

Svartalfheim - Home of the dwarves. Svartalfheim means dark fields, and they live under the rocks, in caves, and underground. Hreidmar was the king of Svartalfheim until he was killed. 

Helheim - Home of the dishonorable dead. Hel is where the dishonorable dead, thieves, murderers, or those the gods and goddesses feel are not brave enough to go to Valhalla or Folkvangr. Helheim is ruled over by Hel and is a very grim and cold place. Any person who arrives at Helheim will never feel joy or happiness again. 

[paragonrobits]

Go ahead and tell about the followers/recruits! I'll admit i'm mostly interested in Fallen-From-Grace, but give me the entire list! (You should draw her at some point.)

X D i might consider that!

so im putting this under read more for length

Morte: he's an automatic follower and its best to keep him, especially if you're not statted up as a combat monster, because Morte, despite his appearances, IS. He's a fighter in terms of class and he's actually got some fairly high stats. You need to do some side quests (such as one gained from helping a woman in Sigil named Ingress; you recieved a bag of teeth tat level up with Morte, and are INCREDIBLY useful since you're most likely to keep him throughout the game.) Incidentally, a thing to keep in mind is that Morte IS a chronic liar, but he is the only explicitly Good party member for a reason and while you probably can't trust him to give a straight answer, you CAN trust him with your life. Note, however, that his claims to be a mimir are highly suspect, as they're non-sapient constructs made of metal, and he's rather more similar to the namesake, Mimir of Norse mythology.

Dak'kon: He's a fighter/mage and a really strong one at that. He's probably the most straightforward combat monster in the party in a normal playthrough, and he gets even stronger when you complete his personal quest by going through the dialogue concerning his religion and backstory, which opens up as you learn from it. He's easy enough to get, too, by talking to him at thE smouldering corpse bar. He's also noteworthy in that he retroactively influenced his entire species; prior to this game they were chaotic beings, but afterwards, they were reworked to match his stoic, Zen vibe.

Annah: She automatically joins your party after a certain point in the story, and she's the main thief in the game. You can get trainign to become a thief, and she can help you spec into being a thief if you change class. (She is EXTREMELY tsundere.)

Fall-From-Grace: Again, its actually pretty easy to recruit her, and is almost story mandated; she is in fact the game's primary healer. Eventually you will go to her Brothel of Slaking INtellectual Lusts (a combination of a woman's educational college of sorts, and a debate club that invites people to different kinds of intellectual discourse; FFG has a strange sense of humor). You can recruit her, i think, fairly easily by engaging her in social discourse and doing a side quest; if you have high INT and WIS, though, you can recruit her on the spot.

Nordam: He's actually pretty easy to miss. You have to buy a specific item from a dealer in strange curios in Sigil (in roughly the same area where you can meet FFG); a modron cube, which you can play with like an action figure to annoy Morte, but you can also use it to open a portal to what is essentially a parody of dungeon delving. Torment is unique in otherwise not having much of that kind of gameplay, and it was created by modrons (mechanical spirit creatures from the plane of Order, Mechanacus) to understand adventuring. Eventually you should gain the option to make it more difficult and Nordom is hanging out in a room in the Hard difficulty; its a pretty dangerous area and can take a LONG time to navigate, so be cautious! Nordom's a weird robot guy but is also shaped like a friend. "I think, therefore I am," he says. "...I THINK."

These guys are the assumed default party; the ones most conducive to a Good playthrough, and generally assumed ot be the canon party. There are also two other party members, but you would have to choose not to take oneo f the above to bring them with you:

Ignus: The sMouldering Corpse bar has a perpetually burning body within it, seemingly delighted at its own constant agony. This is Ignus, whom you might have heard as the guy who killed an entire district in Sigil, burning everyone in it alive just to see it burn. If you find a certain item in the catacombs beneath Sigil, during a story-mandated exploration, you can use it on him to wake him up, and you can choose to recruit him. Note that while he isn't evil (and is explicitly of the Chaotic neutral 'force of nature, incapable of understanding the harm he's doing') he is still most approprirate towards an evil playthrough, and he's very unpredictable and prone to lashing out when upset.

Vhailor: Oh man, this guy. You can find him during the latter part of the game, nearly towards the end, imprisoned in a prison beneath a city called Curst. It's actually impossible to miss him, i think; he's a big spiky suit of armor and you HAVE to walk by him to progress. He is a living suit of armor, previosuly the most fanatical Mercykiller in existence, and remains so commited towards the ideal of Justice that it empowers him, even in death, and he's not actually aware that he IS dead. He is able to see the crimes of others, and gain the power to punish it, and gets along poorly with you and your party members. If you're unable to pick the right dialogue options, he may attempt to kill you. As a rule, he's Lawful Neutral, NOT Good. His sect is dedicated to the idea of murdering the concept of mercy and compassion, and he is dangerously obsessive and strict even by their standards. He is cruel, heartless and without remorse, and gets along VERY poorly with Fall-From-Grace, whom he calls 'Mercy's whore'. (For her part, she's adept enough in philosophy to essentially back him into a corner and force him to concede that point.) Its not hard to say that he and Ignus are mutually opposed to one another. I've never seen what happens if they meet, but its probably not pretty.

On the other hand, he's ALSO so ludicrously strong he can solo the final boss entirely on his own. And he's voiced by Keith David.

Generally speaking, my advice is to not recruit Ignus or Vhailor; you CAN talk to them without recruiting them, i think. Alternatively, if you can't find Nordam, pick one of these guys as your final party member, though Nordam is ultimately the best choice. If not in terms of combat ability, at least in character. He's a sweet, confused robot cube who talks to his crossbows. Better that than an omnicidal pyromaniac or a guy who is a living embodiment of how NOT to do a Justice.

[americangodstalk]

Cultural background: Odin

Odin, also known as Woden, Wotan or Waotan, is one of the main gods of Norse mythology.

Son of Borr (son of the first god Buri) and of Bestla (daughter of a jötunn), Odin was responsible for the creation of the world as we know it alongside his two brothers, Vili and Vé. Together they killed the primordial jötunn, Ymir, and used his corpse to form the universe - his flesh becoming the earth, his bones the mountains, his brain the clouds and the maggots eating his carcass the dwarves. When they murdered Ymir, the blood flowing from the giant's body drowned almost all of the other jötunn, resulting in their species becoming fierce ennemies of the gods. Odin and his brothers also created the first humans: Vé gave them faces and five senses, Vili gave them mobility and intelligence/consciousness, while Odin gave them life and minds. Finally, the three brothers created together Asgard, the realm of the gods and one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmogony.

Odin is the leader of the main family of Norse gods, the Aesir, a clan of civilization, war and craft-related deities living in Asgard. As a result, Odin was considered a god of roylaty and nobility, as well as the god of war. Men often prayed to him in order to obtain victory in battle, but since Odin enjoyed deeply feuds they knew he could easily give victory to the opposite side, not caring about fairness or justice but rather about the quality of the fight. It was said that Odin started the war between the Aesir and the Vanir (the second clan of gods, associated with nature, fertility and weather) by throwing his spear at a Vanir living among the Aesir. One of his domains in Asgard was Valhöll or Walhalla (the "halls of the slained ones"), a paradise-like afterlife for those that died in battle or while fighting. These dead would become the einherjar, the elite warriors of Odin's personal army, spending their time fighting each other (but healing and resurecting each evening) and feasting on never-ending supplies of meat and food. This afterlife was so sought by the Norsemen that some warriors who failed to die at war were known to kill themselves with their own spears to become einherjar.

Odin is known to be married to Frigg, a beautiful and graceful goddess of foresight and wisdom, but he had numerous love affairs with goddesses, female jötunn and mortal women, resulting in the birth of numerous gods of the Aesir pantheon: Thor, Baldur, Tyr, Heimdall, Ull... Usually appearing as a grey-haired and bearded old man wearing a large hat and a blue cloak, he liked to travel through Midgard (the world of humans) as a simple mortal, to either test people's hospitality or seduce women (many Norsemen liked to claim they descended from Odin to give themselves a higher social status). Odin owned several fabulous treasures, which included Gungnir, a spear that never misses nor stop until it reaches its target, Draupnir, a gold ring that produces every nine nights eight replicas of itself, and Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse as fast as lightning and able to run across water or through the air.

Odin was also known as a spiritual god. He was the god of poetry, guardian of the mead of poetry (that he stole through trickery, transformation and seduction from the dwarves who created it) and able to gift both gods and men with inspiration or the talent to write or sing. He was a god of wisdom: not only did he sacrificed one of his eyes to drink from Mimir's well, whose magic waters made him knowledgeable and wise, but he also hanged himself from one of the branches of Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, with his own spear piercing his torso, for nine days and nine nights, as a sacrifice to himself. This particular operation, on top of making him the god of gallows and hanged men, and confering him even more wisdom, helped him invent the runes, a form of primitive alphabet used to cast spells. Indeed, Odin was also the god of magic, recognized as a seer and a wizard. He was the master of seidr, a form of ritualistic magic able to shape fate for good, neutral and negative purpose, and which allowed him to see or know the future and curse his ennemies with death, sickness or bad luck. It should be noted that the seidr was seen as a female practice, and considered dishonorable for a man to practice as it would be a cowardly form of cheat (Norsemen were encouraged to fight in more honest and virtuous ways, with weapons or their physical strength). Due to his strong association with the death (god of the slained warriors, god of the gallows) Odin was also a practicioner of what would be called today necromancy known as the "lord of the ghosts": he could resurrect the dead (especially if they had been hanged) and enchanted Mimir's cut head so it would keep speaking even without a body.

Odin had an impressive collection of powers through his knowledge of seidr, runes and other forms of magic. Some of his abilities included turning enemies blind, deaf, paralyzed or mad, taking numerous shapes, stopping arrows through mid-air, turning warriors into invulnerable beings, or letting his mind travel through the world under the shape of an animal while his original body stayed in a form of trance. In the Germanic tradition, Odin was the leader of the Wild Hunt (Wodans Jagd), a celestial and supernatural hunt through the sky that manifested itself as violent storms. Odin does not need to eat, merely to drink wine: all of the meat that is served to him is actually given to his two wolves, Freki and Geri, always sitting at his feet. Another defining trait of Odin is his omniscience: when he sits on his throne, Hlidskialf, he can see the nine worlds all at once, and every morning his two crows, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) leave Asgard to explore the other worlds, coming back in the evening to tell the Aesir lord everything that happened in the universe.

While recognized as a wise, generous, brave and powerful god, Odin was also said to be prideful, cunning, selfish, cruel and a trickster. In fact, he was considered to be the most frightening of all of the gods, humans dreading him greatly. It is said that at Ragnarök, the end of times, he will lead the Aesir, Vanir and einherjar into battle against the forces seeking to destroy the universe, and die swallowed alive by Fenrir, the giant wolf.

The important and ancient character of this deity can be noted through his names: experts have currently collected more than 170 names and nicknames given to the gods (his most common being "All-Father", a title representing his role as the creator of the world, gods and humans). While the Romans identified him with the god of Mercury, many have pointed out that his role would be more similar to the one of Jupiter. The word Wednesday derives from Odin's Germanic name Woden (''Wodnesdaeg'', the day of Woden - for originally, Wednesday was ''dies Mercurii'', the day of Mercury).

[killem-all-if-they-wont-eat-cake]

Image: Freja och Svipdag (1911) by John Bauer

My text "Freyja en Svipdag" published in Covidnine-zine, a magazine edited by the wonderful Winnie Sluis, idealized by Winnie and Lisa @oppergod, with collaboration of several amazing artists.

“With her eyes closed and very sleepy, she could feel the sea breeze on her face and hear the sound of the tide breaking in nine waves, one after the other, until she finally managed to open her eyelids.

At first, she discerned arches and pillars through the blurred image, which she later identified as the ruins of an old cathedral. The stone foundations of this structure immediately reminded her of Glastonbury Abbey. The sound of the violin came to her, as well as the seagulls’ song and the gallop of a gray horse mounted by a masked young man, who headed in her direction. On the beach, an old lady recited the stanzas of ancient poems. Coffins swept across the sand, such as fragments of a shipwreck. The corpse of the violinist, who once was Yorick, the court jester, suddenly stopped the music, marveling at the horizon and contemplating his next song, as follows:

'Oh  Páter if I only knew who she was...  I swear I would have sought her earlier!  Oh Páter, here comes Gwena, who traces  This plot, full of diminished chords...

Tis  fire, aye, ‘tis pipe’s ember,  Burning slow and steady, steaming  And if I inhale, choke and clear my throat  Bitter-sweet is her surrender, such a delight  This woman...

Yet  I think she keeps  Something restrained  For the One of the strings...

She  dares not look but only glimpse

Her  bearing ever so high,  Still entrapped in a gilded cage  From which one tries to break  With a treble clef... Egnis! Egnis!

Aye,  see as it burns strong,

It is painful for Gaius,  Her way of walking and fluttering  Always a promise of the foreign

 Though  beware not to cut yourself;  For she is like As-Sirāt,  Even if broken, she remains sharp.

More  so she is intricate and complex,  Full of ardor and nothing else,  And seems entirely anti-flustered  Ah! ... but if there is a breach...

 “Tis  for sure the apple-tree”  I answer myself.  Since when I wandered haphazardly,  Wandering, wondering, though not seeing  If there was indeed an olive tree...

 Thus,  if the fire she already brought;  And I always have some cider;  Only the gold is wrought...

What  fire is that?  Mighty and aristocratic,  Convoluted and anti-pragmatic.

Alas,  we get to the story’s end,

If  you expected me to be light-hearted

To  speak of her beauty or noble

character,

 You  don’t see me for who I really am

For  only the sublime pain of a burn

Compares  to shall be required

To  conquer her troublesome

Spirit.

 Nevertheless,  if I allow myself

A  final indulgence, I think it goes

Without  saying.. that she’s beautiful,

Dignified,  and a relief to the eyes,

(Though  quite difficult to contain)

That’s  why I have fallen...O Páter!”

The rider dismounted and removed his mask, revealing a quite familiar face.

Then he burst into tears, moans, and screams, calling out the name “Sophie! Sophie!” A cacophony of chimes and carillon began at an Episcopal belfry, the imposing figure of a castle appeared behind the mist. Brísingamen, the fiery torque, sparkled around her neck as she rose, entirely dressed in white. The young man, who wore black garments, offered her his hand, and spoke:

 “Dear Sophie, your father awaits us.”

 The strangest thing happened; she felt her lips moving without having ordered so. “My darling Joris, at last you have come for me.”

 Although she did not know exactly how, she remembered the young man in front of her was her betrothed, and that they referred to each other by the names of the saints which the ephemeris fell on their respective birthdays. His on the feast day of Sint-Joris van Cappadocië, and hers on that of St. Sophie van Rome.

 “Sophie, the owl told me the baker shall hold a banquet in our honour!”

 “O, here, have a daisy” she said, taking a flower from the garland adorning her long blonde hair. “I would give you give you some violets, but they all withered when the fishmonger sailed to Crete.”

 “Indeed, Aerope told me that Catreus’ ashes are still warm.”

 They walked side by side, with hands intertwined, wearing wicked smiles as they climbed the hill where the castle's Tor stood. Upon arriving, they were received by the King of Guilder and the rest of his progeny.

 “Welcome, my children, to Kasteel Groninger! Our earthly paradise. Pray, remember the road ahead is still long. Fredegund anxiously awaits Siegbert's return, in deep sleep at the Mountain of Obstacles. Do not forget that: Fafnir must yet perish and Sigrdrífa still needs to be stripped of her armour” King Aegir affectionately warned, embracing both Sophie, whom he recognized as his youngest daughter, and Joris, his future son-in-law.

 "Your majesty, I assure you I shall be worthy enough to wed Lady Menglöð" replied Joris, referring to Sophie, the princess of Guilder, by her true name.

 “Heer Valentijn,” asked King Aegir, also calling Joris by his birth name “I believe the sacrifice of Galswintha will not have been in vain: Faith, Hope and Charity shall be glorified, but do not forget to greet your new sisters.”

 With their faces veiled and sitting on the stairs of an old church, the nine daughters of Aegir, presented themselves one by one. The oldest was called Schnecke, “Bloody-hair”, thus called in virtue of her red hair; the second went by the name of Mimi, the “Billow”, therefore known due to her being prone to fits of nervousness; the third was called Caroline, the “Comber”, because of her explosive temper; the fourth answered by Lily, “Pearl-transparent”, on the account of her translucent complexion; the fifth was named Henriette, the “Small-Wave”, due to her short height; the sixth answered by Olga, the “Lifting”, on account of her extraordinary intelligence; the seventh was called Hannah, the “Great-Wave”, thus known for her bulkiness;  the eighth daughter was Jeannette, called the “Well of Origin” for having the habit of reciting prophetic riddles every time somebody asked her something; the last of them, Friederike, the “Cool-Wave”, was therefore called on account of her cold manners.

 Each of them, as Joris approached, answered him with witty sentences related to each of their epithets. At the end of these parables, King Aegir once again addressed him:

 “Valentijn van Florin, I give you my word as sovereign of Guilder that the most beautiful flower in my garden is your dear Sophie, who at this very hour tomorrow you shall take as your wife. Such a marriage will unite our two rival kingdoms under a single crown, as intended your kinsman, Prince Humperdinck, though in far less auspicious circumstances.”

 The bride and the groom waltzed through the castle, covering the walls of each room with snow. Whenever Joris asked if she wanted to be his wife, Sophie burst into hysterical laughing, which echoed throughout the stairs. Sometimes she replied she first owed vassalage to another lord, who was certainly sterner and bonier. This ‘danse macabre’ continued until they faced the stained windows of the cathedral, when the black priest signaled them to stop. For this reason, the nine waves blew out the candles on the candelabrum, one by one, forming a fairy-ring around the two of them and joining their dance wildly.

 Joris mused for a moment and said:

 “Three times nine girls, but one girl rode ahead,

white-skinned under her helmet;

the horses were trembling, from their manes

dew fell into the deep valleys,

hail in the high woods;

good fortune comes to men from there;

all that I saw was hateful to me.”

 For the celebrations to continue Sophie was taken to the hall of Suttungr, while Joris was given the task of finding the severed head of Mimir. Locked up in the chamber of Invitation to Battle, Sophie was punished for exercising her prerogative in choosing differently from what the All-father had commanded. There, Huginn and Muninn, her liege's crows, whispered bad omens at her ears as she repeatedly painted a Byzantine icon of the Virgin of Mercy.

 “Torture me all you want,” she said to her tormentors “a tearing joy overwhelms my soul. Plato's aesthetic dictates the beauty of forms is equivalent to the greater good and that which is purer. I merely follow the example of Paris in his preference for the ‘kallistei’; the beloved is always chosen for blind love, and only love. I admit I may be wrong, but I still believe that his heart is as good and generous as I sensed on our first meeting. The world is sustained by hope, we believe in what we want to believe and how we want to believe; it does not matter if nature and experience tell us otherwise. My dreams have never betrayed me, my heart has never lied to me: it is necessary to follow one’s deepest desires, for they are ordained by the Norns.”

 In retaliation, the crows of the one-eyed king pecked at her ears until her neck was covered in blood. Ignoring the pangs of pain, Sophie continued to draw the icon that depicted a beautiful sleeping maiden, whose closed eyes showed an expression of tenderness and parted lips outlined a tenuous, albeit provocative smile, as though she was caught in a sensuous dream.

 Hence, Sophie chanted in low voice:

“What sort of dream is that, Odin?

I dreamed I rose up before dawn

to clear up Valhöll for slain people.

I aroused the Einheriar,

bade them get up to strew the benches,

clean the beer-cups,

the valkyries to serve wine

for the arrival of a prince.”

At the same time, Joris rode up to the Mountain of Obstacles, where the earth shook and a pit of flames reaching the sky surrounded the red gold of the gods. In this desolate place, the guardian at the gate, who was also the chieftain of the dwarves, gave Joris the sword of anger and the shield of wisdom with which he was able to defeat the horrible serpent, Jörmungandr.

After licking a drop of the creature’s blood on his finger, Joris was given the gift of understanding the crows’ language, which then instigated him to come to the chamber of Invitation to Battle. As soon as he entered the room, he blew on the horn he carried on his neck by a chain. The Virgin awoke from her feverish dream.

Sitting on a golden throne, the queen-like Sophie gladly received him in her father's hall:

“For nine lives I have awaited you, and for nine days you have hanged on the Sefirotic Tree. To you I give my gray horse, so you can ride to Gamla Uppsala; for Memory can only be restored when Gjallahorn descends to the well of origin. There, Heidr will offer you one of her full tits. Drink patiently, but steadily.”

“Frigga, my dear wife, all I ask is for you to grant me knowledge of the nine worlds.”

Before proceeding with her husband’s request, Sophie prayed for eloquence and intelligence, taking her lute in her hand, singing the most beautiful song of shadow and dawn. She praised the day, the night, the gods and goddesses, and the Holy Land where the Nazarene was crucified. After prayer, she harvested liquid from three of her father’s most precious cauldrons and prepared the elixir of life and death, stating it contained enchantments, blessings, songs and runes of power, manliness and pleasure of the flesh and soul.

Sophie told Joris that in the beginning there was nothing, and this nothing was called Njörun. When Njörun became aware of herself, she begot Njöðr. From the union between these two, Mardöll was born. The latter was self-suficient, loving herself and being therefore happy. However, curiosity caused the goddess to create a mirror from her own breath, and when she contemplated her own reflection, she fell madly in love with it. Since then, she divided herself in two: Mardöll of Fire, who saw the image, and Mardöll of Ice, the image seen. After tracing a runic symbol on her body and whispering over it, her reflection became Yngve, her twin brother. The two of them began a frantic dance that culminated in intercourse, from where emerged the rest of the runic spirits.

Sophie then told him how Mardöll first taught the runes to the All-father, how he held the head of Mimir and uttered wise words; and that from them flowed the worlds of the Æsir, Vanir, giants, elves, and humanity. She went on to count all the kinds of runes that Joris needed to know and how to use them. At last asking him if he would like speech or silence from her. To which Joris replied he was not afraid of knowing his fate, even if that meant death.

Shortly after, she took his horn, in which she poured the Mead of Poetry, while rambling: “The beautiful should not perish; the fair should not perish. Eternal love of immortal soul, glittering through my skin like fins. Drop by drop, your spirit will return to me, the first drop will be heavenly!”

The moment Joris took the last sip of this precious drink, the walls opened, and the drums played. King Aegir and the nine waves were finally welcomed to the wedding feast. Circling an oath-ring on a trunk, the sovereign of Guilder joined the hands of his daughter and son-in-law, making a cut on each of their palms so that their blood could mix. Joris and Sophie intertwined their fingers and together declared:

“Ubi tu Askr

Ego Embla;

Ubi tu Embla,

Ego Askr.”

“When thou art the Ash

I shall be the Elm;

When thou art the Elm

I shall be the Ash.”

“Grímnir, the greatest of all gods, is here, he proclaims you to be one flesh, consecrated to him” decreed King Aegir as the newlyweds resumed their bridal dance, accompanied by the nine waves, who happily sang:

“Stampa hårt i marken,

Låt säden flyta  runt,

Ta emot den unga  flickan,

Frej i älskog,

Freja i älskog.”

“Step hard on the ground,

Let the seed fly,

Welcome the Young Maiden,

Freyr in lovemaking,

Freyja in lovemaking.”

Joris enveloped Sophie in a lustful embrace, with each whirl more ardent than before, ‘til they both lost their balance and fell backwards in the hay. At this moment, Thanatos, the black priest showed up uninvited:

“I am a polar bear who has floated here from Greenland on an iceberg. May the gods bless your matrimony with such perennial beauty as that from the coupling of Zeus and Leda. As a wedding gift, I bring you a veil made for an Arabian princess. Please, accept it. O Vanadís, daughter of the king of kings.”

Upon hearing this, Sophie let out a long shriek. She understood what those words meant. For three nights, she and Joris made love at moonlight, in the presence of the court of Guilder and all the creatures of the universe. On the morning of the fourth day, he had to leave her side to wander the nine worlds, bringing the sacred knowledge he acquired to whichever mortals he found. Weeping, Sophie bade adieu to her husband with the following greeting:

“My will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great. My sisters receive the heroes at Fólkvangr, serving mead to those slain in battle. When the ash commune with the elm, you shall return to me. Not a second after, not a second before.”

The black priest then proceeded to lead them to the calvary, placing two wreaths of thorns on their heads. “I crown thee, Freyja and Óðr.”

For nine days and nights, Sophie bitterly mourned her lost husband, crying tears of gold for his sake. Once again trapped in the Mountain of Obstacles, she cried out for mercy to the one who was older than time itself:

“That man hon fólkvig fyrst í heimi,

er Gullveig geiru studdu

ok i hǫll Hárs hana brendu;

thrysvar brendu thrysvar borna,

opt, ósjaldan, tho hon enn lifir!

Heidi hana hétu, hvars til húsa kom,

vǫlu velspá,  vitti hon ganda

seid hon hvars hon kunni,

seid hon hugleikin,

æ var hon angan illrar brudar.”

“She remembers the first war in the world,

when Gullveig was hoist on the spears

in the High-One’s hall they burned her;

three times they burned the three times born

often, not seldom; yet she lives! 

She was called Heidr at the village,

the wise völva knew how to cast spells

she practiced seiðr whenever she could

with ravished soul, she performed seiðr,

She was always sought by wicked women.”

As she asked for divine intervention, Sophie devoted herself to the hard work required by the spinning wheel. As though passing in a trance through Psyche's trials, she was accompanied by her sisters, who danced around her, hand in hand. The first branches of the elm emerged from her heart, which enwrapped her in just a few minutes. From her withered body, the most majestic tree of Fensalir was formed. Three times she was struck by lightning, three times she burned; only to be three times reborn the next dawn.

When Joris at last returned from his travels around the world, finding her in such a state he declared:

“Nu em ec aptr kominn,

fát gat ec thegiandi thar;

margom orthom melta ec i minn frama i Suttungs sǫlom.

Gunnlad mer um gaf gunom stóli á

drycc ins dyra miathar; ill ithgiold

let ec hana eptir hafa

sins ins heila hugar

sins ins  svara seva.”

“Now I have come again,

I’d have hardly made it so far;

without speaking great words to my advantage in the hall  of Suttungr.

Gunnlöð gave me, from her golden throne

The precious drink of mead; a poor payment

I gave her in return

for her whole soul

for her  burdened spirit.”

With these sorrowful words he also became an ash tree, his roots becoming entangled with hers. From their union emerged a magnificent swan egg which cracked in two beautiful girls. The Æsir called them Hnoss and Gersemi, the Twin Treasures.’