The Age of Mythology

Welcome...
Norse Mythology is also commonly known as Viking Mythology or Scandinavian Mythology. Apart from the its famous southern counterpart: the Greek Pantheon, the Norse Pantheon too has had a fair share of universal recognition and influence.

Here, you will be able to read the famous pantheon along elves, dwarves, giants and the many creatures that populated Yggdrasil. Instead of looking at individual characters, we have organised the site such in a story oriented manner. We hope that by this, it will make a more interesting read, and one that is easier for any beginner to understand.

Mythology is built upon its large stage, and its vast cast of characters. As such, previous stories may serve as prerequisites to understanding following tales. The begginner may decide to start at the beginning of the pantheon, and to acquaint himself with major characters in the mythology, before moving to later stories.

The Pantheon has been split into three sections. The first section includes a brief historical background and an introduction to the cosmology of the Norsemen. The second section talks of the stories of the Norse, spanning from the start of time till the end thereof.

An Introduction to Norse Mythology
The Norsemen were the last of the barbaric tribes to terrorize Europe. They spread from their homeland in Scandinavia, striking out by sea, raiding and pillaging territories. They were known for being ruthless and ferocious people.

They eventually took over a large part of the Baltic coast and a part of inland Russia. Apart from their discovery of Iceland and eventual settlement in the 9th century, they also attacked England in the same century effectively ruling it for two years. An attack was also directed at France, who after 2 years of war, finally fought off their assailants, which allowed them to loot western France unimpeded.

The raids died down nearing the end of the 10th century with kings focusing on running their countries more than expanding. The spread of Christianity also weakened the old warrior values entailed by their mythology and in many places, the mythology was absorbed and diluted by local cultures. However, there are still records of the myths of the Norsemen, from sources like Iceland, where great interest was taken in their Scandinavian past after conversion.

Norse mythology was the religion of Norway, Sweden and Denmark before Christianity. Also known as Scandinavian mythology or Viking mythology, it told of conflict between gods, as they maintained order. Myths also told of monsters who posed threats to bringing back the primeval chaos in the world. It reflected the culture of the restless people who were accustomed to war and insecurity, along with internal warfare and harsh weather.

Many days of the days of the week are named after norse gods. Wednesday is named after Woden, the father of the Gods, Thursday after Thor, the god of thunder, and Friday after Freya, the wife of Woden. Works such as JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung are heavily based on this fascinating mythological system. For example, elements such as "Middle Earth" in the Lord of the Rings were borrowed directly from the mythology of the Norse (Middle Earth being a translation of Midgard).

The main sources of Norse Mythology today are from the Poetic Eddas, and the Volsung Saga. However, due to the fact that the Poetic Eddas are more comprehensive, we have decided to focus more on them in this site.

Yggdrasil- The World Tree
Norse mythology revolves around an ever green ash tree of prodigious dimensions, on which the universe is supported, Yggdrasil. It is the axis of the world, the mighty ash, the giver of life and immortality, though there is no myth which described the creation of Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil probably means Horse of Ygg, one of Odin's names. He was said to have hung in agony from the tree, to gain power over the runes, which brought knowledge to those who could interpret them.

The great ash tree held together the three planes that made up the world. On the first layer were the worlds Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim. On the second layer were Midgard, Jotunheim, Nidavellir and Svartalfheim. On the third and bottomost layer were Hel and Nifelheim. The tree passed from the depths of the underworld through the world of men and into the sky, overshadowing the halls of Valahalla.

Near the root which penetrated Niflhel, the underworld, gushed forth the fountain Hvergelmir, the source of the primitive rivers where time was measured in its laughter. The second root plunged into the land of giants, covered with frost and ice. There flowed the fountain Mimir, the source of hidden wisdom. The third and last root overhung the fountain of the wisest of the Norns, Urd. Each day, Urd drew water from the well, and sprinkled the ash tree with its water so the tree would not wither.

In the highest branches dwelled the golden cock, representing vigilance, surveying the horizon, warning the gods whenever their ancient enemies, the Giants, prepared to attack them. On the bough was the eagle and serpent, who represented light and dark in perpetual conflict, which created the phenomenon of night and day, with light usurping darkness, but falling to it all the same. The nimble squirrel Ratatoskr, the mischief-maker, constantly created strife between the two powers.

Under the branches of the great ash tree, the horn of the god Heimdall was hidden. One day this trumpet would sound to announce the final battle of the Aesir against all those who wished to cause their downfall. Near the trunk was the place where the gods met daily to render justice, and in its branches, Heidrum, the goat browsed. She gave Odin's warriors not milk, but mead, from which they were nourished.

Malevolent demons constantly schemed to destroy Yggdrasil. The serpent Nidhogg, lurked under the third root and gnawed at it ceaselessly. Four stags wandered among its foliage and chewed off all the buds, later becoming the fall winds, creating winds upon earthly lands. Their efforts to remove the buds were never fast enough as new ones would grow at each moment, thanks to the care and attention of the Norns.

Yggdrasil symbolized the battle between light and dark. It was the subject of constant decay and renewal. It was in its extensive foliage the immortal beasts enacted their cyclic routine, and was the stage for universal notions such as life, time and destiny.

Creation
At the beginning, there was nothing but a void called Ginnungagap, meaning beginning gap. Along with this was Niflheim, the land of fog and ice, in the north, and Muspelheim, the land of fire, in the south.

There was a spring from the north, called Hvergelmir, from which *eleven ice-cold rivers flowed, called the Elivagar. The rivers froze layer upon layer, filling the vast chasm of Ginnungagap. From the south, sparks and glowing embers filled the chasm, causing portions of the frozen rivers to melt. From this slush and heat, life emerged in the shape of a primeval giant who received the name of Ymir. And from Ymir came the dreadful brood of the frost giants, whom Ymir engendered by sweating a male and female from under his arms, and a son from both his legs when he slept.

From the melting rime also came the cow Audhumla, who fed Ymir with four rivers of milk that flowed from her teats. Audhumla got nourishment by licking the salty ice. From where she licked, a man's hair appeared on the first day, a whole head by the second, and by the third day, a whole man was freed from the ice and thus came the God Buri, and fathered Bor, who in turn fathered Odin, Vili, and Ve.

There was a lot of conflict between Ymir's children and the children of Bor. Odin finally led his brothers to killing the giant, Ymir, igniting the enemity between the gods and the giants in times to come. The flood from Ymir's blood killed all the giants, except Bergelmir and his family, who escaped in the first boat, out of a hollowed tree trunk, and ending up in Jotunheim, land of the giants.

After killing Ymir, Odin then led his brother to dragging the corpse into Ginnungagap, where Ymir's flesh became the earth and his blood, the sea. The mountains were his bones, and the trees were his hair. Maggots in his flesh became the dwarves and the dark elves. The world of dwarves was known as Nidavellir, and the world of the dark elves was called Svartalfheim. They lived deep in the earth, mining ore and minerals below mountains and hills. Some creatures living in the soil became the light elves, and were placed in the world known as Alfheim.

The brothers took Ymir's skull and made it into the sky over the earth, having a dwarf at each corner marking the four cardinal directions. They then took the sparks from the south and cast them into Ginnungagap to form the stars, the sun and the moon. Ymir's brains were cast into the air to become clouds. A world was made for the giants, known as Jotunheim, and another for the purpose of protecting the world from the giants. It was made from Ymir's eyebrows and was called Midgard.

Humans were created when Odin and his brothers were enthralled by two beautiful trunks along a sea shore, and set about to bringing life to them. Odin granted them a soul. Vili granted them motion and sense, whilst Ve granted them being and blooming hue. The beings were called Ask and Embla, and were given Midgard, to live in.

Next, the gods created night and day. Night was a beautiful giant with dark complexion and black hair. Her first husband was called Naglifari, and their son was Aud, following which she married Annar and birthed a daughter, Earth. Lastly, she married Delling, with a son called Day. Odin gave horses and chariots to Night and Day, for them to ride across the heavens.

The sun and the moon were guided across the heavens by Mundilfari's children. The children were so fair and beautiful that they were called Sun and Moon. The gods, enraged by the Mundilfari's arrogance, put the children into the sky to drive forward the sun and moon in chariots. The daughter, Sun, commanded the chariot of the sun, drawn by the horses Arvak and Alsvidh. The moon was driven across the sky by the son, Moon, with the horse Aldsvider. Both brother and sister could never stop, for they were chased by the wolves Skoll and Hati.
With the earth completed, the gods set out to create a home for themselves. The built a stronghold for themselves in the middle of the world, and called it Asgard. The bridge, Bifrost, was built to connect Asgard and Midgard. It served to guard against the giants and was said to be the rainbow linking heaven and earth.

War Between the Aesir and Vanir
Gullveig was a member of the earth gods, the Vanir, and she loved gold and talked about it all day. Tired of hearing her endless ravings the Aesir, the sky gods, bound her in Odin's hall and speared her. They burned her three times with her being reborn, however. Enraged by this, the Earth gods demanded reparation from the Aesir, wanting equal status, which they were not duly given.

In retaliation, the Aesir instead waged war upon the more peaceful Vanir. The Vanir gained an upper hand in the war, with their assailants suffering defeat upon defeat. Finally, after much consideration, the Aesir finally agreed to end their hostility and grant the Vanir equal status to the Vanir.

When they all made peace, all the gods spat into a vessel, creating a wise giant, Kvasir, which later led to the creation of the magic mead. To ensure peace was kept, there was an exchange of hostages. On the side of the Vanir, they gave Njord and his son Freyr as hostages, accompanied by Kvasir, the wisest of the Vanir. The Aesir gave Vili (Odin's brother) and Mimir, the wisest of the Aesir, as hostages.

The Vanir, happy with the exchange and with their new status, soon found out that Vili was not as wise as the Aesir had said him to be, and that all along, Mimir had deceived them by giving Vili advice. They felt cheated and thus decapitated Mimir, and returned his head to the Aesir. The Aesir did not retaliate and Odin had Mimir's head preserved and used it to gain knowledge.

The Aesir were pleased with their hostages, and they were greatly honoured by the gods, eventually giving them places among the Aesir. This resulted in the conversion of the gods from the Vanir, to the Aesir.

The Mead of Poetry
Following the war and eventual peacemaking between the Aesir and the Vanir, the wise giant who was created during the war, Kvasir, went throughout the world teaching people using his great knowledge. Unfortunately, two dwarves, Fjalar and Galar, were irritated by the giant's constant teachings. They killed the giant and mixed his blood with honey. This created a mead known as the magical mead of inspiration which allowed anyone who drank it to gain proficiency in poetry.

The dwarves later got to know a giant known as Gilling. When their boat capsized, Gilling drowned. In order to silence his wife, the dwarves also killed Gilling's wife. However, the giant, Sutting, on hearing of his parents' murder, captured the two dwarves, only releasing them when they had given up the mead as compensation.

Sutting knew the magical properties of the magic mead, and he knew that the Aesir would want the magic mead. He kept the three vats of the precious mead in his treasure chamber beneath a mountain, locking his daughter up with it as a guard.

When Odin found out about the existence of the magic mead through the head of Mimir, he set out the next day to obtain the mead. He found himself at Sutting's castle, and by trickery, killed Sutting's brother's nine farmers. Left with crops to be harvested and no men to do so, Sutting's brother, Baugi, agreed to Odin, who was in disguise, to give him a drink of the mead, if he helped Baugi harvest the crops.

After Odin had done so, he demanded his reward from Baugi, but Sutting would not allow Baugi to give the reward. Eventually, Baugi agreed to help Odin get the mead without his brother's knowledge. Odin gave him a magical auger, and tricked him into boring a hole through a wall of the treasure chamber where the mead was kept. Once the hole was done, Odin turned into a snake and went into the hole. Realizing he had been tricked, the giant tried to kill Odin but failed.

Now inside the treasure chamber, Odin found Gunnlod, Sutting's daughter. He turned himself into a handsome young giant, and, with three kisses, managed to coax the gullible Gunnlod into allowing him to drink and empty the three vats in which the mead was stored. When he managed to get her to open the door of the chamber, Odin immediately turned into an eagle and flew off. Realising that she had fallen into his trap, she screamed. Upon learning what had happened, Sutting turned himself into an eagle and chased after Odin.

Back in Asgard, the Aesir were waiting for Odin. When the form of the eagle finally appeared over the horizon, they took out three large vats as they were instructed, and placed them in an open area. When the eagle landed on the pavement in Asgard, there was a flash and Odin emerged with the three vats full of the mead. As the sun rose and its beams touched the wings of the pursuing eagle, it came crashing down to the ground, as a lump of stone.

And Odin said, "So shall it be with all the Giant kind. If the sun shines upon them in the holy land of Asgard, the evil that is in them shall weigh them down, and they will turn into stone."

And so, the Aesir rejoiced as they took a drink each, of the mead of poetry.

The Arrival of Loki
Loki was not part of the Aesir until Odin had sworn him as a blood brother. Before that, the two had met in Midgard. This tells the story of the first meeting between Odin and Loki, and also is an important stepping-stone in Loki's acceptance into the Aesir.

One day, while Odin and Hoenir were travelling Midgard in disguise observing the ways of men, they were approached by a half giant who came up to them and called the disguised Aesir by their names. He was in fact a cousin of Odin. He implored them to give him a chance, to prove himself worthy to be a part of the Aesir, and so they travelled together.

They had been wandering over mountains and valleys where food was scarce, and finally came to a herd of oxen grazing. Thus, they killed one of the oxen and tried to cook it, but however hot the fire was, they never seemed to be able to cook the ox. A great eagle suddenly made its presence known nearby. It gave them the choice, that if he were to help them cook the ox, he would be able to have his fill before the gods. They agreed to the eagle's proposition thinking it would not eat much.

After cooking the meat the eagle proceeded to eat his portion, but it did not show any signs of stopping even after it had finished much of the ox. Enraged, Loki shouted out at the eagle, who ignored him. Left with no other choice, Loki struck the eagle with a stick, which got stuck in the eagle's feathers. At this, the eagle took off, dragging along Loki who was holding on to the stick.

The eagle flew over mountains and valleys, and Loki was terrified. He begged the eagle to let him down, and the eagle, who revealed himself to be Thiassi, the storm giant, gave him the condition of luring Iduna out with her golden apples. Loki promised he would try his best to do so, and with that the eagle returned him to his company.

Lying to Odin and Hoenir, Loki told them that the eagle was just trying to punish him. Convinced, they proceeded home, with Loki living in Midgard near the Bifrost Bridge. His promise unfulfilled, the storm giant would later cause the kidnap of Iduna.

Iduna's Apples
When the world was still young, there came a summer when a handsome young man, who played a golden harp and sang sweetly, came to Asgard by boat. As he drew nearer, the Aesir heard him and gathered at the Bifrost Bridge to meet him. Before the minstrel reached the bridge, the earth opened before him and out emerged a young maiden carrying a casket of gold. The minstrel reached out his hand, and took her hands in his, and together they came to the bridge, hand in hand.

The minstrel introduced himself as Bragi, son of Odin and Gunnlod, during Odin's stay in the treasure chamber while getting the mead of poetry. The maiden with him was his bride to be, Iduna, and she held in her golden caskets the Apples of Youth, which she would give to the Aesir. Odin, by his powers of divination, had known of their arrival, and welcomed them into Asgard.

So their wedding took place that day and that evening, and every evening thereafter. She would move about gracefully giving a single apple to each of the Aesir, for her basket of apples was never exhausted.

Loki, who remembered his promise to the Storm Giant Thiassi, lured Iduna out one day, tricking her in her pure innocence that there were better apples then hers, that she could collect for the Aesir. When she came out to look for the apples the next day, a giant eagle swept down and carried her into the land of the giants, Jotunheim, where she was kept in a high tower until she gave the Apples of Youth to the storm giant.

No one in Asgard knew what had happened to Iduna. Bragi grew sad and depressed at the loss of his wife. The Aesir felt age sinking in with the loss of Iduna's apples. It took a while before Odin found out, through one of his ravens, where Iduna was kept. Therefore Odin appointed Loki to set out to regain Iduna, but not before making Loki his blood brother.

Loki, however contradicted, set out to regain Iduna, and did so by turning into an eagle and flying into the high tower to save Iduna. Thiassi found out and chased Loki in hot pursuit. Thiassi was finally defeated when he fell into Loki's trap and ended up in a fire on the threshold of Asgard.

So Iduna was back, and the apples returned. Soon thereafter, Thiassi's children demanded revenge from the Aesir. Not wishing to have the storm giants wreak havoc in Midgard, the Aesir agreed to give Skadi, Thiassi's daughter, the hand of one of the Aesir. She chose Njord, and much later they bore their own children, Freyr and Freyja.

The Fortification of Asgard
When the gods established their realm of Asgard, they needed fortifications around it to protect it. One day, a skilled craftsman, who was really the giant Hrimthurs in disguise, arrived at the bridge to Asgard and told Heimdall that he had a plan for the gods. Odin gathered the Aesir to listen to the plan. The craftsman said that he would build the fortifications in eighteen months, and as payment, he would take the sun, the moon, and the goddess Freyja as his wife.

Enraged by his demands on the goddess Freyja, Odin bid the craftsman leave, but Loki however implored the gods not to be too quick in making the decision, for he had a plan too for the craftsman. Loki's plan was to pose the impossible task of completing the fortifications in one winter, failing which no payment was to be given, and the gods would have a part of the fortifications already done. Thinking the craftsman would not be able to complete it, the gods agreed to Loki's plan.

The craftsman was rather hesistant, though he finally agreed when the gods allowed him to enlist the help of his horse, Svadilfari.

Progress on the fortifications was amazingly quick, with the giant's horse helping him move large blocks of rock quickly. A few days before the deadline, the wall was almost done. In such a situation, the gods blamed Loki for persuading them to agree to the plan and forced him to come up with a solution. Loki, being ever cunning, was not without another plan. He transformed himself into a beautiful mare and distracted Svadilfari. The giant lost control of his horse and thus without Svadilfari, he was not able to complete the fortifications before the given deadline.

Raging over his lost wager, the giant revealed his giant form and threatened to destroy everything in Asgard. When it was clear that the giant indeed was from Jotunheim, the Aesir called upon Thor, who killed the giant with his hammer, Mjollnir.

A few months later, Loki returned to Asgard with a young colt that had eight legs. The young horse was the offspring of Svadilfari and Loki whilst he was a mare. Odin adopted the colt and named him Slepinir, which would later become the magical steed of Odin.

The Binding of Fenris
Odin knew enough of the future to know that one of the Aesir would prove a traitor, and no one proved to be more likely than Loki, since he was born as a giant. While sitting on Lidskialf, looking over the world, Odin spied far into the land of Jotunheim, and saw Loki playing with three monsters. Odin immediately summoned Loki, and questioned him about the event. The sly Loki evaded the severe tone of Odin's voice, and told Odin that he had fallen in love with a giant called Angerboda, and together had given birth to three strange children.

Odin reproached Loki for his relationship with the giants, and summoned his three children to Asgard. The three children came, Hel, Jormungand the serpent and Fenris the wolf. Not wishing to kill them and by so bringing Ragnarok forth, Odin sent Hel down to be the Queen of the underworld. He threw the serpent into the sea where he grew until he encircled the world, to become known as the Midgard serpent. Then he set about to the task of binding the giant wolf, Fenris, whom he knew was destined to kill him.

The Aesir made a strong chain called Laeding. They then got Tyr to challenge Fenris to break the chain. Fenris just sneered at the chain, and took up the offer willingly, after which he broke the chain into a thousand pieces, which came falling onto the ground. The seond chain was Dromi, which similarly was offered to Fenris, and which was broken with much ease, on the part of the giant wolf.

Realizing they were unable to make a chain strong enough to hold Fenris, the Aesir turned to the dwarves, who agreed to make them a chain. They created a light and soft chain, Gleipnir, made of impalpable things such as the sound of a cat's footstep, the beard of a woman, the roots of a rock, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish and the spittle of a bird. They then went to try Fenris one more time.

Sensing dark magic with Gleipnir, Fenris refused to be bound by the chain unless someone put his hand in his open mouth as a pledge of good faith. Tyr bravely stood forward and offered himself. They then set about to the binding.

However Fenris struggled, the chain did not break, but it only grew stronger and tighter around him. Realising he was finally bound, the Aesir laughed with joy and relief, all except Tyr, who had lost his hand.

They bound the Wolf around solid rock and drove it deep into the earth. Thor placed a sword in his mouth to stop him from biting and howling. There he would lie bound, until the day of Ragnarok.

Forging the Treasures
Loki was angry over Thor's involvement of the binding of Fenris, and in a fit of anger, he sneaked into Thor's place and cut off the beautiful golden hair of Thor's wife, Sif. When Thor discovered Sif weeping and saw her hair, he immediately guessed Loki had done it and went out in search of Loki. Loki did not expect that anyone would suspect him and as such, had stayed in Asgard. It was only when Thor stormed over to him and grabbed hold of him, when he realized it was too late. Thor threatened to kill Loki unless he would be able to put back Sif's hair. Loki agreed and immediately set out in search of the dwarves.

Loki went to the makers of Gleipnir, the sons of Ivaldi. Knowing that honour and glory among the Aesir would ensue, the dwarves straight away set out to spin gold into hair, and enchanting it so it would grow like it were natural hair. Along with it, they created the spear Gungnir, as a gift for Odin, which was a spear that would never miss. They also created Skidbladnir, a ship, which could sail over land, sea and air, and could be folded small enough to be carried in one's hand.

Another dwarf oversaw what had happened, and wagered that his brother could make better treasures. Loki took him on, asking him to make treasures, which would be brought before the Aesir and judged alongside the treasures of the sons of Ivaldi.

The dwarves created three other treasures. They were Draupnir, a ring that would reproduce itself eight times on every ninth night. Gullinbusti, the boar which could run better than any horse, and lastly but far from the least, Mjollnir, the great hammer for Thor.

The Aesir discussed before Odin, that Mjollnir was the most valuable gift as it was the best weapon against the giants. Odin declared Loki had lost the wager, and as penalty, Loki's lips were sewn together by the dwarves, who thought Loki spoke way too much. The Aesir, seeing the sport, laughed merrily and in jest at the poor Loki, who quickly retired to his chamber. There, Loki tore away the crude thread. His lips would henceforth be scarred, and his smile was of evil, whence it had only been of cunning before.

Freyja's Necklace
Freyr and Freyja were the children of Njord and Skadi, those who had joined the Aesir after the war. Freyja was wedded to the handsome Odur whom she loved, and together they lived in the gardens of Asgard, and in their home Folkvanger, they had two beautiful daughters.

One day, Freyja wandered through Alfheim, the realm of the elves, where she came to the borders of Svartalfheim where the black dwarves had laid a trap. They had their forge open while making a necklace of pure gold, more beautiful than anything Freyja had seen before. It was the Brising Necklace. Freyja loved jewels, and on seeing it, she offered anything for the beautiful necklace. The dwarves refused all payment, except that she become their wife for a day each and then after the necklace would be hers. Foolishly, Freyja agreed.

So the four weddings were held in the realm of the dwarves, and no one knew what had happened except for Loki, who always seemed to know where there were scandals. So Freyja returned to Asgard, with the necklace, ashamed of what she had done. She dared not show anyone the necklace, and so hid the necklace in her chamber where no one could enter.

When Loki told Freyja's sweetheart, Odur about it, Odur was filled with disbelief of the mischievous Loki. Only if Loki were able to bring him the necklace, would he then believe his story. So Loki set out to retrieve the necklace. He turned himself into a fly and squeezed his way into Freyja's chamber while she was sleeping. When inside, he undid the clasp of the necklace around her neck, and stole out of the room with it. When Odur saw the necklace, he was overwhelmed with grief, and left Asgard that hour.

When Freyja awoke, she found the necklace gone and the door open. Knowing that the truth was out, she wanted to beg for Odur's forgiveness, but he had already left. As such, Freyja went to beg Odin for his intervention on the matter. Odin told Freyja to go and look for Odur, and she would wear the Brising Necklace, to remind her of her transgression. And so Freyja set out to look for her husband, only to return much later after her brother Freyr's marriage to Gerd.

The Wooing of Gerd
Freyr was worried when his sister, Freyja, left Asgard in search of Odur and never returned. Thus, he sneaked onto Odin's high chair, Lidskialf, one day, where he could see all the worlds. He did not manage to see Freyja, but in the land of the Rime Giants, he caught a glimpse of Gerd, the most lovely of the Rime giants. After a brief moment, she disappeared into her father's castle, and Freyr knew he was in love.

For a long period of time, Freyr was brooding and upset, refusing to tell anyone about what had happened. His friend, Skinir, finally learned the truth and set out to the land of the Rime giants, to ask for Gerd's hand. Gerd, on hearing the proposition, recalled a prophecy of her brother's death. Fearing the worst, she agreed to meet Skinir.

Skinir first offered Gerd eleven golden apples for Freyr's hand, but was turned down bluntly by her. He then threatened her with death, but still she refused. Finally, Skinir threatened Gerd with a spell that would torture her, and she finally relented. The lovers would meet in a peaceful copse in the woods, where they would be wed.

After three days of waiting, Freyr happily went to the woods, only to find Gerd's brother there. Gerd's brother would not allow the marriage to go on. After a brief battle, Freyr stabbed him with a horn, and proceeded to meet Gerd where they fell in love at first sight.

The Aesir and the Vanir gathered for the wedding. Freyja and Odur also attended, after Freyja had managed to beg for Odur's forgiveness for her infidelity. The celebration went all through the night.

Theft of Mjollnir
It was yet another morning in Asgard, when Thor ranted angrily as he shouted that his hammer was missing. At this, the Aesir summoned Loki, who then volunteered to find the hammer with the help of Freyja's feather cloak, which would allow him to fly. Loki flew to Jotunheim, to the palace of the Noise Giants, and from there Loki discovered that Thrym, king of the Noise Giants, had stolen Mjollnir, and which he would only return at the price of Freyja's hand in marriage.

The Aesir held council, not knowing what to do, for sacrificing Freyja would be too great a price to pay, but priceless yet was Thor's hammer. Finally, Heimdall came up with a plan to dress Thor up as Freyja, and to pass him off as the bride. Thor was appalled by the idea, but finally agreed, for there was no better way.

With Thor beneath a bridal veil and Loki dressed as a bridesmaid, the two left for Jotunheim. When Thyrm saw their chariot, he beckoned his men to prepare the feast in the great hall of the castle.

During the feast, the bride ate a whole ox, eight salmon and drank three casks of mead. Thyrm looked at the bride suspiciously, while Loki explained it was because she had not eaten or drank for three days, due to her excitement about the wedding. When the veil was raised, Thyrm saw the bride's glaring eyes, and once again, Loki explained that it was because she had not slept for eight nights for the excitement about the wedding.

Finally, the giant took out Mjollnir, the bride price, and laid it on the bride's lap. Once Mjollnir was in his hands, Thor threw off his disguise and slew the giants and together with Loki, they fled back to Asgard with the magical hammer, Mjollnir.

Thor's Journey to Utgard
The ruler of Utgard, a city in Jotunheim, invited Thor and Loki to visit Utgard, promising them safe conduct, with his messenger Skrymir. Not wishing to look afraid, Thor and Loki set off to meet Skrymir in Jotunheim. After journeying in his goat-driven chariot for the whole day, night fell and Thor and Loki sought shelter in a farmer's house where Thor slaughtered his goat and invited the farmer to join in the feast. Thor's goats were magical, and could be resurrected from their bones using Mjollnir but, ignorant to this, the farmer broke one of the bones to get to the marrow without Thor knowing.

The next morning, when Thor set out to resurrect his goat, he found one of them lame. Guessing what had happened, he flew into a terrible rage, which was only appeased when the farmer grew terrified and offered to atone for his mistake. In atonement, Thor took the farmer's two children, Thialfi and Roskva, and they set off together, to Jotunheim.

After travelling for the day, the company found themselves in the woods where they found a strange building. They settled themselves into the building but were awakened by an earthquake. Sensing danger, Thor guarded the entrance of the building whilst the rest of the party continued sleeping.

The next morning, Thor sought to look for the source of the earthquake, and found the largest giant he had ever seen. The giant awoke and Thor asked him for his name. He replied that he was Skrymir, and he was sent to meet Thor. The giant thought that the party were making off with his glove, as he picked up the building they had been in the previous night. It was then when Thor realized they had been sleeping in the giant's glove all along.

The party, together with Skrymir, travelled for yet another day, and that night they came to a huge oak tree where the giant slept whilst he bid Thor prepare supper from a sack he gave him. However, Thor was unable to budge any of the straps that tied the sack. Angry, Thor took his hammer and struck the giant on his head. Much to Thor's surprise, the giant woke up and complained that a leaf had fallen on his head, before going back to slumber as though nothing had happened.

At midnight, Thor was wakened from his sleep, by the giants snoring. Once again, he took his hammer and sunk it into the giant's head, but the giant only awoke, remarking that an acorn had fallen on his head. The next morning, Thor took a third try at slaying the giant but this time, although he had used all the energy he had, the giant was unharmed and he awoke with talk of bird droppings, oblivious to Thor's hammer. The giant parted that morning, after directing the party to the castle.

Utgardhaloki's Trickery
Utgardhaloki was the ruler of the castle of Utgard, the capital of Jotunheim. One day, a party consisting of Thor, Loki and two children, Thialfi and Roskva, arrived. Utgardhaloki then offered his guests a challenge in crafts and cunning. The first to stand up was Loki, who claimed he excelled in eating. So the king summoned a giant called Logi.

There was a huge wooden trough placed on the floor filled with food. Each person started eating from each end of the trough, and when the food was gone, Logi and Loki met each other in the middle. However, the king declared Logi the winner because he had eaten bones and plates, whereas Loki had only eaten flesh, leaving the bare bones on his dish.

Thialfi then put himself to a test of running, being a very fast runner. Utgardhaloki called upon the young giant, Hugi, to race with Thialfi. In the first heat, Hugi barely managed to beat Thialfi. The two then engaged in a second heat, in which Hugi managed to beat Thialfi by a quarter of the course. They then proceeded with the third heat, in which Hugi beat Thialfi by half the course. Thialfi had lost.

Thor was up next for a drinking contest. The king passed him a horn, and bid him finish it in one drink if he could, or in two for most giants took two draughts to finish it. A third draught was needed for a poor drinker, and worse still for those who needed more. The horn did not seem very big, and Thor intended to finish it in one draught, but tried as he may, Thor soon ran out of breath and when he looked back at the horn, the water had scarcely dropped a little. His next two drinks made greater progress, but at the end of three drinks, the horn was not empty, and Thor would not drink any more.

Embarrassed, Thor requested another contest, which required Thor to lift the king's big grey cat. Thor thought it simple enough, and he strode forward and tried to lift the cat, but after much trying, he did not manage to lift the cat, but only managed to lift one paw from the floor. At this, Thor grey angry, and requested a fight.

Utgardhaloki, not wanting to look as if he were bullying Thor, called for an old nurse called Elli, whom he could have a wrestling match with. However hard Thor pushed, the firmer Elli stood, and finally Thor lost his footing and fell to one knee. Utgardhaloki broke up the fight and bade Thor retire for the night, as it was getting late.

The next morning, the party left the castle and once they were clear away from the castle, Utgardhaloki asked Thor how his expedition had been. Thor confessed that he had been ashamed of his littleness. It was then when the king told Thor what had really happened. He revealed to Thor that he had tricked him with illusions. He told Thor that he was the giant Skrymir, on their way to the castle, and that the sack he had passed to him had iron made by the trolls, and therefore would had been impossible to untie. As for the three blows Thor had given Skrymir, they had been taken by a mountain, in which three gorges had been formed.

Loki had competed against wildfire under the guise of Logi, which was swift and clean in its consumption of the food. Thialfi had raced against thought, and no man could have otherwise run as fast as that. When Thor drank from the horn, he was drinking from the sea, and he caused a drop in the sea level, which would be remembered by the ever rising and falling of the sea levels. The king's cat was Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent itself, and while lifting its paw Thor had put the world in danger. Lastly, Elli, the nurse, was old age, and no one could resist old age.

On hearing all this, Thor was furious and prepared to kill Utgardhaloki, only to find the king gone, together with his castle, leaving only an open meadow. He returned to Asgard, and told his tale to the Aesir.

Balder's Death
Balder was the beautiful son of Odin and Frigg, and the most loved. He was wed to the lovely Nanna, and they lived in a palace of pure silver and rich gold, so blessed that nothing unclean could come within it. The men of Midgaard loved Balder too, for he had taught them the ways of herbs and other cures. Balder had a brother named Hod, who was blind, and though he was happy and merry all day long, Hod was quiet and sad, in his world of darkness. Regardless of that, the two were very close, and the brothers loved each other very much.

Odin knew that Balder's death marked the coming of Ragnarok, and when Balder told the Aesir that he frequently had nightmares and knew his end was coming, Odin was worried. He resurrected an old prophetess who told him that Balder's blind brother, Hod, would eventually slay Balder.

Frigg, hoping to avert the death of her son, had all things that grew out of the earth and the earth itself to swear an oath not to hurt Balder. Even poison and sicknesses had themselves sworn not to hurt Balder. Odin was of course comforted, although he knew that the web woven by the Norns could not be easily picked.

The Aesir themselves had discovered a new game. Finding themselves unable to hurt Balder, they took delight in throwing weapons at him, with the weapons bouncing off with Balder unhurt, for the oath they had sworn protected Balder. Loki looked on the gaiety of the Aesir with much distaste and he knew he just had to kill Balder.

So Loki disguised himself as an old woman, and approached Frigg to learn more about the oath. From there he found out that Frigg had not extracted an oath from the mistletoe, which she found too weak and small to harm Balder. With this information, Loki proceeded to pluck some mistletoe and enchanted it with runes which made it deadly. He then joined the party throwing stuff at Balder, and found Hod standing at a corner quietly.

When Loki asked him why he was not playing, he replied that he was blind and could not see Balder, and would not be able to join in. Loki thus gave the enchanted mistletoe to him, and guided his hand to throw the mistletoe at Balder. Hod, in all innocence, let Loki guide his hand and when the mistletoe was thrown, Balder fell dead.

When the gods saw this, some fell silent, whilst many wept. They knew Hod had no intention of hurting his brother, and would not raise their hands to hurt Hod.

Odin told Hermodur, the swiftest of the Aesir, to journey to Nifelheim, the land of the dead, and seek Balder's return from Hel, the queen of the dead. Hermodur returned with the news that if all creatures on the world were to weep for Balder, Balder would return among the Aesir. Messages were sent out all over the worlds, and all creatures from men to trolls and even the giants wept for Balder. However, the giant Thokk refused to weep, even after much begging from Hermodur. When Hermodur told Odin, Odin was resigned to Balder's death, and he knew that Loki was no longer a friend of the Aesir, for he refused to weep for Balder.

The Binding of Loki
After causing Balder's death, Loki went into hiding, knowing that the Aesir had found out he had guided Hod's hand, and that he refused to weep for Balder. Loki, being as restless as he was, soon felt neglected as though the Aesir had forgotten about him. He decided to make his appearance once again before the Aesir.

It was the Festival of Harvest when he returned, and when Loki entered the hall, the hall grew silent as everyone looked at Loki. Bragi denied Loki a place at the table, but Odin intervened because he had once given the oath of brotherhood with Loki. However, while he sat at the table, Loki gave insults to everyone at the table, calling Bragi a coward for he had never fought in war before, calling Frigg faithless, for she were a lover of Odin's brothers, calling Freyja a hag for she had married the dwarves for a day for the Brising necklace and reminding Sif he had once cut off her golden hair.

At this, Thor grew angry and threatened to kill Loki there, but Odin restrained him, while Loki left the hall quietly. Once he was gone, the Aesir held council there and then on what should be done about Loki.

Loki by now knew the Aesir would be after him, and he fled to a hill with a good view of the surrounding lands, and a waterfall where he could hide in the form of a salmon. Loki knew that Aesir would not know how to make a net good enough to catch him, for only his friend, Ran, had such a net, and that Ran would never lend her net to the Aesir. However in his pride, he set to making a similar net, deeming it possible for him.

However, while he was making the net, he saw Thor coming up the mountain. Cursing, he threw the half made net into a fire and turned himself into a salmon and hid behind the waterfall. When the Aesir arrived, they knew Loki was nearby because Odin had seen him from his high chair. On seeing the net, Thor guessed what had happened and set out to making a net themselves, following the design of the half made net. When it was complete, they set about to drawing the river. When Loki saw he was trapped, he tried darting away from the net but touched it and the Aesir knew he was there.

The second time they used a weighted net so it would draw the whole volume of the river. Loki this time was trapped with the option of going to the sea, or jumping over the net, where Thor was waiting for him. Loki knew the sea was dangerous to salmon and that the Lord of the Sea would have many monsters waiting for him. He took the chance and leapt over the net but alas, he was caught by Thor, who squeezed his tail so hard that salmon today have flat tails.

The Aesir dragged him into a cave far below the world of men. Turning his son, Vali, into a wolf, and making Vali kill his brother Narfi. They used the guts of Narfi to bind Loki to three large slabs of rock. They also put a venomous serpent above Loki, dripping poison on him leaving him writhing in pain. Loki's faithful wife, Sigyn, held a bowl to catch the drops of venom, but whenever she left to empty the bowl the poison would drop onto Loki and he would send tremors across the worlds.

There Loki would lie, until the day of Ragnarok.

Ragnarok
Ragnarok was the end of the world, the destruction of the nine realms, and the death of most gods and men. The war was the final battle between good and evil, with Odin leading the good against Loki who led the giants and monsters. Yet, strange as it may be, the outcome of the final battle was already known to the gods through prophecies. But even as such, they went on to face their destiny, knowing that they could never avert their death.

Perhaps to delay Ragnarok, the Aesir decided to confine the three most powerful creatures that would come against them, all of which were offspring of Loki and the giantess Angerboda. They were Hel, the Midgard serpent and Fenris.

The gods confined Hel in one of the nine realms over which she had complete power. It was the underworld, Niflheim. So it came to be that Hel became the goddess of the dead, and slowly the names Niflheim and Hel came almost interchangeable.

The Midgard Serpent, otherwise known as Jormungand, was the largest serpent in the world. Once it was born, the Aesir threw it into the sea, where it grew so large as to encircle the entire earth, thus taking on the name, the World Serpent.

Fenris, the giant wolf, was bound by the gods at the cost of Tyr's hand, one of the gods. Fenris was to remain bound until Ragnarok, where he would finally be liberated.

A sign which preceded Ragnarok was the death of Balder, Odin's son. This was brought about directly by Loki, who was eventually bound to three rocks with poison dripped on him, causing much suffering to Loki. He was to be bound till Ragnarok, when he would break free and lead the giants against the gods.

When Ragnarok finally comes, winter and cold weather would last for three years, as the giant wolves Skoll and Hati would swallow the sun and moon. The worm Nidhogg, would finally gnaw away the root of Yggdrasil that supported Niflheim.

Loki and Fenris would escape their imprisonment, and Jormungand would escape his confinement in the sea. The giants from Jotunheim and from Muspelheim would finally wage war against the gods. Heimdall would sound his horn atop Yggdrasil, alerting the gods to call to arms and gather the slain heroes in the halls of Valhalla, to begin the epic war upon the plain of Vigrid.

Freyr, unarmed, would first fall to the flaming sword of Surt, the fire giant. Tyr managed to kill the hellhound Garm but later died from wounds. The match between Heimdall and Loki resulted in them killing each other. Thor managed to kill the Migard Serpent with his mighty hammer, but soon after he succumbed to poison from the serpent and died.

Odin contested Fenris with his spear Gungnir but fell prey to the wolf and was devoured. His son, Vidar, on seeing his father's death, grew so angry he bound upon the wolf and tore Fenris' jaws asunder. The nine worlds under Yggdrasil became a blazing inferno, with most of the inhabitants of the realms dying in a pit of flames as the earth sank into the sea.

Epilogue
With the ending of Ragnarok, new life would begin on earth. The earth would be green and fertile, flourishing vigorously. A new sun emerged, driven by the daughter of Sol, who Sol birthed before being consumed by the wolf at the beginning of Ragnarok.

Those of the Aesir and the Vanir that survived Ragnarok met where Asgard used to be, on the plain of Ida. Of the gods that survive, there would be Vidar and Vali, sons of Odin. The sons of Thor also would be there, and would inherit their father's great hammer, Mjollnir. Balder, and his brother Hod, would return to join the company while Hoenir would predict the future of this new world.

Odin's brothers, Vili and Ve, would be sent to the heavens to rule with the rest of the gods who fell during Ragnarok. There, they would meet and reminisce about Ragnarok.

A man and a woman took shelter under the great branches of Yggdrasil during Ragnarok, and managed to survive the calamity. They would be called Lif and Lifthrasir, and would be nourished by the fertile dew dropping from the tree, and gave birth to many children to repopulate the earth.

So it was as such the last chapter of time drew to a close, with a new beginning, where good and evil would still coexist, and where the gods once more resumed the roles they had played since the dawn of time. This is how it all ended, for it was how it all began.

Odin
Odin is the ruler of the universe and the leader of the sky gods, the Aesir. Coming under many names including Alfodur (father of all), Bolverk (evil doer) and Ygg. He served as the god of war, poetry, wisdom and death. Odin had two great halls, Valaskjalf and Valahalla. The first hall had a roof of pure silver and in it, his high seat, Lidskialf, from which he could see over all the world. The second hall was the hall of Valahalla where slain heroes waited in anticipation of Ragnarok.

Along with his brothers Ve and Vili, whose father was the giant Bor, they had a large part to play in the creation of the world out of chaos. He also fathered many Aesir gods. With his wife Frigg, he fathered Balder, Hod and Hermond. His eldest son, Thor, was offspring with a giantess, Fjorgyn. By another giantess, Grid, Odin fathered Vidar. He was also the father of Vali by the daughter of King Billing, Rind.

A trait of Odin, was his thirst for knowledge, knowledge which he desired so as to be able to salvage the world which he had helped to create. From the seer Sibyl and the Norns, he learned about Ragnarok, the final battle between the frost giants, where many of the Gods would perish including Odin himself. He had two ravens, Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory), who flew throughout the world, reporting to Odin news of happenings around the world.

He also sacrificed one of his eyes for the purpose of drinking from the Well of Knowledge, beneath one of the roots of the world tree. At one time, he hung himself from Yggdrasil for nine days, pierced by his own spear, thereby learning how to interpret the runes below the tree and thus having certain knowledge of the future. After the war between the Aesir and the Vanir, Odin preserved the head of Mimir, the wisest of the Aesir, with herbs, and thus gained knowledge by talking to the bodiless head. In one instance he gained knowledge in his quest for the mead of poetry.

Odin had a spear, Gungnir, which was made by the dwarves. He had a ring called Draupner (ring of power), which created nine of itself nightly. It was similarly created by the dwarves, this time by twins called Brokk and Eiti. He rode a horse with eight legs, named Sleipnir, which he accquired during the fortification of Asgard.

Odin was destined to die at Ragnarok, with Fenris swallowing him. Even in the knowledge of this, he persisted in doing battle. He was the god of war, wisdom, poetry and death, and the leader of the Aesir and the ruler of the universe.

Odin's two brothers, Ve and Vili, were rather unimportant figures, except when Vili was given as a hostage during the war between the Aesir and Vanir, and eventually, Vili was the only of the brothers who survived Ragnarok.

Thor
Thor was the god of thunder and lightning. Perhaps the mightiest of the gods, with his mighty war hammer Mjollnir, he crafted lightning bolts. The wheels of his chariot created thunder, drawn by two goats, Tanngniost (gap tooth) and Tanngrisnir (tooth grinder). He was the son of Odin and the giantess Jord.

Thor was married to Sif, a rather unknown character who most probably was a fertility goddess. He had two sons Magni and Modi, and a daughter, Thrud. A large bearded man, his strength was perhaps only rivaled by his son, Magni. He was notorious for his huge appetite, known to have eaten his goats, and brought the bones back to life by his hammer.

His major enemies were the giants who lived in Jotunheim, and the world serpent. With them came many tales like the tale of Thor fighting illusions, his fight with the giant Hrungnir, his brief confrontation with the world serpent and the theft of Mjollnir.

Thor had many magical devices, most famous of which was his magical war hammer Mjollnir, made by the dwarves, Brokk and Eiti. The hammer, when thrown, produced lightning after which it would magically return to his hands, because of his magical iron gloves, given to him by the giantess Grid. Thor also wore Meningjarpar, the girdle of might, which doubled his already huge strength. It too was given to him by Grid, alongside an unbreakable staff.

Thor was more popular even that Odin himself, chiefly due to the fact that he was potrayed as the protector of both gods and humans against the forces of evil, and he did not require human sacrifice unlike many other gods. He was also portrayed as a homely figure having no horse and instead travelled by foot.

The god, Thor, eventually would be killed at Ragnarok, when he was overcome by the poison of the world serpent he had slain.

The Trickster: Loki
The renowned trickster and shape-shifter, Loki was the offspring of the giants Farbautia and Laufey. He became an important member of the Aesir when Odin made Loki his blood brother, which also explained why none of the gods dared to harm Loki even after all his mischief. A god linked closely to fire and magic, he had a wife, Sigyn, and with her he fathered Narfi and Vali, the latter having the same name as one of Odin's children.

Loki was known for his mischief. He often put many gods in jeopardy by his actions, and later saving them through his cunning. He was a close companion of Thor and Odin, but yet fathered the monsters that would eventually kill them during Ragnarok: Jormungand, Fenris and Hel. All of the monsters were together with the giantess Angrboda. Loki also took the form of a mare and was thus the father of Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.

His many acts of mischief include the cutting of the hair of Thor's wife, Sif. Indirectly too, he had a part to play in the creation of many dwarf treasures. He nearly caused the loss of the sun and the moon, and the goddess Freyja, during the fortification of Asgard, which he managed to avert in time.

On a darker side, Loki was a malicious god who plotted the death of Balder, resulting in Loki's imprisonment. Loki was chained to three large boulders, with a poisonous snake dripping venom onto him. His faithful wife held a bowl trying to collect the dripping venom, but whenever she went to empty the bowl, the poison would drop on Loki, leaving him twisting in pain, sending out earthquakes across the world.

He would eventually break his chains on the day of Ragnarok, and lead the giants against the Aesir. There, he would die together with Heimdall, the guard of the Bifrost Bridge, where they were to slay each other.

Freyr and Freyja
Freyr and Freyja were brother and sister. The two were originally part of the Vanir before the war of the gods, after which they joined the ranks of the Aesir as hostages of peace. Both siblings were gods of fertility and in addition, Freyr was the god of light, rain and prosperity and Freyja was the goddess of love, beauty, magic, war and death.

Freyr had two gifts given to him by the dwarves. The first of the two was Gullinbusti, a wild boar which drew his chariot, and the second was Skidbladnir, the ship that could travel over air, sea and land. Freyr later married the giantess, Gerd, with a son named Fiolnir.

Freyja was beautiful beyond doubt, and was on many occasions the object of desire of the giant Thrym and the giant, Hrimthurs, who built the fortifications of Asgard. She herself was happily married to Odur. Upon her neck is the Brising necklace, reminding her of the time she agreed to marry four dwarves for a night each for the beautiful jewels. Odur left, and she went out to seek him, returning some time later. Freyja also had magical gifts, such as a cloak of feathers, which enabled her to take the form of a bird.

In Ragnarok, Freya would be the first to fall, unarmed against the fire giant Surt.

Other Gods
Balder: Son of Odin and Frigg. His death marked the nearing of Ragnarok, and when he finally died, the Aesir finally turned against the traitor, Loki, who killed him. He had a brother Hod.

Bragi: Son of Odin and giantess Gunnlod, Bragi was married to Iduna and was the god of eloquence.

Frigg: Wife of Odin. She was never jealous of Odin's affairs. She extracted an oath from everything except the mistletoe, which later caused Balder's death. She later tried to get him back from hell only to be thwarted by Loki.

Gullveig: One of the Vanir. Gullveig sparked the war between the Aesir and Vanir, because of her constant chatter about gold.

Heimdall: The guard of the Bifrost Bridge that linked Asgard to Midgard. On the day of Ragnarok he would blow the trumpet to herald the final battle between good and evil.

Hoenir: The member of the Aesir that was given to the Vanir, as part of the truce after the war. Hoenir was not as smart as the Aesir had promised him to be, and later the Vanir killed Mimir after they learned that Mimir was feeding Hoenir with answers.

Hod: Son of Odin and Frigg, he was the blind brother of Balder, and was guided by Loki to kill his brother unwittingly.

Njord: Originally the leader of the Vanir, Njord later joined the Aesir. His children were Freyr and Freyja, with his wife, the giantess Skadi.

Iduna: The bearer of the apples of youth, and wife of Bragi. A giant once captured her for her apples, in a ploy set up by Loki. Loki was later forced to rescue her.

Kvasir: The wisest of the Vanir who was later killed and turned into the mead of poetry.

Mimir: The wisest of the Aesir. He became a part of the Vanir through a hostage exchange, and was eventually killed. Odin kept his head preserved to gain knowledge from it.

Norns: The Norns were the goddesses of fate, and were responsible for guarding the Well of Urda. Together they wove the web of fate, which had power even over the gods.

Sif: Wife of Thor. Her golden hair was once cut off by Loki. Thor demanded Loki replace the hair, which led to the forging of the dwarven treasures.

Sol and Moon: The gods of the sun and moon respectively. They two would be devoured in the time of Ragnarok.

Tyr: The bravest of the Aesir, whose hand was bitten off by the Fenris wolf. He was eventually known as the one-handed god of war.

Valkyries: The Valkyries were not really gods, but they were immortal servants of Odin who brought back the souls of the greatest warriors who had died in the battlefield, to Odin's hall, Valahalla.

Vili, Ve: The brothers of Odin. They together helped breathe life into the first human. Vili was given to the Vanir as a hostage of peace, and was eventually killed by the Vanir.

The Giants
Angerboda: The giantess whom together with Loki, bore three children: Fenris, Hel and Jormungand.

Thrym: The giant that stole Thor's hammer in exchange for Freyja's hand in marriage. He was later killed by Thor.

Thiassi: The giant who abducted Iduna for her apples. When Iduna escaped and he tried to pursue her, he was killed by sunlight on entering Asgard.

Skadi: Daughter of Thiassi. When the Aesir killed her father, she wanted revenge, but was appeased by the Aesir's offer of a husband.

Grid: The giantess who gave Thor many gifts such as her girdle of might.

Gerd:The giantess who became Freyr's wife. Gerd was the daughter of the king of the Rime giants.

Sutting: The giant who got the mead of poetry from the dwarves who made it. It was later taken away from him by Odin.

Gunnlod: The daughter of Sutting who guarded the mead of poetry, and foolishly allowed Odin to obtain the mead.

The Creatures
Fenris: Offspring of Loki and Angerboda. Fenris the wolf, stayed at Asgard. He grew until the Aesir grew afraid of him afterwhich they bound him till the day of Ragnarok.

Garm: The hell hound guarding Hel. Garm and Tyr would kill each other at the day of Ragnarok.

Hel: Daughter of Loki and Angerboda. She rules the underworld, Niflheim, after Odin had sent her there.

Jormungand: Child of Loki and Angerboda. Odin threw the serpent into the sea surrounding the world where he grew until he curled right around the world. Also known as the Midgard Serpent.

Nidhogg: The giant serpent gnawing at the roots of Yggdrasil. At Ragnarok, the serpent would finally chew through a root.

Skoll and Hati: The two wolves who chase Sol and Moon around in their daily cycle. On the day of Ragnarok, the wolves would finally consume the gods.