Asgardian Creation

At first there was only a great void. To the north of the void was a region of mist and ice, Nifleheim, and to the south a region of fire, Muspellheim.

The Asgardian Creation – Where the two realms met, the heat melted the ice and formed a great frost giant, Ymir. He created a race of giants and, from glacial ice, a cow to feed them.

The cow was fed on briny ice, and, as she licked the ice, she uncovered a being name Buri. Upon being uncovered, Buri immediately produced a son, Bor, who had three godly sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve. As soon as the giants became aware of the gods, they started a war, which was ended when the three gods killed Ymir. After killing Ymir, Odin and his brothers made the earth from the frost giant’s body and the vault of the heavens from his skull. From the maggots in Ymir’s body, they created dwarves.

This done, Odin and his brothers created the home of the gods, Asgard, in the plane of Gladsheim. Then Odin created more gods, the Aesir, to populate Asgard. Another group of gods,the Vanir, appeared either shortly before or after the Aesir. Their origins are rather mysterious, but they seem to have populated Vanaheim, a land close to Asgard. For a time, a terrible war raged between the Aesir and the Vanir. A peace was finally arranged when the two groups agreed to exchange hostages.  The Vanir sent Niord, Frey, and Freya to live with the Aesir, and the Aesir sent Hoenir and Mimir to live with the Vanir.

After establishing themselves in Asgard, Odin, Vili, and Ve created the first man, Ask, from an ash tree. They created the first woman, Embla, from an elm. Then Odin gave them each a spirit, Vili endowed them with their five senses and the ability to move, and Ve gave them life and blood.

The entire plane of Gladsheim is supported by a giant ash tree, Yggdrasil. Its roots extend to Nifleheim (now a frozen netherworld), Jotunheim (home of the giants), Midgard (earth), and Asgard itself. The Midgard serpent surrounds the earth, devouring anyone who attempts to pass out of Midgard. Another giant serpent, Nidhogg, gnaws at the roots of the tree. When he finally kills the tree, at the end of time, the entire structure will collapse.

As Nidhogg gnaws away the last root of Yggdrasil, the giants and their allies will rise up against the gods. In a terrible battle called Ragnarok, they will defeat Odin, the other gods, and all the great warriors who have been living in Odin‘s hall of Valhalla. At this point, Yggdrasil will collapse, and the cosmos will come to an end.