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Myths of the Nine Realms

Gods, monsters, and worlds of the North, sourced from the Eddas and modern scholarship. Season 1 of Realms of the Ascended is built on this pantheon; the articles note where.

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40 entries

A

Aegir and RanLord and Lady of the SeaAegir brews ale for the gods in a hall lit by gold; Ran drags the drowned down in her net. Together they are the Norse sea, hospitable and lethal.DeityThe Aesir-Vanir WarThe First War in the WorldVoluspa calls it the first war in the world. Gullveig burned three times, Odin cast the first spear, and the truce reshaped the Norse pantheon.EventAsgardRealm of the AEsirThe stronghold of the AEsir. A walled citadel of halls at the top of the world tree, reached by the rainbow bridge and built on a bargain the gods broke.Realm

B

BaldrGod of LightGod of Light. The most beloved of the Aesir, made immune to all harm but one plant — and killed by it, which set the world's ending in motion.DeityBifrost (The Rainbow Bridge)The Burning Bridge to AsgardThe burning rainbow bridge from earth to Asgard. Strongest thing ever built, guarded by Heimdall - and fated to shatter under the riders of Ragnarok.ConceptBragiGod of Poetry and SkaldshipNorse god of poetry and eloquence, husband of Idunn, who greets fallen kings at Valhalla's door and may have begun as a real ninth-century skald.DeityBrisingamenNecklace of FreyjaFreyja's necklace. A torc famous enough to reach Old English verse — worn by Thor in disguise, stolen by Loki, and fought over by Heimdallr as a seal.Artifact

D

The Death of BaldrThe First TragedyThe first tragedy. A god made invulnerable by oath, killed by the one plant nobody asked — the murder that starts the clock on Ragnarok and cannot be undone.EventDraupnirThe Dripping RingThe dripping ring. Odin's gold arm-ring, which sheds eight more of its own weight every ninth night — burned on Baldr's pyre, and sent back from Hel.Artifact

F

FenrirThe Bound WolfThe Bound Wolf. Loki's son, raised among the gods and chained by a trick that cost Tyr his hand — until Ragnarok, when he devours Odin.CreatureFreyja (Freya)Lady of the VanirLady of the Vanir. Goddess of love, war, gold and seidr magic — often spelled Freya — who claims half of the battle-slain for her own hall.DeityFreyr (Frey)Lord of Harvest, Peace and PlentyVanir god of harvest, peace and kingship. Owner of the golden boar Gullinbursti, he traded away his sword for love and pays for it at Ragnarok.Deity

G

GleipnirThe Binding RibbonThe binding ribbon. A silk-soft cord spun from six impossible things — the only fetter that ever held Fenrir, and it cost Tyr his sword-hand to fasten.ArtifactGungnirSpear of OdinOdin's spear. Dwarf-made, rune-carved, and thrown over an army to hand it to the god of the hanged — the weapon that starts the first war in the world.Artifact

H

Heimdall (Heimdallr)Watchman of the GodsWatchman of the Gods. Born of nine mothers, he guards the rainbow bridge, hears wool grow on sheep, and will sound the horn that begins the end.DeityHelQueen of the DeadQueen of the Dead. Half living woman and half corpse, Loki's daughter rules the cold realm where those who die of sickness and age must go.CreatureHelheimThe Cold UnderworldThe cold underworld. Down and to the north, past a gold-roofed bridge and a gate that does not open twice, the hall where most of the Norse dead actually go.RealmHuginn and MuninnOdin's RavensThought and Memory. Odin's two ravens fly the whole world each day and report at his ear - and he admits he fears losing Memory more.Creature

I

Idunn (Idun)Keeper of the Apples of YouthNorse goddess who guards the apples that keep the gods young. Her abduction by the giant Thjazi ages the whole pantheon and forces Loki to fetch her back.Deity

J

JormungandrThe World SerpentThe World Serpent. Loki's monstrous child, cast into the ocean until it grew to ring all Midgard and bite its own tail. Thor's appointed enemy.CreatureJotunheimLand of GiantsLand of the giants. The wild country east of the fence, older than the gods, holding the wisdom and the brides the AEsir keep going out to take.Realm

L

LokiThe TricksterThe Trickster. Shape-shifter of giant blood counted among the gods — their cleverest ally, the father of monsters, and the spark of Ragnarok.Deity

M

MidgardRealm of MankindThe middle enclosure. The human world, built from a murdered giant's body, fenced by his eyebrows, and ringed by a serpent that will one day let go of its tail.RealmMjolnirHammer of ThorHammer of Thor. Dwarf-forged, short in the handle, it strikes like lightning, hallows oaths and the dead, and always returns to the hand that throws it.Artifact

N

NidhoggrGnawer of RootsGnawer of roots. The dragon chewing the world tree from below, feeding on oath-breakers, and flying up out of the dark in the last stanza of Voluspa.CreatureThe Nine RealmsThe Worlds of YggdrasilThe Worlds of Yggdrasil. Norse sources count nine worlds on the world tree — but no medieval text ever lists them, and the familiar roster is modern.ConceptNjord (Njörðr)God of the Sea, Wind and WealthVanir god of harbours, wind and wealth. Sent to the Aesir as a hostage; father of Freyr and Freyja; husband of a mountain giantess, briefly.Deity

O

OdinThe AllfatherThe Allfather. God of war, poetry and the dead who traded an eye for wisdom and hanged himself on the world tree to win the runes.Deity

R

RagnarokThe Twilight of the GodsThe Twilight of the Gods. The prophesied end: a killing winter, the breaking of every bond, a battle no one survives — and an earth that rises again.Event

S

SifThe Golden-Haired, Wife of ThorThor's golden-haired wife, whose shorn hair forced Loki to commission the dwarf-made treasures of the gods, Mjolnir among them.DeitySkadi (Skaði)Goddess of Winter, Skis and the BowGiantess turned goddess of winter and the hunt. She came armed to Asgard for her father's blood-price and chose a husband by his feet alone.DeitySleipnirOdin's Eight-Legged SteedThe grey eight-legged horse Loki bore as a mare. Best of all steeds, Odin's mount between the worlds, and the only horse to jump the gate of Hel.CreatureSurtrThe Fire GiantThe Black One. The fire-giant who comes from the south at Ragnarok with a sword brighter than the sun, and burns the whole world to the ground behind him.Creature

T

ThorGod of ThunderGod of Thunder. Son of Odin and the earth, wielder of Mjolnir, and the gods' front line against the giants — fated to fall with the World Serpent.DeityTyrGod of Sacred LawGod of Sacred Law. Once perhaps the sky-father of the north, remembered chiefly for putting his sword hand into a wolf's mouth and losing it.Deity

U

UllrGod of the Bow and the SkiThe Norse god of the bow, the ski and the shield. Almost no myth about him survives, yet place-names suggest he was once worshipped everywhere.Deity

V

ValhallaHall of the SlainHall of the Slain. Odin's roof of shields where the chosen dead feast, fight, and are healed each night — an army kept in reserve for Ragnarok.RealmValkyriesChoosers of the SlainChoosers of the Slain. Odin's riders who decide who dies in battle and carry the chosen to Valhalla — battlefield spirits before they were shieldmaidens.Creature

W

WyrdThe Weave of FateThe weave of fate. The Germanic idea that what happens has already turned — laid down at a well by the norns, binding gods and men alike.Concept

Y

YggdrasilThe World TreeThe World Tree. The great ash whose roots reach three wells and nine worlds, tended by the norns, eaten from every side, and still standing when the sky burns.Realm