Niflheim

Niflheim is one of the Nine Worlds, more specifically the primordial world of ice and frost. It was one of the first two worlds in existence, alongside Muspellheim. It is also known as the World of Dark Mist, and is the land from which eleven poisonous rivers run.
== Description ==
Niflheim is known as the land of ice and mist. It is barren and cold, with the highest temperature in the warm regions being 40 degrees below freezing. It is primarily made of ice, although there are black mountains which can host fortresses, like Skadi's.
Niflheim has a gigantic spring at its center, known as Hvergelmir. This pool is the mother of all rivers and springs, and is the source of eleven poisonous rivers that run through Niflheim. Hvergelmir is located directly underneath the third root of Yggdrasil, and is inhabited by Nidhogg, the great dragon that gnaws at the World Tree and trades insults with the eagle that lives at the top.
== History ==
=== Creation ===
Niflheim existed for all of eternity, along with Ginnungagap and Muspellheim. Eventually, its borders were melted by Muspellheim, the world of fire, causing a being known as Ymir to emerge from the ice, along with a cosmic cow known as Audhumla. Later on, Audhumla licked another being from Niflheim's ice, this being the ancestor of the gods, Buri. After the creation of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, Niflheim was attached to it.
=== Schism with Helheim ===
When Loki's three monstrous children were brought to Odin, he declared that Hel, one of the children, would rule over the dishonorable dead. He cast her into Niflheim, which eventually split so that part of it was her world, known as Helheim.
== Trivia ==
* If locations have Greco-Roman equivalents, Niflheim could be compared to Hyperborea, being lands of Frost Giants in perpetual sunshine.
* Niflheim translates to World of Mist or Home of Mist.
* It is explained in Ship of the Dead that Jotunheim and Niflheim have a close connection, both being realms of extreme cold and inhospitality. Therefore, it is easy to travel between them.
* Niflheim is often interchanged and confused with Helheim.