Aesir

***The Aesir are a minor faction who appear as supporting characters.***

***The Aesir***, also known as the ***Norse Gods***, were a race of powerful, trans-dimensional beings who ruled over the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil, residing in their native realm of Asgard. Led by the benevolent Odin, they also served as the protectors of their dimension, eradicating any threat that came across them. Essentially consisting of war gods, the Aesir were all fierce deities who were considired the greatest warriors of the Nine Realms.

Tragically, the Aesir’s rule wouldn’t last forever, as one of their own, the god of mischief Loki, would betray them and slaughter most of them during the War on Asgard. The very few who survived Loki’s carnage would sacrifice themselves to imprison their treachreous former ally in a prison protected by their very own bodies. Despite this, one of their own managed to survive, and would try to conquer a new world and try to turn it into a new Asgard.

Due to having died off centuries ago, the Aesir are no longer worshipped by the denizens of Yggdrasil, and most of them view them as a mere myth. Nevertheless, their history is still remembered to the present day and some of their traditions are still held by the other realms.

History

*Power of the Gods: The Call of Yggdrasil*

Background

The Aesir originated in Ginnungagap, the primordial darkness that predated existence. They were created after the fires of Muspelheim and the ice of Niflheim merged to form divine, powerful beings. As soon as they sprung into existence, the Aesir realized their purpose in life: to fight. Their first duel was to decide who would lead them. The eldest of them, Odin, won their contest, after proving himself worthy by sacrificing his right eye for infinite wisdom.

Aesir-Jotun War

Unbeknownst to them, the Aesir weren’t alone; the same fire and ice that had brought them into existence also created the Jotuns, a race of brutish giants, soon made contact with the gods, and immediately afterwards, the Aesir and the Jotuns became sworn enemies, and would war with each other several times. During this time, a Jotun by the name of Loki defected from his side, betraying his kin and aided the Aesir in helping them defeat the giant brutes.

During the war, one of the Aesir, Baldur, lost his life saving his wife Nana from being smashed by a Jotun club. Due to his sacrifice, his soul drifted to the center of Midgard, and would create the Well of Yggdrasil, from which all souls would originate from, and where they would go through when they died before reaching Helheim.

Eventually, the Aesir managed to push the Jotuns back to a then-empty world, which would one day become the realm of Jotunheim. Free from having to fight a constant war, the Aesir settled in a beautiful landmass, which they would name *Asgard* and thus finally begin their expedition of the realms.

Aesir-Vanir War

One of the first races the Aesir encountered was one very similar to themselves, the Vanir. They had settled in a realm they had named after themselves, Vanaheim. Much like the Jotuns, the Vanir did not like the Aesir, and as a result of their mutual dislike, a war broke out between the early races.

After nine years of heavy fighting, the war finally ended, with the Aesir claiming victory. The Vanir were forced to retreat back into their realm. Due to having lost, the agricultural race held a frosty view on their opponents that would remain for years.

Making Peace

The Aesir continued to explore the remaining realms of the World Tree. They became great allies with the elves of Alfheim, as well as with the dwarves of Svartalfheim. They had a troubled relationship with the Fire Demons of Muspelheim and rarely interacted with the Frost Angels of Niflheim. However, one realm they steered away from at all costs was Helheim, the land of the dead ruled by the dreaded Hel.

The Aesir helped solved any conflict that the other realms had, and by then, had reconciled with the Vanir, making them their rivals instead of their enemies. As a result, the Aesir ruled the Nine Realms in peace, during the period of time known as the Golden Age of Yggdrasil.

Creating Humanity

As the Golden Age came to an end, Odin created the human race, or as the Aesir called them, “mortals”. He created the first man, Ask, and the first woman, Embla, and instructed them to reproduce within the realm they were assigned to: Midgard. Odin imbuded them with the traits that the Aesir themselves possessed, such as bravery and wisdom. Thus began the Silver Age, in which mortals would worship their creators and in return be blessed with their protection.

Rotten Age

But peace wouldn’t last long. In the realm of Alfheim, the elves would divide themselves under two factions: the Light Elves and the Dark Elves. Similarly, the Fire Demons attacked the Frost Angels. During this time, Loki, who was now known as the god of mischief, began to think the only way to ensure peace was if he became the Aesir’s new ruler. He proposed his plan of stopping the war by slaughtering the Fire Demons and the Dark Elves, and keep Alfheim under an iron fist rule, along with the other realms. The rest of the Aesir dismissed his ideas, calling them “lunatic” and “tyrannical”.

War on Asgard

Having grown furious that his plans were rejected, Loki began on a brutal quest to claim the throne of Asgard for himself. He first began by tricking the thunder god Thor to go into the roots of the World Tree and stabbed him in the back, causing him to fall into the infinite void of Ginnungagap, seemingly killing him. Having gotten rid of the second most powerful of his kind, Loki was free to begin his war against the Aesir. He forced the Dwarves to forge him armor that would resist any damage and weapons that could “kill gods.” With the help of the Fire Demon lord Surt, Loki laid waste to Asgard. The Aesir realized that Ragnarök had come, and they all joined forces but were overwhelmed by Loki’s new armor and allies. One by one the Aesir fell, until only one of them remained: Odin.

Odin bravely fought against his former ally (whom he considered his son) and managed to defeat Loki and banish him from Asgard. Because he saw him as his son, Odin refused to kill the evil god, and instead opted to imprison him for eternity. Unfortunately, Loki had gravely injured Odin during their fight. Injured beyond recovery, Odin took the corpses of his kin and used them and his body to trap Loki in prison made of pure magic, sacrificing himself in the process and keeping Loki trapped inside forever. Thus, the age of the Aesir came to a tragic end.

Legacy

In the aftermath of the war, most of the Aesir had been killed. The Vanir initially thought of usurping the throne of Asgard, but decided against it, wanting to keep the memory of their rivals in peace. Instead, they took it upon themselves to guard the rouge god Loki from ever escaping his imprisonment. Despite this, Loki was still able to influence others through his mind, even beyond the World Tree.

*Power of the Gods: Dawn of Asgard*

It is revealed that Thor had actually survived and landed in a different dimension. Although the Aesir don’t appear, their deaths are the catalyst for Thor’s fall into villainy. Having lost his family and friends, Thor attempts to rebuild Asgard, attacking the kingdom of Atlantis. After killing several heroes (including Bryndor and Sea Reign) he is finally killed by Hestes and sent to stand trial before Hades. Thus, all of the Aesir were now gone.

*Power of the Gods: The Fallen War*

The primordial entity Chaos invaded Yggdrasil, consuming all of the Nine Realms, including Loki and the Vanir who kept him prisoner. Back in the Underworld, Thor continued to be tortured in Tartarus for his attempted genocide.

*Power of the Gods: Godly Reign*

In the alternative timeline created by Paragon, the Aesir are shown to still be alive and are residents of Nova-Asgard, which is a reformatted form of the original Asgard and is one of the Thirteen Realms. They are led by King Thor, who has taken his father’s place after the latter died peacefully. It is implied that Loki either died or was killed before the events of the book or he simply never existed in the first place, given that he is absent in the story.

Nova-Asgard would eventually be destroyed after the timeline was reverted back to its original form. However, the souls of the Aesir (including Thor’s) are shown to be inside the Golden Heart.

Powers and Abilities

Being among one of the earliest beings of the Nine Realms, the Aesir are an extremely powerful species. Due to having had absorbed the early energies that surrounded the World Tree when it first came into existence, the Aesir developed innate capabilities that quickly turned them into the dominant race of their dimension. Indeed, even the other races of the Nine Realms feared these beings, and understandably referred to them as “gods.”

Some of the powers the Aesir possessed included super strength, super speed, increased stamina, and increased intelligence. Also, eating from Idun’s apples granted them immunity to aging.

Despite their extraordinary powers, the Aesir could, like all living beings, die. Death wasn’t something they were immune to, and it was their fate for their souls to one day expire. As a result, the Aesir greatly feared the death goddess Hel and were left devastated when one of their own met his end at the hands of a Jotun. Nevertheless, most of them met their demise during the War on Asgard, excluding Thor and Loki.

Appearance

The Aesir were shown to be beautiful yet powerful looking beings, ideal for a pantheon dedicated to fight and rule. Physically, they resembled humans, but their anatomy was far more complex. Their blood was also shown to be silver in color. Many of them dressed accordingly to what they represented, such as Idun who dressed as a maid. Humans, having been created in the Aesir’s image, had similar physical features to their creators, and also dressed similarly to them.

Notable Aesir

-Odin

-Frigg

-Thor

-Loki

-Baldur

-Heimdall

-Tyr

-Freyr

-Freya

-Njord

-Idun

-Nana

-Bragi

Trivia

- In Norse mythology, the *Æsir* are one of the two major pantheons, along with the Vanir, that reign over Midgard. In the *Power of the Gods* continuity, although most of the tribe is accurate to how it is portrayed in the original stories, a few changes are made, such as Odin creating humanity by himself as well as being far more benevolent, and Loki being far more evil and being the main cause of Ragnarök.

-The way the Aesir came into existence is reminiscent of how the first Jotuns came to life in original mythology, making their conflicts far more personal.

-The Aesir were originally planned to appear in *The Fallen War*, in which they would be one of the three factions to oppose each other. It is unknown how they would return, and whether they would return from the dead. They were ultimately scrapped, and the conflict was left involving only the Prime Gods and the Olympians.

-It remains unknown if the Aesir were aware of the Olympians, or if they even knew there existed a dimension beyond Yggdrasil. It is known that the Aesir believed that Ginnungagap was an infinite void, when in reality, it was doorway to the world where the Olympians exist. Zeus also mentions there “being worlds beyond our reach”. This implies that only the Aesir had a doorway to the Olympian world, while the Olympians did not have any access to Yggdrasil.