Lysandrean mythology

Over thousands of years, the Norse Lysandreans developed cults of their own venerating lucky gods. As a result, the Kingdom of Lysandre, later the Lysandrean Empire, had its own pantheon of gods.

## List of gods

* Trisar - god of fire and war, represented by a red trident
* Irjan - god of alien suns and diplomacy
* Wyemon, Vjemund - god of the forge, technology, and agriculture
* Torilson, Toris - god of the forge. He has a red beard. Sometimes syncretised as the son of Thor.
* Velte - goddess of women and the forge
* Vrana - goddess of time
* The Sixteen Sons of Thor - mythical gods who were believed to be Thor's sons, a army of bodyguards and champions. Magnir and Madhi are the first and second of these red-haired princes. Each of them became a patron deity of the sixteen divisions of the Lysandrean Empire. Their names, after the well-known two, were Medrin (authority, leadership, courage, fire, rage, purity), Kedrin, Valdrin, Skarand, Narlond (water, travel, seas), Turalen (spaceships, leaders), Vignara, Boldinar (falcons, aircraft), Fleitur, Oskront, Valexer, Jirmelda, Tolöna (lightning storms), Hrimallo (hunters), Irsk, and Velesk.
	+ Medrin was the patron deity of the region where the rebel planet of Galdefron was located. The flamethrowers' regiments, among the elite members of the imperial guard, were dedicated to him as his crusaders and templars.
	+ Turalen is invoked as the patron of ship captains and admirals.
* Manntuisko - an explorer who mapped out more of the Galaxy. Venerated as the god of ship captains and navigators.

## The High Gods

To differentiate these newer deities from their ancestral deities, the Lysandrean emperors separated the two pantheons. The Norse gods are known as "the High Gods", and are given greater honour.

* Freyr - the lord of prosperity, happiness, and beauty. As the god of civilisation and the national god of Lysandre, every emperor and empress was dedicated to him.
	+ Every colony in the Lysandrean Empire has a marble statue of their patron god, raising his golden sword to the sky. Some statues have him seated in a marble or golden throne as the God-King of Lysandre, next to his consort Gerda, who is worshipped as the Queen Mother.
* Gerd - the lady of wealth
* Odin, Ondin - the king of the universe, and the lord of knowledge and death
* Frigan - the queen of the universe, and the lady of motherhood and wisdom
* Njora - the sea god.
	+ The Lysandreans believed that Njoras had two jotnar wives, after Skadi left him. He was also the god of chariot races, large families, divination, and multiple partners in a romance.
* Sif - the lady of beauty
* Nanna, Nanda - the goddess of joy, peace, and the moon. The consort of Baldar.
	+ The Lysandreans believed that she and Baldar give courage from their hearts to those who ask them for it. Women and girls who face danger are encouraged to pray to Nanna instead of Baldar to make them brave and fearless.
* Hel, Hjeli, Hali, Halin - the queen of the underworld
	+ Like other Freyrgardians, Hel is depicted as a half-faced woman. However, the Lysandreans depict her wearing white robes and a crown of stars.
	+ According to Lysandrean myth, Queen Hel gives fiery courage from Baldr's heart to righteous people, because she wanted to stop wars and mass murder from wasting lives.
	+ The Lysandreans believe that Hel is a kind goddess who protects both the dead and even the living, especially outcasts and victims. Her realm, Helheim, is believed to be a beautiful country: the forests and mountains of that realm were an imitation of Vanaheim, where Hel used to stroll.
	+ As evildoers also end up in Helheim, Hel herself throws them to the seas surrounding Helheim, where they are drowned by its chaotic waves and devoured by demons.
	+ Above its capital of Eljudnir, various constellations dance in the sky, celebrating the righteous deeds of the deceased in their lives. Sixteen constellations surround the skies of Eljudnir, each representing a virtue. They are represented by a crown of stars on Hel's head.
	+ According to the Works of the Ancestors (a compilation of ancient myths by the ancestors of the Freyrgardians), the souls of Helheim will one day board a ship of fingernails to invade Asgard. The Lysandreans interpret it like this: the souls of the fingernail ship will not be from Helheim, but from the evildoers cast into the dark seas surrounding Helheim.
* Magnir and Madhi - the two sons of Thor. Madhi is known for his determination, while Magnir is known for being very skilled with horse-riding as he kept a yellow horse known as Gylfoxir. At a young age, Magnir was able to kill a giant.
	+ In Lysandrean myth, Magnir and Madhi were given more details. Magnir was depicted as a reckless brother, while Madhi was depicted as a noble gentleman who kept stopping Magnir from becoming too reckless. It was considered a humorous reflection of Thor and Baldr's contrast and rivalry: aggression against nobility.
* Tjonne, Thrud - the daughter of Thor, armed with a spear. She is venerated as the goddess of engineers, spaceship and vehicle crews, and mechanics.

### The Lords of Courage

Three gods are venerated as archetypes of masculinity. Thor represents aggression and direct action; Tyr represents discipline and chivalry; and Baldr represents hope and idealism.

* Thor, Dornar - the lord of thunder, and the guardian of the people. As a war god, he represented aggression, wrath, and ferocity.
	+ The mjolnir (Lysandrean: mjöllirna, mjölla) hammer is considered a holy symbol. When properly consecrated, mjölnir lances were used against demonic creatures and Celestials.
* Tyr - the lord of war, honour, and chivalry. Although he is a war god, the Lysandreans associated him with chivalry and discipline, which prevented them from becoming too destructive and cruel.
* Baldar, Bledar - the god of light and happiness. He is not a pacifist: when threatened, or to save someone, he will become ruthless against his enemies, and his light inspires anyone nearby to become brave enough to fight harder.
	+ Venerated by the Lysandreans as a god of hope and courage.

## Creatures

* Halfamunds - eight-legged horses descended from Sleipnir. Mutant halfamunds are produced or given as gifts to kings, emperors, and presidents.
* ginungfjandar, gnunfjondar - demons believed to prowl outside the universe. Some of them have been tamed by Loki as his minions.
* gnodrjung - a sort of demon with wispy, lanky arms and toxic claws
* terrendre - a star spirit. Some are hostile to mortals and even the Aesir, while others were allied to the Lysandreans and other civilisations of the Galaxy.
* stjarnharri - warriors of Asgard and star spirits. Different from the mortal einherjar and the tygglar, the stjarnharri are more robotic and heartless.
* tygglar - races of star spirits that lived in nations ("constellations"), building floating cities among the clouds and nebulae.
* jotandar - sadistic, reckless giants that were enemies of the Aesir and Vanir.
* oklonsir - a one-eyed ogre. Became the basis of several mecha types.

## Evil characters

* Lokri, Lokre, Loskar - the giant-god who reduces civilisation. He represented the opposite of Freyr and civilisation: chaos and destruction.

## Lysandrean myths

The ancestors of the Lysandreans, the Freyrgardians, celebrated their gods using stage plays and dances. This resulted in stage plays as a popular form of entertainment among the Norse peoples of the Galaxy. The stage plays are sometimes condemned by the Jerdiskar Norse as "decadant" or "unfolkish", for its humorous depictions of deities or their stories not exactly matching the Jerdiskar versions of myths.

### The Great Saga of Baldr

* One popular epic in Lysandrean classical literature was the Miklisaga Baldaris, the Great Saga of Baldr. It consisted of thirty-six volumes of legends -- some from their Freyrgardian ancestors, others being newer folktales and dances -- which depicted Baldr's heroic deeds and fights against demons and evil people. Among the later additions included Nanna helping people defeat evil by crafting magical artifacts.
* Tricked by Loki into being killed by an arrow of mistletoe, he ended up in Helheim, where Queen Hel gladly welcomed him and brought him to a humble hall. There, he was brought to a golden throne. Around him, many men and women cheered for him. As they held a rich feast in his honour, they thanked him for saving their lives and inspiring them to make the world a better place.
* Saddened by the death of her husband, Nanna ran into the pyre and vanished into the flames. She immediately ended up in Helheim, where she tearfully hugged Baldr. More people thanked her and commended her skill in crafts.
* The epic ends with Queen Hel ordering the mountain wights to forge two golden crowns, and a mock coronation ceremony that made its night like daytime. Baldr and Nanna were later addressed as "The King and Queen of Hope".

### The Island of Serenity

* This is another epic in Lysandrean classical literature, which depicts Queen Hel's relationship with her father.
* It begins with a quarrel in Asgard ("Heaven"). In the middle of the quarrel, Odin was very angry, so he grabbed the young Hel by her leg and tossed her out of Asgard. She landed in a dark island in a chaotic void. The chaos around her did not hurt her, because she was a jotunn, and chaos is in the very nature of all jotnar. In spite of this, she was able to control her urges -- or channel them into creating a beautiful realm, and island of peace in a sea of turmoil outside the universe.
* She brought in the souls of the dead, who would otherwise be drowned by the surrounding void and torn apart. There, they lived in bliss for the first time in aeons, and through certain rites conducted by the living, they were able to communicate with their loved ones and their descendants.
* Impressed by her dedication in protecting the peaceful dead, Odin appointed her as the keeper of the dead, so everyone who dies peacefully or was slain in disasters or murder ended up in her kingdom. She wanted to visit Asgard, but Odin banned her from ever entering his realm because she was a child of Loki, his arch-enemy.
* Loki visited Hel, demanding her to offer him a tribute of souls. Knowing that her father would torture them for his games, she rejected his offer. When a certain man cried out to Hel to save him from being torn apart by Loki, she used her magic to drag him to her side. She fought against her father and she won, but in the process half of her body was seared by Loki's hellfire.

### The Brothers Three (later The Uncles Three)

* A popular folktale about Baldr, Thor, and Tyr, their adventures, and the lessons they learned along the way. Its fans enjoyed the contrasting attitudes of the three god brothers: Thor is reckless and eager for a fight; Baldr prefers diplomacy and reason (but will not hesitate to fight when necessary, much to Thor's pleasure); and Tyr is noble and chivalrous, even trying to mediate between the two brothers to stop them from fighting each other.
* The three characters are represented by three dancers. Although their story was meant to be a morality play, the quarrels between Thor and Baldr caused audiences to laugh. It evolved into a comedy.
* In the Uncles Three, Baldr's son, Forseti, learns from Magnir and Madhi. Magnir is an arrogant prince, while Madhi is bad-tempered.

## Trivia

* Lysandrean mythology, especially the stage plays, were inspired by the God of War games, medieval morality plays, and the Aeneid being a "fanfiction" of the Iliad (just as it was a "fanfiction" of Norse mythology).

## See also

* Nordic mythology
* Vigefionian mythology
* Heronoi mythology