The Lore and Legend

## Age of Dawn

### Ymir, The Primordial Titan

In the ancient days when time was but a distant dream, there existed naught but a vast expanse of emptiness. The world, the gentle caress of the ocean upon its shores, and the beings that would come to inhabit it were yet to be formed. Instead, a yawning chasm known as **Ginnungagap** stretched across the void of nothingness. From this abyss, a realm of eternal mist, darkness, and icy coldness emerged, known to all as **Nifleheim**.

Within the heart of this Dark Land, there surged forth a fountain named **Hvergelmir,** from which twelve glacial rivers flowed, spreading freezing waters throughout the void. Across from **Hvergelmir** lay **Muspellsheim**, a realm of relentless heat and unquenchable flames. Rivers of fire streamed forth, their waters tinged with a bitter poison that gradually congealed into a solid mass. The venomous mass, covered by the frost of the ice flowing from Niflheim, began to melt under the scorching heat emanating from the lands of Fire, giving birth to the ancient Titan known as **Ymir**.

### Birth of Gods

**Ymir**, the progenitor of all giants, arose from the union of poison and ice. As he slumbered near the southern lands on his first night of existence, sweat poured from his colossal form. From beneath his left arm emerged a man and a woman, both giants like their father. Simultaneously, the block of ice that birthed Ymir released the great cow **Audumla**, the wet-nurse of the giants. Ymir found solace in her life-giving milk, nourishing himself at the dawn of each day. Audumla, in turn, sustained herself by licking the salty ice, and through the warmth of her breath and tongue, a being named **Buri** gradually took form. From **Buri's** lineage came **Bor**, who wed **Ymir's** daughter, **Bestla**. Together, **Bor** and **Bestla** conceived three gods: **Odin, Hoenir,** and **Lodur.**

The three divine sons, born of giants, soon rose against their ancestral creators, ultimately leading to the Giants' demise. They slew the aged **Ymir,** causing a deluge of blood that filled the abyss. The other Giants perished in the crimson tide, except for **Bergelmir** and his wife, who managed to escape on a small boat and find refuge in a new land known as **Jotunheim**, the home of giants. From their lineage, a new race of giants would emerge.

Emerging from the chaotic abyss, the three **Norns,** goddesses of Fate, arose. **Urd** represented the past, appearing as a withered old hag, while **Verdandi** represented the present as a woman in her prime. **Skuld** symbolized the future as a beautiful young maiden. Together, these Norns tended to the Life-Tree, **Yggdrasil,** with the assistance of the **Vala** until the fated day of Ragnarok, when the tree would perish. While the **Vala** guarded the gates, **Odin** entrusted the Norns with the keys to the world's gateways.

### Creation of The World

Following **Ymir's** demise, **Odin**, the chief of the gods, employed the giant's heart as the primary source of power to shape the universe, which later known as **Ymir's Heart**. He raised Ymir's colossal body from the depths of the blood-filled sea and fashioned the Earth from his flesh, while his blood became the boundless ocean. The gods sculpted mountains from Ymir's bones and trees from his hair. They took Ymir's skull and, with bone pillars as supports, erected the Vault of the Heavens, where they housed the sparks of fire that had escaped from **Muspellsheim**. These sparks transformed into the sun, moon, and countless stars, their celestial movements establishing the rhythm of day and night, summer and winter. As the sun shone upon the desolate Earth, the first blades of green grass sprouted forth. Ymir's eyebrow was utilized to construct an impenetrable magical wall which later known as **The Fences** that enclosed the boundaries of the three realms, preventing even the gods from crossing them. **Odin** fashioned gates to the upper and lower planes using Ymir's eyeballs, with the lens serving as the key-which later entrusted to **Norns** to keep.

Other gods soon joined **Odin, Hoenir,** and **Lodur**, seemingly emerging from the abyss without progenitors. These gods eventually divided into two tribes: the **Aesir** and the **Vanir**. Together, they established their abodes in **Asgard**, the dwelling of the **Aesir**, and **Vanaheim,** the realm of the **Vanir.** From these lofty vantage points, they observed and safeguarded the nascent world.

### Yggdrasil, The World Tree

From Ymir's body grew an ash tree named **Yggdrasil**, its sprawling branches stretching across the known world, upholding the very fabric of existence. **Yggdrasil**, the colossal ash tree that emerged from the body of **Ymir**, spans the known world and serves as a vital pillar of the cosmos. Following the creation of the different planes of existence, the immense ash tree, Yggdrasil, began to grow and connect all the realms. Its first root originated in the land of **Nifleheim**, giving rise to the spring of **Hvergelmir,** the source of primitive rivers. The second root extended into the land of the giants, covered in frost and ice. This root led to the fountain known as **Mimirsbrunnr**, where the wise **Mimir** resided. **Odin** coveted a drink from this spring, but its price was the loss of one of his eyes. The third root stretched up into the heavens, leading to the spring of Urdarbrunnr, where the Norns resided. Each day, the Norns drew water from this well and sprinkled it on the roots of **Yggdrasil** to prevent its withering.

Within the expansive reaches of Yggdrasil, various creatures find their dwelling, such as the dragon **Níðhöggr,** an unnamed eagle, and the stags **Dáinn,** **Dvalinn, Duneyrr,** and **Durathrór**. It is a daily ritual for the gods to gather at **Yggdrasil**, assembling at this venerable tree for their traditional governing assemblies.

Every hundred years, Yggdrasil dispersed its seeds across the worlds, carried by the winds. If these seeds landed in fertile ground, they grew into flowers, awakening a **Vala.** The **Vala**, a unique race believed to be descendants of **Yggdrasil**. They possessed the gifts of **seiðr, spá,** and **galdr**—comprising shamanism, sorcery, prophecy, and various forms of indigenous magic. However, they were born with a compromise: an inherent disability that limited their ability to live far from the Yggdrasil tree. The **Vala's** vitality diminished the farther they resided from **Yggdrasil**, and they needed occasional watering with **Mana**, an energy flow in form of magic to replenish their body. Without this sustenance, their body withered away. Guided by the voice of **Yggdrasil**, their "mother," the **Vala** embarked on their life's journey, summoned to the **Yggdrasil tree**. Those who answered the summon eventually congregated in the **Garden of Yggdrasil**, their sanctuary near **Urdrabrunnr,** the spring of **Urd**, the goddess of the past. The Norns, goddesses of fate, cared for the **Vala** in exchange for their services. **Vala** who failed to return to **Yggdrasil** would wither away like dying plants.

### The Nine Realms

On the day of creation, the **Nine Realms** were born, interconnected by the towering **Yggdrasil**, dividing them into three levels. At the highest level dwelled **Asgard**, the home of the **Aesir**; **Vanaheim**, the domain of the **Vanir**; and **Alfheim**, the realm of the elves. The middle level hosted **Midgard**, the abode of humankind; **Jotunheim,** the land of the giants; and **Nidavellir**, the dwelling of the dwarves. In the depths, one would find **Muspellheim**, the fiery realm ruled by the giant **Surtr**; **Nifleheim**, a world of icy coldness and mist that guarded the entrance to **Hellheim**, the underworld ruled by the queen of the dead, **Hel**.

During their travels, the three gods, **Odin, Hoenir** and **Lodur,** encountered two lifeless trees on the barren earth. **Odin** shaped these trees into a man and a woman, giving them breath. **Hoenir** bestowed them with a soul and the capacity for reason, while **Lodur** granted them warmth and vibrant colors, bringing them to life. The man was named Ask, and his wife was Embla, thus establishing the race of humankind.

**Hellheim** became the realm where the deceased would journey after their time on Earth. It was a land of perpetual sleet and frost. The goddess **Hel** governed this domain, and her loyal hound, **Garm**, stood guard at the entrance, preventing the dead from leaving and the living from entering.

### Bifrost

To traverse between the planes, the gods created **Bifröst,** the great Rainbow Bridge accessible only to them. **Heimdall**, the guardian of Bifröst, safeguarded this passage. **Nidhoggur** was later appointed as the guardian of **Yggdrasil.** After creating the worlds, the gods decided to populate each realm with other races. **Elves**, the most beautiful of all creations, were formed by the gods from the foliage of **Yggdrasil**. The gods favored the elves and placed their realm, **Alfheim**, in the upper level between **Asgard** and **Vanaheim.** **Alfheim** was initially ruled by the god **Frey** and later passed down to his descendants, the **high elves**.

## Age of Gods

### False Condemned Prophet

There was a **Vala** known as Gullveig, who held great prominence among her kind. She possessed an otherworldly beauty and a captivating aura that caused anyone who beheld her to fall in love. In addition to her exceptional aura, **Gullveig** possessed extraordinary abilities as a seeress. She could glimpse into the distant future, far beyond the sight of any other Vala. It was through her visions that she foresaw **Ragnarok,** the apocalyptic event known as the **twilight of the gods.**

However, when **Gullveig** revealed her visions to the gods, they reacted differently than she had anticipated. Instead of embracing her foresight, they banished her from the realm of the gods, separating her from her kin and exiling her to **Midgard**. They appointed Alruna, a **valkyrie**, as her guardian and tasked her with watching over **Gullveig** during her exile. Despite her banishment, **Gullveig** remained kind and gentle, treating **Alruna** with care and love, which caused **Alruna** herself to fall in love with the **Vala**. In their intimate moments, **Gullveig** shared the details of her visions of **Ragnarok**, something she had never disclosed to anyone before.

Filled with terror upon learning of the impending end of the world, Alruna implored Gullveig to reveal how they could prevent such a catastrophic event. In response, **Gullveig** presented **Singasteinn**, a crystal that can contain powerful magic, which she had imbued with her revelations. **Gullveig** shattered the crystal, concealing her visions from the gods. She instructed **Alruna** to find someone worthy of holding the fragments of the magic crystal, as they might hold the key to saving the future. **Alruna** pledged to her beloved that she would safeguard the crystal and search for the one deserving of its power. **Gullveig** also urged **Alruna** not to mourn her, although the **valkyrie** did not fully comprehend the meaning behind the **Vala's** words at that time.

Shortly thereafter, **Gullveig** was summoned by the gods. They assigned her the daunting task of venturing into **Ginnungagap**, the realm of chaos, to retrieve the **heart of Ymir,** which lay hidden deep within the abyss. Unwavering and unafraid, **Gullveig** entered the realm of discord alone, fully aware of her fated outcome since her birth.

Upon learning of the gods' true intention to cast **Gullveig** into the abyss, never expecting her return and desiring only her eternal banishment, **Alruna** was consumed by rage. She launched an attack on **Odin**, but was swiftly defeated. During their confrontation, the **Singasteinn** was scattered, and **Alruna** managed to save only a fragment of it. Wounded and driven by madness, the valkyrie fled from **Asgard** to **Alfheim**, seeking refuge within the forest as she tended to her injuries. However, one of the weapons used against her by the gods had been tainted with poison, slowly draining the life from **Alruna**. The fallen **valkyrie** awaited her impending death, knowing that she would remain alone until the destined one arrived.

### Aesir - Vanir War

After **Odin** killed Ymir and used his heart as a powerful energy source to create the universe, the heart went missing when Ymir's blood gushed out and causing **Great Flood** that washed everything away. The gods believed that the heart was lost deep within the chaotic and distorted realm called **Ginnungagap**.

Although the gods desired to retrieve Ymir's heart, they were afraid to enter Ginnungagap themselves due to its dangerous nature. Consequently, they assigned The **Vala, Gullveig,** renowned as the greatest **Vala** ever lived but exiled for her skills, to venture into the abyss and retrieve the heart for them, without expecting her return. Surprisingly, **Gullveig** managed to retrieve the heart of Ymir, but before returning to **Asgard,** she shattered it into pieces and scattered them across the world upon discovering the gods' treacherous intentions.

Odin, consumed by anger, along with the other **Aesir,** seized **Gullveig** and subjected her to torture by spearing and burning her to death. However, the fragment of **Ymir's** heart that **Gullveig** had concealed within her body resurrected her and fused with her, giving rise to **Heidi**, a new Goddess. **Heidi** possessed the immense power of Ymir's heart, surpassing even that of the gods. **The Aesir** claimed **Heidi** for themselves, harnessing her power for their own benefit.

Upon learning of the **Aesir's** selfish actions, the **Vanir** grew resentful and developed a hatred towards them for keeping **Heidi** exclusively. This animosity led to a war between the **Aesir** and the **Vanir**, during which both sides experienced alternating victories. In the midst of the conflict, **Odin** entrusted his **Valkyrie**, **Brynhildr**, with the task of bringing **Heidi** to **Mimir's** abode for protection from the **Vanir**. **Mimir** welcomed **Heidi** and sympathized with her tragic fate. He hid her within the forest near the lake of **Rheinquelle**, at the border between **Asgard** and **Alfheim**, in a place called **Gimle**. There, **Mimir's** three servants, **the Rhein maidens** (Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde), guarded **Heidi.**

Eventually, both tribes of deities grew weary of the prolonged war and decided to call for a truce. As a gesture of goodwill, they agreed to exchange hostages to live among the opposing tribe. **Freyja, Freyr,** and **Njord** from the **Vanir** went to **Asgard,** while **Hoenir** and **Mimir** went to **Vanaheim.**

While **Njord** and his children found relative peace in **Asgard,** the same could not be said for **Hoenir** and **Mimir** in Vanaheim. The **Vanir** soon realized that **Hoenir** seemed wise and offered valuable advice, but only when he was accompanied by **Mimir**. In truth, **Hoenir** was rather simple-minded and unable to provide counsel without **Mimir's** presence. The **Vanir** felt deceived when **Hoenir** repeatedly responded with unhelpful statements like "Let others decide." Believing they had been cheated in the hostage exchange, they beheaded **Mimir** and returned his severed head to **Asgard**. Distraught, **Odin** performed magic rituals and preserved **Mimir's** head with herbs. Thus, **Mimir's** preserved head continued to provide invaluable guidance to **Odin** when needed.

Despite the tragic misunderstanding, the two tribes grew tired of the war's stalemate. Instead of resuming hostilities, they came together and ultimately unified into a single tribe of gods.

### Ring of Andvarinaut

Heidi, hidden away for centuries and longing for companionship, felt a deep sense of loneliness despite being in the company of the Rhine maidens. After encountering a handsome young man with long golden hair by the river, she became determined to embark on a journey to explore the world. Ignoring the warnings of her friends, Heidi assumed the guise of a human named Heidi and set off on her adventure.

Traveling far and wide in search of the mysterious young man she had met, Heidi found herself lacking knowledge and often fell into trouble due to her naivety. However, she managed to extricate herself from these predicaments before they escalated.

Fate eventually led her to encounter another man named Andvari. He "purchased" Heidi from a slave merchant elf who had kept her captive after rescuing her from a bandit attack. Initially, Heidi despised Andvari for his mistreatment of her. He often disregarded her and occasionally intimidated her when she displeased him. However, as time passed, Heidi discovered that Andvari was a High Elf and the rightful successor to the throne of Alfheim, following his elder brother Regin's banishment by their mother.

Heidi realized that Andvari's aloofness stemmed from his loneliness and need for love. Gradually, they developed feelings for each other, and Andvari even endangered his life to protect Heidi from Alvefard. Soon after, Andvari proposed to Heidi, and they married shortly thereafter.

Motivated by a strong determination to help her husband find Regin, Heidi secretly searched for her brother-in-law every day with the assistance of her friends. Her efforts eventually bore fruit, as Regin encountered her after learning about her from others. Regin revealed the truth that he, not Andvari, had visited Heidi at the Rhine River, and that Heidi had been the reason he fled his kingdom.

This revelation struck Heidi like a bolt of lightning, causing her emotions to waver. On one hand, she had fallen in love with Andvari; on the other hand, Regin was her first love, the one she had been searching for all along. Distressed by this realization, Heidi was given the freedom to choose by Andvari, who deeply loved her and would support her decision.

After much contemplation, Heidi chose Andvari. While Regin was her first love, she couldn't envision her life without Andvari anymore. Regin gracefully accepted his defeat and left the kingdom, blessing his brother and wishing nothing but happiness for the couple. Regin embarked on a journey around the world, while Andvari ruled over Alfheim with Heidi at his side as the consort queen.

Once everything settled, Heidi revealed her true identity as Heidi to Andvari. To her relief, he accepted her unconditionally. Heidi entrusted Andvari with a fragment of Ymir's heart, symbolizing her loyalty and love for him, and requested that he protect it in case anything happened to her. Andvari, in turn, crafted a ring and sealed the fragment's power within it, ensuring that only he could harness its abilities.

Thus, Heidi and Andvari embraced their life together, with Heidi as the consort queen of Alfheim, and the couple continued their journey with a deep bond of love and devotion.

### The Gods and Giants

Meanwhile, in Asgard, Odin struck a deal with the giants Fasolt and Fafnir. He offered them Freyja as a hostage in exchange for their castle, which Odin intended to transform into the gods' new dwelling place. Frey, Freyja's brother, was displeased with Odin's decision and warned him of the consequences if the giants took Freyja away. However, Odin assured him that they would not have to give up Freyja, as he had sent Loki, the cunning Aesir, to find an alternative solution.

Loki embarked on a search for a replacement for Freyja and traveled to the Rhine River, where he believed he could find a suitable candidate named Heidi. To his disappointment, Loki discovered that Heidi had vanished, and the Rhine maidens mourned her loss each day without any leads. Desperate to locate Heidi, Loki assumed various disguises and scoured the realms for clues. Eventually, he learned that Heidi had become the queen consort of Alvar Aranier in Alfheim, the realm of the Elves.

Loki then approached Andvari, the High King, seeking to take Heidi with him. However, Andvari vehemently rejected Loki's request, resulting in a heated confrontation. In his anger, Loki stripped Andvari of his power and abducted Heidi before departing. Before Loki left, Andvari vowed to save Heidi and seek vengeance against the gods by slaying them all.

Loki returned to Odin's abode with Heidi, but before the exchange could take place, Andvari launched an assault on Asgard alongside his army. Empowered by the ring infused with the essence of Ymir's heart, bestowed upon him by Heidi, Andvari displayed immense strength. Chaos ensued during the meeting, and Odin witnessed firsthand the potency of Andvari's ring. Alongside the other Aesir, Odin subdued Andvari, forcefully claiming the ring, and banished him to Helheim, the realm of the dead, as punishment for attacking the gods.

Devastated by his defeat, Andvari placed a curse upon the ring before his banishment. The curse dictated that whoever possessed the ring would be consumed by desire for it, living in constant anxiety, and eventually meet their demise, being robbed of it by the next owner.

The gods regrouped, and Fasolt and Fafnir returned with Freyja. Odin proposed Heidi as a substitute for Freyja, insisting that she held equal value. However, the giants discovered Odin's deceit regarding Heidi's powers, now contained within Andvari's ring. As a result, they demanded not only Heidi but also the ring in exchange for Freyja.

Odin, angered and defensive, declared that he would keep the ring for himself. The giants seized Freyja and prepared to depart. Loki attempted to reason with Odin, warning him about the curse and the impending doom that awaited them if he did not relinquish the cursed ring along with Heidi. Troubled by Loki's words, Odin called the giants back and reluctantly handed over the ring and Heidi. However, before giving the ring to the giants, Odin instructed Loki to create a duplicate. Odin presented the imitation ring to the giants.

The giants released Freyja and departed with Heidi and the ring, delivering them to Surtr, their leader. To the gods' relief, they were now ready to enter their new home as Odin led them to the former giant's castle, which he named Valhalla.

Later on, the giants discovered that they had been given a fake ring. This discovery infuriated the giants, particularly their leader Surtr, as he had envisioned possessing the power of the gods through the ring of Andvarinaut and Heidi. Additionally, learning that Heidi had lost her powers and was rendered useless further fueled Surtr's anger. In a fit of rage, Surtr cast Heidi into Midgard and rallied his army, igniting the Thousand-Year War against the gods.

## The Thousand Year War

The Thousand-Year War refers to a monumental conflict that took place between the Giants and the Gods. It erupted when the fire giants, led by the formidable Titan Surt from the realm of Muspelheim, unleashed their destructive might upon the continent of Midgard. Their actions prompted a response from Odin, the king of the gods, along with other divine beings, in an effort to counter the Titans and Giants. After an arduous and protracted struggle, the combined forces of the gods managed to emerge victorious, defeating the Giants and Titan.

This war was believed to be the prelude to Ragnarok, a catastrophic event that is prophesied to mark the end of the Age of Gods and the beginning of the Age of Man. However, through some means, Freyja, a prominent goddess, was able to intervene and delay the onset of Ragnarok. Her actions allowed the Age of Gods to be extended for several more centuries, postponing the cataclysmic events that were destined to reshape the realms.