Gleipnir

**Gleipnir**, also known as the **Open One**, was a special chain from Norse mythology used to bind the monstrous wolf Fenrir. It was destroyed during the Battle of Yngvi Island, though Fenrir was later bound by Andskoti.

## Overview

In Norse mythology, **Gleipnir** (Old Norse "open one") is the binding that holds the mighty wolf Fenrir (as attested in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning).

The Gods had attempted to bind Fenrir twice before with huge chains of metal, but Fenrir was able to break free both times. Therefore, they commissioned the dwarves to forge a chain that was impossible to break.

To create a chain to achieve the impossible, the dwarves fashioned the chain out of six supposedly impossible things:

* The sound of a cat's footfall
* The beard of a woman
* The roots of a mountain
* The sinews of a bear
* The breath of a fish
* The spittle of a bird

Therefore, even though Gleipnir is as thin as a silken ribbon, it is stronger than any iron chain. It was forged by the dwarves in their underground realm of Niðavellir.

Gleipnir, having bound Fenrir securely, was the cause of Týr's lost hand, for Fenrir bit it off in revenge when he was not freed. Gleipnir is said to hold until Ragnarök, when Fenrir will finally break free and devour Odin.

## Summary

Gleipnir was a divine chain from Norse mythology that was used by the Aesir gods to bind and restrain Fenrir, the giant wolf-like jötunn who was prophesied to kill Odin during the times of Ragnarök.

However, after the jötunn had destroyed two fetters Leyding and Dromi, the gods had no choice but to commission the Ivaldi Clan, a clan of dark elven royal from Svartalfheim, to create a third chain powerful enough to restrain the god-killing monster. The Ivaldis then created Gleipnir as a result from a combination of paradox elements:

* The sound of a cat's footfall
* The beard of a woman
* The roots of a mountain
* The sinews of a bear
* The breath of a fish
* The spittle of a bird

After tricking Fenrir into thinking they were playing a game with it, the gods bound him with Gleipnir which he couldn't escape, though not before he bit off Týr's arm in retribution. They later exiled him to Yngvi Island, an artificial island created by Odin, Frey, and Freya from a combination of Runic Magic and Seidr Magic, where he was prophesied to stay there until Ragnarök.

However, as the Norsemen began to expand their horizon and beliefs, their wisdom widenned and soon, the paradoxical nature of the chain began to fade away across the centuries, before it became breakable in 20XX in the Battle of Yngvi Island, after it was severed by the Sword of Frey.

Fortunately, before it could escape the wards of Yngvi Island, it was rebound by Andskoti, a replacement for Gleipnir, and was re-sealed back to his original prison.

## Appearance

Gleipnir appeared as a smooth and soft-looking golden ribbon that could expand infinitely to bind and restrain anything the user targets it toward.

## Abilities

Gleipnir was forged to be unbreakable to whoever it was bonded to, especially Fenrir, and automatically wrapped itself around the target as if it had its own consciousness. Due to it being created from mithril, an extremely rare sacred metal from Norse mythology, it worked as a great magic conductor, thus allowing Odin to engrave ancient runes on the chains so that it would slowly absorp and devour the powers of its restrained victim.

However, it's later revealed that the chain's true power derived from its paradox ingredients, which had become rare but not impossible after the Norsemen, the original followers of the Norse gods, widened their realm of knowledge. Because of this, the chain slowly weakened with time and become possible for the jötunn to break free of its control.

## Forms

### Gleipnir II

**Gleipnir II** (グレイプニルII, *Gureipuniru II*) is a copy of the original Gleipnir owned by Kuroka Toujou and Vali Lucifer. It is used to bind, restrain, and control Fenris Wolf, a copy of the original Fenrir created by Loki in his attempt to create conflict between the Netherworld and the Norse Pantheon.

### Andskoti

**Andskoti** (アンドスコティ, *Andosukoti*) is the replacement rope for Gleipnir and was used to bind Fenrir after the original Gleipnir was destroyed during the Battle of Yngvi by the Sword of Frey. It was created by Eitri Junior from paradoxical ingredients:

* Wifi with no lag
* A politician's sincerity
* A printer that prints
* Healthy deep-fried food
* An interesting grammer lecture.

## Trivia

* According to Odin, Scandinavia's Christianization sped up its natural detereoration by over 60%.
* Due to humanity's advancement, it's possible that, in the distant future, a new chain would be required to replace Andskoti.