Jormungandr

**Jormungandr** is a major supporting antagonist in the *Divine Comedy*.

He is the infamous 'World Serpent' that is said to encircle the planet and the archenemy of Thor, the god of thunder. Jormungandr is also the eldest child of Loki and Delphyne, and being one of the many Chaoskampfs that is destined to bring about the end of the gods' reign with Thor being among them.

## History

### Background

Jormungandr was born to Loki and Delphyne the latter being a child of Typhon and Tiamat and the former being the son of the Giant Prometheus. He was also the eldest of the siblings with Fenrir being the middle child and Hel being the youngest. Unfortunately, Jormungandr's childhood was short as he would be among the first to be taken by the gods in fear of a prophecy that foretells their destruction by Jormungandr and his siblings. He would forcefully be taken by Thor himself with the god of thunder surprised at the young serpent's tenacity and strength much to his amusement. But it wasn't until Jormungandr left a scar on Thor's left eye that it sparked their eternal hatred towards each other with Thor furiously throwing Jormungandr into the seas leaving him to drown.

However, unbeknownst to the gods, Jormungandr not only survived but thrived in the seas, having grown to such enormous sizes that he resembled an elongated island and was even said to have encircled the world itself, holding it in place. At an unknown point in time, Jormungandr also fathered children, two daughters by named Ceto and Echidna, with the giantess Eurynome. Ceto would marry Aegir (the son of the sea giant Pontus) and birthed some of the first sea monsters such as mermaids whilst Echidna was not as fortunate as she would end up marrying Leviathan and producing two children with him.

### Fishing with Job

Jormungandr would not be seen again until the events of the wager between Heaven and Mastema regarding Job. Wanting Job to see their hold over the forces of chaos, Heaven decided to pick Thor as Job's guide much to the former's chagrin though Heaven convinced him by having him think of it as a fishing trip. Thor took Job out to the open sea and would begin to look for any potential sea beast that lurks in the ocean depths sufficient enough to tame and subdue, or maybe eat depending on how hungry he was. When Thor took the head of an ox and hooked it on a fishing line the seas started to go turbulent with an ecstatic Thor exclaiming that they got a big one and they most certainly did.

Pulling up, both Thor and Job were absolutely shocked to see none other than Jormungandr himself, rising out of the depths of the ocean with his movements causing the ocean to boil and grow more violent. Jormungandr and Thor met once again after thousands of years with Thor being all too eager now to finish him off for good. But Job, completely fearful for his life, cut the line and Jormungandr sunk back into the depths of the sea. Jormungandr would not be seen again but it is said that during the Apocalypse Jormungandr would be among the forces of Typhon to attack and destroy the gods.

## Trivia

* Jormungandr is based on the serpent or wyrm of the same name found in Norse mythology and one of the children of Loki. Also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, it is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail. When it releases its tail, Ragnarök (the final battle of the world) will begin.
* According to Aamon, Jormungandr had an "all-you-can-eat" buffet after the Great Flood where he would swim around and devour the bodies of those that got caught in the flood.
* Jormungandr's name is sometimes invoked by monsters as a means of protection against their divine adversaries.