Audumbla

Audumbla was a primeval cow born along side Ýmir the Ice Giant in Niflheim. She fed off of the salt ice of the realm inadvertently releasing the Æsir god, Búri from the ice. She was killed by the Dragon Nidhogg after she released him from the ice.

*Audumbla is based on Auðumbla from Norse Mythology, Amalthea from Greek Mythology, as well as Iat and Mehturt from Egyptian Mythology*

## Physical Description

Audumbla is a cow or cow-like entity whose appearance is very similar to an earth cow. She is a quadrupedal being with bovine-like anatomy including milk producing udders. For a cow she is very large scaling in size to the size of Ymir who was the tallest and largest of the Jötnar.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Born From Nothing

From the spring Hvergelmir flowed eleven venomous rivers, the Élivágar, through the outer edges of Niflheim. As they made their way toward the center of the realm, they froze and the poison began to buildup. The poison was then irradiated with energy from the Bifröst which forged two primordial entities, Audumbla and Ymir. They eventually freed themselves from the ice and held dominion over Niflheim for a ling time.

#### Nourishing Ymir and Freeing Buri

Ymir was powerful but grew hungry. Audumbla allowed Ymir to drink her milk for food. However, while he slept, Audumbla gained nourishment from another source. She survived by licking salty ice and rocks on the edges of the Élivágar rivers. In doing so, over the course of three Niflheimian days, she freed the first of the Æsir gods, Buri, from the ice. This action would eventually lead to the War of Niflheim which Audumbla did not participate in.

### Death of Audumbla

#### Living in Niflheim

Audumbla was able to survive in Niflheim for many years, no matter how cold it had gotten. She continued to feed off of the venomous salty ice from the Élivágar rivers. Eventually she came across another entity that formed in the ice, the Ice Dragon Nidhogg.

#### Eaten by Nidhogg

In the same way she freed Buri from the ice, Audumbla spent several days licking Nidhogg free. However, once he was finally free, the venomous creature attached, killed, and devoured her, ending her life and taking control of Náströnd.

### Legacy

#### The Asgardian Jötunheimian Rivalry

She had no real part in the rivalry itself but her actions did provide a major catalyst to it. Because she freed Buri from the ice of Niflheim, He and his successors ended up killing Ymir leading to their conflict.

#### Nidhogg the Devourer of the Dead

Audumbla is responsible for the existence of Nidhogg, the powerful Ice Dragon who gnaws on the Root of Yggdrasill. He wanders the dark shores of Náströnd consuming the bodies of the soulless.

## Personality

Audumbla is a non sapient bovine creature and thus has a very limited or no personality. She seems to be kind hearted and even nurturing, allowing Ymir to drink her milk. It is unknown if she saw Buri in the ice and freed him because of that, or if freeing him was a biproduct of her eating the salt ice. She did however lick Nidhogg free from the ice which lead to her death, meaning that if she was doing it on purpose then Audumbla is kind to a fault.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Primordial Entity Physiology:** Audumbla was created alongside Ymir from venomous ice, she was the first living entity in an uninhabitable land and was able to survive there for many years.
	+ **Longevity:** Although this is unknown to be true, as a Primordial Entity is can be assumed that Audumbla had some level of longevity if not being fully immortal.
	+ **Gigantism:** Audumbla was very large for a cow, scaling to the size of Ymir who was the largest of the Ice Giants
	+ **Poison Immunity:** She was able to lick the venomous ice of Niflheim without falling ill from it. She was also formed from that same venom.
* **Cold Immunity:** Audumbla lived in Niflheim, the coldest dimension in the Universe, for many years without feeling any ill-effects
* **Bovine Physiology:** Audumbla is a primordial bovine-like creature whose body and powers are very similar to that of an Earth cow
	+ **Lactogenesis:** Although she was not pregnant, Audumbla was able to produce milk from her udders which fed Ymir

## Relationships

Allies* Ymir † - Formed Together
* Buri † - Freed from the Ice
* Rhea - Situational Ally

## External Links

* *See Auðumbla on Wikipedia*
* *See Amalthea (mythology) on Wikipedia*
* *See Iat on Wikipedia*
* *See Auðumbla on the Myths and Folklore Wiki*
* See *Amalthea on the Myths and Folklore Wiki*
* *See Auðumbla on the Gods and Demons Wiki*