My Plans

Well, maybe a few folks in these parts are wondering whether I'll ever finish the final story in my Ragnarok Rising trilogy and the answer is: YES! Hunger Pangs, my entry in the DRU universe is completed, but I decided to post it as a serial as a sort of test run for possible future serials and I'm rather pleased with the results. In particular I really enjoyed the more speculative comments. It's interest for me to see where people think the story might be headed.

So that being said I've started work back up on 'Destiny: Triumph of a Spellbinder' and am making some progress. Last night I came to the decision to rework the backstory of one of the supporting characters. Consequently, it will require me to tweak the story a bit and completely rewrite a few scenes. I think in the long run this will make her a much more interesting and complex (and possibly more conflicted) character.

Now I'd like to post a bit of a preview. It's rather dry but it's more or less a primer on the mythology of my stories. It explains what happened to the male Gods and is pretty close to the original Norse creation myth in many respects. Though, originally Frigg played no part in the creation of humans and the male Gods definitely don't die in the original mythology. Well at least not until Ragnarok! ^_^

The follow text is a bit rough and I have the feeling I'll be reworking and adding to it. There's a lot I left out this could have easily gone on for a good ten pages had I wanted it too.

So here it is...

In the beginning there was only the great emptiness of Ginnungagap. From out of its great gaping abyss formed Niflheim, a place of everlasting frost and cold. Soon thereafter rose up the primeval world of fire and insatiable heat, which is so named Muspellsheim. It came to pass that the frost from the world of Niflheim did meet with the heat from Muspellsheim and from that collision Ymir the giant was born. And Ymir did fall into a great slumber as he journeyed near Muspellsheim and he did begin to perspire and from under each arm was born a daughter and son. And from them all giants did spring.

Now it just so happened from were Ymir had sprung so too did Audumla, the great primal bovine. Ymir did feed from her teats and was nourished. And Audumla hungered so she did lick upon the ice of Niflheim and its salt did sustain her. The heat from her tongue did cause the ice to melt and from it emerged Buri.

Buri begat a son who he named Bor. And Bor did take a fancy to Bestla a giant, and he did wed her. From their union Odin, Lodur, and Hoenir were born.

It came to pass that Ymir and the sons of Bor did war one with another and the brothers did slay Ymir. And so much blood did flow from Ymir's veins that Ginnungagap did fill and all the giants save Beregelmir and his wife did drown. Odin, Lodur and Hoenir, did raise up Ymir's body from the great sea of blood and with it they did form Midgard. From his flesh, they formed the land, from his bones the mountains, and from his hair they created the trees and all plants and they did pour blood of Ymir upon Midgard and formed the oceans, rivers and seas.

And they did trap the fires from Muspellsheim and with it they formed the stars, moon and the sun. Other Gods did appear from out of the abyss and the brothers knew not from whence they came. And the Gods did call themselves the Aesir. From among them Odin took him a wife, who was named Frigg and together they did beget many sons and daughters. As one, the Aesir did create Asgard, their home, which they placed in the heavens far above Midgard so that they might watch over it from afar.

And Odin looked upon Midgard, and found it lacking, but knew not what was missing. So he took his wife and two brothers to Midgard and as they traveled upon the surface of the land they eventually came upon two dead trees. Now these trees were twisted and knotted and were most unsightly, but within them Frigg saw what her husband had been seeking. And she took the first tree and she did give it a form which mirrored her husband's, that of a man. Then she did take the second tree and formed it into the shape of a woman after her own shape.

Now it came to pass that the bodies which Frigg had formed were without life, so Odin did give them spirit. Now those first humans were without reason like unto a beast, so Lodur did give them wit so that they might have understanding. Now, Hoenir saw that they could not perceive the world around them, so he granted them sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. And the man they named Ask after the ash tree, and the woman they named Embla after the elm tree.

And out of the abyss three more Goddesses did appear and they called themselves the Norns, and they did watch over the fates of men, women, gods and goddesses alike. Urd was the first to awaken and it was given unto her to watch the past, Verdani was second and the present was her domain, Skuld was the final and she saw that which has yet to come to pass. And the three goddesses of fate created Yggdrasil, the world tree. Now the roots of Yggdrasil came to connect all the worlds from Muspellsheim, Niflheim, Midgard, Nidarvellir, Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim and many more beyond number. And the tree sprang up into the heavens and issued up the spring of Urd. There the Norns now reside so that they might water the roots of the world tree.

Now Jotunheim is the home of Beregelmir and all those that have sprung from his loins and they do call themselves the Jotun and they are enemies of the gods. Alfheim, is the home of the Lejosá¡lfar who are friends to man. Nidarvellir, is home of the dvengar. It is said that Svartalfheim is home to Svartalfar, which we now know as the Dá¶kká¡lfar. And finally from Vanaheim sprang forth gods named the Vanir that did rival the Aesir in power.

Now it did so happened that a god named Loki–who did cause much mischief among both gods and men–did lie with a Angrboda, a Jotun. From their union was born Fenrir the wolf, Jormungand the serpent, and Hel. When Odin did see this he took Já¶rmungand and he did throw him into the depths of the ocean and Já¶rmungand grew so large that he came to encircle the world. And Frigg foresaw that Fenrir would wreak havoc upon the world, so Odin did take him and cast the beast in chains. And Odin did give Hel dominion over the dead and she did take up residency within Niflheim and her domain within came to be known as Helheim or simply Hel. And she did set her faithful hound, Garm, at the gates of her abode to keep the dead within and the living without.

It came to pass that the Aesir and Vanir did war with one another over the hearts of men. They fought long and hard, and slowly their numbers dwindled until only the goddesses remained. Yea, even the All father, Odin did fall. It came to pass that those that remained did make peace and together they do watch over Midgard and await the final battle.