AESIR

PANTHEONS

The Æsir of Asgard and Midgardr

"I remember yet the giants of yore, Who gave me bread in the days gone by; Nine worlds I know, the nine in the tree, With mighty roots beneath the earth." –Stanza 2, Voluspa

In the Beginning

Forged from fire and ice, the Æsir and the Jötnar (the giants) clashed the moment they met. It had to be done. They were born into a world with nothing and with no land to call their own. Odin and his brothers ripped Ymir asunder and with his flesh, bones, brains, and blood, they created the mountains, the ocean, the clouds, and the lands of Miðgarðr. As fate would have it, Bergelmir and his wife were the only two giants to survive, becoming the progenitors of their race. They fled to Jötunheimr — a wild place filled with beasts that inhabited dark forests. Relentlessly battered by the Æsir and storms alike, the Jötnar had a choice — to live and mate with the Æsir or exist to torment their enemies until the great wheel turned.

Æsir & Vanir

The Æsir dwelled in Ásgarð, a civilized and law-abiding land, surrounded by a thick wall. Eventually, a second tribe of Gods appeared, calling them- selves the Vanir. They hailed from Vanaheim — a land with sacred halls, woods, and fields. The tribes coexisted with nothing but peace in their hearts until it was dis- covered the Vanir possessed the art of seiðr, a magic of incredible potency. Odin, seeker of all things mystical, sought to take the knowledge by force. The war proved one thing — that each tribe could gain the upper hand, but neither could truly succeed. After much bloodshed on both sides, the Titanic opponents of both devastated the Gods. The Æsir absorbed their rivals into their ranks and thus preserved themselves in difficult times.

Outlook

Born in the wastes and ruin of Northern Europe among Germanic warriors and Nordic pirates, the Æsir are the product of this shotgun wedding millennia ago, and the dichotomy still shows today. The Æsir do not regard the past as better than the present. In fact, they appear more at ease these days, for they are bound by Fate, and look to the future with dread.

Primary Membership

The Æsir are an ancient calling — a voice of nature and the force of war drums, loving flyting in the grand halls of Ásgarð as equally as they do a worthy battle. Bound by Fate, they are entangled to the whim of the Nornir — Urðr, that which is; Verðandi, that which is becoming; and Skuld, that which should be. Odin, the All-Father, rules over the Æsir, and often wanders the World adhering to his own agenda of breaking the cycle of Ragnarok, the great prophesied Twilight of the Gods. The Æsir continue to wait and hope: Tyr, Skaði, Thor, Sif, Heimdall. Only Baldr and Hel await the death of all with something resembling joy, for the former will resurrect as the sun over the new world and the latter will rule over the dead remains of the old. The Vanir still exist, bound by marriage to the Æsir: Freyja, Freyr, and Njörðr all grimly await their fate, doomed and bound by blood oath. And Loki, blood-brother to Odin, futilely struggles against Fate to save his pantheon and family.

• ODIN -- God of Wisdom, Magic and the Dead
• THOR -- God of Thunder, Storms & Crops
• FRIGG -- Goddess of Destiny and Marriage
• HEL -- Goddess of the Realms of the Dead
• BALDR -- God of Beauty, Love & Peace
• HEIMDALL -- God of Perception
• SIF -- Goddess of the Harvest
• LOKI -- God of Fire and Trickery
• TYR -- God of Courage and Justice
• FREYA -- Goddess of Fertility, Love, Lust & War
• FREYR -- God of Fertility and Prosperity
• SKADI -- Goddess of Winter
• NJORDR -- God of the Sea & the Winds

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VALKYRIES

•  :Hrund -- The Pricker :-)

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Genealogy of the Gods

     The Lineage of Bestla

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Ymir	Thrudgelmir	Thrudgelmir/Gjalp the elder	Bergelmir	Bergelmir (son of Thrudgelmir)/ Hjordskulda	Bolthorn	Bolthorn / Ymnalda	Bestla

  The Lineage of Borr

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Auoumbla	Buri	Buri/Wyngalla	Borr	Bestla/Borr	Hoenir Odin Vili Ve

     The Lineage of Frigg, and her Children

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Fjörgynn	Frigg	Odin/Frigg	Baldr Hoder(Höðr) Hermodr Braggi	Odin/Grior	Valdi	Odin/ Rindr	Vali Skjodr Tyr	Skjodr/ Gefjon	Scyldings

    The Lineage of Nott, Grandmother of Thor

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Narfi(The Elder Dark, a Jotunn)	Nott(Grandmother Dark)	Naglfari(Coming Dark)/Nott(Grandmother Dark)	Audr	Dellingr/Nott	Dagr	Annar/Nott	Jord(Jörð)

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Odin/Jord(Jörð)	Thor	Thor/Sif	Modi Thrud	Thor/Jarnsaxa	Magni

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Nepper	Nanna	Baldr/Nanna	Forseti

   The Lineage of the Vanir

Parents	Offspring	Parents	Offspring
Njodr/Nether/Nerthus	Freyr Freya

• Heimdallr, Guardian of the Bifrost – the rainbow bridge connecting the worlds.

• Loki, God of Fire, mischief maker and ally Of the Frost Giants.

• Njord, God of the Sea (Another Ex-Vanir)

The Goddesses

• Freya, Goddess of Fertility

• Frigga, Odin’s wife

• Sif, Thor’s wife

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COSMOLOGY: THE NINE WORLDS

The World is Miðgarðr, centered around Yggdrasil, a great ash tree that connects the World to eight others. Showered in white hail, it stands evergreen on three roots. The roots end in Ásgarð, Jötunheimr, and Niflheim.

Yggdrasil - The Great Tree

The ancient universe is visualized as nine worlds divided up into three sets of three on three end or no beginning, sustained by the Nornir known as Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. They would pour water over the branches so that the tree would not rot. At the top perched a great eagle with a hawk resting between its eyes. The serpent Nídhögg gnaws at the roots. Ratatosk, the squirrel, runs up and down the trunk carrying insults from the serpent to the eagle.

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Here is Keith's Vanaheimr