Glossary
AEGIR – lord of the waves
AESIR – gods of war, close to humans
ALF SEIDR – elf magic
ANDSKOTI – the Adversary; the new, magic-infused rope binding Fenris Wolf
BALDER – god of light; the second son of Odin and Frigg, and twin brother of Hod. Frigg made all earthly things swear to never harm her son, but she forgot about mistletoe. Loki tricked Hod into killing Balder with a dart made of mistletoe.
BIFROST – the rainbow bridge leading from Asgard to Midgard
DRAUGR – Norse zombies
EIKTHRYMIR – a stag in the Tree of Laeradr whose horns spray water non-stop that feeds every river in every world
EINHERJAR (EINHERJI, sing.) – great heroes who have died with bravery on Earth and become soldiers in Odin’s eternal army; they train in Valhalla for Ragnarok, when the bravest of them will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world
FENRIS WOLF – an invulnerable wolf born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his mighty strength strikes fear even in the gods, who keep him tied to a rock on an island. He is destined to break free on the day of Ragnarok.
FOLKVANGER – the Vanir afterlife for slain heroes, ruled by the goddess Freya
FREY – the god of spring and summer, of the sun, the rain and the harvest, and of abundance and fertility¸ growth and vitality. Frey is the twin brother of Freya and, like his sister, is associated with great beauty. He is lord of Alfheim.
FREYA – the goddess of love; twin sister of Frey; ruler of Folkvanger
FRIGG – goddess of marriage and motherhood; Odin’s wife and the queen of Asgard; mother of Balder and Hod
GINNUNGAGAP – the primordial void; a mist that obscures appearances
GLEIPNIR – a golden rope made by dwarves to keep Fenris Wolf in bondage
HEIDRUN – the goat in the Tree of Laeradr whose milk is brewed for the magical mead of Valhalla
HEIMDALL – god of vigilance and the guardian of Bifrost, the gateway to Asgard
HEL – goddess of the dishonourable dead; born of Loki’s affair with a giantess
HELHEIM – the underworld, ruled by Hel and inhabited by those who died in wickness, old age or illness
HLIDSKJALF – the High Seat of Odin
HOD – Balder’s blind brother
HONIR – an Aesir god who, along with Mimir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir
IDUN – she distributes the apples of immortality that keep the gods young and spry
JORMUNGAND – the World Serpent, born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his body is so long it wraps around the earth
JOTUN – Norse word for giant
LOKI – god of mischief, magic and artifice; the son of two giants; adept at magic and shape-shifting. He is alternately malicious and heroic to the Asgardian gods and to humankind. Because of his role in the death of Balder, Loki was chained by Odin to three giant boulders with a poisonous serpent coiled over his head. The venom of the snake occasionally irritates Loki’s face, and his writhing is the cause of earthquakes.
LYNGVI – the Isle of Heather, where Fenris Wolf is bound; the island’s location shifts every year as the branches of Yggdrasil sway in the winds of the void. It only surfaces during the first full moon of each year.
MAGNI AND MODI – Thor’s favourite sons, fated to survive Ragnarok
MIMIR – an Aesir god who, along with Honir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. When the Vanir didn’t like his counsel, they cut off his head and sent it to Odin. Odin placed the head in a magical well, where the water brought it back to life, and Mimir soaked up all the knowledge of the World Tree.
MJOLNIR – Thor’s hammer
MUSPELL – fire
NAGLFAR – the Ship of Nails
NARVI – one of Loki’s sons, disembowelled by his brother Vali, who was turned into a wolf after Loki killed Balder
NIDHOGG – the dragon that lives at the bottom of the World Tree and chews on its roots
NJORD – god of ships, sailors and fishermen; father of Frey and Freya
NORNS – three sisters who control the destinies of both gods and humans
NORUMBEGA – a lost Norse settlement in their furthest point of exploration
ODIN – the ‘All-Father’ and king of the gods; the god of war and death, but also poetry and wisdom. By trading one eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, Odin gained unparallelled knowledge. He has the ability to observe all the Nine Worlds from his throne in Asgard; in addition to his great hall, he also resides in Valhalla with the bravest of those slain in battle.
RAGNAROK – the Day of Doom or Judgement, when the bravest of the einherjar will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world
RAN – goddess of the sea; wife of Aegir
RATATOSK – an invulnerable squirrel that constantly runs up and down the World Tree carrying insults between the eagle that lives at the top and Nidhogg, the dragon that lives at the roots
RED GOLD – the currency of Asgard and Valhalla
SAEHRIMNIR – the magical beast of Valhalla; every day it is killed and cooked for dinner and every morning it is resurrected; it tastes like whatever the diner wants
SESSRUMNIR – the Hall of Many Seats; Freya’s mansion in Folkvanger
SKIRNIR – a god; Frey’s servant and messenger
SLEIPNIR – Odin’s eight-legged steed; one of Loki’s children. Only Odin can summon him
SUMARBRANDER – the Sword of Summer
SURT – lord of Muspellheim
SVARTALF – a dark elf; a subset of dwarves
THANE – a lord of Valhalla
THOR – god of thunder; son of Odin. Thunderstorms are the earthly effects of Thor’s mighty chariot rides across th
e sky, and lightning is caused by him hurling his great hammer, Mjolnir.
TREE OF LAERADR – a tree in the centre of the Feast Hall of the Slain in Valhalla containing immortal animals that have particular jobs
TYR – god of courage, law, and trial by combat; he lost a hand to Fenris’s bite when the Wolf was restrained by the gods
ULLER – the god of snowshoes and archery
UTGARD-LOKI – the most powerful sorcerer of Jotunheim; king of the mountain giants
VALA – a seer
VALHALLA – paradise for warriors in the service of Odin
VALI – Loki’s son, who was turned into a wolf after Loki killed Balder; as a wolf he disembowelled his brother Narvi before he was gutted himself
VALKYRIE – Odin’s handmaidens, who choose slain heroes to bring to Valhalla
VANIR – gods of nature; close to elves
YGGDRASIL – the World Tree
YMIR – the largest of the giants; father to both the giants and the gods. He was killed by Odin and his brothers, who used his flesh to create Midgard. This act was the genesis of the cosmic hatred between the gods and the giants.
THE NINE WORLDS
ASGARD – the home of the Aesir
VANAHEIM – the home of the Vanir
ALFHEIM – the home of the light elves
MIDGARD – the home of humans
JOTUNHEIM – the home of the giants
NIDAVELLIR – the home of the dwarves
NIFLHEIM – the world of ice, fog and mist
MUSPELLHEIM – the home of the fire giants and demons
HELHEIM – the home of Hel and the dishonourable dead
RUNES (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
DAGAZ – new beginnings, transformations
THURISAZ – the rune of Thor
FEHU – the rune of Frey
RAIDHO – the wheel, the journey
PERTHRO – the empty cup
EHWAZ – horse, transportation
ALGIZ – shielding
TIWAZ – the rune of Tyr