In the beginning

In the beginning there was no earth or heaven, no sand nor sea nor cooling waves. There was only a great void. Then there was a song. The song was weak in the beginning, like the wind blowing, but as it went on the creators came into being. They joined the song of creation and made it grow stronger, singing with different voices but to the same tune.

The song divided the void into fire and ice, leaving a huge gap in between. The fire is called Muspelheim, the ice Nilfheim and the gap Ginnungagap.

The heat from the fire made the ice melt, making rivers of water flow from the ice into Ginnungagap. When the water flowed into the chasm, an ocean was created, forcing the ice further away from the fire. When far away from the fire, the ice stopped melting, and from that day until the end of time the sea keeps Muspelheim and Nilfheim apart.

Creation of land and life

Now the creators started singing another song, and in the middle of the ocean land rose from the depths. A tree started growing in the middle of the land. This was the first tree, Yggdrasil. At the roots of the tree the Nornor live, weaving the web of history with the threads of life. They know the destiny of every living being.

The first life was the giants, and then came the gods. The gods and the giants fought great battles for supremacy of the land, until almost all the giants were either dead or had fled. Ever since that time there has been hatred and enmity between the gods and the giants.

The gods dragged the dead giants' bodies into the ocean. Their flesh became the earth, their bones became the mountains, their hair the trees, and their teeth the stones. The gods discovered maggots living in what had been the giants' flesh. They turned these into the dwarves and dark elves and these beings reside in the depths of the earth, mining the ore and minerals beneath the mountains and hills. The world of the dwarves is known as Nidavellir and the world of the dark elves is called Svartalfheim. The gods also discovered some fine creatures living in the soil formed from the giants flesh. They named these creatures light elves and placed them in the world known as Alfheim. As the giants blood flowed, it created a flood that killed all the giants, save one family.

The gods then took a giants skull and fashioned from it the sky and set it over the earth. Under each corner they placed a dwarf and it is from the names of these dwarves that we get the directions, North, South, East and West. The gods then took the sparks and burning embers that were flying about from Muspelheim and cast them into the midst of the Ginnungagap to light the heavens and the earth. They gave stations to all the stars and planets.

Now that the earth was made and had been filled with all manner of things, the gods created mankind and called the earth Midgard. They fashioned a world for the family of giants and this world is known as Jotunheim.

The gods then built for themselves a stronghold in the middle of the world and it is known as Asgard. They built a bridge to connect Asgard and Midgard, and this bridge was Bifrost. The great world tree, Yggdrasil, which touches upon all of the worlds, shelters Asgard. The gods were worshipped and held in great respect and while they were receptive for devote worship, they did not always responded to their creations' prayers.

Discord among the gods

When the earth had been created and the giants trapped in Jotunheim, the gods slowed down their actions, trying to interpret the meaning of the creators' song. Some of the gods wanted to help the creatures of the earth to become more like themselves, aiding them in their struggle. Others insisted the creators' intention was that humans, elves, dwarfs and all other living beings should live their lives following the threads of destiny without knowing the true meaning of existence.

As time went past, the differences between the gods grew deep. They were divided, with some that wanted to leave Midgard alone and others wanted to guide the creatures they had created. Some of the gods decided to create Vanaheim as a new home and they are called the Vanir, and from that day the gods were divided in Aesir and Vanir.

Some of the Vanir taught their disciples how they, with great effort, could channel the creators' music to change things in the world. This was called magic and those who mastered it gained might and fame as wizards. The Aesir were not pleased by the actions of the wizards, but their warnings were ignored.

The wizards continuously pushed their knowledge further, performing more powerful magic. Their actions made the music of the world change and twist, giving birth to many strange things and creatures unbeknownst by the wizards. They started looking outside the world the gods had given them and learned many things that had previously been hidden. They even started travelling between the worlds without the gods help, finding their own ways.

With the gods divided, and magic twisting the fabric of the worlds, the giants managed to break free from Jotunheim. They ravaged the other worlds, avenging their loss of the rights as the firstborn. Not even the united hosts of the gods were strong enough to stop them; they had to retreat into Asgard, tearing down Bifrost to stop the giants from passing. Some of the giants stayed in Midgard, others went to Muspelheim to dwell there and others yet went as far as Nilfheim.

Recent history

After the gods retreated into Asgard, the different worlds slowly lost touch. Not even the wizards seem able to perform their mightiest magic anymore and prayers to the gods are seldom answered. Yggdrasil is nothing more than a dreamlike image to most men, and mankind is struggling to get on alone. There are rumors of far away places, huge beasts and strange lands; giants, elves, and dwarves are only tales told at the campfires in the evening. The tales attract only the foolhardy or the most valiant of adventurers.

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