Editing Norse Mythology (section)

===Notable Characters===
*'''[[Odin]]''' - The king of the gods. The All-Father, the One-Eyed Wanderer, and Patron of Shamans and Berserkers. He wasn't actually the first of the gods, but rather he is named "All-Father" for slaying his tyrannical grandfather Ymir and creating Midgard (Earth) from his body and bones. His stories are full of sacrifice in the pursuit of higher wisdom, such as hanging himself on the World Tree, Yggdrasil in order to be granted the knowledge of runes and giving up his eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom. He has two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, which deliver him news of the nine realms every day, as well as two fucking huge wolves, Freki and Geri, which he uses as guard dogs/hunting hounds. His major schtick is trying to prevent Ragnarok. He also has a sick-ass spear called Gungnir, which will never miss its mark. Known for being wise, but also manipulative. Not a god you should underestimate, by any means.
*'''[[Frigg]]''' - Wife of Odin. The Matron of the Aesir and Odin's wife. Sort of a power-behind-the-scenes, she is just as wise and manipulative as her husband but much more subtle and slow-moving in her plots. When she appears she seems more like the kind of person who looks to the greater good. She's a goddess of the housestead but in the distant, measured manner. Unlike her version in the Greek Pantheon, Hera, she isn't vindictive in any way and seems to take her husband's infidelity in strides.
*'''[[Thor]]''' - Son of Odin, the God of Thunder, Storms and Oak Trees, the Protector of Mankind, and arguably the most popular god, even in the [[Vikings|Viking Age]]. (No, his popularity isn't really due to [[Marvel Comics|Stan Lee and Jack Kirby]], that came much later.) He wields a mighty warhammer named Mjolnir, and uses it to great effect. Out of all the Norse gods, he's probably one of the most bro-tier, although it's ill advised to piss him off (as several giants and dwarves could attest, were their heads not smashed in). He's so unbelievably OP that even when he thought he'd lost against Utgard-Loki (no relation to Loki, btw), Utgard-Loki had to admit defeat because Thor almost destroyed the world ''by accident.'' Prophesied to die fighting the world serpent Jormungandr.
*'''[[Loki]]''' - The Trickster God, the Deceiver. Unfortunately, the Norse had a rather dim view of tricksters and deceivers, so he's usually a villain in the myths. Probably doesn't help that he and his children are responsible for killing several gods (It also probably doesn't help that the Christians writing down the Norse myths identified him with Satan). Responsible for many shenanigans, including [[Wat|turning himself into a mare and fucking a stallion,]] [[/d/|getting pregnant from said stallion, and giving birth to an eight-legged horse that Odin rides as a mount ]] (part of a crazy scheme to defraud a  contractor, no less), killing the near-invincible god Baldur (see below) as a prank, and being Odin's blood-brother. Yes, you read that right, ''Odin's'' brother, not Thor's. Essentially [[That Guy]] of the Norse pantheon, complete with uncomfortable sexual stuff involving animals and betraying his party members.
*'''[[Freya]]''' - Goddess of Fertility, Erotic Love, Magic, and War (in case you haven't noticed, the Norse really loved to fight). She claims half of all warriors slain in glorious battle, bringing them to her meadow of Folkvangr. The other half are chosen by Odin and become Einherjar, the Chosen Slain, where they will feast and fight in Valhalla until Ragnarok, where they will all charge the wolf Fenrir and die. She is among the most powerful of the Norse gods, but originally came from the Vanir alongside her brother and dad.
*'''[[Freyr]]''' - God of Fertility, Harvest and Farmers. Brother of Freya but quite a lot more mellow. He's a protector of the homestead and its prosperity. Some translations make him the god of "half-men", which is still disputed to be anything from men who don't own a homestead to actual gay dudes.
*'''[[Baldur]]''' - Son of Odin and Frigg. God of light, joy and the sun, said to be the most beloved of all the gods. Frigg asked all things to swear an oath not to harm Baldur, save for the mistletoe bush, which she thought to be harmless. Loki, being a spiteful jackass, took advantage of this oversight and arranged for Baldur to be slain by a mistletoe dart. 
*'''Høder/Höðr''' - The God of Cripples. Very unimportant - only known for being tricked into shooting a mistletoe-arrow at his brother Baldur, which killed him. 
*'''[[Heimdall]]''' - The watchman of the gods, the Guardsman of the Bifrost and the whitest of the gods-- [[/pol/|don't you look at us like that!]] (Seriously, he was known as the "shining god" or "brightest god", and is the guardian of Bifrost, a literal rainbow bridge - the exact meaning and translation of his status is a matter of some debate, though thankfully not in ''that'' sense.) Heimdall is known as the son of Nine Mothers - just how this works is never expounded on. There's... very little else to be said about him beyond that he's watching everyone, everywhere, at all times due to his super senses so keen he could hear grass growing on the other side of the world. He and Loki are going to kill each other come Ragnarok.
*'''Njord''' - God of the Sea, Fishing and the Wind. Father of Frej and Freya, but otherwise unimportant; lives far away in a tower by the sea.
*'''[[Tyr]]''' - The One-Handed God of Justice, Warfare, Strategy and Government. How does he have only one hand, you may ask? Well, let's just say... when a giant wolf demands your hand as payment for the gods binding him in unbreakable tethers, and you're known for keeping your word... well... 
*'''Sif''' - The Goddess of the Hearth and Home, wife of Thor. There's little information on her, but she has golden hair. Like, literally hair made of gold, gifted to her by Loki to make up for the fact that he cut her hair in the first place.
*'''Bragi''' - God of Music, Bards and Entertainers. Not a lot is know about him, other than he's engaged to Idunn.
*'''Idunn''' - Provider of the Golden Apples, magical apples that give the gods their youth. There's evidence that she was never a goddess, but instead a fey-creature or an elf who's a retainer within the Valhallan court.
*'''Skadi''' - Goddess of winter and'''fucking skiing'''. Only notable because she's a jotun inducted into the pantheon as repayment for the death of her father, who had been slain after he manipulated Loki into kidnapping Idunn on his behalf. She demanded she be allowed to take an Aesir husband as part of her weregild; she was hoping to snag Baldur, but wound up choosing Njord by mistake. They ultimately got divorced because they couldn't stand each other's favoured territory.
*'''[[Hel]]'''- Goddess of Death, and ruler of the underworld which shares her name. She is often described in the myths as half- beautiful woman and half-scary corpse with an eternally gloomy expression (which would be understandable if you were assigned to be queen of all the dead souls in the nine worlds). It is debated among scholars and modern pagans on what it is exactly mean by "half-and-half", ranging from her looking like a stunning pale visage to her being a literal half skeleton. Along with Jormungandr and Fenrir, she is one of Loki's children with Angroboda, and was placed in charge of Helheim when she was just a child. She rules over those who did not die in battle, and will fight alongside her father come Ragnarok.
*'''Fafnir''' - Son of Hreidmar who is cursed by Andvari's gold and becomes a fuckhuge [[dragon]], yo.
*'''Sigurd''' - Also known as Siegfried, this top bloke single-handedly slew Fafnir and had a tragic romance with the Valkyrie Brynhildr.
*'''Grendel''' - Technically from Beowulf, this guy is the son of Cain and is "harrowed" by the sounds of singing from the King Hrothgar's mead-hall Heorot. One day he snaps and attacks the hall, continuing to attack it every night for twelve years. Did we mention he [[Chaos|consumes the men he kills?]]