Editing Norse Mythology (section)

===Ragnarok===
Also known as "Fate of the Gods", "Twilight of the Gods", Götterdämmerung
[[The End Times|The seemingly ubiquitous "end of the world" event]] - The Book of Revelation, the Flood of Noah's Ark fame, and Jesus' death and return are comparable, and Greek myth has the Titanomachy, but the former is more of a case of "all according to God's Keikaku", whereas Ragnarok counts as "NOT AS PLANNED", and the latter is more a case of a victorious revolution, rather than Ragnarok's being straight up disaster for everyone involved. The event itself may or may not be a product of Christianization, which "naturally" marked the end of Nordic "pagan" believes and promises a new beginning not unlike that promised by Christian doctrine's post-return of Jesus arc.

====How the fuck did it start and why?====

It is said that Odin was the one that had foreseen this event through his empty right eye socket, and beheld three "signs": 

1. The death of Baldur. 

2. [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Three uninterrupted long cold winters.
 without any summer in between]]

3. Two wolves in the sky swallow the sun and the moon, and even the stars disappear and send the world into a great darkness.

It’s also important to note that Odin’s futuresight was a double-edged sword. Once he looked into a future event, that event becomes a fixed point, unable to be changed, [[Grimdark|and these fixed points are all utterly terrible]]. But all the stuff ''around'' that event was still flexible, meaning that Odin was essentially running [[Awesome|a very dangerous con game against ''fate itself'']]. Should he risk another vision, making Rangarok worse, but more able to be planned for, or should he go in as blind as possible, risking a massive amount on chance, but more able to twist what happens after for the better? He chose a middle road, knowing some, but not all, and [[Just_as_planned|made as many contingency plans as possible]].

Frigg had several dreams about Baldur's death, and this depressed her to the point Frigg decided to make ''''everything in the goddamn world''''' take a vow not to hurt her precious sunshine-faced boy - and they all complied, too! All but one...

When Loki got the wind of the spell's weakness - mistletoe, which she already considered soft and harmless - the cunny fuckwit thought it was pretty funny, and made a spear, arrow or dart out of mistletoe using his magic. Since Baldur was immune to every ''other'' object, his brother gods made a sport of hurling whatever they could think to at him for shits and giggles. This gave Loki the perfect impetus to carefully place his magic spear into the hand of Höðr, a god who was blind and killed Baldur with it. Höðr was then blamed for Baldur's death, which Odin avenged by [[/d/|fucking a giantess]] and conceiving a god named Váli, who grew in one day just to kill him. 

The second sign, a winter that lasts three years with no summer in between, has yet to come according to legend. The name of these uninterrupted winters are called “Fimbulwinter”; during these three long years, the world will be plagued by wars, and men will kill their kindred.

====The End Times====
A beautiful red rooster named “Fjalar” (meaning “All-knower”; sometimes translated as "Hider/deceiver") will warn all the giants that the Ragnarok has begun. Two other such roosters, one sooty red (unnamed) and one golden (named “Gullinkambi"; "Golden Comb"), will warn the dishonourable dead in Hel and all the Gods in Asgard. Garmr, Norse myth's equivalent to Cerberus, breaks loose from his bindings before the entrance to Hel and runs free as the mortal beings of the world begin to wage war on one another. 

Around the same time, Jormungandr begins thrashing about violently in the ocean; this causes massive waves that, in turn, cause Naglfar (a ship built from the nails of the dead) to break its moorings, carrying an army of the dishonourable dead and numerous Jotun, led by the Frost Giant king Hrym. Loki, having somehow escaped his bindings underground, takes up the helm of Naglfar and promptly sets course for Midgard. The fire Jotnar of Muspelheim also decide they want in on the fun and promptly begin their own march to Midgard, led by their king, Surtr. Somewhere during all this, a pair of wolves born from Fenrir eat the Sun and the Moon.

Recognising that shit is now officially going down in Midgard, Heimdall blows his horn as loud as he can, while Odin chats with Mimir's severed head to try and gain any last minute advice. Warned by the blast of Heimdall's horn, all the Einherjar (warriors who died honourably) in Valhalla realise that the war has started. This will be the battle to end all battles, and all the Einherjar from Valhalla and Folkvangr (Einherjar, but overseen by Freya rather than Odin) pick up their swords and armor to fight side by side with the Aesir against the Giants.

The gates of Valhalla swing open, and it's Ragnarok-o-Clock.

Odin rides forth on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, with his eagle helmet equipped and his spear Gungnir in his hand, leading the enormous army of Asgard with all the Gods and Einherjar to the battleground in the fields of Vigridr. Naglfar arrives on scene, bringing with it Loki, Hrym's Frost Giants, and all the dead once contained within the realm of Hel. The sky itself splits in two, allowing the fire Jotnar to ride forth across the Bifrost (breaking it in the process); Surtr leads them, wielding a sword brighter than the sun as he blasts fire in all directions. Yggdrasil itself shakes violently, and everything, everywhere fears.

Things open on a high note as Odin gets swallowed whole by the great wolf Fenrir, only to be be avenged shortly after by his son Vidar, who jams Fenrir's jaws open with an immense shoe and then either stabs it in the heart, or [[Rip and Tear|full-on tears its head in half]]. Thor and Jormungandr beat each other senseless, with the God of Thunder ultimately killing the Midgard Serpent - his victory, however, is short-lived, as Jormungandr's poison proves fatal to him after Thor takes nine steps away from the snake's corpse. Garmr and Tyr kill one another in battle; Loki and Heimdall join in on the mutually-assured destruction party shortly after by also killing each other. Freyr battles Surtur and loses (due to lacking his sword, which he gave away as part of his courtship of a Giantess), and the battle ends with Surtr setting fire to all the Nine Realms, with everything being incinerated or submerged into a boiling sea.

Finally, the great dragon Nidhogg arrives, scavenging corpses from across the battlefield before departing - whether to chew upon the corpses at its home in Hel, or to bear them to Gimle (the post-Ragnarok Norse heaven) like some kind of macabre [[Phoenix]] depends on the translation. 

[[Grimdark|There is nothing the Gods can do to prevent Ragnarok.]]

====A New Beginning====
Everything looks pretty '''FUCKED UP''', I know - but while most of the Gods will perish in the mutual destruction with the Giants, it is predetermined that a new world will rise up from the water, beautiful and green. Before the battle of Ragnarok, a couple by the name Líf and Lífþrasir (meaning life and lover of life) will find shelter in the sacred tree Yggdrasil. As foretold by the wise Jotunn Vafþrúðnir (Odin's intellectual rival), they consume morning dew as food during the Ragnarok. When the battle is over, they will become the Norse version of Adam and Eve and repopulate the earth again, providing the sole comfort Odin could ever find in his foresight.

The few Gods who survive, as well as the resurrected Baldr and Höðr, will go to Idavollr (the ancient altar and meeting site for the gods), which has remained untouched. There, they build new houses - the greatest of the houses is named Gimli, and bears a roof of gold; it is here that the survivors of Ragnarok and the righteous dead will dwell. There is also a new place called Brimir, at a plain called Okolnir (“never cold”), where those who are good and pure of heart shall dwell. It is in the mountains of Nidafjoll, placing it curiously close to both Hel and the nesting grounds of Nidhogg.

But there is also a terrible place, a great hall on Nastrond, the shore of corpses. All its doors face north to greet the screaming winds. The walls are made of writhing snakes that pour their venom into a river that flows through the hall. Oath-breakers, adulterers, and murderers - considered the worst of criminals in Norse society - are forced to wade through these freezing rivers of snake venom; any unlucky enough to be outside of this hall reside in the spring of Hvergelmir, where Nidhogg harasses and chews upon the bodies of the dishonoured dead for eternity.