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Norse Mythology declares that at the beginning of time, when no earth, neither water, nor air, existed, and darkness preceded all else, there was a vast abyss in the heart of the universe, called Ginnunga-gap. And the edge of this chasm, Muspellheim, and Niflheim, the primeval realms of fire and ice. Gradually, the intense heat produced by Muspellheim started to melt the ice. This melted ice gave birth to Ymir, the primordial Hrim-Thurs, or ice-giant. The ice also gave rise to a cow named Audhumla. Four rivers of milk flowed from Audhumla’s udder. Ymir and other giants survived by drinking this milk. Audhumla, in turn, got her nourishment from licking blocks of ice. Once, as she was licking it, the ice revealed a god’s hair, and slowly his head. And progressively, the god Buri emerged, and he produced Börr, the second god. While Audhumla was licking the ice and helping Buri emerge, Ymir fell asleep. And three giants were born from his sweat. The third giant was the six-headed Thrudgelmir. He gave birth to Bergelmir, who was the ancestor of all frost giants.

Thus the feud between gods and giants began. The fight continued for centuries, neither side gaining an advantage until Börr married the giantess Bestla, who bore him three powerful sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve. The three brothers succeeded in slaying Ymir, who was so big that all the other giants drowned in his blood, except for Bergelmir, who escaped in a boat with his wife, set up his abode, Jotunheim (the realm of giants), and continued the race of giants.

The three sons of Börr created the earth from Ymir’s flesh, water from his blood, the sky from his skull, clouds from his brains, mountains from his bones, cliffs from his flat teeth, and plants & vegetation, his curly hair. Thus was created Midgard, the world in the center of the universe. However, in time, the skull’s base began to rot. Fearing that it may collapse upon the beautiful realm, the gods tasked four dwarves, namely Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Westri, to go to the four corners of Midgard and hold the skull on their shoulders. These were the dwarfs from whom came the present names for directions: North, South, East, and West.

Just before this, some maggot-like creatures were breeding in Ymir’s flesh. The gods gave them forms, superhuman intelligence, and divided them into two classes. The first class was the Elfs, who started to live in Alfheim, the realm of air and light. In the second class were the dark-skinned, treacherous, and cunning. These creatures had no match in forging weapons and pieces of jewelry. These were called the Dwarves. They turned to stone in sunlight and spent all their time exploring the secret recesses of the earth for precious metals and stones.

Next was created, humans. Once, as Odin and his two brothers were in Midgard, they stumbled upon two ash tree trunks. They decided that they will form the species that will populate Midgard from these. So, Odin gave them life, Vili, mind, and Ve gave them eyes, ears, and mouths. They created one man and one woman and named them Ask and Embla. These were the ancestors of all humankind.

And because Odin created the first couple, he was also known as the Allfather.

Then, Odin planted a gigantic ash tree, which was so vast that it had roots in all of the nine worlds, its top branch overshadowed Odin’s hall in Asgard, the home of Gods, & it was pasturing grounds for many enormous creatures. This tree was called Yggdrasil, the World Tree. At its top branch perched an eagle, between whose eyes sat a falcon named Vedfolnir, who had an incredibly sharp vision and reported all that he saw. In Niflheim, a dragon called Nidhug gnawed at the roots continuously, hoping to destroy it, as he knew that the destruction of the World Tree signified the gods’ downfall. Between the roots and branches of Yggdrasil, a squirrel called Ratatosk ran up and down the boughs, telling the dragon the eagle’s remarks, and vice versa, hoping to strike conflict between them.

And so, Odin’s rule upon the worlds, and the gods, began.

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