1 In the time of beginings

When the four brothers

Who were once the vicious Ymir

Went to the four corners of existance

see The Lay of Creation verse 15

5 When still there was no order

Or purpose to space

Time and matter

Holde sank into the blackness

see The Lay of Creation verse 16

Away from her brother Odhinn

10 Who arose to the light.

see The Lay of Creation verse 17

Into the unknowable depths of the Universe

Where all mysteries sink

Went the Grandmother of Darkness

The unknowable keeper of secrets.

15 She pulled a seed from

Her dark womb

And planted it firmly

Into the nothingness of that realm.

Over her tiny seed the cold one

20 Sprinkled the blue blood of Ymir

That seeped into her void

Until the seed sprouted.

The Grandmother then pulled

Another seed from her womb

25 And then another

The first was of unformed blue matter

And the second of unformed green matter.

Great Holde gave these form

And made them beings in seed form.

30 These beings she placed

Back into her womb

And then the Dark Goddess

Settled back into her Void

To direct the developement of her children

35 Within the blackness of her womb.

When the time came that they

Had reached the point at which

They resembled in their divineness

Their Great Creator-Mother.

40 They were born beneath the

Young branches of the ever-growing

Tree Yggdrasil

Under whose root Holde

Placed a well filled

45 With the waters of the divine birth

That the well should be forever bound

Thus making Yggdrasil the tree of life.

The first child born was male

Holde named him Njorth.

50 The second child born was female

Holde named her Nerthus.

The Creator-mother sent her children

To follow the etin Aegir

Who embodied the blood of Ymir.

see The Lay of Creation verse 21

55 Aegir had departed to the

Western corner of the Univerese

Where he lived in a world

Of pure blue

Motionless water.

60 Njorth dived into the still

Waters of that western world

Diving deeper and deeper

Until he reached the bottom

Where he found Aegir laying

65 In a death-like

Dreamless sleep.

The son of Holde went to

The side of Aegir

And attempted to wake him

70 By gently stroking his black hair

But the Etin slept too deeply.

So Njorth shook his alabaster shoulder

But still Aegir could not be roused.

Violently Njorth shook him

75 Pulling him forcefully through the

Stagnet waters exerting

All his godly force

Until he had created a mighty storm.

Only then under the fullness

80 Of Njorths great power

Did Aegir open his great eyes

Blue as the tempest which tossed him

And looked upon Njorth

For the first time.

85 Njorth still holding Aegir

In his arms said to him

I am Njorth

Son of Holde

First of Vans

90 I come to you with peace

In my heart

And love in my hands

To live forever in this realm

Come and let us be brothers

95 And make this a world

Of eternal peace.

Aegir could only smile in reply

Because he was still half asleep

But through the hypnotic language

100 Of his great oceanic eyes

Njorth understood his answer.

The two embraced and became as brothers.

That is how Njorth conquered peacefully

The waters of the west for the Vanir.

105 Njorth and Nerthus loved each other

And embraced lovingly for the first time.

Nerthus was impregnated with life

And two daughters were born.

The first emerged in a ray of light

110 From the body of gentle Nerthus.

Her soft hair was earth colored and her

Delicate eyes were as green as her mothers.

She was the image of her mother

And her heart was deep and wise

115 Filled with Holde's knowledge

And her soul pure and clean.

She was called Gefjon.

The second child emerged from

The womb of Nerthus

120 Into the cold waters

In a cloud of dark fluid.

Her hair was long and black

Like her father Njorth's

But her skin was cold and hard

125 And felt like porcelain.

And her eyes were yellow

As falling leaves in Autumn

But they had the look to them

Of a fishes eyes

130 Her blood was venom.

She spewed urine into the water

Around her polluting it.

She was called Ran.

To Aegir Ran was not loathsome

135 He was drawn to her by

Her pungent scent-trail through

The water like a shark

Is drawn by blood to its victim.

And they became frenzied with love

140 For one another

And Njorth let them be married.

Aegir became a Van by that marraige

the Vanir are matriarchal, the Aesir are patriarchal. When a male marries into the Vanir they become Vanir, the opposite goes for the Aesir.

And together they had many daughters

One for every wave upon the seas

145 Of the western realm

Until there was a great many

Daughters of Aegir and Ran.

Njorth named these daughters

The Undines and gave

150 Them dominion of the parts of

The water.

From the empty bottom of Ginungagap

Came the branches of Yggdrasil

Like a great vine

155 It took hold of the Universe

And order was set upon it.

And from its motion came time

And from time came space.

The worlds were set

160 To rest on its boughs like birds nests.

There came to be nine worlds

And a billion paths between them

Each a branch of the great tree.

Within the central world

165 The world of physical existance

It was created by the forces of Wyrd

Mundilfari and Mundilfara

Two etins

Named violent and gentle force.

170 They had a daughter and son

And their names were Sol and Mani.

Sol shone bright and burned

With eternal fire

And the matter gathered around her.

175 The etin Thrym-Thiazi came to her

With his brothers

And they became the planets

Which circle Sol.

this was the birth of our solar system.

Thrym-Thiazi was the third one

180 And Mani chose to circle him

the Earth and moon respectively.

Out of the nine Thrym-Thiazi was the most Holy

And Mani became Thrym-Thiazi's moon.

Then from the realm of

the north

Came great Gymir,

185 And he blessed Thrym-Thiazi with

Solid matter.

Then from the east

Came great Kari

And blessed Thrym-Thiazi with air

190 And gaseous matter.

Then from the realm of the south

Came great Muspell

And blessed Thrym-Thiazi with fire,

And Thrym-Thiazi became molten

195 And he was violent.

This was the time of his youth.

In the west in the land of the Vans

Njorth commanded the daughters of Aegir

To rise up out of the waters

200 Into the empty skies.

And they became great thick clouds

That darkened the west with

Their emincity as they were bloated

With an enormous amount of water.

205 And Njorth commanded them to

Follow him across time and space

Over the branch of the Holy Tree

Toward the middle realm.

And even as they departed

210 More followed behind them

Darkening the Vanic sky for twelve years

As half the sea of the west

Rose into the air and departed.

And when the last droplet

215 Had departed and the west

Was left with only half its water

current scientific theory states that to this day our planet is bombarded with ice particles from space and that over the past millions of years they created our present oceans.

Nerthus found that she stood

On dry land because

A huge island had been revealed

220 With towering mountains and wide flat lands.

This land she named Vanaheim.

When Njorth followed by Aegir's daughters

Emerged in the physical realm

They found Thrym-Thiazi a malevolent

225 Sphere of molten oceans and

Erupting volcanos

Surrounded by the nauseous

Gasses of Kari's realm.

At Njorths word the daughters of Aegir

230 Fell upon the gasses of Kari

In wave after wave until

They subdued the skies above Thrym-Thiazi.

the previous stated theory claims that the ice particles are the size of small houses.

They then formed themselves into

Great clouds that thickened and blackened

235 As more of their number arrived.

over millions of years

Then came Aegir and Ran

And Nerthus and Gefjon came also

Even Holde rose up from the void

To witness the battle between

240 Van and etin as it was

Known that from the battle

Would come the most wonderful

World of all the nine.

Then Njorth

245 Father of the Vans

Gave his benidiction to the great sea

Which was held at bay above Thrym-Thiazi.

And he raised his blessed hand

And gave word to the daughter's of Aegir

250 To fall upon Thrym-Thiazi.

They released their torrents

Upon the molten etin

And when the water met

The fire two daughters were born

255 To mighty Thrym-Thiazi.

The first was fierce and violent

Her birth was instant

Amoung the black glass of that

Most sacred moment of creation.

260 Her hair glowed fiery red

And her eyes obsidian

Her skin was the color of volcanic ash.

She was called Skadi.

some believe she later gave birth to a royal family

The second was born as

265 The waters began to overcome

The molten rock and it began to cool

And harden into solid stone.

She was firm

And more patient than her sister

270 Her birth was not instant

But took many years

As the rains fell for months

And for years cooling Thrym-Thiazi

And running down the new

275 Stone moutains toward the low plains.

She formed slowly, crystalizing

Breaking apart and being carried

Down the gushing streams toward

The rivers growing smaller

280 Until she was sand.

She spread her wieght over the

Whole of Thrym-Thiazi's world

And it became her world.

She was named Erde.

or as some know her "Mother Earth"

285 But Skadi was not submissive

Like her sister

And from beneath Erde's surface

She forced up molten rock

With her unstoppable might.

290 She pushed higher and higher

And formed great moutains.

Skadi was not like her sister Erde

Who was content to lay calmly

In the warmth of Sol's rays

295 Or be swept away by the rains

Into the many rivers making them brown

Or peacefully settling to the bottom

Of the new seas

Or be carried up by the winds

300 Into the sky as dust clouds.

But Erde's heart was molten

And it's spinning created the force

Which held all things to her.

Skadi's delight was to bring

305 This molten material to the surface

In powerful explosions

That spewed the lava up into

The skies and down upon the land

Darkening the skies with ash.

a volcanoe Goddess? well there are volcanoes in Scandinavia...

310 The lava countered the effects

Of the rains erosion

So that the daughter's of Aegir

Could not level Erde's face.

And so the face of Erde

315 Was put into balance by the Vans.

The waters fell and ran down

The valleys until they met the

Sea carrying much of the material

Forming soil and sand

320 Only to rise up again and

Be carried by the winds to

A new place to fall upon

The face of Erde.

Following the conquest of Thrym-Thiazi's world

325 Holde captured Nerthus

And took her down into

Her dark cold home

Beneath the roots of Yggdrasil.

She sealed Nerthus up

330 In a cave

For nine years.

And the sweet Goddess

Fell into a deep dreamless sleep

With her eyes opened to the blackness.

335 Holde pulled her head first

Out of the cave

And took her to the well

Which feeds the root of Yggdrasil.

There Holde revealed to Nerthus

340 The secrets of life

And showed her how to create

And develope living things.

Then Holde put her hand

To the womb of Nerthus

345 And gave her the power of life.

Then Holde opened the hand

Of Nerthus and put in it

The sacred origins of life

Which was to small to be seen

350 But because of her gift

Was visible to Nerthus.

Even in her hand the key to life

Began to copy itself

Until Nerthus held a great ball of it

355 Which she took to the middle world.

The Goddess of life sank into

The seas of the new world

and released the life into the water.

the beginings of life on Earth came from the sea.

She directed it to form more

360 And more of itself

Until it almost filled

The sea.

Then she directed it to

Form itself into more

365 Complex organization

Until she had formed the first organisms.

These she directed to form

Into great complexity and diversity

Until she had created organisms

370 That were green and could

Capture the energy of Sol

And use it to feed themselves

As the soup of life she had created

Was running out.

375 To others she gave the ability

To move though the water.

To even more others

She gave the ability to capture

And eat others.

380 The green ones created as waste

Minute gass bubbles of oxygen

Which rose into the sky and

Formed the Goddess Svol

the ozone layer

And she was able to block

385 The harmful powers of Sol

Making the world everyday

More hospitable toward life.

With that these organisms

Began to group together

390 And learn from each other

Becoming more specialized.

Living first as communities of attached

Single cell organisms

And then as complex

395 Organisms with specialized cells.

These developed into further complexities

Over the millions of years

Until they became very complex

And in greater variety

400 All from the single bit of life

Placed in the hand of Nerthus

By the mysterious Grandmother Holde.

Nerthus took the essence of these

Life forms when they died

405 And reused them in the bodies

Of their offspring.

But then as they became

More and more complex

And swam as fish in the seas

410 And swayed as underwater vines

The miracle of simple thought

Was created and when the

Flesh if the being died

And it's essence had been

415 Transferred there still remained

The bits of thought

Which could not be transferred.

So Nerthus took these bits

Of thought and

420 Put them into her womb.

These bits of thought combined

And under the blanket of the

Great Mother's womb became

Conscious life forms

425 Created by the thoughts

Of simple life forms

Within the womb of Nerthus.

They pressed for birth

And from the womb of the Mother

430 Came the wights

The gaurdians of life

Born in the dawn of life.

They went about to aid Nerthus

In her work

435 Some to the plants to guide

And protect their developement

Others to the animals.

And life thrived in the oceans

And developed in beauty and ferocity

440 But the lands still remained

Barren and lifeless.

The day came when the nine waves

Were concieved without a father

And they gave birth to a

445 Shining God of light

Heimdallr the ram.

He rose out of the shallow swamp

Waters and walked toward the land.

The white one put his foot

450 On the dry land and walked upon it

Behind him the swamp plants

Extended their green arms

And raised their leaves

Into the dry air.

455 There they set their roots

Into the dry ground

And followed the god

As he led them deeper

Into the land until they

460 Were far from the water.

Insects followed and crawled out

Of the water and eventually

Became independent of it

As here they were safe

465 From the fish and crawling

Beasts that hunted them

In the water.

And they developed

And fed on the lush swamp forrests

470 That grew thick and moist.

One day an insect was born

With wings and it took to the air

To evade it's terrestial predators

And it's offspring swarmed in the sky.

475 But the wights of animals

Were quick to create an animal

That could crawl out of the water

To capture the insects

And feed on the lush plants.

480 Soon it too developed the ability to leave the water

Permanently and it had

A hard watertight skin.

And it's eggs were hard

And held it's developing embryo

485 In a protective shell

That could be layed

Far from water.

These beasts were ruled

By Heimdallr and he directed

490 Their developement over millions of years

Making some of them huge

And diverse.

Some fed on the coniferous

Plants of the time

495 And others became

Mighty hunters.

They were the largest beasts

To walk the Earth

These were the long ages

500 Of the Dragons

When Heimdallr was ruler

And gaurdian of the Earth.

In their waistland in the Eastern

Realm of the Holy Tree

505 The sons of Bergelmir

Became angered by the success

Of the children of

The Goddess who with her brothers

Had killed their Grandfather Ymir.

see The Lay of Creation verse 15

510 They raised a great army

And prepared for an attack.

First the jotuns sent

One of their number

A huge Giant to collide

515 With the earth.

His impact caused great

Destruction upsetting the techtonics

And throwing Skadi into a rage.

the meteor that may have ended the age of the dinosaurs

She caused volcanoes to erupt everywhere

520 And mountain-splitting earthquakes

To shake the surface of Erde

Who in the violence had risen

Into the sky as a great dust cloud.

Then the jotun army attacked

525 Though Heimdallr and the wights fought

They were unprepared and overpowered.

The jotuns set huge fires

Which swept huge areas of

The earth and sent more ash

530 And smoke into the sky

Until the light of Sol

Was completely blocked.

And those Dragons who escaped

The jotuns and the fires

535 Were left to starve as

The forests withered in the darkness

And those who escaped starvation

Were killed by the disease and pestilence

Which the jotuns released.

540 And in the battle Heimdallr

Was struck down by

A swarm of jotun warriors.

But the mindless jotuns

Did not notice that he

545 Still lived and they left him

In their lust to destroy blindly

Carelessly and even incompletely.

Njorth seeing the battle lost

Instructed the Vans to retreat

550 And save what remained.

The wights that still lived

Gathered all the beasts that survived

And hid them from the

Marauding jotuns

555 And the plant wights did the same.

The victory of the jotuns

Was complete and the earth

Was lain waste

And life was vanquished

560 But for those plants and seeds

That the defeated Vans could save

Satisfied with their victory

The jotun army returned to

Its Eastern realm

565 Leaving only a small number

Behind to keep the earth

In utter destruction.

Heimdallr awoke to see

His kingdom in ruins

570 All of the great Dragons lay

Rotting across the Earth

Only the smallest remained

And those that had developed wings

And feathers.

575 The age of dragons was forever over.

He departed to the west

In defeat and sorrow

Never again would he allow

The jotuns to attack

580 And destroy life so suddenly.

He would never again be

Caught off gaurd.

From the head of a dead dragon

He took a great horn

585 And cut a blowing hole

He called it Gjallar

And would blow it

The next time the jotuns armies

Came across the Tree from the east

590 Bent on the destruction of life.

After the departure of the jotun army

The wights began waging war on

The jotuns that remained

Through ambushes and partyisan warfare

595 Because their numbers and power

Were still to weak.