Before the Sun and Moon were charged to count the days, no sky crowned the land below and no
flesh and thought lingered in the emptiness of Ginnungagap, the void of everything. To
the sides of Ginnungagap were the realms of elemental fire and elemental frost;
Muspelheim and Niflheim respectively. To imagine either is to see the world around you made from
a single thing in its purest form. The fires of Muspelheim raged and roared unchecked; while the
freezing wasteland of Niflheim stood silent and unstirred, its clear skies shimmering with frost.
By chance or intent, the fires of Muspelheim spread from its blazing home
and the ice of Niflheim crawled from its cold prison. Their only path was towards Ginnungagap.
In the middle of the void, the hottest and unchained flames licked and struck
the coldest and harshest frost. An explosion of water followed, creating something into nothing:
The first being to ever exist filled the black expanse with the first scream of birth.
This creature was called Ymir – The Screamer. A being both man and woman, a giant so massive only
the world could rival its glory. Under its skin of eternal frost beat a heart like a red furnace,
spreading the flames of Muspelheim throughout the giant’s veins. As Ymir wandered Ginnungagap,
a cloud of vapour followed him and ice melted from its pores in great waterfalls.
Every night, when Ymir slept, creatures such as giants were washed out from its pores
and birthed into existence. One of these creatures was the celestial cow Adhumla,
who found nourishment in the salty ice of Ymir’s skin, who in turn supped upon the cow’s milk.
As Adhumla licked, Buri, the first of the Æsir, cracked free from Ymir’s skin
and inhaled for the first time. Buri became known as the forefather of all Æsir.
His grandson Odin along with his brothers wandered the void in the puddles and clouds of Ymir,
a being as bright and hot as the sun, but as uncaring and indifferent to those around
as the coldest glacier. Ymir trampled as many as it created but paid neither thought nor attention.
Odin, the heir of the Æsir saw the pain of those around the senseless destruction
and felt the sorrow for the giant’s victims. An end had to be put to the chaos and order brought
into existence. Thus Odin hatched a plan along with his brothers Vili and Ve to fell the giant
and build a home to its neglected offspring. Ymir possessed strength beyond all of its
creations combined a thousand fold, but its mind was no more than that of a massive insect.
The three Æsir brothers struck from three directions, tearing holes into Ymir from
whence the fires of Muspelheim burst into Ginnungagap as they did during the giant’s birth.
Ymir screamed and swung in blind confusion, but could do nothing against the overwhelming assault,
then finally fell in a pile of sputtering pieces of ice and molten flame.
From the body parts of Ymir, the three brothers created the world
Midgard, which sprang into life instantly from the giant’s fertile essence. As the world grew,
so were the first mortals created from and elm and an ash, Embla and Ask.
Once all was in good order, the Æsir built their home above the clouds to watch and
govern over their creation and in this realm they built their great hall, Valhalla. Midgard’s
days were tranquil and uneventful as living things in flourished and the Æsir multiplied.