Blimey, So Many Gods! (Part III)
A definitive guide to Vicki's crazy family by world-renowned expert Dr. Jolene Bronwyn
This is the in-character “blog” of Jolene Bronwyn of The Prophecies of Ragnarok book series, maintained and written by Marie Sinadjan. Character art by Marion Janella. Subscribe for free to learn more about her world!
Welcome to episode 3 my new blog series IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AND I REALLY REALLY DON’T WANT TO DIE! If you haven’t caught on (🙄), I’m Jolene, and I’m typing this while we’re camped out in the dark bowels of one of the Tube stations. Spooky, huh? Totally vibes though, because after the quick notes on the Realms and the feud that started it all, and the tea on the Asgardian royal family, today I’m going to introduce the other royal family in all their troublemaking glory.
But first, let’s talk about their homebase!
Jotunheim
Remember when I said this place is super important to remember for later? This is Loki’s homeworld, but more importantly, this is where the Jotnar are from, one of the races that have been in conflict with the Aesir since time immemorial. (The other are the Vanir of Vanaheim, but that’s a story for another time. In case you haven’t noticed, the Aesir have a lot of enemies??? Wonder whose fault that is…)
This is Jotunheim according to the MCU, which is pretty much how the Earth’s beginning to look like with this freaky apocalyptic winter:
And in the MCU, it’s the home of the frost giants. Remember that time Loki looked like he’d come straight off the set of Avatar?
Now the term Jotnar is often translated to Modern English as “giants,” and there are giants in the fire realm of Muspellheim, but that’s also a story for another time, and the Jotnar my friends and I know aren’t blue like Loki in the MCU at all. Neither do they actually have ice powers by default, although according to Professor Victor Elysan and his intimate experiences with the Norse pantheon, the Aesir and the Jotnar descended from a common ancestor, so SOMEONE had to have been a genetic fluke and just could not let it go. THANKS F***ING MUCH FOR THE WINTER!!!
Ahem. Alright. Moving on!
Meet Team Loki
There’s fewer of them, but here’s a family tree anyway:
As I said in the first episode, a long time ago Asgard invaded Jotunheim and won, and Loki was “““adopted””” into the royal family. If you know Game of Thrones, this might sound familiar, the whole “keep your mortal enemy’s child/ren hostage so they don’t go against you in the future, but make it look nice for social media.”
Loki’s bloodline is what Odin’s is for Jotunheim though. Which means Loki is the King of Jotunheim as Odin is King of Asgard, and here we are, collateral damage to their millennia-old power struggle.
Loki also seems to be consistent with most stories and portrayals of him?? Trickster, troublemaker, causer of chaos, absolutely cannot be trusted. And according to a reliable source, he’s trapped in a cavern with poison dripping down his face just as the myths said he’d be… but unfortunately not for long. Ragnarok has begun, after all.
Right, now to introduce the kids! My sources alas cannot confirm the Jotnar succession policies, so let’s just deal with them in birth order, and boy, prepare to be all levels of weirded out.
1. Sleipnir, the Eight-Legged Horse
He’s not a werehorse or someone who shapeshifts into a horse. He is an actual horse. With eight legs. Here’s an illustration by someone on the Internet:
Why is it Odin riding him? Because after Loki had him (more about that in a sec), Odin decided to continue with the “hostage your mortal enemy’s kids” game and claimed the horse for himself. And he’s also supposed to ride that fine horse to the final battle at the end of the worlds, just like that image up there or something. Fortunately, the horse has been freed! PETA won’t get their knickers in a twist now!
But, yeah, you didn’t miss that didya?? Loki is the mother. Storytime!
So this is all related to the story of Asgard’s walls, which you can read here as I have been encouraged by a friend to expose you all to the mythological texts as well as they are more educational and not just a load of my own opinions and free interpretations. Gee, maybe you should start your own blog, Vicki!
If you want the short and sweet version, however:
After Odin became king of the nine realms, a builder came to Asgard and offered to construct its walls. In payment, he wanted Freya as his wife. (And some other conditions.)
Odin noped, well not in front of the builder, but he talked to everyone else and he noped so hard. The others noped too. So they counteroffered, saying that the builder had to complete the job in one season and without the help of any man. The builder agreed and said he’d only use his horse. Deal done!
Odin then told Loki to deal with it. Remember that he noped? Now it was Loki’s problem.
Just when the wall was 99% done, Loki disguised himself as a female horse and went to seduce the builder’s horse. You can see where this goes…
In the end, Odin got his walls and a baby horse with eight legs, and the builder got nothing. In fact, the myths say Thor smashed the builder’s skull with his hammer. Yikes.
2. Hel, the Goddess of Death
Hel is Loki’s firstborn by his Jotnar partner, Angrboda. So, yeah, Marvel got her wrong; she’s Loki’s daughter, not adopted sister. Really changes the dynamic there.
The myths say she’s half alive, half rotting corpse, but by the gods, a trusted source told me she’s drop-dead gorgeous (😉). That trusted source also told me a bunch of stuff about her backstory, like, uh… ummm… wait a second… ugh, what the hell, brain fog??? I’ll have to write that down next time. Remind me to get back to you about her.
But here’s an illustration I found which I trust my instincts to be a fair representation:
The myths also say she’s the queen of Niflheim, which is the Norse underworld. So Loki’s family doesn’t just have a hold on Jotunheim, they also have one other realm under their control… HMMMM THE PLOT THICKENS.
3. Fenris, the Great Wolf
Loki’s middle child, still by Angrboda. (GASP not a different mother! Unlike Odin’s sons who, except for the twins, all have different mothers! THIS FAMILY IS WEIRD.)
Fenris can shapeshift into a huge wolf. Marvel got the big wolf part right, at least.
This is the child of Loki my friends know best, because they actually got up close and personal with him! But they don’t want to talk about him. Or about his [redacted].
According to the myths, he will devour Odin at Ragnarok, and Odin’s son Vidar will kill him in revenge.
4. Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent
So far, we know about this one the least. A reliable source said she’s a she, and she can shapeshift into a serpent-creature. But she wasn’t just a serpent creature when I saw her that one time! She puts Daenerys’ dragons to shame. SHE’S BLOODY MONSTROUS AND SHE ROSE OUT OF THE SEA AND CAUSED TIDAL WAVES ON EVERY COAST IN THE PACIFIC. IT WAS LIKE FREAKING GODZILLA!!!
According to the myths, she and Thor will kill each other at Ragnarok.
What about Sigyn, Loki’s wife, you ask? And their sons? Well, next week, if I’ve not yet been ripped apart by monsters, I’ll tell you about her and some of the other famous women in the Norse pantheon! I mentioned Freya, yeah? She loves cats too. And let’s not forget about Odin’s gaggle of heartbroken girls…