The Sword of Summer

Glossary

AEGIR – lord of the waves

AESIR – gods of war, close to humans

ALF SEIDR – elf magic

ANDSKOTI – the Adversary; the new, magic-infused rope binding Fenris Wolf

BALDER – god of light; the second son of Odin and Frigg, and twin brother of Hod. Frigg made all earthly things swear to never harm her son, but she forgot about mistletoe. Loki tricked Hod into killing Balder with a dart made of mistletoe.

BIFROST – the rainbow bridge leading from Asgard to Midgard

DRAUGR – Norse zombies

EIKTHRYMIR – a stag in the Tree of Laeradr whose horns spray water non-stop that feeds every river in every world

EINHERJAR (EINHERJI, sing.) – great heroes who have died with bravery on Earth and become soldiers in Odin’s eternal army; they train in Valhalla for Ragnarok, when the bravest of them will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world

FENRIS WOLF – an invulnerable wolf born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his mighty strength strikes fear even in the gods, who keep him tied to a rock on an island. He is destined to break free on the day of Ragnarok.

FOLKVANGER – the Vanir afterlife for slain heroes, ruled by the goddess Freya

FREY – the god of spring and summer, of the sun, the rain and the harvest, and of abundance and fertility¸ growth and vitality. Frey is the twin brother of Freya and, like his sister, is associated with great beauty. He is lord of Alfheim.

FREYA – the goddess of love; twin sister of Frey; ruler of Folkvanger

FRIGG – goddess of marriage and motherhood; Odin’s wife and the queen of Asgard; mother of Balder and Hod

GINNUNGAGAP – the primordial void; a mist that obscures appearances

GLEIPNIR – a golden rope made by dwarves to keep Fenris Wolf in bondage

HEIDRUN – the goat in the Tree of Laeradr whose milk is brewed for the magical mead of Valhalla

HEIMDALL – god of vigilance and the guardian of Bifrost, the gateway to Asgard

HEL – goddess of the dishonourable dead; born of Loki’s affair with a giantess

HELHEIM – the underworld, ruled by Hel and inhabited by those who died in wickness, old age or illness

HLIDSKJALF – the High Seat of Odin

HOD – Balder’s blind brother

HONIR – an Aesir god who, along with Mimir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir

IDUN – she distributes the apples of immortality that keep the gods young and spry

JORMUNGAND – the World Serpent, born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his body is so long it wraps around the earth

JOTUN – Norse word for giant

LOKI – god of mischief, magic and artifice; the son of two giants; adept at magic and shape-shifting. He is alternately malicious and heroic to the Asgardian gods and to humankind. Because of his role in the death of Balder, Loki was chained by Odin to three giant boulders with a poisonous serpent coiled over his head. The venom of the snake occasionally irritates Loki’s face, and his writhing is the cause of earthquakes.

LYNGVI – the Isle of Heather, where Fenris Wolf is bound; the island’s location shifts every year as the branches of Yggdrasil sway in the winds of the void. It only surfaces during the first full moon of each year.

MAGNI AND MODI – Thor’s favourite sons, fated to survive Ragnarok

MIMIR – an Aesir god who, along with Honir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. When the Vanir didn’t like his counsel, they cut off his head and sent it to Odin. Odin placed the head in a magical well, where the water brought it back to life, and Mimir soaked up all the knowledge of the World Tree.

MJOLNIR – Thor’s hammer

MUSPELL – fire

NAGLFAR – the Ship of Nails

NARVI – one of Loki’s sons, disembowelled by his brother Vali, who was turned into a wolf after Loki killed Balder

NIDHOGG – the dragon that lives at the bottom of the World Tree and chews on its roots

NJORD – god of ships, sailors and fishermen; father of Frey and Freya

NORNS – three sisters who control the destinies of both gods and humans

NORUMBEGA – a lost Norse settlement in their furthest point of exploration

ODIN – the ‘All-Father’ and king of the gods; the god of war and death, but also poetry and wisdom. By trading one eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, Odin gained unparallelled knowledge. He has the ability to observe all the Nine Worlds from his throne in Asgard; in addition to his great hall, he also resides in Valhalla with the bravest of those slain in battle.

RAGNAROK – the Day of Doom or Judgement, when the bravest of the einherjar will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world

RAN – goddess of the sea; wife of Aegir

RATATOSK – an invulnerable squirrel that constantly runs up and down the World Tree carrying insults between the eagle that lives at the top and Nidhogg, the dragon that lives at the roots

RED GOLD – the currency of Asgard and Valhalla

SAEHRIMNIR – the magical beast of Valhalla; every day it is killed and cooked for dinner and every morning it is resurrected; it tastes like whatever the diner wants

SESSRUMNIR – the Hall of Many Seats; Freya’s mansion in Folkvanger

SKIRNIR – a god; Frey’s servant and messenger

SLEIPNIR – Odin’s eight-legged steed; one of Loki’s children. Only Odin can summon him

SUMARBRANDER – the Sword of Summer

SURT – lord of Muspellheim

SVARTALF – a dark elf; a subset of dwarves

THANE – a lord of Valhalla

THOR – god of thunder; son of Odin. Thunderstorms are the earthly effects of Thor’s mighty chariot rides across th

e sky, and lightning is caused by him hurling his great hammer, Mjolnir.

TREE OF LAERADR – a tree in the centre of the Feast Hall of the Slain in Valhalla containing immortal animals that have particular jobs

TYR – god of courage, law, and trial by combat; he lost a hand to Fenris’s bite when the Wolf was restrained by the gods

ULLER – the god of snowshoes and archery

UTGARD-LOKI – the most powerful sorcerer of Jotunheim; king of the mountain giants

VALA – a seer

VALHALLA – paradise for warriors in the service of Odin

VALI – Loki’s son, who was turned into a wolf after Loki killed Balder; as a wolf he disembowelled his brother Narvi before he was gutted himself

VALKYRIE – Odin’s handmaidens, who choose slain heroes to bring to Valhalla

VANIR – gods of nature; close to elves

YGGDRASIL – the World Tree

YMIR – the largest of the giants; father to both the giants and the gods. He was killed by Odin and his brothers, who used his flesh to create Midgard. This act was the genesis of the cosmic hatred between the gods and the giants.

THE NINE WORLDS

ASGARD – the home of the Aesir

VANAHEIM – the home of the Vanir

ALFHEIM – the home of the light elves

MIDGARD – the home of humans

JOTUNHEIM – the home of the giants

NIDAVELLIR – the home of the dwarves

NIFLHEIM – the world of ice, fog and mist

MUSPELLHEIM – the home of the fire giants and demons

HELHEIM – the home of Hel and the dishonourable dead

RUNES (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

DAGAZ – new beginnings, transformations

THURISAZ – the rune of Thor

FEHU – the rune of Frey

RAIDHO – the wheel, the journey

PERTHRO – the empty cup

EHWAZ – horse, transportation

ALGIZ – shielding

TIWAZ – the rune of Tyr