Chapter 61: The World's Lore?
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[Day 36]
Day 36 and we are still kicking butts! Now, don't get me wrong, I love some butt-kicking once in a while, but this is not what I am about to talk about.
Benladann today seems to feel way better now, although I am still forcing her to rest some more and eat the little diet I made her, the tea made of these herbs is perfect for her digestive function, and the ice wolf milk she has been drinking is helping her regenerate her gastric acids better.
Today, however, she wanted me to teach her how to use magic.
But can she even use magic?
"Benladann, can you use magic?" I asked her.
"Yeah… I think I should be able to… But when I tried the first time a few years ago, the Mold awakened and I wasn't able to use anything," she sighed.
"I see… Well, why don't you tell me more about that village and any magic knowledge they taught to you? If you do I might try to help you conjure magic," I said.
"Ah… Okay then!" said Benladann rather happily. I was glad she was willing to at least talk about this place where she came from and anything else she learned about this world both of us was thrown at.
"From what I was taught by the Elders… this world is named Yggdrasil," said Benladann.
"Yggdrasil? Wait… so it is like Norse Mythology?!" I asked.
"Norse…? Sorry but I also got confused a bit, I think I have heard something like that when I was on earth, but my knowledge about that is very dim, after all, I was… mostly running away, I had no time to know about that," said Benladann.
"Oh, I understand, please go on…" I said.
Benladann talked for a lot of time, there was a lot she was taught about this world and the religion the Ice Giants believed.
To start, the world's name is Yggdrasil… and, yeah, it is not like Norse Mythology.
It is as if you took Norse mythology and twisted it all around until it barely makes any sense, so I guess it is not really the same thing, but the names and entities seemed rather similar, and there were other various similarities…
Well, here we go.
It was said that the world came to be when Yggdrasil, the great tree of the world began to grow out of a cosmic seed planted into Ginnungagap, the vast emptiness.
As the tree grew larger and more beautiful, it continued to absorb the cosmic light around it, and that's why the world is dark by night when the sun is nowhere because the tree absorbed the light to grow stronger and bigger.
The sun is believed to be the creation of the tree too, it was the first fruit it bears, a beautiful and red fruit that illuminated the world that would come soon after.
As with the sun came light, darkness seeped into the deepest areas of the roots of the world tree, and through the fusion with chaos, the first Realm was formed, Helheim, the Abyssal Realm of Darkness where the dead would soon come to rest.
It was said that after the sun was born, Ymir, the Father of all Giants, the Titan God, was born from the tree's bark and sap.
He became the protector of the tree, as he slowly took care of it and feed it with energy.
After that came the era of the Gods, as the tree one day bears a special fruit, and from within this fruit, the Gods of Asgard came to be.
The gods were innocent at first but were corrupted by their greed, something that Ymir lacked.
The most notable God was Odin, who called himself the father of the Gods.
Some other Gods were born separately from this fruit, and many others came to be when the Gods mated with each other.
After the Gods were born, the tree gave birth to eight more fruits, the realms of Yggdrasil.
Each fruit shined brightly and held elements within them, many beings came to be in each realm.
Niflheim, the Realm of Fog and Mist, was the coldest place in the world, but this is not where Ice Giants truly was.
Muspelheim, the Realm of Fire, home of the Fire Giants, Fire Demons, and it was governed by the Fire Giant Surtr, a sworn enemy of the Aesir, the Gods.
Asgard, the Realm of the Gods, a brilliant world atop the skies, was constantly showered by the light of the sun as it was near it, this world is where the arrogant Gods made their home, watching over creation.
Midgard, the Realm of the Humans, where the weakest race of beings, humans, who had inherited the Gods' greed and cunningness existed.
Jotunheim, the Realm of the Giants, a vast landscape governed by snowy mountains and large forest, where the Giants, children of Ymir, came to be. Ice Giants and Fire Giants born here would later travel to Muspelheim and Niflheim.
Vanaheim, the Realm of the Vanir, a mysterious world where three Vanir Gods came to be, these Gods were different than the Aesir, and called themselves Vanir and held humility within their hearts, they were the father of the elves.
Alfheim, the Realm of the Elves, a beautiful world filled with natural beauty, fertile lands, and fairies, elves, and other fantastical creatures. The Vanir left their children to prosper in this realm.
And lastly, Svartalfheim, the Realm of the Dwarves, a world filled with mountains and subterranean caves, where the Dwarves, Gnomes, and other beings came into existence.
However, here it is where everything changes even more.
After Ymir was satisfied by seeing his children prosper, Odin grew angered and envious of Ymir's strength and vast family, and how the giants were vastly superior to his creation, the Humans.
Due to this, Ymir and his siblings fought Odin and managed to kill him after an enormous war against the Giants, however, many Gods died in such a battle and so did Odin himself, who was struck down by Ymir the last fist before he was to die as well.
This battle shook the worlds of Yggdrasil and the fruits fell off the tree, splattering over the roots and merging together with the countless corpses of Gods and Giants, and Ymir.
By the grace of the survivors and the Yggdrasil Tree Will, a new and reformed world came to be, where all realms were merged together alongside the corpses of all the gods and giants that died.
And so came to be this world, Yggdrasil, a world that contained all realms unified into immense landscapes.
The world is not spherical, as it is a gigantic plain mass, made of many continents unified together by rainbow bridges named Bifrost.
Around the world, there are large walls of ice and flames, and then the abyssal emptiness of Ginnungagap.
Due to this story, the Giants despise the Aesir and don't like Humans due to their conflicting natures depicted in religion and history, and see their father Ymir as their God, which they pray to every day, thanking him for his sacrifice to protect his children from the raging and greedy Gods and to make up their new world through his enormous corpse.
Damn…
This world is not at all like Norse Mythology.
But at the same time, it is.
So weird…
Yet this only makes me want to explore its secrets even more.
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