This is the story of Ragnarök.
First, imagine winter. Not just one winter, but three winters, one after the other, with no summer in between! Brrr! The snow fell and fell, the wind howled and howled, and people fought each other all the time. It was called Fimbulwinter, the terrible winter.
“This is awful!” cried a little girl, huddled by a fire. “When will it stop?”
“It will get worse before it gets better, little one,” sighed her grandfather, shaking his head.
And he was right. Because while the humans were fighting, something else was happening. The great wolf Fenrir, who the gods had chained up because he was so big and dangerous, snapped his chains! They just broke like twigs! “ROAR!” he bellowed, shaking the ground.
And Loki, that tricky, mischievous god who was always causing trouble, he also escaped! “Heh heh heh,” he chuckled, “Time for some fun!”
Now, Loki wasn’t alone. He gathered all the giants, those big, grumpy creatures, and they built a ship. But not just any ship! This one was made of…are you ready for this?…fingernails! Fingernails of dead people! Ewww! It was called Naglfar, and it was a creepy sight indeed.
“Well, well, well,” Loki sneered to the giants, “Ready for a little trip to Asgard? The gods won’t know what hit ‘em!”
The giants roared their approval, and the ship sailed across the stormy seas, carrying them, Loki, and lots of other nasty monsters, like Fenrir’s sons, Skoll and Hati. These two wolves were really hungry. Skoll chased the sun across the sky, and Hati chased the moon, and they finally caught them…and swallowed them whole! The world went dark!
Up in Asgard, the home of the gods, Heimdall, the watchman, saw everything. He had eyes so sharp he could see for miles, and ears so keen he could hear grass grow. He saw the ship, he saw the wolves, he saw everything! “Toot! Toot! TOOOOOT!” he blew his great horn, Gjallarhorn, a sound so loud it shook the whole world. It was a warning!
Odin, the king of the gods, knew what this meant. He rode his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, all the way to Mimir’s well, a magical well of wisdom. “Mimir,” Odin asked, his voice grave, “what will happen?”
Mimir, who knew everything, told Odin the terrible truth. The final battle was coming.
So, the gods gathered on the plain of Vígríðr, ready to fight. It was a huge battlefield, big enough for everyone. On one side stood the gods, brave and strong. On the other side stood the giants, the monsters, and Loki, all snarling and ready to fight.
The battle began! It was chaos! Swords clashed, axes swung, and the ground trembled.
Odin himself faced Fenrir, the giant wolf. It was a terrible fight, but in the end, Fenrir opened his massive jaws and…swallowed Odin whole!
Thor, the mighty god of thunder, with his hammer Mjolnir, fought Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, a snake so big it circled the entire world. Thor struck the serpent with his hammer, BOOM!, and killed it. But as the serpent died, it spat venom all over Thor. Thor managed to take nine steps before he fell down dead from the poison.
“Oh, Thor!” cried the other gods.
Tyr, the brave god of war, fought Garm, a monstrous dog with a terrible bark. They fought fiercely, biting and clawing, until both of them fell, dead.
Frey, a handsome and brave god, fought Surtr, a giant made of fire, who carried a flaming sword. Surtr swung his sword, and Frey fell.
Even Loki and Heimdall, who had always been enemies, fought each other until they both fell dead.
Then, Surtr, the fire giant, raised his flaming sword and set the whole world on fire! The earth cracked, the mountains crumbled, and the sea boiled. Everything was burning! And then…the earth sank into the sea. Everything was gone.
But…that wasn’t the end. Because from the ashes and the water, a new world began to rise. Green and beautiful, just like it was in the beginning.
Some of the gods had survived. Víðarr and Váli, Odin’s sons, were still alive. And Thor’s sons, Magni and Móði, found their father’s hammer, Mjolnir, and carried it on. Even Baldr and Hod, who Loki had tricked into killing each other long ago, came back from the land of the dead!
And two humans, Líf and Lífþrasir, who had hidden in the great world tree Yggdrasil during the fire, came out and began to rebuild the world.
So, you see, even though it was a terrible end, it was also a new beginning. A fresh start. And that, little one, is the story of Ragnarök.
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