Before there was man, there were gods; and before there were gods, there was only an empty abyss. This gaping abyss was called Ginnungagap, and it came long before there were skies, soil, or anything that could be considered living. This empty chaos was made up of perfect silence, endless darkness; pinned between the land of fire, Muspelheim and the land of ice, Niflheim.
Eventually, as if destined by fate, those two realms collided, and from their meeting, came frost that covered all of the land, as far the mind could fathom. This thick frost kept all land frozen, and from the jagged blades of ice formed the first of the frost giants: a being named Ymir. This hermaphrodite drifted off to sleep soon after his creation, as if his creation was such an exhausting task. Ymir rested in a place surrounded by both heat and frigid cold, their colliding elements creating the most beautiful of colors to lull the giant in his sleep. The ground it slumbered upon solidifying its body like the highest peak of the highest mountain would do to any mortalbeing, yet the remaining heat from Muspelheim kept the vitality of its core intact. In this slumber Ymir broke out in a sweat from the heat within himself, and each salty droplet that fell from his body contained a part of himself, more than enough to lead to the birth of more giants. These giants, they multiplied and grew, and they soon roamed the surrounding lands. The more of the clashed lands they explored, the more heat they returned to the icy soil.
Soon the lands were warm enough due to the presence of the giants, and the warmed temperatures began melting the ice, and it lead to the imprisoning frost surrounding Ymir to melt away. From this change, a giant ox named Audhumla was birthed into creation. From her teats, fell droplets of milk that carved deep inlets into the earth, and four rivers of milk were gradually formed into the land. The milk from these channels flowed to the first giant and fed Ymir. Audhumla rested at the head of the river, nestled next to tall peaks of solid ice. She licked the block of ice, its content surprisingly salty and nutritious. A unique series of events began to happen as she feasted upon the frozen liquid.
On the first day of her insistent licking, human hair emerged just beneath its surface. On the second, a head appeared. On the third, a fully grown man was revealed. This man who had developed from within the salty rock was Búri, the first of the all-powerful race that would later be known as Aesir; Gods. Búri was tall, his build thick and muscular like the giants who already roamed the land, he was strong like the oxen who in a way, birthed him. Had he not been handsome, he would have easily been mistaken for just another giant, or perhaps a troll.
Búri later bore a son named Borr, though his method of creation is not quite known. Borr grew and grew, until he was a man and capable of marriage. He married Bestla, the most beautiful of giantess daughters. From their union, came three sons.
Odin, the first son, Vili the second, and Vé the third.
Odin became the ruler of heaven and earth, he is the greatest and most famous of all the gods. However, the half-man, half-giant children eventually became bothered by the fact that full blooded giants were continuously growing in numbers. They felt they needed to do something about the fact that they were so greatly outnumbered. If war were to ever break out between the two races, they were sure to be outmatched. Fearful they would be unable to conquer the giants, they decided to alter the realm to their liking.
So they waited until Ymir once again fell into a deep slumber, and they killed him. The horrifying event required all the strength the brothers had, and in his death: blood spouted from Ymir's body in every direction with an incredible force. From the great flood of blood, nearly all the giants drowned. Only two survived, Bergelmir and his wife. Now all remaining giants within the known world, are decedents from these two.
At the center of Ginnungagap, the three brothers made a unanimous decision and set about constructing the world from Ymir's remains.
From his blood came the oceans, the rivers and lakes.
His flesh became the land.
His hair became the grass and trees.
His bones were shaped into the mountains.
His teeth and shattered particles of bones made rocks and pebbles.
His eyelashes became the stronghold Midgard.
His skull became the sky.
When they threw his brain into the air, it formed the clouds.
Embers from Muspelheim, the land of fire, became the stars and constellations seen today. Lighting up the heaven and earth beneath.
From Ymir's rotting remains, worms crawled from its flesh. These worms, with the Aesir's desires, would become the dwarves. They gained mortal understanding and the form of a man with stunted growth. Quite commonly, the dwarves did not know male from female in their race for it is rumored that they each bore large-thick beards. They live beneath the ground in rocks and caves, a realm called Svartalheim.
Four of these dwarves were selected by the brothers for a great task, to hold up the sky that the brothers feared could one day collapse. Nordi, Vestri, Sundri, and Austri went to the four corners of the world, supporting the sky for all time. The race of short creatures thrived beneath the soil, living among the dense rock and priceless gems that multiplied within the smallest pockets of air trapped during the earths formation. With time they became experts in craftsmanship, creating the finest of wares. Among that talent, dwarves were also able to create magical weapons of great power that the Aesir prized. Among their creations was Mjölnir, Thor's hammer.
The dwarves were not the only creatures to roam the earth, as man also soon arrived. With, the Aesir's help of course. The three brothers were roaming along a sea shore where they found two fallen tree logs, one from an ash tree and the other from an elm. By unifying their power and strength once again, the brothers created the mortal race by creating the first man and woman.
Odin gave the trees life and spirit. Vé gave them movement, their mind and intelligence. While Vili was able to give them shape, language, emotion and their senses. The man was called Ask, and the woman, Embla. The Gods had the race of men live in Midgard where hundreds of generations were born from the first pair.
After the creation of man, the Aesir built another stronghold that was named Asgard. Odin ruled this realm, and the gods and their kin lived there, a place where many memorable events occurred. This is where Odin married Frigg, and from their family came all the children commonly known for stirring up trouble. His first wife Frigg, birthed three children, Tyr, Hermod and Balder. However, his most famous son was named Thor, whose might and strength was incomparable. He could dominate every living creature. His other son Vidar was born from an affair with the goddess Grid. While his final son Loki, was adopted from Laufey and Farbauti.
In Asgard were the great halls of Hlidskjálf and Valhalla. From Hlidskjálf, Odin could sit from a magnificently large throne and look out over the whole world. He could see what anyone was doing, and he understood everything he saw.
Valhalla, or Hall of the Slain, is where Norsemen travel to after death. Here they prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök. A battle so great, that it will ultimately lead to the death of all the gods, and the destruction of the world.
A world born in such a magnificent manner, must continue to exist in such a way correct? For what is the point of existing, if not to have a little fun?
It was eventually discovered, that the grandfather of the God King Odin, was up to somethingy. He had been missing for quite some time and his absence was eventually noticed. Búri had been pacing back and forth at the fiery edge of Muspelheim. It was as if he was waiting for something, however what could appear from the molten wasteland? His children, his grandchildren and even their children all thought the first Aesir had finally lost his mind. Doomed to wander the blazing land aimlessly until his end, natural or accidental. His absence, once missed, became ignored. He'd been wandering for years and years, and his family just came to terms with his madness.
One day though, Búri returned with a treasure from the barren land. A single egg. Not just an ordinary one at that, it was massive. One that had to be held in two hands or risk dropping it due to its weight. The shell was an intricate marbling of black and red, that radiated intense power from within it.
This egg was placed on the spot where Muspelheim and Niflheim first met. The spot where Ymir was born, and there it rested for many years. Until one day, it hatched. All of the Aesir gathered around to see what creature could be crawling out of an egg that came from Muspelheim. What hideous being could have survived those planes?
Odin planned to kill whatever it was, sure that it was some cursed being that could only aid in bringing Ragnarök. Yet his grandfather intervened, Búri protected the little creature that hatched from the egg, a creature that was called Wyvern, a dragon. A creature that was named Eskil, he was the 'Vessel of the Gods.'