While the Great Serpent was lost in contemplation, another group of people were tirelessly working for the world they had jointly created.
Just how was the Norse world born?
Before heaven and earth took shape, the primordial giant Ymir was slain by Odin and his companions. His body crashed down and transformed into the World Tree.
The immensity of the World Tree defied imagination. A single leaf was an island, a puddle on a leaf was a lake, and a great number of leaves piled together formed continents. The myriad creatures, whether divine or mortal, all lived upon these "lands".
Differing from the usual conceptual understanding, the World Tree was actually an incomparably colossal, tilted white ash tree.
The entire World Tree was divided into three layers and nine realms.
The realm inhabited by mortals - Midgard - was located in the lowermost canopy of the World Tree, surrounded by water and oceans on all sides. It also had the largest area. Because it was situated in the middle layer of the World Tree, it was also known as the "Middle Realm".
Asgard was located higher up in the canopy, between the sun and the moon. It was the abode of the gods and valiant souls, the uppermost of the nine realms. The light elves most favored by the gods were permitted to reside in the vicinity of Asgard in Alfheim. Vanaheim, home to the Vanir gods, was to the west of Asgard, maintaining a neutral relationship with the Aesir gods led by Odin, neither too distant nor too close. These three realms were all in the upper canopy of the World Tree.
To the south of the mortal world, the Middle Realm, was the land of fire ruled by Surtr, king of the fire giants - Muspelheim. The fire giants multiplied and thrived there, unconcerned with worldly affairs. To the north was the eternally misty land of fog - Niflheim. It was said that there was nothing there but mist.
To the east was the place where the gods' mortal foes, the frost giants, dwelled - Jotunheim. Among the nine realms, the frost giants were the most restless, because they believed the world rightfully belonged to them. Even the World Tree was formed from the corpse of their ancestor. And Ymir, the progenitor of the frost giants, had been slain by Odin. Thus, the two sides were irreconcilable arch-enemies, frequently waging wars against each other that never ceased.
As for the west of the Middle Realm, it was the world where the dwarves resided, Svartalfheim. The dwarves were all skilled artisans, living underground all year round, very well-behaved. Therefore, the gods were also quite pleased with them.
These five realms, including the Middle Realm, were all located above the lowermost canopy of the World Tree.
Only Helheim, the underworld, was at the very bottom of the World Tree, the final resting place of all the dead. Shrouded in thick fog, dark and damp, it was almost a second land of fog, just with some undead in addition to the emptiness of Niflheim. No gods were fond of it there, to the point that Odin had only recently let his sworn brother Loki have his younger daughter Hel go there to rule over the dead and govern that realm of the deceased.
The entire World Tree was then covered by the dome of the sky formed from Ymir's skull. Every day, the sun and moon would traverse the dome, bringing endless light and warmth to the nine realms.
At the tilted roots of the World Tree, there were also three immensely thick roots supporting the stability of the entire cosmos. Because the World Tree itself was tilted, the three roots were not isolated from the nine realms. For example, Asgard at the very top of the canopy, due to the tilt of the World Tree, was relatively close to one of the roots.
Of the three roots, one extended towards the direction of the gods' realm, one towards the east where the frost giants' land was, and the remaining one towards the vast mists of the northern land of fog.
The two layers of canopy above and below, plus Helheim at the very bottom of the World Tree, constituted the three layers and nine realms. The three immense roots firmly upheld the stability of the entire universe. The dome of the sky enveloped nearly the whole World Tree, with the sun, moon, and stars traversing it, never resting.
Undoubtedly, this was an exquisite and stable cosmic order, the culmination of all the wisdom and efforts of the Vanir gods, the greatest source of pride for the deities.
Normally, as a reward for their hard work, the gods would often follow the rainbow bridge to the root near the gods' realm at the base of the tilted World Tree, a place called the Well of Urd. There, upon the beautiful lakes and verdant lawns, they would drink, make merry, dance, and sing to their hearts' content. At such times, the three Norns who resided there would do their utmost to entertain the gods, allowing them to find much-needed relaxation.
However, such scenes had not appeared for some time now. The reason was simple. As the guardians of the entire cosmic order, the gods were currently at their wits' end.
…
Asgard.
Idavoll was the residence of the Vanir gods, a landmass seemingly suspended in the sky. Upon this land, gold and silver that were hard to come by in the mortal realm were everywhere, as common as dirt, inexhaustible and never-ending. The gods, who cherished gold and silver, naturally would not pass up this convenience. Apart from necessary wood and iron, all the palaces and buildings in the gods' realm used copious amounts of gold and silver.
Here, every deity had a palace of their own. Half of the roofs of these palaces were built with silver, half with gold. And when the roofs of these myriad palaces all radiated light together, their brilliance was even more dazzling than the sun and moon.
Roads paved with silver, fountains and gardens everywhere, brave and mighty einherjar warriors, all kinds of exotic flowers and rare plants, made everything here look breathtakingly beautiful.
But at this moment, such grandeur was nowhere to be seen in Asgard. Everywhere lay ruins and rubble. After the serpent Jormungandr barged in and wreaked havoc, nearly half of Idavoll was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. However, the gods now had no spare energy to worry about the palaces.
In the soaring palace of Valaskjalf, the gods were engaged in a heated debate.
"That damned thing must be severely punished!"
A sturdy, powerful hand slammed down on a seat, the immense force nearly shattering the specially-made chair. The owner of the voice seemed almost overcome with rage.
"Cut off its head! Hang it before the gates of Idavoll for the entire cosmos to see, a warning to those who dare offend the gods."
The war god Tyr turned his head, looked at Odin sitting at the head of the palace, and shouted, his fury beyond suppression.