The Norse gods were the Aesir. They lived in Asgard, a realm connected to our own world–Midgard–by the Bifrost bridge. The king of the Aesir was Odin Allfather. Thor, the God of Thunder, was his son.
Loki, not so much the “God of Mischief” as a mischievous god, has multiple back stories. We’ll go with his being a Frost Giant, the runt of the litter, adopted by Odin after being cast out by his people.
Thor’s wife was Sif, a stereotypical Nordic blond. She may have been a Giantess.
The Norse gods were generally benign, though quirky. But there was evil in the world in the form of giants: the Jotunn who lived in Jotunheimr. Feared also were the great wolf Fenrir, and the world-girdling Midgard Serpent. At an unspecified time in the future, the gods and the human warriors in Valhalla will fight a final battle–called the Ragnarök–against the Jotunn, the huge wolf, Fenrir, and the Midgard Serpent.
Magic was everywhere, but the greatest magic was found in Dwarvenheim, the home of the Dwarves. They were miners and were wizard-smiths with all metals from iron to gold. Premier among them were the Sons of Ivaldi, whose actual names we don’t know, and the brothers Sindri (aka Eitri) and Brokk (aka Brokkr).
The six items crafted in Bragi’s story are:
Gungnir, Odin’s magic spear.
Skopje–usually called Skidbladnir–the magic ship that can carry all the Aesir and their war gear yet fold up to pocket size. It never encountered storms, just fair weather and a following wind.
Sif’s magic hair, spun from real gold.
Gullinbursti, a gigantic boar that can outrun the fastest horse, illuminate its rider’s way with light from its gleaming golden bristles, and travel on air and water as easily as on land.
Draupnir, a golden arm ring. (You can tell that the old Norse were really into gold!). Every nine days Draupnir would produce eight duplicates of itself. An early form of cryptocurrency.
Mjollnir or Mjölnir, Thor’s awesome, though flawed, hammer.
Those are the players and the magical items in this tale. Click here to experience Bragi’s version.
