Retold by S.K. AKin
The Binding of Fenrir
Artist unknown
source
The giant
finished his story and we sat in silence for a spell. It was not long
before
he lifted one of his great arms to stroke his titanic beard and the
massive chain that
held it
made a great noise as it rose off the stone floor of the mountainside.
I must
have seemed startled because Loke’s gaze fixed on me. He spoke.
“Do these
mighty chains astound you? I admit, they are fashioned of stern matter
but I have
known other chains, chains more impressive than these…the chains that
the cruel
gods bind my son with even now.
I was
like a god. I had magnificent ears that could hear the blooming of a
flower. I
had splendid eyes that could gaze a hundred miles in the darkest night.
I had
the mind of a god as well. I shared their love of beauty and order. I
thought
as they did. But my heart will always remain as a giant’s. Passionate
and
unforgiving, the heart of a giant wishes the world to descend into an
icy chaos.
The paradise of the giants is a howling wasteland of snow and freedom
from accord.
It was
this part of me who ventured away from Asgard. I went back home and
took a wife
among the giants. In time, children came. Is it any wonder that a
creature as
great as I would have magnificent offspring?
Odin
himself was scared of their majesty and the only one of my children the
jealous
gods allowed to mature in Asgard was Fenrer-wolf.
Fenrer
the great wolf was so superbly ferocious that only one of the gods
dared to
feed him: Tyr,
the sword-god. Fenrer, true to his heritage, grew to a monstrous
size and Odin consulted his cowering prophets who told him that my son
posed a grave
threat to the gods. They were so fightened that they eventually
convinced the
chief god that it would be Fenrer who, in the final battle, would end
Odin’s
own life.
Odin refused when some
called for my son’s death,
for no blood was to be shed in their heavenly abode. It was Thor who
came up
with the brutal idea of chaining the glorious beast. I cannot imagine
a worse punishment
for a boundless creature with such an insatiable lust for liberty.
Thor fashioned a
powerful chain. And the cowardly
gods conspired to trick my son into bondage.
‘Attempt to break this
chain,’ they called to
Fenrer but he was as quick-witted as his father and he also knew how
strong he
had actually grown. Fenrer allowed himself to be bound and then, when
he drew a
great breath, the chain split in a dozen places as if it were spider’s
silk. My
son then walked away proudly hoping the business was behind him.
But the gods tried once
more with an even larger chain.
They taunted my poor son and, sharing another trait with his father, he
let
pride get the best of him. He allowed himself to be bound yet again and
again
he proved stronger than their chain and scampered away to freedom.
Now, among the gods, I
recall overhearing a great
deal of talk about the uncontrollable strength that my son had
developed and
one night a messenger was send from Asgard. I know not where the
messenger went
or who he spoke to but he arrived soon after with a thin cord. It was
so thin
that it was almost invisible.
The gods now praised my
son. They commended him on
his great power at being able to break the two greatest chains ever
made. They
showed Fenrer the new cord and passed it around from one to another.
Each god
tried to break the cord but none could. Many were heard to say that
Fenrer the
Mighty Wolf could break it but it was a trap. I believe my son knew
this also
but his overconfidence was his ruin in the end. That is also a trait he
shares
with his father.
The band seemed so thin
but there was magic in its
threads. My son once more allowed himself to be bound but this time no
escape
was possible. He panicked when he realized the truth of the situation
and the
cowardly gods achieved their goal in the end with a rope magically
fashioned
from the most unassuming of things: the echo of a cat's footstep, the
breath of a
fish, the ancestry of a mountain, and the muscles of a bear.
Author's note:
To tell the story from Loke’s point of view required a few minor adjustments. Of course there would be some details of the story that he would not consider important and also others (specifically involving himself) that would come across more predominantly if the egotist Loke were to tell it. I also wanted to provide a little more evidence to why perhaps Loke did eventually come to be so short-tempered with the gods. I added a measure of resentment to his attitude in this story. Certainly, anyone would feel some antipathy if they had an imprisoned offspring . I also have played a little with the concept that the giants only wanted to turn the world into a wasteland; I equated their concept of chaos to freedom. I took away the sympathetic aspect from which the original story was told and gave it to Fenrer since it was his own father now telling it. I also made him seem less ferocious and more misunderstood for his wild predilection for freedom.
Retold from:
Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas. by Hamilton Wright Mabie (1923)
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