Ragnarok

Valkyries

Ragnarok

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the hideous images that Odin's ravens had been pouring into my mind.

"Mistress, are you alright?" Fulla asked worriedly.

"I should have gone with him, Fulla. They fought--they DIED--while we hid up here! The horrors Hugin and Munin have shown me--I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life!"

Fulla dropped her gaze, clasping her hands and looking down at the floor. "They fought bravely, though, didn't they?" she asked sadly.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, they did. And we should remember them..."

Loki and all his minions were bound, but Odin and I still knew that Ragnarok was on its way. Winter had descended upon us soon after Balder died, and the Nine Worlds would never again know summer. Blinding storms covered the worlds, and day was little brighter than night.

When the normal winter season ended with no easing of the bitter colds, people began to realize that the long Fimbul-winter of prophecy had arrived. As the winter months turned into years, Midgard fell into chaos. Famine plagued the lands. Animals died. Fighting broke out over the little resources left.

One day, the sun rose and moon rose for the last time. Two monstrous wolf-demons sprang from the underworld and devoured them. The stars fell from the skies, and eternal midnight descended on the worlds.

I knew that Ragnarok had finally come. We were about to make our final stand...

"Frigg, its time. You must rally the other wives and find some place safe!"

Odin turned to leave when I yanked him by the arm. "No! We're going with you! We'll ride with the Valkyries!"

"Frigg, there's no time. You know that. Loki waits at the plain with his army of giants and demons. He'll bring the attack to us if we don't meet him!"

Everyone, including Odin, knew that they would not return from this battle. But we still clung to hope, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

That morning,a great peal of thunder had shook the very foundations of Asgard. Skirner reported that Loki and Fenrir had broken free from their prisons. The frost and fire giants had gathered, the Midgard serpent was headed toward land, and Hel had ridden from her kingdom with her host of demons. The largest army mankind had ever seen was waiting for my husband and friends on the plain of Vidar.

Odin met my eyes as I finally let go of his arm. "Frigg, keep those you can safe. The Aesir must live on somehow. I'm not afraid to die if I know I protected you."

He leaned over, kissed my cheek, and walked from the hall. I knew I had to be brave, but the tears fell down my cheeks anyway. I finally composed myself and ran to find the other female Aesir.

"Aesir, to me!!" Odin roared. Thor found a place on his left, Tyr on his right. Behind them were the other Aesir, and the Valkyries with their scores of fallen warriors they had gathered for this day.

Across from them, Loki sat upon a blood-red horse, grinning arrogantly. "Impressive, Odin. But it won't be impressive enough." Fenrir, Hel, and the Midgard serpent flanked him on both sides. Surt and his horde of fire giants, Hyrm with his frost giants, and scores of underworld demons filled the distance.

"We'll see, Loki," Odin muttered. "FOR ASGARD!!!"

Heimdal blew the war horn, and the armies clashed. The Aesir separated, and each soon found a target.

"Come here you big ugly snake!" Thor taunted. Jormungand hissed at him, its long coiled body getting into striking position.

Thor smiled, stroking his hammer's smooth handle. "One last time, old friend. Be true."

Thor charged, screaming, and dove for the serpent's neck. Over and over, his hammer found its mark, but the serpent kept striking. Moving in for the kill, Thor rolled underneath the raised head and sank his hammer into the serpent's soft jaw.

Its shriek filled the air,but as Thor stood under its gaping jaws, venom showered him.

Thor wiped the poison from his face, but he knew he was too late.

He fell to his knees. "It's up to you now Odin," he whispered, and then he knew no more.

"Did you really think you could kill me, little one?" Surt asked, pinning Frey to the ground with a massive foot.

Frey coughed, wiping the blood from his chin. "Maybe not, but you haven't won yet," he rasped.

Suddenly a scream rang through the battlefield. Tyr's scream. Surt smiled. "We will win soon enough."

Heimdal was momentarily distracted by the loud piercing scream, barely parrying another blow of Loki's sword. He bled from a dozen wounds; Loki bled from at least as many.

"Whoops. Looks like you lost another brother, Heimdal," Loki spat, breathing heavily. Loki brought down his sword, but at the last second Heimdall dodged. Off-balance, Loki fell forward. Heimdal, using his last remaining energy, drove his sword through Loki's ribcage.

"And your giants have just lost their leader," he gasped. Loki's fell, eyes filled with shock. Heimdal, mortally wounded, collapsed before the last light had faded from Loki's eyes.

Fenrir growled, breathing fowl breath into Odin's face. Blood from his punctured eye dripped on Odin, but the blood soaking the king of the Aesir was mostly his own.

As the sounds of battle faded and the lines of Fenrir's face became blurry,Odin looked past the monstrous wolf toward the heavens.

"I'm sorry, Frigg. We tried. I guess you really can't beat fate after all."

He sighed and was still.

After my husband fell, all was fire and chaos. Vidar, seeing his father fall, jumped on Fenrir and tore him limb from limb.

Surt, seeing Loki fall on Heimdal's blade, decided to launch a final fire assault. The Nine Worlds went up in flames, killing everyone and everything. When the flames finally died, nothing was left. The armies of good and evil were gone, and the Nine Worlds were destroyed. One part of Asgard remained unscathed, and some of us survived. But everything we had ever known was gone.

"And so here we are, Fulla. My husband and everyone is gone from us. I wish we had died with them."

Feeling mortally tired and emotionally drained, I sought my bedchambers. I could see the faces of my dead friends in dreams, at least, and feel the comfort of Odin's arms around me once again.

Epilogue

Bibliography Information:

Story retold from: "The Twilight of the Gods" found in "Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas" by Hamilton Wright Mabie (1901). Original text.
Image: "The Valkyries Ride" by an unknown artist. Original picture.

Author's Note: Not much to say about this adaptation. I omitted some repetitive graphic details as to how awful the winter was so I could put in some battle details. I didn't want to just say "and then (insert name here) killed (insert name here)," so I made up most of the encounters. I wish I had more space to expand on them even more, but I tried to use what space I could to good dramatic use.

I added the scene with Frigg and Odin. Since she is the glue that holds the frametale together, I felt that she should have one last scene with Odin. She and some of the other Aesir are thought to have survived, according to some versions, so I went with it for my last tale.

This last story was rather sad. But Frigg will have a bit of a happy ending. Read the epilogue for the conclusion of the frametale.