Ragnarok Twilight of Gods
Ragnarok was a series of disasters and wars that put an end to the great period of Gods in Norse mythology. The most remarkable event was the final battle between the Gods led by Odin and the Jotun (giant) army led by Loki. Before the Ragnarok, the Gods lived with fear and desperate preparation for their final days. On the day that Baldur God of Light was killed, life in Asgard became a mess as they knew Baldur’s death was the very first sight of the Ragnarok. Loki who conspired to murder Baldur was banished to Midgard, bound on a rock with a poisonous snake above his head.
On the threshold of Ragnarok, life in Midgard was a total mess, too. There was a wave of crimes and bloody wars. Brothers fought each other. Murder, looting, and other evil deeds took place. Then came the Fimbulvetr, the worst of all winters. Three consecutive winters came in a row without any summer. This plodding time left people starving and hopeless. Two wolves known as Skoll and Hati respectively swallowed the Sun and the Moon. All the stars disappeared from the sky and the world fell into darkness.
Fenrir the monstrous Wolf broke the magical binding of the Gods, setting himself free and preparing to seek revenge on the Gods. Loki, Fenrir’s father, broke free. Another child of Loki, Jormungandr, rose from the black ocean to join the army of the Jotun.
Heimdall the Watchman of Asgard seeing the incoming Jotun army blew his horn Gjallerhorn. The Aesir gods and the fallen warriors in Vallaha of Odin donned their armor, grabbed their weapons, and ready for their foretold battle. Odin the Allfather led the army of the Aesir Gods and the brave fallen human warriors into the battle, holding aloft his spear Gungnir and riding his eight-legged horse, Sleipner.
Jormungandr who had sprung up from the ocean was lashing and making his way to the land, using his venom to destroying any obstacles. The ship steered by the giant Hrym and carrying the giants headed towards the battlefield. Hel, daughter of Loki and the queen of Underworld, left the Helheim to join the army of her father. Accompanying Hel to the battlefield was her hound Garm and the dragon Niddhog who would fly above and eat the corpses.
Loki led his army across the rainbow bridge Bifrost to meet their enemies, the Gods. The Bifrost then trembled and collapsed after the evil army had made their way to the plain of Vigrid.
Aesir chief god Odin was the first one to attack the Jotun. He encountered his mortal enemy, Wolf Fenrir. Fenrir stretched his jaws wide enough to stretch from the heaven to the earth until this wolf monster swallowed up Odin.
Thor faced his sworn enemy, Jormungandr for the second time. Thor managed to kill this Midgard Serpent; however, he died a gasping death from the fatal venom that Jormungandr left.
Loki and Heimdall killed each other.
Frey the Vanir god of fertility had his brave final battle with fire giant Surt. Frey had given his magical sword for the love of Gerda, and thereby, in Ragnarok, without that powerful weapon, Frey was killed by the fire demon Surt.
Tyr God of Justice could not survive Ragnarok. He bravely fought with the hound Garm and the two killed each other.
The death of Odin was revenged by Odin’s son – Vidar. God Vidar crushed one of his magical boot in the lower jaw of Wolf Fenrir and used his hand to tear the wolf apart.
The Nine Worlds were engulfed in flames from the giant Surt who flung his fire sword around. Every part of the cosmos fell into the boiling sea.
However, this was not the end of the universe. There were few gods who survived the Ragnarok such as Baldur, Hord, Vidar, Vali, etc. The world was repeopled by two humans who survived by hiding in the hole of Yggdrasil.
