Winterfire

Chapter Thirteen

Lif

The next morning after breakfast, I went to meet Honir in a small room connected to the kitchen by a short bridge. He was a tall, gangly man; when he sat down, his bent his knees and long legs made him look like a giant grasshopper. He had a deep, sonorous voice that didn’t go with his body, though I found it pleasant to hear him speak.

“We will begin at the beginning,” he said. “At the beginning of time, there was Nothing. There was no land, no sea, and no living creature. There was only a great, yawning void. Darkness and terrific cold formed in the North, light and agonizing heat in the South. Frozen rivers in the North melted in the unquenchable fires of the South, and the giant Ymir was born of the foul, icy waters. In fire and water, the worlds began, and in fire and water, they will end.”

“When will they end?” I asked. I’d meant to make light of Honir’s end-of-the-world prediction by pointing out that if there was an ending, it would happen so far in the future as to render it unimportant to the two of us.

“Ah, my dear,” he said, with deep sadness in his voice, “Soon. So very, very soon. The end, in fact, has already begun.” I started to ask him what he meant, but he put a finger to my lips, silencing me. “In good time, my dear, in good time. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I cannot start the story at the end when you have no concept of the beginning.”

Each day, I went to the little schoolroom and sat enthralled with the tales Honir told me. With the seriousness and decorum of a historian, Honir told me about Odin, the All-father. “Odin is the king of all the gods and goddesses – both the Aesir and the Vanir.

“Who are the Aesir and the Vanir?” I interrupted. “I never heard of them before I came here.”

Honir looked sternly at me before answering. “It is rude to interrupt. However, I will make an exception in your case this one time, due to your extreme ignorance and your impatience to learn.” He cleared his throat and began again. “The Aesir are primarily warrior gods, responsible for guarding against evil – the giants in their icy lairs. Most of the Aesir live here in Asgard. The Vanir are the fertility gods, charged with caring for all entities of the land and the sea. Most of them live in Vanaheim. But there has always been a great deal of overlap in the duties undertaken by both factions.”

“And Odin is the king of them all?” I asked.

“He is,” Honir nodded.

“So the giants are all bad and dishonest, and the gods and goddesses are all good and honest and Odin is the best one of them all?”

Honir shifted in his seat. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, no my dear. The gods are not all good, all the time, and the giants are not all evil, all the time. Different situations demand different approaches; both gods and giants do what they think must be done at the time. Later, we label their behaviors either ‘good’ or ‘evil,’ depending upon the outcome’s affect on us.” He stood up and began pacing around the room. “Odin could not rule this realm without sometimes having to resort to…well…a bit of trickery, here and there.” Honir sat down and stared off into nothing for a long moment. “A lot of trickery, actually. My dear, Odin is an unusual combination of opposing traits. He is ferocious as a warrior, but he also has an unquenchable thirst for wisdom. He has made great sacrifices for both concerns. And as for the relationship between the gods and the giants, it is…complicated. Several of the gods have married giants. Odin himself is half-giant. Thor’s mother is of full giant blood, and there is no more powerful or honorable warrior in the Nine Worlds than Thor. The relationships between gods and giants have not always resulted in such noble offspring, though, a tale we shall take up tomorrow. For now, let us discuss the runes.”