"The creator of our land was but a smith, a poor immortal, and no god."
The Creation Story (AKA 'The Apocrypha')
The Gods Despair:
The Great gods of the world looked upon the empty land before them and felt sorrow. The land was small and inferior to the others. They could not find a use for it. In sadness, they turned away and willed never to look upon the land again.
Hope is Found:
The great smith of the gods needed a forge, a place to create and test his weapons of unimaginable power and strength. He traveled throughout the realms, from world to world, and found each place flowing with life that he could not destroy. The last place he came to was empty and small. He bid the great gods to give him the land. The gods agreed because the land had no purpose.
Beauty is Learned:
The great smith of the gods took his first steps on the empty world. He had a vision of a beautiful land. A man who had only built for destruction had never understood beauty before. He could not test his weapons on the land and instead gave all he had to build the scene of beauty in his mind. He built the forests of strong yew tress, and filled the mountains with ore and gems. The rivers and lakes were forged slowly so that they were smooth, and the fields and meadows overflowed with flora. Knowing the ways of destruction, he wished to protect the world and any inhabitants it might have. He built a citadel of stone. He surrounded the citadel with a mountain and forest, so that none could penetrate.
When he had finished, his near immortal life had been spent. He lay upon the land of his creation and died. From where his body lay, a tree was born. It was a great tree that grew to the skies in one day.
The Gods Search:
When the gods noticed that their weapons were breaking from use when they were once unbreakable they called for the great smith. When he did not answer, they went searching for him. They went to the empty land they had given him and found it to be beautiful and a nearly complete world. Seeing that their smith had spent his life and love in his work of creation, they wept. The tears fell upon the land and life burst from them. Creatures of beauty and gentleness flew forth from the tears of joy at seeing the beauty their smith had created. Creatures of ugliness and cruelty were also born from the tears of loss for a dear friend.
In his honor, the gods named the land after their great smith, Ilmarinen.
A Land Forgotten:
Because the land had no purpose except beauty, the gods forgot to tend to it. The land was soon forgotten.
Without guidance, the creatures on Ilmarinen thrived. Not only did the population expand, but so did the creatures' knowledge. Some began to wonder and think. They set out to learn all that they could about life. These creatures that thought taught themselves ways to have more in their lives. They learned to use the trees to build shelters and the fires of the volcano to build warmth. The creatures grew in number each day.
The gods eventually returned to find the land overrun with the creatures they had forgotten. Life was for the creatures to create, but the gods had forgotten to provide death. Sickness, physical pain, and old age was then given to the creatures by the gods. Once finished, the gods turned away again, and the land was forgotten.
The First Fear:
With the first death the creatures felt their first sorrow. They was now something new to ponder and learn about in their lives. They soon learned that sickness could from the food they ate that once never hurt them. Death could also come from your fellow creatures. Sorrow brought pain and anger, and with that anger the creatures of the land of the great smith learned their creator's greatest trait: weaponry. They soon learned all the ways to die, but could not prevent it and did not know where it came from.
A Knowledge Learned:
One man, a wise man named Odin, believed that the way to learn about death was through the great Yggdrasil tree, the large tree where the smith laid down to die. Odin stabbed himself with his sword and fell upon the great tree. As he lay there dying, Odin gave the first prayer. He asked the Yggdrasil tree to give him the knowledge he was seeking.
The spirit of Ilmarinen resided in the tree. He heard Odin's prayer, and in answer, pulled him into the realm of the gods. Ilmarinen gave Odin a steed to ride through the realm of death quickly so he would not be caught. Odin flew through the realm of death and saw all that there was to know about death, from where it came from to where the dead were sent.
A Life Reborn:
When Odin reached the end of the realm, he burst through back into the land of the living. He found himself standing before the Yggdrasil tree. His body still rested on the tree, lifeless, but not alone.
Three beautiful women wearing blood red robes stood in a circle around Odin's body. Odin bid his steed closer to them, and they turned sharply on him and he saw that they had blood red eyes and sharp white teeth. They hissed at him and asked how his spirit had arrived there. Odin explained what he had done. The three women laughed and then started chanting over Odin's body. Odin felt a great pain. He screamed as he felt himself pulled from the steed. He soared through the air toward his body.
The women had placed his spirit back into it's body and Odin breathed new life. But this time, the life felt different. The women told Odin that because he had seen the realm of death that he could no longer die himself. He was immortal and they feared the gods would not be happy.
A God is Born:
The three women were right. Never in all of creation had a creature learned of the realm of the gods. They wished Odin to be destroyed, but he begged them to spare him. He asked that he could be the keeper of Ilmarinen, a god to the creatures there. He would keep order among them so that the gods would no longer be bothered with such a small, inferior land. The gods agreed, but they refused to bestow on him all the knowledge of the gods. Instead, they made him merely the god of death, the one to which all the dead must face.
A Land Destroyed:
Odin took over the citadel built instead the protective mountains and forest. At first, Odin simply watched and gathered the dead. After some time, he noticed that all the creatures that were like him were dying faster than any of the others. These creatures he had called humans, and were the creatures that Odin felt to be far superior than any of the others because they had the largest ability to think. It was not right that the humans were dying faster than the rest. In anger, Odin sent the spawn of his great dragon, Tiamat, to rip the land apart. Five dragons were sent, each of a different element, and they tore at the land until large pieces were ripped apart and sent floating into the sea.
Every creature, save the dragons and one horse that stood at the Yggdrasil tree, perished.
A Land Rebuilt:
Seeing his folly, Odin begged the gods for help. When the gods saw the destruction caused to the land that their great smith loved, they wept again. Their tears brought forth new life, but as punishment for Odin's anger, only two humans were born from the tears of the gods.
A Plan is Formed:
Odin was sad to see so few of his precious humans. The population grew slowly. He devised a way to repopulate the smartest of creatures, and did so without telling the gods. He went to another world where humans were abundant and took a beautiful young woman named Lilith from her home and carried her back to Ilmarinen. She felt no fear of Odin, but wished to please him. He tied her to the Yggdrasil tree and stabbed her so she could travel through the realm of death and become immortal. She then joined him as his consort. Soon, Lilith gave birth to four sons. Odin gave each son one of the islands formed by the dragons as a gift. He sent his sons to the world of Lilith's birth and they brought back women. The women unwillingly gave themselves to the sons and soon gave birth. And so, the population on Ilmarinen grew quickly and Odin was glad.
The Great gods of the world looked upon the empty land before them and felt sorrow. The land was small and inferior to the others. They could not find a use for it. In sadness, they turned away and willed never to look upon the land again.
Hope is Found:
The great smith of the gods needed a forge, a place to create and test his weapons of unimaginable power and strength. He traveled throughout the realms, from world to world, and found each place flowing with life that he could not destroy. The last place he came to was empty and small. He bid the great gods to give him the land. The gods agreed because the land had no purpose.
Beauty is Learned:
The great smith of the gods took his first steps on the empty world. He had a vision of a beautiful land. A man who had only built for destruction had never understood beauty before. He could not test his weapons on the land and instead gave all he had to build the scene of beauty in his mind. He built the forests of strong yew tress, and filled the mountains with ore and gems. The rivers and lakes were forged slowly so that they were smooth, and the fields and meadows overflowed with flora. Knowing the ways of destruction, he wished to protect the world and any inhabitants it might have. He built a citadel of stone. He surrounded the citadel with a mountain and forest, so that none could penetrate.
When he had finished, his near immortal life had been spent. He lay upon the land of his creation and died. From where his body lay, a tree was born. It was a great tree that grew to the skies in one day.
The Gods Search:
When the gods noticed that their weapons were breaking from use when they were once unbreakable they called for the great smith. When he did not answer, they went searching for him. They went to the empty land they had given him and found it to be beautiful and a nearly complete world. Seeing that their smith had spent his life and love in his work of creation, they wept. The tears fell upon the land and life burst from them. Creatures of beauty and gentleness flew forth from the tears of joy at seeing the beauty their smith had created. Creatures of ugliness and cruelty were also born from the tears of loss for a dear friend.
In his honor, the gods named the land after their great smith, Ilmarinen.
A Land Forgotten:
Because the land had no purpose except beauty, the gods forgot to tend to it. The land was soon forgotten.
Without guidance, the creatures on Ilmarinen thrived. Not only did the population expand, but so did the creatures' knowledge. Some began to wonder and think. They set out to learn all that they could about life. These creatures that thought taught themselves ways to have more in their lives. They learned to use the trees to build shelters and the fires of the volcano to build warmth. The creatures grew in number each day.
The gods eventually returned to find the land overrun with the creatures they had forgotten. Life was for the creatures to create, but the gods had forgotten to provide death. Sickness, physical pain, and old age was then given to the creatures by the gods. Once finished, the gods turned away again, and the land was forgotten.
The First Fear:
With the first death the creatures felt their first sorrow. They was now something new to ponder and learn about in their lives. They soon learned that sickness could from the food they ate that once never hurt them. Death could also come from your fellow creatures. Sorrow brought pain and anger, and with that anger the creatures of the land of the great smith learned their creator's greatest trait: weaponry. They soon learned all the ways to die, but could not prevent it and did not know where it came from.
A Knowledge Learned:
One man, a wise man named Odin, believed that the way to learn about death was through the great Yggdrasil tree, the large tree where the smith laid down to die. Odin stabbed himself with his sword and fell upon the great tree. As he lay there dying, Odin gave the first prayer. He asked the Yggdrasil tree to give him the knowledge he was seeking.
The spirit of Ilmarinen resided in the tree. He heard Odin's prayer, and in answer, pulled him into the realm of the gods. Ilmarinen gave Odin a steed to ride through the realm of death quickly so he would not be caught. Odin flew through the realm of death and saw all that there was to know about death, from where it came from to where the dead were sent.
A Life Reborn:
When Odin reached the end of the realm, he burst through back into the land of the living. He found himself standing before the Yggdrasil tree. His body still rested on the tree, lifeless, but not alone.
Three beautiful women wearing blood red robes stood in a circle around Odin's body. Odin bid his steed closer to them, and they turned sharply on him and he saw that they had blood red eyes and sharp white teeth. They hissed at him and asked how his spirit had arrived there. Odin explained what he had done. The three women laughed and then started chanting over Odin's body. Odin felt a great pain. He screamed as he felt himself pulled from the steed. He soared through the air toward his body.
The women had placed his spirit back into it's body and Odin breathed new life. But this time, the life felt different. The women told Odin that because he had seen the realm of death that he could no longer die himself. He was immortal and they feared the gods would not be happy.
A God is Born:
The three women were right. Never in all of creation had a creature learned of the realm of the gods. They wished Odin to be destroyed, but he begged them to spare him. He asked that he could be the keeper of Ilmarinen, a god to the creatures there. He would keep order among them so that the gods would no longer be bothered with such a small, inferior land. The gods agreed, but they refused to bestow on him all the knowledge of the gods. Instead, they made him merely the god of death, the one to which all the dead must face.
A Land Destroyed:
Odin took over the citadel built instead the protective mountains and forest. At first, Odin simply watched and gathered the dead. After some time, he noticed that all the creatures that were like him were dying faster than any of the others. These creatures he had called humans, and were the creatures that Odin felt to be far superior than any of the others because they had the largest ability to think. It was not right that the humans were dying faster than the rest. In anger, Odin sent the spawn of his great dragon, Tiamat, to rip the land apart. Five dragons were sent, each of a different element, and they tore at the land until large pieces were ripped apart and sent floating into the sea.
Every creature, save the dragons and one horse that stood at the Yggdrasil tree, perished.
A Land Rebuilt:
Seeing his folly, Odin begged the gods for help. When the gods saw the destruction caused to the land that their great smith loved, they wept again. Their tears brought forth new life, but as punishment for Odin's anger, only two humans were born from the tears of the gods.
A Plan is Formed:
Odin was sad to see so few of his precious humans. The population grew slowly. He devised a way to repopulate the smartest of creatures, and did so without telling the gods. He went to another world where humans were abundant and took a beautiful young woman named Lilith from her home and carried her back to Ilmarinen. She felt no fear of Odin, but wished to please him. He tied her to the Yggdrasil tree and stabbed her so she could travel through the realm of death and become immortal. She then joined him as his consort. Soon, Lilith gave birth to four sons. Odin gave each son one of the islands formed by the dragons as a gift. He sent his sons to the world of Lilith's birth and they brought back women. The women unwillingly gave themselves to the sons and soon gave birth. And so, the population on Ilmarinen grew quickly and Odin was glad.