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Boreal Saga Play

by The Boreal Times · Duna Press Editions

31 stories · 31 games

Myths & Gods

Before there were kings, there were gods.

Nine worlds hanging from a tree, a god who traded an eye for wisdom, a hammer that calls the storm. Here the myths are told as the sources kept them, in the Eddas and in Snorri, never passed off as history, and always with the origin of each piece.

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Illustration of a traveller in a broad-brimmed hat and blue cloak seated before a grey-bearded giant in a stone hall lit by a fire, with a board of white and black stones between them and runes scratched on the wall Myth or legend · 20 Nov 2026 Odin and Vafþrúðnir: the wisdom contest where the head was the stake In the poem Vafþrúðnismál, a disguised Odin challenges a giant famed for wisdom to a contest of questions, wagering his head. The last question, about Baldr, reveals who he is. Read

Stories of this realm

Illustration of a broad-shouldered bearded god in iron gloves catching a glowing iron bar in mid-air in a giants' hall, with a giant hiding behind an iron pillar and orange sparks everywhere Myth or legend Thor and the giant Geirrøðr: the glowing iron, the iron gloves and the rising river According to Snorri and the poem Þórsdrápa, Thor went to Geirrøðr's hall without hammer or belt, crossed a swelling river and caught a glowing bar with iron gloves. Here is the story. Read Illustration of a tall woman with half her face pale and half dark blue, standing before a great hall of dark stone under a grey sky, with a bridge covered in gold over a black river behind her and a small rider arriving Myth or legend Hel and Helheim: the queen of the dead who lived in a house where Hunger was the plate According to Snorri Sturluson, Hel, a daughter of Loki, ruled those who died of sickness or old age in an underground realm where even the tableware had grim names. Here is what the sources say. Read Illustration of a red-bearded god hurling a hammer at a stone giant with a rock shield, on a cracked plain under black clouds, with sparks in the air, a nimble boy beside the god and a large clay figure in the background Myth or legend Thor against Hrungnir: the duel with the stone-hearted giant and the shard that stayed in the god's head According to Snorri, the giant Hrungnir got drunk in the gods' hall and challenged Thor to a duel. See how it ended and why a piece of stone stayed in the god's head. Read Illustration of a goddess in a pale cloak driving four enormous oxen on a plough, cutting a deep furrow in the earth beside a lake, with a piece of land breaking loose and sliding into the sea under a twilight sky Myth or legend Gefjon and Zealand: the goddess who ploughed an entire island in one night, with four oxen According to Snorri Sturluson, a goddess asked the Swedish king for as much land as she could plough in a day and a night, and tore the island of Zealand loose. See what the source says. Read Illustration of two groups of gods facing each other on a plain under a stormy sky, warriors in helmets with spears on one side, figures in green and gold cloaks on the other, with a broken stone wall between them and two hostages crossing to opposite sides Myth or legend The war between Æsir and Vanir: the first war in the world and the exchange of hostages that brought peace The Norse poems speak of a war between two groups of gods that ended in a deal and an exchange of hostages. See what the Völuspá and Snorri tell, and where the sources differ. Read Illustration of a long-haired dark smith on a small rocky island, with a stone forge and tools beside him, fitting wings of dark feathers to his arms as the sun sets over the sea Myth or legend Völund, the smith whom a king held on an island and who escaped by flight The poem Völundarkviða, in the Poetic Edda, tells how King Níðuðr lamed and enslaved the smith Völund, and how he took revenge and escaped through the air. Read Illustration of a tall woman in a dark cloak and an ice crown before a rocky mountain, with a great mill with a colourful lid glowing in a cave, and behind her a boat of heroes crossing the sea under an aurora sky Myth or legend The Sampo and Louhi: the magic mill the smith Ilmarinen forged and that broke at sea In the Kalevala, the smith Ilmarinen forges the Sampo for the mistress of Pohjola, and the heroes try to steal it. Here is what the Finnish poem tells and how it was put together. Read Illustration of two dwarves with braided beards in a cave forge, one hammering a short-handled hammer on an anvil and the other working a bellows with a fly resting on his arm, gold and embers lighting the walls Myth or legend Brokkr and Sindri forge Mjölnir: the wager in which Loki bet his own head According to Snorri Sturluson, Thor's hammer was born from a wager between Loki and two dwarf smiths, and a fly spoiled the forging. Here is what the myth tells. Read Illustration of an old man with a long white beard sitting on a rock beside a Finnish lake, playing a pale wooden kantele, with elk, birds and fish gathered around under a greenish aurora Myth or legend Väinämöinen and the kantele: the music that made nature weep In the Kalevala, the old sage Väinämöinen builds the first kantele from the jawbone of a great fish, and his music enchants humans, beasts and even the sea. Read Illustration of a tall, fair traveller in a grey cloak knocking at the door of a humble turf house, with two other houses behind, one a tidy farmstead and one a noble hall with carved pillars, at dusk Myth or legend Rígsþula: how Heimdall, in disguise, visited three houses and gave rise to the orders of society In the poem Rígsþula, Heimdall walks the earth as Ríg and passes through three houses. From each visit a social order is born: the thrall, the farmer and the jarl. Read Illustration of a great golden eagle flying over snowy mountains with a thread of shining mead dripping from its beak, chased by a darker eagle, with a cave in the rock and three large jars in the background Myth or legend Odin and the mead of poetry: the theft that gave poets their art In the Prose Edda, Odin disguises himself, wins over the guardian Gunnlöð and drinks all the mead that held the poets' wisdom. Then he flees, flying as an eagle. Read Illustration of a large white cow with short horns licking a block of blue ice in a mist-covered void, as the head and shoulders of a fair-haired man emerge from the ice, with a sleeping giant resting beside Myth or legend Auðumbla, the cow of the ice: the Norse myth in which the first god emerges In the Prose Edda, the cow Auðumbla feeds the giant Ymir and licks blocks of salty ice until a man, Búri, Odin's grandfather, emerges from them. Read Illustration of three women in long robes by a clear well beneath the roots of a giant tree, one of them weaving golden threads, with two white swans on the water Myth or legend The Norns: the three women who tend the world tree and everyone's fate By the well of Urðr, beneath a root of Yggdrasil, three women water the tree with water and mud and decide lives. The Norse texts speak of them in a few dense stanzas. Read Illustration of a warrior in bright armour on a high rock fortress, holding a great horn, beside a rainbow bridge crossing the sky above a valley of clouds Myth or legend Heimdall: the watchman who hardly sleeps and guards the rainbow bridge The god who sees hundreds of miles and hears grass grow guards Bifröst, the bridge of the gods. At Ragnarök, the sound of his horn will give the final warning. Read Illustration of a rider in a green cloak on a white horse before a wall of flames and a great giants' hall in the background, while a golden figure watches from a high tower Myth or legend Freyr and Gerðr: the god who gave away his sword for love In the poem Skírnismál, the god Freyr sees a giantess from afar and falls sick with love. His servant Skírnir is sent to win her, first with gifts and then with threats. Read Illustration of a strong bearded god lifting a paw of an enormous grey cat in a hall of giants, watched by an old woman at the back and by laughing giants, with a huge drinking horn beside him Myth or legend Thor in Útgarðr: the giant's challenges that were all illusions In the Prose Edda, Thor and his companions lose every test at Útgarða-Loki's castle. In the end, the giant reveals that each defeat hid a trick, and that the god nearly beat the impossible. Read Illustration of a tall woman in armour and skis, on the snow, before a row of gods hidden behind a fur curtain, from which only bare feet show, one of them wet with sea foam Myth or legend Skaði chooses a husband by his feet: the mountain goddess who wanted Baldr and got Njörðr To make up for her father's death, the gods let the giantess Skaði choose a husband, but only by looking at feet. She believes she has picked the handsome Baldr and has chosen the sea god. Read Illustration of a well of dark water under the enormous root of a tree, with a hooded one-eyed god leaning over the rim, and in the water the reflection of a white-bearded head with closed eyes Myth or legend Mímir and the well of wisdom: the eye Odin gave and the head that kept speaking In the Norse sources, Odin gives an eye to drink from Mímir's well, and Mímir himself, beheaded by the Vanir, goes on advising the god. Two stories from different texts form the picture. Read Illustration of a colossal ash tree with deep roots and branches rising to the stars, with an eagle at the top, a squirrel on the trunk and a serpent among the roots Myth or legend Yggdrasil, the world tree: what the sources say and what only modern interpreters added The Eddas describe a giant ash with three roots, an eagle, a serpent and a gossiping squirrel. The nine worlds, however, are never listed. Read Illustration of an armored valkyrie on a white horse above a battlefield at dusk, with fallen warriors on the ground and, in the background, a great hall whose roof seems made of golden shields Myth or legend Valkyries and Valhalla: whom Odin and Freyja receive among those slain in battle The poems of the Edda describe a hall of spears and shields where warriors fight by day and feast at night. Who chooses the dead, and how much of the popular image was invented later? Read Illustration of a huge bearded god in a veil and bridal dress with a golden necklace, seated at the table of a giants' hall in front of a platter of salmon and a roast ox, while a giant stares at him suspiciously Myth or legend Thor dressed as a bride: the poem in which the hammer is stolen and the giant Thrym expects to marry In the Poetic Edda, the giant Thrym hides the hammer Mjölnir and returns it only in exchange for Freyja. The gods' plan is one of the funniest episodes in Norse mythology. Read Illustration of a plain under a dark red sky where Norse gods and a giant wolf face each other, with a sea serpent in the background and fire on the horizon Myth or legend Ragnarök: how the Norse poems tell the end of the world, and what comes after In the Völuspá and in Snorri, the gods die in battle, fire consumes everything and the earth rises green from the sea again. The sources differ on several details. Read Illustration of a dark cave where a god bound to three stones writhes, while a woman beside him holds up a bowl to catch the venom dripping from a serpent on the ceiling Myth or legend Loki in chains: the feast where he insulted the gods and the punishment that awaits him until Ragnarök In the Lokasenna, Loki insults the gods at a feast. In Snorri, he is caught as a salmon and bound to three stones with a serpent dripping venom, and only his wife shields him. Read Illustration of a giant builder raising an enormous stone wall beside a grey horse hauling blocks, in a snowstorm Myth or legend How Loki tricked the builder of Asgard's wall and gave birth to the horse Sleipnir A builder and his horse nearly finished the gods' wall in a single winter. Loki, turned into a mare, delayed the work, and from that came Odin's horse. Read Illustration of the goddess Freyja in a dwarf cave lit by forges, receiving a shining gold necklace Myth or legend Freyja and the Brísingamen necklace: what the Norse sources say about the goddess's jewel Brísingamen is the goddess Freyja's best-known necklace. The sources link it to dwarf smiths, a theft by Loki and a fight between gods in the form of seals. Read Illustration of the radiant god Baldr in a hall of Asgard while gods throw spears and stones that bounce off, and a sprig of mistletoe glows in a dark corner Myth or legend Baldr, the god nothing could harm, and the sprig of mistletoe nobody remembered to protect Baldr's mother made every thing swear not to hurt him. She left out one small sprout, and it was with that sprout that the god died. Read Illustration of a bearded god in a small boat on a stormy sea, pulling a giant sea serpent up with a fishing line. Myth or legend Thor hooks the Midgard Serpent, and the giant Hymir cuts the line Using an ox head as bait, Thor fishes up the serpent Jörmungandr, but the giant Hymir, in fear, cuts the line before the god can finish it. Read Illustration of a one-eyed god hanging from a giant ash tree under a starry sky, with glowing runes floating around him. Myth or legend Odin hangs for nine nights on a tree to win the runes In the poem Hávamál, the god Odin offers himself, wounded by a spear and hanging on a tree for nine nights, and returns with the knowledge of the runes. Read Illustration of a goddess holding a box of golden apples in a garden at dusk, with a giant eagle flying above. Myth or legend The gods grow old when the giant Thjazi steals Idun and her apples According to Snorri, the goddess Idun keeps the apples that keep the gods young. When a giant abducts her, they age, and Loki must bring her back. Read Illustration of a giant wolf wrapped in a glowing ribbon, with a warrior's hand in the animal's mouth and other Norse gods watching on a rocky shore under a storm Myth or legend How the Norse gods bound the wolf Fenrir, and why Týr lost his hand The gods raised the wolf Fenrir in Asgard until they feared his strength. Only a ribbon made of things that do not exist could bind him, and the price was Týr's hand. Read

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New The wall of Asgard Be Loki disguised as a mare and distract the builder’s horse so the wall of Asgard is not finished before summer. Play Thor's fishing trip Hold the line, let go when the serpent lunges, and bring Jörmungandr to the surface, as in the story told by Snorri. Play Gleipnir, the impossible ribbon Gather the six things that no longer exist so the dwarfs can make Gleipnir, then hold the ribbon at the right tension to bind the wolf Fenrir. Play The dwarfs’ forge Watch the order of the anvils and repeat the strikes of the four dwarfs forging Freyja’s necklace. Play The flight of Huginn Flap with the raven Huginn, fly between the branches of the World Tree and bring the news to Odin. Play Idun and the apples Catch the golden apples of youth before they fall and dodge the eagle, in an adventure inspired by the myth of Idun. Play New Frigg's oaths Tap things in the world to collect each one's oath not to harm Baldr, and keep an eye out for the small mistletoe sprout. Play New The last battle Defend the gods' hall from wolves and giants until the dawn of Ragnarök. Play New Ratatoskr and the tree Run up the trunk of Yggdrasil as the squirrel Ratatoskr and carry messages from the eagle to the dragon. Play New Sigyn's bowl Catch the serpent's venom with Sigyn's bowl so the earth does not shake. Play New The Valkyrie's choice Send each fallen warrior to the right hall, Valhalla or Fólkvangr, before he hits the ground. Play New Where is the hammer? Follow Thor's hammer hidden under the cushions of the giant Thrym. Play New Mímir's well Answer the questions of Mímir's head about the story of the well of wisdom. Play New Choose by the feet Pick the cleanest pair of feet, like the goddess Skaði, before time runs out. Play New Útgarða-Loki's challenges Drink from the horn, lift the cat and wrestle the old woman in the giant's three tests. Play New The colours of Bifröst Repeat the sequence of colours Heimdall plays on the horn and guard the Bifröst bridge. Play New Leap the wall of fire Jump the fires with Skírnir's horse on the way to Gerðr's hall. Play New The threads of the Norns Keep the Norns' golden thread taut inside the wavering band. Play New Tune the kantele Tune the strings of Väinämöinen's kantele until they sound true. Play New The three draughts Drink the mead of poetry in three draughts, neither too little nor too much. Play New The three houses Send each family to the right house, as Rígr does in the verses of the Rígsþula. Play New Auðumbla's ice Melt the ice with the cow's tongue and reveal the first man. Play New Flies at the forge Swat Loki's flies before they bite the smith and spoil the hammer. Play New The smith's feathers Put the feathers of Völund's wings in order by swapping them. Play New The shards of the Sampo Slide the pieces and restore the Sampo that broke at sea. Play New Gefjon's land Divide the ground into rectangular plots, one for each number. Play New The scales of peace Share the gifts between the two pans until the scales balance. Play New Hrungnir's shards Slice the flying shards of stone before they fall. Play New The torch in Helheim Cross the dark maze of Helheim guided only by the light of your torch. Play New Geirrøðr's bars Catch the glowing iron bars before they hit the ground. Play New The duel of the stones Play Nim against the giant and take the last stone. Play

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