Ragnarök.
In Norse Mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major gods.
Overview[]
Barring the deaths of some of the more prominent Norse deities, Ragnarök also consists of of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors.
History[]
Baackground[]
Ragnarök will first be marked with the death of Baldr, the most beloved of all the gods, by Loki's hands. His death will be followed by Fimbulwinter, a three-year-long terrible winter that will throttle the Earth. In the aftermath of Fimbulwinter, Sköll and Hati will devour the Sun and the Moon, marking the official start of Ragnarök as all the stars disappear in the sky.
Loki will be freed from his chains as punishment for his role in Baldur's death and set out to gather innumerable armies of Jötnar and other foul beasts to take vengeance against the gods. His last visit would be in Helheim where he asks a favor from his daughter Hel in enlisting an armada of her dead subjects to join his armies which she agrees to. With his armies complete, Loki, the Jötnar, and the dead board the ship Naglfar (“Ship of the Dead”) and set sail towards Asgard.
Ragnarök[]
The far-seeing Heimdall, the watchman of the gods’ fortress, Asgard, was the first to spy a vast army of giants headed for the celestial stronghold. Among the gruesome mass was the gods’ fickle friend, Loki, at the helm of ship Naglfar. Heimdall sounded his horn Gjallarhorn (“Resounding Horn”) to alert the gods, who were no doubt alarmed and despairing.
The giants set about destroying the abode of the gods and the entire cosmos along with it. Fenrir, the great wolf, is freed from his bonds during the chaos ran across the land with his lower jaw on the ground and his upper jaw in the sky, consuming everything in between. Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, would release its grip on its tail resulting in the oceans flooding the lands. Even the sun itself was dragged from its height and into the beast’s stomach. Surtr, a giant bearing a flaming sword, swept across the earth and left nothing but an inferno in his wake.
During Ragnarok, it is said that Odin will be the first to ride into battle and directly fight Fenrir himself. Flanking him are the uncountable warriors of Einherjar pouring out of the gates of Valhalla and Fólkvangr to meet and do battle with the dead. Odin would be devoured by Fenrir. Thor will battle Jormungandr with their fight enveloping the world in floods and storms. After Thor kills the serpent, he takes nine steps and falls down dead from the effects of the venom.
Epilogue[]
Tyr will be killed by Garmr, who is the guard dog of Hel. Freyr will battle and be killed by the demon jotun Surtr, who's fire will then cover the entire Earth. And finally, Heimdall and Loki will meet face to face, and slay each other consequently during battle. At last, in the ultimate reversal of the original process of creation, the ravaged land sank back into the sea and vanished below the waves. The perfect darkness and silence of the anti-cosmic void, Ginnungagap, reigned once more.