Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – The Brisingamen Caper

The theft of Freyja’s famous necklace, Brísingamen, was quite a coup.  How the deed was accomplished presented a mystery, but the goddess of love was determined to track the cat burglar down.  The case would require the highest level of expertise as well as discretion.  Since the necklace was stolen while Freyja slept, certain tongues might wag.

Enter Detective Heimdallr.

Although the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge had a day job, he could not resist coming to the aid of a lady in distress (particularly one as beautiful as Freyja).

Heimdallr possessed all the necessary skills for a crack detective, such as extraordinary hearing and eyesight.  His vision was so keen, in fact, that he could see into the future.

Heimdallr’s investigation turned up clues that pointed to The Pink Panther of the Norse Pantheon…Loki himself.

It’s one thing to catch a thief, and another to recover the booty.  Loki had cleverly disguised himself as a seal, so Heimdallr transformed himself into a seal too.  The battle between Loki and Heimdallr was short and pitched, but the brightest of the gods prevailed.

See authentic historical recreation HERE

Freyja was happy and relieved when Heimdallr returned Brísingamen.  No mention was made of any reward, although perhaps the whole episode was kissed by a seal, er, sealed with a kiss.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE.

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Fenrir

Fenrir the wolf was born under a dark star.   The son of the infamous Loki and a giantess, Fenrir was the subject of ominous prophecies.  After kicking the subject around the table awhile, the Æsir came up with a brilliant plan to contain the threat.

The Æsir appealed to Fenrir’s vanity, and asked him to test his strength with some nifty shackles.  Breaking out of the first pair was too easy for the enormous wolf, so the gods made a second pair twice as strong.  Fenrir took that challenge too, and won.

Hmm, what to do?

The gods appealed to the smithy dwarves to forge something impossible to break.  They fashioned a ribbon-like shackle called Gleipnir, woven of impossible items (see recipe, below).  Fenrir, suspecting a trick, refused this challenge.  The gods pinky-swore to release Fenrir if he couldn’t break out.

Fenrir was unimpressed.

But he offered the Æsir a deal.  If one of the gods would put his or her hand in Fenrir’s jaws as an act of good faith, he’d take The Gleipnir Challenge.

The brave and heroic god Týr volunteered.

When Fenrir was unable to break free from Gleipnir, the gods rejoiced. All except for Týr, of course, who could no longer clap. 😦  Hats off to Týr, by the way, for taking one for the team.  He had the Right Stuff.

~ S.G. Rogers

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Loki Quakes In His Cement Shoes

Alas, poor Baldur!  Pierced by a spear of mistletoe, Odin and Frigga’s son perished and went to Helheim.

In a last-ditch effort to save her son, Frigga sent an emissary to make a deal with Hel.  If everything and everyone mourned Baldur, Hel agreed to let him go.  Since Baldur was beloved, it was a sweet deal.  A hue and cry went up on Baldur’s behalf, and it seemed as if Baldur was a free áss.

But…Loki couldn’t leave well enough alone.  He transformed himself into a giantess who wouldn’t join in the mourning and the deal was off. 

When the gods learned about Loki’s latest mischief, there was no place in the nine worlds of Norse mythology for him to hide. The gods seized Loki and gave him cement shoes, Norse style. They lashed him to a bed of rocks and suspended a snake possessing acid-like venom over his head. Loki’s wife, Sigyn, stuck a bowl under the drip to spare her husband.  Unfortunately, the bowl had to be emptied every so often, which left Loki exposed.  Whenever the acid dripped on Loki, the result was an earthquake.

Otherwise known as a Teutonic shift.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Baldur

Baldur was a popular fellow, and his good reputation was well deserved.  Handsome, smart, and well mannered, his very aura screamed star quality. Baldur, Odin’s second son, was one of the good guys.

Only the good die young, it seems.

As it so happens, Baldur and his mother Frigga both dreamed about his death.  Understandably freaked out, Frigga went around making everything and everyone promise not to harm her boy.

EXCEPT for most harmless of plants…mistletoe.

Because of his mother’s hard work on his behalf, Baldur became like the god of steel. Loki uncovered the loophole, of course, and fashioned a spear of mistletoe.  He brought it over to a party, where the gods were playing a fun new game called Bounce Stuff Off SuperBaldur.

What could go wrong?

Loki thought it would be a hoot to press the spear into the hands of Baldur’s blind half-brother, Hodur.  Poor hapless Hodur launched the mistletoe at Baldur.  As a result, the party ended early.

Word of advice…next time, try a piñata.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – One Ring Not Precious

Andvarinaut was a nifty magic ring that could make gold.  The dwarf who owned the ring, Andvari, became a wealthy dude.

Enter Loki, stage left.

Andvari lived under a waterfall and would frequently change himself into a fish to go for a swim.  Unfortunately for Andvari, Loki caught him in a net.  In exchange for his freedom, the dwarf was forced to hand over his stash of gold and Andvarinaut.  But Andvari had his revenge by cursing the ring. Heigh ho, Loki.

The trickster god was many things, but he certainly wasn’t stupid.

After Loki accidentally killed Otr, the son of the dwarf king Hreidmarr, Loki gave Hreidmarr the cursed ring as a Gee-I’m-so-sorry-I-killed-your-son settlement (also known as a weregild).

Smooth move for Loki, but bad deal for the dwarf king.

Hreidmarr’s other two sons, Fafnir and Regin, killed their own father to get their hands on the ring and then they turned on each other.  The ring ended up conferring disaster on anyone who possessed it, just as Andvari intended.

Where is Frodo when you need him?

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Thor and Loki in Drag

The goddess Freyja was truly a lovely lass.  In fact, the king of the giants, Thrymr, was so enamored of her that he devised a sure-fire scheme to lure Freyja into matrimony.  The poem Thrymskvida details how he stole Thor’s hammer, planning to trade it to the gods for Freyja’s hand in marriage.

Nothing screams ‘romance’ like extortion.

To retrieve Mjölnir, Thor and Loki worked together in a sting operation.  Thor posed in a bridal gown, Loki dressed as his bridesmaid, and they traveled to Thrymr’s kingdom in Jötunheimr for the nuptials.

Thrymr’s reception for his fiancée was a sumptuous affair.  Although the giants became suspicious when Thor chowed down a whole ox, quick-thinking Loki explained the bride hadn’t eaten for over a week due to marital jitters. He further accounted for the bride’s scary eyes by pointing out she hadn’t managed a wink of sleep either.

The giants bought it.  What can I say? Love is blind.

At last the time arrived to exchange wedding gifts.  When the jötnar presented Mjölnir to Thor…well, let’s just say it wasn’t wedding cake lovingly smashed into Thrymr’s face.

One. Giant. Mistake.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Loki the Gadfly

Loki made a bet with the smithy dwarf Brokkr that his designer label wasn’t as cool as the Sons of Ivaldi designer label.

Bad bet.

Among other super nifty magical creations, Brokkr and his brother Eitri made…Mjölnir, Thor’s awesome hammer.

[Wait!…how the heck do you pronounce Mjölnir anyway?  Watch a short video by Wiseman2024 on YouTube HERE.  It’s mee-uhl-neer for the impatient among us.]

Now Loki REALLY didn’t want to lose the bet because his head was riding on it.  Literally.  So while the Brokkr brothers were slaving away over a hot, magical forge, Loki transformed himself into a gadfly. He bit Brokkr on the eyeball (ew) and as a result, Mjolnir’s handle came out (gasp) a wee bit short.  Since the hammer was nevertheless PHAT, Thor took delivery anyway and compensated by wearing iron gloves. (This goes to prove the axiom that it’s not the size of the hammer that matters, but how you wield it.)

Since Loki lost the bet, you may very well wonder how he managed to keep his head.  In typical Loki fashion, he weaseled out of the bet on a technicality. He claimed Brokkr couldn’t take his head without also damaging his dainty neck (not part of the wager).  Brokkr was hopping mad, and sewed Loki’s lying pie-hole with wire so the trickster couldn’t boast until the wire came out.

For Loki’s next gig, he ran for political office.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Loki’s Loose Lips

Loki shot his mouth off a lot. His boasts and bad bets often led to fascinating and unintended consequences. After his naughty prank on Thor’s wife Sif, Loki became acquainted with the workmanship of the smithy dwarves, the Sons of Ivaldi.

From the Sons of Ivaldi, Loki bought Sif’s golden headpiece, an awesome ship for Freyr, and Odin’s famous spear. Not a bad haul, don’t you think? Loki was so pleased with himself that he trash-talked all the other smithy dwarves.  Smithy dwarf Brokkr made the bad boy a bet. As a result, Brokkr’s über talented brother fashioned a glow-in-the-dark boar, Odin’s golden ring, and Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir.

Speak to the hand, Loki.

Here’s the conundrum: If Loki hadn’t messed around with Thor’s wife, Thor might not have come into his weapon of choice. So do you think Dr. Phil could Brokkr a truce between Thor and Loki, or is this just a Freudian Sif?

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Hanky Panky Loki

The bad boy of the æsir is Loki.  Disarmingly handsome and witty, Loki represents one of the most intriguing figures in the Norse pantheon. His father was a giant (Farbauti), but his mother was a slender young thing (Laufey). Loki’s special talents included shape shifting, deceit, and flyting (the exchanging of insults).

He was also quite gifted with the opposite sex.   Loki had a son with his wife, Sigyn. With his giantess girlfriend, Loki fathered a serpent, a wolf, and a daughter. In addition, Loki gave birth to the horse Sleipnir (go HERE for the sordid details).

One of Loki’s mischievous episodes involved Thor’s beautiful wife, Sif, known for her gloriously long and golden tresses.  After their tryst, Loki cut Sif’s hair for a practical joke.  Thor was not amused.  When Thor threatened to rearrange his face, Loki agreed to buy a gold headpiece from renowned smithy dwarfs (Sons of Ivaldi) to replace Sif’s hair.  Oddly enough, Thor seemed less upset about the loss of his wife’s honor than her hair.

We all have our priorities.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE

Fun Facts About Norse Mythology – Hi-yo, Sleipnir! Away!

Budge over, Silver.  Today the spotlight shines on Odin’s grey steed, Sleipnir.  The most awesome of horses ever, Sleipnir has eight legs.  Not only is he fast, he can fly high enough to clear the gates of Helheim.  Described in various accounts as “splendid,” “the best of horses,” and “a marvelously good horse,” Sleipnir must have a stellar pedigree, right?  Er, no.  His daddy was an extraordinarily strong stallion named Svaðilfari, and his mommy was…Loki.  You see, as a shape-shifter, Loki turned himself into a mare to horse around with Svaðilfari, and later gave birth to Sleipnir.  Neigh, I kid you not.  The other Norse gods thought this was weird, too, and called Loki “perverse” and a “pervert.” In all fairness to Loki, he did it to save a bet. Word is that Loki wrote a screenplay about the affair and shopped it to Hollywood.  It was called Nightmare on Æsir  Street. Although there were no takers, given the success of Jersey Shore there’s been some interest in turning it into a reality TV show.

~ S.G. Rogers

When Dani was a teen, she had it all; a starring role in her own television series, a wonderful family, and her health. A few years later, everything has changed for the worse—and her time is running short. All she wants to do before she dies is to fall in love, but when she’s kidnapped and taken to Asgard of Norse mythology, she becomes enmeshed in a quarrel between immortals. Prince Rein lends a hand in her quest to return home, and she begins to think the handsome elf has captured her heart. After a magical artifact goes missing, however, he may be forced to marry another woman to avert a diplomatic catastrophe. To find the artifact and save the prince, Dani must undertake a dangerous quest involving ogres, dark fairies, and underworld criminals. Ultimately, however, she’ll have to defy Odin himself.

Dani & the Immortals is available for the Kindle HERE