by Rick Riordan
FOLKVANGER—the Vanir afterlife for slain heroes, ruled by the goddess Freya
FREY—the god of spring and summer; the sun, the rain, and the harvest; abundance and fertility, growth and vitality. Frey is the twin brother of Freya and, like his sister, is associated with great beauty. He is lord of Alfheim.
FREYA—the goddess of love; twin sister of Frey; ruler of Folkvanger
FRIGG—goddess of marriage and motherhood; Odin’s wife and the queen of Asgard; mother of Balder and Hod
GAMALOST—old cheese
GINNUNGAGAP—the primordial void; a mist that obscures appearances
GJALLAR—Heimdall’s horn
HEIMDALL—god of vigilance and the guardian of Bifrost, the gateway to Asgard
HEL—goddess of the dishonorable dead; born of Loki’s affair with a giantess
HELHEIM—the underworld, ruled by Hel and inhabited by those who died in wickedness, old age, or illness
HUGINN AND MUNINN—Odin’s ravens, whose names mean thought and memory, respectively
HULDER—a domesticated forest sprite
HUSVAETTR—house wight
JORMUNGAND—the World Serpent, born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his body is so long it wraps around the Earth
JOTUN—giant
KENNING—a Viking nickname
LINDWORM—a fearsome dragon the size and length of an eighteen-wheeler, with just two front legs and leathery brown bat-type wings too small for effective flight
LOKI—god of mischief, magic, and artifice; the son of two giants; adept at magic and shape-shifting. He is alternately malicious and heroic to the Asgardian gods and to humankind. Because of his role in the death of Balder, Loki was chained by Odin to three giant boulders with a poisonous serpent coiled over his head. The venom of the snake occasionally irritates Loki’s face, and his writhing can cause earthquakes.
MAGNI AND MODI—Thor’s favorite sons, fated to survive Ragnarok
MEINFRETR—stinkfart
MIMIR—an Aesir god who, along with Honir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. When the Vanir didn’t like his counsel, they cut off his head and sent it to Odin. Odin placed the head in a magical well, where the water brought it back to life, and Mimir soaked up all the knowledge of the World Tree.
MJOLNIR—Thor’s hammer
MORGEN-GIFU—morning gift; a gift from the groom to the bride, given on the morning after a marriage is consummated. It belongs to the bride, but it is held in trust by the groom’s family.
MUNDR—bride-price; a gift from the groom to the father of the bride
MUSPELL—fire
NAGLFAR—the Ship of Nails
NØKK—a nixie, or water spirit
NORNS—three sisters who control the destinies of both gods and humans
ODIN—the “All-Father” and king of the gods; the god of war and death, but also poetry and wisdom. By trading one eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, Odin gained unparalleled knowledge. He has the ability to observe all the Nine Worlds from his throne in Asgard; in addition to his great hall, he also resides in Valhalla with the bravest of those slain in battle.
OSTARA—the first day of spring
OTHALA—inheritance
RAGNAROK—the Day of Doom or Judgment, when the bravest of the einherjar will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world
RAN—goddess of the sea; wife of Aegir
RATATOSK—an invulnerable squirrel that constantly runs up and down the World Tree carrying insults between the eagle that lives at the top and Nidhogg, a dragon that lives at the roots
RED GOLD—the currency of Asgard and Valhalla
SAEHRIMNIR—the magical beast of Valhalla; every day it is killed and cooked for dinner, and every morning it is resurrected; it tastes like whatever the diner wants
SIF—goddess of the earth; mother of Uller by her first husband; Thor is her second husband; the rowan is her sacred tree
SLEIPNIR—Odin’s eight-legged steed; only Odin can summon him; one of Loki’s children
SUMARBRANDER—the Sword of Summer
THANE—a lord of Valhalla
THINGVELLIR—field of the assembly
THOR—god of thunder; son of Odin. Thunderstorms are the earthly effects of Thor’s mighty chariot rides across the sky, and lightning is caused by hurling his great hammer, Mjolnir.
THRYM—king of the jotun
TREE OF LAERADR—a tree in the center of the Feast Hall of the Slain in Valhalla containing immortal animals that have particular jobs
TYR—god of courage, law, and trial by combat; he lost a hand to Fenris’s bite when the Wolf was restrained by the gods
ULLER—the god of snowshoes and archery
URNES—a symbol of two entwined snakes, which signifies change and flexibility; sometimes a symbol for Loki
UTGARD-LOKI—the most powerful sorcerer of Jotunheim; king of the mountain giants
VALA—a seer
VALHALLA—paradise for warriors in the service of Odin
VALKYRIE—Odin’s handmaidens, who choose slain heroes to bring to Valhalla
VANIR—gods of nature; close to elves
VIDAR—the god of vengeance; also called the Silent One
WERGILD—blood debt
WIGHT—a powerful undead creature who likes to collect weapons
YGGDRASIL—the World Tree
ZUHR—Arabic for midday prayer
AEGIR AY-gear
AESIR AY-ser
ALF SEIDR ALF SAY-der
ALFHEIM ALF-haym
ALICARL AL-ih-carrl
ARGR ARR-ger
ASGARD AZ-gahrrd
BIFROST BEE-frrohst
BILSKIRNIR BEEL-skeerr-neer
DAGAZ DAH-gahz
DRAUGR DRAW-ger
EINHERJAR/EINHERJI in-HAIRR-yar/in-HAIRR-yee
EHWAZ AY-wahz
FEHU FAY-hoo
FENRIS FEHN-rrihss
FOLKVANGER FOHK-vahn-ger
FREY FRRAY
FREYA FRRAY-uh
FRIGG FRRIHG
GAMALOST GA-ma-lohst
GEBO GIH-bo
GEIRROD GAR-rod
GERD GAIRRD
GINNUNGAGAP GEENG-un-guh-gahp
GJALLAR gee-YALL-ar
HAGALAZ HA-ga-lahts
HEIMDALL HAME-doll
HEL HEHL
HELGI HEL-ghee
HELHEIM HEHL-haym
HUGINN HOO-gihn
HULDER HOOL-dihr
HUNDING HOON-deeng
HUSVAETTR HOOS-veht-tr
ISA EES-ah
JORMUNGAND YOHRR-mun-gand
JOTUN YOH-toon
JOTUNHEIM YOH-tuhn-haym
LAERADR LAY-rrah-dur
KENNING KEN-ning
LINDWORM LIHND-wohrrm
LOKI LOH-kee
MEINFRETR MAYN-frih-ter
MIDGARD MIHD-gahrrd
MIMIR MEE-meer
MJOLNIR MEE’OHL-neer
MODI MOH-dee
MORGEN-gifu MORR-ghen-GIH-foo
MUNDR MOON-der
MUNINN MOON-in
MUSPELL MOO-spel
MUSPELLHEIM MOOS-pehl-haym
NAGLFAR NAHG’L-fahr
NIDAVELLIR Nee-duh-vehl-EER
NIDHOGG NEED-hawg
NIFLHEIM NIHF-uh-haym
NØKK NAWK
NORNS NOHRRNZ
NORUMBEGA nohrr-uhm-BAY-guh
ODIN OH-dihn
OSTARA OH-starr-ah
OTHALA OH-thal-ah
PERTHRO PERR-thrroh
RAGNAROK RAG-nuh-rrawk
RAN RAN
RATATOSK RAT-uh-tawsk
SAEHRIMNIR SAY-h’rrihm-neer
SAMIRAH AL-ABBAS sah-MEER-ah ahl-AH-bahss
SIF SEEV
SLEIPNIR SLAYP-neer
SUMARBRANDER SOO-marr-brrand-der
THINGVELLIR THING-vih-leer
THURISAZ THOORR-ee-sahts
THOR TH
ORE
THRYM THRRIMM
THRYNGA THRRIN-gah
TIWAZ TEE-vahz
TYR TEAR
ULLER OO-lir
URNES OORR-nis
URUZ OOR-oots
UTGARD-Loki OOT-gahrrd-LOH-kee
VALA VAL-uh
VALHALLA Val-HAHL-uh
VALKYRIE VAL-kerr-ee
VANAHEIM VAN-uh-haym
VANIR Vah-NEER
VIDAR VEE-dar
WERGILD WIR-gild
WIGHT WHITE
YGGDRASIL IHG-druh-sihl
THE NINE WORLDS
ASGARD—the home of the Aesir
VANAHEIM—the home of the Vanir
ALFHEIM—the home of the light elves
MIDGARD—the home of humans
JOTUNHEIM—the home of the giants
NIDAVELLIR—the home of the dwarves
NIFLHEIM—the world of ice, fog, and mist
MUSPELLHEIM—the home of the fire giants and demons
HELHEIM—the home of Hel and the dishonorable dead
RUNES (IN ORDER OF MENTION)
FEHU—the rune of Frey
OTHALA—inheritance
DAGAZ—new beginnings, transformations
URUZ—ox
GEBO—gift
PERTHRO—the empty cup
THURISAZ—the rune of Thor
HAGALAZ—hail
EHWAZ—horse, transportation
ISA—ice
Also by Rick Riordan
PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS
Book One: The Lightning Thief
Book Two: The Sea of Monsters
Book Three: The Titan’s Curse
Book Four: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Book Five: The Last Olympian
The Demigod Files
The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel
The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel
The Titan’s Curse: The Graphic Novel
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes
THE KANE CHRONICLES
Book One: The Red Pyramid
Book Two: The Throne of Fire
Book Three: The Serpent’s Shadow
The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide
The Red Pyramid: The Graphic Novel
The Throne of Fire: The Graphic Novel
THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS
Book One: The Lost Hero
Book Two: The Son of Neptune
Book Three: The Mark of Athena
Book Four: The House of Hades
Book Five: The Blood of Olympus
The Demigod Diaries
The Lost Hero: The Graphic Novel
MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD
Book One: The Sword of Summer
For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds
THE TRIALS OF APOLLO
Book One: The Hidden Oracle
Click here to order The Trials of Apollo, Book One: The Hidden Oracle
Keep reading for a sneak peek!
Hoodlums punch my face
I would smite them if I could
Mortality blows
MY NAME IS APOLLO. I used to be a god.
In my four thousand six hundred and twelve years, I have done many things. I inflicted a plague on the Greeks who besieged Troy. I blessed Babe Ruth with three home runs in game four of the 1926 World Series. I visited my wrath upon Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
But in all my immortal life, I never before crash-landed in a Dumpster.
I’m not even sure how it happened.
I simply woke up falling. Skyscrapers spiraled in and out of view. Flames streamed off my body. I tried to fly. I tried to change into a cloud or teleport across the world or do a hundred other things that should have been easy for me, but I just kept falling. I plunged into a narrow canyon between two buildings and BAM!
Is anything sadder than the sound of a god hitting a pile of garbage bags?
I lay groaning and aching in the open Dumpster. My nostrils burned with the stench of rancid bologna and used diapers. My ribs felt broken, though that shouldn’t have been possible.
My mind stewed in confusion, but one memory floated to the surface—the voice of my father, Zeus: YOUR FAULT. YOUR PUNISHMENT.
I realized what had happened to me. And I sobbed in despair.
Even for a god of poetry such as myself, it is difficult to describe how I felt. How could you—a mere mortal—possibly understand? Imagine being stripped of your clothes, then blasted with a fire hose in front of a laughing crowd. Imagine the ice-cold water filling your mouth and lungs, the pressure bruising your skin, turning your joints to putty. Imagine feeling helpless, ashamed, completely vulnerable—publicly and brutally stripped of everything that makes you you. My humiliation was worse than that.
YOUR FAULT, Zeus’s voice rang in my head.
“No!” I cried miserably. “No, it wasn’t! Please!”
Nobody answered. On either side of me, rusty fire escapes zigzagged up brick walls. Above, the winter sky was gray and unforgiving.
I tried to remember the details of my sentencing. Had my father told me how long this punishment would last? What was I supposed to do to regain his favor?
My memory was too fuzzy. I could barely recall what Zeus looked like, much less why he’d decided to toss me to earth. There’d been a war with the giants, I thought. The gods had been caught off guard, embarrassed, almost defeated.
The only thing I knew for certain: my punishment was unfair. Zeus needed someone to blame, so of course he’d picked the handsomest, most talented, most popular god in the pantheon: me.
I lay in the garbage, staring at the label inside the Dumpster lid: FOR PICK-UP, CALL 1-555-STENCHY.
Zeus will reconsider, I told myself. He’s just trying to scare me. Any moment, he will yank me back to Olympus and let me off with a warning.
“Yes…” My voice sounded hollow and desperate. “Yes, that’s it.”
I tried to move. I wanted to be on my feet when Zeus came to apologize. My ribs throbbed. My stomach clenched. I clawed the rim of the Dumpster and managed to drag myself over the side. I toppled out and landed on my shoulder, which made a cracking sound against the asphalt.
“Araggeeddeee,” I whimpered through the pain. “Stand up. Stand up.”
Getting to my feet was not easy. My head spun. I almost passed out from the effort. I stood in a dead-end alley. About fifty feet away, the only exit opened onto a street with grimy storefronts for a bail bondsman’s office and a pawnshop. I was somewhere on the west side of Manhattan, I guessed, or perhaps Crown Heights, in Brooklyn. Zeus must have been really angry with me.
I inspected my new body. I appeared to be a teenaged Caucasian male, clad in sneakers, blue jeans, and a green polo shirt. How utterly drab. I felt sick, weak, and so, so human.
I will never understand how you mortals tolerate it. You live your entire life trapped in a sack of meat, unable to enjoy simple pleasures like changing into a hummingbird or dissolving into pure light.
And now, heavens help me, I was one of you—just another meat sack.
I fumbled through my pants pockets, hoping I still had the keys to my sun chariot. No such luck. I found a cheap nylon wallet containing a hundred dollars in American currency—lunch money for my first day as a mortal, perhaps—along with a New York State junior driver’s license featuring a photo of a dorky, curly-haired teen who could not possibly be me, with the name Lester Papadopoulos. The cruelty of Zeus knew no bounds!
I peered into the Dumpster, hoping my bow, quiver, and lyre might have fallen to earth with me. I would have settled for my harmonica. There was nothing.
I took a deep breath. Cheer up, I told myself. I must have retained some of my godly abilities. Matters could be worse.
A raspy voice called, “Hey, Cade, take a look at this loser.”
Blocking the alley’s exit were two young men: one squat and platinum blond, the other
tall and redheaded. Both wore oversize hoodies and baggy pants. Serpentine tattoo designs covered their necks. All they were missing were the words I’M A THUG printed in large letters across their foreheads.
The redhead zeroed in on the wallet in my hand. “Now, be nice, Mikey. This guy looks friendly enough.” He grinned and pulled a hunting knife from his belt. “In fact, I bet he wants to give us all his money.”
I blame my disorientation for what happened next.
I knew my immortality had been stripped away, but I still considered myself the mighty Apollo! One cannot change one’s way of thinking as easily as one might, say, turn into a snow leopard.
Also, on previous occasions when Zeus had punished me by making me mortal (yes, it had happened twice before), I had retained massive strength and at least some of my godly powers. I assumed the same would be true now.
I was not going to allow two young mortal ruffians to take Lester Papadopoulos’s wallet.
I stood up straight, hoping Cade and Mikey would be intimidated by my regal bearing and divine beauty. (Surely those qualities could not be taken from me, no matter what my driver’s license photo looked like.) I ignored the warm Dumpster juice trickling down my neck.
“I am Apollo,” I announced. “You mortals have three choices: offer me tribute, flee, or be destroyed.”
I wanted my words to echo through the alley, shake the towers of New York, and cause the skies to rain smoking ruin. None of that happened. On the word destroyed, my voice squeaked.
The redhead Cade grinned even wider. I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death.
“What do you think, Mikey?” he asked his friend. “Should we give this guy tribute?”
Mikey scowled. With his bristly blond hair, his cruel small eyes, and his thick frame, he reminded me of the monstrous sow that terrorized the village of Crommyon back in the good old days.
“Not feeling the tribute, Cade.” His voice sounded like he’d been eating lit cigarettes. “What were the other options?”
“Fleeing?” said Cade.
“Nah,” said Mikey.
“Being destroyed?”
Mikey snorted. “How about we destroy him instead?”