by Roger Green
At that Thiassi roared with rage until the very castle shook beneath his hurricane breath.
‘Here you shall stay!’ he shrieked. ‘Here, alone, until you grant what I wish!’ So saying he shut Iduna into the highest room of the tower above the castle, and went raging away, spreading havoc through Jotunheim, and over Midgard.
Meanwhile in Asgard the Æsir began to miss the nightly visits of Iduna to the banqueting hall with her golden casket of magic fruit.
‘Where is Iduna?’ they asked, and Bragi could only shake his head sadly and strike a melancholy tune from the strings of his golden harp.
‘She has gone from me, and I know not whither,’ he sighed. ‘Out of the earth she came to me: perhaps she has returned into the earth … But surely she will come again.’
Age now began to touch the Æsir. There came a streak of silver even into Baldur’s golden hair; Odin’s limbs grew stiff, and Thor himself felt the weight of years upon his mighty shoulders.
Odin could learn nothing of Iduna: even from Lidskialf he could not see what had become of her, nor would Mimir’s Head prophesy of her return.
But Hugin and Munin, Odin’s ravens, flew fast and far: over all Midgard and day by day deeper into Jotunheim. And at last they brought back news:
‘Iduna is in the tall tower above the castle of Thiassi the Storm Giant in windy Thrymheim,’ they croaked. ‘She keeps the Apples of Youth safely in their golden casket, and Thiassi cannot touch them. But she grows pale and wan as she sits in the high window gazing, gazing towards Asgard and calling in vain upon Bragi to come to her aid.’
Then Odin gathered the Æsir in council, and told them what he had learnt.
‘We must attack Jotunheim and kill every Giant in it!’ shouted Thor in his voice of thunder. ‘There is not a moment to be lost, for we grow old already!’
Odin smiled and shook his head.
‘You were ever in a hurry, my son,’ he said. ‘You have always believed that strength will accomplish everything, and patience nothing. Even as a babe your kindly mother Jord could not control you – and I well remember how you first showed your mighty strength by lifting ten loads of bearskins which she had piled upon you in a vain effort to keep you in your cradle. No, this time cunning is our only chance … But I do not know who can help us, for the Giants are on guard, and I cannot slip into Jotunheim in disguise as easily as I did when I won the Mead of Inspiration out of Suttung’s treasure vault.’
Then Honir the shining one spoke, for he was in Asgard on a visit from the Vanir with whom his home now was.
‘I remember when last we went through the world,’ he said, ‘that a certain Loki, who seemed half a Giant, and yet more like one of us Æsir, came with us. And whatever trouble we met, he got us out of it easily by his cunning.’
‘Well remembered, my brother,’ cried Odin. ‘Loki is the person we want. He lives now in Midgard, not far from the foot of Bifrost, and I visit him from time to time to seek advice from him.’
So Odin and many of the Æsir went down over Bifrost Bridge and found Loki in his wood nearby.
When they told him about the theft of Iduna and her apples, and asked him if he could help to get her back, Loki looked very grave.
‘I might be able to rescue the Lady Iduna,’ he said at length, ‘but it will be hard and dangerous … My greatest difficulty is that I am not one of the Æsir and, being of the Giant kin myself, I cannot enter Asgard.’
‘If you can bring back Iduna safely, and with her the Apples of Youth, we will make you one of ourselves,’ said Odin. ‘But you must also swear to be loyal and faithful in our war against the Giants.’
Loki agreed to this, binding himself by terrible oaths which would bring upon him the most dreadful punishments if he broke them. Then Odin solemnly made him his blood-brother, and said:
‘Now the blood of the Æsir flows in your veins, and you may enter Asgard as one of ourselves. Nevertheless, swift and terrible shall be your doom if you enter it and do not bring back Iduna the beautiful and her magic apples.’
‘I go to fetch her from Thrymheim,’ answered Loki triumphantly. ‘Meanwhile make ready a great fire of shavings and resinous pine in the very gateway of Asgard. But do not kindle it until the moment arrives … Remember that I can change into any shape I wish, but Thiassi the Storm Giant can take only the form of a monstrous eagle.’
Loki set out, walking swiftly. But as soon as he was out of sight of the Æsir he turned himself into a falcon and flew off in the direction of Thrymheim. When he reached the castle, he flew round it for some time, listening to what the Giant warriors and servants were saying. From their conversation he learnt that Thiassi had gone out fishing, and that Iduna was quite alone up in her prison in the tower.
So he flew boldly in through the window, and found Iduna sitting sadly there with her beautiful face resting on her hands, gazing, ever gazing out towards the bright spring lands beyond wintery Jotunheim.
‘Lady Iduna!’ he cried. ‘Quickly! I have come from Asgard to rescue you – to carry you back to your husband! Take the golden casket with the Apples of Youth in it, hold it firmly whatever happens, and trust to me.’
Iduna sprang up eagerly, wrapped her cloak about her, snatched up the golden casket, and, clasping it firmly to her breast, she exclaimed:
‘O blessed bird out of the world of light and summer, I am ready! Only take me in safety to Asgard, and the falcon shall be for ever the friend of the Æsir and of the dwellers in Midgard – the bird whom no man would hurt.’
Then Loki the falcon turned Iduna into the shape and size of a nut, seized her in his claws, and flew swiftly out of the window.
In a little while the Giant Thiassi returned home, and went up to the room in the tower-top. When he found that both Iduna and her apples were gone, his rage was so violent that the very tower came tumbling down into the courtyard.
‘No one has been here!’ cried the trembling servants. ‘And no creature either, save for a falcon which hovered about for some time. Then it flew in through the tower window, and a few moments later flew out again carrying what looked like a sparrow – for on such small birds these hawks delight to feed. It flew away not long ago, over the mountains towards Midgard.’
Then Thiassi took upon himself the shape of a mighty eagle, so great that his wings seemed to stretch across the sky. He leapt into the air, and the winds went shrieking after him as he soared up and away. With a mighty rushing sound he tore across Jotunheim and over Midgard; and beneath his flight the trees were wrenched from the ground and the yellow corn was beaten flat; great castles fell, houses and haystacks were scattered and ships at sea were tossed upon the rocks or overwhelmed by the mountainous waves.
In Asgard the Æsir waited by the great gateway, looking anxiously out over Midgard towards Jotunheim.
Suddenly Heimdall the far-sighted cried:
‘I see a falcon flying from Jotunheim, and it holds in its claws a nut! It is flying fast in this direction … Now, far behind it I see an eagle: never was there so great an eagle in Midgard. The eagle flies faster than the falcon and it is overtaking it!’
Now the Æsir themselves could see the valiant falcon with the nut in its claws flying towards them. And they saw the black eagle, growing bigger and bigger as it tore through the air behind it. They could see the forests bowing beneath the wings of the eagle and the corn lying flat as it passed over Midgard, and they knew that it was Thiassi the Storm Giant.
Watching eagerly, the Æsir took lighted torches and stood on either side of the great heap of shavings and resinous wood in the gate where Bifrost Bridge entered Asgard.
Nearer and nearer came the falcon, but it was almost spent, and nearer too drew the giant eagle. There were only a few yards of space between them when the falcon swooped through the gateway and down into the shadow of the wall.
Instantly the Æsir flung their torches into the heap, and the flames roared up suddenly as the eagle, unable to stop in his flight as he missed th
e falcon, plunged in through the gateway.
Straight into the flames went the eagle, and the feathers of his wings caught fire so that he fell in the gate of the Æsir, and died there beneath the sharp blades of swords, and spears, and battle-axes.
The Æsir turned from the dead Giant Thiassi, and saw Loki standing in the shadow of the wall. Beside him stood Iduna with the golden casket in her hands, and with a glad cry she ran forward and Bragi clasped her in his arms.
That night Loki took his place among the Æsir at the great feast, and ate with them of the Apples of Youth at the feast’s ending. And ever afterwards they accepted him, even as they had accepted Niord, King of the Vanir, as one of themselves.
But although Thiassi was dead and Iduna with her apples was once more in Asgard, the danger from the Storm Giants was not yet over.
Next day there came striding across Midgard a Giant maiden dressed in glittering armour and waving a spear in her hand.
‘I am Skadi, daughter of Thiassi the Storm Giant!’ she cried. ‘And I come to demand vengeance for the death of my father. If you do not grant it, I can take it easily, for Thiassi had two brothers, Idi and Gang, each as strong and as mighty as he was!’
Then Odin, standing in the gate of the Æsir, replied:
‘Skadi, we do not wish to fight with you. So we offer you recompense for the death of your father. And we offer friendship to you and your kin. Say now how much gold the blood-price must be.’
Then Skadi cried out: ‘We have more gold than there is in all Asgard. Do you not know that when the Giant Olvaldi died and his three sons, Thiassi, Idi, and Gang, came to measure his gold, there was so much that no scales in the world would hold a tithe of it, so they had to divide it out in mouthfuls? No, you must give me a husband from among the Æsir, and you must make me laugh – a thing which I have never done.’
The Æsir discussed her offer among themselves, and it seemed to them wise to fall in with her wishes: for Skadi was very beautiful, and an alliance with the Storm Giants necessary, if Midgard and Asgard were not to be destroyed by them.
So Odin made answer: ‘We agree to your terms, warrior maiden. But you must choose your husband by the feet only, seeing no more of him until after your choice is made.’
Skadi agreed to this, and Odin led her up into Asgard where she stood in her shining armour seeming little taller than anyone there. Then he led her on, into the great hall, and showed her a curtain behind which all the Æsir stood, with only their feet visible.
Skadi examined their feet, and when she came to one pair far more fair than any of the rest, she exclaimed:
‘I choose this husband: I could not have a better mate than Baldur!’
But when the curtain was drawn aside, she saw that it was not Baldur but Niord of Vanaheim whom she had chosen.
Nevertheless both of them were content, and the wedding feast was held that night, and Loki played such merry antics with a goat that Skadi laughed aloud, and so the compact was sealed.
Trouble came between them very soon, however, for Niord wished to dwell in his castle of Noatun near the sea, while Skadi longed for her windy home in Thrymheim. They made an agreement then that they should dwell nine nights in Thrymheim, and the next nine in Noatun. But when Niord returned to his castle, he cried:
‘Oh, how I loathed the hills! How horrible the wailing of the wolves sounded after the song of the birds!’
Skadi, however, said just the opposite: ‘Here, I can never sleep on account of the wailing of the sea-birds. And if I do fall asleep, the sea-mew wakes me before the morning.’
So she spent more and more of her time up in the mountains, speeding about on her snowshoes, shooting bears with her swift arrows. But nevertheless in lovely Noatun by the sea two wondrous children were born to Skadi and Niord: a son called Frey and a daughter called Freya.
When they were grown they went to live in Asgard, and none were more loved and honoured among the Æsir than Frey, the Lord of Fruitfulness and bounteous Peace, and Freya, Lady of Love and Beauty – who nevertheless would go forth to battle at Odin’s side driving her golden chariot drawn by two cats.
4
Loki and the Giants
Loki now lived in Asgard, accepted as one of the Æsir, and no one seemed to suspect that he had first betrayed Iduna to the Storm Giant and then won her back.
Indeed this was ever Loki’s way, for he took such a delight in mischief that he would often do whatever came into his head, without counting the cost. Nevertheless his cunning was very great, and his powers were often useful to the Æsir. Indeed at first he was one of the most important guardians of Asgard, and saved them from disaster more than once.
Odin believed that Loki had overcome and would forget his Giant nature; and remembering that he had made him his blood-brother, he saw to it that he was treated as if he were in truth Bestla’s child and not merely her cousin’s son.
Very early in the history of Midgard, Loki showed his prowess by dealing with the Giant Skrymsli who proved too much for both Odin and Honir.
For it chanced that the three Æsir were wandering the earth once more, as they did frequently in those early days, and came to the house of a farmer in the Faroe Islands.
The farmer, who did not recognize them in their disguise, welcomed the three travellers into his kitchen and set a good supper before them. But he did not make one of the party as they made merry round the fire with their horns of mead, and Odin noticed that he turned aside from time to time to weep.
‘What troubles you, kind host?’ asked Odin at length. ‘Is there anything in which we can assist or comfort you?’
‘Alas, noble sir,’ answered the farmer, with the tears streaming down his face, ‘no mortal man may help us. In the morning the terrible Giant Skrymsli is coming for our darling youngest son Rogner whom he has chosen for his dinner tomorrow, and though we have begged and prayed for mercy, nothing will persuade him to spare our beloved child.’
‘This must never be!’ cried Odin, springing to his feet, and letting fall his disguise. ‘Tomorrow the boy shall be hidden safely from Skrymsli – and if I cannot hide him, then Honir my brother shall do so!’
Then, while the farmer and his wife knelt before the three Æsir, Odin strode to the door and, holding out his arms, began to chant great rolling Runes which he had learnt from Mimir his uncle, the wise Giant.
As he chanted the corn grew over many a wide acre, till, when the sun rose, as far as the eye could see there stretched a great golden harvest ripe for the sickle.
Then Odin took the boy Rogner and hid him in a single grain of corn in one ear on one straw in the midst of the great cornfield. Then the three Æsir stood in the doorway of the farmhouse to see what would happen, and before long the huge Giant came striding down from the mountains.
‘Give me the boy Rogner!’ cried Skrymsli.
‘He is hiding in the cornfield,’ said the farmer.
‘Then I shall find him before sunset,’ answered the Giant, and drawing his sharp sword he began to reap the corn with it, shaking each sheaf as he gathered it and flinging it aside until he had built a high stack at the end of the field.
Evening was falling as Skrymsli cut the fatal stalk of corn, shook the grains into his hand, and picked out the very one in which Rogner was hidden.
In his terror the child called to Odin for help, and one of his ravens flew down, snatched the grain out of Skrymsli’s hand, and carried it to the farmhouse, where at once Rogner regained his own shape and size.
‘I have done all I can to help you,’ said Odin to the farmer. ‘The sun has set, Skrymsli has gone, and the boy is safe.’
That night the three Æsir remained in the farmhouse, and in the morning they saw the Giant Skrymsli striding towards them again. Then Honir took Rogner’s hand and led him quickly out by the back door and into a wood where two silvery-white swans flew down, and Honir changed the boy into a tiny feather on the neck of one of them.
Meanwhile the Giant had com
e to the farmhouse door.
‘Give me the boy Rogner!’ he cried.
‘He is hiding in the greenwood,’ said the farmer.
‘Then I shall find him before sunset,’ answered Skrymsli, and away he went into the wood.
All day he searched among the birds and the beasts who dwelt there, and in the evening he caught the very swan on whose neck Rogner was hidden. With a shout of triumph he raised the bird to his lips and bit at it. But Honir was watching, and sent a gust of wind which blew the feather away from the Giant’s lips and carried it to the farmhouse, where the terrified boy became himself again.
‘I have done all I can to help you,’ said Honir to the farmer. ‘The sun has set, Skrymsli has gone, and the boy is safe.’
Yet the three Æsir tarried still another night in the farmhouse, and next morning they saw the Giant Skrymsli striding towards them once more.
This time Loki took Rogner’s hand and led him quickly out by the back door and down to the seashore. He set him in a boat, rowed out to sea, and casting his line soon caught three flounders. He hid the boy in the tiniest egg in the roe of one of them, and threw the three fishes overboard.
Meanwhile the Giant had come to the farmhouse door.
‘Give me the boy Rogner!’ he cried.
‘He has gone out fishing,’ said the farmer.
‘Then I shall find him before sunset,’ answered Skrymsli, and away he went down to the seashore, where he got into his boat and rowed out from land. When he reached deep water he met Loki, who instantly steered his own boat so that Skrymsli’s crashed into it and sank it.
Loki climbed into the Giant’s boat, and sat shivering in the stern, begging Skrymsli to take him back to the shore before he died of cold.
But Skrymsli ignored him and rowed on until he was well out to sea, and there he anchored and cast his line.
Very soon he caught three flounders, and amongst them Loki recognized the fish in which he had hidden Rogner.
‘Good master Giant,’ begged Loki, ‘give me that little fish. There’s nothing like raw fish for a man who’s just been half-drowned.’