JOURNEY AMONG THE VIKING

THE LEGEND OF THOR

      I had already decided for some time to travel to meet my family in the North, the last message received from my mother, I do not think my father had been able to do it for that in winter he settles in the large hall and spends his time there between food and slaves, I said the last place where they lived was the village of Jasmine, I knew it from visiting it years ago when I lived in the North.

We went up the river with my ship to the great Vosk, then to the Gulf of Thassa and off to the north after passing the archipelago of Cos, I had forgotten the cold of winter, living in the desert is easily forgotten, the more we climbed towards Torwsland the more the temperature dropped and in the distance the mountains were already covered with snow.

 One morning we woke up immersed in a fog bank, everything had disappeared, we could no longer see the mountains and nothing else in front of us. The commander put a lookout on top of the mast to make sure not to run into some rock, went on like this until the  afternoon until the  lookout cry there is a fire on the port side, finally we all breathed a sigh of relief, and the commander ordered to lower the sails by burping on that signal fire,  which gradually enlarged, until we saw the coast with  other fires, now the coast was clear and the docks could be glimpsed with some ships docked, we remained at anchor in the Rada, and I with some guards went ashore with a spear.

 

It was a very large village and a big sign said ''Viking Settlement of Rungardvik'' I had never heard of this remote village, but big enough, and a lot of snow everywhere, we met the commander of the guards, who welcomed us with respect and made himself available to let us visit the village. She told us that they had different laws from those of other villages on the planet, here women have the same rights and, lately a woman and the Chief Administrator and warrior, their Jarl, in short, lived like their ancestors andrejected the new rules of the villages.

 

  He took us around showing us and explaining the various buildings, the great hall where everyone gathers in winter, then he took us to the hill where they had their temple, but their great Totem was a very large tree where he told me that souls were buried around, and when I asked him to explain well he told me:

 Trees have profound roles in both real and imaginary worlds. With their majestic bark, lush branches, and cloud of swaying leaves, humans are drawn to them with deep charm. This magic is embodied in the wonderful account of the Nordic World Tree. According to Norse mythology, the whole world is actually a tree, called Yggdrasil ("igg-dreh-sell") located at the center of the universe.

 

According to legends, Yggdrasil is a giant living ash tree with branches stretching above the skies and a trunk firmly anchored to the ground by three large roots. Here, the gods gather and meet, seek sustenance from its life-giving branches and watch over the worlds. Radiating from this center extend the nine realms of existence, including Asgard, the abode of the gods and the hall of Valhalla, and Midgard, the land of mortal humans. An anonymous eagle sits atop its branches in constant conflict with an evil snake, Nidhogg, which tries to unbalance the tree by chewing one of its roots.

 

The three large roots of Yggdrasil are irrigated by three wells, Urdarbrunnr, Hvergelmr and Mimisbrunnr. Urdarbrunnr, or Urda's Well, is cared for by the three maidens Norn, Urda (past), Verdandi (present) and Skuld (future), who weave the threads of destiny for all beingshim.

 It was a fascinating thing something that I had never heard before, even if in many places on the planet there are other customs, I looked at that fascinated man and asked him to tell me more and he gave me a parchment that I want to copy in my story.

    Passed from one hofgothi to another through the dark mists of time, it tells the story of a great battle between Thor and the Jotun. The battle raged for days and covered huge expanses of land and sea. On the third day, the battle reached the shores of Rudgardvik. People rushed to the Jarl's house and crowded around the fire as the ground shook and flashes of light illuminated the ground and sky around the building. The men felt unable to protect their families and watched as their wives held their children and looked with pleading eyes at their husbands. The children were crying and the women were crying.

 

The jarl went around his people and continued to reassure them that Thor would protect his loyal people. Finally, the gothi stood up and led the people in prayer to Thor. They all drank mead from a drinking horn and poured its contents on the floor and into the fire, begging Thor to protect them from the storm outside.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, the sounds of battle began to diminish and outside began to shed light, when a horrible explosion shook the earth and people fell to the floor as the ground below trembled violently back and forth.

 

And then everything went quiet. A strange stillness that crept into their bones and left a mark. Eventually, it seemed that the wax was melting from their ears and they could hear again. At first all they heard was the crackling of the fire and then the whining of children, mothers and even some men.

 

The jarl approached the door and cautiously opened the door to see what was left of their beautiful Rungardvik.

 

Huge trees were scattered all over the ground, as if someone was playing a game of sticks. Slowly everyone left the building and, with tears in their eyes, looked incredulously at what was left of their beautiful paradise.

 

Immediately, the Góthi gathered the people and headed to their sacred grove to honor the gods and thank them for protecting their families during this catastrophe.

 

Only, where once there was a lush, verdant grove, there was nothing. Not even a tree. The land itself had been stripped away from the rock on which the grove had stood for so many centuries. All the trees had landed in the meadow below, torn to pieces and without a leaf left on the branches.

 

Everyone stood on the rock with a sense of mourning and looked at the jarl to tell them what to do. Suddenly, the gothi shivered and closed his eyes, and shouted "Hail Thor, hail the god of thunder, hail the protector," and fell to the ground. The jarl ran to his gothi and tried to wake him up from the trance. Slowly, the gothi opened their eyes and began to speak.

 

"Thor spoke to me. He saw the devastation of our land and blessed this rock. This land will never experience such storms again. And to cement his promise, Thor touched the rock and left the imprint of his hand as a binding sign of his promise.

 

Rejoicing to know that Thor had blessed them, the people gathered all the trees from the meadow and using the wood of the sacred grove, built a beautiful temple on the rock.

 

From that first gothi, which was then the hofgothi, there was an unbroken line of hofgothis. I am only the last, but the line will continue after me.

 

Thor kept his promise, this temple has stood the test of time and storms and continues to thrive, as do the people they worship in its sacred halls.

    What else to say we are still here to listen to their stories and their customs, when they warned us that the fog had cleared and it was time to leave at high tide towards Jasmine, it was a few days of travel and we left.