Norse gods

Chapter 8 The Great Builder
Thor went east to fight the trolls.In Thor's absence, Asgard is quieter, but without her strongest protector.The story takes place very early on, shortly after the treaty between the Asir and the Vanir, when the gods were still building a home for themselves and Asgard was defenseless.

"We cannot always depend on Thor," Odin said. "We need other protection. Giants will come. Trolls will come."

Heimdall, Warden of the Gods, asked, "What do you propose?"

"A wall," said Odin, "a wall high enough to stop any frost giant, and a wall too thick for any troll to break through."

"It would take years to build a wall like that," said Loki, "a wall this tall and thick."

Odin nodded. "But," he said, "we still need a wall."

The next day, a stranger came to Asgard.This tall man was dressed like a blacksmith, and was followed by a fine horse--a gray stallion of great height and build.

"I heard that you are going to build a wall," said the stranger.

"Go on," Odin said.

"I can build you a wall," said the Stranger, "a wall so high that the tallest giant cannot climb it, and so thick that the strongest troll cannot penetrate. I can build it to perfection, A stone is so close to a stone that even ants cannot climb over it. I can build you a wall that will stand for a thousand years."

"This is a huge project, and it will take a lot of time," Loki said.

"No," said the Stranger, "I can fix it in three seasons. Tomorrow is the first day of winter. I only need one winter, one summer, and one more winter to fix it."

"If you could build this wall," said Odin, "what would you ask in return?"

"All I want are small things," said the man. "I just want three things. First, I want to be married to the beautiful goddess Freya and walk hand in hand in the palace of marriage."

"This is not a small matter," Odin replied, "I think Freya must have her own opinion on this matter. What are the other two?"

The stranger smiled slyly. "If I build this wall for you," he said, "I will marry Freya, and I will have the sun that hangs in the sky by day, and the moon that shines for us by night. If I I want these three things as a reward for building this wall."

All the gods looked at Freya.She said nothing, but bit her lip, her face white with rage.

Around her neck she wore the necklace Brinsings, which shone like the Northern Lights against her skin, and her hair was bound in gold as gorgeous as her fair hair.

"You wait outside." Odin said to the outlander.The man went out, not forgetting to ask where he could find food and water for his horse.The name of his mount is Svadir Fali, which means "unlucky traveler".

Odin rubbed his forehead, then turned to look at the gods.

"What do you say?" Odin asked.

The gods began to express their opinions.

"Quiet!" Odin roared, "One by one!"

Both gods and goddesses have their own opinions, and those opinions are in unison.That is, Freya, the sun, and the moon are too important and too valuable to be easily dedicated to a stranger, even if he can build them the walls they need within three quarters.

Freya has another opinion.She thinks this rude and reckless person should be beaten up and thrown out of Asgard, far away.

"So," said Odin the Allfather, "it is decided, and our answer is 'No.'"

A dry cough sounded from the corner of the hall.This cough sounded like a cough deliberately trying to attract the attention of others, and the gods turned their heads to see who it was.What they saw was Loki.Loki was also looking at them with a smile, wagging his fingers as if to reveal something important.

"I think I need to point out," he said, "that you're ignoring a huge problem."

"We ignored nothing, you troublemaker." Freya replied sharply.

"You have all neglected that what this stranger proposed is impossible in any case. Who in the world can build a wall as high and thick as he described in eighteen months? Whether it is a giant or a god, no one can do it, let alone a mere mortal. I bet he can't do it, bet on my skin."

Speaking of this, all the gods nodded in agreement in a low voice, and they looked very moved.Except for Freya, who looked scowling. "You are all very stupid," she said, "especially you, Loki, because you think you are very clever."

"The sea of ​​his boasting," Loki replied, "is an impossible task. So I propose that we do this: agree to his demands and asking price, but give him strict conditions-he must build the building himself. wall, without help, and three seasons is too long, we asked him to finish the wall in one season. If there is any unfinished part of the wall by the first day of summer - there will be , then we won’t pay him anything.”

"How could he agree to such a condition?" Heimdall asked.

"What's the difference between that and a defenseless wall, and what good does it do us?" asked Freya, Freya's brother.

Loki tried to suppress his impatience.Are these gods all fools?He began to explain, as he would explain to a child. "The workman will start the wall. He won't finish. He'll work for nothing for six full months, and at last he'll be in vain. At the end of the six months we'll kick him out—in view of his boasting, maybe And beat him up—then we can use the foundations of the part of the wall he's already repaired and have the wall up in a few years. We don't risk losing Freya, let alone the sun or the moon."

"How did he promise to spend a season building this wall?" asked Tyr, the god of war.

"He might not say yes," Loki said, "but he seems like a pompous guy, not the kind to say no to a challenge."

The gods murmured, and they patted Loki on the back and told him he was a very cunning fellow.Luckily the cunning Loki was on their side, so that they could get the foundation of the wall without a dime.They congratulated each other, praising each other's intelligence and bargaining skills.

Freya said nothing.She fingered her lustrous necklace Brinsings.Loki once took the form of a seal and stole the necklace while she was in the shower.Fortunately, Heimdall also turned into a seal, and fought with the seal that Loki turned into to get it back.She doesn't trust Loki.Nor does she care about the dialogue between the gods.

The gods called the builders in.

He looked around at the gods.The gods all seemed composed, they spoke in low tones and smiled.But Freya didn't laugh.

"How?" asked the builder.

Loki replied: "You asked for three seasons, but we can only give you one season. Tomorrow is the first day of winter. If you have not completed the city wall by the first day of summer, then you will leave with nothing ;If you build the wall as high, as thick, and as impenetrable as we said before, then you will have everything you ask for: the moon, the sun, and fair Freya. One thing, you can't turn to anyone else, you have to do the wall alone."

The stranger was silent for a while.He looked away, as if weighing Loki's words against his offer.Then he turned to the gods and shrugged. "You say I can't turn to anyone else. But I need my Masvadirfali to help me carry the stones I'm going to use for the walls. I don't think that's an unreasonable request."

"That makes sense." Odin agreed, and the other gods nodded and told each other that it was a good idea to use horses to pull stones.

So both the god and the stranger took an oath, using the most sacred oath to guarantee that neither would break their oath.They testify by their own weapons, by Odin's golden armband Dropnir, by Odin's spear Gunnir, and we all know that the oath of Gunnir is unbreakable of.

Early the next morning, as soon as the sun rose, the gods stood aside to watch the man start his work.He spat on his hand and began to dig the foundation, the pit where the first stone of the wall would be laid.

"He dug really deep," Heimdall said.

"He dug really fast," said Freya's brother, Frey.

"Oh, come on, so what if he's a very strong guy who can dig holes and ditches quickly?" Loki said disdainfully. "Just think about how many stones he has to bring from the mountains. It is one thing to dig a pit, but another to move the stones. You have to bring the stones from far away in the mountains, where there are no helpers, and then arrange them so tightly together that ants cannot crawl in. Pile up stones higher than the tallest giant—that's how a wall is built."

Freya gave Loki a disgusted look, but said nothing.

At sunset the builder mounted his horse and went into the mountains to find the first stone for the wall.The horse was pulling an empty quarry - a shallow sled-like vessel.The horses dragged it across the soft ground.The gods watched them go.The bright moon hangs high in the early winter night sky.

"He's going to be gone for a few weeks at least," Loki said. "Wonder how many rocks that horse can pull at a time. He looks pretty strong."

The gods returned to the feast hall, and there was laughter and laughter.But Freya didn't laugh.

Before evening, it began to snow, light and dusty snowflakes.This is a harbinger of snowfall this winter.

Heimdall the Warden can see anything that comes close to Asgard, and he can't miss it.He woke up the gods in the middle of the night.They all gathered beside the ditch dug by the stranger the day before.At dawn they saw the builder walking towards them with his horse.The horse was hauling blocks of granite, so heavy that the boat laden with them had left deep grooves in the black earth.

When the visitors saw the gods, they happily waved their hands and said good morning to them.He pointed at the rising sun and winked at the gods.Then he unleashed the horse and let it graze, while he himself carried the first piece of granite into the ditch he had dug.

"This horse is indeed extremely strong." said Badr, the most beautiful and handsome among the Asa gods. "It is impossible for ordinary horses to pull such a heavy stone."

"Much more powerful than we imagined," said the wise Kvasir.

"Well," said Loki, "this horse will tire quickly. This is his first day of work. He can't pull that many rocks every night. Besides, winter comes Yes. The snow will fall deep and thick, and the road to the mountains will be very difficult in the midst of the snowstorm. Nothing to worry about. Everything is within my plan."

"I really hate you." Freya said standing beside Loki coldly.She walked back to Asgard at dawn, not staying to see the foundation of the outsider's wall.

Every night the builder would take his horse and empty stone boat to the mountains, and every morning he would return with a full load. The horse pulled 20 yuan of heavy granite, and each piece was bigger than a strong man.

Every day, the city wall is getting higher and higher, and every night it is more magnificent.

Odin calls the gods before him.

"The walls are rising fast," he said, "and we have made an unbreakable oath, an oath by armbands and arms. If he builds the wall within time, we shall give him the sun, the moon Wife the beautiful Freya."

Wise Kvasir said: "No one can do what this wall builder is doing now. I suspect he is not a human being, but something else."

"Perhaps a giant," said Odin.

"If only Thor were here," Baldr said.

"Thor is fighting the troll, in the far east." Odin replied, "Even if he returns, the oath we made will still be sacred and valid."

Loki tried to reassure them. "We're just like old women now, just worrying ourselves more. The builder won't be able to finish this wall by the first day of summer, not even if he's the strongest giant in the world . This is simply impossible."

"I wish Thor was here," Heimdall said. "He sure knows what to do."

The heavy snow fell, but the deep snow did not stop the builder, nor did his Maswadir Fali.The mighty stallion, in the prime of his life, raised his hooves and dragged the stone-laden boat through the snow, through the snowstorm, through the hills and the frozen canyons.

The days are gradually getting longer.

The morning sun rises earlier.The ice and snow start to melt, revealing the slippery, sticky mud underneath, the kind that sticks to your boots and slows you down.

"The horse will never drag the stone through the muck," said Loki. "It will sink with the stone in the mire, and he will lose his mount."

However, Svadir Farley moved steadily forward, even in the deepest and wettest mud, it still moved the boulder to Asgard, even though the extremely heavy stone ship left a deep mark on the way up the mountain.Now builders are pulling the stones up to hundreds of feet and putting them where they should be, piece by piece.

The bogs were slowly drying up, and the spring flowers were budding: yellow dandelions and white anemones were blooming everywhere - and the walls that surrounded Asgard were now very majestic.When completed, it will be Asgard's impenetrable defense: no giant, troll, dwarf or mortal will be able to break through that wall.The stranger is still building the wall with perseverance.He didn't seem to care about the rain or snow at all, and in that regard, his horse was as much as he was.Every morning they brought the boulders from the mountains; every day the builders laid the granite block by block on yesterday's layer.

In a blink of an eye, the last day of winter has arrived, and the city wall is basically completed.

In Asgard, the gods sit on their thrones and discuss.

"Speaking of the sun," said Badr, "we gave up the sun once."

"Back then we put the moon in the center of the sky to count days and weeks." Blaki, the god of poetry, said angrily, "but now, we will lose even the moon."

"And Freya, what would we do without Freya?" Till asked.

"If this builder is actually a giant," Freya said coldly, "then I will marry him and return to Jotunheim with him. Then you can see that I hate him even more for taking me away." , You are the ones who sent me away." "Don't say that." Loki started to speak, but Freya interrupted him immediately. "If this giant is going to take me, and the sun and the moon, then I only ask the gods of Asgard to grant me one thing."

"Speak." Odin, the father of the gods who has been silent until now, said.

"I want the perpetrator of all this misfortune to pay with his life before I go," Freya said. "It's only fair. If I go to the home of the frost giants, the moon and sun are plucked from the sky." Go, leave the world in eternal darkness, at least the culprit who caused all this should pay with his life."

"Gee," Loki said, "the problem is that it's so hard to find who's to blame. Who remembers whose idea it was in the first place? As I recall, it seemed like all the gods were equally responsible for this unfortunate mistake." Responsibility. It was our idea, we all agreed--"

"It was your idea," Freya said. "You convinced these idiots to accept it. Before I leave Asgard, I'll see you die."

"We all—" Loki began to argue, but he immediately shut his mouth when he saw the expressions of the gods in the hall.

"Loki, son of Laufey," said Odin, "is the result of your random suggestion."

"And this advice was as bad as every advice you've ever had," Bader added.Loki shot him a hard look.

"We must try to make the builder lose his pay," said Odin. "He must fail without breaking his oath."

"I didn't know you wanted me to do something about it," Loki said.

"I don't expect you to do anything," said Odin, "but if the builder finishes the wall by the end of tomorrow, you'll die an ugly, painful and long death."

Loki looked at the faces of each of the gods, one after the other, and each face demanded his death, mixed with anger and resentment.He sees no mercy or forgiveness at all.

He will undoubtedly die an ugly death.But what else?What can he do?He didn't have the guts to attack the builder.But think about it from another angle...

Loki nodded. "give it to me."

He turned and left the hall without anyone stopping him.

Builders put today's batch of stones on the wall.Tomorrow is the first day of summer, and by the time the sun goes down, the walls will be finished.He would be able to leave Asgard with his reward.There are only 20 yuan of granite left.He climbed down from the wooden scaffolding and whistled for his steed.

As usual, Swadir Fari was grazing at leisure.It's in the deep grass at the edge of the forest.The meadow was half a mile from the wall, but whenever the master blew his whistle it appeared before him.

The builder grabbed the rope from the empty stone boat and was about to tie it to his gray steed.The sun hangs low in the sky, but there are still several hours before sunset, and the moon also hangs on the other side of the sky, a silver-white disc hanging high in the sky.Soon the sun and the moon will be his, the brightest and the second brightest, and the goddess Freya, the radiant and more beautiful Freya than the sun and the moon.Before reaping the fruits of victory, Builders did not take things lightly.He has worked so hard for so long, and has never stopped throughout the winter...

He whistled again.A strange thing happened - never before had he had to whistle twice to call his steed.From a distance he saw Svadir Farley running, shaking his head, among the wildflowers of the spring lawn.The steed took a step forward, and then took a step back, as if it could smell some charming aura in the warm spring evening wind, but it couldn't be sure what it was.

"Svadirfari!" the builder shouted, and the steed pricked up its ears, turned a corner in the grass, and ran slowly towards the builder.

The builder was very happy when he saw the horse running towards him.The sound of horseshoes came from the other side of the grass, and the sound hit the tall and majestic gray granite wall, echoing everywhere, it sounded like thousands of horses galloping.The builder almost thought that a large herd of horses was galloping towards him.

No, thought the builder, only one horse.

He shook his head, realizing his mistake.More than one horse, more than one horse's hooves, two...

The other was a sorrel mare.The builder knew right away that it was a mare—without looking between the horse's legs.Because this sorrel horse has elegant lines, every inch of texture exudes a feminine breath.Svadirfarli hoofed across the steppe, then it slowed down, stood up, and let out a loud long hiss.

The sorrel mare ignored it.It stopped hooving, didn't seem to see it was there, lowered its head as if looking for something in the lawn.Svadirfarli tried to approach it, but when it ran a hundred meters away, the mare suddenly ran away, changing from a canter to a gallop, and the gray horse followed closely, trying to catch it.But they are always one or two positions away from each other.The stallion's nose sniffs the mare's rump, or the mare's tail brushes the stallion's teeth, but always misses.

On the prairie, they galloped together in the soft gold of the setting sun, the gray and chestnut two good horses, with glistening sweat dripping from their bellies, like a galloping dance.

The builder clapped his hands again, whistled, and called Svadirfari's name, but there was no answer from his mount.

The builder ran out and tried to grab the horse and bring it back to life, but the sorrel seemed to know what he was doing right away, and slowed down, rubbing his ears and mane on the gray's head, and He ran away from the edge of the forest, as if a wolf were chasing him.Svadir Fari followed it, and before long they both disappeared into the forest.

The builder cursed and spat, waiting for his horse to reappear.

The tree's shadow grew longer, but Svadir Fari did not return.

The builder returned to his stone boat.He looked into the woods.Then he spat on his hands, grabbed the rope, and pulled the stone boat across the lawn covered by green grass and spring flowers, towards the quarry in the mountains.

He didn't make it back by dawn.When the builders pulled the stone boat back to Asgard, the sun was already high in the sky.

He brought back ten stones, which was all he could bring, and he cursed the stones as he pulled the stone boat.But every time he pulled, he was one step closer to the wall.

The beautiful Freya stood at the door and watched him.

"You have only ten stones," she told him, "and you will need twice as many to complete our wall."

The builder was silent.He continued to pull his stone toward the unfinished gate, his face masked as if it were rain or shine.No smile, no wink—no more.

"Thor will be back from the east soon," Freya told him, "and he will be with us soon."

The gods of Asgard also came out to watch the builders pull the stones towards the city wall.They stood beside Freya to protect her.

At first they just watched in silence, then they started laughing uncontrollably and asking questions aloud.

"Hey!" Baldr yelled, "if you fix the wall, all you can get is the sun. Do you think you can bring the sun home?"

"And the moon," cried Braki, "it's a pity your horse isn't here. It would have brought you the stones you needed."

The gods laughed.

The builders lowered the stone boat at this time.He faced the gods. "You cheat!" he said angrily, his face turning red with anger and contorted.

"We have not cheated," said Odin, "and we are no better than you for cheating. If we knew you were a giant, do you think we would let you build this wall?"

The builder grabbed a rock with one hand and smashed it hard on another rock, breaking the granite in two instantly.He turned to face the gods, holding that half of the boulder, and now he was twenty, thirty, fifty feet tall.His face contorted, and he no longer looked like the placid and gentle outlander who had come to Asgard a season ago.Now his face looked like a granite facet of a cliff, twisted and carved into it by rage and hatred.

"I am a mountain giant," he said, "and you gods are nothing but swindlers and dishonesty. If my horses were still here, the wall would be repaired by now. I should have taken the beautiful Freya, the sun and the moon, as my reward. I should have left you in the dark and cold, and even lost the comfort of beauty."

"We have broken no oath," said Odin, "but no oath can protect you now."

The mountain giant roared and rushed towards the gods, holding a piece of granite as a weapon in his hand.

The gods stepped aside one after another.The mountain giant ran wildly to the end, only to see a figure standing behind them.Only then did he see who that person was.A noble deity, he is tall and mighty, with a red beard, he is muscular, wears a golden armour, and holds a metal hammer.He swung the hammer, just one swing.The moment the hammer was pointed at the giant, he let go.

Lightning suddenly flashed in the clear sky, and as the hammer flew out of Thor's palm, there was a muffled thunder in the sky.

The mountain giant only saw that the hammer flying towards him was getting bigger and bigger, and then he couldn't see anything, and he couldn't see any more.

The gods finally repaired the wall. It took them weeks to cut the stone and drag the remaining ten stones from the quarry on the mountain back to Asgard and place them at the city gate. top.Compared with the stones cut and piled up by the builders before, the final stones were not cut neatly and the piles did not fit so well.

Some gods think that they should let the builders build the wall a little longer, so that the wall is closer to completion before killing him.Thor said he was glad the gods had a little fun for him when he came home from the East.

Oddly enough, Loki, who had seduced Svadirfari away, was not there to receive the praise of the gods—so unlike him.No one knows where he went, but some say a gorgeous sorrel mare was seen in the plains below Asgard.Loki didn't come back during the best season of the year, and when he came back at last, he brought a gray colt with him.

The beautiful foal has eight legs instead of the normal four, and follows Loki inseparably, nuzzling him as if he were his mother.In fact, that's apparently what happened.

The foal grew up and became a horse named Sleipnir, a tall gray stallion.It is the fastest and strongest of all horses that have ever lived.It's faster than the wind.

Loki presented Sleipnir, a steed unparalleled in the world and the gods, as a gift to Odin.

Many people envy Odin to have such a mount, but only few brave people dare to mention its parents in front of Loki.No one dares to mention it twice.Because if Loki ever heard you tell the story of how he lured Svadir Fari away from his master, how he saved the gods from his own bad idea, he'd come out of his way to get back at you and make your Life is not so smooth.Loki held a grudge.

This is the story of the gods of Asgard getting their walls.

(End of this chapter)