Midgard 2nd Part

Geography:
Midgard was constructed by the Aesir out of the brow-ridge of Ymir's skull. It is still mostly water, with one large single continent, surrounded by ocean and river. As we will see by studying the rest of the Nine Worlds, water is more often the path of a world-barrier than earth. The ocean on which the continent of Midgard floats is dotted with small islands and fjords. Mountain ranges, hilly ridges, valleys and lowlands all figure into its varied topology.

Those who envision Midgard as central to the worlds see the worlds of Muspellheim, Vanaheim, Niflheim, and Jotunheim circling it to the south, west, north, and east respectively. (There is conflict in the lore as to whether it is Niflheim or Jotunheim that lies to the north of Midgard. In the spiral map, both are true.) Yggdrasil is seen as rising up through the center of the world in this particular map.

For those who envision the Nine Worlds as a spiral, it's a little more complex. In the north, the ocean boundary narrows to become the great salt river Elivagar, which carries the world-boundary between Midgard and Jotunheim. To the west, rising on the spiral and passing through the Tree, one moves through the world-boundary to Vanaheim. To the south, once one crosses the water the shores give onto the dark Myrkwood, which then gives way to Muspellheim. To the east, the world-border falls off downwards towards Svartalfheim and Nidavellir, which are technically under (but not underground) Midgard.

Not far off from the coast in any direction is the great bulk of the Midgard Serpent, Jormundgand. The Great Serpent, child of Loki and sister-brother of Hela and Fenrir, was enchanted by Odin to forever encircle the continent of Midgard. This is more than some kind of decoratively cruel act; the Serpent is the living carrier of a protection enchantment. With that ring of living flesh in place, no great enchantments can penetrate, and the fragile humans are safe from fatal divine interference. Actually, there are a lot of rumors around what sorts of terrible things the Serpent-boundary protects against, but it may be that only Odin knows what they all are. There are also rumors that the Serpent-boundary keeps some magic in as well as out, but again it's all speculation.

Myrkwood

This chapter is a good place to stick in a reminder about the Myrkwood. Reports vary on whether or not it is technically part of Midgard or of Muspellheim; as far as we pathwalkers can tell, it is a liminal space between the two that belongs to neither. It is a thick, twisted, dark wood on the shore of Muspellheim, just beyond the narrow Midgard ocean to the south. The Myrkwood is inhabited by tribes of...well...something. Rumors vary as to what they are - Midgard humans who have gone feral, or who have interbred with some kind of Alf or Jotun, evil Alfar who live on blood, or some other race of beings that are not described anywhere. The fire-etins of Muspellheim claim that they are not Jotuns of any sort, and generally give them a wide berth (which suggests against their being human, as Surt's sons are generally not intimidated by anything remotely human).

What is known is that they are territorial, fierce, and cannibalistic. As you enter the Myrkwood on the shore side, you will see a variety of shrines scattered under the eaves of the trees, containing squat, deformed, bizarre-looking idols. These are the Gods or worshipped wights of the people of Myrkwood. Immediately leave offerings on every shrine you see, and every one you come across. This is the best way to make sure that they will leave you alone. Propitiating their protective spirits will get you safely through without even a sight of the Myrkwood people.

Running through the middle of the Myrkwood is the Blutwasser, the River of Blood. It is only knee-deep, but if you wade through it, you will smell of blood for days. Not far beyond the river is the border of Muspellheim; you will see the trees becoming more and more charred as you go closer.

Ulfdalir and Ysetur

In the northernmost stretches of Midgard, close to the northern border of Jotunheim, there is a place called Ulfdalir, or the Wolf-Dales. The wolf-reference, however, is neither about real wolves nor Jotun werewolves; it refers to those individuals who are branded a "wolf's head", or outlaw. Bands of outlaw brigands roam there, but this is no jolly Robin Hood story. Most are starving, violent, and dangerous. However, somewhere in Ulfdalir there is a secret entrance to Helheim, so people sometimes wander in anyway. Don't bother asking the outlaws where the Hel-tunnel is; assuming that they don't kill you anyway, they don't know and have no interest in finding out. They are known to laugh at people who come looking for it, and offer to send them to Helheim by a quicker route.

Also on the Jotunheim border is a fortress named Ysetur, which was built by the Gods to keep an eye on the Jotnar and make sure that they do not attempt to lead an army into Midgard. Thor was originally stationed there, but he grew bored and the command was turned over to a bunch of Ivaldi's hired Duergar mercenaries. The Duergar actually do little to prevent any Jotnar from entering, especially those with enough money to bribe them. However, the Jotnar seem extremely disinterested in invading Midgard in force, being more focused on Asgard. If you need to cross into Ulfdalir for whatever reason, hiring a troop from Ysetur is your best protection, but that requires some gold or silver coin.

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