Dreufey's song is set in Norse mythology, and I've made a point of staying true to the original sources and the overall spirit of the religion. This had the advantage that I could draw on readymade characters and settings, which allowed me to focus most of my energy on the story rather than the details of things.
However, some things had to be invented in order to bring the mythology up to date with our current understanding of the world around us. For one, I decided to have each of the nine realms of Norse mythology organized in the same way that we tend to think of our own universe.
Nine realms
Each realm is full of galaxies and stars, but with a special planet of particular importance. In our own universe, we have Earth as the planet of importance. Other realms have other planets with other qualities and points of interest.
The nine realms are held together by Yggdrasil, the world ash. Six of the realms are found in the tree's six branches. The remaining three realms are found in the tree's three roots.
Clockwise from the top left branch we have the following realms in the following order:
- Vanheim is ruled by goddess Freya. Her palace Sessrumnir is located on planet Folkvangr. Has a normal sun.
- Alfheim is ruled by Vili and Ve. Their palace is Gimle on planet Ithavollr. Has a large golden sun.
- Asgard is ruled by Odin. His palace is Valhalla on planet Gladsheimr. Has a normal sun.
- Midgard is a realm fought over by the gods, with planet Earth as centre stage. Has a normal sun.
- Niflheim has no ruler. Planet Hvergelmir, the source of all mist and cold, is inhabited by ghosts who fish and hunt. Has a dim white sun that's rarely seen due to mist and clouds.
- Helheim is ruled over by goddess Hel. She resides in a great hall on planet Niflhel. Has a distant white sun that gives little warmth. Has enormous domed halls with warmth and artificial sun.
- Svartalfheim is ruled by Ivaldi. He resides in Ivaldi's city on planet Nidavellir. Has large red sun that glows dimly but gives enough heat to make everything else normal.
- Jotunheim is ruled by Utgard-Loki. He resides in a great hall on the fortress planet Utgard. Has a normal sun.
- Muspelheim is ruled by Muspell. They reside on planet Svoll, the source of all steam and heat. Has a large white-hot sun.
I've taken considerable liberties with my interpretations. I've attributed placenames to planets with associated suns, and I've also made pure inventions, such as Ivaldi's city and the ghosts of Hvergelmir. However, I believe the layout to be correct as far as where the realms are located relative to each other.
My thinking is as follows:
- Vanheim, Alfheim and Asgard are heavenly realms. They belong at the top of the tree.
- Helheim and Niflheim are cold underworlds, and Svaralfheim is associated with mining and engineering. They are underground spiritually and physically, and hence the roots of Yggdrasil.
- Midgard lies between Asgard, the dominant heavenly realm, and Niflheim and Hel, the spiritual underworld.
- Niflheim is thought to be a realm between Midgard and Helheim, which puts Niflheim closer to Midgard than Helheim. But in a three-dimensional rendition, the distances can be made identical. Either way, Svartalfheim is the most distant of the underworlds.
- Jotunheim and Asgard are opposites, and so are Muspelheim and Niflheim. Jotunheim can also be thought of as a chaotic mirror image of Midgard. This puts Joutunheim opposite to Midgard, and Muspelheim above Jotunheim.
- Vanheim is a heavenly realm that lost in battle to Asgard, while Alfheim is the heavenly realm that will replace Asgard in the future. The past is usually put to the left and the future is put to the right. Hence, Vanheim is left of Alfheim.
Note that Yggdrasil's three roots point north. This means that south is up, left is east, and right is west.
Muspelheim and Niflheim have to be entered through openings where Elvigar gush out into the greater universe.
Elvigar
Muspelheim and Niflheim are sources of opposing currents, called Elivagar. These opposites provide the energy for everything, including existence itself. They also act as river on which souls can travel from one realm to another.
While those dead in battle are carried up by Valkyries to Vanheim and Asgard in equal numbers. Most people travel by Elivagar to other realms when they die. The normal path is from Midgard via Niflheim to Helheim. From there, it's possible to go directly to Vanheim. This is similar to Christian doctrine where there's a purgatory, a hell and a heaven. However, Helheim is a better place on average than Niflheim, and many choose to stay in Helheim rather than to go all the way to Vanheim. We can conclude from this that good places in Helheim are comparable to places found in Vanheim.
Original sources indicate that there are interdimensional portals between certain realms, and that it's possible to travel by foot from one realm to another. This is the norm in original sources. However, I've dropped this from my story. Hence my emphasis on Elivagar as means of transportation between realms.
By far the most important function of Elivagar is the connection between Muspelheim and Niflheim. There are a lot of Elivagar in the universe, and most are solely there in order to keep all realms provided with the energy to sustain them. The universe operates as a giant circuit of currents, with each realm functioning as a node in the circuit.
Life and death
The universe is inhabited by humans, elves, Jotuns, Aesirs and Vanirs. All of these live and die in a normal fashion. However, Idun has apples that living beings can eat in order to remain young. The Jotuns have their own magic to do the same, and Ivaldi has medicines that do the same. But they remain mortal, nevertheless.
All living beings leave the realm they are occupying when they die to join the dead in the afterlife.
The journey is the same for all spirits. Currents draw them north to Niflheim and onwards to Helheim. Those with sufficient will to do so, progress from Niflheim and Helheim to Midgard, Svartalfheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Vanheim or Alfheim where they become reincarnated.
Midgard and Svartalfheim are the only realms with a bright blue or red flash on exit. This is to prevent humans and Dark Elves from reaching the heavens. Only Jotun, Vanir and Aesir gods have the power to travel indiscriminately through the universe.
Spirit beings stuck in Niflheim or Helheim are stuck there due to a lack of will. There is for this reason no need to keep them from leaving these realms in favour of any of the other seven realms. Humans and Dark Elves are not gods, and hence prevented from leaving their realms. Light Elves live in the ultimate heaven, together with Vili and Ve, and have no incentive to leave. The other four realms are inhabited by gods who are free to move as they please.
A consequence of Ragnarok is that there will be little room for the living. Niflheim and Helheim will become full of spirits with no other place to go. But if Alfheim survives, there will nevertheless be a heaven for everyone to go to.
Note that Hel is the only being that is truly immortal. That's because she's already dead. She is cursed in that she will never ascend to heaven. She can only move freely through the underworlds of Niflheim, Helheim and Svartalfheim.
With both humans and Dark Elves shut off from the rest of the universe, they have to rely on faith in order to know anything for sure about the heavens. Many Dark Elves believe that Jotuns, Aesirs and Vanirs are from within their universe. Hardly any humans believe in the existence of any of it.
Ivaldi believes that he's dealing with inferior beings when in reality he's dealing with gods. He does not believe that his daughter is a goddess. He believes she's remaining young due to his medicines.
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