Week 3 Story : Trickery in Asgard

Portfolio : story



Characters:

Odin- King of the Norse Gods

Frigga- Main Goddess

Loki- Trickster of the Norse Gods

Eir- Goddess of Healing

Heimdall- Watchman of the Norse Gods

Narvi- Son of Loki

Abernathy- A woman from Midgard

Hank- Abernathy’s father


Mythological Realms of the Norse Gods:

Asgard- Land of the Aesir

Alfheim- Land of the light elves in Asgard

Bifrost- The bridge between Asgard and Midgard

Midgard- Realm of mankind

Franang’s Falls- A waterfall in Midgard

Jotunheim- Land of the giants




Image Source: mythology


 Loki, always envious of Odin’s power, fantasized about ruling the realms and people groveling at his feet. As he sat near Franang’s Falls making plans to take over, he saw Abernathy. She was a  beautiful woman, with hair the color of fire and eyes the color of emeralds. He knew that she was worthy of Odin himself. However, Odin promised Frigga, his goddess, that he would never take another lover. Loki knew this but figured out a way to set his plan into action. He told Abernathy that if she went with him, that she would be showered with gold and protected by the Gods. Abernathy, a poor farm girl, whose father is ill, willingly went with Loki through his secret passageway to Asgard.


Abernathy was amazed by the beauty of Asgard.  Lush waterfalls, green mountains, and tall buildings, unlike anything she had ever seen. Loki led her to Odin’s chambers and told her to wait. He found Frigga and told her he saw Odin leave his chambers and a woman was there. Hoping Frigga would be filled with rage and attack Odin, she did the opposite. Frigga turned her anger toward Abernathy and used her magic to turn her into a horse. The transformation was painful for Abernathy. Her bones broke and fused back together as they grew. She could feel her muscles tearing and her skin itched as she grew fur. She now stands seven feet tall, has four legs, fur as black as night but her eyes still shine like emeralds.


Loki, upset that his plan did not work, took Abernathy to Alheim to have his son, Narvi guard her. Narvi placed a saddle and reins upon Abernathy and led her to a stream where she could graze and drink. While Abernathy was drinking, she caught a glimpse of her appearance. She tried to scream but could only make a ‘blub blub blub’ sound. She turned to Narvi and the sadness in her eyes made his heart weep. Narvi decided to take Abernathy through one of his father’s secret passageways to get her home. 


Abernathy went to her family's farm but they did not recognize her. Her sisters said “we don’t have a horse like this. Where did it come from?” Abernathy tried to speak to them but was unable to. They tried to lead her to the pasture where the rest of the horses stood grazing but Abernathy fought. She kicked and shook her head loose from her sister's grip. As their father Hank came to help, he saw  Abernathy’s eyes. Hank exclaimed “this horse, her eyes shine just like Abernathy’s! Sweet girl, is it really you?”  Abernathy was relieved and nodded. With her mouth, she grabbed her father’s walking stick and drew her story in the dirt. Her family was relieved that she was home but had to keep her with the other horses.


Loki went back to Alfheim to check on Norvi and Abernathy. Norvi explained that he was saddened by what happened to Abernathy and took her to be with her family. Loki, furious with his son, and forced him to the farm on Midgard to take Abernathy’s life. Loki, being the deceitful person he is, told Odin that Norvi discovered a secret passageway to Midgard and has been plotting with men to take over Asgard. Odin, blind to Loki’s schemes, was filled with rage. He gathered up his trusted and fierce warriors to kill Norvi and his gatherers. Upon arriving at the gate to the Bifrost, Heimdall who saw everything, explained to Odin Loki’s trickery. 


Odin, disappointed and ashamed, sent Eir, the Goddess of healing through the Bifrost to find Norvi and fix Abernathy. When Eir arrived at the farm, Norvi was there brushing Abernathy’s mane caring for her as he was unable to fulfill his fathers wishes. Eir wrapped her arms around Abernathy’s long neck and began to heal her. Abernathy started to shed her fur. Her body began to shrink, her arms and legs returned, along with her voice. Abernathy cried out to Eir with joyful thanks and to Norvi for helping her escape. Norvi noticed there was still sadness in Abernathy’s eyes. She explained why she went with Loki. Norvi asked Eir one more favor, to heal Hank. Eir agreed as long as Norvi stayed on Midgard being the son of a traitor. Norvi agreed to her terms and Eir healed Abernathy’s father. Norvi remained on Midgard, and fell in love with Abernathy. The two wed and lived their lives happily. Loki was banished to live among the giants in Jotunheim.




Author's note: I drew ideas from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the story of lo. In the original Jupiter rapes lo. To avoid getting caught, he turns lo into a cow. I wanted to change the characters from Roman mythology to Norse mythology. Some readers are probably familiar with Norse mythology from previous classes or Marvel. I wanted to have a little fun and change things up but keep the plot similar to the original story.


Bibliography: lo translated by Tony Kline Story source, Ovid's


Comments

  1. I really liked the way you changed it from Roman mythology to Norse but with different characters and objects and animals so it felt like its own story. Throughout it I kept thinking "wow! this is so similar to the story of Io!" and sure enough this one was inspired by that. You made the Norse version feel like its own, separate story with only the structural ideas remaining of the original.

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  2. Hey Daphne,
    Gosh, I really love this story. I'm not sure if it is because I love Marvel and this sounds like an excellent Marvel comic. Maybe it is because of the movies, I have vivid pictures of Asgard, Loki, and Odin in my mind. Either way, your story is greatly written, and I was engaged the entire time. A few times, I forgot who some of the characters were, so I appreciated how you have all the characters listed at the top. Great idea doing that! Wonderful story, Daphne!

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  3. Hi Daphne!
    I am more familiar with Greek and Norse mythology than I am with Roman mythology. The entire time I was reading this story, I was trying to figure out if I had read a myth like this before. I like that you changed the story from Roman to Norse. I think that most people would not have expected that!

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  4. Hi Daphne!
    I am really happy I came across this story. My project this semester is over Norse Mythology. So I am excited to read someone's interpretation of this vibrant and unique culture. To start off I really liked how you gave your reader information on all the common terms of Norse terms. Sometimes they can be difficult to remember, and without them your average audience might have a hard time following the story.

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