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The surviving gods were so close to make a deal with the last living Giant in Midgard. But the Magni and Modi the sons of Thor, acted rush and that punished them. Jormungandr had the last say and. The world had come to an end… Ash filled the soil and air, with a complete silence ruling over Midgard, the heart of the world tree, Yggdrassil…

The World and Jormungandr

The after-Ragnarok world, which was supposed to rebuild itself anew from its ashes, as Heimdal had foreseen, stood silent in the endless void of existence…

With only the world serpent, Jormungandr to wander, fully devoted to his inner thoughts. With an emotionless look on his face the giant snake shed a tear… The tear splashed on the ground making an echoed sound on its impact. The salt water revealed something that the ash was covering… It was shining and in comparison to the gray environment, it was easily noticeable by the giant eye of Jormungandr, as its light caught his attention. He slowly crouched so he could see it more clearly.

 It was a painting! He stood more and started to recognize the context of it. It was an illustration of himself with his siblings! The painting was enormous for the normal peoples standards, though for The Giant Snake was merely some small painting. The painting was definitely owned by someone special, important and powerful. 

In the painting, a small girl was firstly recognizable and easily noticeable on the left side of it. She was portrayed on a high hill and she seemed to throw something. Jormungandr’s eyes continued to pay more attention to the painting… She threw a stick, no a bone! On the bottom right of the painting a wolf and a giant snake seem like they jumped trying to catch the bone, which the girl threw.

Throwback Memory

It was himself in the painting; together with his siblings, Fenrir and Hel. They were playing, like they did when they were children… Jormungandr remembered that day. It was the day before their capture and abduction from the gods. It was a hot summer day in Jotunheim. They were told to be inside the Hall of their mother Angrboda. 

Fenrir had found a huge bone and was busy chewing it and enjoying its flavor. Jormungandr was sleeping in a corner, when suddenly was awakened by Hel. She had gotten playful and asked Jormungandr to distract Fenrir. He agreed only because he could never say no to his older sister. And so he did. Jormungandr distracted Fenrir, while Hel stole his bone, when he realized it, the wolf was furious and chased Hel all across the big hall. He was about to catch her, wasn’t Jormungandr to stop him at the last second. Hel went outside and climbed to a big rock. She yelled at her younger brothers. 

“Whoever catches the first bone will be my favorite brother!”

 and she threw the bone as high as she possibly could, with Jormungandr and Fenrir jumping to catch the bone immediately after! Soon after the Aesir gods invaded their home and abducted them with the rest becoming history…

Ratatoskr’s compation

Jormungandr remembered in short his few childhood moments and tried his best to hold his feelings. Mainly because if he was to shed more tears the salt water may destroy the painting by accident! He continued looking at it, with such devotion like no other. Fractions of memories were coming back to him, memories of events long forgotten. Until he noticed some letters on the very bottom left of the painting. He tried to make something from the letters, but not only were they too small for him to see, they were written in a language he does not speak or understand…

Ratatoskr was running from top to bottom of the Yggdrasil. He ended a meeting with the Eagle. He was traveling to Nithhogg to deliver some important messages… As he reached Midgard his eye paid a quick attention to the scene… He sighed, looking disappointed, but at the same time wished to comfort the world-serpent, only he was not allowed to. Without a moment to spare he continued his run trying to ignore the scene he just saw. As he was about to pass Midgard he stopped.

“I am going to regret this…” He said to himself as he turned on the opposite side and ran back to Midgard and entered the realm!

Even a Serpent can drop a Tear

He appeared in front of Jormungandr without saying a word, without any complaint or curse word as he usually did. He waited beside the giant snake. Jormungandr failed to notice him at first. He was fully concentrated looking at the painting.

“Oh! Ratatoskr… You are here…” He said so slowly and heavy that it was like a volcano growling before an explosion. He was too weary emotionally to even talk.

“Yes…” Ratatoskt replied to him “You know… I should tell you…”

“Can you do me a favor?!” Jormungandr interrupted the little squirrel 

“That depends…” said Ratatoskt, kind of relieved he didn’t end up saying what he was about to say.

“Could you read me the letters of this painting…”

“Yeah I could do that…” He jumped on top of the painting without giving it extra thought and started reading out loud the context of it… “My beloved children, the reason for my existence.” Ratatoskr said … and continued… “The reason I am fighting for the future of the Giants, my true origin.” Ratatoskr realized the situation and quickly ran to escape what was about to happen…

Jormungandr couldn’t hold it anymore and the morning began, he cried like no other giant before… “My father fought and planned a war for the future of the giants so we could live in peace, but we failed. Were it not for my return from the future, the gods would rule the world once again!!!!”

His realization that everything that happened, every giant despair, torture, imprisonment, all were for nought, since the gods were the ones victorious in the end back on his timeline. While his presence here changed the outcome only by a little, since he ended up alone, the only last giant alive. His kin went extinct in this timeline as well! 

A New World

The tears destroyed the painting as it was like a cataract crushing on the soil. Jormungandr’s cry of pain echoed in the empty world. But with his agony the most impressive unexpected things happen!

His tears filled Midgard with salt water again! Rivers, seas, lakes, all appeared again in this gray, after-fire and death world. From Jormunganrds lament the world was reborn from its ashes. With war and death it was created, with pain and grief it was reborn… Jormungandr was to decide how life would be developed, as the Gods are no more… 

Jormungandrs sensed life that was kept hidden during the events of Ragnarok. The surviving humans Heimdal was talking about! Life would go on from them only Jormungandr had the will to guide, protect and nurture them…

Ratatoskr visits Nithhogg

Meanwhile, Ratatoskr had fleet Midgard after that event. He climbed down the roots of Yggdrasil and reached the well of Nithhogg. He encountered her smiling and laughing 

“You see Ratatoskr! My champion becoming the sole ruler of the new Ragnarok is a beneficial ending wouldn’t you say?”

“Did you really think of this before? You planned and predicted all those events?”

“Of course I did. Even your little boost may I add… I know you were getting fond of him. You cared enough for his story that you couldn’t hold yourself by helping him. I cannot see everything as yourself and the Eagle from above, but Yggdrassil, my witness, I can read every character perfectly from inside out!”

“Yeah, well done mother Nithhogg… You clearly are aware that my opinion doesn’t matter as I don’t really give a damn about your plots and the games you and Hraesvelgr are playing. I am here to make sure you don’t disturb the balance of the world tree.”

“And you are doing a fabulous job, dear Ratatoskr…”

“Stop patronizing me”

“Why should I? … I am just trying to hear your opinion about our decisions more frequently. I believe that someone who does not have any interest or benefit in a matter could, probably give the most objective opinion, wouldn’t you say?”

“Whatever Nithhogg… In the end I am here to deliver a message not to start a debate…”

The corpse eating dragon sighed, “Alright then, I am all ears!”

”The Eagle Hraesvelgr is not in favor of this outcome at all… He said…”

“What??!!” Nithhogg interrupts him “This is what we were discussing right before…”

Eagle’s Message

“DO NOT FCKIN INTERRUPT ME!!!” Ratatoskr shouted, Nithhogg stood silent and then the squirrel proceeded to quote the Eagles words, as the Dragon patiently waited for the squirrel to end.

“He believes that although he agreed to end the Ragnarok with the giants victorious, as the gods proved too full of themselves and they had no interest in the other forms of life apart from themselves, to that she agreed thoroughly… He finds Jormungandr not capable and fit to lift the duty of the world’s rebirth.”

“This is where Hraesvelgr is wrong! You can clearly see, with his tears salt water filled against oceans! Soon green will appear on the continents and not long after Jormungandr decides to start his own creation to rule Midgard!”

But Ratatoskr did not agree with Nithhogg’s vision!

“Do you see him fit to create life after what he experienced?!” said Ratatoskr, starting to throw his own opinion for once in this matter. Nithhogg found this a great opportunity to lure Ratatoskrs thoughts, as she was for a long time very curious to hear them. So she continued the conversation 

Ratatoskr shares his thoughts about Jormungandr

“What do you mean? He has a lot of experience, surviving two Ragnaroks. He is mature enough to undo the mistakes of the past…”

“Mature? You call him after all this, MATURE?!” Ratatoskr shouted “He was just a child Nithhogg! And hope was the only thing that kept him going… He fought in his timeline for his family until you decided to send him back and relive his suffering and loneliness, but hope that after the war he could reunite with his family was the only thing, keeping him going, until reality struck him. Not only did he lose his family, but all his kind became extinct!  His dreams and hopes are all crushed… He is… He is BROKEN! Not mature!”

Nithhogg stood silent, with her eyes closed. She envisioned Midgard as its current state. The new world was blooming with fresh water, trees filled the continent, snow on top of mountains, the forming of a new civilization, but the atmosphere… She could sense it… breath even… the depressed and sad state of the only creature that ruled Midgard. 

Nithhogg opened her eyes, a concerned look was on her draconic face… She replied to the squirrel in front of her.

“What does the Eagle suggest?…”

Words from the Author

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