"Too much ale and a man’s heart is laid open for all to see" (The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson, c.151)
The very first being was Ymir, and he was responsible for all life that followed...
"Where wolf’s ears are, wolf’s teeth are near" (Volsunga Saga, c.19)
And so brothers Odin, Vili, and Vé, killed Ymir and built the world from his body...
"Fight your foes in the field, nor be burnt in your house" (Volsunga Saga, c.21)
The ocean were his blood, his bones the mountains, his hair made foliage, his brains into clouds, and his skull the heavens...
"Fear not death for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it" (Volunga Saga, c.5)
Ask, the frist man, was carved from ash, and Embla, carved from elm to be his wife...
"No one is a total fool if he knows when to hold his tongue" (Grettir’s Saga, c.88)
From Odin's breath we were given souls and could then speak, hear, and see...
"Better to fight and fall than to live without hope" (Volsunga, c.12)
Odin, the all-father, was the god of wisdom, healing, death, royalty, war, sorcery, poetry, and the gallows... also, a master of disguise...
"No one is a total fool if he knows when to hold his tongue" (Grettir’s Saga, c.88)
Odin traded his eye to Mimir, guard of the Well of Wisdom, in exchange for a drink from the well’s magical waters...
"Gold is little comfort for the kinsman dead" (Örvar Odd’s Saga, c.11)
Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, holds the nine realms in it's branches and roots, but few recall The Severed Realm, Valheim...
"Never cheat your master" (Njal’s Saga, c.86)
There are 9 known realms in the World-Tree: Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim and Helheim...
"Trust not him whosekin you have slain no matter how young he be, for often grows the wolf in the child" (Volsunga Saga, c.21)
And so Odin resigned his darkest foes and secrets to the realm of Valheim and severed it from Yggdrasil, the World-Tree...
"Better to die with honor than live with shame" (The Saga of the Jomsvikings, c.23)
"Wanderer, look to your feet, that tread upon our tomb. One thousand bones without their meat, will drag you to your doom."
"The brave man shall fight and win, though dull his blade may be" (Fafnismal 28)
Long ago, the allfather Odin united the worlds. He threw down his foes and cast them into the tenth world, Valheim...
"That which has a bad beginning is likely to have a bad ending" (Hen-Thorir’s Saga, c.4)
Odin saw his ancient enemies growing in strength, so he sent Valkyries to scour the battlefields for the greatest of their warriors...
"Often it is that what happens to most others will happen to you" (Eyrbyggja Saga, c.32)
Dead to the world, they would be born again, in Valheim, and here they would prove their worth to slay the ancient foes of Asgard...
"He with a short knife must try, try again" (Vapnfirðinga Saga, c.7)
Fear the Horned One and spare his kin...
"Best it is, for man’s words to seek peace when it is possible" (Heitharvega, c.35)
They fear fire and the hand of man but they can be taught to obey it...
"A rotten branch will be found in every tree" (The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson, c.148)
Now the raven guides me and I fight the great beasts in Odin's name...
"Eagles should show their claws, though dying" (The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson, c.186)
Long ages ago, the world of Valheim was home to a race of proud and noble people, but their pride was their undoing.
"Be warned by another’s woe" (Njal’s Saga,c.13)
Pride cannot be killed entirely and those who fought in battle will not surrender until their bodies are dust and the dust long gone...
"Old friends are the last to break away" (The Saga of Grettir, chapter 82)
Watch for him in moonlight, haunter of the night, soft of foot, sharp of tooth, slow to stalk, and quick to bite...
Where no rain falls, and no crops will grow, still the ground can give up treasures slow...
Below the mist and murk, bone speaks to bone, remembering flesh...
Höðr, Odin's son, was tricked by Loki into killing Baldr, and punished by death. Yet some believe Thor pittied him and called him his Rock...