Norraentru

GODS

Vali

I am Váli, son of Odin, born of the mighty jötunn Rindr, and my fate was sealed long before I drew my first breath. Unlike other gods, I was not born to grow up and learn the ways of the world. No, my existence began and ended with a singular purpose. My life’s only mission was vengeance—vengeance against my own brother, Höðr.

From the moment I opened my eyes, I knew I was different. I knew no childhood, no joy of play or learning, only an all-consuming urge to fulfill the task that had been set before me: to kill Höðr, my blind brother who had unwittingly taken the life of our light, our beloved Balder. Yet, despite Höðr being my brother, I felt no connection to him, no bond that might have held me back. For I did not know him, and he did not know me. He was merely a shadow, a target that had to be struck down.

I was born with supernatural speed, my body growing to manhood within a single day. With this rapid growth came strength, and I knew that I had been created for a purpose—this purpose and nothing else. My father, Odin, ensured that I received the weapon meant to carry out my destiny. A spear, fashioned from a fallen branch of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, was placed in my hands. This spear was not just wood; it bore the ancient power of the cosmos, and its purpose was as certain as my own.

Höðr, my blind brother, sat unaware of the fate that approached him. He had lived in sorrow over Balder’s death, but he knew nothing of my coming, nothing of the final justice that would befall him. I found him at the base of a cliff, lost in his thoughts—perhaps plagued by guilt, perhaps completely ignorant of his crime. I approached without hesitation, for my hand was guided by a force greater than myself.

When I stood before him, I raised my spear. The spear, crafted from the wood of Yggdrasil, hummed in my grip as if it recognized its destiny. I aimed it at his chest, and with a swiftness that nearly surpassed my own strength, I drove the spear deep into his heart. Höðr, my blind brother, released a final breath, and in that moment, I felt the weight of my burden lift from my shoulders. His death was swift, and his suffering ended in an instant.

But it was not only Höðr’s life that ceased in that moment. His final breath triggered a chain reaction in Midgard. Volcanoes erupted as if they, too, breathed in sync with his last exhalation. Flames and smoke rose to the heavens, and the earth trembled beneath their power. This was not merely a natural disaster; it was an omen, a harbinger of the coming doom, a minor ice age that would spread across Midgard—a time of darkness and cold.

I stood there as the world around me shifted, and I watched as my spear remained lodged in Höðr’s chest. It had fulfilled its purpose, just as I had fulfilled mine. And now, with justice served, I suddenly felt free. Free from the curse that had driven me since my birth. Free from the relentless urge for vengeance that had defined my existence. I had never known my brother, and now, with his passing, I no longer knew the anger and hatred that had burned within me.

As I withdrew the spear from his lifeless body, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. My life was no longer bound to the mission that had brought me into this world. I was no longer a tool in the service of vengeance. For the first time, I felt truly free. I could now live as one of the other gods, unburdened by fate. I could wander freely in Asgard, take joy in the things I had never before noticed—the warmth of the sun’s rays, the gentle caress of the wind, and the sound of laughter among my fellow gods.

I am Váli, son of Odin and Rindr, and my fate has been heavy, but it is now fulfilled. I have done my duty; I have delivered justice, and now I stand on the threshold of a new beginning. I can live freely, like all the other gods. For I am no longer bound by the chains of vengeance but liberated to forge my own destiny in the world that still awaits.