AN: This is a crossover between Covenant and the Nine Realms of Norse Mythology. The...
The White Christ Comes to Midgard: a Mythologyworlds Oneshot
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AN: This is a crossover between Covenant and the Nine Realms of Norse Mythology. The "Mythologyworlds" in the title is just a hint at some of the lore surrounding Covenant, but don't worry, I've tried to make this oneshot accessible to people who haven't read that timeline. That said, if this interests you feel free to check it out! Maybe I'll write more Mythologyworlds stories in the future if there's enough interest.
The White Christ Comes to Midgard
Ragnarok didn't destroy everything in creation. The Nine Realms were scourged with fire, Yggdrasil was badly damaged, and entire races and species were wiped out (as well as the accumulated dead from all of history). Those that weren't exterminated lost most of their populations anyway. While Sunna's daughter rides the new sun across the sky, there is no moon or stars. There were only six Aesir left after Ragnarok: Odin's sons Vioarr and Vali, Thor's sons Modi and Magni, and the resurrected Baldr and Hodr. The human population grew only slowly.
Slower than the other races. Midgard returned lush and green after Ragnarok, and the nature spirits of the forests and waters flourished. Trolls multiplied again in the hills, and the elves from Svartlfheimr and Alfheimr established colonies on the green coasts of Midgard. Those servants of the gods, the dwarves, bounced back quickly, building new dwellings in Asgard and new weapons to help their masters drive back the jotun. The frost giants were all dead, slain in Ragnarok, but of all the races, the fire giants had been mostly unharmed; after all, it was their flames that scoured the world clean. Their depredations continued into the new age.
Thus man and god had enemies to contend with. War came again to Midgard, and men died valorous deaths and went to Valhalla to reborn as Einherjar or Valkyries, or else they went to Helheim.
Then, while scarcely a thousand generations had passed since Ragnarok, it was discovered that when Yggdrasil had been damaged during Ragnarok, a branch had smashed through the very edge of existence...into another reality. Marching along this cosmic road into the Nine Realms came an army of glowing beings, made of flaming wheels within wheels and wings covered in eyes, and as they came on they sang:
"Holy holy holy,
Is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come."
The angels looked at the Nine Realms and decided certain...changes should be made.
Asgard is now a forward operating base for the Heavenly Hosts. From here, battalions of angels set out to do war with the fire giants, who have mostly been restricted to Muspelheim, save for frequent raiding parties. Vanaheimr and Jotunheimr were mostly empty before the invasion, and were considered the birthright of the surviving Aesir, spoils of war and living space for the future generations of gods. The angels have used them house the Heavenly Hosts. Occasionally some souls make their way here, but no more do the victorious dead dwell in Valhalla. Helheim (also under angelic occupation) and Valhalla are merely processing grounds for the souls of Midgard. While the angels cannot help humans reincarnating as Valkyries or Einherjar, most souls are still sorted by the angels before being sent along strange paths to the afterlives of their own deity - Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Limbo...
Some of the newer Valkyires and Einherjar who were righteous champions of God in life have been approved to fight alongside the Heavenly Hosts, which they seem to prefer over singing praises before the Throne of God ("Not that there's anything wrong with that!").
The Aesir have been relegated to puppet ruler status. Baldr and Hodr, always more pragmatic after experiencing death, decided to accept the Archangel Michael's initial offer of diplomacy. Baldr's ensuing audience before the Throne of God made him feel very...small.
Thankfully YHWH merely wanted assurances of cooperation - it seems "No other gods before me" simply meant acknowledging who the boss was. Thus, the Aesir sit in their halls and listen to the angel's incessant praise, and glumly mourn for the days when they seemed ready to take up absolute rule over the Nine Realms. The joint strategy meetings between the Aesir and the Archangels are awkward, and mostly exist as a courtesy.
The dwarves, meanwhile, have switched from one master to another quite easily. Some of them have even taken to singing praises to the LORD as they work at their forges, making flaming swords for the angels and arms and armor for the new Christian Valkyries and Einherjar. Others man the fortifications along the different points of Yggdrasil, including the three springs at the root of the tree - the angels have had enough experience with forbidden knowledge that they want to keep the Norns and the well of Mimisbrunnr under close watch.
Midgard has changed. Eventually the angels were followed along the pathways of Yggdrasil by mortals, not only humans bearing the message of the White Christ (and to a lesser extent, Muhammad and Moses), but also Nephilim, succubi, and even stranger folk. While a few of these new arrivals have formed their own states, most have simply melted into the general populace or formed their own communities where local kings will tolerate them. Many rulers have welcomed them with open arms, for the world these new arrivals came from was more advanced than Midgard in both technology and magic. Introduced species like cockatrices, imps, and griffins now inhabit not only the branches of Yggdrasil but also Midgard and even the wilder parts of Jotunheim, Vanaheim, and Asgard. The nature spirits are viewed with suspicion, especially the most malevolent ones who are stamped out by Christian knights and wizards wherever they arise. Trolls are more of a problem - while their clans are perfectly willing to engage in diplomacy and make treaties with humans, they're considered dangerous no matter what and have very much resisted efforts to convert them. Trolls are also notoriously tricky, and nobody is fond of their changeling habit. Many human nations just declare them pests and try to do away with them entirely. Wargs are another matter, the giant and intelligent wolves can be dangerous but are sometimes ridden by Valkyries into battle. The Aesir prefer Sleipnir's kin, and the supernaturally swift horses are also being exported to other worlds.
The humans of Midgard have largely been converted. Admittedly, it's a bit easy to win converts when your gods make a public display of fealty to another deity, but aside from that the promise of the Christian Heaven is appealing to a certain segment of the populace - most people don't particularly care for a violent death in battle, and women never really found the old system fair to begin with. YHWH is notably deathless and infallible in comparison to the Aesir and Vanir, leading some thinkers to conclude that both races were simply a powerful breed of jotun instead of "gods" in any real sense. Thus, many have abandoned worship of the Aesir entirely and picked up Christianity, while others have attempted to work their old gods into Abrahamic theology as minor, semi-divine beings. The "Archangel Baldr" crowd get strange looks, and mainline Christians don't suffer them too much. Local magicians have either been converted to Christianity and their magical knowledge co-opted, or else they've been stamped out - spells that invoke the Aesir still work, but the angels and Christian mortals don't like it, even when Baldr is named alongside Michael and YHWH. A significant Aesir-worshiping underground still exists, especially in the more isolated regions of the world.
Alfheimr and Svartlfheimr remain on the fringes of society. While dwarves adapted easily enough to the new order, the elves were split. The divide wasn't necessarily along a dark elf/light elf divide either - some svartlfar have converted to worship of the White Christ while others have retreated into the depths of Svartlfheim, while some light elves have waged war on the new arrivals with others joining the Christian soldiers in rooting out monsters. In either case, elf converts don't really "get" Christianity (neither they nor dwarves have souls), but the angels aren't particularly bothered by this, and so long as they're not a threat to the war effort or don't outright worship devils, even neutral non-converts are tolerated.
Muspelheim is the military frontier, where fire giants do battle against angels, Valkyries, Einherjar, and the occasional Aesir ally. The fire giants squabble with themselves as the angels make progress with every passing year. However, as of late the fire giant chiefs have had...visitors. Visitors who whisper in their ears with advice and information they could not gain otherwise, and who promise an alliance with another type of Great Serpent, should only certain religious observations be made...those who have done homage soon find sin dragons and apocalypse locusts fighting alongside them. The angels have noticed this, and know what it means.
Slower than the other races. Midgard returned lush and green after Ragnarok, and the nature spirits of the forests and waters flourished. Trolls multiplied again in the hills, and the elves from Svartlfheimr and Alfheimr established colonies on the green coasts of Midgard. Those servants of the gods, the dwarves, bounced back quickly, building new dwellings in Asgard and new weapons to help their masters drive back the jotun. The frost giants were all dead, slain in Ragnarok, but of all the races, the fire giants had been mostly unharmed; after all, it was their flames that scoured the world clean. Their depredations continued into the new age.
Thus man and god had enemies to contend with. War came again to Midgard, and men died valorous deaths and went to Valhalla to reborn as Einherjar or Valkyries, or else they went to Helheim.
Then, while scarcely a thousand generations had passed since Ragnarok, it was discovered that when Yggdrasil had been damaged during Ragnarok, a branch had smashed through the very edge of existence...into another reality. Marching along this cosmic road into the Nine Realms came an army of glowing beings, made of flaming wheels within wheels and wings covered in eyes, and as they came on they sang:
"Holy holy holy,
Is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come."
The angels looked at the Nine Realms and decided certain...changes should be made.
Asgard is now a forward operating base for the Heavenly Hosts. From here, battalions of angels set out to do war with the fire giants, who have mostly been restricted to Muspelheim, save for frequent raiding parties. Vanaheimr and Jotunheimr were mostly empty before the invasion, and were considered the birthright of the surviving Aesir, spoils of war and living space for the future generations of gods. The angels have used them house the Heavenly Hosts. Occasionally some souls make their way here, but no more do the victorious dead dwell in Valhalla. Helheim (also under angelic occupation) and Valhalla are merely processing grounds for the souls of Midgard. While the angels cannot help humans reincarnating as Valkyries or Einherjar, most souls are still sorted by the angels before being sent along strange paths to the afterlives of their own deity - Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Limbo...
Some of the newer Valkyires and Einherjar who were righteous champions of God in life have been approved to fight alongside the Heavenly Hosts, which they seem to prefer over singing praises before the Throne of God ("Not that there's anything wrong with that!").
The Aesir have been relegated to puppet ruler status. Baldr and Hodr, always more pragmatic after experiencing death, decided to accept the Archangel Michael's initial offer of diplomacy. Baldr's ensuing audience before the Throne of God made him feel very...small.
Thankfully YHWH merely wanted assurances of cooperation - it seems "No other gods before me" simply meant acknowledging who the boss was. Thus, the Aesir sit in their halls and listen to the angel's incessant praise, and glumly mourn for the days when they seemed ready to take up absolute rule over the Nine Realms. The joint strategy meetings between the Aesir and the Archangels are awkward, and mostly exist as a courtesy.
The dwarves, meanwhile, have switched from one master to another quite easily. Some of them have even taken to singing praises to the LORD as they work at their forges, making flaming swords for the angels and arms and armor for the new Christian Valkyries and Einherjar. Others man the fortifications along the different points of Yggdrasil, including the three springs at the root of the tree - the angels have had enough experience with forbidden knowledge that they want to keep the Norns and the well of Mimisbrunnr under close watch.
Midgard has changed. Eventually the angels were followed along the pathways of Yggdrasil by mortals, not only humans bearing the message of the White Christ (and to a lesser extent, Muhammad and Moses), but also Nephilim, succubi, and even stranger folk. While a few of these new arrivals have formed their own states, most have simply melted into the general populace or formed their own communities where local kings will tolerate them. Many rulers have welcomed them with open arms, for the world these new arrivals came from was more advanced than Midgard in both technology and magic. Introduced species like cockatrices, imps, and griffins now inhabit not only the branches of Yggdrasil but also Midgard and even the wilder parts of Jotunheim, Vanaheim, and Asgard. The nature spirits are viewed with suspicion, especially the most malevolent ones who are stamped out by Christian knights and wizards wherever they arise. Trolls are more of a problem - while their clans are perfectly willing to engage in diplomacy and make treaties with humans, they're considered dangerous no matter what and have very much resisted efforts to convert them. Trolls are also notoriously tricky, and nobody is fond of their changeling habit. Many human nations just declare them pests and try to do away with them entirely. Wargs are another matter, the giant and intelligent wolves can be dangerous but are sometimes ridden by Valkyries into battle. The Aesir prefer Sleipnir's kin, and the supernaturally swift horses are also being exported to other worlds.
The humans of Midgard have largely been converted. Admittedly, it's a bit easy to win converts when your gods make a public display of fealty to another deity, but aside from that the promise of the Christian Heaven is appealing to a certain segment of the populace - most people don't particularly care for a violent death in battle, and women never really found the old system fair to begin with. YHWH is notably deathless and infallible in comparison to the Aesir and Vanir, leading some thinkers to conclude that both races were simply a powerful breed of jotun instead of "gods" in any real sense. Thus, many have abandoned worship of the Aesir entirely and picked up Christianity, while others have attempted to work their old gods into Abrahamic theology as minor, semi-divine beings. The "Archangel Baldr" crowd get strange looks, and mainline Christians don't suffer them too much. Local magicians have either been converted to Christianity and their magical knowledge co-opted, or else they've been stamped out - spells that invoke the Aesir still work, but the angels and Christian mortals don't like it, even when Baldr is named alongside Michael and YHWH. A significant Aesir-worshiping underground still exists, especially in the more isolated regions of the world.
Alfheimr and Svartlfheimr remain on the fringes of society. While dwarves adapted easily enough to the new order, the elves were split. The divide wasn't necessarily along a dark elf/light elf divide either - some svartlfar have converted to worship of the White Christ while others have retreated into the depths of Svartlfheim, while some light elves have waged war on the new arrivals with others joining the Christian soldiers in rooting out monsters. In either case, elf converts don't really "get" Christianity (neither they nor dwarves have souls), but the angels aren't particularly bothered by this, and so long as they're not a threat to the war effort or don't outright worship devils, even neutral non-converts are tolerated.
Muspelheim is the military frontier, where fire giants do battle against angels, Valkyries, Einherjar, and the occasional Aesir ally. The fire giants squabble with themselves as the angels make progress with every passing year. However, as of late the fire giant chiefs have had...visitors. Visitors who whisper in their ears with advice and information they could not gain otherwise, and who promise an alliance with another type of Great Serpent, should only certain religious observations be made...those who have done homage soon find sin dragons and apocalypse locusts fighting alongside them. The angels have noticed this, and know what it means.
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