The Creation of the Nine Worlds (Norse Myths #8)

The story begins not with a bang, but with a void. Ginnungagap is the magical emptiness that existed before anything else—no light, no sound, no time. It is simply darkness, patient and waiting. On one side of this void lies Muspelheim, a world of primordial fire. On the other side lies Niflheim, a world of bitter ice with a single spring that spreads water across frozen layers. For countless eons, nothing happens. Then fire and ice creep toward each other across the gap, and where they meet, a great cloud of steam arises. And with someone there to observe it, time begins.

The First Beings and the Creation of the Worlds

From the melting ice emerges Ymir, the first being—a giant nourished by the milk of Audhumla, a beautiful white cow who is herself revealed as the ice continues to thaw. Audhumla's warm tongue licks the ice until another figure appears: Buri, the first man. Ymir, while sleeping, dreams a child into being—a man named Borr. Borr takes a wife named Bestla, and together they have three sons: Odin, Vili, and Vé. These three brothers will reshape the universe. They are half ice giant through their mother, meaning all races are interrelated from the start.