Glossary

 (Note: The following definitions are in relation to the Ways of Wyrd Universe. Creative license has been taken with actual Norse Mythology for story purposes.)

 

Berserker – A Warrior of Odin. Berserkers are chosen by Odin to be his peacekeepers on Midgard.  Upon being chosen, a valknut tattoo is placed on their body in a location of their choosing and they receive their powers—one augmented sensory ability, accelerated healing, and immortality. After being chosen, they remain with their family until they reach full manhood, when Odin comes for them and takes them away to be trained. They rarely see their families again. Berserkers are brute force and overwhelming rage and determination. A Berserker doesn’t know the meaning of the word retreat. He will fight to the death.

 

Hamingja [HA-ming-yah] – A part of the self, loosely defined as “ancestral luck.” Everyone has one, including humans, but most are never aware of them. If a family is “cursed” it’s often due to a snowball effect of bad luck in the lineage. Magic can be used to influence the hamingja’s good or bad effects on a person.

 

Jotun Devourer – One of two Jotun clans. On Jotunheim, Devourers are blood drinkers and cannibals. They are intelligent, but revel in their primitive side. Once enraged, they become unthinking beings with super strength, intent on murder and mayhem. On Earth, the chaos that drives them has lessened, but they still need regular doses of violence to keep themselves under control, unless other means are employed. Their propensity for violence has led humans to think of them as more mob/mafia and Devourers have embraced this in order to keep their secrets. Special abilities: Frost breath and immune to cold.

 

Jotun Enlightened – One of two Jotun clans. Highly Intelligent, but weaker in strength and physical abilities than Devourers. They embrace peace and order and are less violent than Devourers. In order to keep their natural desire for chaos under control, they employ several techniques: meditation, visualization, breath management, controlled environments, and as a last resort, drug usage. If an Enlightened were to kill someone in their society, they would be banished to The Devourers and never allowed to return. Special abilities: Frost breath and immune to cold.

 

Norns – Three sisters who weave everyone’s wyrd (fate/destiny) into Yggdrasil, including that of the gods. They also tend Yggdrasil and try to ensure that everyone stays on the path they’ve been assigned.

 

Outlander – A traveler from one of the Nine Worlds to Earth via the dimensional gateways. Most humans are unaware that Outlanders walk among them.

 

The Failing – March 8, 1683. The day the dimensional gateways between Earth and the other eight worlds malfunctioned, trapping all Outlanders currently on Earth. The gates function only one way since that day—incoming, not outgoing. Once on Earth, Outlanders cannot return to their home world.

 

Valhalla – Odin’s Great Hall on Asgard, where human warriors who die in battle go.

 

Valkyries – Peacekeeping force on Earth. They take their orders from Freya, a Vanir goddess. Occasionally, they work with the Berserkers. Valkyries are grace and skill. Controlled, surgical strikes are their modus operandi.

 

Wyrd [weerd] – The Norse concept of fate or destiny. Unlike the Greek version of fate, which is unalterable, wyrd can be changed by the individual. However, the Ways of Wyrd are unpredictable and the Norns don’t take kindly to rebels.

 

Yggdrasil [IG-druh-sill] – The World Tree. Center of the dimensional universe that connects the Nine Worlds and holds everyone’s wyrd.