Life of Your Average Thaumaturge

Lately, I have gotten really into Norse mythology. Now, it's well-known that KI based Grizzleheim/WinterTusk off of Norse mythology, but I've realized that the parallels extend beyond just that one world. Here are some of the references I've found, but feel free to comment any others you have discovered!

Bartleby/World Tree - In Norse mythology, the ash tree named Yggdrasill has roots in each of the nine worlds, essentially connecting them together. That is Bartleby's function in the Spiral, to connect the worlds of the Spiral together and give wizards a way to travel between them. Yggdrasill is also referred to as the World Tree like Bartleby. Therefore, you could say that the basis of the entire world of the Spiral has its roots in Norse mythology. Kinda cool. Also related to Bartleby, though this one is admittedly more of stretch, he has only one eye for most of the game like Odin does in Norse mythology. Odin sacrificed his eye to gain wisdom. Bartleby's eyes grant him knowledge of the past and the future, which is kind of a similar concept.

Baldur - Our first glimpse into Grizzleheim is through Baldur GoldPaws, whom we meet in Olde Town. This NPC is probably a reference to Odin's son, Baldr, Balder, or Baldur depending on the version, who was famous for being beautiful and compassionate. They say he was so handsome and cheerful that he actually gave off light, which could be where the Gold part of his name comes from. That's just speculation.

Rainbow Bridge - The rainbow bridge you cross upon arrival to Grizzleheim is a reference to the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connects Asgard, the land of the Aesir gods, to Midgard, the land of the humans.

Grizzleheim - The name is related to the names of some of the realms of Norse mythology, the -heim part meaning "home." So Grizzleheim is probably supposed to mean home of the bears or something like that.

Northgard - The name is related to the names of some of the realms of Norse mythology, the -gard part meaning "enclosure."

Ymir - According to the Norse creation story, Ymir was the first living being who came to life from fire melting ice in Ginnungagap, the empty void before the worlds came to be

Nordri, Austri, Sudri, Vestri - Literally "North," "East," "South," and "West," these giants are fabled to hold up the four corners of the sky, showing their incredible strength.

Vanir StormRoarer - There are 2 tribes of the gods in Norse mythology: the Aesir and the Vanir. The name of this NPC in Hrundle Fjord is a reference to the latter.

Magni FarSight - There is an NPC on a side quest in WinterTusk (Vestrilund) with the name of Magni, which is also the name of one of Thor's sons.

Valkyrie - The female bears with swords and shields seen around WinterTusk are depictions of the Valkyrie.

Nidavallir - One of the nine realms of Norse mythology, home to the dwarves

Hugin and Munin - Hugin Fateseer and Munin Mistweaver are 2 bosses in Ravenscar. In Norse mythology, Hugin and Munin, "thought" and "memory," are Odin's ravens who fly around the world and bring back news to him.

The Norns - at the base of Grandmother Raven's tree stand the Norns: Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi. In Norse mythology, the Norns live at the roots of Yggdrasill in Asgard and determine the fates of all living beings at the Well of Urd.

Mimir - at the Well of Urd, we encounter a boss named Mimir. In Norse mythology, Mimir was a counselor of the gods. It was to Mimir that Odin sacrificed his eye to gain wisdom. He continued to seek the counsel of Mimir even after Mimir was killed at war, but that's kind of a gory tale and I'll leave out the details.

Eternal Winter - This concept of the eternal winter that the Coven is plotting during the Grizzleheim story line is similar to the prophesy of Ragnarok, the end of the world. The prophesy states that there will be 3 years of winter preceding Ragnarok.

Jotun - In Nidavellir, we fight Jotun. Jotun is what the Norse call giants. He is most likely lost, however, because the Jotnar (plural) do not live in Nidavellir. They live in Jotunheimr, literally "home of the giants."