by Rick Riordan
see my mom again someday. Loki had threatened that the spirits of my family would suffer for what I had done to him. Eventually, I would have to seek out the frozen land of the dead and see for myself.
But for now, we had fireworks. We had our friends, new and old. I had Alex Fierro next to me, holding my hand.
It might stop at any moment. We einherjar know we are destined to die. The world will end. The big picture cannot be changed. But in the meantime, as Loki once said, we can choose to alter the details. That’s how we take control of our destiny.
Sometimes, even Loki can be right.
AEGIR—lord of the waves
AESIR—gods of war, close to humans
ALLAHU akbar—God is greater
ARGR—Norse for unmanly
BALDER—an Aesir god, son of Odin and Frigg, brother of many, including Thor; he was so handsome, gracious, and cheerful that he gave off light
BERSERKER—a Norse warrior frenzied in battle and considered invulnerable
BIFROST—the rainbow bridge leading from Asgard to Midgard
BOLVERK—an alias used by Odin
BRAGI—god of poetry
BRUNNMIGI—a being who urinates into wells
CAILLEACH—Gaelic for witch or hag
DRAUGR—Norse zombies
EID al-fitr—a holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan
EINHERJAR (EINHERJI, sing.)—great heroes who have died with bravery on Earth; soldiers in Odin’s eternal army; they train in Valhalla for Ragnarok, when the bravest of them will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world
EINVIGI—Norse for single combat
ELDHUSFIFL—Norse for village idiot
FARBAUTI—the jotun husband of Laufey and father of Loki
FENRIS WOLF—an invulnerable wolf born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his mighty strength strikes fear even in the gods, who keep him tied to a rock on an island. He is destined to break free on the day of Ragnarok.
FLYTING—a verbal duel of insults, in which the contestants must display prestige, power, and confidence
FREY—the god of spring and summer; the sun, the rain, and the harvest; abundance and fertility; growth and vitality. Frey is the twin brother of Freya and, like his sister, is associated with great beauty. He is lord of Alfheim.
FREYA—the goddess of love; twin sister of Frey
FRIGG—goddess of marriage and motherhood; Odin’s wife and the queen of Asgard; mother of Balder and Hod
GARM—the guard dog of Hel
GINNUNGAGAP—the primordial void; a mist that obscures appearances
GJALLAR—Heimdall’s horn
GLAMOUR—illusion magic
GROVE OF GLASIR—trees in the realm of Asgard, outside the doors of Valhalla, with golden red leaves. Glasir means gleaming.
HALAL—meat prepared as required by Muslim law
HEIMDALL—god of vigilance and the guardian of Bifrost, the gateway to Asgard
HEL—goddess of the dishonorable dead; born of Loki’s affair with a giantess
HELHEIM—the underworld, ruled by Hel and inhabited by those who died in wickedness, old age, or illness
HRUNGNIR—brawler
HUGINN AND MUNINN—Odin’s ravens, whose names mean thought and memory, respectively
HULDER—a domesticated forest sprite
IDUN—a beautiful goddess of youth, who supplies the other gods and goddesses with apples of immortality
INSHALLAH—God willing
JORMUNGAND—the World Serpent, born of Loki’s affair with a giantess; his body is so long it wraps around the earth
JOTUN—giant
KENAZ—the torch, the fire of life
KONUNGSGURTHA—Norse for king’s court
KVASIR—a man created from the spit of the Aesir and Vanir gods, to represent the peace treaty between them after their war
KVASIR’s Mead—a drink that grants the gift of oration, created from a combination of Kvasir’s blood and honey
LAUFEY—the jotun wife of Farbauti and mother of Loki
LINDWORM—a fearsome dragon the size and length of an eighteen-wheeler, with just two front legs and leathery brown bat-type wings too small for effective flight
LOKI—god of mischief, magic, and artifice; the son of two giants, Farbauti and Laufey; adept with magic and shape-shifting. He is alternately malicious and heroic to the Asgardian gods and to humankind. Because of his role in the death of Balder, Loki was chained by Odin to three giant boulders with a poisonous serpent coiled over his head. The venom of the snake occasionally irritates Loki’s face, and his writhing can cause earthquakes.
MAGHRIB PRAYER—the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims, prayed just after sunset
MEINFRETR—stinkfart
MIKILLGULR—Norse for big yellow
MIMIR—an Aesir god who, along with Honir, traded places with Vanir gods Frey and Njord at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. When the Vanir didn’t like his counsel, they cut off his head and sent it to Odin. Odin placed the head in a magical well, where the water brought it back to life, and Mimir soaked up all the knowledge of the World Tree.
MINIé ball—a type of bullet used in muzzle-loading rifles during the Civil War
MJÖЗNorse for mead
MJOLNIR—Thor’s hammer
NAGLFAR—the Ship of Nails
NJORD—Vanir god of the sea, father of Frey and Freya
NØKK—a nixie, or water spirit
NORNS—three sisters who control the destinies of both gods and humans.
ODIN—the “All-Father” and king of the gods; the god of war and death, but also poetry and wisdom. By trading one eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, Odin gained unparalleled knowledge. He has the ability to observe all the Nine Worlds from his throne in Asgard; in addition to his great hall, he also resides in Valhalla with the bravest of those slain in battle.
OTHALA—inheritance
QURANIC—something relating or belonging to the Quran, the central religious text of Islam
RAGNAROK—the Day of Doom or Judgment, when the bravest of the einherjar will join Odin against Loki and the giants in the battle at the end of the world
RAMADAN—a time for spiritual purification achieved through fasting, self-sacrifice, and prayers, celebrated in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar
RAN—goddess of the sea; wife of Aegir
RED gold—the currency of Asgard and Valhalla
SIF—goddess of the earth; mother of Uller by her first husband; Thor is her second husband; the rowan is her sacred tree
SIGYN—Loki’s wife
SKADI—an ice giantess once married to Njord
SKALDS—poets who composed at the courts of leaders during the Viking Age
SLEIPNIR—Odin’s eight-legged steed; only Odin can summon him; one of Loki’s children
SUHUR—the pre-dawn meal eaten by practicing Muslims during Ramadan
SUMARBRANDER—the Sword of Summer
THANE—a lord of Valhalla
THOR—god of thunder; son of Odin. Thunderstorms are the earthly effects of Thor’s mighty chariot rides across the sky, and lightning is caused by hurling his great hammer, Mjolnir.
THRALL—a slave, servant, or captive
THRYM—king of the jotun
THRYMHEIMR—Thunder Home
TREE OF LAERADR—a tree in the center of the Feast Hall of the Slain in Valhalla containing immortal animals that have particular jobs
TVEIRVIGI—double combat
TYR—god of courage, law, and trial by combat; he lost a hand to Fenris’s bite when the Wolf was restrained by the gods
UTGARD-LOKI—the most powerful sorcerer of Jotunheim; king of the mountain giants
VALHALLA—paradise for warriors in the service of Odin
VALKYRIE—Odin’s handmaidens who choose slain heroes to bring to Valhalla
VANIR—gods of nature; close to elves
; VATNAVAETTIR (each-uisce in Ireland)—water horses
VIGRIDR—a plain that will be the site of the battle between the gods and Surt’s forces during Ragnarok
VILI AND VE—the two younger brothers of Odin, who, together with him, shared a role in the shaping of the cosmos and are the first of the Aesir. When Odin was abroad for a long time, Vili and Ve ruled in his stead, alongside Frigg.
WERGILD—blood debt
WYRD—fate
YMIR—the ancestor of all gods and jotun
AEGIR AY-gear
AESIR AY-ser
ALF SEIDR ALF SAY-der
ALFHEIM ALF-haym
ARGR ARR-ger
ASGARD AZ-gahrrd
BALDER BALL-der
BAUGI BAW-ghee
BIFROST BEE-frrohst
BLODUGHADDA BLODE-oug-hadda
BOLVERK BOLE-verrk
BRAGI BRRAG-ee
BYLGYA BOOL-ghooa
CAILLEACH KAL-ee-yucck
DAGAZ DAH-gahz
DRAUGR DRRAW-ger
DUFA DOO-vah
EHWAZ AY-wahz
EINHERJAR/EINHERJI in-HAIRR-yar/in-HAIRR-yee
EINVIGI AYN-vee-gee
ELDHUSFIFL EL-doos-feef-full
ELDIR el-DEER
FARBAUTI fahrr-BAW-tee
FEHU FAY-hoo
FENRIS FEHN-rrihss
FIMAFENG FEE-ma-vehng
FJALAR fee-YALL-ar
FLÄM FLAHM
FREY FRRAY
FREYA FRRAY-uh
FRIGG FRRIHG
GARM GAHRRM
GINNUNGAGAP GEEN-un-guh-gahp
GJALAR gee-YALL-ar
GJALLAR gee-YALL-ar
GLASIR gla-SEER
GUNLOD GOON-lode
HAGALAZ HA-ga-lahts
HEFRING HEV-rring
HEIMDALL HAME-doll
HEL HEHL
HELGI HEL-ghee
HELHEIM HEHL-haym
HIMMINGLAEVA HEEM-meen-glah-vah
HRÖNN HRRONE
HRYM HRRIM
HUGINN HOO-gihn
HULDER HOOL-dihr
HUNDING HOON-deeng
HRUNGNIR HRROONG-neer
HUSVAETTR HOOS-veht-tr
IDUN ee-DOON
ISA EES-ah
JORMUNGAND YOHRR-mun-gand
JORVIK YOHRR-vick
JOTUN YOH-toon
JOTUNHEIM YOH-tuhn-haym
KENAZ KEH-nahtz
KOLGA KOLE-gah
KONUNGSGURTHA KO-noongs-goorr-tha
KVASIR ki-VAH-seer
LAERADR LAY-rrah-dur
LAUFEY LAW-fay
LAGAZ lah-GAHTS
LINDWORM LIHND-wohrrm
LOKI LOH-kee
MEINFRETR MAYN-frih-ter
MIDGARD MIHD-gahrrd
MIKILLGULR MEE-keel-goo-ler
MIMIR MEE-meer
MJÖÐ mee-YOTH
MJOLNIR MEE’OHL-neer
MOKKERKALFE MOKE-kerr-kal-feh
MUNDR MOON-der
MUNINN MOON-in
MUSPELL MOO-spel
MUSPELLHEIM MOOS-pehl-haym
NAGLFAR NAHG’L-fahr
NIDAVELLIR Nee-duh-vehl-EER
NIDHOGG NEED-hawg
NIFLHEIM NIHF-uh-haym
NJORD nee-YORD
NØKK NAWK
NORNS NOHRRNZ
ODIN OH-dihn
OTHALA OH-thal-ah
RAGNAROK RAG-nuh-rrawk
RAN RAN
SAMIRAH AL-ABBAS sah-MEER-ah ahl-AH-bahss
SIF SEEV
SIGYN SEE-goon
SKADI SKAH-dee
SKALD SKAHLD
SLEIPNIR SLAYP-neer
SUMARBRANDER SOO-marr-brrand-der
SUTTUNG SOOT-toong
THIJASSI thee-YAH-see
THOR THORE
THRALL THRAWL
THRYM THRRIMM
THRYMHEIMR THRIM-haym-eer
THRYNGA THRRIN-gah
THURISAZ THOORR-ee-sahts
TIWAZ TEE-vahz
