The Ship of the Dead

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