Loki and the Dwarves (Norse Mythology #1)

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The first tale in our new Norse series includes some gods you might recognize, and some worlds that you might not. Before we hear that, did you know that Get Sleepy Premium members get to listen completely ad free, with full access to our entire catalogue of stories and meditations, which is now well over a thousand episodes, including heaps of extended compilation episodes and much more. And perhaps best of all, Premium supporters get a brand new bonus episode every Thursday night. So why not take advantage of the 7 day free trial for all new Premium subscribers, and join us tomorrow, when Nadine will be taking us on a journey to Ancient Athens, where we'll find out how the goddess of the home, Hestia, was honored and revered. To support the show and become a Premium member, just head to GetSleepy.com slash support. As I mentioned, you'll have a 7 day free trial to start off with, and you can cancel anytime. That's GetSleepy.com slash support. Thanks so much everyone. Now my friends, before we take this first journey across the rainbow bridge, into the world of Aesir, we must take a few moments to leave behind Midgard, also known as Earth. First, lay your body against your pillows and blankets, being certain to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Next, conjure in your mind the image of a tree. It is an ash tree with bright green leaves and silvery grey bark. This tree is larger than wilds. Its roots twist around one another, and plunge deep into the dark soil of the universe. No one knows how far down they go. Its branches spread out further than the eye can see, and higher than one can comprehend. You are lying quite comfortably on one of its innumerable boughs. It cradles you, as it cradles all forms of life in this and all other worlds. This is Yggdrasil. Let yourself rest here, protected and supported by the tree. All parts of daily life can be let go of, as you rest amongst the leaves, under the star filled sky of the universe. Yggdrasil connects all nine worlds together, even the place of dreams. Blow the branches up and out to another world, called Asgard. See how it is wreathed in light. The warmth welcomes you. And this is where our story begins. The great hall of Odin, the All-Father, is alive with light and sound tonight. It is so every night, for every evening, it is filled with the souls of great warriors, as they feast with their God. It is their eternal reward. Yet tonight is special, because they are also feasting in the presence of other Gods. The higher table, where usually only Odin sits, is now filled to the brim with the other shining ones. Their armor and helmets gleam, their voices are loud, and their songs are joyful. There is only one missing, Thor, God of Thunder and Son of Odin. He is in another world this evening, taking part in his favorite game of harrying the ice giants. Odin sits at the center of the table. He is tall and proud, with an eye patch over one of his eyes, and two ravens on his shoulders. To one side sits his beautiful consort and wife, Frigg. She is the goddess of motherhood and foresight. She sees the future, but tells no one. On Odin's other side is their son, Baldur, the shining one. Along the table sit other glorious Gods and Goddesses, yet two catch the eye. The first is Sif of the Golden Hare. She is widely recognized to be one of the most beautiful beings in the whole universe. Her hair is always the feature that attracts attention. It reaches nearly all the way down to the floor, and is the perfect color of honey. It flows behind her like a cape when she walks, and drapes prettily over her shoulders. She is the wife of Thor, and a goddess of fertility and wheat. As usual, she is serving drinks at the feast. She floats up and down the head table, refilling drinking horns, and casting a smile towards her companions. The second figure that draws the eye does so not because of any shining beauty, though he has his fair share. His long form is draped over a chair in the perfect picture of rakeish relaxation. Loki casts his intense and clever eyes around the room, looking as always for a source of mischief and fun. He is the god of mischief after all, as well as deceit and fire. He is Odin's blood brother, a bond formed many centuries ago at a secret event. Like many of the gods, he is related in some way to the Jotna, the Ice Giants. He is not evil or bad. Again, like the other gods, he contains multitudes, and cannot be said to be purely one thing or another. But he loves jokes, pranks, mischief, and chaos. Those are what prey on his mind this evening. From one of the lower tables comes a question about Thor's location this fine night. The question runs up and down the tables until it arrives in Odin's ear. Odin announces to the Horde that Thor is away this evening, but shall return in the morning. The warriors cheer at this response and call for a drink to be taken in Thor's name. The entire hall drinks to Thor, then to the beauty of Sith, and then to Thor again. By the time they are done, Loki can hardly contain himself. The idea for his next great prank has arrived, fully formed in his head. He can do nothing to hide the sly smile that creeps across his face. The next morning, there is a great clamoring and blowing of horns as Thor arrives back home. His arrival is first announced by Heimdall, his half-brother, and the watcher who guards the entrance to Asgard. By the time Thor arrives at his own abode, he is eager to see his wife. But to his surprise, Sith is not waiting for him as she usually does. Surely she knows he is coming home. She could hardly have ignored her horns and the noises that greeted him. He goes inside and finds a woman in a veil. Thor asks her where Sith can be found. The woman responds that she is Sith, but that he must not look at her again. Thor presses her for more information, desperate to find out what is wrong. Finally, Sith tells him that in the night, her lovely golden hair was cut. Sith is not angry or upset when she reveals this to Thor. She tells him that her beauty and joy are not dependent on her hair. She takes off her veil and finally reveals herself to him. Thor finds that he still looks upon the most beautiful being in the universe and they embrace. When they pull apart, Thor looks down at his wife and tells her that while she is still beautiful, it is not fitting to let such a deed go unpunished. He asks her who cut her hair. Sith replies that she does not know, for she went to sleep with golden locks and woke up with none. Thor has a suspicion as to who is responsible, but goes first to his father, seeking confirmation. Odin knows a great many things and it is his life's aim to accumulate knowledge. The ravens on his shoulders are called thought and memory. They fly around the Nine Wilds collecting information that they then whisper into Odin's ear. Surely he will know who cuts Sith's golden hair. Thor kneels by the throne of his father and asks him who did the deed. Odin, without even consulting his ravens, declares that no one in Asgard would do such a thing. However, memory leans over and croaks something in his ear, which stops Odin mid-sentence. Thor does not need to hear what the raven has said. He simply asks his father if Loki was the one to cut the hair. Odin nods. Thor goes to Loki's chambers immediately. He is calm when he tells Loki that he has one day to find a way to replace Sith's golden hair. Loki, who had rather been enjoying his little game this morning, complains that this is an impossible deed. With shining eyes, Thor simply tells Loki to get it done, before stomping back out of the door. Loki thinks and thinks. He doesn't like the idea of Thor holding a grudge against him, and immediately decides that he must remedy the situation. And so, he takes himself off to the world of the Dwarves. The old Norse words for Dwarves, Giants and Elves, don't exactly mean the same as they do today. For example, while the Yotna are often referred to as Ice Giants, they are not all large in stature. Some are tall, and some are the same size as the Aesir, the Norse gods. The same is true of the Dwarves. There is no evidence to show that they are any shorter than any other race or creature. They are, however, widely renowned as the best craftspeople. They know the secrets of craft and creation that escape even the gods. These are the people whom Loki has gone to see, knowing that he needs a truly incredible solution to his problem. The two best craftsmen in all of the Nine Wilds are the Dwarf brothers, Brokkr and Sindri. Loki makes his way to their workshop. It is as large as a cavern and lit by warm torchlight along the outer walls. There is a huge fireplace, as large as a room on its own. This is the incredibly hot forge that the brothers use to do their craft. All the other spaces in the cavern-like room are taken up by tables of tools and half-finished gadgets. The two brothers themselves are working at the forge. They are the perfect team. Brokkr uses his skill with magic and crafts to create the pieces. Brokkr uses his strength to pump the bellows and keep the fire as hot as possible for Sindri's creations. Loki enters the workshop, peering here and there at the tools and creations littered around the place. Brokkr notices that the way the god of mischief looks around seems almost impertinent. Finally, Loki comes to the brothers and bows low. He spends many minutes praising the incredible skill of the two dwarves, pointing out that not even the gods of Asgard can match them at craftwork. The brothers listen politely, waiting patiently to find out what Loki really wants. Eventually, Loki tells them about Sif's hair. Of course, he makes this sound like an accident and completely leaves himself out of the story. Still, he begs with real sincerity that the brothers help create something to bring back Sif's golden hair. The brothers think for a while. It is an intriguing challenge and it would certainly gain them even more fame. But they already have fame and wealth. The troubles of the Aesir are nothing to them. Why should they help? Quicker than quicksilver, Loki rebuts that if they do not think they can create anything, or that this might be too large of a challenge, they needn't worry. He can go elsewhere. Loki takes the bait and announces that not only will they create something to bring back Sif's hair, they will also make five other items that they will present to the gods themselves. Loki smiles to himself, proud that he has managed to get even more out of the deal through his own cleverness. The dwarves immediately get to work. Sindri begins by gathering materials and tools from around the cavern. Brokker, however, knows his job. He goes over to the huge bellows and begins to pump them. Each movement of the bellows is like the white hot flame of a dragon. With each push from Brokker, the coals in the fireplace become hotter, turning from orange to yellow to white. Sindri starts working, and Loki thinks that he will watch the dwarves to gain an understanding of their tricks of the trade. However, he soon grows bored and casts around for something to entertain him. He sidles over to Brokker, who is constantly pumping the bellows in a consistent rhythm. He has to be very steady at his task, for even the smallest change in the heat of the fire will affect the metals that Sindri works with. Loki asks Brokker if he ever gets tired. Brokker does not respond. He has focused solely on his task. He is also aware of Loki's reputation and will not give the god of mischief any reason to target him. However, he should have known that Loki doesn't need a reason to create mischief. When detained by Brokker's stoic determination to stick to his task, Loki decides to have some fun. He loudly proclaims that he is going outside for a walk, and will return when the gifts are finished. Once outside, Loki transforms himself into a fly, and returns. He flies around Brokker's ears and head, buzzing away. He does his best to get Brokker to swat at him. After the gift, the dwarf continues to pump the bellows, and pays him no notice. The longer Brokker resists, the more desperate and determined Loki becomes. Finally, the torment is too much, and Brokker removes one hand from the bellows to swat away the accursed fly. He hears his brother gasp in annoyance, but Brokker continues with the bellows, knowing that he cannot stop until Sindri tells him to. Loki, now back in his normal shape, saunters into the workshop, just as Sindri announces that he is finished. He comes over eagerly, but finds six bundles already wrapped in canvas. He sighs, disappointed that he doesn't get to see the gifts first. Together, the brothers and Loki travel across the Rainbow Bridge into Asgard. Sindri and Brokker have never crossed the bridge before. The shimmering colours of the rainbow seem to be nothing but mist. Yet when they place their feet on the bridge, it is as solid as stone. Loki leads the way, as the brothers marvel. By the time the party arrives in the Great Hall of Odin, all the residents of Asgard are gathered. The spirits of warriors stand with falqueries, elves and other dwarves in the hall. The shining gods mill about here and there. At the dais are Odin, Thor and Sif, awaiting the group. He skips up and stands on Odin's other side to present the dwarves. He proudly introduces them, claiming that they are the most skilled craftsmen in the Nine Wilds. He also reveals that they are the most dedicated, for when he turned himself into a fly to harass Brokker, the dwarf would not turn from his task. With such a resplendent introduction, the dwarves hardly know what to say. And so they remain quiet and let their work speak for itself. They lay out the six gifts along the dais. The first one is a headpiece made from pure gold. Sindri gestures to Sif, who approaches and allows the dwarf to place the creation on her head. It is more like a wick than a crown, and once it touches Sif's head, it seems to have always been there. Where before she had honey yellow hair, she now has a million strands of pure gold. No one doubted the beauty of Sif before, but now she has outshone even herself. Sif, with tears of joy in her eyes, embraces the dwarves and thanks them profusely. The gathered crowd bursts into applause. Sindri raises his hand for silence and announces that they have five more gifts for the residents of Asgard. Two of them are for Freya, the god of kingship, fertility and peace. She is the ruler of the elves and the twin brother of the goddess Freya. They present him with what seems like a small statue of a golden boar. It is incredibly beautiful and lifelike. Yet when Freya takes the small statue in his hand, it grows. The boar comes to life and becomes large enough for the tall Freya to ride. The boar will only obey Freya and can shrink back down to the size of the statue at will, so Freya can carry his mount around in his pocket. The second gift for Freya is a perfect model ship. Every detail is accurate. The dwarves show him how he can make this gift grow as well. It becomes as large as a real ship and can then be folded up to fit in a pocket. This is the fastest ship ever created and will never be beaten in a race. Freya is grateful for his gifts, promising to cherish them always. The cheer goes up from the crowd and this time the elves cheer loudest. They are proud to be able to take such incredible gifts back to their home wild of Alfheim, where the presence of such items will be a blessing beyond comparison. Now the dwarves move on to Odin. For the Allfather, they also have two gifts. The first is a great spear that will never miss its mark. This will become Odin's signature item in the millennia to come. The second is what appears to be a rather plain gold ring. Sindri explains that this ring will multiply itself eight times every eighth night, adding greatly to Odin's wealth and power. Odin is pleased by these kingly gifts and bows to the dwarves, which in and of itself is a great honor. The final item wrapped in cloth seems to glow with a white light. Both Loki and Thor have been eyeing it. The dwarves unveil a beautifully wrought hammer with a short handle. Sindri explains that although most hammers have long handles to be used with both hands, this one has a short handle due to a complication in the workshop. However, he goes on. This doesn't mean that the hammer is defective in any way. It is called myoneir and it harnesses the power of lightning. The dwarves gesture to Thor and tell him that this could only have been made for him. They inform him that when thrown, the hammer will always return to his hand. Loki looks around at everyone, smiling and thawning over their gifts. He turns to the dwarves to ask why he has been left out of the gift giving. Brokkar smiles and asks him what a fly could possibly do with a hammer or a ship. They laugh together, which is always reward enough for Loki. This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that Loki gets himself or others of the Aesir into trouble. But he always manages to get them back out again and leave the world changed for the better.