Ragnarök

Ragnarök is a Norse myth which describes the end of the world, at least as it currently exists. The myth is outlined in surprising detail in the Eddas.

Summary

Ragnarök will begin with Midgard suffering Fimbulwinter, a harsh winter that will last for three years. This will result in food scarcity that leads to a total breakdown in society. Some speculation in contemporary circles suggest this could be a nuclear winter. Others suggest it is due to climate change.

This will also be signaled by the crowing of three roosters: Gullinkambi, a golden rooster in Valhalla; Fjalar, a scarlet rooster in the woods of Gálgviðr in Jötunheim, the land of the Jötun; and an unnamed rust-red rooster in Helheim, the realm ruled by Hel.

Skoll and Hati, a pair of vicious wolves who chase Sol and Muni across the sky, will catch their prey and eat them. The stars will disappear, and Yggdrasil will shake, sending tremors throughout the cosmos.

Gleipnir will break, and Fenrir will run free, eating all in his path. Jörmungandr will rise from the depths of the seas, flooding the lands. The serpent will poison the land, sea and air with its venom.

Naglfar, a ship made of fingernails of the dead, will shake loose, and it will be captained by Loki, the god of chaos, who will also have broken free of his chains. The sky will split, and fire giants from Muspelheim, led by Surt, will cross the Bifrost to Asgard.

Heimdall will blow the Gjallarhorn to announce the attack, and Odin will consult the head of Mimir before calling the counsel. The gods will go to battle on the plains of Vigrid, though they all know who will live and who will die.

Odin will fight Fenrir with the host of the honored dead warriors, the einherjar. Fenrir will defeat them all. Vidar, Odin's son, will charge in anger and hold open Fenrir's mouth with a boot made from leather scraps collected from human shoemakers for eons for this purpose. Vidar will stab Fenrir in the throat with his sword, wounding the wolf.

Tyr, joining the fight, will battle Fenrir to the death, and they will kill each other. Heimdall and Loki will also fight each other to the death, both dying. Freyr and Surt will kill each other, as well. Thor will kill Jörmungandr, but the serpent's poison will kill Thor after he takes nine steps.

What is left of the Nine Worlds will sink into the sea, and all that remains will be the Void of Creation. After that, creation will begin anew, with a golden age lead by Baldr, Odin and Frigga's most beloved son, who had been killed by Hodr through Loki's trickery. A single man and a single woman will survive to bring humanity back into being.

Variations & Mutation

Older versions do not include the new world coming after, and many speculate that this is purely a result of the influence of other religions on the Norse beliefs. However, it is more likely that, since the prediction of Ragnarök was given to Odin, he simply did not "see" the re-creation of the world, as he would not be a part of that.

Since Mercy has confirmed that Ragnarök, like other mythological happenings, is intertwined with other religion's events, the re-creation was going to happen through another religion's beliefs, and the Norse Gods simply adjusted to accommodate (and take advantage of?) that.