Shattering of the Zenith

Summary

The goddess Rema had just returned to an outraged Ve after, in her attempt to attack Kuu (for alternative reasons), she had accidentally destroyed the sun god's current holy city of Solskinn. To get back into Ve's good graces (and since, in Ve's anger, he sequestered himself within Mount Erbon , causing winter to encroach on the world), Rema suggested that he instead claim the Cathach city of Estrymir (Contemporary Westhelm ).

To help with this, she held a smithing contest for the greatest giants in the land to come and test their worth to Ve himself. Three giants, greatest in their tribes, took up the challenge. From the south came the strong-willed fire giant Cinderhild, from the east the mystical stone giant Illsenstaad, and from the north the cunning frost giant Maarika. The giants were each given strongholds to work in, and while Cinderhild and Illsenstaad began making plans, creating casts, and gathering resources, Maarika had other ideas. While Cinderhild was in Niðavellir trying to obtain a mythical metal and Illsenstaad was out at sea, Maarika sent his ravens to slip past their guards and spy on their plans.

Once the frost giant learned of Cinderhild's plan to create a mace with immense power, he deemed it the superior artifact and chose to emulate its design. So, he began designing a flail with many major aspects stolen from the fire giants design. Instead of getting the Nidastál from the original plan, since he decided it was an impossible feat, he instead consulted the Czar of Hell to obtain a sum of Disien Steel .

When the time came to actually begin forging the items, each giant was brought to a separate forge within Mount Erbon and they began. Maarika sent a raven to torment Cinderhild during the contest, but his resolve was strong, and he only broke once to smash the raven against his head, causing some of the metal to be imperfect. Eventually, all three had finished their artifacts, and went to present them to Ve.

Illsenstaad presented the Sunheart Medallion, an emblem that could produce the cultivating and selflessness of the sun, and could even raise the dead. Next was Maarika, who presented a partially damascened bolas that could eternally imprison its victims and held the strength of lava and fire. Up last was Cinderhild, who presented a beautiful, fully damascened mace capable of vanquishing any foe and which held the power of the sun itself.

Cinderhild was proclaimed winner and Maarika last. Maarika, so stunned and outraged at the craftsmanship of the mace, stormed off to his mountain home and crafted great, regenerating chains of Disien Steel. He then went to Ve, resting in Mount Erbon, and bound him down the chains.

When the other gods saw this, they sent two heroes to strike him down for this heinous act, the warrior Oskari and the Valkyrie Rota. Armed with the Zenith and the Sunheart medallion, respectively, they set off for the giant. Maarika, seeing them coming, forged a set of armor designed to counter the artifacts using the plans he saw and the imperfection in the Zenith. When the heroes confronted them, they fought a battle of immense proportions as they struck at each other for seven days.

The earth shook with each blow, and eventually Oskari got a solid hit, caving the giant's head in. However, the armor's form shattered the mace and, with the massive power of the mace released, the world was sundered in two. Oskari died, but Rota was able to give up her own life to seal themselves with the mountain range, also shattering the medallion. With Maarika's last breath, he cursed Ve that he would return ever again to destroy the god for good.

The gods tried and tried to break the chains, but they remained steadfast. Ve was able to split off a piece of his essence to slip through the chains and once again take the role of the sun. Every 300 years, the chains are broken and Ve emerges in the form of a phoenix to fully ignite the sun and restore the world to its glory. However, when the phoenix completes its path and returns to the mountain, the chains grow over it and bind it for another 300 years. It is prophesied that, should evil threaten the life of the phoenix, Oskari and Rota will emerge from the mountain to reconstruct the artifacts and restore balance.

Commentary

-Written by archivist Gull

The blatantly evil characterization of Maarika and his frost giants has undoubtedly caused bias against their race within the common folk. Frost giants even use this story as an example of how terrible and wrong the southern people are.

In some versions of the myth, Maarika's servants are changed to be Remorhazes, but they are often called ravens for the sake of common knowledge.

"...and he only broke once to smash the raven against his head, causing some of the metal to be imperfect."

Cinderhild smashing the raven against his head is such a stirring image that it seems to have become a representation for a single, fatal flaw. A friend of mine is actually from a place where they cover one ear in blue feathers as atonement when they make a terrible mistake.

"...could produce the cultivating and selflessness of the sun, and could even raise the dead."

The power of the Sunheart medallion is probably glossed over so quickly because Ve might have already had those sorts of powers, but there is a regional myth where Illsenstaad gets into a fight with minor death god Orcus because of it.

"...with the massive power of the mace released, the world was sundered in two."

I suppose the mace shattering is their explanation for why exactly the Sundering happening, with "the world splitting in two" as a way of describing Thornhelm becoming cut off from the other realms. I guess its plausible.

"Ve was able to split off a piece of his essence to slip through the chains..."

There might actually be evidence that this explanation exists because some mad prophet saw a giant ooze splitting in two to fit through a gap and proclaimed it a divine message.

"Maarika, seeing them coming, forged a set of armor..."

I know he's the greatest smith of the frost giants, but crafting a full set of armor out of Disien steel that quickly seems ridiculous.

"...he instead consulted the Czar of Hell to obtain a sum of Disien steel."

This part seems a little jarring to me, as they're just really leaning into him being evil, having him literally make a deal with the devil, and I prefer when people change it to just be cold iron.