Odin, Thor and Freyr decided that Brokk and Eitri

had crafted treasures at least as great as those wrought

by the Sons of Ivaldi, and Brokk had won his wager.
Loki tried to flee using his magic shoes that carried him
quickly over the air and seas, but Thor seized him out
of the air at Brokk’s swift request. Clever Loki then
thought of a loophole in the bet: He had promised the
two dwarves his head, but he never said anything about
his neck. Foiled by Loki’s sophistry, Brokk settled for
sewing Loki’s lips together.
dWarf names
Norse mythology supplies these names for
dwarves, some of whom appear in this or
other Scion books:
Ai, Alfrig, Althjolf, Alvis, Andvari, Aurvang,
Bafur, Bari, Bifur, Bombur, Brokk, Dain,
Dolgthvari, Dori, Duf, Durin, Dvalin,
Eikinskjaldi, Eitri, Fal, Fid, Fili, Frag, Frar,
Frosti, Fundin, Gandalf, Ginnar, Gloin, Har,
Heptifili, Hledjolf, Hornbori, Hugstari, Ingi,
Iri, Ivaldi, Jari, Kili, Lit, Loni, Modsognir,
Modvitnir, Nain, Nar, Nidi, Niping, Nori,
Nyi, Nyr, Nyrad, Oinn, Onar, Ori, Radsvid,
Rekk, Sindri, Skafinn, Skavid, Skirfir, Sviar,
Thekk, Thorin, Thrain, Thror, Uni, Vali, Var,
Vegdrasil, Vig, Vindalf, Virfir, Vit
loVe: freyr and
the Wooing of gerd
Odin does not let other Gods sit on his high seat of
Hlidskjalf. One day Freyr, the Vanir God of Prosperity,
broke that rule. While looking throughout the Nine
Worlds, he glimpsed the giantess Gerd entering the door
of her estate. As she reached for the door, brightness
radiated from her, illuminating both the sky and the
sea… and Freyr fell madly in love.
Freyr returned home with great sorrow. He had seen
the fairest of all women, and he desperately wanted her
for himself. He could think of nothing but Gerd’s beauty,
so much so that he would not speak, eat, drink or sleep.
None of the other Gods wanted to push Freyr about
his odd behavior, so Njord sent Freyr’s shield-man, Skirnir,
to learn why his son was pining away. Freyr revealed to
Skirnir that he had lost his heart to the beautiful Gerd
in one glimpse and would not live long if he could not
have her. Freyr offered to reward Skirnir handsomely if he
would go to Gerd, woo her on his behalf and bring Gerd
back to him—with or without her father’s approval.
Skirnir agreed to go on Freyr’s mission, but he asked
that Freyr give him his self-fighting sword as a gift for
doing so. (Not to mention to get him past all the dangers
he would face on his quest into Jotunheim.) Freyr gladly
did so, trading the sword to acquire the woman he
desired, not caring that he would lack the great weapon
when the Gods fought for their lives during Ragnarök.
Skirnir found his way to Gerd’s home, but wooing
her proved difficult. In the end, he had to threaten
Gerd with a curse that she would never know any love
but that of a hideous, three-headed giant of Helheim
if she refused Freyr’s proposal. Gerd finally agreed to
meet Freyr in the pine-forest of Barri. When she saw the
handsomest of the Vanir, she was as smitten with Freyr
as he was with her. Since then, they have been one of
the happiest couples in Asgard.
slaPstiCk: the
Marriage of skadi
Freyr wasn’t the only God to dally with a giantess, but
the myths tell of only one other marriage. After the death
of her father, Thjazi, the giant’s daughter Skadi came to
Asgard seeking revenge. Instead of fighting Skadi, the Aesir
offered to pay compensation. Skadi refused gold, for she had
inherited all the wealth she wanted from her grandfather, the
giant Olvaldi. Instead, she demanded that the Aesir relive
her grief by making her laugh and giving her a husband.
Loki undertook the first challenge. He tied one end
of a rope around his genitals and the other end to a
billy goat ’s beard. The goat, understandably, tried to
get away. When the rope between them tightened, the
goat bleated and Loki shrieked and gasped in pain. As
Skadi watched the goat try to get away without pulling
too hard on its beard, with Loki scrambling to keep up,
she cracked a smile. When the rope finally broke and
Loki pitched forward into her lap, Skadi laughed.
The Aesir also agreed to let Skadi marry one of them,
with one condition: She would have to choose her husband
only by looking at his feet. The Gods lined up behind a
curtain with only their bare feet showing. Skadi chose the
handsomest feet along the line, thinking she surely had
chosen the handsome young Baldur as her husband. Instead,
her choice gained her marriage to Njord, the elderly lord of
the Vanir. After the marriage, to further please Skadi, Odin
placed Thjazi’s eyes in the heavens, where they became stars.
The marriage didn’t work out. First the couple tried
living at Njord’s shipyard home of Noatun, but Skadi
disliked the damp and the sound of the waves and gulls.
Then they tried living in Skadi’s mountain fortress of
Thrymheim, but Njord disliked the cold and the howling
of the winds and wolves about the place. They agreed to
alternate, nine days each in Noatun and Thrymheim,
but Skadi spent more and more time in the cold, dark
mountains of Jotunheim, running on her snowshoes and
hunting the wolves and bears. At last, they agreed that the
marriage just didn’t work and separated permanently.
Skadi remained on good terms with the Aesir, though,
for after the death of Baldur she will set the snake that drops
poison on Loki’s face. The stories do not say how Skadi feels
about so torturing the God who once made her laugh.
taleS
of
the
godS