The Trickster

prologue

Trickster God

Judith Espedal

The Trickster

  The God of Fire and Thievery sat on a high lonely crag somewhere in Iceland. Below him a volcano that thrust through a glacier spewed lava and black smoke into a twilight sky. Lightning flashed within the lava spumes. Where the lava flow met the river of ice a hissing, a loud cracking, a sputtering could be heard. The view recalled that time when the primordial abyss first gave way to Muspelheim and Nilfheim, when fire and ice was all there was, and maybe in that place it was somehow true again.

  He sat on that dark projecting rock, brooding. His amber eyes glowed and flickered like embers. His bright red hair, blown by a cold wind, flared about his handsome face like flames. When he spoke out loud, though there was none to hear but himself, his voice hissed like the lava and ice below.

  “Someone is trying to trick the Trickster. Someone is framing me for a theft I did not commit.”

  Now Loki has committed many a theft, too many to tell of here. And the tricks he has played on others have been retold by many a poetic skald. But he did not care much for being the victim of someone else's trickery.

  “When I find out who is behind this, someone's head is going to roll.”

Reviews

[Bear]

Very intriguing story idea but I have a question, is this the same Loki from Norse mythology, the one who is part frost giant? I ask because In Norse mythology, Logi, Loge (Old Norse "fire") or Hálogi ("High Flame") is a fire giant, god and personification of fire, and wondered if you had mistook one for the other?

[J. Espedal]

It depends on which version of the myths you use. Many, including quite a few Asatru, now consider Loki a fire giant, not a frost giant and that is the version I have used. But yes there is a story of Loki vs. Logi in an eating contest where Loki is obviously not the fire giant.

[J. Espedal]

It was not a mistake, but a choice. It was simply more fun to consider him a fire giant.

[J. Espedal]

since Loki is always controversial I thought it appropriate to post some of my sources for this most complex of Norse gods. Note that all of these agree that he is both a giant and a Fire God. Best online source I found was a site called: Norse Mythology for Smart People. Books include: Myths of the Norsemen by H. A. Guerber (originally pub. in 1909 but is out in a new paperbook printing. We have one of the original ones and it is starting to get very fragile); Teutonic Religion by Kveldulf Gundarsson (love this one because he gives both Scandinavian and Germanic versions of the tales. Loki, however, is only found in the Scandinavian tales.); Gods and Heroes from Mythology by Brian Branston (a young adult version but very thorough in its retelling.)

[Nila M.]

Now I've started at the beginning. Great intro and I definitely feel an interesting story ahead. I love the mythology already in the beginning, and I was interested in the story begging in Iceland because I've been there. :)