Muspelheim

And it-- this causes the Balrogs who've been hidden deep inside Angband to come to rescue their boss, and it's probably that's the only thing that saved his life.

Uh, and this, um, th-this image, if you want a bit of a Norse imagery, this is Surtr and the fire giants of Muspelheim riding out of the burning south at Ragnarok.

Like, this is fucking cool.

Uh, Tolkien never decided how many Balrogs there were.

Then spake Jafnhar, Ginnungagap, which faced toward the northern quarter, became filled with heaviness, and masses of ice and rime, and from within, drizzling rain and gusts.

But the southern part of the yawning void was lighted by those sparks and glowing masses which flew out of Muspelheim.

And Thridi said, Just as cold arose out of Niflheim and all terrible things, so also all that looked toward Muspelheim became hot and glowing.

But Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air, and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life was quickened from the yeast drops by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form.

And that man is called Ymir, but the rime giants call him Aurgelmir.

Then said Thridi, They took his skull also and made of it the heaven, and set it up over the earth with four corners, and under each corner they set a dwarf.

The names of these are East, West, North, and South.

Then they took the glowing embers and sparks that burst forth and had been cast out of Muspelheim, and set them in the midst of the yawning void, in the heaven, both above and below, to illumine heaven and earth.

This is cold and, and fluid.

And then in the deep south, you have, uh, Muspelheim, which is a f- fiery, uh, uh, region.

Mm.

Uh, and what is interesting is that no one who were, quote-unquote, "born there" can live there.

In the north there was Niflheim, the place of deadly cold.

In the south there was Muspelheim, the land of fire.

In Niflheim there was a cauldron called Hveigelmer that poured out twelve rivers that flowed into the chasm of chasms.

Ginnungagap, the chasm of chasms, filled up with ice, for the waters of the rivers froze as they poured into it.

From Muspelheim came clouds of fire that turned the ice into thick mists.

The mists fell down again in drops of dew, and from these drops were formed Ymir, the ancient giant.

Ymir, the ancient giant, traveled along by the twelve rivers until he came to where another living form was standing in the mists.

And out of Ymir's hollow skull they made the sky.

To the north, Niflheim, the abode of mist and snow and cloud and cold.

To the south, Muspel, where it is so hot and bright that it burns, and none may tread save those who have an heritage there.

The king of that land is Surtur, who guards the land with a flaming sword.

When the hot blasts from Muspel met the cold rime and frost that came out of Niflheim, the frost melted by the might of Surtur and became a great giant Ymir, the sire of all the frost giants.

But besides the giant, the ice drops as they melted formed a cow on whose milk Ymir fed, and as she licked the stones covered with rime, a man named Buri arose, who was the father of Odin and his brethren.

These are the Aesir or good gods, and between these and the frost giants war arose, till at last Ymir was slain and all his race but one.

His skull was raised aloft and the heavens were made of it.

The clouds are his brains.

And somewhere in

Muspelheim, a man with a hammer is feeling the heat.

Right there on page 52, Thor issue 803. by Al Ewing and Pascal Ferry.

Ooh.

Then spake Jafnhar, Ginnungagap, which faced toward the northern quarter, became filled with heaviness, and masses of ice and rime, and from within, drizzling rain and gusts.

But the southern part of the yawning void was lighted by those sparks and glowing masses which flew out of Muspelheim.

And Thridi said, Just as cold arose out of Niflheim and all terrible things, so also all that looked toward Muspelheim became hot and glowing.

But Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air, and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life was quickened from the yeast drops by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form.

And that man is called Ymir, but the rime giants call him Argelmir.

Then said Thridi, They took his skull also and made of it the heaven, and set it up over the earth with four corners, and under each corner they set a dwarf.

The names of these are East, West, North, and South.

Then they took the glowing embers and sparks that burst forth and had been cast out of Muspelheim, and set them in the midst of the yawning void, in the heaven, both above and below, to illumine heaven and earth.

When the rivers flowed no longer and the ice stood still, the vapor arising from the venom gathered over it and froze to rime, and in this manner were formed, in Ginnungagap, many layers of congealed vapor piled one over the other." "That part of Ginnungagap," added Djafna, "that lies towards the north was thus filled with heavy masses of gelid vapor and ice, whilst everywhere within were whirlwinds and fleeting mists.

But the southern part of Ginnungagap was lighted by the sparks and flakes that flew into it from Muspelheim." "Thus," continued Thridi, "whilst freezing cold and gathering gloom proceeded from Niflheim, that part of Ginnungagap looking towards Muspelheim was filled with glowing radiancy, the intervening space remaining calm and light as wind-still air.

And when the heated blast met the gelid vapor, it melted it into drops, and by the might of him who sent the heat these drops quickened into life and took a human semblance.

The being thus formed was named Ymir, but the frost giants call him Aurgelmir.

From his skull, continued Thridi, they formed the heavens which they placed over the earth and set a dwarf at the corner of each of the four quarters.

These dwarfs are called East, West, North, and South.

They afterwards took the wandering sparks and red-hot flakes that had been cast out of Muspelheim and placed them in the heavens both above and below to give light unto the world and assign to every other errant coruscation a prescribed locality and motion.

Hence it is recorded in ancient lore that from this time were marked out the days and nights and seasons.