Reforging Ragnarok

<center>Midgard is one of the nine realms unified by the world tree Yggdrasill.</center>\n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/WHEATON%281844%29_The_Cosmos_in_the_Norse_mythology.jpg/594px-WHEATON%281844%29_The_Cosmos_in_the_Norse_mythology.jpg">\n<center><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WHEATON(1844)_The_Cosmos_in_the_Norse_mythology.jpg">The Cosmos in the Norse mythology.</a>\n\n<center>But that is a story \n...[[for another time]]...</center>

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nBut no, there is a wind. A gentle caress of warmth from Muspelheim. The vapor drifts across the ice burdened gap. The sparks of fire swirl and crackle into their midst. \n\n<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_rime" target="_blank">Rime </a>and heat meet, and ice melts. A thawing can be seen.\n\n<img src="http://i.imgur.com/RUuWMzn.jpg">\n\nThe miasma drips and you feel a quickening of power. Your heart pounds in your chest. \n\nFrom the steaming drops of venomous rime, a man-shaped creature is rising.\n\n"[[Ymir]]," say the woman and Muninn at the same time. Their voices twining together with awe, disgust, and gravity.

You aren't sure how long you were out for, but when you finally come to, you find the elderly man's face about an inch from yours.\n\n<img src="http://www.satyyri.net/1/kuvat/7_odin.jpg">\n<a href="http://www.satyyri.net/1/sivu/07.php" target="_blank">\nGeorg von Rosen: Oden som vandringsman; 1886</a>\n\nStartled, you push away, scrambling backwards like a crab. He smirks and stands up straight. You notice for the first time that he's missing an eye. The cane he had been leaning heavily on has been replaced by a tall walking stick, its length carved with the same runes you saw back at the museum. Black feathers dangle from leather thongs tied about the tip.\n\n"Oh good. You're alive," he says dryly. You notice that the golden pendant is pinned to his chest, holding closed a cloak he wasn't wearing before. Seeing your gaze on it, he says, "[[Muninn]]." \n\n

You feel a bit of a thrill go through you, as the guide turns and beckons for your class to follow him into the museum. You've been wanting to see this exhibit for months, ever since it was announced and your teachers sent home the permission slips to be signed. \n\n"Some of you may be familiar with Vikings and the Norsemen," the guide says, leading you past exhibits you've seen at least a thousand times already. Far in the distance, a huge replica of a Viking longship looms next to a door at the end of the room. \n\nThe boat is wooden, with a dragon's head rising proudly from the bow, or front, of the ship.\n\nThe guide is giving a lecture on the difference between the modern interpretations of Vikings and the Norse gods. You hear him mention Thor, god of thunder, and star of many movies lately. \n\nDo you want to: \nA. [[Check out the Viking ship|Ship]]?\nB. [[Listen to the guide|Longhouse]]?

<<fsyoutube V__c19_ppbs>>\nFrom the north, vapor rises from the poisonous ice flow. To the south, the realm of fire spits embers and flares of burning heat. \n\nIn the center, Ginnungagap lies, still. [[Windless]].

<<set $sky to 1>>\nThe brothers continue their gruesome task. Together, they work to bear Ymir's skull up to the heavens, creating the dome of the sky. \n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Odin_and_his_brothers_create_the_world.jpg/444px-Odin_and_his_brothers_create_the_world.jpg">\n<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Odin_and_his_brothers_create_the_world.jpg">Odin and his two brothers create the world out of the body of Ymir.</a>\n\nWith great flickings of their wrists, they toss bits of the fallen giant's brains into the firmament, and white puffy clouds form.\n<<if $sunandstars is 0>>\n"What about the [[sun and stars]]?"\n<<else>>\n"The gods needed [[a home]]."\n<<endif>>

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why I'm here, and can I please go home now?"\n\n"Not yet," the god mutters darkly. He passes a hand over his face, then strokes it down his beard. He looks exhuasted, and incredibly old. Reluctantly, he adds, "I need you..."\n\n[["Aren't you like, a god, or something?"]]\n\n[["No way. Whatever you're messed up in, I want no part of it."]]\n\n[["I don't know what's going on, but I would be honored to help you."]]\n\n\n

You try to whirl about to face the speaker, then realize that she's right beside you. A woman of middle age, whose blonde braids are lined with streaks of silver, and woven with bits of metal. She's draped in a royal blue cloak that flutters gently by some unseen breeze. \n\nIn her hand, she holds <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wand" target="_blank">a long metal wand</a>, from which light is softly emminating. The glow glints off a huge, intricately detailed necklace of gold and gems that is draped from her neck and across most of her upper chest.\n\n"So he sent another to unlock his memories, did he?" She says, smirking. \n\n[["I didn't really have a choice."]]\n\n[["It is my honor to do so."]]

"I don't know what's going on, but I would be honored to help you."\n\nOdin is silent a moment, regarding you with his one eye. You feel like he's seeing through you. No--seeing into you. To the depths of who you are. To the well of your inner self. You see a faint smile tug at the corners of his lips.\n\n"When you touched the raven in the museum," he says, "you wrenched us both through space and time to this location. The raven can be used to travel again, but only backwards now. I have tried it myself, and keep ending up at the same point in time. However, try as I might, I am unable to remember what I see there. All turns to darkness and I am back here, with you."\n\n"Won't it do the same to me?" you ask, slightly nervous.\n\n"No," Odin replies, rising and leaning heavily on his staff. "It is [[my curse]]."

"The pendant," barks the elderly gentleman, pointing towards the fallen object. "Quickly!"\n\nWithout thinking, you lunge forward, your fingers wrapping around the item the thief has dropped. \n\nAs your hand settles around the raven-shaped pendant a great rushing sound fills your ears. Suddenly the ground is ripped out from beneath you, and you are falling.\n\nFrom somewhere far away above you, you hear an angry cry from the slender man, but it fades into the distance as you fall [[down and down and down...]]

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nAs you watch, the nine rivers of Niflheim begin to creep slowly across the void. A thin sheet of ice forms, then grows thicker as you watch. \n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Greenland-ice_sheet_hg.jpg/800px-Greenland-ice_sheet_hg.jpg">\n<center><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greenland-ice_sheet_hg.jpg" target="_blank"> ice sheet </a></center>\n\n[[Get a closer look]].\n\n[[Nah, you can see fine from here]].\n\n\n\n

<<set $ship to 1>>\n\n"The bow is the front of the ship," you say. \n\n"That's correct!" says a gravelly voice. The three of you look up to see an elderly gentleman peering at you from the other side of the dragon's proudly arched neck. The man has a long, well-kept, white beard, and long shaggy white hair that falls over one eye. "Ships like these were used by Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for many years to trade, explore, and fight wars."\n\n"Cool," Angela says. \n\n"Thanks," you say to the elderly man. "We should probably catch up with the [[guide|Longhouse]]." \n\n

<<set $popquiz to 0>>\n<<set $longhouse to 1>>\n"To your right is a small replica of a Viking meadhouse that has been recently discovered," the guide says. He gestures to a long table that has a model of a building on it. The building is long, with an arched roof. "Great kings would gather their followers in halls like these. The remains of this hall were found in Denmark. A famous meadhall that you may have heard about is Valhalla. This is the hall where Odin, an old Norse god, would hold feasts and gather the spirits of the dead warriors who were collected from battlefields by his valkyrie."\n<<if $ship is 1>>\n"[[Pop quiz!]]" Mrs. Doubleday chimes.\n<<else>>\nYou think you'd like to check the [[ship|Ship]] out now.\n<<endif>>\n

ShaeRossi

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\n"You are Odin," you breathe, not sure whether to believe it. \n\n"I am Odin. This much I remember," he says bitterly.\n\n"You forgot who you are?" you ask. Then suddenly you say, "Wait a minute. Where am I. What is going on? Did I just help you rob a museum?!"\n\n"Yes," he growls up at you from his ruined seat. "That is, no. You didn't rob a museum. I robbed a museum. Though it was my pendant all along. Yes, I have forgotten who I am. Or rather, my memories have been taken from me. You have helped get some of them back, by retrieving an aspect of my raven, Muninn. Every day I sent them forth to fly across all of Midgard; my two ebony feathered friends."\n\nFor a moment, your vision swims, and before you is no longer the broken and decrepit husk of an old man. He grows in size and grandeur, until you feel like you're standing before a tornado, or an earthquake. This is no mere person before you.\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Odin%2C_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg/511px-Odin%2C_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg">\n<center><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huginn_and_Muninn#/media/File:Odin,_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg" target="_blank">Odin enthroned and holding his spear Gungnir, flanked by his ravens Huginn and Muninn and wolves Geri and Freki (1882) by Carl Emil Doepler.</a></center>\n\n"I always feared Huginn, my thoughts, would drift away and be lost," the ancient god tells you, gazing into the distance at something. You turn to look, but there's nothing there, and when you look at him again, he's hunched over once more, clutching his staff with one gnarled hand and absently caressing the golden pendant with the other. \n\n"I feared more so that Muninn, my memory, would not return. This much I remember, and this is what appears to have [[come to pass]]."\n\n

"I have been trapped like this for a long time. On this world, in this time. I don't know for how long. Time slips on me. Places slip by on me. I have trouble focusing at times. I began to suspect who I was a few years ago. Over the years, I've tried to read, watch movies, listen to tales... Nothing works. I will have moments of remembering, and knowing... and then it all slips away again. I know who I am, without remembering it."\n\nHe pauses and gently touches his pendant. Sunlight streams down through holes in the ruined roof, and for a moment the light catches on the golden raven and glints. He walks a few feet away, staring up at the crumbling ceiling. \n\n"I met an old woman who knew me. She laughed at my condition, and told me to go to the museum. It was she who told me about the raven, and it was she who told me that another would have to bring the raven back, collect my memories, and return them to me."\n\nOdin looks at you now, his gaze heavy. "You are [[trapped here]] with me, I'm afraid." \n

Now we're talking! This side of the room holds replicas of helmets, swords, and bits of armor. You dutifully check off items on your treasure hunt sheet and take notes. \n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Sutton_Hoo_helmet_reconstructed.jpg/361px-Sutton_Hoo_helmet_reconstructed.jpg">\n<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sutton_Hoo_helmet_reconstructed.jpg" target="_blank">Replica of the helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship-burial 1, England.</a>\n\nDo you want to go to the [[left|left]] side, or the [[far side|far side]] of the room?

The slender man stands over his fallen foe, gloating for a moment. He hand closes around his purloined item and a strange light seems to come into his eyes. \n\n "You will never regain your memories brother," he hisses at the fallen man. With a toss of his head, he throws back his hair and spins towards you.\n\nQuickly, you spring into action, jutting out your foot as he speeds by. \n\nYou see the slender man's eyes open wide in shock as his feet tangle up on yours. Unable to check his hasty stride, he tumbles forward. \n\nAs he falls to the ground, from his hands slips a small [[golden object]].

<<set $ship to 1>>\n\n"The bow is the back of the ship," you say. \n\n"Not so," says a gravelly voice. "The bow is the front of the ship."\n\nThe three of you look up to see an elderly gentleman peering at you from the other side of the dragon's proudly arched neck. The man has a long, well-kept, white beard, and long shaggy white hair that falls over one eye. "Ships like these were used by Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for many years to trade, explore, and fight wars."\n\n"Cool," Angela says. \n\n<<if $longhouse is 1>>\n"Thanks," you say to the elderly man.\n\n"[[Pop quiz!]]" Mrs. Doubleday chimes.\n<<else>>\n"Thanks," you say to the elderly man. "We should probably catch up with the [[guide|Longhouse]]." \n<<endif>>\n

<<set $popquiz to 2>>\n"Is Odin's hall called Upsalla?" you ask. \n\n"Nope, sorry! Uppsala is a city in Sweden."\n\n[[Try again.|Pop quiz!]]\n\n

<<set $sky to 0>>\n<<set $sunandstars to 0>>\nAs you watch, Odin and his two brothers all take hold of Ymir's body and drag it into the void. \n\n<<replace "From his flesh they crafted the earth...">> <<replace "From his flesh they crafted the earth...\nFrom his bones the mountains span, and from his molars are the stones...">> <<replace "From his flesh they crafted the earth...\nFrom his bones the mountains span, and from his molars are the stones...From tangled masses of his hair, grew forests full of trees...">><<replace "From his flesh they crafted the earth...\nFrom his bones the mountains span, and from his molars are the stones...From tangled masses of his hair, grew forests full of trees...See how the oceans and seas of his blood encompass the earth.">>\n\nFrom his flesh they crafted the earth...\nFrom his bones the mountains span, and from his molars are the stones...\nFrom tangled masses of his hair, grew forests full of trees...\nSee how the oceans and seas of his blood encompass the earth.\n\n"What about the [[sky]]?"\n"What about the [[sun and stars]]?"\n<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>\n

<<if $door < 3>>\n<<set $door to $door + 1>>\nYou step through the door and into the firepit. Cursing, you climb out, pick your feet up and stomp them, sending little puffs of ash into the air. \n\nYou know you went through the hole in the wall, but as soon as you did, you landed in the firepit!\n\n[[Walk out the hole]].\n<<else if $door >= 3>>\nYou step through the door and into the firepit. Cursing, you climb out, pick your feet up and stomp them, sending little puffs of ash into the air. \n\n"I appear to be trapped here," you say, glowering.\n\n"We both are," he says, his smirk apparent even in the dim lighting. "Are you ready to help me yet?"\n\n[[Fine.]]\n<<endif>>

You weigh his words carefully. \n\nDo you:\n\n[[Try to leave the hall. Forget this crazy old dude.]]\n\n[[Stand up straighter and tell the ancient god that he can count on you.]]\n

You inch around the two men, trying to give them wide bearth. You're just passing the runestone when from the corner of your eye you see the slender man bring his fist down on the top of one of the display cases. The glass [[shatters]] under his assault!

<<set $sunandstars to 0>>\n"The sun did not know where her home should be\nThe moon knew not his power or might\nNo knowledge had the stars of their rightful places." \n\nAs the seeress chanted, the three gods travel in great strides to Muspelheim. Once there, they dip their hands into the fiery waves. They snatch sparks from the air, until their hands glow with the contained heat and light. \n\nThen they return to Ginnungagap and place the sparks in the sky and below the disc of the earth.\n\n"Some they fixed in place, some they set in motion," the völva says. \n<<if $sky is 0>>\n"What about the [[sky]]?"\n<<else>>\nThe gods needed [[a home]].\n<<endif>>

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/Jsy54E7.jpg" width="900" height="600" >\n\n<center>The <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deluge" target="_blank">deluge</a> washes over [[everything you can see]]. </center>

As you watch, the three brother rise up against Ymir. The battle is long and terrible, and when it's over, Ymir has fallen. The huge giant, born from venomous poison, lies dead. \n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Ymir_gets_killed_by_Froelich.jpg/510px-Ymir_gets_killed_by_Froelich.jpg">\n<center><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ymir_gets_killed_by_Froelich.jpg">Ymir gets himself killed by Odin and his brothers.</a></center>\n\nFrom his wounds, [[rivers of blood]] begin to gush forth.

That is incorrect. Odin was the god who, with his brothers, defeated Ymir to create Midgard.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 2]]

That is incorrect. In the beginning there was Ginnungagap, the great yawning void.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 4]]

That is incorrect. Hugin and Muninn are Odin's two ravens.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 3]]

<<set $door to 0>>\n"This is crazy. I'm out of here," you say. You spin neatly on your heel and head for a hole in the wall across the room from you. \n\nWithout a backwards glance, you make your way across the hall, stepping over broken beams and piles of wood. You cross through ashes in the center of the room, and realize you've walked through the remains of a long firepit that ran down the center of the hall. Muttering at your soot covered shoes, you climb out of the firepit and make your way to opening. \n\n[[Walk out the hole]].

"We've seen enough for now," Muninn says. "Let's bring these memories back to Odin."\n\n[[I'm ready. Let's do this.|Back to Odin]]\n[[Finally! Let's get this over with.|Back to Odin]]\n[[I'm not ready. I want to start this memory over.|The Void]]

<<set $points to $points +1>>\nThat is correct! In the beginning there was Ginnungagap, the great yawning void.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 4]]

<<set $points to 1>>\nThat's correct! Odin was the god who, with his brothers, defeated Ymir to create Midgard.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 2]]\n

<<set $points to $points +1>>\nCorrect! In the north was vapor and poisonous ice flow. To the south, were embers and flares of burning heat. \n\n[[End Chapter 1]]

<<set $points to $points +3>>\nThat's correct! \n\nWhen Ymir died, rivers of blood poured forth and drowned almost all of the frost giants. Odin and his brothers made clouds from his brains, and trees were created from his hair.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 6]]

<<set $points to $points +1>>\nThat is correct! Odin's grandfather Buri was licked free from the rime by the great cow.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 5]]

<<set $mist to 0>>\n<<set $fire to 0>>\nYou feel yourself suddenly wrenched backwards, away from the nothing. Though your surroundings don't seem to change, you still are aware of your movement. It's like you're zooming out with your consciousness. \n\nAnd you begin to realize, the void, the nothingness, the gap is between two realms. \n\nTo the north is [[mist]].\n\nTo the south is [[fire]].

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\n"No," he says. "I am Odin. This much I remember."\n\n"You forgot who you are?" you ask. Then suddenly you say, "Wait a minute. Where am I. What is going on? Did I just help you rob a museum?!"\n\n"Yes," he growls up at you from his ruined seat. "That is, no. You didn't rob a museum. I robbed a museum. Though it was my pendant all along. Yes, I have forgotten who I am. Or rather, my memories have been taken from me. You have helped get some of them back, by retrieving an aspect of my raven, Muninn. Every day I sent them forth to fly across all of Midgard; my two ebony feathered friends."\n\nFor a moment, your vision swims, and before you is no longer the broken and decrepit husk of an old man. He grows in size and grandeur, until you feel like you're standing before a tornado, or an earthquake. This is no mere person before you.\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Odin%2C_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg/511px-Odin%2C_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg">\n <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huginn_and_Muninn#/media/File:Odin,_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg" target="_blank">Odin enthroned and holding his spear Gungnir, flanked by his ravens Huginn\n and Muninn and wolves Geri and Freki (1882) by Carl Emil Doepler. </a>\n\n"I always feared Huginn, my thoughts, would drift away and be lost," the ancient god tells you, gazing into the distance at something. You turn to look, but there's nothing there, and when you look at him again, he's hunched over once more, clutching his staff with one gnarled hand and absently caressing the golden pendant with the other. \n\n"I feared more so that Muninn, my memory, would not return. This much I remember, and this is what appears to have [[come to pass]]."

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"Is Odin's hall called Valhalla?" you ask. \n\n"That's [[correct|Guide]]!" Mrs. Doubleday says.

"See there, that god," the woman says. "He is fine of features and strong. Buri's son Bor had a giantess wife named Bestla. To this couple were born three sons: The first of these sons is Odin, then was born Vili, and lastly came Ve."\n\n"Here's where it gets [[really interesting]]," Muninn says. Something in his voice makes you furrow your brow and take heed more closely.

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/91nWgJZ.png?"> \n\n<center>[[Click to Begin|The Museum]]</center>

She looks you up and down briefly, her eyes lingering on the raven pendant.\n\n"I see he followed my advice and went to the museum," she says. "I see that you have Muninn."\n\n<img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3027/2806345746_e4bab05d03_o.jpg">\n\nYou touch your hand gently to the golden raven.\n\n"You have come seeking Odin's memories," she says, still smirking. "I'd say you've come to the right place, but it's more that you've come to the right time. Perhaps I will help you."\n\n[[Actually, I'm sort of busy right now, floating around in a void of nothingness...]]\n\n[[Thank you, I would appreciate the assistance.]]

As you approach, you catch parts of the conversation between the elderly man and his companion. They're talking hurridly, with hushed tones, but you catch a few words.\n\n"Had your chance..." the slender man is saying to the bearded man. \n\n"...Ragnarok..mmffkjfff...Yggdrasil..." the older man murmurs.\n\n"The giants WILL rise again!" the slender man suddenly exclaims, and as he does so, he brings his fist down strongly on the top of the display case next to him. \n\nThe glass case [[shatters|shatters]] under his assault! \n

<<set $mist to 1>>\n<<fsyoutube Y5M1FhO2VHI>>\nYou turn your gaze towards the north, and instantly shiver. The realm is made up of ice, save for nine rivers that burrow like worms, leaving deep chasms in the ice. Movement catches your eye, and squinting, you see humanoid figures striding upon the frozen wastes. After a moment, you realize that given the distance, the creatures are so massive that you can barely process something that large being alive. Giants are roaming the icy plains.\n<<if $fire is 0>>\n"Niflheim," another voice says. You look around wildly. The woman next to you is looking into the distance, watching the mist rise from the icy realm. \n\n"Who - who said that?" you ask. The cloaked woman turns her face towards you and chuckles.\n\n"Finally decided to speak up, Muninn?" she says, tapping your pendant gently with her staff.\n\n"Well you weren't exactly being forthcoming," the raven's voice says dryly. You look at the pendant, but see no movement. It's more like you heard his voice in your head!\n\nYou turn your gaze towards the [[fire]].\n<<else if $fire is 1>>\n"Niflheim," Muninn says. \n\nYou turn your gaze towards the [[void]].\n<<endif>>

"Aren't you like, a god, or something?" you ask, frustrated. "Can't you just fix things yourself?"\n\nOdin is silent a moment, then you hear something terrible. The sound of bitter laughter bubbling up within an angry god's chest. Your mouth suddenly dry, you back away, and try to swallow.\n\n"Were that I could, young one," he says darkly. "When you touched the raven in the museum, you wrenched us both through space and time to this location. The raven can be used to travel again, but only backwards now. I have tried it myself, and keep ending up at the same point in time. However, try as I might, I am unable to remember what I see there. All turns to darkness and I am back here, with you."\n\n"Great," you say. "Won't it do the same to me?"\n\n"No," Odin replies, rising and leaning heavily on his staff. "It is [[my curse]]."

Reforging Ragnarok

You feel a bit of a wrenching, and the next thing you know, you're watching three grown men.. but no.. they aren't men. You can tell even as far removed as you are. Power emmanates from them, washing over you in waves that make your knees turn to water. \n\n"There was [[no love]] between the giants and Odin's kind, the Æsir," the seeress says. \n\n

She looks you up and down briefly, her eyes narrowing, and then lingering on the raven pendant.\n\n"I see he followed my advice and went to the museum," she says. "I see that you have Muninn."\n\n<img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3027/2806345746_e4bab05d03_o.jpg">\n\nYou touch your hand gently to the golden raven.\n\n"You have come seeking Odin's memories," she says, still smirking. "I'd say you've come to the right place, but it's more that you've come to the right time. Perhaps I will help you."\n\n[[Actually, I'm sort of busy right now, floating around in a void of nothingness...]]\n\n[[Thank you, I would appreciate the assistance.]]\n\n

In the ---- was vapor and poisonous ice flow. To the ----, were embers and flares of burning heat. \n\nA.\t[[north, south|YesQ6]]\nB.\t[[south, north|NoQ6]]\nC.\t[[east, west|NoQ6]]\nD.\t[[west, east|NoQ6]]

How was Odin's grandfather, Buri, born?\n\nA.\t[[He was licked from the rime by the great cow|YesQ4]]\nB.\t[[He was formed when sparks from the realm of fire met vapor from the realm of mist|NoQ4]]\nC.\t[[He was the guardian of the realm of fire|NoQ4]]\nD.\t[[He rose from steaming drops of venomous rime|NoQ4]]

What happened when Ymir died?\n\nA.\t[[Rivers of blood poured forth and drowned almost all of the frost giants|PartialQ5]]\nB.\t[[Odin and his brothers made clouds from his brains|PartialQ5]]\nC.\t[[Trees were created from his hair|PartialQ5]]\nD.\t[[All of the above|YesQ5]]

What is the name of Odin's raven that stood for his memory?\n\nA. [[Ymir|NopeQ2]]\nB. [[Volva|NopeQ2]]\nC. [[Muninn|MuninnQ2]]\nD. [[Mudspelhiem|NopeQ2]]

In the beginning, was a great, yawning void called:\n\nA.\t[[Mudspelheim|NopeQ3]]\nB.\t[[Niflheim|NopeQ3]]\nC.\t[[Ginnungagap|YesQ3]]\nD.\t[[Midgard|NopeQ3]]

<<set $points to 0>>\nWho is the one-eyed god who, with his brothers, formed the world?\n\nA. [[Odin|YesQ1]]\nB. [[Muninn|NopeQ1]]\nC. [[Ymir|NopeQ1]]\nD. [[Volva|NopeQ1]]

You make your way to the far side of the room, checking off items from your treasure hunt as you go. You pass a replica of a large stone, with carved symbols snaking about its surface that you recognize as runes.\n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Eg%C3%A5_runestone_II.JPG/360px-Eg%C3%A5_runestone_II.JPG">\n<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eg%C3%A5_runestone_II.JPG" target="_blank"> The Egå runestone, found in eastern Jutland, Denmark. Now located in the National Museum of Copenhagen. </a>\n\nThe far wall is lined with glass display cases, full of golden brooches, metal cloak pins, a ring with large keys on it, beads and belt buckles. \n\nYou start from the left side and work your way across. When you're about halfway across the back wall, you recognize the elderly gentleman from before.\n\nHe seems to be having a heated discussion with a slender man.\n\nDo you want to: \n[[inch closer towards the heated discussion|heated]], \nor \n[[circle a bit more widely around to give them space|space]].

"Okay, fine. What do I have to do," you growl.\n\n"Not much," Odin says dryly. "Just go back and witness the creation of my Universe."\n\n"Oh. Is that all?" you say, blinking. \n\nHe unclasps Muninn from his chest and comes over to you. Gently, he pins the raven pendant above your heart, then steps back. \n\n"Good luck, young one," you hear him say. But that rushing is filling your ears again, and you're spinning...\n\n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/NGC_4414_%28NASA-med%29.jpg/726px-NGC_4414_%28NASA-med%29.jpg">\n\n<center>... [[down and down|The Void]] once more.</center>

<<set $fire to 1>>\n<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nSquinting your eyes at the light, you look south, and it's like looking into the sun. \n\n<img src="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0606/sun2_trace.jpg">\n\n<center><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060611.html" target="_blank">sunloops in ultraviolet</a></center>\n\nYou shield your eyes from the brightness, and as they grow used to the glare, you notice a man-shaped outline. A huge creature, standing guard, with a flaming sword. You swallow and send silent thanks that you're so far away.\n<<if $mist is 0>>\n"Muspelheim," another voice says. "The realm of fire."\n\nYou look around wildly. The woman next to you is gazing into the distance, watching the flames. The voice didn't sound a thing like hers.\n\n"Who - who said that?" you ask. The cloaked woman turns her face towards you and chuckles.\n\n"Finally decided to speak up, Muninn?" she says, tapping your pendant gently with her staff.\n\n"Well you weren't exactly being forthcoming," the raven's voice say dryly. You look at the pendant, but see no movement. It's more like you heard his voice in your head!\n\nYou turn your gaze towards the [[mist]].\n\n<<else if $mist is 1>>\n"Muspelheim," Muninn says. "The realm of fire."\n\nYou turn your gaze towards the [[void]].\n<<endif>>

<<set $popquiz to 3>>\n"Is Odin's hall called Denmark?" you ask. \n\n"Nope, sorry! Denmark is a country in Northern Europe."\n\n[[Try again|Pop quiz!]]\n

"Quiet, child of Heimdall," she says. "Give to me your attention, and I will tell you old tales that I remember of long ago."\n\n<center>\nLong, long ago did Ymir, live.\nThere was no sand. Nor were there oceans full of icy waves.\nThere was no earth. Sky there was not.\nThere was only [[Ginnungagap]], the great void. \nChaos only. \nGreen grasses were nowhere to be found."\n</center>

<<fsyoutube lvYpzkQ9qkw>>\n\n"Muninn?" you think. Your mind races back over stories you've read, movies you've seen. Before you can place the name, he speaks again.\n\n"Memory." The elderly gentleman offers you a hand, and you take it and stand up. For the first time, you look around. You are standing in the ruins of a wooden structure. Its massiveness overwhelms you. The only building that you can think of that would be this big would house airplanes. Lots of airplanes. Seeing your gaze, he waves a hand around, saying, "It used to be quite posh. Parties every night. The wooden beams were golden, and shone in the sun. There were never too many to feed, there was boar every night, and mead that kings could only dream to taste." \n\nHe pauses and sits down wearily on bench that has been half crushed. It teeters as he lowers himself on to it, then steadies.\n\n"Or so I have heard."\n\n"I know who you are," you say, hesitating. \n\nA. You are the god [[Thor|NotOdin]].\nB. You are the god [[Loki|NotOdin]].\nC. You are the god [[Odin]].\nD. [[I have no actual idea.|NotOdin]]

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nYou leap towards the old man, and manage to break his fall. The two of you tumble to the ground together.\n\nThe slender man stands over his fallen foe, gloating for a moment. He hand closes around his purloined item and a strange light seems to come into his eyes. \n\n "You will never regain your memories brother," he hisses at the fallen man. With a toss of his head, he throws back his hair and spins away from you.\n\nQuickly, you sweep your foot out.\n\nYou see the slender man's eyes open wide in shock as his feet tangle with yours. Unable to check his hasty stride, he crashes downwards. \n\nAs he falls to the ground, from his hands slips a small [[golden object]].

"Let's go into the exhibit!" the guide says. \n\nHe leads the class through the double doors, past the longship, and into the main exhibit hall. \n\n"Feel free to explore," your teacher, Mrs. Doubleday says. "Make sure you're taking notes, and that you are reading the informational signs next to the displays. Don't forget the treasure hunt!"\n\nThe class breaks into teams and pairs. Usually, you'd team up with Greg and Isidora, but they're both home sick today with the flu, which leaves you on your own. You take a moment to miss their constant joking, and then realize how great it's going to be to explore at your own pace. \n\nYou reach into your bag and pull out a small notebook and the paper with the list of items you're supposed to find at the exhibit. \n\nDo you want to start to your [[left]], your [[right]], or on the [[far side]] of the room?

<<set $points to $points +1>>\nThat is correct! Huginn and Muninn are Odin's two ravens.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 3]]

"He just, hangs out in the nothingness?" you ask, watching the giant stroll through the void. "Is he alive? Doesn't he have to eat or drink?"\n\n"Look closer," the woman says, pointing at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_rime" target="_blank">rime</a>. \n\nAs you watch, the ice melts again, and a huge cow springs forth.\n\n"From her, does Ymir gain nourishment. Look! See how four rivers of milk flow from Auðumbla, the great cow."\n\n"Okay," you say. "So [[what about the cow]], then. What does she eat?"\n\n

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nThe old man teeters, pinwheeling his arms, and then falls backwards. The slender man scoops something out of the case, and turns to flee the room. You, however, are standing in the way.\n\nDo you [[knock over the runestone]]?\n\nDo you [[throw your bag at him]]?\n\nDo you [[try to trip him as he runs past]]?

"What are they doing now?" you ask. \n\n"Most of the frost giants drowned when Ymir's blood rushed over everything," Muninn says. "But not all. One small family got away. From them, the race was replenished, so the gods realized they needed someplace safe."\n\nAs you watch, the three brothers drag Ymir's eyelashes to the center of the disc and create a fortification with it, exiling the giants to the edges of the land.\n\n"This fortification they called [[Midgard]]," Muninn says.

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<<set $points to $points +1>>\nPartially correct! The answer was "All of the above."\n\nWhen Ymir died, rivers of blood poured forth and drowned almost all of the frost giants. Odin and his brothers made clouds from his brains, and trees were created from his hair.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 6]]

"The rime is salty," says the woman.\n\nAs you watch, the cow leans down and begins to lick the rime.\n\n"We don't have time for this, [[völva]]," Muninn says. "Let's speed up the process shall we?"\n\n<<replace "On the evening of the first day, she licked until a man's hair showed.">> <<replace "On the second day there was a man's head.">><<replace "On the third day there was an entire man.">>"His name was [[Buri]]." <<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<print $points>>/8\nCongratulations! You're done! The number above is your points. \n\nThank you for playing!\n\n[[Play again|The Museum]]

"What do I have to do," you ask.\n\n"Not much," Odin says, smiling. "Just go back and witness the creation of my Universe."\n\n"Oh. Is that all?" you say, blinking. \n\nChuckling, he unclasps Muninn from his chest and comes over to you. Gently, he pins the raven pendant above your heart, then steps back. \n\n"Good luck, young one," you hear him say. But that rushing is filling your ears again, and you're spinning...\n\n\n<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/NGC_4414_%28NASA-med%29.jpg/726px-NGC_4414_%28NASA-med%29.jpg">\n\n<center>... [[down and down|The Void]] once more.</center>

"Welcome to the Museum of History!" the guide says, greeting your class as you all exit the bus. You adjust your backpack and climb down the stairs to join the milling crowd. \n\n"Do you think there'll be mummies?" You hear Angela ask Mei.\n\n"Oh my gosh, I hope so!" Mei says excitedly. \n\nYou've been to this museum many times, and you know that there aren't any mummies. Mummies would be exciting, you admit, but there haven't been mummies here for a few years, when they came through with a touring Egyptian exhibit. That show was great, with relics from tombs, pieces of gold jewlery, and two mummies!\n\nYou're even more excited about the current show, though. \n\n"You're the first class to take the tour of our new exhibit!" the guide says. [["Vikings!"|vikings]]\n\n\n\n\n

The slender man stands over his fallen foe, gloating for a moment. He hand closes around his purloined item and a strange light seems to come into his eyes. \n\n "You will never regain your memories brother," he hisses at the fallen man. With a toss of his head, he throws back his hair and spins towards you.\n\nQuickly, you spring into action, leaping behind the runestone and pushing it over. The large, fake, rock resists a moment, then tumbles forward. You can feel that it's probably made of something like styrofoam, but it still surprises the thief. \n\nYou see the slender man's eyes open wide in shock as the rock crashes down in front of him. Unable to check his hasty stride, he tumbles forward. \n\nAs he crashes over the stone, from his hands slips a small [[golden object]].

"Your silence, then," she says. "Give to me your attention, and I will tell you old tales that I remember of long ago.\n<center>\nLong, long ago did Ymir, live.\nThere was no sand. Nor were there oceans full of icy waves.\nThere was no earth. Sky there was not.\nThere was only [[Ginnungagap]], the great void. \nChaos only. \nGreen grasses were nowhere to be found."\n</center>

<<set $popquiz = 1>>\n"Is Odin's hall called Valkyrie?" you ask. \n\n"Nope, sorry! In Norse mythology, Valkyrie were women who had the power to choose who lived or died in battle."\n\n[[Try again.|Pop quiz!]]\n\n

"Back you go," the seeress says. She passes her wand through the air, in the shape of an angular R. As you watch, the völva's wand leaves a trail of blue fire in the air.\n\n<center><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9v9a26E.jpg"></center>\n\n"Raidho," Muninn says. "The rune for travel."\n\nYou suddenly feel that same wrenching again. The floor you weren't standing on is yanked out from under you, and a pulling sensation makes your stomach flip-flop.\n\nA few seconds later, you are standing before Odin again. He looks surprised to see you.\n\n"Well?" he says, leaning heavily on his staff and coming to greet you. "Did you learn anything?"\n\n[[Absolutely!|Question 1]]\n[[No. Send me back to that memory again.|The Void]]\n[[Yes. You and your brothers need therapy. You killed your great-grandfather.|Question 1]]

The slender man stands over his fallen foe, gloating for a moment. He hand closes around his purloined item and a strange light seems to come into his eyes. \n\n "You will never regain your memories brother," he hisses at the fallen man. With a toss of his head, he throws back his hair and spins towards you.\n\nQuickly, you spring into action, pulling your bag from your back and tossing it at the man's feet.\n\nYou see the slender man's eyes open wide in shock as his feet tangle in the straps of your bag. Unable to check his hasty stride, he tumbles forward. \n\nAs he falls to the ground, from his hands slips a small [[golden object]].

<<fsyoutube SvcpaZ66Wzk>>\n\nYou watch, mouth agape, as the slender man reaches into the glass case with one hand, and forcefully shoves the elderly man backwards with another. \n\nDo you [[try to catch the elderly man]]?\n\nDo you [[try to stop the slender man]]?

<<fsyoutube_stop>>\nYou start to move closer, but the woman stays you, laying her staff across your chest.\n\n"Go not closer," Muninn says. "The rivers and their rime, their frost, their ice, are all poison."\n\n"Uh, thanks," you say. \n\nAs you watch, the rivers flow forth, coating Ginnungagap with their ice. As the toxic streams get further from their sources, they harden to thick ice and eventually stop flowing.\n\nYou can almost see the weight of it all causing a sagging in Ginnungagap as the void is borne down under the crush of the ice.\n\nFrom the ice, a vapour is rising.\n\nSuddenly you see [[sparks]]!

<<if $popquiz is 0>>\n"What is the name of the hall where Odin's warriors gathered?" Mrs. Doubleday asks.\n\nA. [[Upsalla]]\nB. [[Valhalla]]\nC. [[Denmark]]\nD. [[Valkyrie]]\nE. I already forgot, let me [[go back|Longhouse]].\n<<endif>>\n<<else>>\n<<if $popquiz is 1>>\n"What is the name of the hall where Odin's warriors gathered?" Mrs. Doubleday asks.\n\nA. [[Upsalla]]\nB. [[Valhalla]]\nC. [[Denmark]]\nD. I already forgot, let me [[go back|Longhouse]].\n<<endif>>\n<<if $popquiz is 2>>\n"What is the name of the hall where Odin's warriors gathered?" Mrs. Doubleday asks.\n\nA. [[Valhalla]]\nB. [[Denmark]]\nC. [[Valkyrie]]\nD. I already forgot, let me [[go back|Longhouse]].\n<<endif>>\n<<else>>\n<<if $popquiz is 3>>\n"What is the name of the hall where Odin's warriors gathered?" Mrs. Doubleday asks.\n\nA. [[Upsalla]]\nB. [[Valhalla]]\nC. [[Valkyrie]]\nD. I already forgot, let me [[go back|Longhouse]].\n<<endif>>

"No way. Whatever drama you're messed up in, I want no part of it," you say. "Send me home!"\n\nOdin is silent a moment, then you hear something terrible. The sound of bitter laughter bubbling up within an angry god's chest. Your mouth suddenly dry, you back away, and try to swallow.\n\n"Were that I could, young one," he says darkly. "When you touched the raven in the museum, you wrenched us both through space and time to this location. The raven can be used to travel again, but only backwards now. I have tried it myself, and keep ending up at the same point in time. However, try as I might, I am unable to remember what I see there. All turns to darkness and I am back here, with you."\n\n"Great," you say. "Won't it do the same to me?"\n\n"No," Odin replies, rising and leaning heavily on his staff. "It is [[my curse]]."\n

Incorrect. In the north was vapor and poisonous ice flow. To the south, were embers and flares of burning heat. \n\n[[End Chapter 1]]

<center><<replace "There is nothing.">><<replace "A great, yawning gap.">><<replace "Void of anything, and yet, vast. You can't see anything, but you also don't feel anything. It's not cold, or warm. There's simply a lack of all that is.">><<replace "For a moment, your heart pounds loudly in your ears. You try to look around, but the emptiness stretches out on all sides of you. Within you.\n\nThen you hear a voice...">>\n\n"[[In the beginning, was nothing.]]"\n<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>></center>

That is incorrect. Odin's grandfather Buri was licked free from the rime by the great cow.\n\n[[Next Question|Question 5]]

As you draw closer, you realize the longship isn't actually that long at all. The replica is just a few feet of the bow, made to look as though it were crashing through the wall of the museum. \n\n<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/90226796" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>\n\nMei and Angela join you, and Angela asks, "Is this the front or the back of the ship?"\n\nYou know this one! \nA. The bow is the [[front|front]] of the ship.\nB. The bow is the [[back|back]] of the ship.

"Yes, go not closer," Muninn says. "The rivers and their rime, their frost, their ice, are all poison."\n\n"Uh, thanks," you say. \n\nAs you watch, the rivers flowed forth, coating Ginnungagap with their ice. As the toxic streams got further from their sources, they hardened to ice which eventually stopped flowing.\n\nYou can almost see the weight of it all, causing a sagging, in Ginnungagp as it is born down under the crush of the ice.\n\nFrom the ice, a vapour is rising.\n\nSuddenly you see [[sparks]] to the south!

You wander over to your left.\n \nThe first display you see is about things the Vikings traded. You sort of always just thought that they spent all their days going out and raiding, but you see from a display that the farm was the center of Viking life. You read that the Vikings <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/trade_and_exploration/" target="_blank">"traded goods</a> and materials such as silver, silk, spices, wine, jewellery, glass and pottery. In return, they sold items such as honey, tin, wheat, wool, wood, iron, fur, leather, fish and walrus ivory. Everywhere they went the Vikings bought and sold slaves."\n\nDo you want to go to the [[right|right]] side next, or the [[far side|far side]] of the room?