Eric Flint: Pyramid Power

Lamont pursed his lips thoughtfully. "So now we go home and pick it up before it starts…"

Jerry shook his head. "Some magics seem to continue to work in our world. But Athena's didn't. I don't know what would happen."

"Then somehow I'm going to get all my kids over here," said Lamont. "The fishing looks good," he added with a huge smile.

"And we have the Krim device's controller. This pyramid pendant off Odin. I imagine Miggy is going to be more than a little excited once we can get back in touch with him. It looks like Odin actually took control of it, not the other way around. That's an interesting concept. It implies that the pyramid is something that possibly we could control, not just the Krim. If other Mythworlds exist…"

Liz chuckled. "It might just make a degree in comparative mythology rather desirable in the employment market, outside of esoteric academia."

"No!" exclaimed Jerry, horrified by the idea.

"A mythtake," agreed Lamont.

Eric Flint Dave Freer

Pyramid Power

Appendix

Myth is by its very nature a fragile thing, viewed through a murky glass of time and poor record-keeping, subject to much distortion and various regional interpretations. Neither of the authors claim to be experts in the field and the definitions and explanations in this appendix undoubtably contain much that reflects their own biases. This is a novel, not a research tome, and we often had to choose one of several versions of events (as well as spellings of names). However, for the purposes of following this story it may be useful. Or funny. Or even accidentally informative.

As: the singular of?sir, although it may occasionally be tempting to think of it as another way of writing "donkey."

Asgard: The great walled home of the?sir. The original gated community where the upper-crust have their homes. Complete with backyard mountain and all other modern tenth-century conveniences for the discerning As. ?gir: A sea giant. Sometimes indicated as the husband of Ran, at whose home the flyting of Loki (the Lokasenna) is supposed to have taken place. ?sir: Norse Gods-strictly speaking, the ones that live in Asgard, and not the Vanir… Except that some of the Vanir came to be hostages, and live in Asgard and intermarry with As, or with giants. (Njord married the giantess Skadi and Frey married the giantess Gerd.) It's a little difficult for a mere biologist to tell the difference between an As and a giant as they appear to have sprung from the same origins, and cheerfully interbreed with each other and with Vanir. However, as the?sir are associated with war, death, and power-unlike the Vanir, associated with growth and fertility-if they say they're different, you'd better believe them, at least in public.

Andvari: The shape-changing dwarf whose hoard of gold Odin, H?nir, and Loki take as a ransom for his freedom. The gods need this to pay a blood price for Loki's accidental killing of another shape-changing dwarf, Otr. Andvari attempts to hold back one ring, and when it is spotted, tries to persuade them to let him keep it. When they refuse, he curses the ring, thereby giving rise to the long and horrible and doom-filled Volsung saga, which Wagner used as the basis for the Ring of the Nibelung operas.

Angbroda: "Harm-bidder." A giantess upon whom Loki is supposed to have fathered Fenrir the wolf. Later, in his thirteenth-century version, Snorri Sturluson also gave her credit for being the mother of Hel and Jormungand. Personally, we suspect Jormy was adopted.

Aurvangar: "Wet gravel plains" where the dwarves live. The guys who actually made all the weapons and treasures of the gods get to live on the wet gravel plains. Some things are eternally true.

Baldr: The beautiful god with white brow and fair hair. A child of Odin and Frigg, he was troubled with dreams of his own death. So Mummy extracted solemn promises from fire, water, metal, stones, plants, beasts, birds etc. etc. not to harm Baldr. She just happened to miss out mistletoe. Loki is supposed to have found this out (in disguise, naturally) and then talked blind Hod (Baldr's brother) into flinging a dart of mistletoe, as the gods were having a little game of throwing things at Baldr, to see how they wouldn't hurt him. Baldr drops dead and is duly consigned to Nifelheim. At Hermod's entreaty Hel agrees to relent and let Baldr go if all the things in world (fire, water, stones etc.) wept for Baldr. A giantess called Thokk (supposedly Loki in disguise) refused, so Baldr stayed in Hel's hall. It is foretold that after Ragnarok, Baldr will return to rule after the death of Odin.

Bilskriner: "Lightning crack." The home of the God Thor, with 540 doors. Very drafty, probably.

Disir: Supernatural female figures. Not ghosts, although sometimes referred to as "dead women."

Dragon: Dragons are one of the most common motifs in Norse myth, and are of course widely portrayed, not least as the sculpted prows on Viking longships. It's a pity they couldn't have had a big dragon artists and sculptors conference and agreed what they were supposed to look like. Flying dragons are mentioned in some sagas, whereas others appear to be nothing more than mighty serpents. The two are so often conflated that we decided on this being a case of sexual dimorphism.

Einherjar: "Lone fighter." The dead who are chosen by the Valkyries on the field of battle to come and occupy the halls of Odin. Despite the fact that they are not actually "lone," the theory that it was a misspelling and that these were "loan" fighters has been almost entirely discredited. Half of the dead warriors go to Odin's halls where they spend their day in fighting and their night in feasting on the ever-renewed boar-flesh and abundant mead, and sport with the Valkyries. Their livers are praying for Ragnarok.

Elivagar: The river that separates Jotunheim from Midgard.

Fenrir: The translation "fen dweller" is a rather obscure name for the wolf that will devour Odin and possibly the sun and the moon. Fathered by Loki on the giantess Angbroda, and therefore the brother of Hel and the Midgard-serpent, the growing Fenrir frightened the?sir so badly that they tricked him into being bound by successive chains-which he snapped in turn, until he was bound by the chain Gleipnir. The giant wolf is supposed to wait, bound, with an upright sword holding his jaws open until Ragnarok. This is a popular and foolish choice of name for miniature daschunds, as it makes them even more aggressive than they would be anyway.

Fimbulwinter: "Terrible winter." A three-year winter, which precedes Ragnarok.

Flyting: A contest of abuse, usually focused on charming pointed comments about the sexual habits and courage of the protagonists. Usually in verse. The Lokasenna in which Loki abuses each of the?sir in turn is the prime example.

Freki: One of Odin's two wolves. Not in the same league as Fenrir.

Frey: "Lord" Chief of the Vanir, a fertility god, portrayed with a big beard and an even bigger phallus. Sitting on Odin's lookout point, he spotted the beautiful giantess Gerd, and fell in love with her. He sent his servant Skirnir to press his suit, but had to bribe him to do so, with his magical sword. Frey drives about in a chariot drawn by the golden boar Gullinborsti.

Freyja: The Vanir goddess of love and sex. Famed for having acquired her most precious possession, the Brisingamen, in payment for her services to four dwarves. It was Loki who led to the betrayal of this escapade, with his usual shape-changing tricks. She has a chariot drawn by cats and a falcon cloak which enables her to assume that shape and fly, which she has on occasion lent to Loki.

Gambanteinn: A wand, whose touch causes certain conditions-wandering madness for example.

Garm: The mighty dog which guards the Nagrind (corpse gate), the entry to Hel's kingdom.

Ginnungagap: "Beguiling void."