Gudrun and Nieta (Frigg)
Background: Frigg was the mother of the Norse gods, a powerful and respected woman. In mythology she had the power to see the future and often advised the other gods. She was most often regarded as a fertility/mother goddess, a protector of wives and mothers. When she had a vision that her beloved son, Balder, was going to be killed, she traveled the earth, making every object promise her that they would never hurt her son. Thinking the mistletoe a harmless plant, she did not ask for its promise. Loki learned of this and fashioned an arrow with a sharpened mistletoe thorn at the point. He tricked Balder’s blind brother into shooting at him. Balder died from the wound. Loki was chained on a mountain with a snake dripping acidic venom hanging over his head as punishment. His wife was allowed to catch it in a bowl, but she often had to empty it, leaving Loki defenseless against the burning venom. At Ragnarok, Loki escaped to lead the giants and monsters against the gods. Both sides were killed in this cataclysmic battle.
In my story, Frigg opened a gate at Ragnarok to heal and restore her friends and family to life. She was going to take them all to a beautiful dimension where they could start over. Loki’s evil daughter, Hel, cursed Frigg’s spell so that many of the gods would not make it through. Those that did would end up in a harsh, barren dimension, unable to escape. Unbeknownst to Odin and the other gods, Frigg survived. Almost completely powerless, she created a new identity for herself among humans, waiting for the day she would see the others again. She knew Loki would try to come back so she watched for him. As Nieta, she was present at Zane and Zoe’s birth. She could see that Loki tried to return through them, but was unable to.
Years later, Zane and Zoe returned to Norway. Nieta met them there and gave them information and guidance to get them on the right track. In this, she was much like her granddaughter, Gudrun. Gudrun always seemed privy to secret knowledge and future events. She looked like a young girl because of the slow aging properties of Muspelheim where the gods were trapped, but like the others she was quite old. Some of the other gods, especially Odin, were leery of her because she often spoke and acted like the Norns. The Norns were a mysterious group of three women who would appear, giving cryptic advice in a strange rhyming manner. No one, not even Odin, knew where the Norns came from or the secret of their power. As a result, they were not always trusted by the gods—sometimes they were even feared. Everyone was stunned when Gudrun revealed herself to be one of them. The Norns were allowed to advise, but never to interfere. Gudrun broke the rules by helping Zane and his friends. The other Norns stripped her of her place among them and exiled her (they were merciful and sent her to earth). Gudrun was reunited with her grandmother Nieta/Frigg. The two of them fixed up Zane and Zoe’s uncle’s house in anticipation of the return of the Sentinels and the Norse gods to earth.
