Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
So, the number one rule in writing for an RPG game is that research is almost always a necessity. Hell, that’s a pretty big rule in writing, anyway. But, in the realm of game writing, you can’t write a story AND create a world for that story without drawing inspiration. And, since most inspiration comes from lore…you can see where this is going, right? So, I started with Norse Mythology.
Neil Gaiman, the author of American Gods, narrated this audiobook to talk about the twelve infamous tales of Norse mythology. I did this because James, my best mate, who is of Irish-Viking lineage, wanted me to educate myself on this so I can add some of it to the world lore. Besides, I do love mythology so that was a plus for me, anyway.
I didn’t take me long to finish the stories and I have to say that it was unbelievably amazing. Until this point, I got pretty familiar with Greek and Celtic mythology (the latter of which I will talk about in a later date) and liked them. But the Norse myths, I got to laugh and awe so much in one sitting. And one story got my attention more than most: the forging of Asgardian weapons.
Basically, Loki, in all his trickery and foul play, helps create the infamous hammer, Mjölnir, by trying to sabotage everybody around him. Along with that, he ended up seeing the creation of Gungnir, the deadliest spear, and Skidbladnir, the best of all ships. Plus, the events leading up to these marvelous gifts (Loki cutting off Sif’s hair) and the events that followed (Loki’s mouth was sewn shut) was even funnier.
Loki has been a dreadful villain throughout this whole array of mythos and it was quite delightful to read about his come-uppings. I mean…too bad that he started Ragnarok out of spite but forgot about the rebirth that all the gods will go through. Yeah, this book was such a marvel to read. Obviously, an A+ for sure.
