Loki

One of the major Norse Gods, Loki is also one of the most charismatic and interesting of them all. A lively, charming and unreliable rogue, he has an ambivalent personality that is more appealing and easier to relate to than that of the other comparatively predictable gods of the Norse Mythology. Unlike them Loki does not fit wholly into either the good or the evil category, but is an amalgamation of both. He is mainly concerned with fulfilling his own agenda and is not averse to resorting to unscrupulous methods to bring it about. He is an irrelevant personality who does not pay his fellow Gods the obeisances they are accustomed to, but rather keeps bringing them down a notch or two by undignified trickery. Not unnaturally he is often in disgrace, many times threatened with dire punishments, but nevertheless always allowed back in the fold. The reason for this, aside from his apparent charm, is that his outrageous and disastrous escapades often end up doing some measure of good alongside. Loki might be a trouble-maker, always stirring up things, but in doing so he also brings about change, which is a necessary part of existence.

Loki originally was a Fire Demon of the race Jotun, the son of Faubauti and Laufey(or Nal) and the brother of Hellblindi and Byleist; perhaps this explains the demonic quirks that he is often prone to. Later on Odin, the Leading God of the Aesir (the Norse Pantheon of Gods), made him his blood-brother and this greatly elevated his stature. He was now welcomed into Asgard, the abode of the Gods, and made a member of their Council of Law. He also became the favorite companion of Thor or Donar, the God of Thunder, and remained so despite the duplicity that he so often displayed. His handsome looks also endeared him to the Goddesses, many of whom he seduced indiscriminately, whether married or not, and had no compunction in tricking too if he had to. His faithful and long-suffering wife Sigyn took these indiscretions in her stride. Loki had two children Vali and Narvi by her, and fathered several others by his various paramours. By the giantess Angrboda he produced three monsters Fenris (the fearsome and gigantic Wolf), Jormundgand (the World Serpent) and Hel (the Goddess of Death), who were all to play decisive roles later. He also had an unnamed child from the wife of the God of War, Tyr. Having the ability to change his sex, Loki also managed to give birth himself twice. The first instance, having transformed himself into a mare to lure away the magical stallion belonging to a Giant that had been about to fleece the Gods, he gave birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir; this horse that none other could ever overtake was later gifted to Odin. In the second instance Loki ate the heart of a burnt ogress and gave birth to an offspring through his arm-pit.

One of Loki's famous trouble-making episodes happened during a feast that Aegir, the Lord of the Sea, had given for his fellow Gods. Prior to it Loki had managed to annoy absolutely everybody and they had banished him from their midst. So of course he was not invited to Aegir's banquet. Undeterred he turned up anyway and insisted on remaining. The Gods deliberated amongst themselves and decided that since he was there already it wouldn't be right to turn him away. So they let him stay. Loki however was not mollified. Angered at having been excluded in the first place, he set about ruining the banquet for all the assembled guests. He began loudly and merrily relating all the scandalous affairs of the Gods that he had either been privy too or had helped bring about. This was of course extremely embarrassing for the Gods and they tried to hush him up. Thor wasn't present, but his faithful and virtuous wife Sif was and she tried to reason with Loki. Loki, who had once stolen Sif's bright hair, showed her no regard now either and responded by claiming to have had an affair with her himself. This blatant untruth brought Thor on the scene, ready to defend his wife, and Loki backed away. However, as he left, he cursed all the Gods and predicted their downfall.

Loki's prediction eventually did come true. The Ragnarok or the 'Gotterdammerung' (Doom of the Gods) as it is better known thanks to Richard Wagner was brought on by the Gods themselves. They had hired a giant to build them a fine mansion, but were reluctant to pay him after it was completed. So they called Loki and asked him to think up a scheme by which they could skip the payment. Loki of course was delighted to think up something twisted and the giant wasn't paid for his labors. However, as a result of this breach of agreement, the stature of the Gods came down. People were no longer prepared to believe in them, and in fact, going by their bad example, they too began practicing deceit on a wide scale. And then Baldur was murdered. Baldur was the God of light, and the son of Odin and the Goddess Frigg. Loki, being insanely jealous of his attractiveness and popularity, contrived of a plan to get rid of him. Baldur, by his mother's efforts, had been assured of immortality; he could not be killed by anything on earth, not by the stones, metals, creatures or water. However the Mistletoe had not been included in the list of things and Loki took advantage of this fact. Once the Gods were engaged in a game with Baldur, throwing things at him just for the fun of seeing these things deflect themselves instead of hitting him. In the midst of this Loki slyly handed a twig of mistletoe to Loki's blind brother Hod who threw it unsuspectingly. This missile did not deflect like the rest and Baldur, to everyone's horror, dropped dead. His wife Nanna died of grief and the whole nature mourned – as is seen every winter. The Gods tried to retrieve him from the dead by appealing to the Goddess Hel, who ruled over the underworld. She agreed on the condition that every single one on earth should shed tears for him. Everyone did, except one giantess who was really Loki in disguise, and so Baldur remained in hell. The Gods swore to avenge him and this time they were not indulgent with Loki. He was punished by being chained to boulders with a venomous snake dripping poison directly over his face. His wife Sigyn remained at his side and tried to alleviate his suffering by catching the poison in a bowl. However every time she went to empty the bowl, some poison would fall on Loki and his tormented twisting would cause earthquakes on earth. He was set free when the cataclysmic war between the Giants and the Gods broke out and died in the fierce fighting.

The war engulfed the whole world in an ice-age that lasted throughout the year. Everyone took part in the conflict – giants, wolves, the underworld denizens, the Valkyries. Thor battled with the Jormundgand, the notorious world serpent that he had once hooked while fishing and then lost. This time he killed it, but died himself of its poison in the process. One by one all the Gods were defeated and killed. The last one to die was Tyr, killed by the Hound from Hell, Garm. After their demise mankind was left without divine assistance and suffered in consequence. The world too began to lose its order. Natural disasters took place on a large scale until finally the land was engulfed by the sea and all traces of civilization were utterly wiped out. It was to be a long time before the chaos ceased and life evolved once again on earth.