The race of the giants called thurses (þursar) was black and wrathful in essence and will – abnormally formed because of their unnatural condition in the cosmos, like Ýmir himself. And some of these thurses had special purposes and extraordinary circumstances; two of them were Gullveig and Loki. They were both shape-shifters because of their multi-aspectual traits; and their powers went beyond those of regular thurses. Gullveig, the Old One, was the originator of magic and transformation, which made her into a very powerful giantess. This is why she could dwell amongst the ǽsir-gods without being detected as an intruder in Ásgarðr; she appeared as a goddess in form and essence, fooling even the demiurgic áss Óðinn in his own halls, though Gullveig’s true essence (allegorized as a heart in the sagas) was purely made out of the poisonous black ice of Niflheimr, and Loki’s out of the furious flames of Múspellzheimr. And their purpose was to lead all of the thursian races in bringing the cosmic existence to its downfall; to infect the soul of the universe with the “poison” of Chaos and let it burn and dissolve from within.

EDITIONS

First edition 2010, of 500 copies. Printed on high quality heavy paper. Finished with black endpapers, fully illustrated and includes a fold-out chart of the Underworld. Bound in maroon cloth marked with Ísarn, the bind-rune which evokes the current of Járnviðr. 242 pages. Fall of Man.

Deluxe edition 2010, limited to 62 copies. Extra high quality paper and finished with black endpapers, fully illustrated with several epresentations of Gullveig in her different incarnations and with a fold-out chart of the Underworld. Hand-bound and sewed in high quality maroon leather with a cloth bookmark; signed and sigilised by the author. 242 pages. Fall of Man.