ORIGIN

ÚLFHÉÐNAR

Áskunnr being the first Blendingr and, thus, half jǫtunn and half man, he never really completely belonged in either Jǫtunheimr or Miðgarðr. His relationship with Óðinn, his half brother, was often strained too, especially considering the butchering of Ymir and the Æsir’s attempts at slaying all Jǫtnar by drowning them in blood. The Æsir were also envious of Áskunnr’s strength and martial skills, as well as his extraordinary handsomeness, which surpassed by far that of Baldur. They, as a result, frequently tried to keep the young Hybrid, also renowned for his epic sexual prowess, away from Ásynjur, Vanir, Jǫtnar and Æsir alike.

Áskunnr therefore spent a lot of time in Miðgarðr, in a land covered by ice at the time and which would become known as Nóregr, Norðvegr or Norway. In fact, the original cradle of man and civilization.

The young Hybrid was isolated. Most menn at the time had migrated to the south and would not return north until much later, at the beginning of another ice age, about one hundred thousand years before the beginning of the common era as measured by modern men. Áskunnr, however, found affinities with the many wolves of both Miðgarðr and Asgarðr. The Blendingr eventually joined a dominant pack, where he became particularly fond of the alpha, Gunnólfr (battle wolf), notable for submitting and uniting all other packs across Níu Heimar. The young Hybrid eventually oathed the wolf. He became one with the sacred animal, sharing both the spirit of Blendingar and that of úlfar. Áskunnr, over his long glorious life, produced many offsprings, not all of them Hybrids, but all part wolf, and with inside of them the spirit of Gunnólfr. They were the first Úlfhéðnar.

Úlfhéðnar, from the beginning of it all and to this day, lived according to the customs of both warriors and wolves. This primeval Norse spirituality became known as Úlfasiðr, the precursor of Forn Siðr.