Woden

Woden

Woden the All-Father

Type	God
Religion	Wodenism
God of	Wisdom
Home	Valhalla
Other Names	All-Father
Symbols	Valknut, Triskellion, Ravens, Wolves, Eye of Woden
Related To	Thor (son), Frigg (wife)

Woden the All-Father is the principal deity of the Wodenist religion. He is the purported creator of all of Otan including all the races of Otan from the Ælfes and Dweorges to the humans and Grendel. Despite his role as the creator, Woden he is often seen wandering Otan in the form of an elderly one-eyed man. He is said to routinely father children in his travels and many noble bloodlines claim Woden as one of their ancestors.

Depictions

Woden in armor

Woden is most often depicted as an elderly man, missing his left eye, which is said to be floating around Otan making observations. This legend is undoubtedly supported by the Eye of Woden, a satellite that circles the Otan sky. Woden is frequently described as carrying a staff or spear.

His constant companions include two wolves, Geri and Freki and two ravens Huginn and Muninn, who bring him information from all over Otan. The names Huginn and Muninn, incidentally round out the set of the three satellites that orbit Otan, though they likely have nothing to do with the actual celestial ravens.

In other depictions, Woden will appear as a younger, lightly bearded man with golden hair. He will be most often found fully armored, carrying either a great spear, axe, or sword. For transportation, he rides his flying, eight-legged steed, Sleipnir. Sleipnir's extradimensional nature can carry Woden across not only the sky but even into other planes of existence.

Lore

There are countless legends of Woden retold by figures as authoritative as the Wodenist clergy to the schoolyard tales of imaginative children. While they vary in the telling, they vary little in the content. The most salient of the tales involve the creation of Otan, the adoption of Loki and the rescue of his children, and his ultimate fate at Ragnarok.

The Creation of Otan

The primordial being Ymir became engrossed in a dispute with Woden in which the god slew him and fashioned Otan from his flesh. He went on to make the oceans from his blood, the mountains from his bones, trees from his hair, and so forth. Humans, Ælfes, Dweorgs, Grendel and the other races were given life from a combination of Ymir's flesh and blood (or earth and sea).

It is perhaps not a coincidence that the primordial being Ymir is sometimes conflated with the primordial substance Ylem and many believe that they are one in the same. This conflation adds to the possibility of the creation story being an actual historical account rather than a fantastical metaphor; in the spirit of most religious folk tales. As more in the Wodenist clergy become familiar with Ylem, this supposition has gained strength with the church.

The Apparent Adoption of Loki

Woden in armor

Loki appears in Wodenist lore without an origin story of his own, though he does make mention of his presence during the earliest days of Otan having assisted in the building of Asgard, the heavenly home of the gods. Loki continues to be at Woden's side throughout much of Wodenist lore despite the vehement protestations of the other gods. Thor in particular offers to kill Loki in nearly every tale.

Loki was asked by Woden not to procreate, and of course, he did. Having mated with a giantess he produced the offspring Hel, Jormungandr and Fenris. Woden took pity on the young creatures giving Hel the responsibility to manage the underworld, tossing Jormungandr into the sea to be free and keeping Fenris around as a sort of... pet; all to spare Loki the loss of his children.

Ragnarok

In Wodenist lore, Ragnarok is the end of times. It begins with an assault on Otan which involves Hel raising an army of the dead. The other children of Loki then descend on the gods with an aim to destroy them. Wodenist prophets and the god Loki himself often foretell of the destruction and subsequent rebirth of Otan. Unfortunately, the prophets can not agree on the outcome. Prophets of the Woden worshipping persuasion believe that the rebirth will include Woden. Prophets of the children of Loki tell of a rebirth that is free of the gods and run by giants.

Intercession

In his travels he routinely interacts with humans, imparting wisdom to them and in some cases, mating with them.

Creations

Woden is the apparent author of the Book of Woden.

Player Notes

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