Guest Blog- Brad Wheeler

My featured guest blogger this week is my friend and author, Brad Wheeler. He is the author of Fugitives from Earth, a hard science fiction space opera set in a spacefaring future inspired by Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Larry Niven.  Make sure to check out his links at the bottom of this post for more information.  Here is Brad Wheeler:

I want to talk about a different type of mythology. I'm getting away from dictionary definitions here, because what I want to talk about has nothing to do with sacred narratives or ancient heroes striding into conflict with gods and titans. Rather, I want to talk about a far more recent past and heroes both more and less down to Earth.

This is a hilarious pun, as you'll see in a moment.

When Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, he was mourned by the entire world. He represented everything that was good about the USA: he was capable, but humble. Strong, but circumspect. He was a celebrity because of his scientific accomplishments, something that very few men (and perhaps no women) have ever achieved.

People in the spaceflight and planetary science communities mourned him for all these reasons, of course. They're still people. But they also mourned him because of what he represented: a space-faring future that never was.

In retrospect, once we had beaten the Soviet Union to the moon, political will to power evaporated. We got the Space Shuttle, which was still impressive but felt like a step backward. Skylab was short-lived. Mir was only headline news when it broke. And yet, there was always hope, dimmed though it was, of the glory days of Apollo returning, where the future would once again stretch out before us to an impossibly distant horizon.

Armstrong's death changed nothing concrete, of course. He'd been largely out of the public eye for years and had a minimal effect on policy. And yet, in the minds of people still yearning for Mars bases and space hotels and day trips to the moon, his death seemed in an instant to turn from all that from possibility to mythology.

Let us take a moment to admire an example of what we might have had.

My personal favorite is this design for a US Air Force space warship (link: http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/realdesigns.php#id--Project_Orion_Battleship). She would have carried hundred of bombs, not as weapons, but as its propulsion system. Every five seconds, a bomb would explode behind the ship, propelling it forward like gunpowder propels a bullet. And she was armed to fight the ships that other nations like the USSR would invariably launch. I'm glad we don't have warfare in space, but we're not much closer to having the engineering expertise to build one of these than we were in 1970.

A more peaceful and realistic plan was to use leftover resources from the Apollo program to send astronauts on a yearlong mission to Venus (link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby) and, at somewhat greater distance, to Mercury. This would have been by far the longest time men had spent in space, and would've taken them tens of thousands of times farther away than their lunar-lander comrades. Unlike the Air Force warship, we had the technology to do this, but we don't any longer--much the knowledge required has been lost through the decades. We're better at putting people in space for a long time, but not necessarily much better at getting them up there.

Here's the real kick, though, and the reason why I find all of this so interesting: the future that it describes could still be ours. All we need is the will to make it. Neil Armstrong won't live to see it, but if groups like SpaceX and the Planetary Society have their way, there's no reason why you and I won't. That's why this is my very favorite bit of mythology: it didn't happen...but it still could.

Brad Wheeler is the author of Fugitives from Earth

Find him on:

His blog: http://thetenthword.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ordersponge

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mr_bradwheeler

Amazon Author Central: http://amazon.com/author/bradwheeler

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4959290-brad-wheeler

A little update with a few words on Naglfar

Last week, I went to Vernal, UT- located directly east of Salt Lake City- to pick up my daughter and grandson to bring back to Oregon.  While there, I had the opportunity to do a few events to promote The Zeke Proper Chronicles.  First, I had a table set up at a scholastic book fair at the Uintah County library, then, I had two interviews on two different radio stations.  After my radio interviews, I set up for a book signing at a quaint book store on Vernal's main street.  I have posted a few pictures of my events and will hopefully have a recording of my radio interviews up soon. 

 

 

 

 

The blog I have written for this week is also being featured on Katie Mettner's website.  A big thank you to Katie, who was a guest blogger for me a few weeks ago. 

 



Naglfar - The Ship of Death 

            In the beginning of The Serpent’s Ship - Book two in The Zeke Proper Chronicles - one of the heroes, Devon Proper, is startled by the sudden appearance of a ship, its prow carved in the form of a serpent that stares down at him from the mist and fog. His first impression is that it is real, a dragon come to life from Norse legend in the tiny harbor of Alder Cove. However, his mind is soon relieved to discover that its wooden eyes are lifeless; that its appearance is only a preface to the darkness that looms on the horizon.

            A common theme to Norse mythology - also a reoccurring motif in The Zeke Proper Chronicles - is the bleakness of the future, a future that promises the eventual destruction of Midgard and the gods that oversee it. For unlike the gods of Greek and Roman myth, the Norse gods are not immortal. Their demise is foretold in the coming of Ragnarok, a word that literally means “Destruction of the Powers”. The myths relate a myriad of occurrences that will take place both before and during the apocalyptic final battle between the gods and the giants. An event so far reaching that it will include all creation, in which virtually all life is destroyed and the nine worlds are submerged. One of those occurrences involves the appearance of Naglfar, a ship constructed out of the painfully extracted fingernails of dead men. In The Serpent’s Ship, I try to describe the vessel in what might be considered “an artist’s conception”:

            Reflected light caught Zeke’s attention, and he turned to look closer at the sides of the ship. Its hull glistened and an iridescent cascade of colors shimmered along its entire length. His first impression was haw beautiful it looked. The colors seemed to dance, their melody expressed like the gentle, lapping waves of the sea. Upon closer inspection, Zeke realized what the small, scale-like material was, and he reared back in horror and revulsion…the ship was built from the painfully extracted fingernails of the dead. The beautiful, glimmering shape of the hull was the product of that torture…he walked quickly, stepping lithely onto the deck, noting that the shimmer of the fingernails continued along the deck’s immense surface and even extended up the three tall masts that towered overhead.

 
            As Zeke’s exploration of the ship continues, he learns that the captain of the vessel is in fact Loki, its helmsman Hrym, and its crew the Frost Giants. Their eventual course is the plains of Vigrid, an immense area where the final battle will take place.

            Zeke and his little brother Devon meet various roadblocks and challenges amid their adventure. Nevertheless, they overcome and grow like any champion within the confines of the hero’s quest. The ship, Naglfar, is always on the horizon however, a glimmer of evil that threatens to destroy a completely indifferent world.

            Book one and book two of The Zeke Proper Chronicles can be found on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Pick up your copies, begin winding your way through the streets of Alder Cove, and discover just how close a connection Zeke has with the Mist and the Norse gods.

Guest Author-Tonya Macalino

Tonya Macalino is my guest blogger today.  She is the author of The Shades of Venice series.  These novels are urban fantasy thrillers featuring folklore and folk history from the collapsing canals and alleyways of Venice.

Leda and the Swan: From the End of The Age of Heroes Rises a New Legend

Once upon a time…

Once upon time, a single moment, a typical moment of amorous indiscretion brought about the end of The Age of Heroes. For in that moment, the leader of the Greek gods, the almighty Zeus, took the form of a swan to mask from his ever-jealous wife Hera another of his endless pursuits. With Leda, Queen of Sparta, he begat that ending in the shining form of Helen.

 

Helen of Sparta, who was to become Helen of Troy, received the gift of beauty, but was denied the gifts of honest love and deepest friendship. Twice kidnapped—once by Theseus and once by Paris—because of her beauty and divine heritage, she lived ultimately to become the downfall of Troy. The face that launched a thousand ships.

A generation of heroes died on the plains of Troy not to see her liberated or even truly to see her husband’s pride avenged, but simply because, as her former suitors, these kings and heroes had been made to swear an oath to defend the marriage lest the losers in the bid for her hand slaughter one another.

An oath to prevent a slaughter.

An oath culminating in ten years of bloody war. Ten years that would leave Helen friendless on either side of the ramparts and throughout the civilized world long after the war was over. Passed along from the burning ruins of a once great city, she would continue to be a pawn in the plots of gods and kings until her life was ultimately ended by them.

But something else passed along from those burning ruins, something arose, slowly from the end of The Age of Heroes. Antenor, advisor to the royal Trojan family, escaped the flames with his Veneti. They fled the Aegean and emerged into the Adriatic, settling Pavatium in 1183 B.C.

Near noble Pavatium, or Padua as it was to become known, were a chain of islands in the lagoon, a place to flee to during the relentless sieges and raids of the Huns and Romans. Rife with mosquitoes and diseases, the islands became a refuge for the descendants of these Veneti.

A lagoon, a scattering of islands.

The legendary empire of The Most Serene Republic…of Venice.

Helen and her tragedy would live on in thousands of years of myth built up into the romantic, decaying city of Venice we know today. Myths of mermaids, sea creatures, doomed monks, vengeful Doges…and of fairy-witches known as fate. Yes, fate. Whether because the Veneti brought Leda, Helen, and their capricious gods with them, or because of a Roman influence, the three sister Fates found their reincarnation in the stories of the lagoon.

Stories that continue to lurk in our psyches on into the modern day.

But now I invite you to come a little further forward, one hundred years—a mere moment in the time of myth—and watch a new woman, Alyse Kate Bryant, struggle to become disentangled from those fated, flooded ruins…as the legends of Venice rise again.

 

Here are some links to keep up on the words and works of Tonya:

 

Website: www.tonyamacalino.com

The Story of Place Blog: http://www.tonyamacalino.com/Blog.html

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonyaMacalino

The Myth Makers Newsletter: www.facebook.com/TheMythMakers

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Tonya-Macalino/e/B0058U4TJA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/tonyamacalino

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TonyaMacalino

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tonyamacalino/

 

FACES IN THE WATER - Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Faces-Water-Shades-Venice-Episode/dp/098363033X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1332452714&sr=8-3

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/faces-in-the-water-tonya-macalino/1107970376?ean=2940013883406&itm=1&usri=macalino

SPECTRE OF INTENTION - Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spectre-Intention-Tonya-Macalino/dp/0983630305/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312914650&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spectre-of-intention-tonya-macalino/1100481815?ean=9780983630302&itm=1&usri=macalino

 

Making the Myths Innocent

Perhaps my biggest struggle in trying to write YA fiction that borrows from Norse Mythology, is attempting to tame stories that can sometimes be full of rather bawdy material. The real labor is in trying to turn them into something considered innocent. Sometimes the task becomes a process of pure translation as I take a story like “The Necklace of the Brisings” - a tale that has the goddess Freyja spending four nights in a row with four different dwarfs - and then retell it, introducing my main characters into the roles normally reserved for mythical creatures. The subject of extreme violence can also be problematic. For instance, the myth of “Thor and Geirrod” - a story that portrays a violent, rather grotesque death - describes Thor hurling a flaming ball of iron at a giant, puncturing a large hole in his midriff. In my retelling, Zeke Proper takes on the role of Thor and begins to discover his own hidden, inner strengths.
           
As an example, I would like to delve into the next installment of the Zeke Proper Chronicles: The Gates of Asgard. I will begin by exposing portions of Chapter Twelve: “Geirrod’s Stronghold“. In keeping with the adventures that the Mist plays in the young hero’s quest, the narrative has the Proper brothers, Zeke and Devon trapped in the Mist in a palace made of roughly hewn timber and logs. The stronghold belongs to Geirrod, a giant who, in the original telling of the myth, faces off with Thor in a furnace-filled room. The furnaces contain molten iron that Geirrod picks up with tongs and hurls at Thor. Geirrod’s hatred toward the god is magnified because Thor killed Hrungnir - strongest of all the giants. However, Thor takes the battle in the end because he catches the tossed ball of fire in his iron gloves. After a moment of hesitation, Thor hurls the ball back at Geirrod, thus destroying him.
           
The Zeke Proper Chronicles’ version goes something like this:

Zeke and Devon followed the servant…Soon they arrived in their original place of captivity, a place where the ceiling domed high, where the walls were covered with pine logs, and where the smoke of furnace fires drifted heavy in the air, making the room too warm for comfort. Staring at them from the far end of the hall was a giant of a man. His hair was long and hung past his shoulders in blond and red waves. A bristly beard of the same color covered his face. He was tall, but more than that, he was strong. Neck muscles flexed when he moved, blending with ripples of strength in his arms and chest.

Geirrod stretched forth his hand, but it was not to greet Zeke or Devon; it was to pick up a pair of tongs. With them, he reached toward one of the red-hot furnaces and retrieved a glowing piece of coal.
           
“Welcome to my palace!” he shouted, and aimed the fiery lump straight at Zeke.     Zeke continued to stare, feeling as if time had suddenly stopped as he watched the sizzling missile advance toward his face.  At the last moment, just before the red-hot coal struck him, he bent, his thigh muscle crying out in pain. The burning lump of coal jetted past him, struck the log wall behind, and sputtered to a dead, black ember.
           
“Ah! You’re quick, boy. I’m quicker, though. In the end I’ll see ya burn!”
           
Devon ran up from behind Zeke, grabbing him by the shoulder. “The staff, you idiot! Use the staff!”
           
Zeke rose quickly and used the strength of his arms to push himself into a standing position. He gripped the staff with both hands holding it like a baseball bat. Geirrod sent another molten missile at Zeke’s face, but this time Zeke stood his ground with his feet square and his eyes watching as the ball of fire approached.    
           
Zeke swung Sinmora’s staff with every ounce of strength he possessed. He connected with the glowing coal like a major-leaguer, its trajectory bending toward Geirrod. Everyone who stood as witness in the great hall, giants and dwarfs alike, scrambled under the tables as Geirrod himself tried to step behind one of the hall supports. However, the fiery ball punched through the support, passing through the giant’s midriff, and continuing through the wooden wall finally lodging itself in an earth slope outside the building.
           
Geirrod stood up straight - a strange, defeated look on his face - and looked down at the hole in his chest. He gasped and then hissed, as if all of the hate and venom built up inside him suddenly escaped. He gave one violent jerk, gurgled and was dead.

The third installment of The Zeke Proper Chronicles - The Gates of Asgard will be out this summer. Order your copies of Book One and Two and get caught up in the myth.

-Brad

The Next Big Thing

I've just been tagged in The Next Big Thing, by my friend and fellow NIWA member, Tonya Macalino. The Next Big Thing is a way for writers to share and discuss their work and their upcoming projects. Tonya is the author of Author of SPECTRE OF INTENTION and THE SHADES OF VENICE series. 

 

You can read her post about "The Next Big Thing" and her upcoming work here.

THE NEXT BIG THING INTERVIEW

What is the working title of your new book?

Currently, I am working on Book 3 in The Zeke Proper Chronicles: The Gates of Asgard. Books 1 and 2 are respectively -Odin’s Light and The Serpent’s Ship. Both books are available through Amazon on Kindle eBooks and in paperback. 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is one of those questions that when I answer it honestly, it always gets a raised eyebrow. Probably because it is so cliché. Nevertheless, it is true. The idea came from a dream. I had been playing around with various storylines, jotting down notes here and there, and putting together many incomplete short stories. Then one night I had a dream. When I woke up, I knew what I was going to write. The original idea changed  considerably during the writing process, but the initial energy was there, and I took it and ran with it

What genre is your book?

My books are YA Fantasy Fiction. Urban Fiction is probably closer. My characters live in present day Nova Scotia in a fictionaltown called Alder Cove. However, as the story progresses, they begin rubbing shoulders with the Norse gods of the past.

Which actors would you choose to play the characters in a movie rendition?

Zeke Proper - Cole Sprouse

Devon Proper - Mitchel Musso

Taylre Anders - Taylor Swift

Percy Proper - Jake Johnson

The Captain - Ian McNeice

Vivian Proper - Zooey Deschanel

Loden/Loki - Johnny Depp

Marjorie Anders - Selina Cadell

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The Zeke Proper Chronicles is a coming of age novel that explores a young man’s connection with the Mist and the Norse Gods.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

As all of my books are, The Gates of Asgard, the third installment in The Zeke Proper Chronicles, will be self-published through World Tree Fantasy.

How long did it take to write the first Draft of the first novel?

Dog Ear Publishing completed the original printing of my first novel. The original title was Zeke Proper and the Sacrifice at Alder Cove. Writing the draft that I sent to that publisher took me well over five years to complete. However, keep in mind; I took a lot of time off in the writing process. In the end, I was very unhappy with the result of the publication. Therefore, I took the original manuscript, rewrote a major portion of it, and renamed it Odin’s Light.

What are some current novels that you would compare with your novels?

I really hate to make comparisons, because I feel my books are unique. Nevertheless, my best guess would probably be the Percy Jackson Series and perhaps Fable Haven, simply because they also deal with some aspect of Mythology.

Who or what inspired you to write?

There are two writers that have had a huge impact on my own writing, mostly because they implement an incredible use of imagery and figurative language. Ray Bradbury, whose prophetic voice captures a true essence of the future, and Stephen King.  Guy who really knows how to tell a scary story. His images are at the same tactile as well as emotional.

In the coming weeks, another friend and fellow author of mine, Raymond Macalino, will be discussing his "Next Big Thing" on his blog. He is the author of a picture book for children titled, Damien and the Dragon Kite.  Make sure to check that out here!

Guest Blog by Ksenia Anske

This week, I am excited to be hosting author, Ksenia Anske.  Ksenia was born in Moscow, Russia, and came to US in 1998 not knowing English, having studied architecture and not dreaming that one day she'd be writing.  SIREN SUICIDES, an urban fantasy set in Seattle, is her 1st novel.

I was invited by Brad Cameron to guest post on his blog and have been thinking about what to write, when my Beta Readers asked me to write about my obsession, errr... fascination with sirens, because this is what my 1st novel is about, SIRENS. Yes, so, let's see, where did it start? Ah, I know, with Rusalkas. I'll explain in a second. You see, if you told me about 15 years ago that I would be writing novels, more than that, that I'd be writing novels in English, I'd probably look at you like you were mad. Because back then not only did I not know any English at all (well, except "Hello" and "I love you" both of which I heard in pop songs), I didn't know how to write either, having been told since high school that my writing sucks because I have "too much imagination." I always got B's and never A's on my essays, but that didn't stop me from being fascinated with magical creatures from Russian fairy tales, a lot of which reside in the woods, and swamps, and bogs, and ponds. Especially Rusalkas. Mermaids, in English.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment when this interest in Rusalkas struck me, only the fact that when I was studying acting in my teens (yeah, I wanted to be an actress once upon a time) I spent hours in the library looking up the history of Russian theater and folklore and stumbled on so many legends involving Rusalkas that eventually I forgot all about my research and started reading more about them. Hey, what's not to like? In Slavik mythology, unlike a mermaid, a Rusalka is not simply a woman who changed into a magical being, but a woman who has died violently, before her time, or from suicide. She also had to die in or near a river or a lake, to claim it as her territory. Once her murder was avenged, however, she could die in peace. The dark angle of this myth fascinated me, especially because I've been a suicidal teenager and a runaway (I ran away from home at 16, got pregnant at 17, had my daughter at 18, you get the picture). I think since then I had an image of this unhappy girl in my mind and it touched me deeply because of my personal history which included very dark childhood with a lot of trauma of which I was not aware until my thirties, until I settled in life and became happy.

That's when Rusalkas started knocking again, from deep inside, from some hidden corners of my mind. I ignored this for a while, but the ideas kept pouring, and somehow along the way they transformed from Rusalkas to sirens because of the deeper history and acceptance of Greek mythology in America where anyone I told about Rusalkas blinked at me, but where sirens did ring a bell. To me it didn't really matter what these creatures should be called, as long as they helped me tell my story, and my story was about a girl finding her voice, as simple as that. Partly, it's my own struggle in life, partly it's the story of my main character, a teenage girl, who struggles with the same problem, to the point of wanting to take her life via suicide. It was all about the voice, the song, the scream for help. I guess the slightly violent tone of this, the "I-will-scream-in-your-face-if-you-don't-hear-me" sat better with sirens, who in Greek mythology are originating from 3 sisters with bird wings and bird voices, who lured men to their deaths in their siren meadow on an island and who threw themselves into the sea after Odysseus fooled them. They lost their wings and drowned. Maybe, maybe not. Mythology leaves us there. And that's where I pick up. I say, nope, they didn't die, they continued on living, sucking out souls from people as food, and singing, singing, singing.

There you have it. These are my sirens, and that's why I'm fascinated with them. They are a perfect blend of a bad girl and an innocent maiden, the yin and the yang in one body, beautiful and elusively ugly, sophisticated and primitive at the same time, and they are... women. Along with suicide, another underlying theme in my novel is misogyny, or hatred or dislike of women and girls, which I had to experience myself growing up and which is why I'm writing this novel, to shed the light on how it feels from the inside.

Oh, and I live in Seattle. It rains here all the time. What else to write about, if not about water creatures?
- Ksenia anske

Novel excerpt: http://www.kseniaanske.com/blog/2012/12/24/siren-suicides-excerpt-draft-5.html
Blog: http://www.kseniaanske.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kseniaanske
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksenia.anske
Google+: https://plus.google.com/109572538028745590669/posts
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kseniaanske/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kseniaanske/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10221719-ksenia
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A19ELGT118RK4J?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_yc_pdp
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/kseniaanske

Dragons in Norse Mythology

Recently, I spoke at the Rad/Con Science Fiction Fair in Pasco, Washington.  I felt honored to be part of not one but four panels that discuss everything from the business of Indie publishing to the advent of magic in medieval and renaissance fiction. However, the one that I was most excited about was the panel titled “Dragons and their Evolution”.  My emphasis, of course, was dragons in Norse mythology. So, as a dedication to the very fine, though quite unusual people that inhabit the Con circuit, I would like to rehash some of the finer points that I made during my speech.

I have mentioned before - in earlier blog entries - the makeup of the Norse universe with its nine worlds and the great ash tree, Yggdrasil, which binds them all together. However, it may be interesting to note that, apart from the many residents that make up the nine worlds, there are also several creatures that inhabit the limbs and branches of the tree. These beasts take their toll on the tree (which is constantly under repair by the Norns - another topic for blog discussion), as a result, the tree is constantly in danger. Its roots are rotting.

At the bottom, near Niflheim, sits Nidhogg, a serpent, or, perhaps more appropriately stated, a dragon. Nidhogg has scales, wings, and bristles that spike over its spine. Nidhogg is a being that gnaws one of the three roots of Yggdrasil. It is believed that the roots are trapping the beast from the world (Midgard). This root is placed over Niflheim and Nidhogg gnaws it from beneath. However, other than the creature’s conversations with the giant squirrel that scurries up and down the tree, passing insults from the dragon to the great eagle that sits atop Yggdrasil; little else is said, other than the fact that eventually the dragon will gnaw its way through the roots. The first sighting of the dragon will signify the beginning of Ragnarok.

The first indication of a fire-breathing dragon appears in the Old English retelling of “Beowulf”, an epic Norse poem that describes a hero’s eventual confrontation with Bane, a nocturnal, treasure hoarding, fire-breathing creature that brings about the death of Beowulf. The Beowulf dragon is the earliest example in literature of the typical European dragon and first incidence of a fire-breathing dragon. However, because a Christian Monk probably wrote the poem with Northman ties, the symbols have most likely become tainted. For instance, the fire is likely symbolic of the hell-fire of the Devil, reminiscent of a monster described in the Old Testament. The Pagan would not have known any such place. Nevertheless, the author appears to be trying hard to appeal to his audience.

 In the story, Beowulf eventually returns to his home and becomes king of the Geats. After ruling for fifty years, a servant awakens and angers the dragon, stealing a jeweled cup from its lair. When the dragon mercilessly burns the Geats' homes and lands, Beowulf decides to kill the monster. He and his men climb to the dragon's lair where, seeing the beast, the men run away leaving only Wiglaf to battle at Beowulf's side. When the dragon wounds Beowulf fatally, Wiglaf slays it.

Contemporary stories and films have taken the dragon myth to a completely new level. It is important, however, to keep in mind that its beginnings were nominal. The stories existed, but they were symbolic at best. The message I believe the Norse would want us to take from their myths is that nothing is forever. Their gods were not immortal, powerful, yes, but not immune to death. Dragons represent powers that can inflict our day-to-day struggles. They gnaw away at our roots. Nevertheless, we need to be aware of their existence and fight each day to shore up our own selves.

 

References: Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Norse Myths. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1980. Print

-Brad