Mead of poetry
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In Norse mythology, the Mead of poetry was a magic potion capable of giving the power of skaldship to any who drank it, as well as being the very first mead.[1]
In reality, the "Mead" referred to a serum developed by the Isu Capitoline Triad as an alternate seventh method to circumvent the Great Catastrophe. It was designed to serve as a catalyst which, when combined with advanced machinery like Yggdrasil, would enable the Isu to upload their essence into a human bloodline, so they could be "reborn" as humans millenia in the future.[2]
Mythology[edit | edit source]
Fjalar and Galar were two dwarves who sought to steal the knowledge of Kvasir, a god renowned for being intelligent. The dwarves killed Kvasir and bled him dry before mixing his blood with honey to create the "mead of poetry".[1] Some time later, after Fjalar and Galar had allegedly murdered Gillingr and his wife.[3] Their son Suttungr set out to avenge them,[4] but the dwarves traded the mead of poetry in exchange for their lives.[4][3]
Seeing the drink's value, Suttungr hid it inside a Jötunheimr mountain vault to be guarded by himself and his daughter, Gunlodr.[4][5] Odin would go on to steal the mead from the vault[4] and meet Gunlodr, though accounts differed as to how the encounter played out after that.[5] After Odin stole the mead, Suttungr sent his assassin Malvigr to hunt the two dwarves down, believing them to be connected.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
The mead's real history was similar to the mythological version of the tale, although certain details differed. The serum was developed by Hyrrokin[2] before being seized and locked away by Suttungr and Gunlodr, who deemed this method of surviving the solar flare too unethical, since it would pollute the human genome.[6] However, Hyrrokin wished to use the mead to save her husband Aita,[7] who had been left catatonic after testing the failed Fifth Method of Salvation,[8] and so she devised a plan to steal it.[7]
Following Odin's capture by Angrboða and Loki, Hyrrokin saved him and informed him of the mead's location, enabling him to steal it.[6] Odin then brought the serum to Mímisbrunnr, which was meant to receive the mead and synthesize it. After Odin sacrificed his left eye in payment in order to use as catalyst, the mead was synthesized, and Odin and Hyrrokin took a sample each.[9]
Hyrrokin later further modified the technology, using it to create "Sages" of Aita, humans born with her late husband's memories.[10] However, her role in the theft of the mead was soon discovered by Suttungr and Gunlodr, who stripped her of her title of "Mother of Wisdom" for her treachery. Meanwhile, Odin and his fellow Æsir Isu successfully used the mead and their Yggdrasil supercomputer on the day of the Great Catastrophe to upload their essence into a human bloodline. This ensured that they eventually would be "reborn" as humans,[2] though because the serum they used was in its raw form, this incarnation would only occur once.[11]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
- Dawn of Ragnarök (indirect mention only)
- The Forgotten Saga
- Discovery Tour: Viking Age (mentioned only)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Discovery Tour: Viking Age – Learnings: The Sacred Mead of Poetry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Animus Anomalies
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Dawn of Ragnarök – Database: Fjalar & Galar
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Database: Suttungr
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Database: Gunlodr
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Feast to Remember
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Mistress of the Iron Wood
- ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Modern day
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Price of Wisdom
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Poor Fellow-Soldier
