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| “ | Dying is what we Aesir live for. | „ |
| ~ Odin to Kratos. |
| “ | The Gods of these realm don't take kindly to outsiders, trust me, I know. When they find you, and they will, they’ll make things difficult. | „ |
| ~ Freya to Kratos. |
| “ | Mother always said the Aesir were the worst of the gods, and Thor was the worst of the Aesir. | „ |
| ~ Atreus' remark about the Aesir. |
The Aesir are the main antagonists of the Norse saga of the God of War franchise. Based in their fortress world of Asgard, these barbaric deities are ruled by the vicious Odin and led by the mighty Thor. The Aesir are one of the two groups of deities in the Norse realms alongside the Vanir, their long-time rivals from Vanaheim.
Emboldened by Odin's claims that they should hold dominion over all creation, the Aesir came to the fore in the wake of Ymir's death and quickly became the most powerful force in the Norse realms. They wiped out the Jötnar almost to the last man and submitted the other races through slavery and war.
The Aesir displayed unwavering loyalty to the All-Father, carrying forth his will while competiting with each other to gain Odin's favours. Their fate was sealed when the seer Gróa foresaw their demise in a cataclysmic event known as Ragnarök, the end of all things.
Characteristics[]
Much like the Olympians and with the exception of a few, most of the Aesir gods are cruel, barbaric, and war-loving deities who loved to spread conflict and chaos in the Nine Realms simply for their own amusement or to eliminate anyone else who they believe posed a threat to their reign. After Odin turned on the Giants the day he murdered Ymir, the Aesir usurped a power that did not belong to them and claimed to be the sole legitimate rulers of the Nine Realms, effectively enslaving the Dwarves and exterminating almost to the last man the Giants, leaving only the Vanir gods to oppose them.
They displayed unwavering loyalty to Odin and sought out his favours, not realizing that they were being played by the All-Father so that his influence upon them would remain intact. Nevertheless, a few Aesir such as Týr and Sif would came to see Odin for who he really was, but they would never prove to be a real threat to the All-Father. The Aesir were nevertheless worshipped by mankind in Midgard, where people made offerings to Odin and Thor and looked up to the gods for meaning and divine comfort. Little did they know that the Aesir cared nothing for them and despised what they saw as pitiful attempts to gain their favors.
Týr is the best-known Aesir who wasn't corrupted like his family as he believed in peace and unity, but sadly this led to his presumed death at the hands of his own father Odin who suspected him of plotting with the Giants to overthrow him and disapproved of his method to stave off Ragnarök. Because of this they're feared and hated by many inhabitants of the Nine Realms.
History[]
Long before God of War (2018)[]
The First Gods[]
The first Aesir God to ever exist is Búri who was one of Ymir, the primordial giant's many creations. Búri would later sire a son named Borr who was later followed by his grandsons Odin, Vili and Vé. Not long after their creation the Aesir believed that they were more superior than any races that Ymir ever created, and that they should hold dominion over all creation. The strongest among them, Odin, raised arms with his brothers against Ymir and slew, eventually leaving the Realms at the mercy of Asgard.
Plan To Eradicate the Giants[]
Due to Odin's action, almost every giant born from Ymir drowned his flood, leaving Bergelmir and his wife Nal as the only survivors of the disaster. It also caused their descendants to have always held bitter resentment to Odin and the Aesir, with the Allfather always looking for ways to eliminate their race completely. Both envious and paranoid of their innate affinity with foresight, as well as their strange connection to his own death, Odin eventually made the decision to kill all the giants using his now extended Aesir tribe/family, especially his son Thor, who started a campaign to kill all the giants he could find in Midgard.
Aesir-Vanir Conflict[]
Besides the Giants, the Aesir had simmering tensions between their rival tribe, the pacifist Vanir. One of the Vanir leaders, the Vanir God Freyr, tried an act of diplomacy, teaching the Aesir the way of the harvest, but these spells had such a downside, the Aesir weren't to blame themselves, when things went wrong, they blamed Freyr, and tortured and tried to burn him After the Vanir's failed attempts at diplomacy, the two fractions of gods finally broke out in war. Though contests of raw power were easily won, the Vanir proved to be their equal and delivered serious damage to the Aesir. Their battles raged on for centuries until both sides finally put an end to the senseless conflict, having no choice but to compromise in order to achieve peace.
Mimir served as the ambassador of the two tribes, proposing that Odin should marry one of the leaders of the Vanir, Freya. The proposal finally brought peace to both the Aesir and Vanir. Odin was, at the time, distraught over the death of his beloved Fjörgyn, though Freya's presence brought him comfort. Freya soon bore him a son.
Odin's Increased Paranoia[]
Odin didn't give up on his quest of finding a way to Jötunheim and to eliminate any giants he could find. At some points Odin and the Aesir bounded Fenrir with unbreakable chains due to Odin's paranoia over the colossal wolf and took his sons Sköll and Hati to raise and later used them to keep the sun and moon moving after they grew mutinous due to an unknown reason (possibly due to Helios death at the hands of Kratos in God of War III).
The Dead Stone Mason[]
At some time, the Jötunn Thamur was trying to build a massive wall in Jötunheim for his people to be saved for the campaign of destruction of Thor, but finishing it alone was nigh impossible, so he called his son, the Jötunn Hrimthur, and asked him for help, but the boy had a heart of a warrior, not a builder.
Thamur didn't like his son attitude, and they had a fight, with it ending with Thamur screaming loudly at Hrimthur, who was scared of his father's attitude, and ran for Midgard, Thamur was ashamed of what he had done, and tried to follow his son, screaming for him, but the screams never found the boy, instead, another enemy, Thor. The battle between the two was fierce, but it ended quickly, as Thor struck and broke Thamur's hammer, causing him to fall on his own chisel in his, and his dying breath froze the village that worshiped the Vanir god Njörd, Thor always took credit for doing this, but the truth is that he just got lucky.
Attempt of Peace[]
Odin tried an "attempt of peace" organized by the diplomatic God of War Týr, (who was unwittingly used by Odin as he tried to steal secrets from Jötunheim); in exchange of the hammer Mjolnir, after that, Odin was only wanting to see the giant's prophecy about Ragnarök, he saw a white man, from another land, and his young son. The giants noticed that, and tried to pick Odin, who turned into a small eagle and escaped for Midgard, where he turned to his normal form with a wicked smile on his face.
After all that happened, the All-Father utilized the strength of his son Thor to continue the Giant slaughter across Midgard, though several Jötnar Shrines depict that Thor was not the only god involving themselves in this brutality.
At some points later after Týr successfully sealed away any possible travel to Jötunheim to save the giants from his brethren's brutality, he was imprisoned away by his father, who spread rumors across all the realms that he had died.
Construction of Asgard's Walls[]
Hrimthur was angry with the death of his father Thamur, but from what happened, he had more intelligence, and would not go to fight Thor. But Hrimthur noticed that Asgard's walls were "half-built and shoddy", thus, he adopted the guise of a mortal and made a purpose with Odin, he would build Asgard's walls within two years, if he could do this, he would have a meeting with the goddess Freya, if he did not, he would receive nothing.
Odin agreed, thinking of this as an impossible thing to do, but much to Odin's frustration, with the help of a magic stallion and lessons taught by his father, Hrimthur could build the walls, but agreed with the bargain and sent Freya to speak to Hrimthur. Surprisingly, the guised Jötunn just wanted to speak something in her ears, who is presumably some kind of weakness in Asgard's walls that Hrimthur put.
As he was walking to Midgard, he saw Thor in the gates, waiting for him, Hrimthur realized he was double-crossed and Odin discovered his true identity, but he did not care, as his plan was complete, and he had put a weakness on the Asgard's wall, for the preparation of the downfall of the Aesir in Ragnarök at the hands of the fire giant Surtr.
The Separation of Freya[]
Freya was ashamed of her husband obsession for Ragnarök and the giants, and tried to reason for him to stop, to just leave their people alone, unfortunately, it was too late, and Odin's insanity and obsession took him, Odin used the Seidr magic he learned from Freya, to take out her Valkyrie wings, her spirit of warrior and locked her in the realm of Midgard, unable to harm a single thing, even in self-defense, she felt strange, before collapsing in Midgard
Now, war was sure to return, with the Aesir with the masterwork hammer in their hands, the end of her marriage may be the end of her people, her only hope is that, sometime, some brave soul finish what she could not, and restore balance in the Norse Realms.
God of War (2018)[]
The Aesir gods are introduced in the flesh when a stranger - in reality Baldur himself - came knocking at Kratos' door, expecting to find the Giant who has long defied Odin's authority across the Nine Realms. Ignoring who the Spartan really was, Baldur engaged him in a brutal fight that abruptly ended for the latter with a broken neck. Far from being finished, the son of Odin summoned Magni and Modi to help him hunt Kratos and Atreus down, a decision that would cost the Aesir a lot: against all odds, the mighty sons of Thor both died at the hands of Kratos and Atreus, leaving Baldur to finish the job itself.
The God of Light ambushed the protagonists at the highest peak of Midgard and was nearly successful in capturing Atreus. Riding his personal dragon, he forcefully brought the young man to Týr's Temple and initiated the sequence to open the gates of Asgard. Kratos interrupted the sequence in extremis and after yet another dangerous trip in the realm of the dead, father and son escaped Baldur's clutches once more.
Baldur would find and battle them one last time in Midgard, near the body of the Giant Thamur. When he realized that his mother was standing in front of him, he turned his attention on her but was prevented from harming her by Kratos. The sons of Zeus and Odin inevitably clashed in a fight to death after Baldur's invulnerability spell was broken, much to Freya's horror. Her desperate attempts to stop Kratos and Baldur from killing each other proved unsuccessful, and the Spartan ultimately ended Baldur's life by snapping his neck.
Baldur's death triggered Fimbulwinter, sowing the seeds of Ragnarök.
God of War Ragnarök[]
In the wake of the unexpected death of his kin in Midgard, Odin himself turned his full attention on Kratos. The Aesir learned about who Kratos really was and what he did in Greece, being the one responsible for the demise of the Olympians. The All-Father and Thor paid the Spartan a visit and first attempted to ensure that he would not interfere in the battle that was ahead. Kratos openly rejected Odin's deal and as a result, the God of Thunder engaged him in one of the closest fights the Spartan ever faced. Odin took advantage of the situation and invited Atreus to Asgard.
The Aesir would not be seen again until Atreus took the bold decision to come to Odin in Asgard. The young man inevitably crossed paths with Heimdall, who nearly killed his prey before changing his mind and taking Atreus to the All-Father. But the God of Foresight did not trust him and tricked him into a fight that the young man could not possibly win. The arrival of Thor and Odin saved Atreus from Heimdall, and the All-Father immediately granted his guest protection and an offer to work with him.
Atreus thought that working for Odin was the only way he had to prevent the death of Kratos, and he would travel with Thor and even Thrúd to gather the missing pieces of the wooden artifact that Odin wanted to see complete at any cost. A decision that would cost him a lot, leading to the cold blooded murder of Brok at the hands of Odin and the end of his strong friendship with a now broken Sindri.
The All-Father's infamy urged his enemies to seek for Surtr and trigger Ragnarök, in a desperate attempt to stop Odin and the Aesir once and for all. After much reluctance, Kratos eventually accepted to lead the armies of the Nine Realms and bring the war to Asgard. Despite a significant advantage in numbers and the arrival of Jormüngandr and Ragnarök itself, Kratos' army was not able to make significant progress, leading the Spartan to focus his attention on breaching Asgard's walls.
Having successfully defeated the World Serpent, Thor turned his attention on Kratos and engaged him in a fight to death. But Kratos proved to be wiser and more focused than his bloodlusted foe, and the Spartan ultimately prevailed. While the Spartan spared Thor and successfully reasoned with him, Odin would not let it happen. The All-Father promptly ended Thor's life and neutralized his granddaughter in the process, setting the stage for the final showdown.
Odin blamed Kratos and Atreus for having turned the Aesir against him, tearing the whole arena apart out of cold anger. Upon being overwhelmed by Kratos' brute force, the All-Father bounced back and used a binding spell to gain the upper hand. The Spartan and his son were saved by the arrival of a vengeful Freya, who forced her former husband to kneel in front of her. Nevertheless, Odin managed to free himself by distracting the Vanir goddess and after a last failed attempt to turn Atreus against his father, the All-Father prepared himself for a fight to death, determined to finish Kratos, Freya, Atreus and Mimir off for good.
The King of the Aesir used every trick up his sleeves against his archenemies, summoning spellbooks to unleash the elements and cast beams of fire upon his opponents. He ultimately lost to those who were desperately fighting not to save themselves, but for the Nine Realms from the evil that Odin has embodied for far too long. Unable to change for the better and beyond redemption, Odin's soul was taken away from him by Atreus, effectively ending the millenial life of the All-Father.
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla[]
Following the events of Ragnarök that led to the demise of Odin and Thor as well as the destruction of Asgard, few Aesir were still around. While Sif and Thrúd temporarily settled in Midgard before moving to Vanaheim with the other Asgardian survivors, Týr was finally freed from his long imprisonment and brought back to the world of the living, a world that changed dramatically during his absence.
The former God of War sent Kratos an invitation to Valhalla, challenging him to face his past and finally come to terms with himself. The two fallen gods battled each other several times as part of a trial to see if Kratos was ready to embrace his future and accept his legitimate place as a ruling deity in the Nine Realms. Týr would prove decisive in helping Kratos realize that there has always been more in him than what the others saw: a monster.
Powers and Abilities[]
Far from the display of grandiose and omnipotence that the Olympians cherished, the Aesir are much more grounded deities who value brute strength above all else. Unlike what their human appearance suggests, all the Norse gods proved to be incredibly strong beings able to endure extreme punishment from Kratos himself.
Following his climactic duel with Thor, the Spartan noted that no other gods hit him as hard as the God of Thunder did, including the Olympians. When he first met with Baldur, the latter overwhelmed Kratos with his speed and strength and survived thanks to the invulnerability spell cast upon him by Freya. Heimdall proved to be yet another challenge since the Spartan could not possibly land a hit upon him, and had to rely on a specific strategy to defeat him. As for Odin himself, the King of the Aesir was unmatched when it came to magic, which allowed him to single handedly defeat both Kratos and Atreus - albeit for a short time. The All-Father then held his own against Kratos, Atreus and Freya - three gods at the same time - before he was finally taken down.
The Aesir gods all share the same characteristics to some extent, which are:
- Superhuman Strength: the Aesir are among the strongest beings in the Norse realms, able to take on legendary creatures such as the World Serpent and other deities such as the Vanir gods and Kratos himself. Thor is universally aknowledged as the strongest among the Aesir gods.
- Superhuman Durability: the Aesir are able to sustain extreme punishment even from beings as powerful as Kratos.
- Superhuman Speed: the Aesir can move at surprisingly fast speeds.
- Superhuman Stamina: the Aesir are able to fight for a sustained period of time against virtually any opponent.
- Superhuman Agility: the Aesir are all capable of jumping great distance and even heights.
- Immortality: the Aesir are deities and cannot be harmed or killed by mortal or conventional means. They predate time itself and can only fall at the hands of particularly strong beings such as Surtr, Jormüngandr or other deities.
However, Mimir noticed that while they were an unstoppable force, they lacked strategy, coordination, and planning. Also, most of the Aesir look down on the practice of magic, relying solely on their skills in brute combat. All Aesir seen so far can use elemental power to enhance their physical abilities and weaponry; Baldur can imbue his attacks with light and later with ice and fire, and likewise, Thor and his sons can imbue their weapons with lightning. All Aesir seen so far can be identified by their clean, strong blue eyes.
Known Aesir[]
10 Aesir gods are featured in the God of War series, while many others are mentioned only.
- Odin - God of Magic, Wisdom, Poetry, Frenzy and War.
- Thor - God of Thunder.
- Heimdall - God of Foresight.
- Sif - Goddess of Family.
- Týr - God of War.
- Baldur - God of Light.
- Magni - God of Force.
- Modi - God of Courage.
- Thrúd - Goddess of Strength.
- Mimir - God of Knowledge.
Others[]
- Bestla - The mother of Odin.
- Borr - Son of Búri and the father of Odin, Vili, and Vé.
- Bragi - Bard of Valhalla, the God of Poetry.
- Búri - The first Aesir God to ever exist.
- Forseti - God of Justice.
- Höðr - The blind son of Odin, God of Darkness and Winter.
- Hœnir - An obscure Aesir god.
- Nanna - Goddess of Peace.
- Idunn - The wife of Bragi, Goddess of Youth.
- Vili and Vé - The younger brothers of Odin.
- Ullr - The son of Sif, and stepson of Thor, God of Archery, Hunting, and Skiing.
Trivia[]
- The Aesir replace the Olympians as the main antagonist group of the series in God of War (2018).
- Baldur is the first Aesir met and fought by Kratos, while Magni is the first to die by his hands.
- Among the ten Aesir gods featured in the series, six are effectively evil.
- Despite the fact that their King, Odin, is a master of several mystic arts, including ancient magic and Seiðr, the Aesir still look down on the practice of magic, calling it unmanly and some even mocked the Allfather for learning them.
- Another mentioned Aesir is the Goddess Nanna, wife of Baldur in Norse mythology. However, she is referenced so briefly (in one of Brok's many sayings, no less) that it's unclear whether this would even be her role in God of War (2018).
- In the mythology, the pair has a son, the God of justice and reconciliation, Forseti. However, since Baldur's invulnerability enchantments prevent him from siring a child as stated in the novel, Forseti never existed in God of War universe.
- It is implied through several Lore Markers and Scrolls, as well as the odd bit of dialogue that the "traditional" role of the Aesir (or at least, the one they might have sloppily built for themselves) is that of Midgard's dependable defenders when times require action, not unlike their role in mythology. Unfortunately, at least by God of War (2018); mortal reliance upon Asgard for said duty seems to have entirely vanished.
- According to Mimir, while the Aesir are a powerful force, he considers them lacking in the strategy and thought department. This is where he functioned as Odin's adviser.
- Mimir also considers them not very perceptive, seeing as how they somehow can't tell the difference between Dwarves and Dark Elves, despite neither race looking even remotely alike.
- Apparently, the Aesir fear and despise anything they consider to be unpredictable and uncontrollable. This is among the reasons why most of them dislike magic and seek to establish total control over the Nine Realms.
- Cory Barlog compared the Aesir to the Hunter S. Thompson's depiction of the Hells Angels in his book "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs": he described them as "hard drinking, proud-to-be-the-dirtiest-and-nastiest, down-to-fight and living every second of life".
- Given that Laufey used to tell tales of Ullr to her son Atreus and that the latter is fond of the God of Archery and Hunting, it's possible that Ullr, like Tyr, is one of the very few Aesir gods who is not as corrupt and warmongering as his family.
