With Ragnarok having come into completion, Asgard has ceased to exist.Īlfheim, also known as Ljosalfheim, is the home of the Light Elves, sitting high on Yggdrasil underneath Asgard, next to Vanaheim, and above all the other realms.Īlfheim is as a kingdom of enchanted forests, candy vegetation, rivers and springs of wine, and beautiful gardens. Within Asgard lies the mystical region that is Valhalla, where the Asgardians, and certain mortals who prove themselves worthy in honor by glorifying themselves in battle, go upon their death. Rock, water, flesh, bone, steel: all matter is denser and thus more durable. For instance, a chair made of Asgardian wood is heavier and stronger than a chair made of Earthly wood. While Asgard's gravity is roughly analogous to Earth's, common matter is considerably denser on average. The exact nature of space within the Asgardian dimension is unknown. Asgard has been described as floating on a "Sea of Space." This sea apparently has a surface, one that is navigable by Asgardian ships, which resemble Viking longboats. The same force also prevents the bodies of water along Asgard's boundaries from pouring into the void and prevents Asgard's atmosphere from escaping. At the edges of Asgard's landmass, a being or object can fall into a void, but some unknown force apparently keeps the edges themselves from eroding. There does, however, appear to be a form of seasonal cycle on Asgard.Īsgard's gravity apparently radiates from somewhere below it (assuming gravity works there as it does here): there is a "top" and a "bottom" to Asgard. Asgard does have intervals of night and day (of undisclosed duration), so some object or force functions as a sun. Asgard does not rotate about its axis, nor does it revolve around a sun. Asgard is not a sphere like the Earth, but a relatively flat landmass suspended in space. It is a small, otherdimensional planetoid (its surface area being about the same as the continental United States), whose nature and physics are different from those of planetary bodies in the Earthly dimension.
The branches are brought so close together that the Nine Realms essentially overlap and align, becoming closely adjacent to one another the typical separation between the realms goes away, enabling free and easy travel between any and all of the Realms.Īsgard is the home of the Asgardians, sitting at the top of Yggdrasil. This goes with the Asgardian belief that the Tree breathes with life and sways in the cosmic wind, bringing the Nine Realms closer together and farther apart at various intervals, cycling every 10,000 years.Įvery 10,000 years when the branches of Yggdrasil come closest together, an event called The Convergence takes place. While commonly described as a structure, most of the inhabitants of the Nine Realms believe Yggdrasil to be a living thing, a source of life for all creatures and beings that exist as part of it.
After Ragnarok, the World Tree, though badly shaken, was to be the source of new life. The roots and branches of the Tree each connect a different realm, chiefly through the Bifrost but can be achieved through other means by using the natural branch connections of Yggdrasil that support all the Nine Realms.Īt its base are three wells: Urdarbrunnr (Well of Fate), from which the tree was watered by the Norns (the Fates) Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), in which dwelt Nidhogg, the monster that gnawed at the tree's roots and Mímisbrunnr (Mimir's Well), source of wisdom. Yggdrasil, the World Tree, is an energy field that supports and connects the Nine Realms.