Welcome to CHAPTER 62 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.This week, we’re back with Odin. His last few chapters have dealt with him cutting out his eye so that he may see more clearly — what’s happening to his son Baldr, how Loki is (or is not) involved in what’s going on with Baldr, how Loki is (or is not) involved in the attack on Hals — which Vidar Odinsson is still investigating — and what may eventually happen for the Aesir as a people.Readers know from Loki’s chapters that he is involved with the Jotunn…that he is planning to murder Baldr during the Midwinter celebration…and that the Jotunn are planning to attack Gladsheim shortly thereafter.Readers also know that the Jotunn have discovered doorways that allow them to step from one place to another instantly. Vidar discovered one of those doorways. And readers know that there is one doorway inside Gladsheim’s walls and at least one other nearby — we know this because the Skrymir allowed Loki to see a map of where those doorways are.There is also a mystery happening — Mimir, Odin’s uncle, discovered a ritual in Angrboda’s broken down house. Angrboda is Loki’s first wife. Together they had three children: Hel, Jorm and Fenrir. Readers don’t know what that ritual involved other than an apparent invocation directed toward a fang.Readers have also learned that the Norns — who we’ve met — told Odin and Frigg that Baldr would die if he wasn’t protected. That’s why they hid his spirit in the mistletoe — which somebody figured out despite Odin and Frigg keeping that secret for a very long time. We saw that somebody cut out the heart of the mistletoe and took it away. What’s left on the tree where it grew was just enough to fool the casual eye that the entire plant remained.The Norns also prophesied that the “monstrous children” of Angrboda and Loki would bring doom to the Aesir. That is why Odin decided to kill them…but according to the memory Odin discovered while staring into the pool of water near Mimir, Loki may have intervened and stopped him.But, upon reflection — see what I did there! — Odin’s not entirely sure he can trust that memory because the water trickling down Yggdrasil and flowing over Mimir is the same water that feeds the Well of Urdr. And it was from that Well that a spirit arose and attacked him…for reasons that Odin doesn’t quite know, but he suspects that that spirit wanted to possess his body.So, hopefully that recap makes sense. But whether it does or not, it’s time to rejoin Odin.You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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