Welcome to CHAPTER 73 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 Vafthrudnir, the high shaman of the Jotunn. We last saw Vaft in Ch 66 when he reported to his friend, the Skrymir — who is the High Chief of the Jotunn — that Thor had destroyed the town of Akrton in retaliation for the Jotunn destroying the town of Hals.In that chapter, the Skrymir told Vaft that Vidar the son of Odin, was on his way to one of the frozen lakes in Utgard. As readers we last saw those frozen lakes referenced in two of Loki’s chapters: 42 and 47. Vaft revealed that the “work” undertaken at those lakes represented a second major secret held by the Jotunn — if you recall, the Jotunn were hauling comatose bodies out of the frozen lake and then in the bowels of the secret cavern that Loki entered there were many campfires. And the Skrymir said there were many such caverns scattered across Utgard. The Skrymir also alluded to needing supplies.Chapter 66 ended with Vaft agreeing to spin the black ships of smoke and ash that Jotunn use to travel quickly across the snowy wastes of Utgard.In this chapter Vaft is woken by an unexpected death.I used Google Gemini to generate this week's episode art.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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