A child of man treads the path of Hel. The sun blackens, stars fall into the sea, and as fire licks the life-giving tree, the heavens themselves shall cleave.

Following an ominous prophecy from the world tree herself, rivalling species come together to form a treaty. In order to stop an outbreak of war, they agree to a mutual hostage exchange, sending their most promising children to grow up amongst potential enemies.

An insecure þórr is brought to live amongst the rough giants of Jǫtunheimr, granting Ásgarðr the cunning Loki in his stead, whilst a proud elven empress sends her uncontrollable heir to be hidden away amongst the Vanir gods in exchange for the arguably more valuable twins Freyr and Freyja.

Meanwhile in Miðgarðr, where humanity resides far away from the lives of gods, a young girl's nightly hunting trip is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious divine child.

In an intricate tale where numerous life-strings collide in an interwoven search for family, identity, and purpose, can the smallest of mortal actions alter the destiny of even the greatest of gods?

After a decade long deep-dive into ancient mythology, Viktor Rydberg wrote one of our world's earliest fantasy epics in 1887. Reimagined today by C. Beskow and E.P.W. Tell, his tales of the Old Norse World come to life once more.