Before the universe was complete, there were two areas of land in the North and South. They were Niflheim and Muspellheim; one a land of ice and the other of fire. Between these two areas was a great nothingness called Ginnungagap. Eleven rivers flowed out of Niflheim and into Ginnungagap where they froze. The ice spread continuously, and when it spread near enough to Muspellheim's flames, it began to melt. From the melting ice came to beings: Ymir, the first Frost Giant and Audumla the giant cow. Ymir was able to survive by drinking Audumla's milk, and she stayed strong by gaining nourishment from licking the salty ice. When Ymir would sleep, the heat would cause him to sweat. His sweat created more Forst Giants. One day, while Audumla was licking the ice she noticed a figure beneath the ice. She was able to lick him free in three days. This man was named Buri, who eventually had a son named Bor. Bor married Bestla, a Frost Giant. They had three sons named Odin, Vili, and Ve. These three were the first gods. Ymir and the other Frost Giants were extremely vulgar and exhibited many evil behaviors. Odin and his brothers ended up killing him, his vast amount of blood draining swept away all the other Frost Giants except two. Bergelmir and his wife hid in a hollow tree and all Giants are escended from them. The gods used Ymir's body to form the universe in Ginnungagap's emptiness. The earth was his flesh, mountains and rocks were his teeth, his blood was emptied into rivers and seas, his skull created the dome of the sky, and his brains were the clouds. Sparks were gathered from Muspellheim and flung into the heavens to create the sun,moon, and stars. The first humans were created from the roots of an ash and elm tree. Their names were Ask and Embla and there purpose was to populate the world with other humans. Maggots were found crawling in the flesh of Ymir that had become the earth. The gods transformed them into small, humanoid creatures called Dwarfs. Four Dwarfs named North, South, East, and West hold up the four corners of the sky.
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