Project Pantheon - Fenrir

The third in the series, representing Norse Mythology and the Ice Age, the great wolf Fenrir. Also no Jupiter size comparison, because I don't have a good idea how big he should be compared to the others.

Picking a theme for Fenrir was easy, we all know how Norse Mythology is associated with the cold because vikings and all that (which is really just barely scratching the surface to be perfectly honest), but the actual part of designing him was pretty challenging. He could come in many forms, a wolf, a wolf-man and and werewolf. In the end I decided on half way between the werewolf and the quadraped wolf. Now for Fenrir's actual look and feel, that one actually took a little longer to figure out to be honest. Making him a literal ice wolf would have been too predictable, but in my head he should have ice associated... then it hit me! Instead of making him an elemental like Typhon, I figured his overall would be reminiscent of an prehistoric animal frozen in ice (think mammoths), with his skin all tightly-wrapped up and looking half starved, with his hair looking coarse. I ramped up the concept of frost-stricken super-beast making the ice most prominent on his limbs and tail, to parallel frostbite.

In-universe, with the initial prediction of Ragnarok being bent out of whack by the intervention of other pantheons during the Omni-war, Fenrir does not end up eating Odin when he finally breaks his binds. In the present state of things, he's the Aesir's and Vanir's hunting dog/super-seeker... and occassional extortionist. The universe is a big place, and with Yggdrassil (this setting's equivalent to the webway), the forces of Asgard can plunder and loot entire pantheons for resources and wealth, and sometimes to scare your vasslas straight, the big dog himself is a very convincing persuader. Fenrir has the unique position amongst the other "Great Beasts" of being able to negotiate with the pantheon members. He does not to be forced like Typhon, but he doesn't "called to war" like Behemoth. You better be sure that you don't waste his time with lesser foes. Everything he touches freezes, and his mere presence can turn the temperature of star clusters down a notch.

The reason for his status was due to his role in the Omni War; By the time he was on his way to do his exact his vengeance on Mr.Allfather for binding him with Gleipnir... Everyone was too busy fighting in a galactic war, and war eventually came to him. Without Jormungandr (himself having his own matters to attend) to assist him, he has to face off the forces of not just Asgardians, but the Celtic and Slavic pantheons they are thoroughly locked in combat with. This changed everything, if the Aesir loses and the 9 realms are lost, Fenrir will be seen as simply another monster to be hunted and destroyed, and the last thing Fenrir wants is to be a trophy for some god he doesn't know or care about. At the same time however, he doesn't to be the Aesir's (literal) lapdog, who bound him. Odin however decided to appeal to him the very same mindset that got bounded in the first place: make a name for himself... in this case, not just a merely a part of the nine-realms salvation... but as the great beast others beasts should fear (prior, his reputation was simply as a glorified dog that grew too quickly). Fenrir demanded however, to never be bounded again, and that he and he alone has the ultimate say of who or what to fight and who or what he gets to ravage. Alas, even Fenrir wasn't able to stave off the exile of Asgardians, and while he's known as "the swift and fierce", he ultimately wasn't The Beast, his strength overshadowed by Behemoth, his rage by Typhon's, and in wits, cunning and sheer adaptability, Tiamat. As a result, when he does decide to fight a foe in the universe... it's ultimately to make himself more powerful.

Fenrir's the last batch for now, as I want to prepare for the new semester and focus on the actual godheads/chieftans themselves. Right now I actually have several candidates as the next "great beast" of the line up. Initially I had it planned to be Ammit, to complete the Egypt, Norse, Greek trifecta, but after an absolutely wonderful discussion with , there's Tiamat, who in this universe, is also the goddes Nammu (and the first dragon, Kur), and last but not least, Azi Dahak, of Persian Mythology (of which I really need to catch up on).

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