Odin is the dead father god of the Aesir, a power of war and Norse magic, “lord of the ravens, lord of many other things”. He perished in the Ragnarok, yet his runes still answer those who know how to consult them.
| Type | Entity (god) |
| Spanish entry | Odín |
Nature
Odin turns loss into knowledge: he sacrificed himself to gain arcane knowledge. In the myths Merle knows, he gave something up in the pool of Mimir in exchange for wisdom. He can interfere with others’ use of magic.
The runes
His runes are carved in stone in a circle, with runes of different kinds in the same circle. They are consulted through an interpreter — once through the Head of the Earth, an oracle — and work outside any temple.
Death and betrayal
Odin perished in the Ragnarok, a hinge of the cosmos. Accounts speak of “the death and the betrayal toward Odin” and of warning him about the betrayal. He died for the cause “without knowing what is happening” and was then silenced by the other gods. It is also said, with an uncertain subject, that the Horseman of War “killed Odin”.
Cult
A search in Constantinople for temples or Norse-looking worshipers found no church of Odin. What circulates is the runes and the oath «Por las barbas de Odín» (“By Odin’s beard”). He is said to have been patron of an unnamed faction.
In the records of the New World cycle, Norse mythology is canonized as an allied power: “Odin, the ravens and his positive friends” — the ravens go with him, on the side of light.
One statement holds that “the spirit of Pablo is Odin”; whether literally, metaphorically or otherwise is not clarified.
Open questions
- What Odin sacrificed in the pool is not recorded.
- Who killed him, what the betrayal was, and whether the killer and the silencing gods acted together are unknown.
- How the runes are consulted, how many there are and what their “kinds” are is unknown.
- Whether the dead god still interferes with magic is unknown.
- Whether he has a church anywhere other than Constantinople is unknown.
- Whether the runes work because of his death, despite it, or regardless of it is unknown.