Ragnarök (Manhwa)
Ragnarök is the name of a Manhwa (comic / print cartoon) which was written by the artist and author Lee Myung-jin. It is loosely based upon Norse mythology and was later used as the basis of the Gravity MMORPG Ragnarök Online and loosely used as the story for the same game as well as subsequent Ragnarök-based properties.
The comic was originally released in Korea in 1998, and was subsequently translated in to several languages including English, Japanese, Spanish, Finnish and Swedish among others.
Premise[edit | edit source]
The premise of the Manhwa borrows from the Norse Mythology somewhat in that it uses the worlds of Midgard, the realm of the humans, and also references Ragnarök, the central part of the Elder (Poetic) Edda, which details the impending doom of the gods, but amends the myth that instead of gods causing a battle which destroys Midgard, the humans in Midgard are set to inherit the earth. [1] Presumably while the gods politely kill each-other outside of the human realm. It uses the myth of the Valkyries, which in Norse mythology were dispatched to the battlefield to review or the suitability of fallen heroes for Valhalla, protect warriors, and in some instances kill those who were not favourable.[2]
In the Manhwa, these are elite warriors which are dispatched (presumably to Midgard) to find those destined to bring about Ragnarök. [1] Character Fenris Fenrir searches to find the reincarnation of Balder (Baldr) in an attempt to change the world, while the Valkyries attempt to find Balder to thwart these plans. [1] In the Edda, Balder presages his own death and is killed, sparking a series of events which begins Ragnarök. His return is prophesised after Ragnarök has finished, to help begin anew along with Thor's sons.
Volume 1[edit | edit source]
Chapter 1[edit | edit source]
Fenris Fenrir breaches the Temple of Breidablik in the realm of the gods, Asgard. In search of the fallen god Balder's sword, Sentinel Breeze. She breaches the spire of the temple, alarming the location's guardian Gargoyles.[1]
Battling with the gargoyles proves difficult as they continue to revive until Fenris Fenrir discovers the source of their magic -- their nest, allowing her to destroy them and search further for the sword. As she searches for the throne room in the temple sealed off with protected runes, she is ambushed by muscular dragon-like monsters called Frost Giants, but dispatches them with an attack called Demon Light Blaze and with her rod, Laevatein, which responds verbally to her commands. [1]
As the monsters prove to be more challenging than expected, Fenris surmises that the monsters must have been controlled by a powerful presence from within the temple, but continues to find the Sentinel Breeze untouched for 1000 years,. As she acquires the legendary weapon, one of the twelve Valkyries of Valhalla, Sara Irine appears with six Frost Giants, remarking that the sword is capable of breaking the 1000 Year Seal, and that god Freya (Freyja) has commanded that Fenrir and the Sentinel Breeze be destroyed.
Fenris acknowledges she has little chance of beating Sara, and in a desperate attempt to protect the Sentinel Breeze cuts her hand with a dagger as an offering to summon Scorching Heat Shield, to protect herself from Sara. Bemused, Sara quips that the battle between them has just begun.[1]
