BALDR: HISTORY

A MYTH:
When no Christian priests or inquisitors were near, some Germanic and Scandinavian peoples told tales of their old Norse gods. The best of these gods was remembered as Baldr, a god of goodness. Tales described his murder by rival gods, dooming him to the netherworld of Hel until the great cataclysm, Ragnarok. While all Norse prophecies foretold that Ragnarok destroyed the world, some prophecies offered hope that Baldr would rise from Hel to help mankind.

RAGNAROK:
For the Germanic and Scandinavian people who remembered the old Norse gods, the strife and catalcysms of the 14th century heralded Ragnarok. Many abandoned the relatively new Christian churches around them and began to make increasingly large and sometimes bloody sacrifices to the shrines of the old Norse gods, including Baldr. Thus, as the world began to break, legends tell that Baldr returned from Hel on the back of a golden dragon. Too late to prevent Ragnarok, Baldr nonetheless managed to save some of mankind’s realms and peoples.

CHAOS REBORN:
In striving to save as many as possible from the ruination of Ragnarok, Baldr gathered together a coterie of determined wizards, sharing with them both great lore and power. The mightiest of these wizards became demigods, if they were not already. Many died in the struggle to save what little of the world they could. All, including Baldr, were greatly diminished by the effort expended to save both themselves and others. In this context, Baldr and those wizards aligned with him seek to develop a plan that assures survival, wonder, and progress for humanity.

 

UNCERTAIN LORE:
Some believe that Baldr is one of the most ancient of the old gods who survived the Earth-destroying apocalypse of the Great Schism. If true, Baldr likely was worshipped under different names by peoples forgotten before the birth of the first Norsemen. Some also believe that Baldr is the latest incarnation of an elder god responsible for millennia of barbarous, bloody mayhem.  Enough uncertainty exists about Baldr's background to suggest that there is more lore to discover.