| “ | Kratos: Ragnarök. From snow. Mimir: Aye. Snow, lots more snow, and then the end of the bloody world, in that approximate order. |
” |
Fimbulwinter or Fimbulvetr ("Mighty Winter" in Old Norse) was a prophesied event affecting several realms such as Midgard, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, and possibly others.
It was a three-year long period of extreme environmental change (e.g., heavy snow and blizzards in Midgard, increased humidity in Svartalfheim and Vanaheim) which serves as a foreboding occurrence for Ragnarök, the supposed total annihilation of all the Nine Realms.
Norse Mythology
Fimbulvetr is the harsh winter that precedes the end of the world and puts an end to all life on Earth. Fimbulvetr is three successive winters, when snow comes in from all directions, without any intervening summer, and Innumerable wars follow. After the Fimbulvetr, the events of Ragnarök begins.
The event is described primarily in the Poetic Edda. In the poem Vafþrúðnismál, Odin poses the question to Vafþrúðnir as to who of mankind will survive the Fimbulvetr. Vafþrúðnir responds that Líf and Lífþrasir will survive and that they will live in the forest of Hoddmímis holt.
In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other Nordic countries, the term Fimbulvetr has been borrowed from Old Norse to refer to an unusually cold and harsh winter. However, in Sweden, another common word is 'Vargavinter', which means 'wolf winter'.
In the God of War Series
In the wake of Baldur's death, the heavy winter had slowly taken course, with Brok noting its presence while Sindri tries to not believe it. In the secret ending, Fimbulwinter was coming to an end when Kratos and Atreus encountered Thor at their house.
Three years following Baldur's death, the snowfall continues to worsen with each passing day, with blizzards becoming a regular occurrence. The Lake of Nine was also frozen over completely, effectively locking down Tyr's Temple and preventing any travel between the realms. Hel-Walkers and strange new beasts are noted by Sindri to be roaming about the land.
Because of it being magical in nature, Fimbulwinter over time caused curses, in which magical items/weapons, and other blessings had weakened across the Nine Realms, some more than others, or had disappeared entirely. As a result, this was seen as either a boon or inconvenience. Examples being the improvements made to Kratos' weapons would eventually disappear and they would revert to their base forms, and allowing Freya to visit the other realms without being forcibly ejected, albeit at a limited capacity, and allowing her to undo the spell Odin created that kept her in Midgard.
Beside Midgard's heavy snow and blizzards, Fimbulwinter also affected most other realms; Svartalfheim has random and intense earthquakes as well as humid aroma, Vanaheim has extreme humidity in its jungles, Alfheim has violent flashes of Light in the Lake of Souls, and Helheim has also colder and darker places overrun with Hel-Walkers. Niflheim appears to be a frozen land again and no longer just a realm of toxic mist. However, Asgard, Jotunheim, and Muspelheim suffer little to no effect from Fimbulwinter. It is hypothesized by Mimir that the more primordial the realm is, the less it is affected.
Fimbulwinter came to a close with the beginning of Ragnarök, which resulted in Asgard's destruction, bringing the Aesir's centuries-long reign to an end, allowing the nine realms to finally thrive and be at peace once more.