“	In the time before the Titans, before the Gods of Olympus, a great battle was waged. The wrath of the Primordials, the very beings who forged the Earth, raged out of control for an eternity. And from this rage, this madness of war, the Furies were brought forth.	”
―Gaia

“	In the beginning, there was Ginnungagap, the great void. There were no realms yet, only primordial forces. There was Fire, and there was Ice, and there in the Void they met, and produced... Water? More than water-- the mystic lifeblood of something entirely new. From this water, Ymir took form, and became a being of pure creation and chaos, mother and father to all that came after.	”
―Mimir and Atreus

Primordial Beings are ancient, cosmic creatures that came into existence during the creation of the world. In Greece, they predate the Titans and Olympians, while in the Nine Realms, they predate the Jötnar, as well as the Aesir and Vanir.

Eons ago, the Greek Primordials had a war with each other in which some were destroyed and upon their destruction, the Greek World (and universe) was created from their elemental essence creating the earth, sea and heavens. As for the Nordic Primordials, they had no war against each other and simply emerged from the Ginnungagap due to the union of Muspelheim's ancient flames and Niflheim's ancient frost.

Mythology

Greek Mythology

The Protogenoi are the original deities born out of the primrodial chasm known as Chaos, who in turn was the original divine entity in all Grecian mythos. The first of the Protogenoi to come out of Chaos was the earth named Gaia, after her came the infernal pit named Tartarus and finally the act of procreating new life through love, referred to as Eros.

Soon, Chaos would directly spawn in two other primordial beings, the darkness (Erebus) and night (Nyx), who would procreate to birth light (Aether) and day (Hemera) while Gaia of her own without a mate, birthed the heavens (Uranus) and sea (Pontus). With Uranus as her mate, the two primordial forces would birth in a new generation of gods known as the Titans, who were more human-like compared to their elemental parents. The Titans themselves would spawn in a third generation called the Olympians, who would go to war with them in order to obtain supremecy over Gaia and Uranus' creation.

Norse Mythology

The primordial forces of fire (Muspelheim) in the south met with the forces of ice (Niflheim) in the north, meeting together at the center of the void known as Ginnungagap, where the first Jötunn and living creature in all of Norse mythos was born: Ymir. After him came the primordial cow called Auðumbla, who was born out of the ice of Niflheim and fed Ymir with its milk while it licked away the salt from the ice.

As Ymir gave birth to the rest of the Jötnar, Auðumbla continued to lick away at the ice for three days until the first god was formed out of this: Búri. Known as the ancestors of the Æsir and the father of Borr, who in turn would father three sons of his own: Odin, Vili and Ve. However, due to the aminosity between the Jötnar and Æsir, Odin and his brothers sought to cut down Ymir and succeeded, thus ending the primordial giant and using his remains to fashion the realm of Midgard.

In the God of War Series

Greek Cosmos

It's said that before the Titans and the Olympians, a war broke out between the Primordials, the first order of gods who forged all of the Grecian world. Their war was so massive it caused many natural disasters which created the heavens, earth, oceans and spawned life. From the rage and madness of their war, the Furies were born. Among the Primordials, the most prominent ones are Chaos (Void), Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Heaven), Erebus (Darkness), Nyx (Night), Eros (Love) and Tartarus (Pit). In some beliefs, Morpheus, Charon, Thanatos and the Sisters of Fate were also considered to be Primordial deities. They are just seen alongside the Olympian gods and acting along with them despite their immense powers.

Ouranos survived and won the war of the Primordials and ruled over the universe as its King (and creator), after taming and conquering Chaos, the primordial void itself. Together with Gaia as his consort and queen he fathered mighty new deities, most notably the Titans. The great Skyfather was ultimately slain by his own son, Cronos. With that, the supreme status and rule of the Protogenoi ended, as the Age of the Titans began.

During the Rule of Olympus, the Primordial deities such as Morpheus, Erebus and Nyx worked alongside the younger Gods in the cosmic order of Zeus, aswell as the chtonic order of his eldest brother Hades. A prominent example would be the cooperation between Hermes and Morpheus in the destribution of dreams across the world, or Thanatos holding Deimos on Zeus' behalf. However, with the exceptions of Thanatos and the Fates, no Primordial has tried to defend the Olympian rule against the threat of Kratos, the Marked Warrior.

The Dream God Morpheus and his brother Charon, the Ferryman even tried to destroy and depose the Gods in a failed plot, thwarted by the Ghost of Sparta when he was the Champion of the Gods. Another case of defiance is Gaia, who oppossed the Gods of Olympus out of loyalty to her Titan children and grandchildren, to the point of assuming a titanic form instead of her original form as the Earth.

The eldest of the Greek Primordials, like Chaos, Tartarus and Ouranos embody their endless domains, while some of the younger ones like Thanatos and Morpheus are known to reside and rule over their own abstract realms, which mirror the aspects of nature that they represent.

Norse Cosmos

In the Norse cosmos, Ymir was said to be the first sentient being and Jotnar in existence, preceding the Norse Gods themselves. He was eventually killed by Odin who wished to rule over the cosmos himself and later used his body parts to form the realm of Midgard. Surtr is also a Primordial since he was born not long after Ymir's rise to existence, he forged the stars and breathed warmth to the cosmos by his mere existence, he's fated to destroy the Nine Realms in Ragnarok right before Odin and Thor managed to kill him with their combined force. Although this prophecy was false, and what really happened is that Surtr and his wife Sinmara would merge and become Ragnarök, and in the final war destroy Asgard alone, along with perishing themselves.

Seeing a way to avoid his wifes involvement and fated death, the first of the Fire Jötnar replaced her primordial energy and power with that which he recognized within the dark and wicked Blades of Chaos, forged by the Smith God Hephaestus in the deepest forges of Hades. Surtr the Brave draws the power and fire of Chaos and Tartarus from the Blades, before absorbing the cosmic energies within the Spark of the World, becoming Ragnarök, the Bane of Asgard in the process.

Powers & Abilities

Little detail is available about their history as well as the full extent of their powers in the series currently. Given the nature of their battles though, we can assume and speculate that the Primordials all possessed the following abilities:

• Immortality: The Primordials had the potential to live forever and could only be destroyed by beings of equal or greater power. They are personifications of the eternity of nature and the universe.
• Creation/Fabricakinesis: Many Primordials are known to be creators of their own domains, or physical creations like the Norse Sun and some Norse Stars by Surtr and the Island of Creation by the Greek Primordials. Ouranos was the creator of the Greek universe, being somewhat similar to Ymir in that regard. Further examples include: Thanatos creating the Domain of Death. Nyx ruling her own realm. Morpheus's realm of dreams.
• Vast Divine Powers: As the creators of the entire universe (specifically Ouranos, though other Primordials have made universes), the Primordials possessed astronomically cosmic and pure elemental powers. Some even exist outside of Fate, like Thanatos while others like Gaia were bound to their destiny. They are also older than The Furies, though it is unknown if the Furies could be of any challenge to the Primordials; although considering how Kratos, a mortal demigod, was able to single-handedly kill all three of the Furies, it's very likely that the Furies would be no match at all for the Primordials. Indeed, the Primordial God of Death Thanatos proved to be a challenge for Kratos, pressuring both him and his brother Deimos, also another powerful demigod, and even killing the latter, though Thanatos ultimately fell to Kratos' hands when the Ghost of Sparta gave into his rage. The Norse Primordials are more powerful than many other beings of their realm, with Ymir only falling to Odin and Surtr being powerful enough to destroy Asgard and shake Yggdrasil to its very roots after transforming into Ragnarök.
• Immeasurable Strength: Their size and mass contribute to their astronomical superhuman strength and durability. However, they are notably weaker than the Titans, with Ouranos having been overpowered by his own son, Cronos, resulting in his death.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: The Primordials are beings of pure elemental and cosmic forces. They are capable of withstanding powerful blows and colossal amounts of pain for billions of years without showing any signs of exhaustion. Nonetheless, sufficiently powerful beings, such as each other and the Titans, are capable of harming and even killing them, with Ouranos even being killed by Cronos despite having survived the war against the other Primordials.
• Immeasurable Stamina: The Primordials are not subject to fatigue. They could wage war for centuries without rest or relent.

Known Primordials

Greek

• Chaos: the original Primordial and the concept of Life.
• Gaia: the Primordial concept of Earth.
• Ouranos: the Primordial concept of Sky.
• Ceto: the Primordial concept of Oceans.
• Ourea: the Primordial concept of Mountains.
• Tartarus: the Primordial concept of Abyss.
• Erebus: the Primordial concept of Darkness.
• Eros: the Primordial concept of Love.
• Nyx: the Primordial concept of Night.
• Thanatos: The concept of Peaceful Death.
• Nemesis: The concept of Vengeance.
• Sisters of Fate: The Goddesses of Fate.
• The Furies: The Goddesses of Vengeance and Justice, Punishers of Oath Breakers.
• Charon: The concept of Help.
• Hydros: The concept of Primordial Waters.
• Nesoi: The concept of Islands.
• Thesis: The concept of Reality.
• Phusis: The concept of Naturally
• Chronos: The concept of Time.
• Aether: The concept of Light.
• Ananke: The concept of Necessity.
• Hemera: The concept of Day.
• Eris: The concept of Strife.
• Ophion: The concept of Phaunalism.
• Phanes: The concept of Procreation.
• Pontus: The concept of Humedaty.
• Thalassa: The concept of Sea.
• Moros: The concept of Doom.
• Oneiroi: The concept of Dreams.
• Momus: The concept of Blame.
• Philotes: The concept of Affection.
• Geras: The concept of Aging.
• Hypnos: The concept of Sleep.
• Apate: The concept of Deceit.
• Oizys: The concept of Distress.
• Ker; The concept of Violent Deaths.

Norse

• Ymir: The first sentient being in existence, Progenitor of the Frost Giants.
• Surtr: The Primordial Force of Fire, First of the Fire Giants in existence.
• Nornir: The Goddesses of Fate.
• Auðumbla: the Primordial Cow and Wife of Ymir.
• Búri: The Primordial God of Creation, First of the Aesir.
• Sinmara: The Immortal Frost Giant who existed before the Nine Realms.
• Níðhögg: A giant Dragon who lived between the branches of the Yggdrasil.

Egyptian

• Nun: Personification of the Primordial watery abyss.
• Amon: God of Creation, Sky and Air. Ruler of the Egyptian Pantheon.
• Neith: Primordial Goddess of Creation, Weaving, Wisdom, War and Hunt.
• Ra: Personification of the Sun and God of the Sky.
• Khepri: Beetle headed God who personifies the Morning Sun, aspect of Ra.
• Atum: Personifies the Evening Sun, aspect of Ra.
• Apep: Primordial Snake of Chaos, Darkness and Disorder.
• Geb: Personification of Earth.
• Nut: Personification of the Sky.
• Maat: Personification of Truth. Goddess of Balance, Order, Law, Morality and Justice.
• Tefnut: Personification of Moisture.
• Shu: Personification of Air.
• Kek: Frog headed God who personified Darkness.
• Heh: The representation of Infinity.

Trivia

• Most of the Norse Primordials are ancient and primeval Jötnar, such as Surtr, Sinmara and Ymir. Greek Primordials on the other hand are considered a divine race of their own and are also far more numerous than the known Norse Primordials.
  • In Greece, many Primordials worked together with their younger, reigning descendants. In the Norse realms, the Primordials never got along with the Aesir, at least since the murder of Ymir.
• Another difference is that in the Norse cosmos, the Primordials and their ancient power seem to be surpassed by none, while in the Greek Cosmos primordial power, while cosmic and potent, was merely the beginning, with the Titans and their Olympian successors wielding far greater power.
  • An example of this are the Blades of Chaos and the Primordial Fire within them, being the instrument of Ragnarök's creation and among the most powerful weapons in the Nine Realms, while in Greece they were but a lesser weapon of Hepheastus, beneath the Olympian weaponry.
  • The Primordial Fire within the Sun deities Hyperion and Helios provided them the power to destroy the Greek cosmos, like Ragnarök can destroy Asgard, yet in the Greek divine hierarchy its clear that neither of them were more powerful than the top Olympians and Titans, like Zeus, Hades, Poseidon or Cronos and Atlas.
• It appears Greek Primordial's blood is yellow, as Gaia and Thanatos both emitted yellow blood.
• Unlike the Olympian Gods, whose deaths cause natural disasters and calamities in whatever they reign over, when a Primordial is destroyed it creates natural landscapes and forms new parts of the world, such as the oceans for Ceto or the skies for Ouranus.