godofwar

Vanir

Vanir The Norse Gods

Omega (God of War 2018)

This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.

The Vanir are one of the two tribes of Norse Gods along with the Aesir, and are known for their connection to nature and magic. They are natives of Vanaheim, one of the Nine Realms of the World Tree.

Norse Mythology

The Vanir (singular: Vanr) are a group of Gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir were one of two groups of Gods venerated by the ancient Nordic pagans (the other being the Æsir). In the aftermath of the Aesir-Vanir War, they became a subgroup of the Aesir.

The Vanir most likely symbolized the peaceful aspects of nature, in contrast with the Æsir who symbolized the violent aspects of nature.

Tensions between the Vanir and the Aesir were triggered when the Aesir speared and burned a female figure named Gullveig three times, in which she was reborn every time she was killed, though scholars proposed that she is also the Vanir Goddess Freyja, as both she and Gullveig are the same figure.

During the Aesir-Vanir War, the Vanir were equally matched with the Aesir. When the war ended in a stalemate, the Vanir and Aesir made a peace agreement and decided to give each other hostages as tribute. The Vanir God Njörd along with his two children Freyja and Freyr were given to the Aesir while the Aesir God Hœnir and Odin's advisor Mimir were given to the Vanir.

Things would soon turn sour for the Vanir when Hœnir began giving them useless advice, due to Mimir's absence. As a result, the Vanir believed that they had been cheated during the exchange of hostages. In their fury, they beheaded Mimir and sent his head back to Asgard, where it was preserved by Odin.

Instead of resuming war with each other, the Vanir and Aesir spat into a vat, in which its contents were not poured out, since they were kept as a symbol of harmony between them. From their spit, a wise being named Kvasir was created.

God of War (2018)

The Vanir always had simmering tensions with their rival tribe, the Aesir. It was when the Aesir attempted to murder one of their leaders, Freyr, that the Vanir attempted an act of diplomacy, which consequently led to an outbreak of war.

Despite their enemies' immense strength, the Vanir proved to be their equal and delivered devastating damage to the Aesir. Their battles raged on for centuries until both sides were finally fed up with the senseless conflict, having no choice but to compromise in order to achieve peace.

Mimir served as the ambassador of the two tribes, proposing that one of their leaders, Freya, was set to marry the King of the Aesir, Odin, a proposal that finally brought peace to both the Vanir and Aesir.

However, Odin's increasing paranoia forced Freya to leave him, thus breaking the fragile peace and once again igniting a war between the two tribes of Gods.

Since Odin banished Freya to Midgard and cursed her to never leave, this prevented her from explaining her actions to her tribe. The Vanir made out of this as betrayal, due to her lack of arrival.

God of War Ragnarök

It revealed that the Aesir had established a military foothold in Vanaheim, which forced many of the Vanir to scatter and go into hiding. Freyr, after having returned to his home realm following his abandonment of Alfheim, proceeded to form a Vanir resistance in secret, which consists of his Vanir allies; the Dark Elf Beyla and her Light Elf husband Bygvir, Birgir, a former Traveller, and Lunda, a female dwarf and an old friend of Brok.

When Kratos, Mimir, and Brok arrive in Vanaheim with Freya to undo Odin's curse, Freyr proceeds to trap Brok and confront Kratos from the shadows. Due to his paranoia and distrust of anyone, he believed that the Spartan was working for the Aesir. When he demands Kratos on where his sister is, Freya, in her falcon form, reveals herself to her brother and explains that Kratos and Mimir are working for her and that she has come to reclaim what she had lost.

Hearing this, Freyr remarked that it was too late to undo what had been done, but a determined Freya insisted that she would and ordered her brother to let Kratos and Mimir pass. Now knowing that the two are not enemies, Freyr's hostility lessened. Following a long battle with Nidhögg and Freya was able to undo the curse, The two returned to the Vanir resistance where she finally reunited with her brother in her normal form.

Much later, the Vanir participated in Ragnarök, in which they invaded Asgard with the forces of Alfheim and Helheim. After Asgard was destroyed, the Vanir allowed the surviving Aesir to move in with them, finally bringing peace between the two tribes of gods.

Powers and Abilities

The Vanir are renowned for their natural affinity for magic, more specifically the arts of Seiðr. During one of their battles against the Aesir, their Seiðr spells were capable of pushing back what was described as the largest army ever gathered, inflicting tremendous losses on their enemies.

Ancient Vanir arts, known as the Old Magic, were capable of reanimating the dead, and some of them even had the ability to manipulate time itself.

One of the most significant accomplishments of Vanir's magic is invulnerability to all threats, physical or magical, which Freya blessed or "cursed" Baldur with. The only thing that can break the spell is mistletoe; as Mimir describes, though Vanir's magic is powerful, its rules remain slippery and elusive. It makes sense if anyone is a witch.

It seems the mystical ways of the Vanir can be taught to other races since Freya was the one who taught her former husband Odin the art of Seiðr, and Sindri, a Dwarf, went to Vanaheim to learn their magic in order to improve his smithing skills.

They also seem to be great builders, since the Vanir created the fabled Skíðblaðnir, a ship that was capable of flying and was described as the best of ships.

Known Vanir

Gods

Trivia