#9 Myth Retold

Wisdom is something we all stride for, yearn for. I had seen many foolish humans do extraordinarily senseless things for the pursuit of knowledge. It never ceases to amaze me what extremities people with do for it. I, myself, was on a quest for knowledge, just like the mortals. Aggravation was quickly getting the best of me, and I could feel myself growing more and more impatient by the hour. The muscle in my jaw would tick every time I had to brush away the annoying tree branches that seemed to be everywhere.

 I knew I was getting closer to my destination though. Just a mere six hours ago I had been walking though a dry land that was nearly dead, and now I'm walking through condensate grass and green trees. The sound of rushing water had my hopes building, but alas, it was just a river. No well. Feeling my head grow hot from anger, I took a deep breath of the clean air and trudged on.

I should be sitting on my opulent throne, watching my worlds!
Three weeks. Three whole weeks I had been looking for this well, and I was quickly getting bored of the journey. I had seen it all before. Nothing was new anymore. The trees seemed to be getting thicker and thicker by the minute, and it was becoming quite a task to march through. After a particularly sharp branch cut through my pants and sliced my leg, and kicked down the tree with one kick. I'm glad I did. Lying just after the tree was everything that I had searched for.

 The well of Mirmir.

 Brushing my hair out of my face, I walked up to the well. The well itself was beautiful. The bricks seemed to shine from underneath the green vines that weaved their selves up the well, forming an intricate pattern. Finally, I made it. 

I went to dip my hand into the well, but a sharp voice stopped my my pursuit. "What do you think you are doing?"

My head snapped up and I came face to face with Mirmir, the god who knew all. His understanding of things seemed to roll off of him in waves, and  it made me feel calm, almost at piece. 

"I wish for a drink of your well." I stated in a calm and steady voice. 

One half of his mouth tipped up. "You must know, young Odin, that there is a price for everything. Is there not?" He questioned with mirth dancing in his eyes. 

"Yes, indeed, I do know this. What is your price? Gold? Riches? An army? I have all of these." I spoke with great pride in myself. Pride that was about to be tested.

One white eyebrow raised on Mimir's face. "Although all of those things are very appealing, I only want one thing in return for a drink."

Easy enough. "What is it?"

"An eye."

A burn started low in my stomach and it traveled straight to my chest, where it felt as it I was stabbed.

"An eye?" I questioned. I had to have heard him wrong.

"An eye." He stated without hesitation. 

I didn't hear him wrong. Running a hand through my hair, I thought. I couldn't possibly give up an eye. I was a warrior, I needed my eyes to fight, to see threats coming my way. On the other hand, mass amounts of wisdom would help me defeat these threats. 

The weight of the situation settled in my chest like a boulder. 

"I.. I couldn't possibly give you my eye. I need it to fight!" I stated on an outrage cry full of desperation.

Mimir only found amusement, and with a wave of his hand, he turned around and started to leave.

"Wait!" I yelled out. 

He turned around and gave me a look of inquisition. "Yes?"

Was I really - yes. Yes I was. "I agree to your terms."

He smiled and walked up to me, with his hand outstretched. Sucking in a deep, shuddering breath, I went to my eye with my hand. Horrible pain sliced my head that made the eye that I wasn't pulling out, blacken. I kept eye contact with the god who demanded it though. 

Once it was loose enough, it slipped out with a sickening wet sound, and I handed it to Mimir who threw it into the beautiful well. 

"Well done, Odin. You are the first, god or man, who had agreed to my terms. That holds great honor," he gestured to the well his the hand that wasn't bloody. "Take a drink."

Walking to the well that I had just given up an eye for, I cupped my hands and took a drink of the deep blue water. It was like a slam to the head. Everything seemed to claw its way into my head. Events now had a reason, and I now knew why things were as they were. They knowledge seemed to take up my mind, and I was unable to think about anything else, only that knowledge that invaded my head.

I looked back up to Mimir, but he was gone. The only thing in his place was the soft wind that rustled the trees. I turned my back to the well that had caused me great pain, but also great gain, and walked away from the beautiful land, never looking back. 

#8 conclusion

The conclusion to my myth is actually very, very simple. Once Odin had dug out his eye and handed it to Mirmir, he took a drink of the magic well, and things became clear, and he knew far more than he had before. After he had taken a drink, he left with his new wisdom, and without an eye.

#7 Climax

The climax of this myth would be when he tore out his eye. Odin, the king of gods, had tore out his eye for a drink of a well. Not any old well though, no, a well that would grant his knowledge of all things. When Odin tore out his eye, he made eye contact with Mirmir the whole time, not once flinching or crying out in pain, like a normal person would do. Once he had gouged his eye out of his skull, he gave the eye to Mirmir, which he proceeded to drop into the well.

#6 Conflict.

I believe the conflict within my myth was when Odin had to decide whether or not he was going to actually give up his eye for a sip of the well of knowledge. That is a awfully big decision, after all. Sight or knowledge? A warrior god more than likely needs his eyesight to see oncoming threats, but he still has one eye, right? On the other hand great wisdom is something everyone strides for, yearns for, and all he had to do was give up one little piece of his body. An important piece, but nonetheless, little.

# 5 Characters

Mimir

There are only two main characters in my myth, and those are Odin and Mimir. Mimir is known as the Wise One, he knows all things and is by far the wisest of the gods. In my myth he was a god who lived by a well, which is know as Mimir's Well, or Mimisbrunnr. The same well that the god Odin had sacrificed his eye for extraordinary wisdom. It is said Mimir was killed by decapitation and the god Odin preserved the head and often gained knowledge from it.

#4 Setting

Mirmir's Well is a place full of magic and endless possibilities. The giant well, full of beautiful sea green water that you can see through. The water fills the grey brick well that lays in the middle of a dense forest. The trees are a dark green and full, you could push your whole arm in the leaves and they would just swallow it in a mass of cool smoothness. The ground is moist with condensation, but not too moist; only enough to let off the smell of rain and "fresh". Its a clean place, full of life and it makes you want to just take a deep breath in because you know if you do you will feel rejuvenated and full of life. Moss covers the rocks and the bottom of the well, but as you travel up the well vines weave through the cracks in the bricks, creating a maze that may never be solved. The only sound you can hear is the wind brushing the leaves back and forth, and when you summon him, Mirmir's voice.

Culture

The movie Avengers, released on May 4th, 2012 was one of the biggest grossing movies in history, over One Billion dollars. The movie is based off of Nordic gods, primarily Thor. Odin, although not entirely accurate was shown in the movie, too. One thing that wasn't entirely accurate was the adoption of Loki. Odin never adopted Loki. A huge culture effect that Odin had was because of his other named, Woden and Wotan. Those names are where we got the name for Wednesday - Wodensdaeg. Also, in the T.V series, Vikings, Odin is often praised and brought up when they are speaking to one another on a day to day basis.

Quest For Wisdom

Odin was always on the look for ways to gain new wisdom, and become more experienced. On a quest to gain wisdom, he gave his eye to have a single sip of Mimir's Well. When he drank, all of the future became clear and he now understood why things were as they were. After he had clawed his eye out, Mimir took it from Odin and tossed it into the well, where it still remains. Losing an eye wouldn't stop Odin from his quest for wisdom, though. He had hung himself from Yggdrasil, for nine whole days with a spear pierced through him. He had died, but was resurrected and awarded more wisdom than any other god or human.

Odin

Odin

Valknut

My Nordic God's name is Odin. The All-Father. He is the son of Bor and Bestla. He has three children with Frigg, who are: Balder, Hod, and Hermod. With Gridd, he had one child who is Vidar. With Jord he also has one child who is Thor. He is the god of war, death, peotry, and wisdom. He actually gave one eye to drink from the Mimir's Well of Wisdom. His horse, Sleipnir, has eight legs and he is the animal that Odin chooses to ride into battle. He has two brothers, Ve and Vili. Odin has two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who often go out and survey the land. It's said that when he walks among people he disguises himself as an old man with a beard and a wide brimmed hat, and he tests people to see if they are cruel or nice. His home is in Valhalla, and every soldier who had died in battle goes up to Odin in his home. His eventual demise was the wolf Fenrir.