Part three of the Titans lore!
Now Gaia kept her promise, and Kronos was made king of all Midgard. His first act was to free the Hekatonkheires and Kyklopes from Tartoi. They were very greatful, and built him a palace upon Mt. Orthros, tallest mountain in Midgard. There he sat upon his throne, surveying all the world, and imposing his will upon his brothers and sisters, who spread to the corners of the earth. Although Kronos was a cruel and thoughtless ruler, for s long time all was happy in Midgard. For things were changing in the nine realms. A new age of Titans, ones such as Kronos and his brothers, and spread over the realms. They were not as powerful or wise as any other Titans. No longer did these Titans wander between realms, but stayed in one alone and made it their own. The older, smaller, more powerful, family of Titans such as Eru, Ymír and Fyra, became known as Primordials, and Titans were mostly Krnos and his family. For most of time they slept, with only a slight inkling of the outside world. With them Gaia retreated into the earth, and Pontos to the sea, and Aither to the air and so forth. Ma'at went into the timeless halls of Yggdrasil to watch carefully watch the future. Only Hespera, light of life and day, and Shal'vor were active among the realms now. So it was that other things began to happen in the nine realms, and a great wheel of events set in place. For at this point Midgard began to be isolated from the other realms. Few passages at this point went in and out. As a result the Kronos and his siblings started families, and Titans of every aspect and thing were born. They formed a great kingdom upon Midgard, but they were confined there. The other realms began to become unused and unimportant. Creatures still lived in their depths, but most things happened in Midgard. For the most part anyway...
Among the Titan's ranks was Prometheus, and he was different. He was the son of the minor Titans Iapetos and Klymene, but in the end his role was much greater than either of theirs. He was the Titan of advancement, and he always looked at things not as they are, but as they could be with a little help from him. The other Titans were scared of his power and he hated the other Titans, for they had little regard for progress. So they shunned Prometheus and refused to listen to his council and he did the same to them. Then Promethus left the lands of Midgard, and came upon the isolated other realms. Full of anger and hate, Prometheus wandered the nine realms, until he came to Asgard. This realm was a huge city floating upon a wild sea, and here he was struck with an idea. He found a volcano out at sea, and in the heart of the boiling mountain he forged a large shaft of metal, and then he brought it to the top of the mountains and it was struck by lightning. Out of that came the first spear. Then in the same manner he forged an axe. As he admired these weapons he cut himself with each, and from his blood came three beings. From the spear came Odin, from the axe Bor. When the sweat from working at the forge mixed with the blood, a third was born, Tulkas. The three first Aesir. Though they were only children, they snarled fiercely and immediately grew slightly larger. Prometheus was elated with his creation, he had never seen anything like the Aesir. As of yet there were no living things beside the Titans. Prometheus was full of joy, and decided to show the other Titans his creations.
Prometheus traveled back to Midgard, and gathered all the Titans together to proudly present the Aesir. But as the three creatures stood up defiantly and faced down the Titans, Hespera was full of love for the new creatures, but Shal'vor looked and was afraid, for the little creatures worried him, for no apparent reason at all. Shal'vor began to whisper among the ranks of the other Titans, and they were filled with fear as well. Ma'at herself looked upon the creatures and knew what bloodshed they would one day cause, so she was afraid. Even Hespera began to doubt them. Then Kronos commanded Prometheus to toss the Aesir into the void so they might never again be seen. They sent a minor Titan, Varuna, to ensure he completed his task. Prometheus, Varuna, and the Aesir went to the edge of the void, and Prometheus prepared to throw them in. But as he did so one of the Aesir cried out to him, and anger against the other Titans boiled inside him. Prometheus attacked Varuna viciously, in a last ditch attempt to save the Aesir. Prometheus was never a warrior, so despite his clever tactics, he was pushed to the edge of the void. As Prometheus was about to be destroyed forever, the three Aesir attacked Varuna from behind. They had been growing much faster than a human during this time, and had become strong and agile. Varuna was thrown into the void, and Prometheus was saved. Prometheus was greatly thankful to the Aesir, and realized he couldn't kill his creations, so he hatched a plan. Meanwhile Kronos and the Titans of Midgard forgot completely about the Aesir. They assumed Prometheus had gone into exile once again, and no one ever remembered Varuna.
Meanwhile, Prometheus brought the Aesir to their homeland of Asgard in a sleep. There he left them, and when they woke they had no recollection of anything prior. All they found were the spear and axe of Prometheus. Odin and Bor each took up one, each one of the first weapons of the world. Odin's spear was named Gungnir. It's shaft was of the darkest black iron, sleek and elegantly shaped. Decorated with ancient runes. It's head was a wicked point of silver, which could pierce any armor with a direct hit. It could be thrown to strike down any creature and never strayed from it's target. It could fly through any realm over enormous distances to strike it's target, but it always reappeared in Odin's hand. Bor's axe was known as Karkaras. The haft was of involve enable bronze and pictures of death and conquest were engraved upon it. It could only be hefted by Bor. It's blade was a double edged wicked sharp contraption of lethal force. It could cut through granite like butter. Tulkas had no weapon, but he was the strongest of his brothers. His skin was like rock, and he was more than a match in combat. After this had been done, Prometheus left the Aesir and went forever into hiding. It was the last the Aesir would see of him for a long time, perhaps for ever. Meanwhile, the Aesir grew powerful. They were strong and agile creatures, and apt at using their new weapons. They soon became seasoned warriors sparring with each other. They forgot the days in which they were small creatures under the protection of Prometheus. They grew strong and powerful. They migrated to the mainland of Asgard, and there they set up fortress, and waited.
Meanwhile, more things were stirring in the nine realms... If you recall, Ymír slept in the ice of Niflhiem. Eight frozen rivers were made from his tears as he wept over the harm the worlds took. One gradually filtered into Helhiem. The other seven gradually met at the edge of Niflhiem. This was where two frozen trees grew, an ash and an elm, each encased in ice. Over time the ice wore away, and from the trees came the first Jotuns. Buri, male, and Iri, female. But Niflhiem was freezing, and they began to die. In desperation they followed the river. It led into the branches of Yggdrasil. Forced to find a new home, the two Jotuns made a death defying climb over the cosmos, up the branches of Yggdrasil. Without food or water, constantly hounded by Eikthrymir, but without weapons. They managed to stumble along. Buri perished, but Iri stumbled on. Finally she reached the safety of a new realm, Jotunhiem. To humans, it would seem a rough and savage land, but compared to Niflhiem it was paradise. Especially since Iri was pregnant with the sons and daughters of Buri. She became the mother of many more Jotuns, or Giants. Some were huge warriors, some small tricksters. Some were beautiful maidens, some brutish and ugly warriors. Some were clever and wily, others were stupid and wild. But they are all Jotuns. But it was too much for Iri. Weakened from the climb she died shortly after the birth of her last child. These children set out to settle Jotunhiem.
Many years passed, and the Jotuns multiplied. Meanwhile, the Aesir began to become lonely in the huge land of Asgard. At this point one Jotun made a discovery. Bestla, a mountain giant daughter of Iri, hated her fellow Jotuns. Having heard her mother's stories, she found a portal on to Yggdrasil. By then she was much more prepared than her parents had been, and purposely embarked out on the tree, to see what she could find. But she wasn't prepared for the maze of branches, and she quickly lost her sense of direction after a battle with Eikthrymir. In this way she found another portal, into Asgard. Lost and alone, she was discovered by the Aesir, specifically, Bor. They fell in love immediately. They wee both rugged warriors, and both were lonely. Bor brought her back to his brothers and introduced her. The Aesir were fascinated by her tales and immediately wished to see this land, Jotunhiem, for themselves. Despite Bestla's protests that it wasn't safe, they found the portal and set out to Jotunhiem, after convincing Bestla of guide them. It was useful, having Aesir warriors along. Eikthrymir was no match for the warriors or their superior weapons, and was sent packing. They finally reached Jotunhiem, and the Aesir were amazed at the environment. They wasted no time exploring. Unfortunately, not all Jotuns were happy to meet them. They were attacked almost immediately and forced back to Yggdrasil. After retreating to Asgard, the Aesir realized they needed a way to strike fast and easily. Odin was up to the challenge.
While not the strongest of his brothers, though still a great warrior, Odin longed for knowledge. He was always the wisest of his brothers, but he needed more. He promised his brothers to be back, and left for Yggdrasil. Little is neon of Odin's journey. Many myths circulate, but what is known is that Odin came back with one eye gone, as well as many new skills. He gained powerful sorcery, the ability to see into all realms, and even greater wisdom. With his new powers he created a magic hall. It protected Asgard, but that was not the most important use. It was a magic bridge to any realm they wished, and they could be pulled out at anytime. It was fashioned of a rainbow, and was known as the Bifrost. Unfortunately it posed a problem. They needed a guardian, one who could man the Bifrost to teleport them behind enemy lines and out of danger. However the guardian must also be able to view all things in all realms, at least for full affect. This problem was solved quickly. Bor and Bestla had a son, who they named Hiemdall. However they soon realized that all was not as if appeared. He could see things, things all over Asgard. After testing him a bit, they decided to bring him to the Bifrost. For the first time Hiemdall tested his powers to the limit. He saw things in all the realms and revealed them to the Aesir. They realized the Jotuns and Aesir weren't alone, their were many other realms. However some things were blocked from his sight. Though he could see the existence of Helhiem, his gaze could not penetrate past the first layer, for Shal'vor hid it from his sight. Meanwhile, Gaia felt a foreign presence looking in her sleep, and completely hid Midgard. Therefore the existence of Kronos remained hidden from the Aesir's view. Surprised by this new development, the Aesir appointed Hiemdall the Bifrost guardian. He did not mind, as he had no wish to fight Jotuns personally unless forced to do so. Then Bor and Bestla had many more sons and daughters. Though they were no other weapons as of yet, they joined the Aesir army. The Aesir's numbers having been thus boosted, they used the Bifrost to attack the Jotuns. For the next thousands of years some Jotuns would war with Asgard. However some Jotusn were more friendly, among them the Jotun wives of some of Bor's sons, as well as Vili and Vey, wood giants who swore themselves to be Odin's brothers after he saved their lives. They often take the form of crows, which bring Odin news from all realms. For as the war died down the Aesir also began to build and refurbish Asgard. And they waited.