Asgard is a small
other dimensional planetary body (its surface
area being about the same as that of the
continental United States), whose nature and
physics are different from those of planetary
bodies in the Earthly dimension. Asgard is not a
sphere like the Earth of Moon, but a relatively
flat asteroid-like landmass suspended in space.
Asgard does not rotate about its axis, nor does
it revolve around a sun. Asgard has intervals of
night ad day (of undisclosed durations) even
though it does not rotate. There is no evidence
of changing seasons, however. It is not known if
Asgard's source of light and heat is the Earth's
sun, a sun in the Asgardian dimension whose
gravity does not exert itself on Asgard, or a
glowing ball of light dissimilar to a star in
most of its properties. Unlike Earth, Where the
force of gravitation radiates from the center of
the sphere, Asgard's gravity apparently radiates
from some point or object beneath the suspended
landmass. Consequently, there is a top side to
Asgard, upon which beings can stand, and a
bottom side where beings cannot stand and from
which they will fall through space toward the
source of gravitation. At the boundaries of
Asgard's landmass, a being or object can step
off into the void.
There is apparently
some force that keeps the bottom and edges of
Asgard's landmass from eroding away. Whatever
this force is also prevent the bodies of water
which are at certain of Asgard's boundaries from
pouring off into the void, as well as preventing
Asgard's atmosphere from escaping, Asgard has
been described as floating on a "Sea of Space."
This sea apparently has a surface, one that is
navigable by certain Asgardian ships that
resemble Viking longboats. The exact nature of
space in the Asgardian dimension is unknown.
While the gravity of
Asgard is roughly analogous to Earth's, common
matter is considerably denser on an average.
Consequently a chair made of Asdardian wood
would be more massive (and heavier) than a chair
made of analogous Earthly wood. Rocks, water,
flesh, bone, steel - all matter is denser and
thus more durable.
Besides all of the
anomalies described above, Asgard is connected
in some as yet unknown way with at least two
other dimensional planes, one of which is that
of the Earth (whom the Asgardians call Midgard,
a word meaning "Middle Realm"). The Asgardians
refer to all of the major known inhabited realms
of their cosmology as the "Nine Worlds." Only
four of the Nine Worlds are located on the main
Asgardian landmass: Asgard, home of the Gods,
Vanahelm, home of the Asgardians' sister race,
the Vanir, Nidavellir, home of the Dwarves, and
Alfheim, home of the Light Elves.
The remainder of the
Nine Worlds are on separated landmass isolated
from one another by interdimensional space.
Midgard, our Earth, does not appear to be
physically affected by the motions of any of the
other physical bodies in the Asgardian
cosmology, although Earth's axis (the imaginary
pole around which it rotates) is in alignment
with one of the roots of Yggdrasil, the cosmic
ash tree that stands in Asgard. Jotunheim, the
world of the giants, is a flat ring-shaped realm
with high mountains along its inner edge. It is
apparently on its own separate dimension plain,
discrete from Asgard's and Earths, home of the
Dark Elves, is another asteroid-like land-mass,
smaller than Asgard. There are numerous
nexus-portals between the mountains of Jotunheim
and Svartalfheim and the mountains of Asgard
permitting easy passage by denizens of each
realm. These passageways make Jotunheim and
Svartalfheim seem like "underworlds" of the
Asgardian continent itself.
The eighth of the
Nine Worlds is Hel, realm of the dead, and its
sister realm, Niffleheim. In the Asgardian
scheme of afterlife, the heroes and honored dead
go to Valhalla, a special region of Asgard, the
common dead go to Hel, and the dishonored dead
(murderers and other evildoers) go to Nefflehelm,
and Valhalla possess the necessary physical
conditions to permit the astral form of the
deceased to exist there for indefinite periods
of time. At one time, Hela, goddess of the dead,
usurped the rule of Valhalla, despite the fact
it was on a different dimensional plane than
Hel. Odin has since reclaimed the land. The
ninth of the Nine Worlds is Muspelheim, land of
the fiery demons. Until his recent
disappearance, the primordial demon Surter ruled
Muspelheim. Muspelheim is on its own dimension
plane, separate from from all the other Nine
Worlds.
In the Asgardians
account of the origin of their cosmology,
Muspelheim, the land of fire, and Nifleheim, the
land of ice, were said to predate recorded time,
separated from one another by Ginnungagap, the
Yawning Void. Asgard is honeycombed with
nexus-portals to the various extradimensional
realms or the Nine Worlds, making the worlds
(with the exception of Earth) sometimes seem
like they are on a contiguous plain. (Indeed,
early cartographers of Asgard mapped it this
way.) The only permanent portal to Earth,
Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, has recently been
shattered, severing Asgard's connection with
Earth and making passage between realms
difficult. There is a special passageway from
Asgard to the extradimensional realm of Olympus,
home of the Greek gods. Since Olympus is not
part of the Asgardian cosmology, this
nexus-portal is believed to be an artificial
rather than natural phenomenon.
Another unique
feature of Asgard is the Cave of Time,
an apparently natural phenomenon through which
passage to other time eras is possible. The first is
the Midgard Serpent Jormungand, an
immense snake-like dragon whose
bodyencircles the inner edge of the
mountains of Jotunheim closest to
Midgard. The Midgard Serpent lies at the
very edge of the dimensional boundry
between Jotunheim and Midgard, and
prevents passage between dimensions. The
second is the winged dragon Nidhogg, who
lives in Niffleheim and gnaws at one of
the roos Yggdrasil. The third is the
giant wolf-god Fenris, who is
responcible for the war-god Tyr's loss
of a hand. Fenris is imprisoned in the
disant land of Varinheim. The fourth
creature is the primordial ice giant
Ymir.
It is possible that
somewhere in Asgard's outlaying Sea of Space
there are floating nexus-portals to Earth's
space. Beings of the Earthly dimension have in
certain instances been able to travel from
Earthly to Asgardian space. There may indeed be
an edge to Asgard's Sea of Space, perhaps at the
perimeter of the "Dome of the Sky" extending
from the outer edge of ringed Jotunhelm. At the
edge of the Sea there would exist "dimensional
borderlands" which serves as transitional areas
between discrete dimensions. Asgard and its
sister realms are populated by six distinct
humanoid races, described under Asgardians.
Besides these, there are several singular
cratures who exist upon various of the Nine
Worlds.