Norse Creation

In the beginning, there was only The Void.  The Void remained for many years, until Muspell emerged in the South.  Muspell was volcanic, with plumes of steam, fire, and ash.  In the North, Niflheim came into being, and it was a frozen land of ice and wind.

The Void was between them, and the Eleven Rivers flowed into The Void.  The Void was temperate and calm, until the two realms began to meet in it.  Niflheim began to freeze the Northern part of The Void, and Muspell began to melt the Southern part.  All was disorder and chaos, and from the drops of water life was created.  Ymir, the ancestor of the frost giants, emerged from this water.

While Ymir slept, the sweat from his arms and legs created a man and woman, as well as his son.  The man and woman came from his left armpit, and his son came from his legs.  While he slept and the ice of The Void continued to melt, Audumbla, the Cow, was created.

Audumbla nourished Ymir with her milk, and sustained herself on the salty ice of Niflheim.  Buri, another being, appeared, and he had a son named Bor.  Bor married Bestla, and their three sons were Odin, Vili, and Ve.

The sons of Bor killed and dismembered Ymir, and used his body to fashion the world.  His body, bones, and blood made the mountains, islands, and rivers of the world.  The maggots that emerged from his flesh were used to make the Dwarves.  The Dwarves were placed at the four corners of the earth, and their job was to hold the sky.

The sons of Bor took the coal from Muspellheim and made the sun, moon, and stars, and placed them in the sky.  The created the world in the form of a ball, and surrounded it with water.

The frost giants were at war with the humans, so the sons of Bor created Jotunheim in which the giants could dwell.  For themselves, they created a fortified place known as Midgard.  In the midst of Midgard, the sons of Bor used an Ash and an Elm to create the first man and woman.  Their names were Ask and Embla, and they are the parents of the entire human race.
 
With the frost giants safely at a distance, Odin, Ve and Vili set up markers for measuring seasons, days, and years.  Night and Day were ruled by chariots, whom Odin set in the sky.  Hrimfaxi the horse pulled the chariot of Night, and Skinfaxi the mare pulled the chariot of Day.  The chariots circled the world every two half-days. 

Mundilfari, one of the men, had two children.  His daughter was named Sun, and she had a fiery beauty.  Mundilfari's son was named Moon, and he had a radiant glow.  When the children were older and in their prime, Odin kidnapped them, placing them in the sky.  Sun drove the chariot of the sun, and Moon drove the chariot of the moon.  Moon guided the moon through the sky, making determinations on its phases, keeping ahead of the wolf Hati Hrodnitnisson, which tries to devour her.  Sun, who has no taste for phases, guides the sun through the sky, keeping ever-ahead of the wolf Skoll.

These actions, though, are futile.  One day, Ragnarok will happen, and both the sun and the moon will be devoured by these wolves.  This is how we will know that the End of Days has arrived.