A Fate Inked in Blood

A Fate Inked in Blood is set in a fictional world that is inspired by Norse culture and mythology. While the setting is imbued with historical elements from medieval Scandinavia, the plot draws significantly from Norse mythology. The word Norse refers to ancient Scandinavia—a region including Sweden, Norway, Denmark—and the language of its inhabitants. Norse mythic traditions persisted in Scandinavia through the Viking era—from approximately 750 to 1050 CE. Although Norse literature often depicts heroic warriors, kings, and other memorable figures, Norse myths rarely feature humans. Instead, they portray gods and giants battling among themselves, and this ongoing conflict eventually results in the inevitable, fated destruction of the universe.

Medieval Icelandic texts, which were written by descendants of Norse colonists, provide a great deal of insight into the nuances of Norse mythology. The two most prominent examples are the Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda, which was written around 1270 CE by an unknown author, and the Prose Edda, or Younger Edda, which was written around 1222 CE by an Icelandic poet named Snorri Sturluson. One of the heroic poems in the Poetic Edda, the Voluspa, offers an overview of Norse mythology, spanning the creation of the universe to its destruction in a final battle called Ragnarok.

The gods and goddesses of Norse mythology are divided into two groups. The Aesir, gods of war and sky, dwell in an upper realm called Asgard and are overseen by Odin, the god of wisdom, battle, and poetry. The Vikings considered Odin to be the ruler of all the gods and the creator of humans. In the Norse creation myth, Odin killed the primordial giant Ymir and “formed the earth from his body, the seas and rivers from his blood, and the sky from his skull, which was held suspended above the earth by four strong dwarfs” (“Norse Mythology.” Encyclopedia, 15 Apr. 2024). Odin later gained magical knowledge of the future by drinking from a sacred spring; he paid for the privilege of this draught by giving one of his eyes to the spring’s guardian. Humans with access to divine knowledge are thus associated with Odin and often called seers. In A Fate Inked in Blood, Norse deities sometimes bless human children with a drop of their blood, imbuing these “children of the gods” with unique magical abilities. These rare powers are specific to each god and are accessed by invoking the name of the deity in question. Characters in Danielle L. Jensen’s narrative often exhibit the personality traits and values that are attributed to their parent gods in the mythical legends that inspired them. For example, Saga is a seer, and this gift is given to the children of the god Odin.

Thor, god of thunder, is arguably the second most important figure in Norse mythology. He is also known as the god of war, justice, and order. Jensen places an implied version of Thor in the novel via a minor character named Tora, who wields bolts of lightning as weapons. Tyr is the god associated with the novel’s deuteragonist, Bjorn. Unlike Thor, Tyr is not a central figure in the Norse pantheon, although a few accounts describe him as being a son of Odin. The figure of Tyr, who is associated with law, war, and knowledge, was likely derived from an early Germanic sky god named Tiwaz and does not often appear in the most prominent Norse myths. Nevertheless, within the context of Jensen’s series, Bjorn becomes a larger-than-life character, for he is a nearly unstoppable warrior who wields a magical axe of fire when he invokes Tyr’s name in battle. Jensen may have chosen Tyr as Bjorn’s divine genitor because Snorri Sturluson, author of the Prose Edda, described Tyr as “the boldest and most courageous of the gods” and one who was often invoked by warriors because he was believed to grant them victory (“Norse Mythology”).

The novel’s protagonist, Freya, is named after the goddess Freyja; within the context of the novel, she is a daughter of the goddesses Hlin and Hel. In Norse mythology, Freyja and Freyr are twin children of Njord and the most important Vanir deities. (The Vanir were a race of gods who were subordinate to the Aesir.) In Norse mythology, Freyja is the goddess of love and fertility. She shares dominion over the dead with Odin, is often depicted as lustful, and can see the future by using a type of divination called seid, in which she goes into a trance and is possessed by spirits. By contrast, Hlin is the goddess of consolation and protection; she protects the vulnerable, especially women and innocent fugitives, and is often depicted carrying a shield, under which she shelters those in need. Jensen’s protagonist Freya plays a similar role in the novel, as she uses Hlin’s shield to protect the people of Skaland. Hel, Freya’s other divine genitor, is traditionally known as the goddess of death and queen of the underworld. The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda both refer to Hel as Loki’s daughter. In Jensen’s universe, Hel’s gift to Freya is the power to condemn mortals to her realm in the underworld.

Other figures from Norse mythology that appear in the novel include Bragi—the god of poetry and music; Loki—the eternal trickster and companion to the Aesir; Eir—the goddess of healing and medicine; Njord—the god of the sea; and the Norns—the three goddesses of fate. Afterlife locations from Norse mythology also play a substantial role in the novel. Most notably, Valhalla is the hall where Odin gathers the souls of warriors who died bravely in battle. Freya, Bjorn, and all the other warriors in the novel long for battle glory and death with a weapon in their hand so that they too can enter Valhalla. Hel, on the other hand, translates to “underworld” in Old Norse. This realm of the afterlife is ruled over by the goddess Hel. Some accounts refer to Hel as Helheim, as Freya does in the novel. Common themes in Norse mythology champion “bravery in the face of a harsh fate” and good against evil (“Norse Mythology”), concepts that are echoed in A Fate Inked in Blood.