@@leeviw7267 something like "you hear loki's laugh" or "loki peers at you with a smile from the tree". I don't remember exactly, just that his name is in a few
I remember sitting down after the update and filling out the wiki with all the runes, im glad you made this video too, now people who dont read the runes or the wiki can understand the lore as well
I never knew the story of Valheim was actually so in depth :o Amazing video and summarization of the lore, looking forward to the next lore video when the Deep North is finally here :D
Warning: This is super long. TLDR: Valheim is an enthralling, immersive world and it will always hold a special place in my heart. There’s one runestone in Valheim that lives rent free in my head. Some context: Before I started my first real play through with my friend, a little over a year ago, I had already played a little bit and gotten up to the Black Forest. I was already starting to really like the game, so when we started our own world together, I decided to name my Viking Harald. I always thought that name sounded bad ass and I wanted to get immersed in the world. Our playthrough went really well, the only problem was, he was busier than I was most of the time and he’s usually not a big fan of survival games (but he ended up really liking the late game). So whenever I was playing by myself, I would always sail around and explore the world, trying to reveal as many islands on the map as possible and look for runestones to understand the lore (I’m a pretty big nerd when it comes to lore in games). By the time we got to the plains tier, we were both enthralled and I was already starting to consider Valheim one of my favorite games of all time. My friend was working out of town and we were planning on fighting Yagluth when he got back. The day before, I wanted to go looking for runestones. So I used the portal, got on the boat and started looking. It wasn’t too long before I saw a distant plains biome and in lied a runestone. I came up to it and started reading: “Good friend, lay your hand on this stone and remember Harald, who carved it. In Midgard I lost my life on the battlefield but in Valheim it was restored to me. Yet still my battle continued. In the green meadows I fought Eikthyr the Great Stag and lost an eye to his horns. In the deep woods I gave my shield hand to the Old Man of the Forest, and took a draugr arrow below my ribs that my fingers can still feel. On the mountainside I fought the Mother Drake and she bit off my leg at the knee so that I must walk always with a staff. Now my last battle must be at hand. When I sleep this time, where will I wake?”. Valheim wasn’t subtle before with it’s feelings of despair, loneliness and hopelessness, but when I read that, I just kinda froze for a second. Not only was the name Harald, but it strongly reminded me of Dark Souls and how you can become hollow, if you lose your conviction and will. It made me question the journey we are set on at the start of the game. It made me wonder, along with all the other runestones, how many Vikings came before us and failed? It makes me question, will Valheim become our prison? Will we ever go to Valhalla? There was one thing I knew for certain, that I would do my best to finish the fight the others started. I don’t want to get into details, but before I started playing Valheim, I was struggling mentally. To the point that nothing felt enjoyable anymore, not even my instruments or other games. But one day, I remembered that a few months prior, my brother talked me into buying a game called Valheim. So I decided to finally try it and now a days, Valheim is my home away from home.
There's another runestone that touches on conviction and will to persevere (and also, I think, is a nod to players dropping away from a multiplayer game as interests change): "I have been reborn many times in this world. I have died again and again only to awaken in my own house. Yet still I wonder how many more times I will return like this. Frida was taken by a serpent and her bed lies empty still. Bjarni was bitten in half by a troll and neither half has been seen since... All around are the ruins of those who came before us but where are the hands that built them? Perhaps, when a warrior loses the will to remain here, they can no longer return..."
@@JoshuaReiniger Exactly! I wanted to bring that runestone up too, but my original comment was already pretty long. It really sells the idea that the world of Valheim is akin to purgatory.
You guys have added a new layer of depth to my favourite game. The context of you finding Harald's stone before facing Yagluth must have been absolutely thrilling, too
We know at least three other people made it at least to the Ashlands, Astrid, Bjorn and Ulf. We can also reasonably assume that another man named Otho made it to the Ashlands was well, since he, Astrid and Bjorn were in a group together. Given the fact that we're playing the game, it's safe to assume that they all lost hope eventually.
I love Embr vids! Fabulous pacing, great edits without being ostentatious, never a wasted syllable, and always an injection of humor! AHEM *humour! I must concur that we'll meet the winter child at some point, likely as a boss. A powerful enemy that lacks the imposing stature of all the dragons and tree-kings will make for some interesting contrast, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it take some "final form" as well. I lean more heavily toward Odin than a sudden entrance by Loki, but I'm definitely leaving room for something altogether different as well! Thanks for the great analysis!
Thanks for the video. But we all know Ulf the Brave is the true god of Valheim. He traveled from edge to edge and must have defeated even the mighties foes to get there. His runestones are the proof and he's the one watching you sometimes. All hail Ulf!
When I've started playing Valheim I couldn't figure out any good names for my character, so I've chosen the name Ulf, a common name in Skandinavia with a nice meaning. Imagine my surprise when I keep finding all those runestones signed by me [: Also, I'm curious, who is this person, who had tree felt on his/her head. And does Astrid and Ulf know each other?
Nah Ulf is just putzin around the Tenth World doing all the stuff we're doing, only he got there first. Odin is the one keeping watch. We're the chosen ones who actually defeat his enemies.
Didn't expect Embr to create a lore video but I am all here for it. At this point if you upload anything regularly you should get at least 100k subs . You are amazing.
This was really interesting! I haven't read all the runestones in Ashlands yet, largely because the hordes of enemies would barely give me enough of a break to read them, but I find it really cool that they're actually incorporating that one dream into the lore, which is great foreshadowing if the Winter Child ends up having some importance. I wonder if any of the other dreams have meaning too.
Perhaps the winter child is Fenrir? A son of Loki, Fenrir is foretold to kill Odin during Ragnarok. The existence of the Fenris cult seems to confirm Fenrir's presence in the Tenth Realm.
@@kaferlei Or a "manifestation" of Lokis three children: The Fenriswolf to kill Odin, the Midgard-Snake to destroy the world and Hel to rule the dead. The child might be a combination of these three, just like in Diablo III, where ( * SPOILER! * ) all "Great Evils" where combined to the "Prime Evil" at last...
Considering Loki is a Frost Giant and the last Biome will be the *Deep North,* I'd say that holds a lot of merit. However, I do not believe that it's Odin's plot. Rather, I think it's Loki's plot. Setting the Forsaken up against Odin, threatening the Nine Realms, it sounds like something the Harbinger of Ragnarok would do. And I think it's gonna be Loki or one of his children that will become the final boss, hence why the last boss is not one of the Forsaken. One of the reasons I think this is that the Ashlands are the first time the game is straight up mentioning that the armaments we wield are ''godlike''. We are nearing that level of power. We will be ready to challenge even a God soon.
Loki does make sense given the fact that he's at least half jötunn, which are mostly associated with the cold, and the final biome is the Deep North. It's also worth noting that the Deep North is probably inspired by the Jötunheimr, which are said to be in the far north. Muspelheim, the home of the fire jötunar, is in the south, and is therefore the likely inspiration for the Ashlands.
Very nice video, and interesting thoughts at the end. It got me thinking about the loose ends in current biomes and how they could relate to the endgame. I come to the conclusion that the endgame will all be about Angrboda, the "bringer of grief" (and love-interest of Loki). My thoughts: - The Deep North is not a regular expression, otherwise it would be Far North. The name Deep North is a well-considered name by the devs. I believe the North will literally have depths. It makes sense that the freezing depths of the North will be Helheim. The Winter Child might refer to Hel (the winter child of Angrboda or Loki). - The cult of the Wolf is a strange name for the mountains update. Sofar the cultists are a loose-end that can easily be negated. According to the title they worship the Wolf. Yes, the cave markings say that they cultists manage to transform into wolves. But the Wolf is still missing. The obvious candidate is Fenrir. So the game hints at Hel and Fenrir. They are brother and sister and have another brother: Jörmungand, the Midgard Serpent. Well, how about that ocean update that will be included in a future update? Valheim Serpent WIki already refers to Jörmundgand. Thus the children of Loki and Angrboda all play a role behind the scenes. Will they play a prominent role in the next update? And will Loki or Angrboda be present? I opt for Angrboda because her role can be connected to the presence of the giant remains in the mistlands.
I really enjoy your streams, but I genuinely like it when you do these videos and guides. I would love to see more of them... Thanks a lot as always and keep up the great work.
That acrually just inspired me ah right now. I'm trying to write my dnd campaign based around elden ring for the entire summer. And yet i'm starting to feel the thrill only after reading the dune and diving into valheim lore. Yeah, maybe it definetly won't be elden ring at all as i'm planning on different approach to the plot, but i'm willing to bring the same depth to it. The story of Fader and his kingdome correlates a lot with mine undeveloped idea of a fallen dwarfen kingdom in the heart of Mount.Gelmir. I'm definetly gonna add it there and therefore get rid of my plans on different endings rather than sticking to just 3 - the bad, the mid and the true good one. And i'm already sure that this fallen dwarfen kingdom of Modimus will be the main key to the last one. Thx for the video and inspiring me right now
I instantly thought maybe the Frost Child could perhaps be an embodiment of Ull, it could fit in a way that perhaps Ull is plotting revenge against Odin, seeing as Ull was the Allfather before Odin overthrew him. My only issue here is that Ull has never been characterized as an evil or conniving persona. However, if they really put a spell on the wise king Father, perhaps it is Loke? But again: my issue here is that Loke is a trickster, he loves plotting and playing games, but he's not inherently evil. Or maybe the child is just an ancient Jotun that master-mindedly plotted revenge for hundreds of years and now grows strong enough to move towards the rest of the 9 realms on Yggdrasil? Man I just love lore and lore speculating! Great video!!
That was illuminating, I remember that dream with the child and it always intrigued me, I'm glad they decided to incorporate it into the game. I'm looking forward for the deep north though I can't fully explore ashlands yet since valheim seems to overheat my pc ever since that update.
Rune: "Seven were the creatures banished to this world." *Valheim: Deep North drops Rune: "EIGHT were the creatures banished to this world." Edit: Something tells me that there would be nine biomes. Nine seemed to be a sacred number.
I love tour videos! The edits are well done, the pacing is spot on, the music is perfectly ambient and not distracting, and your content is thought provoking and informative. I look forward to more videos!
I can't even imagine hom many hours it has taken to get the footage for all the stuff you talk about. Interesting, well-researched topic and great editing, tremendous job overall
Damn, I think I got to get back into the game! I've always loved your videos always such a great storytelling and narration really pulls you in and get you hooked on the story. I can't wait to play again but unfortunately at the moment I am relieving one of my favorite game series the Darksiders
Thank you for the info. I always read the rune stones, but didn't really pay attention to the underlining meanings. I figured it was just telling us a bit about what to expect in the zone. It's far more interesting. I always thought Yggdrasil in the skybox was a simple mythology themed aesthetic and nothing more. The lore makes the world seem more alive, thanks for that. Cheers.
Curiouser and curiouser!! Thanks for putting many of the Valheim lore pieces together and sparking this discussion. One wonders... all shall be revealed in time my padawan!
Great video, very useful to put all inline, the lore is certainly more clear now. And Loki seems likely, yeah. We’ll see, can’t wait to play the north biome. Such a good game, I love it ! 😊
I would think that this winter child, who thrives in cold, is a larval-stage frost giant. The frost giants perhaps wished to use the tenth world as a staging ground to recover their strength and strike back at the Æsir.
Great lore vid! I never really paid attention to the lore and it seems deep compared to what I felt playing the game. The Deep North kinda makes sense with Fimbulvetr as the final, terrible cold death of the world after Ragnarok. The game depicts Ragnarok in Muspellheim as Ashlands and Fimbulvetr in Jotunheim as Deep North. I'd love to hear more lore and theories on the game lore!
I still to this day don't think that the Deep North is the end. I feel like we are gonna get wings from the deep north to fly into the sky up to the root. Also in past updates there were mini updates such as new traders even small biomes could be added into the world still, or even ocean biomes or structures. I feel people just assume that the game is just gonna end at the Deep North but there is much that could be added. A paint update has also been theorized for years.
Started watching this before killing Fader and had to stop to avoid spoilers. Well, we did it last night so I'm back. Embr, you are a WONDERFUL storyteller. I love your Valheim videos. I loved this one. :)
I've had the theory since mistlands release that Odin will be the end fight. You've fought all the forsaken, now you must fight the one that put them there.
i love the lore of this game and how deep it can go I'm really exited for more lore and content drops. also really great video explains it well and changes a few of my perspectives keep it up
I love Valheim so much, me and my friends stream this and play it so often, I really wish Valheim was more recognized for the amazing game it is. (i.e was more popular bc it deserves it)
I do believe that the winter child is Loki. He is a child of a ice giants and that might be why he could survive up there. And we know that Loki can shapeshift and he is good at manipulate people. And his only goal is to create chaos. So Loki could be the final boss. It would have been cool if we could fight ice giants like a mini boss
I love this video, very well done. While playing I have seen many of same dreams over and over again, including the sleeping child dream. During one play session in the I got a dream I had never seen before. It specifically mentioned Loki and something about a ring. It caught me off guard and I was unable to screen capture. I wanted to read the full text because I was only able to skim it (I was probably sipping my beer and not paying attention). I tried to look it up online, but I can’t seem to find it. Have you ever seen that dream? And yes, I think the final boss is Loki.
hmm, the thing about loki is that the representation of him being a villain is pretty new, before he was either odin/loki who did shenanigans or the one who got to clean the mess thor and the other gods specially odin left, so he *might* be the winter child, which is interesting if we take into account how he got burned in the fire of the castle and his name loki is derived from logi(fire) all in all i think we killed the forsaken, but who's next we might not even take the head off of...or maybe there's like an eight forsaken but its actually a lie and right after the fight the winter child appears and talks to us, maybe like, choose between completing the game and going to valhalla, or continuing the game with harder enemies or something like so
Would be so cool if the deep north has us meeting this winter child and in the end we're given an egg thats the offspring of fader and moder that we hatch into our own drake flying mount and the true end biome is up there in the sky among the ygdrisil branches where we'll have to put all of our tactics and tricks to use in order to stop the true final boss.
I am translator of Old Norse poems and I have a theory. If the creators consider the myths, it should be Ymir: the first born giant. I would be grateful if our last enemies would be like those found in the Mistlands. But there are no other mythical character as a boss, except perhaps the first of them, Eikthyr (properly, Eikthyrnir). Based on the actual prospect of the game, I imagine great underground cities of dwarfs keeping some essencial item to summon the giant boss, even if it's name would be not Ymir - I guess it will be "The King". But my theory is not limited by the eighth boss, but the ninth, which should be the ocean boss. Perhaps it stops in the eighth, perhaps there are no giants or dwarfs in the north... It's just speculation, of course... But there are many evidences. In the Plains, there are villages... In the Ashlands, fortresses. The next step should be a full city. Did you think why the granted power of the Fader is to carry more weight? The catapults can only be built after conquering at least one fortress! We will need cargo to open the gates, but I really doubt these cities would belong to giants. I believe they will be free to walk on north lands and dwarves below. If there are wolves in the mountains, I expect bears in the north. If there is two kinds of sea monsters, one from the south, there should be a third. Let's see what is waiting for us!
Ymir is already mentioned in Valheim, as his flesh is sold by Haldor and marked with the caption "The Earthy remains of the giant Ymir." The word "remains" tells me Ymir is already dead. But the dead live in Valheim, so it could still possibly be Ymir.
At first I deduced that Deep North will be the endgame and we'll face final boss there, expecting either Odin himself throwing a final test upon us or some other greater "Non-Forsaken" entity like Yormungand, Surtr or Nidhogg. After learning the winter child lore, it's most likely Loki.
In actuall Norse mythology Odin is as much treacherous as Loki. Odin is shape-shiffting, he is breaking his word, he is a necromancer, he make good people die only to get them into his army in Valhalla... Literally, in every single myth about Odin we know of today, whenever Odin apperas some people will die. So I wouldn't be surpised by any posibility in Valheim. Personally, from the very begining of the game I have this strange feeling that I, the player, am just a tool to Odin. And it may be very well the case that we are only used by Odin to keep him in power and help him defeat his enemies, who simply don't want to be under his rule. After that Odin will destroy us as well just to be sure we won't grow too strong to become a threat to Odin, the worst and power hungry a*hole in all Ten Worlds.
Video its awesome! great info compilation! Until recently, the child dream didn´t make sense and always thought it was a dream from we were alive in Midgard or lost memory but after the Runestones in Ashlands i have the suspicion that the Winter Child its some sort of personification of Fimbulvetr or a prelude to Ragnarok, perhaps Odin is trying to stop or delay Fimbulvetr in Valheim before it lands on Midgard or Asgard that could be why he entrusted the defeating of the Forsaken. It seems fit for Odin to exile Fader to Valheim just because he knew what the Winter Child is and Fader didnt (maybe?) but take him to his kingdom anyways, either Fader confabulate with te Child and Yagluth to take down Odin or the Child used Fader to weak the realm in other to facilitate Ragnarok but no matter wich one was Fader was on the end of the stick so Odin
I believe the rune of protection shows us how many they've planned for us, there are 8 unique ends, and currently 7 forsaken ones in disunity. It's likely that the symbol of protection that Odin left for them was contingent on an eternal pact forged between the 8, but the forsaken turned from their purpose and brought ruin to Valheim. Maybe?
Awesome! Thank you very much. I had never paid much attention to the lore and connected all the dots. I also think the Winter Child is going to be the last boss. The last biome being the Deep North is another clue. And it is very likely he is Loki or somehow related to him. Thor being in Valheim might be another clue, maybe he is there looking for him. Maybe Loki was not banned to Valheim, but is there manipulating the Forsaken that were banned so they reach Yggdrasil and bring Ragnarok.
My hope is we get nine bosses total; that's because nine is a special reoccurring number in Norse mythology, so it would make sense. I see some people suggesting Loki may be responsible, and I kinda hope that's not the case. Cause the thing is, Loki really isn't an antagonist in most of the stories we know. He's a prankster but I don't think his intentions are ever meant to be necessarily malicious. And, it isn't until the death of Baldr, which I take to be basically a prank gone wrong, rather than intentional murder, does he become that antagonist. And then he's chained to a rock after that until Ragnarok. I kinda would prefer if whatever is responsible for all this to being some unknown entity, a great being born to Valheim in secret all this time, unknown to Odin. Maybe the Winter Child could be a creation of this being. That's what I hope for, anyway.
It’s been a long time since I’ve made a new character and read the beginning text, so I fell into the false idea that we were actually imprisoned for failing to die honorably in combat. Failing to reach Valhalla, but given a second chance to do so through great toil in our second life in Valheim by defeating the champions. But no: we are *Odin’s champions*
Very good! You know how to tell a story! Yes, Loki could be it. But I do agree that Odin is even more likely. Loki is mischievous, a manipulator. But he's also doing it mostly for his own fun and delight. I'm not sure that he would purposely drive Vader to become evil. Odin, on the other hand IS vengeful, jealous, power crazy and incapable of remorse and true love. IMHO he's more evil than Loki himself. We shall see... we shall see. :) Thank you for this video.
me: loves valheim, hundreds hours played, never paid one bit of attention to lore and story
me after watching this video: i am awakened
😂😂
Rise up from your thousand year-old sleep
Break forth from your grave eternally
for real tho
The Loki theory actually makes quite a bit of sense considering Loki is a child of the ice giants.
@@leeviw7267 loki is in the dreams of the player so i doubt he'll be further involved
@@resonation6776 What dreams are those? I'm curious not trying to mock you.
@@leeviw7267 something like "you hear loki's laugh" or "loki peers at you with a smile from the tree". I don't remember exactly, just that his name is in a few
@@resonation6776 Are these rare or are they really late game since I've never seen these?
@@leeviw7267 no clue but they're new since either mist or ashlands. There's probably a list somewhere
This has Lokis handwriting all over.
Also, thank you for taking the time and dragging all the Lore together, I really enjoyed this video
I remember sitting down after the update and filling out the wiki with all the runes, im glad you made this video too, now people who dont read the runes or the wiki can understand the lore as well
Thank you for your hard work! 🫡
I never knew the story of Valheim was actually so in depth :o Amazing video and summarization of the lore, looking forward to the next lore video when the Deep North is finally here :D
See you in a couple of years.
See you all in 2025-2027 when we get the ending to this masterpiece.
@@Antixandros LOL
I still appreciate and support them. They easily could've just taken the money and ran.
Warning: This is super long. TLDR: Valheim is an enthralling, immersive world and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
There’s one runestone in Valheim that lives rent free in my head.
Some context: Before I started my first real play through with my friend, a little over a year ago, I had already played a little bit and gotten up to the Black Forest. I was already starting to really like the game, so when we started our own world together, I decided to name my Viking Harald. I always thought that name sounded bad ass and I wanted to get immersed in the world.
Our playthrough went really well, the only problem was, he was busier than I was most of the time and he’s usually not a big fan of survival games (but he ended up really liking the late game). So whenever I was playing by myself, I would always sail around and explore the world, trying to reveal as many islands on the map as possible and look for runestones to understand the lore (I’m a pretty big nerd when it comes to lore in games). By the time we got to the plains tier, we were both enthralled and I was already starting to consider Valheim one of my favorite games of all time.
My friend was working out of town and we were planning on fighting Yagluth when he got back. The day before, I wanted to go looking for runestones. So I used the portal, got on the boat and started looking. It wasn’t too long before I saw a distant plains biome and in lied a runestone.
I came up to it and started reading: “Good friend, lay your hand on this stone and remember Harald, who carved it. In Midgard I lost my life on the battlefield but in Valheim it was restored to me. Yet still my battle continued.
In the green meadows I fought Eikthyr the Great Stag and lost an eye to his horns.
In the deep woods I gave my shield hand to the Old Man of the Forest, and took a draugr arrow below my ribs that my fingers can still feel.
On the mountainside I fought the Mother Drake and she bit off my leg at the knee so that I must walk always with a staff.
Now my last battle must be at hand. When I sleep this time, where will I wake?”.
Valheim wasn’t subtle before with it’s feelings of despair, loneliness and hopelessness, but when I read that, I just kinda froze for a second. Not only was the name Harald, but it strongly reminded me of Dark Souls and how you can become hollow, if you lose your conviction and will.
It made me question the journey we are set on at the start of the game. It made me wonder, along with all the other runestones, how many Vikings came before us and failed? It makes me question, will Valheim become our prison? Will we ever go to Valhalla? There was one thing I knew for certain, that I would do my best to finish the fight the others started.
I don’t want to get into details, but before I started playing Valheim, I was struggling mentally. To the point that nothing felt enjoyable anymore, not even my instruments or other games. But one day, I remembered that a few months prior, my brother talked me into buying a game called Valheim. So I decided to finally try it and now a days, Valheim is my home away from home.
There's another runestone that touches on conviction and will to persevere (and also, I think, is a nod to players dropping away from a multiplayer game as interests change):
"I have been reborn many times in this world. I have died again and again only to awaken in my own house. Yet still I wonder how many more times I will return like this. Frida was taken by a serpent and her bed lies empty still. Bjarni was bitten in half by a troll and neither half has been seen since...
All around are the ruins of those who came before us but where are the hands that built them?
Perhaps, when a warrior loses the will to remain here, they can no longer return..."
@@JoshuaReiniger Exactly! I wanted to bring that runestone up too, but my original comment was already pretty long. It really sells the idea that the world of Valheim is akin to purgatory.
You guys have added a new layer of depth to my favourite game. The context of you finding Harald's stone before facing Yagluth must have been absolutely thrilling, too
We know at least three other people made it at least to the Ashlands, Astrid, Bjorn and Ulf. We can also reasonably assume that another man named Otho made it to the Ashlands was well, since he, Astrid and Bjorn were in a group together.
Given the fact that we're playing the game, it's safe to assume that they all lost hope eventually.
I love Embr vids! Fabulous pacing, great edits without being ostentatious, never a wasted syllable, and always an injection of humor! AHEM *humour!
I must concur that we'll meet the winter child at some point, likely as a boss. A powerful enemy that lacks the imposing stature of all the dragons and tree-kings will make for some interesting contrast, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it take some "final form" as well. I lean more heavily toward Odin than a sudden entrance by Loki, but I'm definitely leaving room for something altogether different as well!
Thanks for the great analysis!
Naww ty Thread!
naw the goat himself
Thanks for the video. But we all know Ulf the Brave is the true god of Valheim. He traveled from edge to edge and must have defeated even the mighties foes to get there. His runestones are the proof and he's the one watching you sometimes. All hail Ulf!
When I've started playing Valheim I couldn't figure out any good names for my character, so I've chosen the name Ulf, a common name in Skandinavia with a nice meaning. Imagine my surprise when I keep finding all those runestones signed by me [:
Also, I'm curious, who is this person, who had tree felt on his/her head. And does Astrid and Ulf know each other?
Blasphemy!
Nah Ulf is just putzin around the Tenth World doing all the stuff we're doing, only he got there first. Odin is the one keeping watch. We're the chosen ones who actually defeat his enemies.
Who is Ulf?
@@sebastian08oliver ulf is a name written on many anecdotal runes around the map, just go on the wiki i even made the ulfwiki page
Didn't expect Embr to create a lore video but I am all here for it. At this point if you upload anything regularly you should get at least 100k subs . You are amazing.
This was really interesting! I haven't read all the runestones in Ashlands yet, largely because the hordes of enemies would barely give me enough of a break to read them, but I find it really cool that they're actually incorporating that one dream into the lore, which is great foreshadowing if the Winter Child ends up having some importance. I wonder if any of the other dreams have meaning too.
I'd like to think that winter child is Loki/Children of Loki disguising and sent to destabilize and dethroning Fader as part of Odin's plot
Perhaps the winter child is Fenrir? A son of Loki, Fenrir is foretold to kill Odin during Ragnarok. The existence of the Fenris cult seems to confirm Fenrir's presence in the Tenth Realm.
@@kaferlei Or a "manifestation" of Lokis three children: The Fenriswolf to kill Odin, the Midgard-Snake to destroy the world and Hel to rule the dead.
The child might be a combination of these three, just like in Diablo III, where ( * SPOILER! * ) all "Great Evils" where combined to the "Prime Evil" at last...
Considering Loki is a Frost Giant and the last Biome will be the *Deep North,* I'd say that holds a lot of merit. However, I do not believe that it's Odin's plot. Rather, I think it's Loki's plot. Setting the Forsaken up against Odin, threatening the Nine Realms, it sounds like something the Harbinger of Ragnarok would do. And I think it's gonna be Loki or one of his children that will become the final boss, hence why the last boss is not one of the Forsaken.
One of the reasons I think this is that the Ashlands are the first time the game is straight up mentioning that the armaments we wield are ''godlike''. We are nearing that level of power. We will be ready to challenge even a God soon.
Loki does make sense given the fact that he's at least half jötunn, which are mostly associated with the cold, and the final biome is the Deep North.
It's also worth noting that the Deep North is probably inspired by the Jötunheimr, which are said to be in the far north. Muspelheim, the home of the fire jötunar, is in the south, and is therefore the likely inspiration for the Ashlands.
This is an amazing breakdown! Great stuff Embr!
Very nice video, and interesting thoughts at the end. It got me thinking about the loose ends in current biomes and how they could relate to the endgame. I come to the conclusion that the endgame will all be about Angrboda, the "bringer of grief" (and love-interest of Loki).
My thoughts:
- The Deep North is not a regular expression, otherwise it would be Far North. The name Deep North is a well-considered name by the devs. I believe the North will literally have depths. It makes sense that the freezing depths of the North will be Helheim. The Winter Child might refer to Hel (the winter child of Angrboda or Loki).
- The cult of the Wolf is a strange name for the mountains update. Sofar the cultists are a loose-end that can easily be negated. According to the title they worship the Wolf. Yes, the cave markings say that they cultists manage to transform into wolves. But the Wolf is still missing. The obvious candidate is Fenrir.
So the game hints at Hel and Fenrir. They are brother and sister and have another brother: Jörmungand, the Midgard Serpent. Well, how about that ocean update that will be included in a future update? Valheim Serpent WIki already refers to Jörmundgand.
Thus the children of Loki and Angrboda all play a role behind the scenes. Will they play a prominent role in the next update? And will Loki or Angrboda be present? I opt for Angrboda because her role can be connected to the presence of the giant remains in the mistlands.
This was a fun read, love this theory!
"We'll find out soon enogh." I wish I had your optimism Embr.
Great lore video and look forward to see what you come up with next.
Soon enough is definitely gonna end up being mid 2026
Loki comes to mind as soon as I heard sleeping in the snow
only embr could make me care this much about valheim's lore now, cant wait to see how they end it all in the deep north
Omg never knew i was gonna be interested in valheims lore , Great vid
I really enjoy your streams, but I genuinely like it when you do these videos and guides. I would love to see more of them... Thanks a lot as always and keep up the great work.
Always love a new video from Embr! Fantastic work as always!
Honestly you're unmatched. I appreciate your hard work and great story telling.
Best lore video of Ashlands. You should do more like these with Mistlands, Plains, and etc biomes lore behind the zones and creatures of valheim.
I love this kind of video i always thought that valheim had deep lore i just never thought of it
That acrually just inspired me ah right now. I'm trying to write my dnd campaign based around elden ring for the entire summer. And yet i'm starting to feel the thrill only after reading the dune and diving into valheim lore. Yeah, maybe it definetly won't be elden ring at all as i'm planning on different approach to the plot, but i'm willing to bring the same depth to it. The story of Fader and his kingdome correlates a lot with mine undeveloped idea of a fallen dwarfen kingdom in the heart of Mount.Gelmir. I'm definetly gonna add it there and therefore get rid of my plans on different endings rather than sticking to just 3 - the bad, the mid and the true good one. And i'm already sure that this fallen dwarfen kingdom of Modimus will be the main key to the last one. Thx for the video and inspiring me right now
I'm surprised your subscribers count is so low, your videos are polished and interesting. Good luck on growth!
I instantly thought maybe the Frost Child could perhaps be an embodiment of Ull, it could fit in a way that perhaps Ull is plotting revenge against Odin, seeing as Ull was the Allfather before Odin overthrew him. My only issue here is that Ull has never been characterized as an evil or conniving persona.
However, if they really put a spell on the wise king Father, perhaps it is Loke? But again: my issue here is that Loke is a trickster, he loves plotting and playing games, but he's not inherently evil.
Or maybe the child is just an ancient Jotun that master-mindedly plotted revenge for hundreds of years and now grows strong enough to move towards the rest of the 9 realms on Yggdrasil?
Man I just love lore and lore speculating! Great video!!
Embr with another fantastic video of course!!!
I'm waking up to 0:04
I wipe my aaaass and I slaaaap my nuuuuts!
That was illuminating, I remember that dream with the child and it always intrigued me, I'm glad they decided to incorporate it into the game. I'm looking forward for the deep north though I can't fully explore ashlands yet since valheim seems to overheat my pc ever since that update.
Great video, it summed up all the things stewing in my subconscious concerning the story. I've been gaming since the mid 80's, Valheim is my G.O.A.T.
It all makes sense now...Thank you for this amazing lore video.
Also the winter child has to be Loki
I can’t wait to sail again to the new lands to be revealed!
Great video and very good editing also commented for the algorithm.
Such a great effect @3:47 i can't even imagine how you pulled this off.
Rune: "Seven were the creatures banished to this world."
*Valheim: Deep North drops
Rune: "EIGHT were the creatures banished to this world."
Edit: Something tells me that there would be nine biomes. Nine seemed to be a sacred number.
Ocean is the 9th biome if you really want to tie it in a nice bow later.
Nah it's gonna remain seven. Loki or one of his children will be the final boss, and they aren't Forsaken.
if I recall corretly there are plans on making the Ocean Biom reworked/ updated to be the last biom before the release. After the Deep North biom
@@bziebzie Jormungandr update 😅
I love tour videos! The edits are well done, the pacing is spot on, the music is perfectly ambient and not distracting, and your content is thought provoking and informative. I look forward to more videos!
Bravo! I love your speculations as well. Skål!
I can't even imagine hom many hours it has taken to get the footage for all the stuff you talk about. Interesting, well-researched topic and great editing, tremendous job overall
Damn, I think I got to get back into the game! I've always loved your videos always such a great storytelling and narration really pulls you in and get you hooked on the story. I can't wait to play again but unfortunately at the moment I am relieving one of my favorite game series the Darksiders
Thank you for the info. I always read the rune stones, but didn't really pay attention to the underlining meanings. I figured it was just telling us a bit about what to expect in the zone. It's far more interesting. I always thought Yggdrasil in the skybox was a simple mythology themed aesthetic and nothing more. The lore makes the world seem more alive, thanks for that. Cheers.
Curiouser and curiouser!! Thanks for putting many of the Valheim lore pieces together and sparking this discussion. One wonders... all shall be revealed in time my padawan!
A lore video? From Embr?!? Yes please and thank you!
Thanks for making this. It was a fun watch and has got me hyped to see where the end game goes.
I had no idea I'd missed so much lore on the stones!
Thank you for sharing all this lore with .
I missed stones and story in ashlnds.
Happy to find that there is so much lore behind.
I love the story is exciting and dramatic. I completely forgot to play the game while listening to your story.
Beautifully made lore video.
Great video, very useful to put all inline, the lore is certainly more clear now. And Loki seems likely, yeah. We’ll see, can’t wait to play the north biome. Such a good game, I love it ! 😊
So much talent in that brain of yours
I would think that this winter child, who thrives in cold, is a larval-stage frost giant. The frost giants perhaps wished to use the tenth world as a staging ground to recover their strength and strike back at the Æsir.
Thank you Embr. Incredible video as always.
Great lore vid! I never really paid attention to the lore and it seems deep compared to what I felt playing the game. The Deep North kinda makes sense with Fimbulvetr as the final, terrible cold death of the world after Ragnarok. The game depicts Ragnarok in Muspellheim as Ashlands and Fimbulvetr in Jotunheim as Deep North. I'd love to hear more lore and theories on the game lore!
I still to this day don't think that the Deep North is the end. I feel like we are gonna get wings from the deep north to fly into the sky up to the root. Also in past updates there were mini updates such as new traders even small biomes could be added into the world still, or even ocean biomes or structures. I feel people just assume that the game is just gonna end at the Deep North but there is much that could be added. A paint update has also been theorized for years.
Started watching this before killing Fader and had to stop to avoid spoilers. Well, we did it last night so I'm back.
Embr, you are a WONDERFUL storyteller. I love your Valheim videos. I loved this one. :)
I've been too lazy to find and read the lore. This was very interesting.
My bet: we’re going to fight our ways thru frost giants right to loki or something of it’s creation.
Thank you for your video
This is really informative and well-edited! I should really get back into valheim
Great summary, Embr. Thanks for always producing solid content!
I always wanted a valheim lore video, thank you so much.
This was a great video! I like reading the runestones, but it's hard to connect their stories together. Thank you!
I loved your theory, i'm definitely reading all the runes now 😬
I've had the theory since mistlands release that Odin will be the end fight. You've fought all the forsaken, now you must fight the one that put them there.
i love the lore of this game and how deep it can go I'm really exited for more lore and content drops. also really great video explains it well and changes a few of my perspectives keep it up
Was just watching your stream vod from the first adventure into the ashlands when this popped up! Loving your videos and streams!
Excellent summation.
Fader and Moder were most likely a couple. Because Fader and Moder means Father and Mother.
I love the idea that the winter child might be odin, it would make for a really interesting twist ending!
Love your content! Keep it up!!
Incredible video as always. Was thinking about doing a lore video myself but doubt I could top this. WELL DONE!
Literally the day I
Plan to research the games lore you return lmao
This was so great! Thankyou 😊
I love Valheim so much, me and my friends stream this and play it so often, I really wish Valheim was more recognized for the amazing game it is. (i.e was more popular bc it deserves it)
So Fader is King Theoden in Two Towers
Nice video, thanks for sharing that lore to those who don't really read the runestones lol
I do believe that the winter child is Loki. He is a child of a ice giants and that might be why he could survive up there. And we know that Loki can shapeshift and he is good at manipulate people. And his only goal is to create chaos. So Loki could be the final boss. It would have been cool if we could fight ice giants like a mini boss
it is loki because you see thor and odin but where is the child of the ice giants
Dreaming about the winter child before learning about it reminds me about attack on titan with the future vision.
Amazing lore video, never cared about the lore until this vid
Great job! Now i have to play valheim again :D
Would be fitting if the Winter Child was an aspect of Loki.
I love this video, very well done. While playing I have seen many of same dreams over and over again, including the sleeping child dream. During one play session in the I got a dream I had never seen before. It specifically mentioned Loki and something about a ring. It caught me off guard and I was unable to screen capture. I wanted to read the full text because I was only able to skim it (I was probably sipping my beer and not paying attention). I tried to look it up online, but I can’t seem to find it. Have you ever seen that dream? And yes, I think the final boss is Loki.
Looks like I had missed a lot of runestones. Not easy to read when you are constantly harassed by twitchers
hmm, the thing about loki is that the representation of him being a villain is pretty new, before he was either odin/loki who did shenanigans or the one who got to clean the mess thor and the other gods specially odin left, so he *might* be the winter child, which is interesting if we take into account how he got burned in the fire of the castle and his name loki is derived from logi(fire)
all in all i think we killed the forsaken, but who's next we might not even take the head off of...or maybe there's like an eight forsaken but its actually a lie and right after the fight the winter child appears and talks to us, maybe like, choose between completing the game and going to valhalla, or continuing the game with harder enemies or something like so
I never knew there was so much story to this game! I’ve never really read all the stones lol
Would be so cool if the deep north has us meeting this winter child and in the end we're given an egg thats the offspring of fader and moder that we hatch into our own drake flying mount and the true end biome is up there in the sky among the ygdrisil branches where we'll have to put all of our tactics and tricks to use in order to stop the true final boss.
I am translator of Old Norse poems and I have a theory. If the creators consider the myths, it should be Ymir: the first born giant. I would be grateful if our last enemies would be like those found in the Mistlands. But there are no other mythical character as a boss, except perhaps the first of them, Eikthyr (properly, Eikthyrnir). Based on the actual prospect of the game, I imagine great underground cities of dwarfs keeping some essencial item to summon the giant boss, even if it's name would be not Ymir - I guess it will be "The King". But my theory is not limited by the eighth boss, but the ninth, which should be the ocean boss. Perhaps it stops in the eighth, perhaps there are no giants or dwarfs in the north... It's just speculation, of course... But there are many evidences. In the Plains, there are villages... In the Ashlands, fortresses. The next step should be a full city. Did you think why the granted power of the Fader is to carry more weight? The catapults can only be built after conquering at least one fortress! We will need cargo to open the gates, but I really doubt these cities would belong to giants. I believe they will be free to walk on north lands and dwarves below. If there are wolves in the mountains, I expect bears in the north. If there is two kinds of sea monsters, one from the south, there should be a third. Let's see what is waiting for us!
Ymir is already mentioned in Valheim, as his flesh is sold by Haldor and marked with the caption "The Earthy remains of the giant Ymir." The word "remains" tells me Ymir is already dead. But the dead live in Valheim, so it could still possibly be Ymir.
At first I deduced that Deep North will be the endgame and we'll face final boss there, expecting either Odin himself throwing a final test upon us or some other greater "Non-Forsaken" entity like Yormungand, Surtr or Nidhogg. After learning the winter child lore, it's most likely Loki.
Winter child = Loki
Amazing video theres so much i didnt know about the games story
You are the winter child. It's all just a dream and the purpose of the game is to wake up. The final battle is the battle with yourself.
In actuall Norse mythology Odin is as much treacherous as Loki. Odin is shape-shiffting, he is breaking his word, he is a necromancer, he make good people die only to get them into his army in Valhalla... Literally, in every single myth about Odin we know of today, whenever Odin apperas some people will die. So I wouldn't be surpised by any posibility in Valheim.
Personally, from the very begining of the game I have this strange feeling that I, the player, am just a tool to Odin. And it may be very well the case that we are only used by Odin to keep him in power and help him defeat his enemies, who simply don't want to be under his rule. After that Odin will destroy us as well just to be sure we won't grow too strong to become a threat to Odin, the worst and power hungry a*hole in all Ten Worlds.
Video its awesome! great info compilation! Until recently, the child dream didn´t make sense and always thought it was a dream from we were alive in Midgard or lost memory but after the Runestones in Ashlands i have the suspicion that the Winter Child its some sort of personification of Fimbulvetr or a prelude to Ragnarok, perhaps Odin is trying to stop or delay Fimbulvetr in Valheim before it lands on Midgard or Asgard that could be why he entrusted the defeating of the Forsaken. It seems fit for Odin to exile Fader to Valheim just because he knew what the Winter Child is and Fader didnt (maybe?) but take him to his kingdom anyways, either Fader confabulate with te Child and Yagluth to take down Odin or the Child used Fader to weak the realm in other to facilitate Ragnarok but no matter wich one was Fader was on the end of the stick so Odin
Embr: "As we reach the endgame."
Me: "I've been in endgame since the first greydwarf." 😭
I believe the rune of protection shows us how many they've planned for us, there are 8 unique ends, and currently 7 forsaken ones in disunity. It's likely that the symbol of protection that Odin left for them was contingent on an eternal pact forged between the 8, but the forsaken turned from their purpose and brought ruin to Valheim.
Maybe?
Awesome!
Thank you very much.
I had never paid much attention to the lore and connected all the dots.
I also think the Winter Child is going to be the last boss.
The last biome being the Deep North is another clue.
And it is very likely he is Loki or somehow related to him.
Thor being in Valheim might be another clue, maybe he is there looking for him.
Maybe Loki was not banned to Valheim, but is there manipulating the Forsaken that were banned so they reach Yggdrasil and bring Ragnarok.
Babe wake up new Embr video just dropped
My hope is we get nine bosses total; that's because nine is a special reoccurring number in Norse mythology, so it would make sense. I see some people suggesting Loki may be responsible, and I kinda hope that's not the case. Cause the thing is, Loki really isn't an antagonist in most of the stories we know. He's a prankster but I don't think his intentions are ever meant to be necessarily malicious.
And, it isn't until the death of Baldr, which I take to be basically a prank gone wrong, rather than intentional murder, does he become that antagonist. And then he's chained to a rock after that until Ragnarok. I kinda would prefer if whatever is responsible for all this to being some unknown entity, a great being born to Valheim in secret all this time, unknown to Odin. Maybe the Winter Child could be a creation of this being.
That's what I hope for, anyway.
It’s been a long time since I’ve made a new character and read the beginning text, so I fell into the false idea that we were actually imprisoned for failing to die honorably in combat. Failing to reach Valhalla, but given a second chance to do so through great toil in our second life in Valheim by defeating the champions.
But no: we are *Odin’s champions*
Hippity Hoppity
Odin looks with great disappointment how me and my friends build a church on our property
Very good! You know how to tell a story! Yes, Loki could be it. But I do agree that Odin is even more likely. Loki is mischievous, a manipulator. But he's also doing it mostly for his own fun and delight. I'm not sure that he would purposely drive Vader to become evil.
Odin, on the other hand IS vengeful, jealous, power crazy and incapable of remorse and true love. IMHO he's more evil than Loki himself.
We shall see... we shall see. :) Thank you for this video.
Very cool video thanks a lot! My 2ct are on Loki.
THE LORE ! The Valheory !