The Apples of Idunn

In the golden halls of Asgard, among all the treasures possessed by the gods, none was more precious than the grove of Idunn, keeper of the golden apples. These were no ordinary fruits, for they held within them the secret of eternal youth, ensuring that the Æsir gods would never grow old or weak.

Each morning, the goddess Idunn would walk through her sacred grove, tending to her magical apple trees with gentle hands. She was young and beautiful, with hair like spun gold and a voice as sweet as birdsong. Her very presence caused flowers to bloom and birds to sing more sweetly.

“Come, noble gods,” Idunn would call as the sun rose over Asgard’s walls. “Come partake of the apples that keep you strong and fair.”

One by one, the gods would come to receive their daily portion. Odin the All-Father, wise and powerful, would eat his apple with gratitude. Thor, mighty god of thunder, would bite into the golden fruit before wielding his hammer. Frigg, Balder, Týr, and all the others depended on Idunn’s gift for their divine vigor and immortal youth.

Even Loki, the trickster, relied on the apples, though he often took his portion with less grace than the others.

“Why must we depend on these fruits?” Loki would sometimes grumble. “Surely our divine nature should be enough.”

“Be grateful, Loki,” Odin would reply. “Without Idunn’s apples, even gods grow old and fade.”

One day, Odin, Loki, and Hœnir decided to journey into Midgard to explore the mortal realm. They traveled far from Asgard, across mountains and valleys, until they found themselves in a desolate region where game was scarce.

“I am hungry,” complained Loki as they made camp for the night. “We should have brought provisions from Asgard.”

“Look there,” Hœnir pointed to a herd of oxen grazing in a distant field. “Surely the farmer would not miss one beast.”

They took one of the oxen and built a great fire to roast it, but something strange occurred. No matter how long they cooked the meat, it remained raw and cold. Hours passed, and still the ox would not cook properly.

“This is unnatural,” Odin muttered, his single eye scanning the darkening sky. “Some magic is at work here.”

From high above in an oak tree came a mocking laugh. Looking up, they saw an enormous eagle perched on the branches, its eyes gleaming with intelligence that was clearly more than merely animal.

“Your meat will never cook while I watch over it,” the eagle said in a voice that rumbled like distant thunder.

“And who are you to interfere with the gods?” Loki demanded, his temper flaring.

“I am Thjazi, giant of the storm winds,” the eagle replied. “If you wish your meat to cook, you must pay my price.”

“What price?” Odin asked, though his voice carried suspicion.

“Allow me to eat my fill first, and I will release the spell that keeps your food cold.”

The three gods conferred, and seeing no alternative if they wished to eat, they agreed to the giant’s terms. Thjazi swooped down and began devouring the ox with tremendous appetite, taking the choicest portions for himself.

Loki’s anger burned hotter with each bite the giant-eagle took. Finally, unable to contain his rage, he grabbed a long staff and struck at Thjazi with all his strength.

But the cunning giant was ready for such treachery. As the staff struck him, Thjazi grabbed it with his powerful talons—and such was his magic that Loki found himself unable to let go. The other end of the staff became fixed to his hands as if welded there.

“Now, trickster god,” Thjazi laughed, “let us take a little flight together.”

The giant-eagle took to the sky with tremendous force, dragging Loki behind him like a banner in the wind. Higher and higher they soared, over jagged mountain peaks and through icy clouds.

“Let me go!” Loki screamed as he was dragged across sharp rocks and through thorny bushes. His arms felt as though they would be torn from their sockets, and his body was battered by stones and branches.

“Not until you agree to my terms,” Thjazi called back.

“What terms? What do you want?”

“Bring me Idunn and her apples,” the giant demanded. “Lure her outside Asgard’s walls without her golden fruit, and I will release you.”

“I cannot! The gods would never forgive such treachery!”

Thjazi flew even higher, dragging Loki through a cloud filled with hail and ice. “Then enjoy our flight, trickster. It can last as long as you wish.”

The pain became unbearable. Loki’s shoulders screamed in agony, and his hands were raw and bleeding where they gripped the enchanted staff. Seeing no other choice, he finally gasped out his agreement.

“Very well! I will do as you ask! Just release me!”

Thjazi descended and dropped Loki roughly to the ground. “Remember, shapeshifter—bring Idunn outside Asgard’s protection, and leave her apples behind. If you fail or warn the others, I will know, and my revenge will be terrible.”

Loki limped back to where Odin and Hœnir waited, concocting a story about having fallen into a ravine. The three gods returned to Asgard, but Loki’s mind churned with plans for fulfilling his unwilling bargain.

Several days passed before Loki found his opportunity. He came to Idunn as she tended her grove, his expression filled with false excitement.

“Dear Idunn,” he said, his voice honey-sweet with deception, “I have made the most remarkable discovery!”

“What discovery?” Idunn asked, looking up from her apple trees with curious eyes.

“In the forest beyond Asgard’s walls, I have found a tree bearing apples identical to yours! Golden fruit that radiates the same magical energy!”

Idunn’s eyes widened with wonder. “That cannot be! My apples are unique in all the Nine Realms!”

“I thought the same,” Loki continued, “but you should see them for yourself. Perhaps there are others who possess similar magic. Think of what this could mean!”

“Show me these apples,” Idunn said, her scientific curiosity aroused.

“Of course! But you must bring some of your own apples for comparison. We should study them side by side to determine if they truly possess the same properties.”

Idunn hesitated. “I have never taken my apples beyond Asgard’s protection…”

“It will only be for a short while,” Loki urged. “And I will be with you to ensure your safety. Besides, if there truly are other magical apples, we should investigate. The gods would want to know.”

Against her better judgment, Idunn allowed herself to be persuaded. She gathered several of her precious golden apples in a basket and followed Loki toward the gates of Asgard.

They had barely crossed beyond the protective walls when a tremendous wind arose. Dark clouds gathered with unnatural speed, and from them descended Thjazi in his eagle form, larger and more terrible than before.

“Loki!” Idunn cried out in terror as she realized the trap. “What have you done?”

But Loki had already transformed into a falcon and fled, leaving Idunn defenseless. Thjazi swooped down with a cry like a hurricane and seized the goddess in his mighty talons, carrying her and her precious apples away to his mountain hall in Jotunheim.

In Asgard, the gods at first did not notice Idunn’s absence. But as the days passed without their daily portions of the magical apples, strange changes began to occur.

Odin’s hair, always silver-white, began to thin and grow brittle. Thor’s mighty strength seemed to ebb, and his steps grew heavier. Frigg’s fair face showed the first lines of age, and Balder’s golden radiance dimmed.

“Where is Idunn?” Frigg asked with growing alarm as she noticed wrinkles appearing around her eyes.

“I have not seen her for three days,” said Heimdall, whose all-seeing gaze usually missed nothing. “But strangely, I cannot perceive her location, as if some magic clouds my sight.”

As more days passed, the aging of the gods accelerated. Their divine vigor faded, their immortal beauty withered, and for the first time in eons, they felt the creeping touch of mortality.

“This is no natural occurrence,” Odin declared, his voice weaker than before. “Someone has taken Idunn and her apples. Without them, we will age and die like mortals.”

The gods searched frantically through Asgard but found no trace of their beloved apple-keeper. It was then that Heimdall spoke up with grim realization.

“The last time I saw Idunn,” he said slowly, “she was walking toward the gates with Loki.”

All eyes turned to the trickster god, who had been unusually quiet since Idunn’s disappearance. Under their accusing stares, Loki’s composure finally cracked.

“I… I was forced!” he stammered. “The giant Thjazi threatened me with terrible torture! I had no choice!”

“No choice?” Thor roared, though his voice lacked its usual thunderous power. “You have doomed us all!”

“Tell us where she is,” Odin commanded, his single eye blazing with the last of his divine fire. “Tell us, or face punishment beyond imagining.”

Trembling, Loki confessed the entire tale—his capture by Thjazi, the forced bargain, and Idunn’s abduction to the giant’s mountain stronghold.

“You will undo this treachery,” Odin declared. “You will bring Idunn home, or we will cast you into the darkest depths of Hel.”

“But how?” Loki pleaded. “Thjazi is too powerful, and his mountain fortress is impregnable!”

“You are the shapeshifter,” Frigg said coldly. “Use your cunning for good for once in your existence.”

Knowing he had no choice, Loki borrowed Frigg’s falcon cloak and flew swiftly to Jotunheim. He searched until he found Thjazi’s great hall built high among the storm-wracked peaks. Circling carefully, he saw that the giant was away, probably hunting or reveling in his triumph.

Inside the hall, Loki found Idunn imprisoned in a tower room, weeping over her basket of precious apples. Many of the golden fruits had already been consumed by Thjazi in his attempts to gain immortality.

“Idunn!” Loki called softly through the window. “I have come to rescue you!”

“Loki?” Idunn looked up with red-rimmed eyes. “How dare you show yourself after your betrayal?”

“I know I have wronged you terribly,” Loki said, “but the gods are aging and dying without your apples. I must make this right.”

Using his magic, Loki transformed Idunn into a nut and grasped her carefully in his falcon talons. He also took as many of the remaining apples as he could carry, knowing that time was running short.

As Loki began his flight back to Asgard, Thjazi returned to his hall and discovered his prize was gone. With a roar of rage that shook the mountains, the giant transformed into his eagle form and gave chase.

Never had there been such a race across the skies. Thjazi was larger and stronger, but Loki was desperate and cunning. Through storm clouds and over mountain peaks they flew, with the giant gaining ground with each wing beat.

In Asgard, Heimdall spotted the approaching figures with his far-sight. “Two birds come this way,” he called to the other gods. “A falcon pursued by a mighty eagle! The falcon carries something precious!”

“It must be Loki with Idunn!” Odin declared. “Quickly! We must help them!”

Though weakened by age, the gods acted swiftly. They gathered piles of wood shavings and kindling just inside Asgard’s walls, ready to create a massive fire.

Loki flew with all his remaining strength, but Thjazi’s talons were almost upon him as they reached Asgard’s walls. “Now!” Odin commanded.

The gods ignited their prepared fire, creating a towering wall of flame just as Loki flew over it to safety. Thjazi, following too closely behind, could not stop his pursuit in time. His eagle form plunged into the flames, and the giant was destroyed, his schemes ending in the fire of his own ambition.

Loki gently transformed Idunn back to her true form, and the goddess immediately began distributing her precious apples to the aging gods. One by one, their youth and vigor returned. Odin’s hair regained its lustrous silver, Thor’s strength flowed back into his mighty frame, and Frigg’s beauty bloomed anew.

“Forgive me, dear Idunn,” Loki said humbly. “I have learned that some bargains exact too high a price.”

Idunn, though still hurt by his betrayal, nodded with the wisdom of one who tends growing things. “We all must learn from our mistakes, Loki. But remember—some errors cannot be undone so easily.”

From that day forward, the gods were more protective of Idunn and her precious apples. Her grove was placed under the strongest enchantments, and she never again ventured beyond Asgard’s walls without a full escort of the mightiest gods.

And Loki, chastened by how close he had come to destroying everything he held dear, was more careful about the bargains he made and the prices he was willing to pay for his freedom.

The golden apples continued to sustain the gods’ immortality, but the adventure had taught them all that even divine gifts must be protected with wisdom and vigilance, for there are always those who would steal the light from the world if given the chance.