Vanir Stormroarer – The Vanir
https://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Vanir_Stormroarer#ixzz7gTbYFdJx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanir
Vanir Stormroarer is the thane of Hrundle Fjord, and can be found inside his hall in the center of the village. He is rather cold at first meeting, but thaws quickly if aided by a friendly Wizard.
In Norse mythology, the Vanir are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the location Vanaheimr (Old Norse “Home of the Vanir”). After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir. Subsequently, members of the Vanir are sometimes also referred to as members of the Æsir.
(1901) by Johannes Gehrts
All sources describe the god Njörðr, and his children Freyr and Freyja (or Frigga the mother of Thor) as members of the Vanir. A euhemerized prose account in Heimskringla adds that Njörðr’s sister—whose name is not provided—and Kvasir were Vanir. In addition, Heimskringla reports a tale involving king Sveigðir’s visit to Vanaheimr, where he meets a woman by the name of Vana and the two produce a child named Vanlandi (whose name means “Man from the Land of the Vanir”).
While not attested as Vanir, the gods Heimdallr and Ullr have been theorized as potential members of the group. In the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson, a name listed for boars is “Van-child”. Scholars have theorized that the Vanir may be connected to small pieces of gold foil found in Scandinavia at some building sites from the Migration Period to the Viking Age and occasionally in graves. They have speculated whether the Vanir originally represented pre-Indo-European deities or Indo-European fertility gods, and have theorized a form of the gods as venerated by the pagan Anglo-Saxons.
The current list of all the (known) Grizzleheim/Wintertusk references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references, I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Vanir Stormroarer image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
The credit given for the Freyr and Freya illustrations is Eduard Ade – Felix Dahn, Therese Dahn, Therese (von Droste-Hülshoff) Dahn, Frau, Therese von Droste-Hülshoff Dahn (1901). Walhall: Germanische Götter- und Heldensagen. Für Alt und Jung am deutschen Herd. Breitkopf und Härtel.
Freyr is borrowed from Wikipedia
Freya is borrowed from ghostlly’s acount on Flickr
Both images are in the public domain.
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
Vulcan Stev's Database 