The Bifrost, also known as the Rainbow Bridge[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] or the Trembling Road,[2][10] was a mystical bridge created by the gods of the Norse pantheon[11] that acted as a planar pathway between their divine realm of Asgard and the whole of the Prime Material plane or "Midgard".[2][3][5][11][10][8][9]
Cosmography[]
In the Great Wheel cosmology, the Bifrost was located in Ysgard, the layer of the Outer Plane of the same name.[2][4][5][6] There it acted as a physical bridge between the layer of Ysgard and the earthberg that Asgard was situated on.[11][13] In some Norse variations of the World Tree cosmology, which lacked the plane of Ysgard,[8][9] the Bifrost was considered to be a unique transitive plane, connecting only Asgard and Midgard.[9]
Description[]
As its alternate named suggested, the Rainbow Bridge resembled a rainbow.[2][10] It was kept well hidden from mortals on Midgard,[14] generally only being visible during the day.[10] When manifesting on the Prime Material, the bridge looked to be a particularly vivid rainbow, with prominent colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow.[2][10] Its base measured 10 yards (9.1 meters) across, though could be commanded by Heimdall to widen if necessary,[2] and its other end terminated at a misty cloud high above the sky.[2][10]
To those standing on it, the Bifrost looked to be a cloud of pure dazzling light, as if one was surrounded by thousands of prisms.[10] It often looked as though it was trembling and shuddering in the wind, earning it the moniker of "Trembling Road", yet footing on it was always quite solid.[2][10]
Location[]
A map depicting the side of the Bifrost that was anchored outside the gates of Asgard.
One end of the Bifrost was permanently anchored outside of Himinborg,[10] the great hall and city of the Norse god Heimdall, which stood just outside of Asgard's solid stone walls on the lushly green Plain of Vigrid.[6][15][16][note 1] This great hall was the hub of Asgard's trade and travel,[11] as anyone that wanted to travel across the Bifrost to either enter the realm of Asgard,[11][13] leave from Asgard to the wider layer of Ysgard, or use it to enter the Prime had to pass through Himinborg.[11] Consequently, visitors to Ysgard from the Prime were most commonly found near the Bifrost and Himinborg, and their naivete often attracted the attention of bandits.[11]
The other end of the Rainbow Bridge, when not being used as a nexus to the Prime Material, was anchored outside a green field known as the Plain of Ida.[2][17]
Effects[]
A representation of Ysgard's structure and the Bifrost's connection to the Prime Material.
As a conduit of the Norse pantheon's combined divine power, to and from their worshipers across the Prime Material,[11] the Bifrost could only be traveled upon by those who believed in the Aesir and Vanir.[11][18] For nonbelievers the bridge would be untraversable,[11] constantly moving away from them.[18]
The Bifrost was impervious to both magical and physical harm.[2][10] It also radiated an antimagic field, for which all but deities were affected by.[2] This field temporarily negated all magical items carried by those traveling across the Bifrost, as well as any magical powers or talents that they possessed.[2][10] Though warding spells functioned normally in Asgard when in sight of the Bifrost due to the influence of Heimdall, as he was the Norse god of guardianship, such as avoidance, guards and wards, and magic mouth.[19] Finally, if any undead or other normally harmed by sunlight were to walk across the Bifrost, they would be slain in the process.[10]
The most notable among the Bifrost's functions was its ability to directly connect to any location across the worlds of the Prime Material Plane. It could connect to whichever world the gods desired,[2][5][11][10][8] though could only do so with one world at a time[10][18] and typically only during the day.[10] This function of the Bifrost was controlled by Heimdall, who commanded where it sat down.[11] And some of the sagas of the Norse worshipers claimed that, in times of dire need, he was capable of manifesting it even in the dead of the night.[10]
Defenses[]
Heimdall is ready to throw down in defense of the Bifrost.
The Norse god Heimdall was the guardian of the Bifrost.[2][16][10][7] It was his primary duty in life,[4] for which he was constantly vigilant,[20] seeming to never sleep.[18] He was aided in this task by his proxy Reglin.[21] Heimdall would sound his legendary horn, the gjallarhorn, whenever anyone approached Asgard from the Rainbow Bridge, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.[1][13]
Besides Heimdall, the militia of Himinborg acted as the advanced forces of Asgard and the Bifrost, defending against giants and other creatures that occasionally attempted to charge across the bridge. The militia's troops consisted of einheriar, planar warriors, petitioners, and criminals who had chosen to volunteer their services for a specified time in return for their crimes being forgiven.[11]
Rumors & Legends[]
Some rumors claimed that the red stripe of the Rainbow Bridge would set fire to any frost giant that set foot on it and that the magenta stripe would freeze any fire giant.[18] Another rumor claimed that Bjorn Hammarskold, a human and member of the Fated that ran Himinborg in the absentee lord Heimdall's stead, was the one who truly commanded the Bifrost.[11]
According to the prophetical legends of the Norse, the patron god of the fire giants Surtur would one day storm across the Bifrost with his subjects and it would be destroyed under their weight.[22]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ With but one exception, all sources agree that Himinborg is located next to one of the two entryways of the Bifrost, though sources are in disagreement over which side it was. Dragon #90's article Plane facts on Gladsheim (1984) states that Himinborg is on the side of the Bifrost that enters into Gladsheim (Ysgard), thus situating it on the Plain of Ida. In the Manual of the Planes (1987) for 1st edition, Himinbjorg is confusingly stated to be located "where that bridge ends upon the plains of lda and Vigrid." Legends & Lore (1990) contradicts all sources, placing Himinbjorg "atop the bridge" itself. In the Planes of Chaos boxed set's Book of Chaos (1994), it is stated that Himinborg stood at the center of the Plain of Ida (p.112), but also that it was "just outside Asgard's walls" (p.115). On Hallowed Ground (1996) defers to the latter, stating it was "outside the wall of Asgard" (p.146) and depicting it as being on the Plain of Vigrid in the book's map of Asgard (p.144).
Appearances[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 103. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Roger E. Moore (October 1984). “Plane Facts on Gladsheim”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #90 (TSR, Inc.), p. 36.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 98, 103. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 James M. Ward and Troy Denning (August 1990). Legends & Lore (2nd edition). (TSR, Inc), p. 181. ISBN 978-0880388443.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 David "Zeb" Cook (1994). Planescape Campaign Setting, A DM Guide to the Planes. Edited by David Wise. (TSR, Inc), p. 64. ISBN 978-1560768340.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), pp. 112, 114–115. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 140, 146. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 164–164. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, James Wyatt (December 2014). Dungeon Master's Guide 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7869-6562-5.
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 115. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 114. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ Steven Schend (1995). Blood Wars, "Bifrost the Rainbow Bridge". TSR, Inc..
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 146. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 98. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ Roger E. Moore (October 1984). “Plane Facts on Gladsheim”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #90 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 36–37.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jeff Grubb (July 1987). Manual of the Planes 1st edition. (TSR), p. 96. ISBN 0880383992.
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 112. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 140. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 104. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 113. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ Erich Schmidt (August 1999). Three Coins in a Well. Living City (RPGA), p. 25.
- ↑ Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 191. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.