The myth of Loki’s monstrous children - Iseult Gillespie

Prevoditelj: Leona Grujić Recezent: Petra Lauš

Odin, the king of Asgard, was plagued by nightmares.

Odina, vladara Asgarda opsjedale su noćne more.

Three fearsome figures haunted his dreams:

Progonile su ga tri užasne spodobe:

a massive, writhing shadow;

divovska, zavojita sjena,

a shambling, rotting corpse;

trulo truplo,

and worst of all, a monstrous beast with a deadly bite.

i najgora od svih, čudovišna zvijer sa smrtonosnim čeljustima.

Night after night, the creatures besieged the king.

Noćima su stvorenja opsjedala vladara.

And although their true forms were unknown to him,

Iako im nije znao stvarni oblik,

he could tell they were related to Asgard’s most persistent problem:

znao je su nekako povezane s najdugotrajnijim problemom Asgarda:

Loki.

Lokijem.

Despite having settled down with his wife and sons,

Iako se skrasio sa ženom i sinovima,

Loki had been sneaking off to visit the giantess Angrboda.

Loki se iskradao u posjete gorostasnoj Angrbodi.

And when the king learned this affair had produced three children,

Kad je Odin saznao da im se rodilo troje djece,

he was filled with unease.

obuzela ga je strepnja.

Odin summoned Thor and Tyr, two of his bravest warriors,

Odin je pozvao Thora i Tyra, dvojicu svojih najhrabrijih ratnika,

to travel to Jotunheim to capture Loki’s secret children.

da odu u Jotunheim i ulove Lokijevu tajnu djecu.

Upon arriving at Angrboda’s home,

Kad su stigli u Angrbodin dom,

the pair were immediately accosted by Loki's first child,

par ratnika je odmah napalo Lokijevo prvo dijete,

a serpent named Jörmungandr.

zmija zvana Jörmungandr.

The God of Thunder dodged the snake’s venom

Bog groma je izbjegao zmijski otrov

and swiftly bound him to a pine tree.

i zavezao je za bor.

The second child, Hel, appeared as a glowing young woman from the right

Pojavilo se drugo dijete, Hel, blještava mlada žena s desne strane

and a moldering corpse from the left.

i raspadajuće truplo s lijeve strane.

Her flesh flaked onto the ground as she silently submitted to her captors.

Meso joj je otpadalo na tlo dok se šutke predavala.

Finally, the third child leapt at Tyr.

Konačno, treće dijete je skočilo na Tyra.

The small wolf was fierce but harmless.

Vučić je bio žestok, ali bezopasan.

Tyr playfully cuffed its claws and stowed the cub in his pocket.

Tyr mu je zaigrano zavezao šape i stavio ga u džep.

Back in Asgard, the warriors presented their prisoners

U Asgardu su ratnici predstavili zarobljenike

and fearful recognition seized Odin's heart.

i Odin je sa strahom shvatio.

Though these three were meager reflections of his dark dreams,

Iako tek odbljesci njegovih mračnih snova,

the king was determined to dispose of them before his visions came true.

odlučio ih se riješiti prije nego se njegove vizije obistine.

First, he banished Jörmungandr to the sea at the edge of the world.

Najprije je prognao Jörmungandr u more na rubu svijeta.

Then he sent Hel deep below the earth to join her fellow corpses.

Hel je poslao duboko pod zemlju da se pridruži drugim truplima.

But the wolf, named Fenrir, presented a challenge.

Ali vuk nazvan Fenrir bio je izazov.

He’d already grown strong enough to threaten the gods,

Već je ojačao dovoljno da zaprijeti bogovima

so Odin took a more patient approach.

pa se Odin odlučio za strpljivost.

For months, he supervised the creature, watching Fenrir grow

Mjesecima je nadgledao Fenrira koji je rastao

from a cub to a wolf to a beast who spoke with the voice of a God.

iz mladunčeta u zvijer koja je govorila glasom boga.

Tyr visited frequently and found Fenrir to be strong and clever.

Tyr ga je često posjećivao i otkrio da je Fenrir snažan i pametan.

But as their bond deepened, Odin's fear only grew.

Kako je njihova veza jačala, Odinov strah je rastao.

One day, Odin forged his heaviest chains

Jednog dana Odin je iskovao najteže lance

and hauled them to Fenrir with a challenge.

i dovukao ih do Fenrira uz izazov.

He would bind the wolf to test his growing strength.

Zavezat će ga lancima da iskuša njegovu snagu.

Fenrir eagerly accepted the challenge and splintered the metal like old wood.

Fenrir je rado prihvatio izazov i prelomio metal kao suhu grančicu.

Odin returned to the forge, crafting shackles that no man could lift alone.

Odin se vratio u kovačnicu i skovao okove koje nitko nije mogao podići sam.

These sturdy chains gave Fenrir pause.

Pred tim okovima Fenrir je oklijevao.

But with an encouraging wink from Tyr, he accepted the challenge.

Ali Tyr mu je ohrabrujuće namignuo i prihvatio je izazov.

The beast strained for a moment and then shattered his restraints

Zvijer se napinjala na tren, a onda je rastrgala okove

into a thousand pieces.

na tisuću komadića.

Desperate, Odin sought help from the most skilled makers of all:

Očajan, Odin je potražio pomoć od najvještijih kovača:

the Dwarves.

patuljaka.

Rather than metal, they sought the rarest ingredients;

Oni su umjesto metala tragali za najrjeđim sastojcima:

from feline footsteps and fish breath

od mačjih koraka i ribljeg daha,

to the sinews of mountains and mighty bears.

do tetiva planina i moćnih medvjeda.

With these, the Dwarves crafted Gleipnir,

Od njih su skovali Gleipnir,

an unbreakable chain in the guise of fine thread.

neslomljivi lanac koji je izgledao kao najtanja nit.

When Odin challenged Fenrir a third time, the wolf laughed.

Kad je Odin izazvao Fenrira treći put, vuk se nasmijao.

But as he examined the thread more closely,

Ali kad je pažljivije promotrio nit,

Fenrir sensed Odin’s trickery and began to feel some fear himself.

Fenrir je nanjušio lukavstvo i počeo se bojati.

Fenrir struck a deal.

Stoga je predložio pogodbu.

He would accept the challenge,

Prihvatit će izazov,

but only if a god kept their hand in his mouth throughout.

ali samo ako mu bog pristane držati ruku u čeljustima.

With a heavy heart, Tyr volunteered.

Tyr se teška srca ponudio.

The gods bound the wolf and as he strained Gleipnir only grew tighter.

Bogovi su svezali vuka i svaki put kad bi se napeo, nit bi postala čvršća.

Fenrir felt the agony of betrayal—

Fenrir je osjetio agoniju izdaje,

not only from Odin, but from his reluctant friend.

ne samo Odinove, već i njegovog prijatelja.

With a howl of fury, he bit through Tyr’s wrist

S urlikom bijesa, pregrizao je Tyrovu ruku

and vowed to destroy Odin for tricking him.

i zakleo se uništiti Odina jer ga je prevario.

Watching his nightmare come to life,

Gledajući svoju noćnu moru,

Odin thrust Tyr’s blade between Fenrir jaws,

Odin je gurnuo Tyrovu oštricu Fenriru u čeljusti,

releasing a torrent of saliva that became a furious river.

i pustio poplavu sline koja je postala riječna bujica.

While the beast was not dead, he was bound,

Zvijer nije bila mrtva, ali bila je sputana

and Odin celebrated his victory over fate.

i Odin je slavio svoju pobjedu nad sudbinom.

But in truth, his actions had only sealed his doom.

Ali zapravo su njegova djela zapečatila njegovu sudbinu.

Beneath the waves, Jörmungandr grew to encircle the world.

Pod morem, Jörmungandr je rasla dok nije obavila sav svijet.

Hel rose to rule the dead as queen of the Underworld.

Hel je postala kraljica u carstvu mrtvih.

And every day, Fenrir strained a little more against his chains,

A Fenrir se svakog dana snažnije opirao okovima,

inching ever closer to his bloody revenge.

bližeći se krvavoj osveti.