Skadi, Mistress of Scandinavia
God of All Scandinavia, Wise God-Bride, The Huntress, The Shadowy One, Lady of the Mountains!
The North is a harsh mistress, but through these trials, this peril; she makes you strong! Few deities make this as clear as Skadi, of whom Scandinavia is lovingly named. She dwells within the very Rocks and the Mountains, the Ice and the Snow, as she embodies all the beauty and fury of the Scandinavian Wilderness and its' people.
At a glance Skadi might escape notice; like figures in a blizzard or eyes from mountain tops, but she is one of the most ferocious, dangerous and beautiful of all the Northern Gods.
Among the gods of Scandinavia she alone is most desired. Skadi sits in a seat of prominence as lover of the Seafaring God, she is Queen of the Mountains! The very soul of Scandinavia and her people. In Eddic Myth she was married to Njord taking him as her husband when she chose him as champion of a competition for her hand after the death of her Father it is said:
"Now Skadi, the daughter of the giant Thjazi, took helm and birnie and all weapons of war and proceeded to Ásgard, to avenge her father. The Æsir, however, offered her reconciliation and atonement." Prose Edda, Chapter 17
Skadi is not simply a huntress or ski god, an archer or mountain dweller... no she is all of these things and more! She is the goddess who bestows and is caretaker of all the wonders of Scandinavia, from the wild mountain forests to the fierce spirit of war. She embodies all that is noble and incredible of her people and her land. Fore she is their Mother, their Mentor and their War Leader.
She is the keeper of all these talents and treasures of the Northern Lands, then she married Njord so her people might conquer the sea. In some stories she married Odin as his cult rose to prominence. But in lore further south she finds perhaps her greatest match, Ullr the Winter King. While she may have given birth to Kings via Odin, it was with Ullr whom she begot the God of Steam and by extension all of our modern wonders.
Truly, she is the Shining Bride of the Gods.