They Named His Suffering Hope | Fenrir | Signal from Asgard

Signal from Asgard presents: Fenrir's Binding

Fenrir was kept in Asgard—not cast away like his siblings, but raised under constant watch. The wolf-child grew strong, breaking the chains Leyding and Dromi when the gods tested him. No crime stained his paws, yet prophecy haunted every glance. The Aesir commissioned Gleipnir, a ribbon woven from impossible things: cat's footfall, woman's beard, mountain's roots, bear's sinews, fish's breath, bird's spittle. Soft as silk, unbreakable as fate.

On Lyngvi island, Fenrir sensed the trap. He demanded a pledge—if this binds me and you won't release me, one god must place their hand in my mouth as guarantee. Only Tyr stepped forward, the one who'd fed him daily, who'd taught him trust had weight. The ribbon held. The gods laughed. Tyr lost his hand. Then they drove a sword between Fenrir's jaws, propping his mouth open forever. Foam poured from his ruined teeth, forming a river they named Ván—"Hope".

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LYRICS:

Three were born in Ironwood’s frost
Wolf and serpent, daughter lost
Odin came and seized them all
Serpent to sea, Hell to hall

But Fenrir stayed within their ring
Too feared to loose, too strong to kill
So gods did what the fearful do
They kept him close, and called it will

He did not snarl, he did not strike
He grew as wolves and seasons might
Not malice stirred the gods’ unrest
But futures whispered, unconfessed

They feared him not for any deed
But for the seed of fate decreed
They judged tomorrow’s crime as done
And named the child the guilty one

"Test your strength," the Aesir said
Brought the chain called Leyding's dread
Fenrir strained and iron split
Like frost beneath the sun it quit

Second chain called Dromi came
Twice as strong with iron fame
Again he broke their proudest chain!
Again the gods learned fear by name!

Twice he played their testing game
Twice he earned his growing name
Still no crime upon his head
Just prophecy's approaching dread

So Odin turned to darker art
Sent for dwarves of cunning heart
“Make me silk that cannot break,
Soft as trust, strong as fate.”

Gleipnir came like woven air
Braided lies and things not there:
Sound of cat-foot, woman's beard
Mountain's root and bird's spit feared

Fish breath and bear's sinew split
Threaded fine where gods see fit
Smooth as ribbon, pale and slight
Stronger than the stars at night

They led him to the island stone
Lyngvi on Amsvartnir's shore
"One more test," the gods did plea
Fenrir sensed their treachery.

Chain's looked different from before
Too smooth to be a test of war
Fenrir said that one must stand
And pledge their faith within his hand

Silence struck the gathered gods
Eyes fell low beneath their rods
Every god looked to the ground
Save Tyr, who stepped without sound

Tyr who fed him every day
Tyr who taught him trust had weight
Placed his right hand in the jaw
Broke the final sacred law

Fenrir let them wrap him round
Pulled and strained but stayed still bound
When deceit stood bare and plain
He took the price of broken faith

They drove the stone called Gjöll deep
Tied the cord called Gelgja's keep
When Fenrir raged with righteous hate
Sword between his jaws they placed

Hilt against his lower tooth
Point against his upper roof
From his teeth the spittle ran
A river born of Fenrir's pain

Ván they named the bitter flow
"HOPE", in tongues of long ago
A cruel jest the cosmos spun:
Hope that drips from betrayed tongue.

Every quake that shake the earth
Every drop of Ván's rebirth
Every moment of his wait
Proof of god's destined death

Prophecy will meet its end
Not because it had to bend
They chose the chain, they chose the way
And earned the doom they’ll meet one day

So he waits beneath the stone
Gleipnir tight around the bone
Ván still flows from parted jaw
Hope that waits for final law

#fenrir #odin #ragnarok #loki #norsemythology