I like that the Norse had two different afterlives for warriors, Valhalla, which everyone knows, and Folkvangr, which is the chill Valhalla for people who aren't into fighting *all* the time.
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There was also Helgafjell.
A few different versions of Helgafjell's story existed, but the one I first read was that Helgafjell was a place for those who lived good lives, but were never warriors. It was said it was so beautiful, that even Gods would fall to their knees and weep at its beauty.
(as usual with this stuff, our view of this is derived from a handful of poems and probably there were a whole bunch of beliefs. The 'you have to die in battle to get a good afterlife' stuff may well not have been a general societal ethos.)
"Lunch will be pot pie, mead, and vanilla pudding for dessert. Auditions for the annual comedy revue begin at 1. Pospicle stick dragon boat crafting at 4."
Given the plausible interpretation of Valhalla as "boot camp for getting shipped off to Ragnarok, which your side is predestined to lose", one could even quibble with the "good afterlife" bit.
I remember reading somewhere that based on archeology and place names, it’s very likely that what we know of norse myth is just what warrior aristocrats believed and the common folks had very different beliefs
I was in one of the Swedish Viking museums recently and they theorized that Folkvangr was "Valhalla with lots and lots of sex" but the Christian chroniclers were too bashful to write that one down
There isn't enough evidence in any of the sources to show that "warriors" went to Folkvangr, other than Freyja got "first choice" of the battle dead. It's thought to be more of a generalized afterlife for everyone. But again, the evidence is very sparse.
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That seems like the afterlife I’d enjoy.
A few different versions of Helgafjell's story existed, but the one I first read was that Helgafjell was a place for those who lived good lives, but were never warriors. It was said it was so beautiful, that even Gods would fall to their knees and weep at its beauty.
"Once again, her meeples ethernally prevent my glorious victories!"
“No, if you want to play Diplomacy you have to go to the Chose Violence heaven to play it, that rule seems pretty obvious”
(That great triumph was orchestrating a three way swap that left all parties satisfied and happy)
Neat