Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords,—
Advancing with each goddess fair,
A brilliant retinue most rare,—
Attending mighty Odin, swept
Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march.”
Valhalla (J. C. Jones).
Ægir, as we have seen, ruled over all the sea with the help of the treacherous Ran. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by the Northern nations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which, surrounding them on all sides, ran far into the heart of their countries by means of the numerous fiords, and often swallowed the ships of their vikings, with all the men on board.
“We Goth-folk know indeed
That the sea is a foe full deadly, and a friend that fails at need,
And that Ran, who dwells thereunder, will many a man beguile.”