The Voluspa or Prophecy of the Seeress is one of the stories in the Poetic Edda. It predicts Ragnarok, the end of the world, and the universe, and the gods. Scholars of heathenry note that it bears a strong resemblance to the Book of Revelations in the Christian Bible. Some Asatruars believe in the Prophecy and some don't. Among those who believe in it, some place it in the future as written, and some place it in the past.

The Voluspa is a major plot point in the Fireverse. Early on, Odin receives this Prophecy and writes it down and it’s in a book in his library. He spends a lot of time and effort trying to make the next universe come out right, and he tries to follow the Prophecy, embracing prophecy rather than trying to change it. A lot of his actions result from his desire to make the next universe better than this one and set up things in this universe that will result in a better starting place for the next one. Loki reads this book while he’s still a young god and is horrified, but eventually he accepts his role and the necessity of what will happen. He has a chance to derail the prophecy by leaving Asgard before the binding takes place, but he chooses not to, because by that point in the story he has accepted Odin’s viewpoint that the events described in the Prophecy are necessary to make the next universe come out right.He remains in Asgard knowing he will eventually be bound.

Just before Ragnarok happens a lot of the other gods and goddesses scramble to take some last minute actions that are also designed to set up their own powers and spheres of influence to come out right in the next universe. Ragnarok can't happen until Loki takes action to make it happen, and by the time he does, the other gods are ready and agree that it is time.

Image: fractal by Garik Barseghyan, creative commons via Pixabay

P.S. read my interview in Evoke Magazine about my upcoming book here:

https://medium.com/ev0ke/interview-erin-lale-d5d0f62fcbee