Nidavellir/Svartalfheim

Connections

• A pair of Dwarven smiths from Nidavellir made Thor's hammer and stole the prestige of the Sons of Ivaldi (of which Ulgrim is a member)

Context

The background behind the story of the dwarven rivalry can be found on the Sons of Ivaldi page. Here, I will explain what and where Nidavellir is.

It actually goes by two names: Nidavellir or Svartalfheim. The former name means "low/dark fields," while the latter means "Homeland of the Black Elves" (consider that Alfheim is another world in the Norse cosmology). You've possibly seen both dwarfs and dark elves appear in Norse-inspired media. Depending on where you look, this realm belongs to dwarfs or dark elves...or both. Either way, it is generally considered to be a dark, underground, labyrinthine complex of mines and forges.

Therefore, the "Dwarven smiths" we hear about in Ulgrim's lore is from the separate realm of Nidavellir (which possibly also houses dark elves), while the Sons of Ivaldi reside in Asgard. This separation, as well as the likely possibility that any Asgardian citizen to see themselves as better or at least above all non-Asgardian beings, makes such a rivalry very easy to imagine.