#21. Ulgrim Ivaldison

Lore

The Unyielding Anvil, Son of Ivaldi

Fire burns and bellows churns, Then hammer rings and anvil sings, Fierce metal gleams and Maker beams.

– Ivaldic forge song


"Pfff... Every smith knows that the handle is the only part of the hammer crafting that takes any real skill anyway."

– Ulgrim, arms crossed (in-game quote)


“Whatever you do, don’t make a seven dwarves joke… But he’s definitely “Grumpy Dwarf.” 

– Sentinel to a mostly inattentive Teros (website quote)

As the story goes...

The Sons of Ivaldi are the original master craftsmen of Asgard. They are the first, and the best. Since the World began Ulgrim has fashioned unparalleled artifacts in the Great Forges.

Thanks to Loki and his gambling ways, a pair of upstart Dwarven smiths from Nidavellir made Thor’s hammer and stole the Sons’ place of prestige. Even though they botched the handle, which the Sons grumble is the only part of hammer crafting that takes any real skill, the new smiths were still celebrated. This bitter rivalry would last for centuries, both sides constantly trying to undo the other.

But when the comet came crashing down it was Ulgrim the gods turned to once again. Only he had the materials to build what they needed. For ages he had harvested hundreds of impossible items, a still flaming dragon’s heart, the core of a dying star, Aesinite from the nether realm. Nothing too rare, and no mine too perilous or too far for Ulgrim. The Sons’ name was finally restored in a suit of golden armor.

Now he wields his flawless Ivaldi creations in the arena proving their perfection with each win. When he isn’t in the ring he can often be found arguing feistily with Scarlet on her contraption building methods. But always he keeps an eye on Orion and stays close by. Some say out of pride, others say it’s concern for what will happen if the armor were ever to fail.

Connections

• Involved in a techno-fantasy euro pop band with Ada, Fait, and Isaiah
• Arcadia teaches him and Scarlet the finer points of giant beetle care.

Context

Ulgrim is the Asgardian dwarf/smith. It is always neat to see the few local Asgardians who make it among the best of the best in Valhalla.

As noted in the Sons of Ivaldi page, that story about Loki and other rival dwarves is entirely rooted in Norse mythology. Much of what we would consider to be Ulgrim's backstory can actually be found there. Any other vital details about the nature and personality of dwarfs can be found on this TV Tropes page. Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien (who took a tremendous amount of inspiration from Norse mythology), dwarfs in fiction have been very similar no matter where you go. Based on what we can see of Ulgrim, he's no exception (especially since he's actually placed in Norse mythology as one of the Sons of Ivaldi).

This lore mentions a time "when the comet came." This must be Orion's arrival to Valhalla (Orion's lore mentions that he came as a "fiery comet" that crashed into Folkvangr. I will go into a little more detail about the materials we know Ulgrim has harvested through the ages (helping to restore the good name of the Sons of Ivaldi):

• Flaming dragon's heart: No clear connection with Norse mythology. To me this is just a fun concept of a dragon's internal organs. 
• Core of a dying star: Marvel fans will recall that Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, was forged from the heart of a dying star (more accurately, the dying star was used to create the mold for the hammer). However, this seems to be an original idea by Marvel. There seems to be no record of such cosmic origins for the hammer in Norse mythology. Still a really cool idea, though, and Brawlhalla includes legends from space, so why not?
• Aesinite: Your guess is as good as mine, honestly. Is this some special mineral with cosmic origins? Is it related to the Aesir race of gods? What is this "nether realm"? Helheim?

Axe and lance are Ulgrim's weapons, and they kind of make sense. Dwarfs are often depicted with axes. As for the rocket lance, I see it as Ulgrim's version of the weapon, using special Asgardian technology (note the reddish energy from each of his sigs). Also keep in mind that Ulgrim and Scarlet argue about tinkering and building methods. It would stand to reason that he would build and fight with what he surely sees as a better model than Scarlet's steam-powered contraption.