One of the things we found most interesting about bringing the gods back in the ReDeus universe was their interaction with man. As seen in Divine Tales, gods and goddesses deal with mortals but we also hear that some have cut off the Internet or curtailed various types of technology. Some, though, embrace it, leaving some countries in better shape than others, which has certainly changed the global economy.

But, I wondered, exactly how did some of the gods actually conclude what was kosher and what was treif?

Growing up, I admit to being drawn to the Norse myths thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Thor. For the Tales of Asgard backup feature, as I understand it, Jack would thumb through a paperback he had of the Norse myths and adapt them into adventures for young Thor and the Warriors Three to engage in. While elementary and middle school mentioned the Norse, we were force fed the similar Greek and Roman myths, with few teachers acknowledging the breadth of mythology informing every culture.

All of this ran through my head when it also occurred to me that the origins of Santa Claus and many of the traditional Christmas traditions can be traced back to Odin and the Aesir. In fact, Father Christmas has been linked to both Odin and his son Thor. We had already established that Odin was among those who were among the more forceful in bringing his worshippers back to Scandinavia and Germany, where he once more rules.

This all swirled in my mind for a while which resulted in “The Wanderer”. In the story, we follow Odin essentially going walkabout in the first four months after The Return. He wants to feel the earth beneath his feet, see what has happened to man and to the lands he seeks to rule once more. What he discovers is not necessarily to his taste and his displeasure is made manifest.

It was trickier to write than I expected given the deadline overlapping my relocation from Connecticut to Maryland but thanks to input and support from co-editor Aaron Rosenberg and good pal Kathleen David, it all came together.

Odin is a fascinating mass of contradictions, both god of battle and poetry, and a figure I look forward to exploring in the future.

ReDeus: Beyond Borders will be available in digital and print formats later this month.