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In The Beginning…
There was only Muspelheimr, realm of primordial fire, and Niflheimr , realm of primordial ice. The Void, called Ginnungagap, separated them.
In Muspelheimr, fire giants, called Eldjotnar, roamed freely in their bright, fiery realm. Their canine-like companions, the Muspelhundar (or fire hounds), were always at their side as they walked the endless fields of molten earth, and mountain ranges that spewed flame.
On the opposite side of the Void, Niflheimr was small, and dark. The Niflungar ("Children of the Mist"), were elementals of ice that fed on the suffering of the frost giants, called Hrímthursar. When the Hrimthursar battled with the Niflungar, the frozen breath of the Children and the flesh of the frost giants melded to create the Niflhundar, the frost hounds. The Niflungar were furious that their precious icy breath had been stolen from them, and attacked the new creatures. Grateful for their creation, the Niflhundar joined forces with the Hrímthursar and battled endlessly with their common enemy.
When Realms Collide
But they were no match. Even combined, and even with the power of frost breath, the frost giants and their hounds were cast into the Void. They made their new home on Jotunnheim, realm of the mountain and storm giants. For a time, they were content in the place they had carved out for themselves, and the other giants welcomed them as brothers. The frost giants became known simply as Jotunn, and their canine companions as Jotunnhund.
It was not to last long, for the chaos of the world they left behind would cause Niflheimr to cross the Void and collide with Muspelheimr, destroying both realms, releasing a massive blast of seidr magic that caused a catastrophic portal to greedily inhale the remnants of them, and The Children and Eldjotnar... Or, at least, most of them. The surviving fire giants flew on the backs of their canine companions, the fire hounds, like unholy Valkyries. They rained down upon Midgard, the world of man. What we knew as Earth in ancient times was cast in shadow as ash rained from the skies all over the world.
Devastation Erased
Crops that did not fail from lack of sunlight were razed, untold millions died at the hands and hungry maws of the now homeless fire giants and their hounds. The anguished fiery beings wreaked havoc on humanity until, finally, the Aesir - the godly race of Asgard - descended and put a stop to the slaughter, beating the fiery creatures back and banishing them to the scorched reaches of Nidavellir, land of the dwarves, behind an impregnable prison. Embittered by being uprooted twice now, the Muspelhundar changed their names to Eldhundar in solidarity with their fire giant companions.
The minds of mortal men were wiped as well as the Aesir could with seidr magic that then permeated Midgard... but the portal that had been ripped open by the chaotic demise of Muspelheimr and Niflheimr would soon duplicate. Then duplicate again. And again, and again... Even as 500 years passed, and the frost giants themselves also attempted to take Midgard with the Casket of Winters, only to be defeated by Odin, doorways to other universes and timelines were growing in number exponentially.
Present Day
In the year 2019, Earth’s mundane and supernatural denizens are at war in some parts of the world, while others are, at best, at an uneasy truce. A few pockets here and there are deemed solely for specific creatures - such as ***New Scarborough’s*** White Pine Tree Forest National Park, off the coast of Maine. There, therianthropes and skinwalkers - humans and furres capable of shifting into a more feral, animalistic form - are permitted to roam free and laws are… sketchy on settling clan, pack, herd, and tribal disputes. Even inside “the PT Forest,” as they call it, they are subject to ***New Scarborough’s*** laws. This includes registration with the government and quad-annual check-ins with government-associated physicians. These measures are kept in place to stem the tide of those who are able to infect others with the curse of therianthropy.
Vampires, angels, demons, mages, and other more “civilized” races are permitted to mingle with the populace, provided they register with the government and regularly check-in with the physicians mentioned above as well. Humans are by and large mistrustful of ‘supes,’ and supernaturals are equally disdainful or skittish around ‘mundies.’
The Convergence
On a balmy day on July 15th, 2018, a timeline in a universe similar to this one, yet so very different, converged together as one. The Earth and the other nine realms, with supernatural creatures and deities, combined... with Earth-199999 - a universe known to those of this Earth as "the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
To be specific, it was precisely after the awakening of the Sorcerer Supreme: **Doctor Strange.**
Now, the likes of Captain America, Spider-Man, Professor Xavier, and more were simply part of the universe, and the minds of the Odin and other gods and creatures of various pantheons from the original universe were combined with those of Earth-199999.
At the same time, a universe with the city of San Angeles also converged, spouting out denizens of the doomed city as the volcano erupted.
Reality As We Know It
The original universe was deemed Universe-Prime. For the rest of the denizens of the Ten Worlds and beyond, however, things would seem very much the same...
Until more beings and even planets were borne of those ancient portals. Even miniature portals no bigger than the size of a person would appear just long enough for someone from another reality to hop through, before it was closed once more.
So now, in 2019, Universe-Prime was becoming more and more complex by the day. Even the beaten fire giants and their canine companions did not seem as if they truly were gone for good - some dwarves tell of riots and escapees. It was a disaster seething just below the surface...
