#61.

the biggest downfall of the Æsir was their arrogance ,  really ,  in the face of Ragnarøkr .   they had plenty of signs that the end of their world was imminent ,  and yet decided to implement safeguards in their hometown instead of accepting what they had been taught their whole lives  :   that the events written in their lifetimes ,  forewarned through premonitions and shared through childhood tales ,  confirmed by visionary Nornir and inscribed in golden walls of the palace that housed them ,  were unalterable .   tangible .   inevitable .

but ask any Asgardian about Ragnarøkr and chances are you would be met with a scoff ,  a chuckle ,  brows raised as if to say   '   how dare you imply that anything could defeat us   !   '   ---   or ,  you'd be hit with actions the Gods were taking to minimise the damage .    either way ,  the problem was that the immense cataclysmic destruction of their doomsday was played out as something they could handle ,  something they could control .   a minor battle ,  which they would fight and win ,  like many battles prior .

this isn't a mindset that afflicted  ALL  the Æsir .   Baldr was one of the first to showcase concern and try and create a plan of action   ---   and in fact ,  it was his plan that saved most of the Asgardian people ,  in the end .   he had ships in place to evacuate them ,  he had guards and Valkyrie trained to the highest degree ,  ready to lay down their lives to protect civilians .   Thor followed suit ,  Frigg knew better ,  but convincing the Gods to be proactive instead of reactive was  ...  a challenge ,  even in the face of the signs .

1 .   Baldr's death .

Thor's brother ,  Baldr ,  is predicted to die a thousand years before Ragnarøkr ,  and is the first incident that feels like it triggers a countdown to doomsday .

2 .   Miðgarðr's natural disasters .

perhaps not entirely  'natural'  -------------   humans would blame global warming ,  the Æsir would blame Jörmungandr ,  the world serpent ,  which frees itself and causes turmoil across the realm as a result .   

3 .   visions .

Thor ,  Frigg ,  Odin ,  Heimdallr ,  and others ,  will have visions of the fated day soon after Baldr's death ,  and closer to doomsday itself those visions will feel more like premonitions ,  a glimpse into the future ,  with events that actually play out as is on the day .   they will feel more real ,  more vivid ,  and almost tangible the closer and closer Ásgarðr gets to Ragnarøkr .

4 .   Thor meeting Surtr .

and Thor's aware of this sign   ;   somehow ,  somewhere ,  he will meet Surtr only one time prior to Ragnarøkr .   they will exchange words ,  Surtr will try and trick Thor into giving up his powers and his hammer to prevent Ragnarøkr .   Thor assumed that this meeting would take place on Múspellsheimr ,  where Surtr is chained up ,  until the day he's destined to break free .   but as it turns out ,  this meeting didn't require Thor’s physical presence there at all   :   it was an invasion of thoughts ,  of meditative state ,  of dreams he had while he was awake ,  and it took place at a branch of the world tree ,  where he felt most connected to the nine realms ,  and the storms across all of them .

5.    three harsh winters .

Fimbulvetr is known amongst the Asgardians as the  ‘  long winter  ’ ,  and represents the months that bring unbearable cold to the realm .   described as three periods of wintertime with no intervening summer ,  it’s a slow ,  painful lapse in their luxury ,  and symbolically the cold before the burning heat of the end of their world .

6.   the death of Ásgarðr's primary sun and moon .

this will happen a month or so prior to the fated day .   children on the realm  should  be told a story about how Ásgarðr's main sun and moon will be swallowed by two of Surtr's guardians ,  the wolves Sköll and Hati .  instead ,  they're told that this is entirely Odin's doing   --------   that to shroud the realm from Surtr's gaze ,  he ordered the sun and the moon not to rise ,  and not to shine .    post - Ragnarøkr ,  Thor identifies this as a major mistake of both his and the other Gods  ;  in changing the narrative they dismissed the crucial sign of an impending doom ,  playing it down as a self - congratulatory pat on the back .

7.   the reddening of the skies .

Surtr ,  a giant aflame ,  will redden the skies with his arrival ,  illuminating the realm far more than any sun or moon managed to in the past .   this reddening sky will come with a new air ,  full of smoke ,  difficult to breathe   -----------   the kind that gets behind your eyes .   everything will smell like ash ,  everything will taste like ash .   this happens in the final two weeks before doomsday .

8.   Surtr's gaze .

the final week before Ragnarøkr ,  Surtr will tower above Ásgarðr ,  and do nothing .   he simply marvels his new land ,  and revels at the time to come .  for seven days ,  his terrifying gaze will transfix on Ásgarðr's   -----------   in the form of a single eye that doesn’t blink ,  replacing the swallowed sun in the sky .    a pupil like a black hole ,  seeing everything ,  and everyone ,  surrounded by the flames of his iris ,  sitting in position ,  day and night ,  until his armies are ready .

9.   destruction of the bifrost .