The Shadow of the Gods

The Shadow of the Gods (2021) is an epic fantasy novel by John Gwynne and the first entry in The Bloodsworn Trilogy. The book is set in Vigrið, a world inspired by Norse mythology and culture where the gods destroyed each other in a cataclysmic war, and humanity is left to survive in the aftermath. It follows the entwined fates of three characters: Orka, a huntress searching for answers to a string of murders and kidnapped children; Varg, a man torn between vengeance and a new life among a band of mercenaries called the Bloodsworn; and Elvar, a noblewoman seeking glory on the battlefield.

This guide uses the 2021 e-book edition published by Hachette.

Content Warning: The source text contains scenes of graphic violence, torture, enslavement, and child abuse.

Plot Summary

The Shadow of the Gods is told in concurrent storylines through the points of view of three different characters, nearly three centuries after the gods destroyed themselves in a war. The first is Orka, who is descended from the dead wolf god and known as one of “The Tainted” because of her divine heritage. She and her husband, Thorkel, take their son, Breca, on his first hunt. The family discovers their neighbors were gruesomely murdered, and their son abducted. Orka and Thorkel take the bodies to the nearby village of Fellur to seek justice. There, Orka confronts Guðvarr, Jarl Sigrún’s nephew, who dismisses their concerns. Thorkel tracks the killers to a river but finds they escaped.

Guðvarr then summons the family to a political assembly on Oath Rock. They reluctantly attend to address rising tensions in the community over Jarl Sigrún’s alliance with Queen Helka. The meeting ends in a duel between Virk, a frustrated fisherman, and Guðvarr, which ends with Sigrún’s enslaved Tainted warrior killing him when he is goaded into breaking the rules. Orka and her family return home. She goes to seek help from Froa, a vaesen guardian, at her sacred ash tree but finds both destroyed.

Realizing the attackers are connected to the recent murder, she hurries back to her steading, only to find it destroyed. Thorkel dies and Breca has been abducted. Orka tracks some of the attackers down and learns her son was taken by a man named Drekr. She returns home long enough to bury her husband and retrieve the weapons and armor they had hidden. Orka then sneaks into Fellur, frees Virk’s sons, Mord and Lif, and infiltrates Jarl Sigrún’s mead hall. She tries to get answers from the Tainted warrior who took part in the attack on her steading, but a fight breaks out. Orka wounds Sigrún and flees with Mord and Lif.

The trio journeys upriver to the town of Darl, where Orka learns Drekr is trafficking children through the city. Orka frees some of them but doesn’t find Breca. She confronts Drekr in a tavern and narrowly survives the fight with Mord and Lif’s intervention. After recovering from her injuries, Orka and the brothers follow Drekr north toward Grimholt Pass in the Boneback Mountains, where they find evidence of worshippers of the dragon god Lik-Rifa.

Meanwhile, Varg arrives at Liga seeking magical help to avenge his sister, Frøya. He learns that the Bloodsworn, a famed mercenary band, travels with the Seiðr-witch Vol, and volunteers for their deadly trials to meet her. Despite being beaten in a duel, he earns the Bloodsworn’s respect. Later, when Varg is ambushed by Leif, the son of the man he killed to escape enslavement, the Bloodsworn intervene and claim Varg as one of their own. Varg begins rigorous training under Røkia, learning the skills needed to survive as a Bloodsworn.

Glornir, their leader, takes them north from Liga by ship. Varg begins to bond with his companions, despite his lingering desire for vengeance. Once ashore, the Bloodsworn learn from Skalk, a magician representing Queen Helka, of a deadly vaesen terrorizing the north, bypassing the Grimholt Pass and wreaking havoc on villagers. Despite the danger, the promise of glory and money drives the Bloodsworn onward.

As the Bloodsworn enter the Boneback Mountains. Varg becomes increasingly frustrated with Glornir’s refusal to allow him an akáll—a ritual to relive his sister’s final moments—and contemplates accepting Skalk’s offer to perform it in exchange for an oath to follow him instead. However, the mercenaries discover the mutilated bodies of Queen Helka’s warriors hanging from trees, revealing that Skalk has withheld critical information about their mission. The group stumbles upon a massive cave where enslaved people are forced to dig under the watch of a dragon-blood Tainted and his armed warriors. Seizing the opportunity, the Bloodsworn launch an ambush. Glornir is wounded and Varg, driven by his Tainted instinct, kills the dragon-blood.

Varg awakens in the dug-out caves where Vol tends to his injuries and he learns that they were looking for a magical book, the Raudskinna. Skalk and his companions betray the Bloodsworn and kidnap Vol. Skalk offers Varg the chance to join him, but Varg refuses and is knocked unconscious. Upon waking, Varg learns that all the Bloodsworn, including himself, are Tainted, and Varg formally joins the Bloodsworn.

In the third storyline, the mercenary company the Battle-Grim, led by Agnar and accompanied by Elvar, a young noblewoman turned warrior, raids a village on Iskalt Island and captures Berak, a Tainted man. As they return to Snakavik, a fortress built into the skull of the dead serpent god, the Battle-Grim sell Berak to Jarl Störr, who is more interested in Elvar, his estranged daughter. Störr offers Elvar a warband to lead, but Elvar refuses in favor of the Battle-Grim.

Meanwhile, a captive Seiðr-witch named Uspa reveals that Ilska’s Raven-Feeders, a rival mercenary group, want her knowledge of the location of Oskutreð, the mythical Ash Tree at the site of the gods’ battlefield. Uspa promises to lead the Battle-Grim there if they rescue her son, Bjarn, whom Ilska took. Along the way, Elvar forms a relationship with another Battle-Grim named Biórr.

They finally arrive at Oskutreð and find a desolate wasteland littered with the remains of ancient gods. The guardian spirit, Vörn Askasdottir, warns them against disturbing the prison of Lik-Rifa beneath the Ash Tree’s stump. While scavenging for relics on the battlefield, Ilska, Drekr, the Raven-Feeders, and the captive children arrive. Agnar is killed by Biórr, who reveals himself as Tainted and an ally of Ilska. Ilska uses the Raudskinna to free Lik-Rifa. The god declares her intent to unleash vengeance on the world before flying away, trailed by her followers.

Orka, Lif, and Mord arrive at Grimholt but are captured by Skalk, who has arrived with a kidnapped Vol. Inside the fortress, Orka and the brothers are interrogated. Guðvarr arrives and kills Mord. A child’s scream triggers Orka’s Tainted blood, granting her the strength to break free and kill her captors. Varg and the Bloodsworn, tracking Skalk, arrive to find the Grimholt in ruins. Glornir approaches Orka and asks about his brother, Thorkel. Orka tells him he’s dead and Breca is missing. She is overwhelmed by emotion, and Glornir embraces her.