Odin
Odin is the main god in Norse mythology. Described as an immensely wise, one-eyed old man, Odin has by far the most varied characteristics of any of the gods and is not only the deity to call upon when war was being prepared but is also the god of poetry, of the dead, of runes, and of magic.
Part of the Æsir family of the gods, he helped create the world, resides in Asgard (the stronghold and home of the gods), and gathers slain warriors around him in Valhalla ('hall of the slain'), but is eventually crunched to death by the wolf Fenrir in the Ragnarök, the 'final destiny of the gods' in which the world is destroyed.
It was Odin who decided whether battles or individual warriors would be victorious or end in slightly less fortunate ways. Odin has his Valkyries - supernatural warrior women - bringing the bodies of fighters slain in battle to his special warrior paradise Valhalla; these fighters are known as the Einherjar and become Odin's strike-force against the encroaching powers of the Underworld during the Ragnarök. Because of this aspect, individual warriors are also drawn into Odin's main group of worshippers, which otherwise mostly consisted of the elite: kings, chieftains, and poets.
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