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But I tell you, son of Frey: your high-handed bargaining will cost you dearly. You have made an enemy of Ran.

–Ran, to Magnus Chase in The Sword of Summer.

Ran is a Norse Goddess of the Sea. She is married to Aegir. She collects the souls of those who drown in her net.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard[]

The Sword of Summer[]

When Sam and Magnus go fishing in Jotunheim and catch the World Serpent, Jormungand, the goddess then emerges from the sea and pleads with them to release the World Serpent. Magnus, however, agrees to do so only in exchange for Sumarbrander and one of Idunn's apples (both of which the Ran has in her net), much to the goddess' dismay. Ran loves scavenging for junk, shipwrecks and even the souls of the people who have died. She captures all the discarded items in a monumental net that swirls around her constantly, trapping anything that comes near within it, only to come out if the net is cut, which is highly unlikely although Magnus does threaten to as a bargaining chip to force Ran into giving them Sumarbrander and one of Idunn's apples of immortality. She envies the amount of junk which the Great Pacific Garbage Patch holds and wants it all to herself. As she says, Magnus has now made an enemy of Ran and will be no doubt stirring up trouble in the next few books. Although most of the content of her net is pure useless junk sometimes she does find extremely valuable things such as Sumarbrander and the apples of immortality occasionally. She gets very frustrated with her husband, Aegir, God of Alcohol, so naturally, he spends most of his time in the ale shop and not with Ran, his wife. He is randomly obsessed with microbrews and keeps going on about them, as the annoyed Ran says.

AegirRR

Aegir, her husband

The Hammer of Thor[]

Magnus mentioned Ran and her husband when planning how to beat Loki to Naglfar with his cousin.

The Ship of the Dead[]

Njord and Aegir both mentioned Ran. Her husband mentions her when saying he promised to kill Magnus if he sees him while Njord mentions her when stated the different aspects of the sea that they rule over and control.

Appearance[]

Ran is only ten feet tall. She might have once been beautiful, but her pearlescent skin was withered, her seaweed-green eyes were milky with cataracts, and her rippling blonde hair was shot through with grey like blight in a wheat field. From the waist up, she wears a blouse of silver chain mail encrusted with barnacles. Spinning around her like a dancer’s skirt, a waterspout swirled within a silver fishing net a hundred yards in diameter. Trapped in its weave is a kaleidoscope of ice floe, dead fish, plastic garbage bags, car tires, grocery carts and other assorted flotsam. Ghostly bearded faces, gasping and terrified as they tried to reach the surface; hands clawing at the ropes swirl in net.

Abilities[]

She presumably has the standard powers of a goddess.

  • Hydrokinesis: As the Goddess of the Sea, she has complete control and divine authority over water.

Trivia[]

  • Her names mean "Plunderer" or "Theft"; she and her husband are reputed to knock ships over and reave vessels for their goods and treasures.
  • She once lent her net to Loki so he could catch Andvari.
  • Magnus compared her to a bag lady.
  • Ran and her husband are among the few Norse gods to be neither Aesir nor Vanir and often regarded as Jotnar.
  • Her Greco-Roman equivalent would be Tethys since she and her husband may be more Jötunn than gods.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Core Series: The Sword of Summer | The Hammer of Thor | The Ship of the Dead
Main Characters: Magnus Chase | Alex Fierro | Blitzen | Halfborn Gunderson | Hearthstone | Loki | Mallory Keen | Samirah al-Abbas | Sumarbrander | Thomas Jefferson Jr.
Secondary Characters: Randolph Chase | Gunilla | Natalie Chase | Amir Fadlan | Alderman
Minor Characters: Annabeth Chase | Frederick Chase | Helgi | Hunding | Vala | Junior | Lars Alhstrom | Stanley | Inge | Percy Jackson | Stan | Alviss | Miles | Wildflower | Sunspot | John Henry
Norse Gods: Freya | Thor | Balder | Ullr | Frey | Odin | Heimdall | Vidar | Sif | Frigg | Tyr
Minor Gods: Skírnir | Mimir | Ran | Hod | Hel | Sigyn | Aegir | Nine Billow Maidens | Njord | Kvasir | Holler | Forseti | Glum | Lofn | Sól | Idunn
Jotnar: Surt | Gerd | Norns | Utgard-Loki | Harald | Ymir | Geirrod | Gjalp | Greip | Thrym | Thrynga | Tiny | Little Billy | Hrungnir | Red | Tattoo | Gunlod | Suttung | Baugi | Skadi | Hrym | Eggther | Norns
Monsters: Jormungand | Ratatosk | Vedrfolnir | Nidhogg | Fenris Wolf | Lindworm | Wight | Brunnmigi | Siersgrunnr | Garm
Magical Creatures: Dwarf | Elf | Sleipnir | Stanley | Marvin | Otis | Hulder | Nøkks | Vatnavaettir | Nisser | Troll | Raven | Hugin and Munin
Related Content: Rick Riordan | Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds | 9 from the Nine Worlds
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