Alfheim: the elves' war over the Light

Alfheim, also known as Alfheimr, was one of the Nine Realms of the World Tree and the home of the Light and Dark Elves. Deep within it lay the Light of Alfheim, the source from which the Bifrost drew its power to traverse the realms through Tyr's Temple. Though the Light was the shared inheritance of all elves, the two subraces had warred over its possession for centuries, the Light changing masters more than two hundred times. Alfheim was a major waypoint on the path of Kratos and Atreus, who came to claim a portion of the Light and so found themselves drawn into the endless conflict of the elves. (God of War (2018))

The Light and the war of the elves#

After the creation of the Nine Realms, fallen souls began to gather in the Lake of Souls, the base well of the Light of Alfheim. The elves, not yet divided, built the Light Temple to draw on the Light's energy and came to worship it. Many became addicted to its power, forming the Light Elves, who sought to use the Light to enhance their race. Others believed the Light and the natural resources of Alfheim were sacred and should not be used for selfish ends, forming the Dark Elves, who sought to return the Light to its source. The conflict became a never-ending war that devastated the land, withering the once-living desert into a storm-ridden wasteland that served as the Dark Elves' base of operations. When the Light Elves held the Light, the skies shone blue; when the Dark Elves concealed it beneath a great plant, the skies turned red. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

The Vanir Freyr once wandered into the Lake of Souls and was mistaken by the Light Elves for a divine figure connected to the Light. They worshipped him, built statues in his honor, and named him their overlord, and he used his position to promote peace between the two factions. But the strain of the Aesir-Vanir conflict took a toll on him, and after his sister Freya married Odin, Freyr abandoned Alfheim in grief and anger, and his efforts at peace were short-lived. Without him, the Dark Elves regained the advantage and reclaimed the Light. (God of War Ragnarök)

Kratos, Atreus, and the fall of the Dark Elf King#

On the advice of Freya, Kratos and Atreus traveled to Alfheim to acquire a sample of the Light, needed to dispel the Black Breath that Odin had created to block the peak of Midgard's tallest mountain. By the time they arrived, the Dark Elves held the temple, much of it choked with the dark, web-like Hive Matter that blocked the Light. Unconcerned with the history of the elves, Kratos pressed through, telling Atreus to ignore the slaughter around them since it was not their place to judge a war they did not understand. The pair fought off the Dark Elves under their king, Svartaljofurr. (God of War (2018))

At the Light column, Kratos stepped into the Light to refill his lamp, but when Atreus thought he heard Faye's voice within, Kratos submerged his whole body and became trapped, walking through dream-like reconstructions of the realms while following Faye's floating ashes. Atreus, left to fight off the Dark Elves alone, eventually pulled his father back out, and Kratos was stunned to find the great number of elf corpses Atreus had left behind, realizing how long he had truly been gone. With the lamp refilled, they fought their way out, ambushed once more by Svartaljofurr, who was defeated but warned with his dying breath that their interference had been a grave mistake. As the gates opened, the Light Elves returned and Alfheim once again shone brightly. (God of War (2018))

The return and the war over the temple#

In the second era, after freeing the one they believed to be Tyr, Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir sought information on Ragnarok and were directed to Groa's shrine, which lay in Alfheim. Thanks to the pair's earlier attack on the temple, the Light Elves had taken back control, though the Dark Elves were now clawing to reclaim it and the war still raged near the barrens. Despite owing their position largely to Kratos and Atreus, the Light Elves were hostile on sight, forcing the group to fight through to the temple, much to Tyr's lament. The desert's sandstorms turned out to come from two trapped Hafgufa, glowing sky creatures that Kratos set free. (God of War Ragnarök)