Prologue: From The Heat of Battle
Legend tells of the island Blóta that is hidden from all, even from those on Themyscira.
The inhabitants, although they live in peace, are the offspring of the world's greatest warriors.
Their origin, the legend states, began in battle.
In the days when the different gods were more social, the Norse gods and the Greek gods argued about who had the best warriors. A challenge followed and a group of 100 Berserkers and 100 Amazons were sent to Blóta, a small island, between Norway and Greece.
For months the battle raged with neither side having a clear advantage. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, saw the battle and mourned. Why, she thought, should these people fight when their spirits were compatible and they should be allowed to celebrate love?
Rather than confer with anyone, she cast her magic and removed the blood lust from both groups. They saw each other for the first time and fell in love. The warriors became lovers and appealed to their gods to be released from the challenge. Thor was furious and threatened to go and fight the Amazons on his own. Ares was equally angry and, had it not been for the intervention of Zeus himself, would have challenged Thor.
In the end, it was the women who solved the dilemma. Freya of the Norse gods and Hera of the Greek gods met and agreed with what Aphrodite did could not be undone. The warriors would be allowed to remain as they were. However, the island would be hidden from all and while the inhabitants could continue to train and teach their warrior ways, they would be forbidden to engage in any non-defensive battle unless approved by both the Greek and Norse gods. Until such a battle required more to leave, only one member of the island could leave for a month once a year in order to engage in trade or other necessary items – although the island would provide what they needed. The Blótan chosen was forbidden to disclose information about the island to outsiders. The Blótan was also forbidden to engage in intercourse with an outsider.
And so it was.
There are those who say that this event ended the socialization of gods. Both groups, feeling humiliated, did not speak to one another. The other gods saw how a harmless wager nearly became a war between the gods and turned away from one another to protect themselves and their followers.
Many searched for Blóta – usually kings searching for warriors to help them fight their battles. They never found it. As both the Norse and Greek gods lost followers and sunk into obscurity, Blóta was forgotten.