On Aesir Thermoregulation

The Aesir reputation for indifference to cold is only half the story. Their large bodies conserve heat extremely well, and their peripheral circulation can constrict dramatically without compromising core temperature, so that they tolerate freezing conditions with impressive ease.

Heat is another matter. An Aesir produces enormous metabolic heat and possesses proportionally less surface area through which to lose it, so that exertion in hot environments can become dangerous very quickly. Their sweating response is powerful, but evaporation has limits, especially in humid climates.

This physiological fact has influenced Aesir architecture wherever they have settled in warmer regions. Ceilings are high and windows oversized. Sleeping rooms are well ventilated, and shaded courtyards are common. Outsiders occasionally mistake these features for mere cultural preference, forgetting that culture often begins as anatomy repeated for several generations.

I once attended a midsummer diplomatic reception in a southern capital where an Aesir ambassador was dressed according to local formal custom in three layers of wool. He remained polite for forty minutes, which should be entered into the historical record as an act of considerable courage.