Crow's Bridge

The name of the town this level takes place in.

A Traitor's Grave

The objective of this level is to kill the traitorous mayor; in other words, to put the traitor in his grave.

The Siege of Madrigal

This level takes place while Shiver is besieging Madrigal, and you are distracting her main army from that siege.

Homecoming

Covenant is where the armies of the Province finally broke when the Dark sacked its major cities. This is probably the first time any major force has returned since then.

Flight From Covenant

You're fleeing from Covenant. Hence, Flight From Covenant.

This level is called "Flight From Juniper" in the tags.gor file. Was Juniper an old name for Covenant?

Force Ten From Stoneheim

Dwarves are from Stoneheim. Apparently, this group of Dwarves is called Force Ten, and of course they are from Stoneheim.

ThorulfR writes:

This is of course a reference to Alistair Macleans "Force 8 from Navarone". A group of commandos destroyed some big guns in "Guns of Navarone". In "Force 8" they blow a large bridge to stop german forces to cross.

The similarities are obvious. In this level we are blowing up a World Knot to stop Fallen forces from crossing.

No sooner than one mystery is solved, another emerges. Why did Bungie call the level Force Ten? There are eight dwarves in the level, so the actual title, Force Eight, would have been perfect.

And bang, case closed (?). Santiago is prompt to solve the misplaced mystery:

...The movie was called "Force 10 from Navarone", and Bungie only changed the port of origin. (It should be noted that this movie had no actors from the original "The Guns of Navarone", and generally stunk.)

Sure enough. So that's why my web search for "Force 8" was fruitless... "Force 10 From Navarone" was a 1978 film with Harrison Ford.

Bagrada

Everyone knows that Bagrada is the first mission where you see Trow, right? But I doubt anyone knows what the name means. Here's the story:

Back in the days of Jesus Christ, the empires of Rome and Carthage were at war. After years of fighting on the open seas, Carthage invaded Italy from across the Alps. Although the Carthiginian army was inferior to Rome's, the Carthiginians had a secret weapon: the elephant! The Carthiginians would sit a few men with bows on arrows on top, to turn the animal into a mobile firing platform. But the main advantage of the elephant was that it could go stomp people.

The first time the Romans met the elephants was at Bagradas Pass in the mountains. The elephants actually inflicted relatively few casualties, but all the infantrymen were afraid of them, the more so after seeing a couple men squished to a pulp. See any parallels?

That's disputable, though. As ThorulfR writes:

Close but no cigar. Bagradas is the river running SW from Carthage. By plundering it's valley Scipio Africanus forced Hannibal to fight him at Zama. I like the elephant reference.

The river is called "El Hallaq" or something today.

This level is called "Bagrada In Winter" in the tags.gor file.

Ambush at Devil's Overlook

We're at Devil's Overlook in Bagrada, and are setting an Ambush.

This level is called "Bagrada At Night" in the artsound.gor file.

In Myth's beta stage, this level was called "Challenging Stage" and was a knock-off of the old arcade game Galaga [from Satan(tm)]. Waves of Soulless would come at your Dwarves, and you scored points for each one you killed. The beta testers hated it, and it was later modified to better fit Myth's atmosphere.

The Five Champions

Refers to the five heroes going to rescue Alric.

This level is called "Desert Halcyon Color Map" in the artsound.gor file, A Halcyon is a kingfisher-like bird, legends about which hold that it would nest at seat during winder solstice and calm the waves during its incubation. "Halcyon" is also the name given to the highly exited state between unbelievable exhilaration and absolute terror experienced in extreme sports; the ultimate adrenaline rush.

Out of the Barrier

You are heading to a point where Alric can teleport you out of the Barrier in this level.

This level is called "Flight From Ce Acatal" in the tags.gor file. This sounds similar to "Acit El", meaning "Golden Age" in Bruig, and the name of the calendar used in the Myth world. Was Ce Acatal an old name for Muirthemne perhaps? Or for the region of the former Empire the level takes place in?

Silvermines

The name of the town the level takes place in. There are silver mines there.

Shadow of the Mountain

This level takes place at the foot of Tharsis, a giant volcanic mountain, so you appear to be in its Shadow, especially since it's erupting.

Kraken writes:

I always thought this one is self-explanatory. You're fighting in the Western foothills of a mountain that is currently an active volcano. If Balor's sun has risen in the east, then you are in deed as well as in fact, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAIN.

Seven Gates

The name of the pass the level takes place in.

Forest Heart

The name of the forest the level takes place in.

Heart of Stone

This level takes place in the middle of a huge stone cavern. Could also reffer to the Tain device itself, which could be considered a sort of enchanted stone. An intersecting inverted tetrahedron-shaped stone, but still a stone.

The Smiths of Muirthemne

The Smiths of Muirthemne built the Tain, and in this level we are escaping from their creation.

Sons of Myrgard

Dwarves come from Myrgard, so they could be considered its "sons".

A Long Awaited Party

A reference to "A Long Expected Party", the first chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, "The Lord of the Rings".

The Road North

The first level on our journey north, to kill Balor.

Across the Gjol

The level where we have to stop Soulblighter's army from getting across the poisoned Gjol river.

The Watcher

The level where you finally kill The Watcher.

River of Blood

The river in this level is red, like blood, but in fact it is simply red oxydised iron (rust) particles in the water that make it red.

This level is called "Lost Rhi Anwon" in the artsound.gor file. Was Rhi'Anon once called Rhi Anwon?

Pools of Iron

Another reference to the Trow's red water supply. In this level we must get to a lake (or "pool") of the stuff. In the artsound.gor file, some artwork for the water in this and the previous level is actually called "rusty water".

The Last Battle

Supposedly the last battle you have to fight, finally killing Balor, or dying trying. Of course we don't know about the Great Devoid and Soulblighter yet.

The Great Devoid

The big hole that the head has to go into to score.

Willow Creek

The name of the town this level takes place in.

Salvation

What you are bringing the four Ruriks you rescue.

Down A Broken Path

The long and winding road the lead to Tallow could certainly be called "broken".

3a. A Long Awaited Drinking Party

Mocking TFL's "A Long Awaited Party", in turn ripping off Tolkiens "A Long Expected Party".

Into The Breach

You are heading into the Baron's keep through a breach in his outer wall.

The Baron

The ultimate goal of this level is to kill the Baron.

Gonen's Bridge

The objective of this level is to blow up the bridge leading to Gonen.

Beyond The Cloudspine

This is the first level on the west side of the Cloudspine in the game.

The Great Library

The location of this level, at the Great Library in Covenant.

Gate of Storms

A location within Madrigal, the city from which we are fleeing. Presumably some sort of gate.

Landing At White Falls

Our ship has just landed at the town of White Falls.

Through The Ermine

In this level, we are heading through the Ermine to the Stair of Grief, where we will find the Deceiver's staff.

Stair of Grief

The name of the pass you are in, searchching for the Deceiver's staff.

The Deceiver

We revive the Deceiver in this level.

With Friends Like These

On this level, we must meet with the Deceiver's "friends", the Trow, and battle them to win their aid for a year. The level's name is, of course, the first half of the old saying, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?", refering to how the Trow have repeatedly KIKD UR AS in the previous game.

Walls of Muirthemne

Refers to the broken, ruined old city walls littering this level.

The Ibis Crown

The objective of this level is to find the Ibis Crown.

Redepmtion

Refers to the Heron Guards redeeming their honor in the defense of Muirthemne.

Relic

We are searching for a relic in this level, a shattered fragment of the Tain.

The Summoner

The objective of this level is to kill the Summoner.

A Murder of Crows

A bunch of crows is not called a Flock, like with most bird species; it is called a Murder. The name could also refer to the Deceiver being indirectly responsible for Soulblighter's death, by capturing one of his crows.

Limbs, Heads, and Smoking Craters

That's about all that'll be left when you're done blowing up everything on this level.

The Wall

Refers to the dam (a wall holding back water) which you must defend in this level.

Shiver

The objective of this level is to kill Shiver.

Twice Born

Soulblighter's title. We finally confront him face-to-face in this level.

The Forge

The volcano Tharsis is known as the legendary "Forge of the Trow", and this level takes place inside it.

The Healer

Refers to Four Bear White Oak, the Journeyman (a healer).

The Warrior

Refers to Fenris, the veteran warrior.

The Mage

Refers to Kyrand, the dead mage whose tomb we visit in this level.

The Archer

Refers to ne'Ric, the legendary archer we meet in this level.

The Messenger

Refers to the unnamed (illusory) messenger who brings the Baron's (actually Kyrilla's) message to us in this level.

The Baron

Refers to Baron Volsung, who we must save and then ally with in this level.

The Chimera

Refers to the illusion (chimera) that has been cast over Kyrilla's life.

The Fiend

Refers to the demon Cartucke, who is behind all this.