Hel

Titles:

Queen of the Underworld, Ruler of the Realm of Ice

Culture:

Proto-Germanic / Norse

Kin:

Loki (father), Angrboda (mother); Fenrir, Jörmundgandr (brothers)

Appearance:

Hel is described as having a towering stature several times the size of the average human. It is said that her hair is long and silver, and her skin reflects a blue-grey, corpselike tinge. She projects a sullen, disconsolate facial expression.

Purpose/Role:

• At a relatively young age, Hel was appointed by Odin to rule over the realm of the dead, known to Norsemen as Hel or Helheim
• She was instructed to provide board and lodging to those who are sent to her
• Such a dull assignment was to foreshadow Hel's atmosphere of monotony, listlessness and inertia
• Originally a realm for those who die of old age and sickness, Hel has become a place for all mortal souls, with the exceptions of heroic warriors and the morally corrupt (cf. Valhalla, Folkvángr, Náströnd)
• She plays a key role in Baldr's fate, telling Hermod that Baldr would be allowed to return to Asgard if all things in the world, alive or dead, were to weep for him

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One Concealed from the Senses, Ethereal Mortal

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Mara

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Moloch

Immolator of Infant Souls, Imposer of Human Sacrifice

Incubus

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