Helheim- Norse LocationLocation · Realm"Realm of the Dead"

The Lowest Root

One of Yggdrasil's three great roots reaches down into Helheim, anchoring the World Tree in the cold foundation of the cosmos. Near this root lies Hvergelmir, the "Roaring Kettle," the ancient spring from which eleven rivers once poured into the void of Ginnungagap before the world existed. Their waters froze and formed the icy layers from which the first giant, Ymir, emerged. The spring of creation and the realm of the dead share the same ground.

The dragon Níðhöggr gnaws at this root ceaselessly, working to undermine the World Tree from below. The squirrel Ratatoskr carries insults between Níðhöggr at the base and the eagle perched at the crown, running the full length of the tree.

The Road Down

The dead travel the Helvegr, a path that leads ever downward through valleys where no sunlight reaches. The cold deepens with each step. The river Gjöll marks the boundary: its waters run with knives, and it can only be crossed by the bridge Gjallarbrú, which is thatched with gleaming gold.

The maiden Móðguðr guards the bridge. She questions all who cross, asking name and lineage. When Hermóðr rode Sleipnir across on his mission to retrieve Baldur, she told him the bridge had thundered more under him alone than under five companies of dead men who had crossed before. He did not have the pallor of the dead, she said. She knew a living man when she saw one.

Beyond the bridge rises Helheim's wall. Before its gate, Helgrind, the hound Garmr howls without ceasing, bound at the cave Gnipahellir. His howling will be one of the first signs of Ragnarök when he breaks free.

Éljúðnir

Hel's hall stands at the center of the realm. Snorri names every furnishing in the Gylfaginning: the dish is Hungr ("Hunger"), the knife Sultr ("Famine"), the threshold Fallandaforað ("Stumbling-block"), the bed Kör ("Sick-bed"), the hangings Blíkjandabǫl ("Gleaming Bale"). Every object is named for want. Her servants Ganglati and Ganglöt, "Lazy-Walker" and "Lazy," move through the hall with the torpor of the dead.

Baldur's Descent

When the blind god Höðr, guided by Loki, threw the mistletoe dart that killed Baldur, the brightest of the Æsir went down to Helheim. Frigg asked who among the gods would ride to Hel and bring her son back. Hermóðr volunteered. He rode Sleipnir nine nights down dark valleys until he reached Gjallarbrú and crossed into the realm of the dead.

He found Baldur seated in the place of honor in Éljúðnir. Hel set her terms: if every creature in existence wept for Baldur, she would release him. Messengers went through the nine worlds. Stones wept. Trees wept. Metals wept. All creation shed tears for the dead god. All except a giantess named Þökk. "Let Hel hold what she has," Þökk said. Snorri notes that she is thought to have been Loki. Baldur stayed.

Náströnd

The Völuspá describes one hall within Helheim reserved for the worst of the dead. Náströnd, the "Corpse Shore," stands far from the sun, its doors facing north. Poison drips through the roof. The walls are woven from serpents' spines, and their venom falls inward upon those trapped within: oath-breakers, murderers, and those who committed acts of supreme dishonor. Níðhöggr feeds on their corpses nearby.

Naglfar

At Ragnarök, the ship Naglfar will break free from its moorings and sail toward the battlefield of Vígríðr. It is built from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. The nails grow even after death, and the Norse trimmed the nails of their dead to delay the ship's completion. Every untrimmed nail brought the end of the world closer.

Naglfar will carry the hosts of Hel to war against the gods. Garmr will break free, and the boundary between the living and the dead will dissolve.