Balder was the son of Odin and Frigg. He was the favorite of everyone among the gods because he was so good. He was the best of the gods, the wisest, kindest, and gentlest of them all. Purity and virtue surrounded him. He was as handsome as he as good, and he shone with a special radiance.

One day Balder the Good approached the assembled gods and said, “Last night I had a dreadful dream! I dreamed I was in Niflheim, the land of the dead, and Hel herself embraced me. She led me through her palace. The rooms were all of gold and the halls were decorated with jewels. My dream terrifies me, for it shows that I shall die very soon!”

The gods were horrified at the thought that their beloved Balder would die. They decided to search the world for whatever could possibly endanger Balder’s life and to remove any threat. They were certain they would be able to prevent his death. Frigg, Balder’s mother, volunteered to take this great task upon herself.

She traveled from one end of the world to the other. She approached every plant and every animal, every bird and every serpent, every metal and every stone, every illness and every poison, every drop of water, every speck of earth, and every speck of fire. She made each in turn swear a sacred oath that it would do nothing to harm Balder. They were happy to do as Frigg asked, for they too loved Balder.

Once the gods knew that Balder was safe, they enjoyed testing his invulnerability. Some would throw darts at him, some would throw stones, and some would strike him with metal weapons. Balder’s eyes would sparkle, and he would grin and announce, “Try again! I did not even feel that!”

Loki watched Balder’s invulnerability and hated him for it. He disguised himself as an old woman and visited Frigg. “I have stopped by to talk to you woman to woman,” Loki said in a disguised voice. “I hear that you are the queen of the gods, so surely you have great power here. Are you aware that the gods have gathered in assembly to throw things at one who stands among them? I must admit that he seems to enjoy it. But he is such a beautiful god, it would be sad if someone killed him! Maybe you should walk down there and see for yourself. You might want to do something about their foolish sport!”

Frigg replied, “How kind of you to come to me. You must be speaking about Balder. However, there is no reason for you to be concerned because nothing will ever hurt him. I have made everything take a sacred oath not to harm him, so he is quite safe.”

“Have you really demanded an oath from everything in the world?” Loki asked.

“Oh, yes!” Frigg replied. “After all, Balder is my son! I have received an oath from everything: every plant and every animal, every bird and every serpent, every metal and every stone, every illness and every poison, every drop of water, every speck of earth, and every spark of fire. Nothing will hurt Balder. I assure you that he is really quite safe!”

“You certainly seem very sure of yourself,” Loki said. “If it were my son, I would fear that I had overlooked something. But you must know that you have missed nothing.”

“Well, I did miss one thing,” Frigg replied, “but that was intentional. A little mistletoe bush grows west of Valhalla. I did not demand that it take a sacred oath because it seemed too young to harm anyone!”

“I am certain you were right about that,” Loki replied, and then he left Frigg and casually strolled back in the direction of the assembled gods. As soon as he was out of sight, he resumed his own shape and quickly walked toward the west. He passed the hall of Valhalla and kept walking.

Sure enough, he found the little mistletoe bush exactly where Frigg had said it was. He pulled the plant up by the roots and took it to the palace where the gods had assembled. As he walked, he pulled off the berries, the leaves, and the small twigs. He sharpened the end of the stalk to a point and then tucked the twig into his belt. “No one will notice it,” he said to himself. “In fact, I shall see to it that they hardly notice me!”
When Loki reentered the assembly, the game with Balder was still in full swing. The hall resounded with happy laughter as the gods hurled every kind of object at the beautiful god, all with no effect whatsoever. Loki looked around and noticed that Hoder, Balder’s blind brother, was standing apart from the other gods. Hoder looked rather forlorn because he had no way to participate in this game. Loki said, “Hoder, why are you the only god who is not throwing things at Balder?”

“Because I cannot see where he is,” Hoder replied. “And besides, I have nothing to throw.”

“I can take care of that!” Loki exclaimed. “You should be able to honor your brother as the other gods do. My arm will direct your arm to where Balder is standing, and you can throw at him the twig I will give you.”

Hoder took the twig of mistletoe that Loki gave him, and letting Loki guide his arm, he threw the twig at his brother. The twig went right through Balder’s heart, and he fell to the ground dead.

The gods stared in silent shock at their dead friend. Tears streamed down their cheeks, reflecting the grief that overflowed their hearts. They could not speak. They were so stunned that they did not even try to lift Balder. Some of the gods turned in the direction from which the missile had come. When they saw Loki walking quickly toward the door, they immediately knew who was to blame for the foul dead. However, they knew they would have to be patient. They were assembled in a sacred place and could not take vengeance upon Loki immediately.

Odin was the most upset of all the other gods. Not only had he lost his dear son, but he alone knew that the death of Balder was the first in a series of events that would end in the destruction of their race.

Frigg was the first to speak. “Whoever among you would win my everlasting gratitude and affection will do what I now ask of you. Ride down to Niflheim and see if you can find my son in the kingdom of the dead. If you are successful, approach Hel and see if she will let him return to Asgard. Since she is Loki’s daughter, it might be best to offer her a wergild payment in return for Balder’s life.”

“I am happy to do this for my brother’s sake!” Hermod the Bold exclaimed. He took Odin’s horse, Sleipnir, and galloped away.

Meanwhile, the gods carried Balder’s body down to the sea. They placed it upon a funeral pyre on board his ship and then put his personal treasures next to his body. They even killed his harnessed horse and placed it on the pyre.

All the gods were present to pay their last respects to the best of the gods. Thor directed the preparations. Odin arrived with Frigg, his Valkyries, and his two ravens, Hunin (Thought) and Munin (Memory). Frey arrived in his boar-driven chariot. Freya arrived in her cat-driven chariot. Heimdall arrived on his horse. Even the Cliff Giants and the Frost Giants came to honor Balder the Good. Each god and guest boarded the funeral ship and added a treasured token of his or her own to the assembled pile of wealth. Finally, Odin added his own great treasure, his wondrous gold arm-ring that created eight more gold rings of equal weight every ninth night.

Balder’s wife was so beset with grief that her heart burst and she died of sorrow. The gods placed her body next to that of her husband on the pyre. When the flames of the funeral pyre roared toward the heavens, they set the ship afloat upon the sea for the waves to carry where they chose.

Meanwhile, Hermod rode for nine days and nine nights through such dark valleys that he could see nothing in front of him, nothing to the side of him, and nothing behind him. Finally, he reached the last river that divided the land of the living from the land of the dead. Stretching across it was a covered bridge with a roof that gleamed with gold even in the darkness.

As he approached the bridge, the maiden who guarded it asked him, “Who are you, and who is your father? Yesterday five troops of dead men rode across this bridge with less noise than you are making. You must be alive! Why then are you riding this road into Hel?”
Hermod the Bold replied, “I am Hermod, son of Odin the All-Father, and indeed I am very much alive! I must ride this road into Niflheim, for I must search the kingdom of the dead for my beloved brother, Balder the Good. Have you seen him cross your bridge?”

“Yes, Balder has crossed my bridge,” the maiden replied. “Follow the road that goes continuously downhill and to the north, for that is the way to Niflheim. However, I warn you that the kingdom of the dead is surrounded by a very high wall. You will have to devise a way to get through its gates.”

Hermod thanked her and rode on until he came to the gates of Hel’s kingdom. These gates were high and locked to anyone who still had the wind of life within his body. Hermod dug his spurs into Sleipnir and said, “Take me over the gates!”

Sleipnir jumped so high that Hermod could see the gates far below as they cleared them. He rode up to Hel’s palace, dismounted, and entered. The hall was crowded with the ghosts of the dead: male and female, old and young, rich and poor, virtuous and evil. Only the great heroes were spared eternal existence in the land of the dead. They were the fortunate ones, for Odin’s Valkyries had chosen them when they died in battle and had brought them to the golden-bright Valhalla, where every day they prepared to fight on the side of the gods at Ragnarok in the last great battle.

Hermod walked through the hall, ignoring the hordes of ghosts. Balder was sitting on the high seat, as testimony to the great god that he was, and Hermod had eyes only for his brother.

Hermod spent the night with Balder, and in the morning he said to Hel, “My name is Hermod, and I am the son of Odin and Frigg. I have come from the home of the gods to ask if you will let me take my brother, Balder, back to Asgard. The hearts of all the gods are filled with grief at his death, so great is their love for him. Frigg promises you a fitting wergild in exchange for Balder’s life.”

Hel replied, “I shall release Balder only if you can meet one condition. You must prove to me that he is so loved that everyone and everything in the world, both alive and dead, will weep for him. If one thing objects to his return or refuses to weep for him, then Balder must remain with me in my kingdom.”

“I am certain your condition will be met,” Hermod replied. “My mother took an oath from everything in the world to protect Balder’s life. Every plant and every animal, every bird and every serpent, every metal and every stone, every illness and every poison, every drop of water, every speck of earth, and every spark of fire promised to value his life. Surely they will weep for him!”

“For your sake, I hope you are right!” Hel exclaimed. “However, no matter how certain you are, I must have proof.”

Balder then led Hermod out of the palace. As Hermod prepared to mount Sleipnir, Balder said to him, “Thank you for making this long, fearsome journey on my behalf. The gods call you Hermod the Bold with good reason. Only Father and the great Thor have as much courage as you! Do this favor for me. Return our father’s wondrous golden arm-ring to him as a token of my love for him.”

“This I shall do, Balder,” Hermod replied. “Meanwhile, be of good courage! The gods are determined to free you from this dismal kingdom. I am certain that you will see the world of sunlight once again.”

Hermod returned to Asgard and related his tale to the assembled company. The gods immediately sent messengers throughout the entire world requesting that every creature and form in nature, both alive and dead, weep for Balder to achieve his release from Hel. Everything they asked agreed, for Balder the God was beloved by all that existed. Just as all things weep when they have been covered with frost and then are suddenly exposed to the hot rays of the sun, so every plant and every animal wept, every bird and every serpent wept, every metal and every stone wept, every illness and every poison wept, every drop of water, every speck of earth, and every spark of fire wept.

The messengers were returning to Asgard very pleased with the success of their journey when they came upon a giantess sitting in a dark cave. They greeted her and said, “Every other creature and form in nature, both alive and dead, is weeping for Balder in order to release him from the kingdom of the dead. Please add your tears to theirs, for Hel has demanded that no one must refuse to weep if Balder is to return to Asgard.”
To their surprise the giantess replied, “No one will ever see tears flow from my eyes and course down my cheeks. Balder means nothing to me, whether he is alive or dead. If Hel has him in her kingdom, let her keep him there!”

No matter how much the messengers pleaded with her, the giantess would not change her mind. They sadly returned to the assembled gods without having met the condition that Hel had set for Balder’s release.

When the gods heard their story, tears streamed down their cheeks, reflecting the grief that overflowed their hearts. They knew who was to blame for this foul deed also. The giantess who refused to weep for Balder was none other than Loki in one of his many disguises. With grim determination they silently marched forth from Asgard to take vengeance upon him.

Loki, knowing that he had not fooled them, ran for his life. He hid high upon a mountainside above the sea, where he built a small, inconspicuous house with one door facing in each of the four directions. He hoped to see the gods coming soon enough to assure himself a quick escape. He tried to remain calm and unworried. He tried to take his eyes off the valley below. He tried not to jump at sudden sounds in the night. While he waited for the gods to discover him, Loki often changed himself into the form of a salmon and hid among the waters of a nearby waterfall, where he caught smaller fish for dinner.

At night he would sit in his house by the fire and amuse himself by trying to imagine what device the gods would use in their attempt to capture him. As his mind played with possibilities, he took linen threads and twisted them this way and that until he had created a mesh net. “This would certainly be a fine way to catch a fish!” he exclaimed. Then he shuddered and tossed the net into the heart of the fire as if it had already caught him.

Meanwhile, the gods continued their pursuit. Odin had sat upon his high seat from which he could see everything in the world, and he had watched Loki build his house upon the mountainside. Steadily and surely the gods approached Loki’s hideaway. Their rage was implacable. They would capture this devious creature who often seemed to be one of them but whom they could never trust.

When they were near enough for Loki to hear them, he ran out the back door, transformed himself into a salmon, and jumped into the waterfall.

The first of the gods to enter Loki’s house was the wisest of them all. He looked carefully around the room, taking note of every detail as he looked for a clue to Loki’s whereabouts. Finally, he spied the white ashes in Loki’s fireplace and instantly recognized the pattern of a net. “Loki has taken the form of a fish!” he exclaimed. “Search the mountain stream by the waterfall, and I am sure you will find him there! I shall quickly make you a net like the one that Loki himself designed, and you can catch him with it.”

Early the next morning the gods were at the waterfall with this clever device. Together they threw it into the water. Thor grabbed one side of the net and leaped across the mountain stream to the far side of the waterfall. All the other gods stood on the near side. Together, they dragged the net through the waterfall and downstream toward the sea.

Loki fled deep beneath the cascade of water and hid himself in a crevice between two stones. The gods missed him the first time, but the second time they saw where he was hiding. They put weights into the net so that no fish could swim beneath it. Then they slowly moved the met from the waterfall downstream toward the sea. To avoid being caught, Loki was forced to swim downstream ahead of the moving net.

Finally, Loki saw that he had a difficult choice. He would either have to swim out to sea, which would surely kill him, or jump over the net and swim back upstream to the waterfall. Thor anticipated Loki’s decision and waded into the rushing stream. When Loki jumped, Thor was ready to catch him. Salmon are slippery, however. No matter how Thor clutched at the body of the fish, it slid through his fingers. Finally, Thor dug his nails into the salmon’s tail. Loki had lost the battle.

The gods took Loki up to a deep, dark cave in the mountains. They took three huge rocks and drilled a hole through each one. Next they captured Loki’s two sons. They transformed Fenrir into a wolf, which proceeded to devour his brother. The gods then bound Loki to the three rocks using his dead son’s intestines, which hardened into cords of iron. Then they hung a poisonous snake over Loki’s head so that it would continuously drip venom on Loki’s face. Satisfied with their vengeance, the gods returned to Asgard.

Fenrir found his mother and led her to Loki’s side. She could not free her husband, but she tried to make his captivity more bearable by holding a bowl above his face to catch the snake’s venom. When the bowl became full and she had to empty it, the venom would sear Loki’s skin and he would writhe in excruciating pain, causing the whole earth to shake.

Loki remained imprisoned in this manner until Ragnarok, the time of the last great battle between the gods and the giants. When a violent earthquake caused even the great mountains to crumble, Loki’s fetters snapped and he was free once more. He went down to Niflheim and brought his daughter and the fiends of Hel up from the kingdom of the dead to the battlefield. He and his monstrous children fought on the side of the giants. In the end he and Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, killed each other.

The entire world came to an end with Ragnarok. Gods and giants killed each other. Raging flames destroyed anything the earthquakes had left untouched. The earth became a wasteland, and in time a great flood covered it.

At the dawn of the new age, the earth rose forth from the sea, fresh, fertile, and green. Balder left the kingdom of the dead and joined the young gods who had survived the great destruction. The world as they had known it had disappeared, but they hoped to preside over a better world.