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Hel, Viking goddess of Death

     Loki and the giant Angroba’s daughter, Hel is the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the Midgard snake, Jormungand. She reigns over the nine worlds, from which come all those who have not died in battle. Hel is half black, flesh color decomposed and half human flesh color which gives it a most sinister appearance.

    Odin King of the Gods Viking, threw her into Nifelheim, which literally translates as "world of fog," where she became the queen of the nine infernal worlds.

These are spread in a millennial tree named Yggdrasil. Hel is considered to be the queen of the "world of the dead". His home is not very welcoming, for Perfidy is his threshold, Illness reads him, Disette his bowl, and Hunger his knife.

Goddess of the dead, it is she who leads the souls of the deceased natural death of the world of the living to that of the dead. As the dead were sent to the seas on their ships, she guided the ship to the realm of the dead by one of the twelve rivers that could lead there. Elivagar is the most famous river, leading to the country of Gimle, the equivalent of the Greek Champs Elysees. For the dead who had been buried, stones were thrown on their graves so that Hel could turn her into a ship and lead the soul of the deceased.

Being a daughter of Loki led to a tense relationship with the Asgardians. When Balder was killed, the Asgardians had to beg her to agree to send him back to the mortal world. She agreed on the condition that all the living cry Balder. But Loki disguised herself as an old woman and didn’t cry for him to stay in Helheim.

During the Ragnarök, the end of the world among the Vikings, Hel will not participate in the battle directly. However, for help her father, she will send an army of the dead.

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