Queen Hel

**Hel** is the Norse jotunn goddess of Helheim, the realm of the peaceful dead.

## History

Hel is the daughter of the chaotic jotunn Loki. Her siblings included the great wolf Fenrir and the serpent Jormundgandr. Because of their origins as children of a jotunn, and prophecies of the three bringing the doom of the Gods, the Gods were suspicion of them.

One day, Hel and her siblings were brought to Valhalla. Odin threw the three children to different realms: for poor Hel, she was thrown down to a cold realm, which became Helheim. She became the guardian of those who passed away, embracing them to many ages of peace where they join their ancestors.

Her hall is Éljúðnir, which is affected by snowstorms or heavy rain.

When Baldr was killed, he ended up in Helheim, where she welcomed him into a feast. Hermodr rode to Helheim to bring Baldr back, but Hel refused to give him over. She agreed to return him to Asgard after every living being mourned for his death, but because only the witch Thokk refused to do so, she kept him in her hall.

## Appearance

Hel is described as half-living and half-dead. Sometimes her dead half is depicted as a corpse or a skeleton.

## Relationships

Hel is Loki's and Angrboda's daughter. Her siblings are Fenrir, a great wolf; Jormundgandr, a great serpent; and Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse.

Her servants are Ganglati, a man; and Ganglöt, a woman.

The jotunn Móðguðr protects a bridge that leads to her domain.

## In the Rabydosverse

"*Those in my realm have suffered enough in life. How much more do they have to go through, before they can achieve happiness at last? They do not have to be like this*."

- Hel Lokisdottir, The Island of Serenity, Chapter 29

Hel is venerated by many Nordic nations as a benevolent guardian, especially for people who were unable to fight or who live peaceful and virtuous lives. One popular symbol used to represent Hel is the half-moon, representing her face.

### Lysandrean religion

In Lysandrean mythology, Hel was regarded more positively: Lysandreans referred her as "Queen Hel" or "Hjali". A popular epic described her founding of Helheim, her protection of innocent souls from the horrors of the Void, and her defiance against her cruel father to protect the dead from torment. Her enemies included monsters that devour souls, and necromancers who attempt to steal people from her paradise to be tormented for their twisted ends. Necromancers are regarded as her greatest enemies, because they abuse and degrade the dead, denying them from finding peace.

Another myth depicted her trying to protect Baldr from Ragnarok by appearing in his dreams, after many ages when the bright god fought evil to defend humanity. After he died, she welcomed him to her city, where the people he saved in life celebrated his arrival. When his wife Nanna appeared in Helheim after she ran into Baldr's pyre, Hel hosted a coronation where she and her husband were given silver crowns. She also gave out sacred fire that the two gods took from their hearts to various people in the universe, filling them with courage to stop evil and prevent destruction: that allowed Baldr and Nanna to continue helping people even in death, and caused Hel to become praised as a goddess of peace.

In their folklore, a crown of sixteen stars was used as her symbol, representing her protection to all who pass away: it became an interjection known as "Star Crown of Eljudnir!". Her realm was depicted as a land of rolling fields and forested mountains, underneath a sky where the deeds of the righteous shine as constellations.

In the Lysandrean Empire, statues of Queen Hel tend to be half-coloured. Earlier depictions of the goddess of death, where the other half was a body skeleton, were replaced with sickly blue or grey skin and a bloated eye, and later with just blue or grey skin. She was depicted with open arms, welcoming all under her protection and love, and she wore a hood or a cloak around her shoulders. Her head was usually adorned with a silver crown of stars, and pictures of her had her robes glittering with the stars of the night sky. Some idols and portraits of Queen Hel depict her holding a lemming, the most unworthy of all creatures, again representing her compassion.

The Silver Sisterhood, a medical order, was dedicated to this goddess. Their main objective was healing people, so many of them were pacifists. Nonetheless, most of its members were capable of fighting like anyone else in the empire, and even as they did not want to do it, they will still raise their blades and guns to defend those under their care.

### Elsewhere

Some non-Nordic people depicted Hel as a warrior goddess who protects the dead from evil beings. They also believe that sometimes, Hel sends the dead back to the living world to punish those who tortured and murdered them in life, whether by killing their tormentors or by orchestrating their downfall. She was not only the goddess of death, innocents, and peace; but also the goddess of vengeance and punishment.

In Novantirna mythology, Hel is the guardian of those who died from disasters or great torment. Her domain is their paradise, lit by stars. Though she is kind to those who died wrongful deaths, she also allows and empowers them to return to the living world as ghosts, to punish those who murdered them. The ghosts will collect the souls of their enemies to be brought before Hel, where she will determine what punishment those evildoers will receive in the hells they will be thrown into.

In the cartoon Sleipnir, Hel is Loki's biological daughter, horrifically mutated from a terrible experiment that banished her from the world. She ended up in a mist-filled realm, her body transformed to that of a fairy: there, she foiled her father's rituals and spells by whisking wandering souls into her realm. Sleipnir sometimes visited her fairyland beyond the Gate of the Lost, where he met several people who were lost or gone.

## In the Collectionverse

Helen Dilion once dressed up as the goddess Hel, due to a suggestion from a pagan friend from Crecheville. Her costume won her a second-place prize in a contest.

## In the Rinnarverse

To the Vetarbroitar, Helheim is regarded as a paradise, for it is where they can see their loved ones and their ancestors after a painful existence as mortals. Likewise, its ruler Hel is regarded as a good queen who welcomes the righteous to her realm, if they are not warriors.

## Trivia

* The positive depiction of the goddess Hel was influenced by several posts that the author read on the Asatru subreddit on Reddit, which suggested that Helheim was actually a pleasant place where the deceased can meet the people whom they loved.
	+ The Lysandrean version of Queen Hel may be influenced by depictions of the Virgin Mary and Varda from the Silmarillion.
	+ Another name of hers used in a Freyrgardian language, pronounced as "Sjel", sounds like the French word "ciel", which means "Heaven", reflecting the positive view of Helheim in Freyrgardian religion.
* Her name is not to be confused with Hell, various horrific dimensions where evildoers go to in various religions, or the domains of various demons. A possible equivalent of "hell" in Norse mythology might be Nastrond, where traitors are devoured by serpents.
	+ For that reason, the author sometimes referred the goddess as "Hjali". Novantirna aliens (who also worship the Aesir) instead call her "Mother Saloi".
* Hel's rune is hagalaz (ᚺ), which represents chaos and ruin.

## See also

* Kali, another guardian goddess
* Skadi