Hermodr - Nine Nights to Hel

Hermodr the Nimble and Brave served as Asgard's messenger and was the son of the Allfather Odin and Frigg. When Baldr fell and darkness gripped the golden halls, he did not wait for fate to decide. While others wept, Hermodr mounted Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged horse, and spurred the beast where no living soul dared to go. For nine nights through deep, dark valleys he rode on, never turning back. Across the river Gjoll and the golden Gjallarbridge, he charged straight to the gates of Hel, plunging into the realm of the dead on a quest to bring his brother home. **** Some interesting details about how Hermodr passed Modgudr's watch and Hel's towering, locked iron gates: At the underworld’s edge, eight hooves thundered across the golden Gjallarbridge, so loud that Modgudr blocked his path. “Five companies of dead men crossed yesterday, yet the bridge shook less under all of them than under you alone,” she said. “You don’t have the look of the dead. Why are you riding the road to Hel?”Hermodr answered: “I am Hermodr, son of Odin. I ride to find Baldr. Have you seen him pass this way?”She nodded. “Baldr has crossed. The road lies downward and northward.” Modgudr stepped aside. Hermodr rode on until the locked gates of Hel barred his way. Finding the underworld shut to the living, he dismounted, tightened Sleipnir’s girth, and remounted. Digging in his spurs, he sent Odin’s eight legged steed soaring high over the massive gate, landing cleanly on the other side. From there Hermodr rode to Hel’s hall. Hel heard his plea and set one condition: every living and dead thing had to weep for Baldr, or he would stay.