Hel

Hel Lokisdottir

Hel is the Honoured God of death, dishonour, and the underworld. Hel holds one of the principle roles in the Aedrinarian pantheon by overseeing the Corpsehall - the afterlife for those who die dishonourably. Despite this key position within the pantheon, worship of Hel directly is considered taboo with Hel's cult operating as a secret society throughout Aedrinar, Asrinheim, and Jotun. Considered a lawful and strict diety, Hel holds codes of honour and agreements between her and her followers strictly and to the letter of their agreement.
Primarily 'worshipped' in the Kingdom of Aedrinar, Hel also holds the status of minor diety to frost giants in Jotun and considered an avenging angel by the Nephilimic sect of Divinitism due to her role in the blood war. Despite being considered an 'evil' deity, Hel's symbolism and relics can be used to abjure fiends and destroy their shrines, portals, and lairs within the material plane.

Origins

Hel rose amongst the ranks of the Aesir, Jotun, and Vanir during the rebellion of the ancient Aedrinarians against the Forgotten gods. The daughter of Loki, it is unclear whether she was born during the war or before, with mythological sources and sagas proving contradictory. In the partially apocryphal Saga of the Odinssens from the Great Division period stating she born of the archdevil Fierna and Loki when the latter seduced the fiend in order to rescue the souls of fallen Aedrinaran warriors. Hel's mother being Fierna is also mentioned in the oral history of the wolf, reindeer, and raven clans; with the key difference being she was created by the archdevil as part of a pact with Loki, who used his skills in trickery and deceit to worm his way out of the deal.
Regardless of her creation, Hel appears in full myth in the latter stages of the war against the forgotten gods as the goddess who marches the souls of fallen warriors across the lower planes to destroy the divine domains of Bane and Loviatar. Hel was also present in the rise of Ysgard and the destruction of the domain of the forgotten gods, absorbing some of the divine power to ascend to godhood.

Later Myths

Hel has limited apperances in the post war mythos, appearing usually in folk stories and horror tales or as a supporting member in other myths such as the binding of Loki. Her key apperance is in her role of waging war on the demons and devils of the lower planes by gathering the souls of those who died without honour. Hel forged an alliance with Morrigan, the mother of Valkyries, to escort the unworthy from the purgatory of Nifilheim to her private sancturary, the corpsehall. From here, she raided Avernus and battles all sides in the blood war.
In the Nephilimic sect of Divinitism, Hel is considered an avenging angel of death who takes power from the souls of sinners, primarily 'heretics and blasphemers' and uses them in her angelic army to defeat the forces of Asmodeus and the An'hilim.

Helhest

Helhest is the undead three-legged horse of Hel that has various origins in myth. In the northern tradition, Helhest was a unicorn that was slain by the forgotten god Vecna, and feeling sorrow for the fallen fey Hel used her powers to raise him from the underworld. The Einmanfjell tradition states Helhest was a sickly horse gifted to Hel by the stable master of king knut in order to protect his lord from death. The horse also acts as symbols of death, with folk tales of Helfest raiding from town to town spreading plague and famine, with the Valkyries following behind collecting the souls of the departed.

Corpsehall and Helheim

Hel's domain lies within Avernus, the first layer of the nine hells. Known as the Corpsehall or Helheim, this fortress is the final resting place of the 'dishonoured dead.' Her army of the dead wage an endless war against the devils and demons across the lower planes, taking the form of wraiths, wights, and revenants. In Aedrinarian tradition, Hel will sometimes send riders of the dead to the material plane to grab the souls of those she sees as highly dishonourable, most notably in the myth of Halfdan the Damned.
There is divided opinion on the role of the corpsehall and Hel's influence over the dishonourable dead. Some see this as a punishment from Odin, to be a thrall fighting the most brutal war in the multiverse for all eternity as a mark of shame for their mortal failings, and others, such as the Helforger sect from the midnight islands, see this as a source of redemption, with the dishonoured dead eventually finding Valhalla when the blood war ends.

Artifacts

Hel is notable for not being represented using a weapon, and is the only non-vanir member of the honoured gods to primarily use magic over traditional weaponary. However, the relics of the Corpse army can be found throughout the multiverse and have a powerful warding effect and can be used to destroy fiendish shrines and portals or protect a user from the negative effects of the lower planes.
Other relics include the fangs of Garm, Hel's loyal hellhound and familiar. Secret high priests of Hel carry daggers made from Garm's teeth as symbols of their status. Since one has never been seen or recorded in recent memory, legend and fanciful exagerations of the weapon's abilities are commonly found in dockside taverns or across winter campfires. Claims the daggers can control spirits, instantly destroy a devil, or curse those it cuts.

Tenets of Faith

• Die with honour or join my hordes
• Never break your word or promise
• Bring destruction to fiends
• Deny the cruel an honourable death

Holidays

Despite not having any accessible public temples or shrines, Hel is worshipped as part of the night of the wild hunt on the final day of Endstarre. Known as Helforger, as the day when the border between the worlds of the living and dead is at its thinnest, corpse riders are sent to hunt the dishonoured and bring them to Helheim and ward off evil forces. As part of the festival, people often dress up as corpseriders and chase people around the town unless they are wearing a warding sigil of Odin or offer them sweet treats or alcohol. On the more serious side of respecting the jarl of the corpsehall, houses will use charchoal or floral arrangements in the style of Hel's divine symbol to protect them from the real corpseriders.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

• The win the blood war
• To either punish or redeem the dishonoured dead (legend is unclear)
• To protect the material plane from the lower planes

Divine Classification

God

Presentation

Feminine

Eyes

Glowing bright blue

Hair

Raven black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Corpse wight

Divine Domains
Death, Dishonour, the Underworld
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Home Plane
Avernus, Nine Hells
Realm
Helheim, the Corpsehall
Worshippers
Aedrinarians, Frost Giants, Nephilimic Sect