Bonus Chapter
Baldr the Invincible
I t was a cold winter night. Even with the flames roaring in the fireplace, Larissa shivered at the cold.
Beside her, Halla cuddled in closer, pulling their shared blanket tighter around them.
Pappa and Mamma sat on the couch, cradling their cups of cocoa.
The girls had long since finished their own.
Halla had requested a story, and Pappa was all too happy to oblige.
Their book of stories was sprawled across Pappa’s lap—not that he needed it to share the stories he knew from heart.
“Let me tell you the tale of one of the most beloved AEsir that ever lived. Baldr the Beautiful was considered one of the greatest of the AEsir , the beloved son of the high chief of the AEsir , óeinn, and the high chieftess, Frigg. One day, the AEsir heard rumblings amongst all living things. Frigg was visited by the mara who foretold the death of her beloved son, Baldr. Unwilling to accept this fate and being well versed in seidr , Frigg set out to save her son’s life.
She journeyed across the lands. Everywhere she went, she greeted each living thing—mortal, animal, and even the plants.
She made each swear an oath to never harm her son.
Once she covered all the lands, convinced that Baldr was safe, she returned back to the grand halls of the AEsir .
“When she arrived home, the other AEsir were delighted by the news, for they too loved Baldr. He was now invincible, unable to be subjected to harm or death. They invented a game of sorts. The other AEsir could throw whatever they wanted at Baldr—swords, fire, arrows, rocks—and he would not dodge. They could not harm him. The AEsir took delight in this new game; they rejoiced at his invulnerability. But it did not last.”
Halla’s eyes widened, her hands clenching the blankets in her lap as if she had not heard this story a dozen times before. “Frigg forgot something, didn’t she, Pappa?”
“That’s right, little one.”
Halla leaned in closer, nearly upsetting the cup of cocoa at her side.
“Frigg forgot to request an oath from the lowest plant of all, mistletoe,” Pappa continued.
“Her oversight would not have been so unfortunate if not for the trickster living within the midst of the AEsir . He discovered this flaw in Frigg’s perfect system.
A potent of chaos and mischief, the trickster god Loki created a pointed shaft made of mistletoe.
One day, during the game, this trickster handed the spear of mistletoe to Baldr’s blind brother, Hoer, and encouraged him to take part in the merriment.
When Hoer threw the shaft, Baldr was killed instantly. ”
Halla threw the blanket over her head, as she did every time she heard this story. Larissa reached to right the mug Halla had upset in her dismay, setting it farther away from her sister.
Pappa leaned forward, tugging down the blanket.
“It is sad, Halla, but remember there is a point, as there is in every story. The AEsir and even the feuding Vanir mourned Baldr’s death.
It brought together the warring families as they honored his life.
Frigg blamed herself for overlooking the small mistletoe.
So each winter, we hang mistletoe as a reminder of Frigg’s tears that became the berries on the leaves, for mistletoe did not have berries before Baldr’s death.
We remember how Frigg did not take her vengeance on mistletoe, but rather how it would become a symbol of hoped-for peace between the AEsir and the Vanir in the midst of a violent world. ”
Halla sighed in contentment. “Do you think people will ever tell stories of me one day, Pappa?”
Pappa’s eyes met Mamma’s. “Maybe one day, Halla.”