Appearing in "Funeral For a God"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Balder (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- Frigga
- Nanna (Death)
- Idunn
- Hoder (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- Thor
- Odin
- Hermod
- Heimdall
- Freyr
- Vidar
- Sif
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Berserkers
- Hugin and Munin
- Sleipnir
Races and Species:
- Asgardians
- Trolls
- Frost Giants
- Elves
- Dwarves
- Faeries
- Dragons
- Ravens
- Asgardian-Storm Giant Hybrids
- Horses
Locations:
- Asgard
- City of Asgard
- Breidablik
- Gladsheim (Mentioned)
- Niffleheim
Items:
Vehicles:
- Skidbladnir (Destruction)
Events:
- Ragnarok (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "Funeral For a God"
After Balder's death, the women cleaned Balder's corpse while the men searched for wood to make his funeral pyre. Loki spotted Odin in the forest before Thor approached him and the God of Mischief believed that they were not his family and meant nothing to him. Thor, Loki, Hermod, and Heimdall carried Balder's corpse while Nanna felt her heart rend in two and died. Since Nanna loved Balder, Frigga wanted them to be buried together. Thor also slit the throat of Balder's horse so that it would be buried with the fallen Asgardian and pushed the vessel Skidbladnir, which carried Balder and Nanna, into the sea. Odin boarded the Skidbladnir and kissed Balder's forehead before Thor destroyed the vessel with lightning, causing it to burn.
Afterwards, Frigga asked who would bring Balder back from Hel and Thor and Loki both volunteered to go. During the journey to Hel, Thor briefly confronted Loki about killing Hoder, ensuring that they would never know his motive and revealed that he found the mistletoe tree blasted to nothing when he attempted to ask it why it betrayed its oath to not harm Balder. When they entered the Great Hall of Hel, they were greeted by Hela who told them that if every living thing in the Nine Realms wept for Balder, he would be free to go. As Hoder confronted Loki in Hel for being responsible for his death and that of Balder's, the God of Mischief and the God of Thunder left with the latter god insisting that the former left Asgard after helping return Balder.
Thor told the Aesir what must be done, so tears were shed and even when the Aesir shed tears in the grove where Balder died, he still did not return, as Loki did not cry and vowed "never again a tear."