In Norse mythology and God of War, Baldur is the god of light, joy, purity, and the summer sun and the son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg. He is Forseti's father, and he has many brothers, including Thor and Váli.

His mother learned from the runes at his birth that he would die a "needless death" in the God of War series. So Freya, determined to keep him alive at all costs, cast a spell on him at some point that rendered him immune to all physical and magical threats.

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Baldur In Norse Mythology

baldur norse mythology

Aside from his great courage and honor, he is best known for the legend surrounding his death. It began when he had dreams about his death, prompting his mother, Frigg, to extract an oath from every object on Earth, promising not to harm her son Baldur. All agreed that none of their kind would ever harm or assist in the harming of Baldur, and the other gods took advantage of his apparent invincibility to practice throwing knives and shooting arrows at him.

This plan was nearly perfect, except for one detail that she had overlooked because it seemed insignificant: the weed mistletoe. Loki, the trickster god, disguised himself and asked Frigg if there was anything that could harm Baldur. She told him about the mistletoe, not thinking twice about it. Loki immediately left to gather some of the weed and made a dart out of it. At the same time, several gods were playing a game with Baldur, throwing projectiles at him in an attempt to strike him; however, because all objects had vowed never to harm Baldur, he could not be touched by the gods' attempts.

Loki gave the mistletoe dart to Baldur's blind twin brother, Hodr, so that he could play the game as well. He launched the dart into Baldur's chest, killing him on the spot, oblivious to what was in his hand and with the help of Loki's aim. Although he was somewhat innocent, he was later slain by Odin and Rindr's new son, Váli, who was born and grew up in a single day with the sole purpose of avenging Baldur's death.

The other gods mourned his death, and Odin sent Hermodr to the goddess of death, Hel, to beg her to bring Baldur back to life. She replied that she would let him live again if everyone in the world, living or dead, wept for him. However, Loki had now disguised himself as the witch Thokk, and was the only one who would not weep for him, so he stayed with Hel.

The gods now began the funeral for the God of Light, placing his body, wrapped in crimson, on the deck of his ship, the Hringhorni, like a funeral pyre. His wife, Nanna, died of grief at his death and was buried alongside him on the pyre. His horse and all of his belongings were also burned on his pyre. Then, Hyrrokin, the giantess, propelled the ship out to sea.

Loki was punished for his part in the death of the most beloved god. He was then pursued and tied to three rocks, with a serpent tied above his face, dripping venom onto his face until Ragnarok.

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Baldur's Early Life in God of War

baldur looking ahead in snowy area in god of war 2016

Baldur in God of War was an Aesir who was the half-brother of Thor, Tr, Bragi, and Hodr. He was the son of Odin and Freya. His mother learned from the runes at his birth that he would die an "unnecessary death." Freya, determined to save his life at any cost, cast a spell on him at some point that rendered him immune to all physical and magical threats.

However, the spell had one flaw: mistletoe. To ensure that no one discovered the spell's flaw, she cursed Mimir to prevent him from discussing it. However, the spell had the unintended consequence of removing Baldur's ability to feel anything physically. He could no longer feel anything, including pain and pleasure, or even the temperature of where he was standing. Baldur's pleas to Freya to break the spell fell on deaf ears, and Freya insisted that Baldur would thank her for it. Baldur, enraged, was consumed by hatred for his mother and attempted to murder her at first. Finally, with only a sliver of love left for his mother, he let her live, claiming that he never wanted to see her again.

After abandoning his mother, he spent 100 years at Asgard with Odin, Thor, Magni, and Modi. Unfortunately, Baldur's sensory incapabilities drove him insane after years of being under his mother's spell. As a result, he grew to despise his mother and wished to kill her for the decades of pain she had inadvertently caused him, later regretting his decision to spare her life. During this time, Baldur also became a slave to his father, hoping that his continued service would eventually bring him freedom from his curse. However, Mimir believes Odin was lying about being able to cure his son's condition to get Baldur to do whatever he asked.

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Baldur's Answer to Odin's Call

god of war kratos baldur boss fight

Baldur responds to Odin's summons to track down the Jötunn Guardian, one of the two remaining Jötnar in Midgard who has been thwarting the Aesir's plans for some time. With the sudden disappearance of the Wildwoods' protection spell, Baldur decided to investigate, eventually finding the cabin where the Guardian lived.

Baldur confronts the Guardian's husband, Kratos, after mistaking him for the actual Jötunn Guardian. Kratos believes Baldur knows him as one of the Grecian deities, specifically their second God of War after Ares. However, Baldur had no idea that the Guardian had died only a few days before and had been cremated minutes before his arrival. Despite Baldur's constant taunting and punching, Kratos is initially unwilling to fight but eventually gives in and punches Baldur to the ground.

Baldur punches Kratos clear through the house when he tries to tell him to leave. Baldur broke a hole in the roof and discovered two beds inside, demanding to know who was hiding. The two begin to fight brutally, and Kratos is able to overpower Baldur, but the latter appears unaffected by any damage, with Baldur later revealing that he doesn't feel pain. Finally, Kratos appears to kill Baldur by snapping his neck and pushing him off himself, causing him to tumble off the cliff edge next to them.

However, he was only rendered immobile by Kratos' attack due to Freya's spell. They went to see the imprisoned Aesir ambassador, Mimir, with his nephews Magni and Modi, assuming he knows where "the tattooed man" and "the child" are. However, their interrogation is futile because Mimir has no idea who the two are and refuses to assist the Aesir, pointing out that Baldur's offer to persuade Odin to release Mimir, as well as death threats, would be futile because Odin will not allow anyone to harm the prisoner. When Mimir demands that Baldur take the "worthless wankers" with him, he leaves with his nephews in tow.

Later, as Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus prepare to depart for Jötunheim, Baldur ambushes them, gaining the upper hand over Kratos and provoking Atreus to attack him. He dismisses Kratos as "just meat" and believes Atreus is the mastermind behind the Guardian's attacks on the Aesir. Atreus attempts to fight Baldur, believing he is prepared for the fight, shooting Kratos with an arrow as he tries to stop him.

Atreus, overconfident, attacks Baldur but fails to kill him; instead, he knocks the boy unconscious and flees on a dragon. Kratos leaps off the mountain to pursue them and fights Baldur, who eventually makes it to the realm travel room and selects Asgard as the destination, hoping to bring the full weight of the Aesir down on Kratos. Kratos changes the destination to Helheim after another brutal fistfight, sending them flying into the Realm of the Dead.

Later, Baldur learns of the trio's journey into The World Serpent's stomach after finding a way out of Helheim and fights the giant serpent to force it to expel the three next to the colossal corpse of the Frost Giant Thamur. After emerging from the lake's icy waters, Baldur meets his mother for the first time in years. Despite his absence, Baldur's hatred for his mother remains unrelenting. He tries to attack her, but Kratos blocks his path, resulting in another fight. Freya attempts to intervene by entangling the two in roots, but her spells are ineffective as they continue to fight.

Baldur has another confrontation with his mother after the battle. In an attempt to make peace with her son, Freya begs him to see the humanity in her actions. Baldur refuses to forgive her, and Freya allows her son to strangle her as a sign of her repentance, but Kratos intervenes once more. As he snaps Baldur's neck a second time, killing him once and for all, Kratos quotes his father, claiming that the cycle must end and that they all should be better.

God of War is now available on PC and PS4.

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