Hel

Hel
Notable Residents	Aidas Apollion Thanatos
Notable Locations	The Hollow The Trench The Canyon The Ravine The Chasm The Abyss The Pit
Series Information
Appearances	House of Earth and Blood House of Sky and Breath House of Flame and Shadow

"There are worse fates than death, you know."
	This article contains plot details and potential spoilers for the Crescent City series. If you have not begun reading or are not too far into the story, please refrain from reading or at least proceed with caution.

Hel is a planet on which the seven princes of Hel, as well as several other demons, live.

History

According to Aidas, one of the princes of Hel, it is another planet. At one point, the Asteri tried to conquer the planet, but lost it in 17.001 A.E., only shortly before they found and conquered Midgard instead. The documentation of the Asteri describes Hel as a dark, cold world with mighty creatures of night. They saw through our lures. Once warring factions, the royal armies of Hel then united and marched against the Asteri. They were overwhelmed and abandoned the world, but Hel gave chase, as they had learned from the Asteri's captured lieutenants how to slip between the cracks in realms. They found the Asteri on Midgard a year later and tried to convince the humans of the Asteri's real plans - some fell to their charms. The ensuring war lasted until nearly the end of 17.003 A.E., but in the end Hel was defeated and sent back. The Asteri determined them to be far too dangerous to allow them access to Midgard again, but assumed that they might try, as they had developed attachments to the Fae in particular.

There used to be an open rift between Hel and Midgard which was closed, but Luna's Horn allows these rifts to open. There are seven levels of Hel, which are described as darker than the last: the Hollow, the Trench, the Canyon, the Ravine. The fifth level is called the Chasm. The sixth level holds the Prince of the Abyss, and the seventh level holds the Prince of the Pit or the Star-Eater. The Prince of the Pit is so scary his name is not said by anyone on the Midgardian side of the rift between the two worlds.

While it is severed from Midgard by time and space, Hel is still accessible through the two rifts at the north and south poles of Midgard. Hel can also be accessed by summoning demons through salts of varying powers. The supposed benefit of using salt is that only one demon can be summoned at a time.

Notable Locations

• The Hollow
• The Trench
• The Canyon
• The Ravine — governed by Thanatos
• The Chasm — governed by Aidas
• The Abyss
• The Pit — governed by Apollion

Notable Residents

• Aidas
• Apollion
• Thanatos

Trivia

• In Norse mythology, Hel, the location, shares a name with Hel, a being who rules over the location. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried with items that will facilitate their journey to Hel after their death. In the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr's trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel on his death and subsequently Hermóðr uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him.
• As stated by Aidas, during the time of Hel’s second war on Midgard and against the Asteri, Four of the other Princes of Hel where fighting to free other planets.