Bolverkrs

Bolverkrs
Leader	Odin
Properties
Weapons	Swords, spears
Vehicles and mounts	Six-legged horses
Appearances
Appears in	"You Will Gladden His Ravens" "Song of Sigrid"
Debut	"You Will Gladden His Ravens"

The Bolverkrs were hunters of Odin that he could send into the mortal realm if needed. Such a need arose in "You Will Gladden His Ravens," the third episode of Twilight of the Gods. Otherwise, they remained in his tower in Asgard, which they defended for him.

Physiology

The Bolverkrs were humanoid creatures with glowing yellow eyes. It's possible they were Aesir gods. They wore deer-like skulls as masks with horns and antlers protruding. Some wore more armor than others, but most wore merely a pauldron, greaves, and spiked arm guards with very little clothing. Many of them had long, grayish-brown hair that may or may not have been a garment. They rode a unique set of horses that, like themselves, had glowing yellow eyes. Their nostrils shared this glow and they had six legs. Odin also rode one of these horses into the first war.

History

Thought and Memory watch Sigrid.

Odin heard of Sigrid's quest to hunt Thor in revenge. Out of worry for his son's life, he sent his ravens, Thought and Memory, to watch over Sigrid's progress and make sure she didn't approach her goal and take Odin's son from him. The ravens witnessed Sigrid's acquisition of Antler and her iron cladding, growing his worries.

The Bolverkrs ride after Sigrid.

As Odin's fear for his son grew, he sent his hunters out into the mortal realm to find and end Sigrid, while warning Thor to remain hidden away in Asgard. The Bolverkrs slaughtered the people living in the Vanaheim borderlands looking for Sigrid. They caught up with the group, but Ulfr was able to hold them back by pushing a boulder into their path. Still, they rode. Sigrid's group realized they'd have to fight if they couldn't escape into Vanaheim's borders.

The clattering rain.

Meanwhile, Thor refused to be caged by his father. While Odin had his methods of tracking down Sigrid, so, too, did Thor. Thor followed the clattering rain as it fell upon the Bolverkrs and arrived in his chariot to confront them. His lighting bore down on them, wiping them out as he left them behind for his true target, Sigrid.

Bolverkrs also guarded Odin's tower, so when Egill searched for the Seid-Kona, who was at the peak of the tower, he had to fight Bolverkrs on his own.

Norse origins

In Norse mythology, "Bǫlverkr" is one of many aliases of Odin the All-Father. It's a contraction of "böl" (misfortune) and "verk" (work), so it means "evil doer" or "malefactor." The name was attested in Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, Hávamál, Grímnismál, and Óðins nǫfn. Odin earned this moniker for killing nine of the jötun, Baugi's workers after an argument. He took up the name "Bǫlverkr" and did the work of the nine for a summer in exchange for a sip of the mead protected by Suttungr, Baugi's brother.