This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | The sword once wielded by the Watchdog of the Aesir, Heimdall. It has separated many heads from their bodies. | ” |
–Official description | ||
Hofuð, also known as Hofund, is the magic sword of the watchman of the Aesir Heimdall. While it is not the source of Heimdall's power, as a result of being imbued with Bifröst energy, the blade allows its wielders to utilize the ability to realm shift in the same way that Heimdall can.
Norse Mythology[]
Hofund or Hǫfuð (Old Norse "man-head," Norwegian hoved, Danish hoved, Swedish huvud and Icelandic höfuð, is the magical sword of the god Heimdallr. Not much is known about the weapon but it is speculated that Heimdallr can draw energy from the sword. Heimdall, the Eternal Watcher, utilizes his powerful sword Hofund to protect Asgard.
In the God of War Series[]
Backstory[]
At some point, Hofuð was forged by the Asgardian master-smiths for the Aesir God Heimdall to aid in his task of protecting Asgard. However, as a result of his gift of foresight, which allowed him to see a person's intentions and predict their attacks, Heimdall never had any need to wield Hofuð in battle, to the point that he scarcely remembers the last time he used the blade for serious combat.
God of War Ragnarök[]
Hofuð is first seen in Heimdall's possession when he catches Atreus climbing the Wall of Asgard. When Heimdall proceeded to bully and attempt to kill Atreus due to his intentions towards Odin, Heimdall used the blade to block Atreus' arrows. Much later, after Heimdall engaged Kratos in Vanaheim and Gulltoppr was slain, Heimdall would sometimes smash Hofuð into Kratos's stomach, bringing him to his knees before kicking him away, all the while taunting him. However, after Kratos landed the first blow against Heimdall and the Aesir started taking the fight seriously, he tried to wield Hofuð against the Spartan, and despite his over-reliance on his foresight over the centuries, Heimdall was somewhat skilled with the blade, as he was able to parry some of Kratos' attacks and disable the Ghost of Sparta by quickly bashing him with the handle of his sword.
Eventually, Heimdall lost the battle, but after losing his right arm and mistaking Kratos' mercy for pity, Heimdall suffered a mental breakdown and created a spectral version of his arm out of Bifröst energy. Discarding Hofuð and even most of his foresight abilities, Heimdall attempted to kill Kratos with sheer brute force. Despite the power the Bifröst gave him, Heimdall lost again and was subsequently killed by Kratos, who proceeded to take Gjallarhorn and Hofuð from his corpse. Despite Heimdall being dead, the blade was still imbued with Bifröst energy, which allowed Kratos to utilize Heimdall's ability to realm shift from then on out.
Trivia[]
- Strangely, Hofuð appears to be much bigger in Kratos' hands.
- Kratos' brutal murder of Heimdall and subsequent looting of Hofuð harkens back to his behavior killing gods in Greece, wherein Kratos would often loot the signature weapon of the gods he has defeated.
- Interestingly, in the New Game Plus, if Kratos try to uses Hofuð on Heimdall, the Realm Shift won't work on him.
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