Hel

Helheim (German: Helheim, literally "Hel's Realm") is a term in Norse mythology, one of the nine worlds, the world of the dead.

The name translates from Old Norse as "Hel's Land." Helheim is sometimes abbreviated after its ruler.

Characteristics:
a cold, dark, and foggy place;
all the dead go here, except for heroes accepted into the einherjar;
no being, not even the gods, can return from Helheim.
Geography
Helheim is located in Niflheim, a world of ice and fog. However, the world of Hel is an independent toponym; it forms part of the World Tree along with Niflheim, Asgard, Midgard, and other worlds.
Helheim is separated from the rest of Niflheim by a stone wall (or, according to another version, a mountain range). This is the source of this world's second name, Helgard.
Helheim is surrounded by the River Gjöll. A thin bridge spans Gjöll, guarded by the hellhound Garm and the giantess warrior Modgud.
Helheim is located at the very bottom of the world tree Yggdrasil, underground, in constant cold and fog.
Rulers
Hel is the goddess who rules Helheim. Hel is the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda.
The Eddic texts say that those who "did not fall in glorious battle" and were not chosen by Odin to Valhalla or Freya to Fólkvangr went to Hel. People who died of old age, illness, or accidents went to Hel.
Rituals
Before the dead are laid in their graves, they are given "Hel's shoes"—sturdy footwear—or the body is burned along with the wagon and horse to speed the spirit to the gates of Helheim.
Some warriors pierced themselves with a spear before dying to trick Hel and enter Valhalla.
Ragnarok
On Ragnarok, Hel's army sets sail from Helheim on the ship Naglfar to battle the Aesir.

Hermod is the only one who has been to Helheim and returned. Hermod went to Helheim to retrieve his brother Baldr, who was killed by the blind god of fate, Hod, with an arrow made of mistletoe.

in the world of Norse mythology, there are nine known worlds connected by the world tree Yggdrasil. Each world is unique in its population, landscape, and atmosphere.

Asgard

• Population: Aesir—gods of war and power, including Odin, Thor, and Freya.
• Terrain: A fortified heavenly city with the palaces of the gods.
• General description: The center of the gods' power, a place for great warriors after death (Valhalla).
  Vanaheim
• Population: Vanir—gods of fertility, rain, and vegetation.
• Terrain: Green, fertile fields, rivers, and forests.
• General description: A world of peace and abundance, a place of harmony with nature and magic.

Alfheim

• Population: Light Elves—spirits of nature and light, the Elves
• Terrain: Magical forests filled with light and beauty.
• General Description: A remote, mystical world filled with magic and beauty.

Svartalfheim

• Population: Dwarves (gnomes)—masters of blacksmithing and metal casters.
• Terrain: Deep dungeons, caves, mines.
• General Description: A dark and mysterious world, a center of crafts and magic.
  Midgard
• Population: Humans
• Terrain: A land with mountains, forests, rivers, and oceans, divided into different countries and tribes.
• General Description: The middle world between gods and monsters, inhabited by ordinary people.
  Jotunheim
• Population: Jotuns – giants and ice creatures.
• Terrain: Mountains, icy wastelands, impenetrable forests.
• General Description: Land of the gods' enemies, chaos and danger, a place of battles and trials.

Muspelheim

• Population: Fire giants, fire demons, led by Surt.
• Terrain: A realm of fire, lava, and blazing wastelands.
• General Description: A place of destruction and fire, the opposite of Niflheim.
  Niflheim
• Population: Cold spirits, dead souls in some legends. Frost giants (Jötuns).
• Terrain: Icy desert, impenetrable fog, and cold.
• General description: A world of cold, symbolizing the end of life, a place of eternal winter.
  Helheim
• Population: Souls of the dead

Ragnarok signifies the destruction of the gods and the entire world, following the final battle between the gods and chthonic monsters. Ragnarok describes not just a single battle, but a vast cycle, including prophecy, preparation, catastrophe, and the subsequent renewal of the cosmos. Some plot points:
The death of the god Baldr—the first death among the gods (previously, the gods (Aesir and Vanir) were considered immortal)—was a precursor.

The final battle is a series of duels in which the forces of good and evil mutually destroy each other. For example:
The warrior god Thor engages in mortal combat with the serpent Jormungandr, and although he manages to slay the beast with his hammer Mjölnir, he himself perishes, poisoned by the beast's venom.

Allfather Odin engages in battle against the monstrous wolf Fenrir, but after a desperate struggle, he is swallowed by it. His son, Vidar, takes revenge for his father by stepping on the wolf's lower jaw with a special shoe and grabbing its upper jaw, tearing its jaws apart.

After the catastrophe, a rebirth occurs: a new, green, and fertile world rises from the waters, and in it, two humans—Liv and Livthrasir—survive, sheltering in the Hoddmimir grove.

Ragnarök takes place on the island of Öskopnir, on the plain of Vigrid. The end of the world is marked by Fimbulwinter (eternal winter). The ship Nagalfar will sail along the frozen river. A ship created in Helhelm from the nails of the dead, it sinks in water but glides easily on ice. The ship is inhabited by Hel, the dead of Helhelm, and the giants Jotun, who have come for the final battle to destroy the gods.

Folkvang and Valhalla are places a person can go after death. Valhalla is a heavenly palace in Asgard where warriors who fall in battle go after death. There they constantly feast and fight. At Ragnarok, the warriors will fight on the side of the gods against chthonic creatures. Odin rules. Folkvang is a meadow or field in Norse mythology where the other half of the warriors goes. There they are in constant peace. The goddess Freya rules over everything there. Helhelm is where Hel itself is located. A foggy and cold place where the souls of those who died of old age, disease, and accidents go. Nifelhem is a land of icy wastelands where light never shines. The souls of the deceased are reborn as frost giants, or Muspels.

Hel is quite tall. One half of her body is covered in blue spots, and the skin below the waist is deathly pale. Her hair is white and disheveled. She wears dark armor adorned with bones. A small black crown is visible on her head. Her eyes are a dull green. From the side, she resembles a corpse.

Hel cares for those who live in her realm, providing shelter and food.
Dwellers in the world of the dead have the opportunity to enjoy themselves.
Those who come to Hel's realm will always be greeted with warmth.
Helheim is not a place of torment - it is more oblivion than hell.