#Sleipnir loki for free#
#Sleipnir loki free#

The gods informed the mason that since he had not completed the task, he would not be paid. But without his horse, he could not complete the wall in time. He eventually returned to the wall, attempting to complete the task himself. The mason searched for his horse all night, but to no avail.

#Sleipnir loki free#

On seeing the beautiful mare, the stallion Svadilfari immediately reared up, broke free from the cart to which he was attached, and ran off after the mare. He took the form of a mare to draw the man’s horse away from the construction. But Loki’s cunning had never met an obstacle it could not overcome. Killing the mason or his horse, or worming out of the deal with words and loopholes would only make the gods appear dishonourable, so Loki was limited in what he could do. Furthermore, the Aesir had an image to maintain, so whatever solution Loki employed, it had to be one that maintained the farce that the gods were treating the deal fairly. If he did not find them a way out of the deal, the gods threatened, Loki would be tortured and killed under the brunt of their rage. The plan had originally been Loki’s, even if the other gods had agreed to it, so Loki was the one blamed for the situation. The gods were unwilling to part with Freya, the sun, and the moon, so they demanded that Loki find a solution for them to avoid payment. With the help of Svadilfari, the man was completing the walls at an alarming rate, and it was clear he would indeed be finished within the three year limit. The gods were initially confident that they would gain a wall for free, but in the months during which the wall was being built, it soon became apparent that they had been wrong to make such a deal. When presented with the terms of this agreement, the man agreed, on the condition that he be allowed the use of his horse, Svadilfari.

#Sleipnir loki for free#

Even if the walls were not completely rebuilt, to have even a small portion rebuilt for free was ideal. If the man did not finish the wall in those three years, as was surely impossible anyway, he would have failed to keep his end of the bargain, so the gods would not be required to pay. They would limit the man to only three years, and the man would not be allowed any help. Handing one of the hostages off to an unnamed stranger was not likely to promote good relations with the Vanir.īut Loki, skilled in avoiding payment (especially to the dwarves who had built Mjolnir), introduced a shrewd plan to the Aesir. Furthermore, Freya was one of the Vanir hostages, living with the Aesir as per the terms of the recent war’s treaty. On asking, they found the man's price was Freya’s hand in marriage, the sun, and the moon. Such a claim would not be easy to accomplish, and the gods feared such a task would not be easy to afford either. He boasted that his walls would be the strongest in all the world’s tree. It was at this time that a man arrived, seated atop a fine white stallion, who volunteered to rebuild the shattered walls. With the defences as they were, Asgard was vulnerable to attack by any of its enemies, most notably the Jotunn. By the time the war between the Aesir and Vanir had ended, Asgard’s walls had sustained significant damage.