Gulltoppr

Gulltoppr was the personal mount of Heimdall, the watchman of Asgard, and a great horned beast of the Gradungr kind native to that realm. The god of foresight claimed to have tamed it fairly and held it as the only creature in the Nine Realms toward which he bore any genuine affection. The beast accompanied its master through his conflicts, and ultimately fell in battle against Kratos.

The mount of the watchman#

Gulltoppr was tamed at some point by Heimdall to serve as his personal steed, a feat the god boasted of having accomplished fairly. When Atreus remarked that taming the beast was almost as impressive as Baldur taming the dragon Dagsetr, Heimdall snapped that Baldur had succeeded only because his invulnerability spared him from the dragon's fire, while he himself had earned Gulltoppr's loyalty in earnest. For all his cruelty toward others, the watchman held a genuine fondness for the beast, the one creature in the Nine Realms toward which he showed any warmth.

Though a Gradungr of Asgard, Gulltoppr did not command the fire or ice that others of its kind wielded. Its strength lay in raw power, speed and aggression, enough to briefly pin the Ghost of Sparta against a wall. Heimdall could imbue the beast with the power of the Bifrost and loose that energy outward in shattering shockwaves from its back.

Betrayal in Asgard and death#

When Atreus was first admitted into Asgard by Heimdall, the watchman brought him to the stables and the two rode Gulltoppr together through the streets of the city, all the while trading barbs that deepened their rivalry. Upon reaching the Great Lodge, Heimdall dismounted and slapped the beast's flank, sending it into a frenzy that threw Atreus from its back. He then set Gulltoppr and a band of Einherjar upon the young archer, with the beast moving to block any attempt at escape.

Later, when a party set out to rescue Freyr from the Einherjar in Vanaheim, Heimdall rode Gulltoppr to ambush Kratos and Freya after they gave away their position. Once Freya departed, the watchman and his mount fell upon the Ghost of Sparta. Gulltoppr drove Kratos back with brute strength and agility while Heimdall hurled blasts of Bifrost from its back, but as the beast began to lose, it managed to pin Kratos against a wall. There he caught sight of a spike protruding from the stone. He pushed the creature back, and when it charged again he seized it by the horns, impaled its body upon the spike, and ran the Blades of Chaos through its neck. Heimdall showed no sorrow at the loss of his prized mount, kicking the corpse aside as it crumbled to ash before turning to face Kratos alone.