Hofuð

Hofuð, also known as Hofund, was the magic sword of Heimdall, watchman of the Aesir. Forged by the Asgardian master-smiths to aid him in guarding Asgard, it was imbued with Bifröst energy, granting its wielder the power to realm shift as Heimdall could. Though it was never the source of the watchman's strength, Kratos claimed it after killing Heimdall, and carried its power with him thereafter.

Forging and purpose#

At some point Hofuð was forged by the Asgardian master-smiths for the Aesir god Heimdall, to aid him in his task of guarding Asgard. The blade was imbued with the energy of the Bifröst, and as a result it allowed its wielder to realm shift in the same manner that Heimdall could. It was never the source of his power, however. Heimdall's gift of foresight let him see a person's intentions and predict their attacks, so he had little need to draw a sword at all, and over the long years he scarcely used Hofuð, coming to forget the last time he had wielded it for serious combat.

The battle with Kratos#

Hofuð was first seen in Heimdall's hand when the watchman caught Atreus climbing the Wall of Asgard. Sensing the boy's intentions toward Odin, Heimdall moved to kill him and used the blade to block his arrows. The sword saw its true test later, when Heimdall confronted Kratos in Vanaheim. Early in that fight Heimdall toyed with the Spartan, smashing Hofuð into his stomach to bring him to his knees before kicking him away.

Once Kratos landed his first real blow and Heimdall began to take the duel seriously, he turned to Hofuð in earnest, likely for the first time in a very long age. Despite his centuries of over-reliance on foresight, he wielded the blade with real skill, parrying some of Kratos' attacks, disabling him with quick bashes from the handle, and imbuing the sword with Bifröst magic before slashing at him. In the end it was not enough.

The claiming of the blade#

Heimdall lost the battle, and after Kratos severed his right arm and spared him, the watchman mistook that mercy for pity and suffered a breakdown. He cast Hofuð aside, conjured a spectral arm of Bifröst energy, and abandoned even most of his foresight in a final attempt to kill Kratos with sheer force. He failed and was slain. Kratos then took both Gjallarhorn and Hofuð from the corpse. Though Heimdall was dead, the blade remained charged with Bifröst energy, and from that point on it allowed Kratos to realm shift, granting the Spartan the power the watchman had so seldom used.