Ingrid

Ingrid was a sentient sword forged by the Vanir god Freyr, a weapon imbued with its own will that could fly and fight without a wielder's hand. It passed from Freyr to Odin, was lent for a time to Atreus, and at last returned to its maker amid the destruction of Asgard. Among the few weapons of the Norse realms able to act on their own, Ingrid was likened to Odin's spies and even to the hammer Mjolnir, which the blade could match in open combat.

A blade with a will of its own#

Freyr forged Ingrid in his youth and imbued it with its own motives and passion. For centuries he swore that he would set the sword down only in death, or upon meeting the love of his life. Odin learned of this oath during his study of the Vanir, and turned it against him: the All-Father took the shape of the most beautiful woman Freyr had ever seen and asked for Ingrid in return, claiming the weapon with what was remembered as embarrassing speed. Having taken the sword, Odin kept it secured in Asgard, binding it with a rope to a pillar in his study.

A signature trait of Ingrid, born of its sentience, was that it could not be stolen, a quality not even Mjolnir could claim. It had to be obtained as a willing gift from its previous possessor. Like both Mjolnir and the Leviathan Axe, Ingrid could levitate and move freely through the air, and could be launched and recalled by its bearer. In the hand of Atreus it required no direct wielding at all, unsheathing itself to fly and strike in his name before returning to its scabbard once the fighting ceased.

From Atreus to Ragnarok#

After Atreus fled to Asgard and met Odin, the All-Father gave him Ingrid as a gesture meant to win his trust, and the sword formed an immediate bond with the champion of the Jotnar. It served him while he labored alongside Odin to recover the scattered pieces of the Mask of Creation. When the Mask was at last restored, Sif came with the Valkyries Hrist and Mist to arrest Atreus over the death of Heimdall. As Thor turned his hammer on the young Jotunn, Ingrid flew from its scabbard to block the blow, allowing Atreus to escape.

The blade was not seen again until the war reached Asgard itself. As the army led by Kratos invaded, Freyr felt the presence of his sword and called out to it, and Ingrid appeared over the great wall of Asgard to return to its rightful owner. In Freyr's hand the weapon showed its fullest power: he used it to take flight, and spun it so swiftly that it became a shield able to deflect falling debris, its reach extending magically beyond the blade's own length. Ingrid remained with Freyr through the fighting up to Odin's defeat. When the transformed Surtr, now calling himself Ragnarok, plunged his fiery sword down to unmake the realm, Freyr used Ingrid and his own power to hold off the blow long enough for his sister and allies to flee. The sword was presumed destroyed along with him as Asgard was consumed.