Skoll and Hati

Skoll and Hati were two giant celestial wolves, the sons of the archwolf Hrodvitnir, legendary for chasing the sun and the moon across the sky. Captured as pups by Odin and later cast into the heavens, they were bound to a prophecy: the day they caught and devoured their prey would mark the beginning of Ragnarok.

Captured by Odin#

Skoll and Hati were born as giant wolves, sons of the archwolf Hrodvitnir, also known as Garm, one of the Aesir's most dangerous enemies. While they were still pups, Odin captured them and kept them in the kennels of Asgard in order to hold their fearsome father at bay.

When the sun and the moon grew mutinous and stood still, Odin put the wolves to use. With ancient magic he cast them into the heavens, where they began their chase. The pursuit would not last forever: it was foretold that the day Skoll and Hati caught and devoured their prey would be the day Ragnarok began. Because Odin controlled the wolves, he believed he also controlled the timing of Ragnarok, intending to fight that final battle on a schedule of his own choosing. As Mimir explained, a battle fought on Odin's timetable was a battle he better stood to win.

Flight to Vanaheim#

When Kratos killed Baldur, he instigated Fimbulwinter hundreds of years before Ragnarok was said to begin. The Celestial Wolves were later freed by two giants and escaped to Vanaheim to avoid Odin. After Freya's curse was broken, Kratos and Freya observed Hati chasing the moon there, bringing on the daylight, to Freya's surprise that they had reached Vanaheim at all.

When Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus returned to Vanaheim to aid Freya, Hildisvini told them the wolves had not been seen for days and that the moon had vanished. The trio found Skoll and Hati asleep together in their den, for without a moon to chase Hati had nothing to pursue, and Skoll had apparently ceased his own chase in kind.

Restoring the chase#

After reclaiming the captured moon, the trio returned to the den, where Atreus cracked the moon's prison and woke the wolves. Hati growled and howled, and the moon returned to the sky, causing a total eclipse just as the shrine's tale foretold. Atreus then shot an arrow at the eclipse, and Skoll took to the sky to resume his pursuit of the sun, which fled as Hati howled to signal nightfall. Before returning to sleep, Hati gave Kratos a tool for the celestial shrines that could change the time of day at will.

The war and the bond with Kratos#

Skoll and Hati were seen again during the war of Ragnarok, mauling two ogres, with Hati hurling his victim away. Though it was never stated outright, it is presumed Freya recruited them for the war when she went to Vanaheim. Kratos grew fond of the wolves. On the way to rescue Freyr, when he and Freya had to use one of the celestial altars to continue, Kratos used it again, and when Freya asked why, he sheepishly admitted that he simply wanted to see them once more.

Appearance#

Skoll and Hati were massive wolves, large enough to maul and toss aside ogres, though much smaller than Fenrir reborn in Garm's body. Skoll had a gray coat with a faint stripe of black fur between his eyes and nose, while Hati was his opposite, black-furred with a gray stripe. Their eyes reflected their roles in the cycle of day and night: Skoll's glowed orange like the sun, and Hati's glowed blue like the moon.