In the Prose Edda, Baldur, one of the most beloved gods and Odin's son, is described as having a harrowing dream of his death. He takes his dream to the Æsir who decide they should “request immunity for Baldur from all kinds of danger.” Frigg (Baldur’s mother who has been collapsed into another Norse goddess, Freya, for God of War) then sets about gathering these promises from all manner of things, with the exception of the mistletoe which she deems too young to be of danger. The gods then revel in Baldur's newfound resilience, performing all manner of violence to his body that Baldur merrily shrugs off. Until Loki discovers Frigg has failed to request protection from mistletoe and tricks the blind god Hodur into firing a fatal mistletoe arrow at Baldur.

Frigg in her sorrow offers all her love and favor to any Æsir willing to brave Hel and return Baldur to life. An agreement to allow Baldur and his wife (who died in grief over her husband's death) to return to life, fails due to an often-assumed meddling by Loki.