After causing Balder's death, Loki went into hiding, knowing that the Aesir had found out he had guided Hod's hand, and that he refused to weep for Balder. Loki, being as restless as he was, soon felt neglected as though the Aesir had forgotten about him. He decided to make his appearance once again before the Aesir.

It was the Festival of Harvest when he returned, and when Loki entered the hall, the hall grew silent as everyone looked at Loki. Bragi denied Loki a place at the table, but Odin intervened because he had once given the oath of brotherhood with Loki. However, while he sat at the table, Loki gave insults to everyone at the table, calling Bragi a coward for he had never fought in war before, calling Frigg faithless for she were a lover of Odin's brothers, calling Freyja a hag for she had married the dwarves for a day to obtain the Brising necklace and finally reminding Sif he had once cut off her golden hair.

At this, Thor grew angry and threatened to kill Loki there, but Odin restrained him, while Loki left the hall quietly. Once he was gone, the Aesir held council there and then on what should be done about Loki.

Loki by now knew the Aesir would be after him, and he fled to a hill with a good view of the surrounding lands, and a waterfall where he could hide in the form of a salmon. Loki knew that Aesir would not know how to make a net good enough to catch him, for only his friend, Ran, had such a net, and that Ran would never lend her net to the Aesir. However in his pride, he set to making a similar net, deeming it possible for him.

However, while he was making the net, he saw Thor coming up the mountain. Cursing, he threw the half made net into a fire and turned himself into a salmon and hid behind the waterfall. When the Aesir arrived, they knew Loki was nearby because Odin had seen him from his high chair. On seeing the net, Thor guessed what had happened and set out to making a net themselves, following the design of the half made net. When it was complete, they set about to drawing the river. When Loki saw he was trapped, he tried darting away from the net but touched it and the Aesir knew he was there.

The second time they used a weighted net so it would draw the whole volume of the river. Loki this time was trapped with the option of going to the sea, or jumping over the net, where Thor was waiting for him. Loki knew the sea was dangerous to salmon and that the Lord of the Sea would have many monsters waiting for him. He took the chance and leapt over the net but alas, he was caught by Thor, who squeezed his tail so hard that salmon today have flat tails.

The Aesir dragged him into a cave far below the world of men. They turned Loki's son, Vali, into a wolf, and made Vali kill his brother, Narfi. They used the guts of Narfi to bind Loki to three large slabs of rock. They also put a venomous serpent above Loki, dripping poison on him leaving him writhing in pain. Loki's faithful wife, Sigyn, held a bowl to catch the drops of venom, but whenever she left to empty the bowl the poison would drop onto Loki which would send tremors across the nine worlds.

There Loki would lie, until the day of Ragnarok.

Next: Ragnarok >>