Haegl byth the hwitust corna
Or: How to die a heroic death

(Hægl) byþ hwitust corna;
hwyrft hit of heofones lyfte,
wealcaþ hit windes scura;
weorþeþ hit to wætere syððan.

(hail)is the whitest of grain;
it is whirled from the clouds of heaven;
and is tossed about by gusts of wind,
and then it melts into water.

Erilaz has come up with emblematic pictures and luck procuring inscriptions on three panels in order to procure wyrd, his client's destiny from birth to the peak of his earthly life. But this life is just one part of heroic existence.

If the warrior died a normal death in his bed of straw, he would pass into Hel's the realm of shade. Those who drowned belonged to Ran (O.N.), and those who died in battle rode to Woden's Valhalla, the celestial palace of the god of war, to join the army of deceased heroes. To reach this final goal the rune master had to refer to traditional sources, may be an old saga, some oral tradition now lost.