Mythical Creatures [EDITING]

Valkyrie

What is a Valkyrie?

A Valkyrie is a mortal woman who has had magnificent powers bestowed on her by . These women are responsible for watching over battlefields and collecting the best of the best warriors to make up Odin's army, which he will unleash during Ragnarok.

CharacteristicsPhysical Description

The Valkyries' nobility is reflected in their appearance. They have lily-white skin and statuesque figures. Their hair can be gold as the sunlight or black as the night. During times of peace, these women wear elegant costumes made from swan or raven feathers, but when war draws near, they don their armor: gracefully carved helmets and shields and chain mail corsets. They might continue wearing a feather cape, or, according to some stories, they might sprout wings of their own to help them soar above the battlefields.

Personality

Today, Valkyries are regarded as wise and righteous leaders—but during Norse times, these ladies were a bit more complicated. True, they were highly intelligent, and they loved valor. These traits made them great at choosing heroes to fight alongside Odin in Ragnarok.

Yet, the Valkyries had human weaknesses as well. They were not above showing favoritism on the battlefield, protecting mortals whom they loved or lashing out against mortals who they disliked. Their romances could lead to fits of jealousy or revenge. And some of them, who simply enjoyed the carnage of the battlefield, provoked fights among mortals when they got bored.

Special Abilities

It's difficult to know exactly how powerful the Valkyries were. Most of them were mortal humans, daughters of royals or great warriors. However, they worked closely with Odin, ruler of the gods, and they clearly had some magical powers.

First and foremost, the Valkyries influenced the fate of warriors and battles (with Odin's approval, of course). Some stories describe them working at magical looms—with intestines for threads, heads for weights, and swords and arrows for beaters—where they wove the destiny of each fighter into a tapestry that would determine the outcome of the whole battle. Other stories describe them riding horses through the clouds above an active battle. During the battle, they might swoop down to protect a warrior who shouldn't die. Or they might come down to collect the body of a fallen warrior and carry it off to Valhalla, Odin's hall, to prepare for the apocalyptic battle of Ragnarok.

Although numerous stories hint that the Valkyries have superhuman strength, they are not allowed to fight alongside human in a battle. They can only use magical powers to influence the battle. The Valkyries may have superhuman foresight as well; they often appear above battlefields days before the fighting begins, and they sometimes deliver prophecies to other mortals.

Finally, the Valkyrie are well-known for serving and brewing mead. Not only is their mead delicious, it has magical properties that can make men stronger, improve their memory, or heal their wounds.

Famous ValkyriesBrynhildr

Not only was Brynhildr beautiful and clever, she was the daughter of a legendary Norse king. Not surprisingly, Odin decided to make Brynhildr one of his Valkyries when she came-of-age.

Brynhildr made a splendid Valkyrie until Odin asked her to decide the fate of a battle between two kings. The young lady knew that Odin preferred the older king, yet she decided to let the younger king win, reasoning that the older king would soon die anyway. Unfortunately, Odin didn't accept Brynhildr's reasoning. He was outraged by her decision and decided to imprison her on a mountaintop, where she would be forced to sleep in a circle of fire until a man found and married her.

For hundreds of years, the Brynhildr laid asleep in her fiery temple. At last, the hero Siguror arrived. He was captivated by the beautiful woman, with firelight dancing across her pale skin, but when he approached her, she continued to sleep. Gently, he touched her hair, then her face, and she slept on. Looking closer, the hero saw that her mail corset was so tight it seemed almost to have melded with her skin. He loosened the laces, and Brynhildr drew a deep breath that woke her from her sleep.