"Lo, they do call to me.They bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever."
The history of the Valkyrie is almost as old as time, but first, one must look back to the very beginning when The Goddess Freyja became an honorary member of the Aesir Gods after the grand Aesir-Vanir war. Freyja became part of the Aesir Gods at first, as a hostage to keep the peace whilst the Aesir Gods sent two of their own over to the Vanir. During her time in Aesir, Freyja was famous for her fondness of love, fertility and beauty; in fact, for some time she was even considered quite the party girl within her new dynasty. There were at times, quite a few rumours that Freyja had slept with all of the Gods and many human beings to the point of bearing children with them, but she was so much more than the rumours; she was a professional when it came to seidr - a type of norse magic; if not the most organised form.

Throughout this time, it was no surprise that Odin became infatuated with Freyja who consequently resembled Frigg who was, at the time, Odin's wife. It was believed that in his travels around the Nine Worlds, he would be accompanied by Frejya; the two were close and began to make vital decisions together without the consort of the other Gods. There was one particular issue which needed to be addressed rather quickly; with their beloved humans - The Vikings. It was no lie that this group of people enjoyed the fight, they loved the battle and often craved the death of a warrior so that they could enter the grand walls of Valhalla. They wished to sit and drink with the Gods; however, this was not always possible. The souls continued to flow and ultimately the deaths caused an overwhelming number of souls between Helheim and Valhalla. So much so, The Gods were stumbed with what they could possibly do to control the situation.

Thus, Odin ordered a meeting between himself, his lover, Freyja and Hel - The Goddess of the Underworld. The three met and discussed all possibilities to help the constant flow of souls; the discussions went on for days until Freyja proposed that some of the souls could come and sit with her in Sessrumnir. However, if that was possible, she would of course, need help to differentiate souls and where they belonged. Odin, impressed with the idea, gave his blessing; Hel was also in agreement that an additional realm would benefit them all. Thus, the idea flourished, and the species of Valkyrie became known - Freyja soon tasked herself with choosing 14 women who were killed in battle; it was a challenging task but she eventually found the right souls fit for purpose. The women that were chosen were almost seen as Freyja’s daughters, the relationship between Freyja and her Valkyrie was precious and they worked in harmony and in sync with each other as well as the other Celestial beings. When the Valkyrie were not collecting souls, they were often found either on Earth, mingling with the human race, or they found themselves in the hall of Valhalla serving the slain meade; as well as providing other heathenly comforts in preparation of Ragnarok.

Everything seemed to have been working well, the souls were being directed to the correct realm and things were running smoothly; until one day which changed the course of history - not just for the Gods and Celestials but for the human race. For a reason unbeknownst to many, Freyja and Odin had a rather intense falling out - many have their speculations regarding what this argument inetailed, however. As a result of this argument Odin forcefully removed Freyja’s wings, cursed and banished her to Earth; leaving the Valkyrie in the dark of what truly happened. However, Odin knew that the Valkyrie women would not stop until they received answers regarding their Goddess, Mother and leader, thus; he too, placed a curse upon them. Odin cursed the original Valkyrie of ever knowing Freyja was their Mother, he also decided to clear his name of any doing. He cursed them to believe it was The Gypsy that stole her wings, which ultimately caused a rift between the two kinds.

With the curse in place, things seemingly returned to normal; and souls were collected as per usual. Because of the strained relationship between Odin and The Valkyrie, the original women spent more and more time on Earth; consequently leading them to fall in love with human men. The women were able to reproduce, however, it was not a given that their child would be granted that of immortality of a Valkyrie - nor any of their other characteristics. This way of living continued for many centuries, until Odin could no longer face the constant reminder of Freyja looming over him; and thus, he managed to capture the original Valkyrie and removed their souls from their physical body. The souls which were taken were then destroyed - it was risky for him to do, but after watching how Valkyrie’s were still being chosen through heritage, he believed he needed to make the species his own once and for all; and what would be a better way to do that than start afresh.

This of course, backfired as the new generation of Valkyrie were informed of the God’s tales by the humans, and they soon learned of Freyja and her association with the Valkyrie. After confronting Odin of the past, he kept his response vague but eventually confirmed that Frejya was, indeed, the Valkyrie Mother. Odin knew he needed the women to help with the flow of souls, and thus announced that Freyja was dead; therefore, the relationship between Odin and The Valkyrie remained intact albeit rocky at times. The lie of The Gypsies taking Freyja’s wings remains common knowledge and is a lie that Odin sleeps with each night. The new generation of Valkyrie were satisfied with the information given by Odin, that they continued to do what they were chosen to do. The souls and The Realms needed them - and vice versa.

TRANSPORT TO REALMS
A Valkyrie is able to transport to the realm of Valhalla, ruled by Odin as well as Sessrumnir; the hall of Freyja which resides in Folkvang, a beautiful meadow. Finally, they can also enter Hel, The Underworld. To transport there, they turn into bright light particles which eventually disappear in the Earth realm until the Valkyrie reappears.

PRESIDES OVER DEATH
The Valkyrie not only chooses those who go into Valhalla or the other realms, but they are also able to choose who else dies in battle. The destination of the soul, unknown.

CONFUSION
Valkyrie have the ability to cause confusion and doubt into the mind of a human; although this does take years to master.

FLIGHT
They wings and have the ability to fly at great speeds.

CLAIRSENTIENCE
The Valkyrie has the ability to absorb the pain of a warrior who is dying on the battlefield.

ABSORPTION OF A SOUL
If a Valkyrie absorbs the human soul, without transporting it to one of the realms, they take on the soul’s memories and can become physically stronger. However, this can be dangerous as it can upset the Gods who can strip them of their immortality and wings.

IMMORTALITY
A Valkyrie cannot die of old age or disease and can live many lifetimes.

FIGHTERS
A Valkyrie has been trained to fight from the moment that they are able to walk, unlike some women, they have no choice in the matter.

HEALING
A Valkyrie is able to heal quickly from minor wounds.

MEANS OF DEATH
Despite being immortal, decapitation and a blade to the heart can kill a Valkyrie.

SLOWER
A Valkyrie is a lot slower than many other Supernatural creatures.

REMOVAL OF WINGS
The Wings of a Valkyrie can be ripped off, the process is painful and can endanger the life of the Valkyrie. However, they may grow their wings back if they survive the ordeal, but first they would need to prove themselves worthy to both Freyja and Odin. This could be completing a selfless task, for example. However, the removal of one’s wings is extremely rare as many respect them.

VULNERABILITY
Valkyrie are susceptible to other species' abilities, including- a mystic's magic, a gypsy's illusion and dreamwalking, a banshee's scream, a fae's magic, a sanguine's hypnosis, a lupine's empathy, a drake's fear gaze and breath, and an eternal's affinity.

APPEARANCE
There are not many differences between a Valkyrie and that of a human; the first way to distinguish one is by the colour of their eyes. The Valkyrie have an intense ice blue tinge to their natural eye colour. These women will also bear two large and thick scars upon their shoulders blades where their wings will arise once they have matured. Upon maturation, the Valkyrie will also be branded with a tattoo, The Mark Of Freyja. The Valkyrie may choose where on the body she wishes to wear this mark.

NORMALCY AMONG HUMANS
They live like ordinary humans, often within human communities and more often than not, share similar lifestyles.

WINGS
A Valkyrie's wings do not appear until the woman has matured, this often happens around her sixteenth birthday.

BLINDING LIGHT
When a Valkyrie transports a soul to Valhalla or to any other realm, they will glow a bright white light before vanishing with the human’s soul; if a human looks into this bright light, it can blind them/burn their eyes.

COUNCIL INFO
name. Astrid Winther
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