Freya

What is the Valkyrie?

“What is the Valkyrie?” As smoke began to rise from the hallowed halls of Sessrumnir, this question – which had haunted Freya's thoughts for so long – surfaced once more in her troubled heart.

"...The Valkyrie is a legacy." When Freya was just a child, her sister Skuld, newly chosen to become the next Valkyrie, took her small hand in his, and together they grasped the ancient sword and shield. Little Freya could not yet understand the fierce light that burned in her sister's eyes, but she felt, for the first time, the deep weight of the sword and shield pressed against her palms.

Fate, however, is a cruel and fickle thing. Years later, Skuld perished during a perilous mission, and with his death came the disappearance of the Heart of Aurora, that sacred relic preserved in Sessrumnir for countless centuries, the very embodiment of the strength and heritage of Northern Vale. The people mourned Skuld's sacrifice, but whispers began to creep through the blizzards like poison: some dared to call Skuld a failure, an incompetent Valkyrie who had betrayed the North Valley itself. Freya spoke no words in her sister's defense. Instead, she simply tightened her grip on her sword and shield, as if shaking her sister's hand again.

She stepped out into the howling, endless blizzard, her heart determined to recover the lost Aurora Heart. She would never allow her sister's hands - hands worn from protecting others - to be stained with the mark of betrayal, nor would she allow the sacred title of "Valkyrie" to disappear into the vast and merciless blizzard.

Sword in hand, Freya marched across the endless expanses of Northern Vale, gathering the myriad answers to a single, haunting question: "What is the Valkyrie?"

Ordinary people whispered that the Valkyrie was salvation incarnate. She had raised her blade amid the bloody feuds of the Garland tribe, saving Hilda and her parents from certain doom.

Battle-scarred warriors proclaimed the Valkyrie to be glory manifested. Hadn't she braved the dangerous Frozen Sea, forging an alliance with Franco to protect innocent fishermen from Bane's incessant attacks?

Yet countless others in the North Valley have declared that the Valkyrie is faith itself, for within the hallowed halls of Sessrumnir burns a forge powered by the sacred Heart of Aurora.

Here, for the first time, Freya discovered the true genesis of the Valkyries' legacy: eons ago, when the world was young, the Frost Giants erected a mighty forge deep in the snowy wilderness to challenge the two gods themselves, blessing the North Valley with eternal spring. But the wrath of the gods was swift and merciless: the glaciers descended like divine judgment, shattering the forge and leaving the northern lands shattered and bloodied. It was only when Sigrun, the first Valkyrie - a half-giant of legendary prowess - wielded a fragment of the Twilight Orb called the Aurora Heart to reignite the dying embers of the forge, that Northern Vale caught its breath. Sigrun entrusted this sacred power to the bravest of warriors, charging them with guarding both the homeland and the Aurora Heart. Future generations would know them by one revered name: Valkyries.

Through the howling wind and swirling snow, Freya stared at Sessrumnir in the distance. It remained cold and silent, like the heart of Northern Vale, frozen and still.

...

Although her relentless pursuit had yet to reveal the whereabouts of the Aurora Heart, Freya was getting closer and closer to the terrible truth behind her sister's sacrifice.

The glaciers, born of the divine will of the God of Light, had attracted countless followers who transformed them into fortresses, extending the dominion of their divinity across the realm, even inadvertently fostering the birth of the divine maiden Aurora. After the end of the Endless War, these followers of light disappeared like ghosts, only to resurface years later with nefarious intent. They set cunning traps that cost Skuld his life, and in the chaos that followed, the Aurora Heart disappeared into legend. Yet the dark ambitions of the cultists remained undiminished: they sought to drain the very essence of the forge and destroy it completely, eliminating all obstacles to the inevitable return of the God of Light.

Thick, choking smoke was escaping from the sacred halls of Sessrumnir!

When Freya reached the battlefield, Sessrumnir was in total ruin. The followers of the light greedily siphoned the power of the forge with reckless abandon. The warriors of the North Valley fought desperately against overwhelming odds, while the aurora-colored flames in the forge flickered weaker and weaker. Deep tremors shook the very foundations of the country: everything teetered on the brink of collapse...

Spotting Freya's arrival as reinforcement, the followers of light prepared to flee like cowards. Every fiber of Freya screamed to pursue them, to seek revenge on her fallen sister, but the power of the forge was draining, requiring its presence to safeguard the very survival of Northern Vale.

How to choose between revenge and duty? Freya's gaze fell on those dying flames of dawn—

Blacksmithing required food; only a new energy could reignite his sacred fire.

— With determination burning in her heart and defiance coursing through her veins, Freya rushed toward the dying light of the forge.

"...What is the Valkyrie?"

In the swirling dance of dawn and flame, the ethereal form of her sister Skuld materialized once more, her spectral hand tenderly clutching Freya's.

“You have already given your answer.”

Freya finally understood the radiant light that had always burned in her sister's eyes.

...

For a thousand years, when the two gods cast their glacial curse to freeze the North Valley in an eternal winter, the people kept the forge burning and built the mighty walls of Sessrumnir around it. Generation after generation of Valkyries had fought in these hallowed halls, bled and died here. They faced death without fear, knowing that the roaring flames of the forge would transform their essence into weapons of unimaginable power, to pass on to the next Valkyrie.

Now Freya too has accepted this eternal duty and thrown herself into the flames.

Her sacrifice earned her the recognition of the collective will of all the Valkyries who had come before her, whose spirits still resided in the forge, but in truth, she had long since earned the blessing of Northern Vale. Not through the Aurora Heart, but as Sigrun, the very first Valkyrie: with the aurora as her guide and the tundra as her witness, Freya carved her glory from wind and ice and transformed her body into an invincible weapon.

Freya's sword and shield, held tightly in her grip, were reforged like a halberd amidst the roaring flames, while golden wings spread majestically behind her. After passing the final test, she returned to Sessrumnir as the glorious Valkyrie. With her sword raised high, she pursued the fleeing followers of light: it was her revenge, her duty and her answer.

“I am a daughter of Northern Vale and I will defend this land to the death!”