VALKYRIE

The Valkyries were the fierce goddesses of fate in Norse Mythology and their name literally means “choosers of the slain.” Unlike their matronly portrayal in Wagner’s operas, they were lithely cloaked in black feathers and could metamorphosize into ravens or black swans. Their armor eerily reflected the light of the northern aurora, and their beauty was terrifying.

They served Odin, the war god, and decided who of the bravest would fall in battle, not as punishment, but as an eternal reward. These maidens of death swept down onto the battlefield, awoke the dead heroes with a kiss, and ushered them to happy Valhalla, the hall of Odin.

In Valhalla the resurrected warriors fought eternally, reliving their battles without lasting injury, each evening being fully restored to feast and drink. In Valhalla, the Valkyries were Odin’s handmaidens. They served the sacred boar that was always magically replenished and kept the heroes goblets filled with mead.

Odin’s magnificent palace in Asgard was walled in gold and roofed by shields supported by massive spears. The polished surfaces gleamed to create the radiant interior light. Coats of armor adorned the walls and each of the 540 cavernous doors allowed 800 men to enter abreast. Odin was amassing a brave army to fight the evil giants in the great final battle called Ragnarok that would completely destroy the evils of the world by fire to allow a new world of eternal peace to be formed.