Valkyrur

The Valkyrur were a race of warriors in the Valkyria Chronicles universe who came from somewhere north of Europa. Even though the Valkyrur as a race have long since disappeared, they are still worshipped by some religions, the largest of which is the Yggdist sect.
Modern descendants of the Valkyrur who retain their ancient powers are referred to as Valkyria.
== Overview ==
Though believed to be an oceanic tribe that crossed into Europa via the North Sea (and seemingly arrived by transiting the Crystal Sea to arrive in what is now Imperial territory), much of their historical origin remains unproven by archeological fact. According to legend, they made peace between the Darcsens who were fighting each other with ragnite weaponry and destroying Europa. However, the truth is they were the invaders who with their advanced ragnite weaponry, subdue the Darcsen natives and conquered Europa.
By the end of the 2nd Century after the conquest, the Valkyrur disappeared almost entirely from Europa and it is largely believed that their genetic pool was gradually diluted by interbreeding with natives.
Oddly, all known modern examples of individuals who have manifested natural Valkyria powers are female. It is not particularly clear if only their women manifested their powers, there were also men with Valkyrur powers in ancient times but the aforementioned genetic changes have made this impossible, or the ancient Valkyrur were entirely female and had some novel way of reproducing with one another while retaining the ability to reproduce with non-Valkyrur.
== Culture ==
While not much is known about Valkyrur culture, it is known that the spiral featured heavily into their culture. The only known intact temple that was left by them is built in the shape of a "Dreadnautilus", a type of Europan sea creature. The ruins of another temple on an island in the Crystal Sea showed no such design elements, though the temple was in such a decrepit state that it cannot be said for sure that it never had such features.
Ruins which appear to be of Valkyrur origin are also found buried in the snowy peaks of the Achtzehn Mountains, including mysterious door-like structures in the mountainsides.
The native spoken language of the Valkyrur is known as Old Northern, while the native written language is known simply as Old Northern Script.
== Abilities ==
The most well-known ability that the Valkyrur possessed was their ability to channel and unleash the energy present within highly refined ragnite that allowed them to perform superhuman feats. Besides this, they were also capable of extremely rapid healing and remarkable durability.
The Valkyrur were also able to refine Ragnite to levels of purity even greater than what can be accomplished with current Europan technology. This appears to have not been via any industrial process, rather being a natural biological function of the Valkyrur themselves. This ability is still present in modern Valkyria, and was used by the United States of Vinland in their research into high-energy Ragnite compression engines, ultimately leading to the development of the Ragnite Implosion Turbine and Valkyria Bomb.
== The Lance and Shield ==
Unearthed from excavation sites across the continent, these weapons are thought to have been wielded by the Valkyrur. The shields are round while the lances take the shape of a spiral shell, made from ragnite more pure than even current refining technology can produce. While some variation exists among the weapons' shapes, all of them follow a design known as the Valkyrur Spiral as a core motif.
Because contact with a Valkyria triggers a physical alteration to the weapons' shape, they are believed to serve as amplifiers for the race's preternatural abilities.