Áshildr, the Storm's Firstborn

> *"Face me if you dare, for I am the World-Walker, the Inescapable One. Your skull and blood already*
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>

>  *belong to the Lady of Rage."*
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**Áshildr, the Storm's Firstborn**, also known as the **Eternal Challenger, the World-Walker,** **the Inescapable One** and **the Twin Princess of Coronach** appears to be a heavily armoured member of the Valkyrja, who wanders Nadir in search of worthy opponents to do battle with. She travels the four corners of the world in the service of Tórdis Vígulfr in her aspect of the Lady of Rage. It was not known whether she was actually a Valkyr, or merely appeared to be one. She later revealed herself as the firstborn of Tórdis Vígulfr to the dragon known as the Anarchy Queen. All that is known is that she wishes to claim the skulls of the greatest warriors and beasts of the world for her goddess.

## History

Áshildr was born in what is now known as the Age of Ancients, a time of primordial titans and great beasts, before mortal life graced the surface of Nadir. Born fully formed, clad in armour and armed with a great blade, she set out to face the greatest warriors of Nadir.

Her path took her north, past the Titan of Power and Ambition, a servant of Mortan Husk, and through the badlands, encountering the Speakers that led the primitive human tribes that inhabited the region. Her journey north brought her into contact with another Titan, one that proclaimed itself as one of truth and falsehood. The great mirror it guarded showed her a glimpse of the future, one consumed by war and death. The titan warned Áshildr of her possible demise, to which she replied that an honourable end was nothing to be feared, and with that, she departed following a duel with the great creature.

She was among the first outsiders to encounter the First Five of Attilan. The Atlanteans, confident in their power, accepted Áshildr's challenge and all four Atlanteans engaged her, leaving the Fae'en scholar Alder Tame to chronicle the duel. What followed was a shock to the First Five, for Áshildr was the first being to ever cause the death of an Atlantean, stabbing Serin Cullen through the neck with her dagger, before tearing Sinn Gert in two with a powerful upwards blow from her broken blade.

During her duel with the First Five of Attilan, her greatsword was broken into shards by Teresta Farer, an act which gained him the epithet "Blade-Breaker". Soon after, her still-healing wounds were infected by a Plagued One whilst dispatching a horde that had wandered north of Desolan. Her blade was later reforged with star-iron by her cousin, Lady Malys, and the blade is hot to the touch, and the heft of the blade is noticeably far greater than before.

After leaving Coronach, Áshildr encountered the Dragon King, and his "daughter" Ash. Upon being informed that he was seeking powerful beings, she challenged him to a battle. After a close fought duel within a canyon filled with bloodcrystals, Áshildr demanded that she be taken before the Dragon King's spouse, the Anarchy Queen, who had sent her husband on this quest.

Upon being brought before the Anarchy Queen, she was informed of why the dragon was seeking powerful beings. The Anarchy Queen was seeking warriors of great power in order to conquer the whole of Nadir, and eventually overthrow the Dragon God Veveliar, allowing the Anarchy Queen to ascend to godhood. The scale of the dragon's ambition and hubris reduced Áshildr to gales of laughter. Áshildr issued the Anarchy Queen an ultimatum: if she wished the aid of the Storm's Firstborn, then the dragon would need to defeat her in combat.

The following duel split the heavens, as lightning bolts and chaos magic clashed in the skies above the Inner Sea. When the storm clouds cleared and the sounds of thunder died down, the Anarchy Queen was thoroughly and utterly defeated, and Áshildr demanded that the dragon yield at sword point. Enraged and humiliated, the Anarchy Queen threw Áshildr through a portal connecting Niflheim with Second Sun in the Desolan badlands. Upon emerging from the portal, the Storm's Firstborn was confronted by the Tyrant of the Sun, a demon born from the blood of dead Arnor. Roused to fury by her taunting reminder of the slaughter of his race at her mother's hand, the titanic demon started to tear apart the floating tower she stood upon.

To the inhabitants of Second Sun, what followed was a scene many would have thought impossible. The Tyrant of the Sun was brought down to the surface of Nadir, his body broken and bleeding, his legs carved from his bloated mass. Her wounds already healed, Áshildr emerged from the crater their impact had created with one of the Tyrant's horns in her hand.

In an act of rage, Veveliar banished the Firstborn to Zenith when she went into the Great Gate in order to carry out the task assigned by her uncle, Albion. Stranded there, she now searches for a way to return home, her thoughts consumed with revenge against the dragons.

## Powers

She possesses the Gift of Tongues, allowing her to issue an irrefusable challenge to any creature in their own language. Not merely allowing her to speak any language, but her words can strike a creature's very soul and compel them to battle.

In order so that a challenge may be fair and equal, Áshildr's power fluctuates depending upon which opponent she faces. Whether her opponent is a human, an army, or a great titan, she will possess the necessary power in order for her to have the chance to defeat her opponent.

As is her right as the Storm's Firstborn, she has inherited the lightning. First demonstrated in her victory over the Anarchy Queen, she has control over lightning surpassed only by her mother and her youngest sister Artwyria, and is capable of tearing apart the scaled hides of the greatest dragons with her mighty bolts.

## Duels Fought

* The Titan of Ambition and Power (2 Losses)
* Speaker Shaman (Win)
* The Titan of Truth and Lies (Loss)
* The First Five of Attilan (First 5 Atlanteans, 2 died) (Win)
* Silas and Trasyn (Win)
* The Royal Guard of Coronach (Win)
* The Thief of Hours (Loss)
* The Dragon King (Win)
* The Anarchy Queen (Win)
* The Tyrant of the Sun (Win)
* Silas Transfigured (Win)
* The Nameless Knight (Win)
* Draco, the Signan King (Win)
* Draco Reforged (Loss)

## Notable Kills

* Speaker Shaman
* Serin Cullen
* Sinn Gert
* Plague Shaman
* Plagued One horde
* Draco, the Signan King

## Trivia

* Áshildr may be a similar type of being as Lady Malys. Certainly, the two seem to claim some form of familial connection, seeing as they refer to each other as "cousin".
	+ This claimed relationship led to Áshildr being declared a "Princess of Coronach", possibly granting her authority second only to Lady Malys among those lands.
	+ Her revelations regarding her status as the firstborn of Tórdis Vígulfr only strengthens the blood connection between her and Lady Malys.
* She appears to heal via some form of innate time reversal, as during the fight with the Thief of Hours to test the Sword of the Twin Princesses showed that the rapid aging invoked by the creature was being undone either as rapidly or more so than it was being inflicted upon her. How this interacts with the sickness she contracted from the Plagued Ones has yet to be seen.
* Áshildr has quite likely drawn the ire of both the demons and the dragons, probably as a result of her callous taunting of how the demons were slaughtered by her mother, and her crushing defeat of the Anarchy Queen in her seat of power. What will come of this has yet to be seen.
* Áshildr's legs were crippled by a vengeful Ash, letting Áshildr to make a deal with her "uncle" Albion, who repaired her legs with living metal, in return for a task of extermination within the realm of dreams.