Avalkyra Ashfire

**Spoilers Abound!**  This page contains SPOILERS! Have you finished all that's been released? If not, DON'T READ THIS, PLEASE.

## Avalkyra Ashfire

Official artwork by llstarcasterll (with the quote edited off)

## Relationships and Family

### Aliases

* Val (by Veronyka)
* The Feather-Crowned Queen
* The Crownless Queen
* Kyra (By Pheronia)

### Relatives

* Veronyka (Niece)
* Pheronia (Half-sister) †
* Kyara (Mother) †
* Lania of Stel (Stepmother) †
* King Aryk the Unlikely (Father) †

Notable Ashfire Ancestors:

* Nefyra the First Rider Queen †
* Calliope †
* Otiya the Queen of Bones †
* Aurelya the Golden Queen †
* Queen Liyana the Enduring †
* Queen Lyra the Defender †
* Elysia the Peacemaker †
* King Damian †
* Anya †
* Cara †
* Rylia †
* Darya †
* Queen Ellody the Prosperous †
* King Justyn the Pious †
* Queen Malka the Wise †
* King Worrid the Learned †
* King Hellund the Just †
* Queen Genya the General †
* Queen Bellonya the Brave †

### Romance(s)

None; at one point Adara Strongwing's son was courting her; no romatic attraction on either side

### First Rider Bloodline

Ashfire; all Ashfires are descended from Callysta Lightbringer

### Affiliation

* Herself
* Avalkyran Army
* Second Avalkyran Army

## Biographical information

### Date of death

First death: The twenty-first day of the Ninth Moon, 170 AE

### Cause of death

* First death; went up in flames with Nyx; injuries
* Second death: Taking an arrow meant for Veronyka

### Date of rebirth

The twenty-first day of the Ninth Moon, 170 AE

## Physical description

### Power(s)

* Animage (severely weakened upon disuse)
* Shadowmage

### Bondmate

* Nyx (bonded Phoenix)
* Onyx (bonded Strix)

### Skin colour

Brown

> "*Val was a warrior, and peace only suited her for so long. She didn't want to build a shelter from the storm, she wanted to break the very winds that would dare to shake her.*"
> ― Veronyka (thinking about Val), in *Crown Of Feathers*
>
>

**Val**, or **Avalkyra Ashfire** is one of the two Ashfire princesses, along with her niece Veronyka Ashfire. She was one of the unofficial 'Ashfire Queens', just like her half-sister Pheronia. She is 17 years old as of Heart of Flames, due to her rebirth. She is one of the major antagonists of the series, a warrior queen who will stop at nothing until she takes control of the empire. She is a shadowmage and animage, and was once a Phoenix Rider, with her bondmate *Nyx.*As of Heart of Flames, Val gives up phoenixes, and bonds to Onyx.

Val is cold and callous, but there was once a small part of her that cared. She is extremely stubborn, and won't give up once she decides on something. For the most part, it is a flaw, as she won't hesitate to hurt innocent people to get what she wants. She's even willing to harm the people she cares about, such as Veronyka. Despite being an animage, Val doesn't treat animals with respect, and instead views them as her servants. The same can even apply to humans, as there are very few people she's ever cared about, everyone else being pawns.

She is canonically aromantic and asexual, never wishing to get married or have an heir- she was going to let Pheronia be her successor, until they became enemies.

Post-Heart of Flames, she went mad in trying to kill Veronyka and reclaim the Golden Empire. She has a new bondmate, an unnamed Strix who is later named Onyx as of the epilogue of Heart of Flames. Her habits end up costing her a lot, even her life.

* The Books
* The Webtoon

## Appearance

Val has brown skin, dark eyes and red hair that's incredibly rare. Her hair is in braids, with several different objects twisted into them, like shells. She looks somewhat young, but her attitude would make her seem older. She's taller than Veronyka, and just like her, she starved a lot. This resulted in being scrawny and a bit gaunt. However she is still strong enough to wield a bow with ease, which would hint at her being at least fit. She also climbed up the mountain containing Aura's ruins without a phoenix, which still hints to this. She is not flat-chested, but not buxom, either. Post-HOF, her hair is singed, her eyebrows and eyelashes are gone, and her left eye is swollen shut. She was described as 'agony', and Veronyka psychically felt excruciating pain from Val.

## Abilities

### Animage

Not much is known about Val's parents, but it is assumed that she got her gift from King Aryk, as he was a phoenix rider. As an animage, Val should have a strong affinity for animals, but she just sees them as servants. She commands them to do what she wants, claiming that gaining trust is unreasonable, and that in times of need, they would never listen. Her animal magic became weak over the years due to neglect, and now she doesn't have the capability of hatching a phoenix. This is also due to her resurrection--it increases shadow magic's power and eats away animage power.

### Shadowmage

As shadowmages are born from death, that meant that Val's mother died giving birth. Val is currently the most powerful shadowmage, as she invented new concepts such as binds, an effective way to control someone. This is due to the fact that she lived for a while, and resurrected. She uses her power to control people to do what she wants, or to communicate with Veronyka. Her resurrection made her power much stronger, as well as her skill with the extra years.

## Biography

### **Pre-series (First Life)**

Not much is known about Val's childhood, but we're told that she was very talented. She was one of the youngest patrol leaders to ever be appointed, and she won archery competitions. She was definitely a skilled phoenix rider.

### The Blood War

Val had always wanted to be the queen. She never planned to marry, and even decided that her sister Pheronia would be her successor. However, the relationship between them gets strained, as King Aryk is killed. Val knows that her step-mother, Lania of Stel was the one who killed him. Ever since, every time Val would leave the palace, she would always bring Pheronia with her, so Lania couldn't try and do anything. Eventually, Val kills Lania, which is what breaks the relationship between her and Pheronia as her sister knew it was her. Val flees the trial, which only makes her look more guilty. From there, Pheronia vows to not let Val be queen, and Pheronia becomes "The Council's Queen", because she was technically too young to rule. Meanwhile, Val becomes "The Feather-Crowned Queen", because she was a phoenix rider.

When Val tries to make a peace offering, Pheronia rips the contract, because she was way too angry. Tension starts to escalate. Pheronia tries to make a peace offering later on, but Val refuses, because the initial offer was rejected. That was one of the last meetings between them, before the Last Battle. Val's army attacks Aura Nova, but they are eventually defeated. Val accidentally kills Pheronia with an arrow, and she learns that she was pregnant, and would give birth. Val grieves, and she dies too, but due to her strong magic, she resurrects herself. Her and the baby- Veronyka would then be taken by Ilithya so they could be raised.

### **Pre-series (Rebirth)**

Val still has all of her memories with her, which is difficult to sort through at first, so she would explore, and gather trinkets and other objects in order to help piece her life together. She kept her secret hidden, and went by the name Val instead of Avalkyra, or else she;d ben seen as weak and powerless. She would steal letters in order to find out what was happening currently, until she finally found Ilithya. Ilithya is shocked to know that she was alive, but doesn't rebel against her. Her spymaster, Ilithya goes out and attempts to recruit people by claiming that Avalkyra lives, but doesn't reveal her identity.
When Ilithya supposedly dies, Val doesn't care, and gets her and Veronyka away. They sneak their way into Pyra, and Val keeps them safe by using shadowmagic. Eventually, she finds a cabin, and kills the owner. They live there, and Val sets out to look for Phoenix eggs, while Veronyka would tend to the house. This dynamic continues on, until Val finally finds some eggs.

### **Crown of Feathers**

Val and Veronyka try to hatch the phoenix eggs, but only one of them hatches, and she bonds to Veronyka. She had a feeling that another phoenix wouldn't bond to her, but it annoyed her anyway. It makes them grow distant, especially when she thinks that Veronyka is too lenient on her. When she figures out that empire soldiers had arrived and Veronyka was careless, she takes matter into her own hands. She tells Veronyka to order Xephyra, or she would die. When Veronyka is unable to make the command, Val gets angry, and poisons the phoenix. She knows that they could start over, work together, but she doesn't expect Veronyka to leave her alone. She attempts to communicate with her using shadowmagic, but she gets blocked.
When Xephyra is reborn, Val uses the bond between bondmates to track down Veronyka. She doesn't really care if Veronyka gets cast out, if anything, she wants it to happen, just so Veronyka would come back to her. She tells her about how cruel the female phoenixes are being treated, or the fact that girls aren't allowed to be riders- things that affect Veronyka.

But when Veronyka refuses to go back and admits that she prefers the life of a stablehand than being a phoenix rider with her, Val offers her a gift. But she gets rejected. But Val doesn't leave, knowing that Veronyka would come to her. So she watches in the shadows, as Veronyka demonstrates just how much power she has as a shadowmage . When Veronyka's magic accidentally bonds with Tristan, Val is the one who helps her, and makes sure that she isn't exposed. Val then manipulates Tristan, making him ask her to not help with the fight, to make her feel unwanted. Unfortunately, their previous conversation about their maiora who had managed to survive yet die later makes everything tense. When Tristan goes to apologize, Veronyka notices that Val went in his mind, and she gets angry, as she learns more about how controlling she was. Knowing that it wouldn't end well, Val reveals that Veronyka is a girl to Tristan, so he could be upset with her. With him gone, she once again tries to convince Veronyka to join her, but it fails. She ends up leaving, and tells Veronyka that she hopes she chose the right side. She steals a phoenix egg and starts to make her way, but Veronyka finds her. She's relieved to know that Veronyka doesn't hate her- that she still has a chance. When Veronyka asks for the truth, she gives it, but not the part about Veronyka's identity. Then she makes her way to the Ruins of Aura, as she rethinks everything that has happened.

### **Heart of Flames**

When her phoenix egg doesn't hatch, Val wonders what her next plan is. But when a phoenix arrives, Val creates a plan to get Veronyka on her side. First, she'd tame a phoenix, and then reveal the truth. But when Val tries to get the lockbox from the cabin, she finds Veronyka already there, lockbox in hand. She fights for it, and likely would have won if it weren't for the fact that Tristan  then arrived, making the odds against her. She leaves, but not before telling Veronyka that she'll be ready if contact is needed. The contact comes soon, as Veronyka asks about her birth certificate. When Veronyka still doesn't come, she makes a new plan that involves making her doubt, and using her weaknesses. But she knows she can't do it alone, so she goes to Sidra  for help. With that, she starts trying to convince Veronyka to join her once more, and even uses her magic to render Tristan unconscious.
After that, she goes to see Lord Rolan, and makes a temporary alliance with him. If he supplied the troops, she'd give him Veronyka, and a way to the throne. She goes to draw out the riders, by attacking Rolan's people to frame the phoenix riders. With that, Cassian would retaliate, and war would happen. When Sidra asks about recruiting more allies such as Alexiya, Val reacts poorly, implying that something had caused a rift.
When Val learns of a battle nearby Vayle, she figures out that Veronyka was involved. Since she knows that the refugees would have to go somewhere, she heads to Rushlea, so she could lure Veronyka out.

Val knows that Doriyan lives there, and knew that Veronyka would look for him. His opinions of her have changed, so she threatens to kill his bondmate in order for him to obey her. He lures Veronyka and Tristan  into unknown territory. However, Val wasn't expecting Tristan, so she sends out a memory to buy time. Doriyan holds Tristan at knifepoint. Val then explains some of her plan, and offers Veronyka two choices. Come with her alone to save the animage captives, or stay and let them die. She knows Veronyka wouldn't just let someone die, and in the end, despite the long wait, Veronyka joins her, just as planned. They start flying, and Veronyka takes the lead for a moment, startling both, especially as Val listens. They come across Hillsbridge, a village that was recently attacked. They go to look for the animage captives. They reluctantly agree to attack the soldiers, instead of waiting for a good moment to rescue the animages.

The battle goes by well, and Val is proud that Veronyka is such a natural leader, able to fight so brilliantly. The battle ends quickly, and Val wants to execute some of the soldiers who would plead for mercy. Unfortunately, Veronyka begs for her to spare them, though she refuses, and kills them, a way to show Veronyka how war worked. They talk alone, and Veronyka  admits that she doesn't want to work with her, because she doesn't wish to cause more harm. But Val had accounted for that, as she orders Sidra to lure Xephyra to take her hostage. She realizes that Veronyka could be a rival, and she wouldn't let that happen. She kidnaps Veronyka and takes her prisoner. She goes through the full agreement with Lord Rolan- that Veronyka will wed him. Val's upset that Veronyka won't listen to her, so this is a punishment. They fight, before Sidra intervenes, and they reveal the marriage to Veronyka. But when Veronyka talks about the feelings that she'd buried deep down- the part of her that cared, Val gets angry and slaps her. Because they both know that she's right, that Val cared too much to leave her family in the ashes. But she hates seeming vulnerable, and instead belittles both Veronyka and Pheronia. And then she threatens to kill Xephyra.

Veronyka starts asking questions about shadowmagic , such as how binds worked, or if they were easily broken. But Val suspects it, but thinks that she's too powerful for such a thing to happen to her, so she tells her. She helps Veronyka  prepare for her marriage, but Veronyka once again brings up the feelings that she'd buried. This annoys her so much that she gets angry, and uses her words to hurt her. She then gets Pheronia's necklace from the lockbox, and burns everything else, partially to hide her identity, and partially to hurt Veronyka. Then the meeting happens, and Val just wants it over with, though Veronyka keeps stalling. Her patience is tested on multiple occasions, but she keeps herself calm. At least, until they find out that phoenix riders have arrived. On top of that, Sidra is gone, meaning that her identity becomes compromised. She tries to find a way to not reveal herself, but that fails. As her, Lord Rolan, and Commander Cassian argue, she also plans as escape plan. She calls for the phoenix, and once the attacks start, she uses Veronyka as a shield, as they all know that she's not to be harmed. The two of them manage to get away, and on to the phoenix.

However the phoenix ride doesn't go smoothly. The phoenix  is still rebellious, and attempts to buck them off, Veronyka nearly falling off. Val tries to save her, until her own life is at risk, so she drops Veronyka. It's a tough decision, despite what she tells Veronyka., as she even closes her eyes in what may have been cowardice. Val's still falling along with the phoenix, and they hit the ground. She's furious that nobody listens to her, and her emotions overtake her as she attempts to breach Veronyka's mind. But there's a newfound strength in her magic, one that manages to overpower her. So Val switches targets, yelling at the phoenix, commanding her to obey. Her emotions are wild, challenging a phoenix that threatens to ignite. When the explosion happens, Val nearly dies, her body completely scorched, but she manages to live. Sidra  rescues her, and they leave. They arrive at the Ruins of Aura, and Val is frenzied, her wounds hurting. She feels betrayed, so she forsakes Axura. She finds phoenix eggs, and she breaks as many as she could. Her emotions are sensed, along with her sacrifice, as shadows grow and a dark coloured bird comes from the darkness. It was a strix, and that strix was her bondmate. She smiles wickedly, knowing that she will bring ruin to everyone.

### Wings of Shadow

Val watches the battle from afar, making the strixes attack aggressively, not caring if they live or die. She taunts Veronyka, attacking Alexiya, and trying to engage her in battle. She enjoys the battle, invigorated by it. However, when she sees Veronyka's turning the strixes to phoenixes, she is reminded of Axura and feels rage at the fact that Veronyka is stealing her power. She charges on Ignix and Sparrow. Onyx is slower than Ignix, and Sparrow uses her animage power to send birds at the strix.

Val calls the few strixes left back to her, and searches for Ignix or Veronyka. Val says it should have been her; the powerful and popular queen. Veronyka says that Val might have once been but isn't anymore, just a shadow of herself. Val says that Veronyka was born in her shadow, lived in her shadow, and will die there. Veronyka says that at least she'll have lived in the light, and Val's expression turns haunting. She says that Val has tried to rewrite the past, which is impossible, but she can at least not need to relive it. Val then says that Veronyka knows nothing of life, death, shadow, or light. Val shoots an arrow at Veronyka, and Xephyra dives, and hits Onyx with heartfire, killing her, and gives Val everything they have.
Val reflects on her life, realizing she has felt love before, and demands Veronyka fight her, which Veronyka refuses. Sidra readies herself to kill Veronyka, and Val says that she doesn't need someone to do her dirty work, and she needs nothing of Sidra. Sidra says she's only ever served her willingly. Val says she only did because Val told her to, and she was too weak-willed to refuse. Sidra says that she only wants to fill the place that the disloyal Veronyka holds, and asks why she has that position at all to which Val says that Sidra is nothing and they are Ashfires. She releases the arrow and willingly Val takes it instead, to save Veronyka.

Val lays dying. Val asks Pheronia to let go, and asks if Pheronia will forgive her, and if Veronyka does. Veronyka nods. Val dies.

When Veronyka goes through the pyre, she reunites with Val, even if they don't speak, she can feel Val.

## Relationships:

### Pheronia (half-sister)

Val had always loved Pheronia, despite the fact that she wasn't an animage. But circumstances change, as Pheronia becomes the more well loved princess, and Val believes that a phoenix rider should continue to be queen. That doesn't stop her from loving her though, she even planned to make Pheronia her successor for the throne, and Pheronia's child the successor after that. When Pheronia's mother, Lania of Stel kills her father, Val tries to protect Pheronia. When she exacts revenge, Pheronia cuts ties with her, and their relationship starts going sour. Val offers a treaty that would involve Val being crowned and Pheronia's allies being killed, so Pheronia declines it, going as far as to rip the paper. This hurts Val, and from there they become enemies. But she still loves her, as when Pheronia came to a secret base to offer a new agreement, Val lets her get away safely. But tension escalates, and when Val attacks Aura Nova, it's her arrow that kills Pheronia. She feels guilty about it, but it still happens. When Val realizes that Pheronia was pregnant, she has her spymaster save the baby. After her rebirth, Val is a little more angry, not so much at Pheronia, but upset that she should have just killed her sister, instead of being blinded by love.

### Veronyka (niece)

A lot of Val's positive feelings for Veronyka were because of Pheronia. They looked similar, and had similar spirits. But Val also admires how compassionate she could be, even if a bit naive. She shelters Veronyka, and keeps her safe. She's ecstatic to know that her and Veronyka had a shadow bond, which would make things easier for them both. When Ilithya is captured, things get worse, but she protects Veronyka. They travel into Pyra, and Val's willing to kill others so they could be protected. There they live together, and take care of each other as she attempts to get phoenix eggs. When Veronyka hatches a phoenix and Val doesn't, she gets irritated, and goes as far as to kill Xephyra. But Val didn't realize how angry Veronyka would feel, and she watches her leave. Val wants her back, but Veronyka continuously refuses. So she tries to force her to have no other option, but even then, she manages to stay. Val is annoyed, but doesn't dislike her, as she tells her the truth about Val's identity. But they continue to fight, as Val keeps attempting to get Veronyka to come with her. But when Veronyka learns of her own identity and still won't come, Val makes an alliance with Lord Rolan- someone who she despised, just to get her back. Val has to make Veronyka choose between saving animages or staying, and Veronyka reluctantly joins. They initially work well together, but Veronyka refuses to let Val have her way. It starts to go sour again, as Val knows that she has to be strict on Veronyka so she won't leave. They fight a lot, and Val hates that Veronyka was right- that she still loves, despite how much she hates it. She begins to lose control of her emotions, and when forced to choose between risking her life to save Veronyka, or staying safe, she chooses to be selfish, and almost kills Veronyka. They both survive, but Val tries to invade Veronyka's mind, but is shut out. Veronyka's no longer as weak as she'd hoped, and she's going to be a big enemy. During Wings of Shadow, Val hatches a Strix and needs a benex to utilize her powers completely. That benex is Veronyka, however she is leader of her own flock. Since these things cannot be true at once, Val demands that Veronyka join her. This fails. The flocks fight, and she sacrifices herself for Veronyka in the end.

Val rarely viewed Veronyka as anything more than Pheronia reincarnated, which didn't help with their relationship.

### Nyx (phoenix bondmate)

Val liked Nyx as much as Val could like anyone who wasn't her family. Even then, Val liked her because she was a phoenix, and not her *bondmate.*They worked well together, but it is said that Nyx wasn't particularly the smartest. Val desperately wanted Nyx to have been reborn, so she could be more powerful. Her annoyance for her grew stronger because she believed that her bondmate abandoned her.

### Onyx (strix bondmate)

As of Heart of Flames, Val discovers a strix when she embraces the darkness and pure anger. They haven't known each other for long, and the strix doesn't even have a name, but Val is glad to finally have a bondmate that chose *her,* not someone else.

### Ilithya (spymaster)

Not that much is known about their relationship in the past, but it would have to have been decent if Val were to appoint her as a spymaster. They helped each other out. When Veronyka  is born, Ilithya is the one that keeps her safe, as Val had just been reborn. Val also trusts her enough to reveal her identity without having a plan or phoenix. Together, they scout the land for potential allies, and help keep Veronyka safe. However, Val doesn't necessarily like Ilithya, because she doesn't help to try and save her. She even suspects that she wasn't dead, but Val just left her to be a bondservant. She would constantly refer to her as 'old woman', a thing that she does when she refers to someone she doesn't like. When Val learns that Ilithya had died, she seems to have shown no reaction.

### Sidra (patrol member)

They met when they were young. Sidra challenged Val to a duel, because she wanted to prove herself. She lost, and got a scar. But Val didn't cast her out, but welcomed her in, sensing that Sidra would be loyal. While Sidra wasn't particularly special, Val knew that Sidra would be the one that wouldn't betray her. Sidra was also like a spy, and would often work with Ilithya, as she had a good memory. They worked well together. When Val goes to see her after being reborn, Sidra willingly pledges her alliance once more. She even offers her mind so Val could put a bind. Val didn't really like Sidra, but Sidra was incredibly useful, and wasn't ambitious enough to do anything else than serve. Val gives orders to Sidra, and the orders would go through effortlessly. When Val nearly dies to an igniting phoenix, it's Sidra who saves her.

Despite this, it is said Val didn't care for Sidra as a person, only as a means to an end. Val doesn't care for anyone but 'important' people, so she ends up belittling Sidra in favor of Veronyka, even when Veronyka had turned against Val. Sidra tries to kill Veronyka, jealous of her getting attention, but Val takes the blow instead. Val was extremely classist towards Sidra, and disregarded her because she was loyal, unthinking, and common-born.

### Doriyan (patrol member)

It's unsure as to how they met, but Doriyan joined the patrol so he could help out. He was pretty loyal, and often worked with Sidra. But Doriyan didn't really like murdering innocents, like how he never ended up killing Theryn. When Val goes to recruit him after her rebirth, he refuses to join her. Val threatens to kill his phoenix, just so he would help lure Veronyka. After his job is done, she leaves him alone.

### Alexiya (patrol member)

It's assumed that they met after Alexiya fought her way to the top. Val was likely impressed with her skill, and recruited her. Unlike with Sidra  and Doriyan, Alexiya's role in Val's patrol is unknown. It is said that Val didn't know Alexiya too well, and that most of her hatred for her is because she's related to someone else. Her family had hurt Val's, so she hates her.

### Olanna (childhood friend)

The two of them met when they were children, and Val admired how wild she could be. But when Cassian meets Olanna, he supposedly "softens" her, and Val hates that; it's unknown if it actually was her relationship with Cassian, or if it was just her maturing with age. They ended up growing distant.

### Cassian

Val never liked Cassian, and would try to play mind tricks on him. It never worked. When he courted Olanna, she grew to dislike him more, as Olanna wasn't as fiery to Val as she had once been. After the 'As I recall, Avalkyra would rather burn alive then make deals with foreign politicians' comment, she grew angry, that probably didn't help their relationship.

## Relating Quotes:

I never said Avalkyra Ashfire didn't die. Oh, she did--Spectacularly, but she came back. Resurrection. Surely you've heard the stories, phoenixes going down in flame only to rise again, more powerful and terrible than before. Well, animages are just as magical as phoenixes. Think about it. Why would she go through all this trouble to to give *you* a throne and an empire?

-Page 534-535, Veronyka to Rolan, about Val

"Oh, but she's not nameless. Val. A*val*kyra. You never met her, did you? You met Pheronia of course, but you never met her Phoenix Rider sister."

-Page 535, Veronyka to Rolan, about Val
(Any content canon to the webtoon goes here)

## Trivia

### Etymology

"Val" means "Slain" in Norse mythology, referencing her first death. "Avalkyra" is a name made up, but purposefully includes "Val" in it.

Val was the name of a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Valkyries were maidens who rode pegasi or wolves into battle to choose worthy souls for Odin to live in Valhalla and become enerjar.

### Miscellaneous

-Her Harry Potter house would be Slytherin, as confirmed by the author.