Order of the Valkyries

Valkyrie Battle Sisters aided by Queen Kalendra Gale, cleansing a Darkbane Gorebrood.

## General Info

### Age

Immortal, likely to live thousands of years.

## Status

### Status

Active

> *"Despair, and thou shalt drown in shadow. Believe, truly believe in thy faith eternal, and thou shalt bathe in light no matter how dark the path thou must tread." - Valkyrie childhood Hymn; Despecia Anivaria et Decorum Volume IV.*
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> *"In darkness, I shall be light. In times of doubt, I shall keep faith. In throes of rage, I shall hone my craft. In vengeance, I shall have no mercy. In the midst of battle, I shall have no fear. In the face of death, I shall have no remorse." ~ Valkyrie Battle Hymn; Integumento Noctem.*
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A shadow of their former glory, the modern Order of Valkyries worships three surviving Patrons and conduct operations ranging from their homeland in Aetheria to the decrepit landscapes of Hellas and beyond. The Fortress Monastery in the Corvian Valley acts as their home as their Capital City is abandoned, a grueling struggle to retake the city is underway, but so far has been unsuccessful.

## History

The Valkyries are a sisterhood which dates back to the Second Founding of the multiverse. Regarded as some of the most elite race of warriors in known existence, they serve as the enforcers of the Anthem of Creation, loyal to the Human Pantheon. Servants to a handful of surviving Deities, they maintain order and peace where it is needed most, carrying out operations in foreign lands such as Hellas. While the Valkyries are not gods themselves, they are incredibly gifted and are an impressive race of metahumans, their abilities far exceeding that of most supers.

## Innate Abilities and Features

**Resistances to Intense Temperatures:** Valkyries possess a surprising amount of resistance to high temperatures, the physiology of being demon hunters imbues them with being able to withstand a limited number of natural weapons that their mortal enemies, demons and namely Darkbane would employ in combat.

**Enhanced Physiology:** Valkyries are infamous for their superhuman strength, speed, stamina and durability. Built to be the ultimate race of warriors by the Deities, they are capable of incredible superhuman strength, with even low-class Valkyrie warriors able to crush bones with their strikes and lift massive weapons a human would be incapable of using, and their natural speed far outdoes that of any Olympic-level athlete. Most notably, however, is their uncanny ability to resist copious amounts of harm - it is said there is nothing harder in the cosmos to put down than a raging Valkyrie warrior, and their natural durability makes them a near-unstoppable force.

**Detect Alignment:** Valkyries possess the remarkable skill to be able to sense a beings ethical alignment. A notable example of this is the Valkyrie's ability to simply feel when a malignant force is present, their hatred for the creatures being implanted directly into their genealogy by the Gods themselves. Valkyries use this skill to root out evil wherever it may lie, unable to hide from their divine sense even under the most difficult of conditions. Though there are some exceptions, typically when in regards to higher beings.

**Enhanced Perception:** Can perceive things through sight and hearing that would be typically strenuous for the average human to match. Subtle facial movements or the shortness of breath are common examples.

**Divine Favor:** Certain Valkyries have earned the goodwill of a patron god/goddess, or even multiple deities and are blessed with traits or abilities based around their patrons. Champions of Aetheria are able to call upon their patrons for assistance in varying forms. Be it with blessed strength, direct intervention, or a champion to aid them in their time of need. This right is reserved for only the most esteemed of Valkyries, as they are living legends.

## Patron Aspects

The Order of the Valkyries is sworn to serve the Aspects of the Anthem and take on traits of their specific patrons. If you possess knowledge of the Valkyrie Sects and their patrons, it is rather easy to tell which Valkyrie belongs to which sect based on their physical traits, Wargear, and Blessed Abilities. During the *War in Heaven*, many Aspects were killed and their power lost to the cosmos, however, three Aspects survived the great collapse and went on to rebuild the Order of the Valkyries.

* **Merid, Heart of Gilded Flame****:** *Merid* is the Deity of Untamed Warfare, a renowned warrior spirit and beast hunter who is one of the few surviving Aspects of the *War in Heaven*. A physical embodiment of the warrior spirit, *Merid* takes up arms against forces of the Shadow Unseen and all malignant beings. He is the Warrior Patron of the Valkyries, bestowing upon his follower's blessings of fire and fury to cleanse their foes from their mortal bodies.
* **Fen'Harel, The Firstborne****:** Fen'Harel is the Deity of Change, Secrets, and Chaos, she is a secretive being who has a hand in all cosmic affairs. Her worshipers are known as the Ravenguard, and act as agents of change in her name. Her followers are blessed with the gift of shadows, making them excellent infiltrators and assassins in her name.
* **Azula, Sprite of the Sacred Forest:** *Azula* is the Deity of Nature, Growth and Life, who survived the *War in Heaven* along with *Fen'Harel* and *Merid*. Embodying life in all forms, *Azula* teaches her followers to value all living things, advocating healing and clerical practices rather than warfare. She is the Druid Patron of the Valkyries, passing down sacred nature-based magic techniques to her acolytes.

## Valkyrie Sects

The Valkyrie Sects are directly tied to the Patron aspect that a Valkyrie chooses to worship.

* **Seekers of the Valorous Heart:** Followers of Merid and his teachings, utilize flame and light-based abilities and wargear. They are the frontline warriors and hearty vanguards of Valkarian society.
* **Banshees of the Ravenguard:** Devotees of Fen'harel and her divine intuition, utilize celestial and shadow based abilities and wargear. Stealthy assassins and tactful rangers.
* **Dryads of Gaia:** Acolytes of Azula and her grounded lessons, utilize nature-based abilities and wargear. Versatile druids and clerical healers.

## Wargear

*The armory of the Order is remarkable, master-crafted articles of warfare spanning numerous generations of Forgelords. You will find no greater arsenal than in that of the Tempest Vaults of Valkari. Earthly martial weapons do not compare to the strength and craftsmanship of such masterworks.*

#### Melee Weapons

*Standard Issue blades.*

* **Truesteel Blade:** Standard issue sword utilized by all sects of the Order. No outstanding properties or enchantments outside of extremely durable and well balanced.
* **Solari:** A longsword utilized by the Seekers of the Valorous Heart, its blade glistens and gleams like a mirror as it constantly reflects rays of sunlight off of its surface. In combat, the glowing golden blade of the weapon has no other known comparison for tensile strength, easily shattering earthly steel. Against evil creatures, namely its enchantment against Negative Energy Plane (*Voidic*), undead and demonic creatures, the sword deals substantial levels of fire damage, capable of instantly disintegrating and "cleansing" such a creature upon contact. Typically, against traditional soft fleshy or armored targets it simply inflicts burning damage.
* **Solcrune:** A heavy bladed counterpart to the *Solari*, a large blade wielded with two hands due to its rather cumbersome size and weight. Excellent greatsword, wielded by mighty berserkers of the Order.
* **Githblade:** A dagger carved from the bones of archaic Stratawhales, gargantuan beasts who roam the skies of Aetheria. Excellent for concealment and is well balanced for being an effective throwing weapon.
* **Aksuda:** Kukri style shortswords, typically dual-wielded weapons utilized by the assassins of the Order.

#### Ranged Weapons

* Gloomvine Recurve

#### Heavy Weapons

* Cleanser - flames of white and deth. comes in under barrel form, standard "rifle" form, and hevy big flame form
	+ Underbarrel/Combi Variant - A standard Purifier Rifle with a scaled down Cleanser attached to its underside, effective in close combat scenarios.
	+ Standard Variant -
	+ Heavy Variant -
* Crucifier - single intense beam of light that is able to reach tens of thousands of degrees centigrade rapidly. firing the weapon is accompanied by a distinctive hissing sound as the Crucifier beam boils away the water in the air, then a roaring blast as the beam reduces the target to charred scraps or molten slag. Crucifiers are the premier anti-armour weapons, and few if any vehicles can withstand their power.
	+ Underbarrel/Combi Variant - A standard Purifier Rifle with a scaled down Crucifier attached to its underside, used as an anti-armor weapon.
* Solstice Cannon - concentrate beam of holy light that fuckin MELTS SHIT. FLESH AND BLOOD NO MORE. ***RIP AND TEAR BITCH. with two barrels, twice the size, weight, and ammo! massive, nearly as large as the valkyrie weilding it. basically multiple Crucifiers packed into one machine.***

## Transportation

*Whilst all Valkyries possess wings, they can only use them for a limited period of time. Because of this limitation, the Valkyries have employed methods for taming mythical creatures for the purpose of utilizing them as mounts. Below shall be listed a few examples of mounts one might find a Valkyrie warrior using.*

### Standard Mounts

*Common up to Rare mounts an individual might find a Valkyrie warrior riding.*

* **Pegasus:** A mythical breed of horse, the Pegasus is the most powerful and agile of steeds. They are so rare, in fact, that some consider them to be myths. The Valkyries, however, utilize these loyal creatures as mounts for their cavalry. They are said to be of a cloudy, white color with a brilliant golden mane, and emit blue wisps of energy when galloping across the Valkyrie mountainsides.
	+ **Ivory Plateau:** Female pegasus, a standard mount for Valkyrie scouting parties, these horses of angelic descent are slightly larger than the modern-day Shire horses of Earth. Dexterous and agile creatures, their coats are typically lighter in hue and are eternally loyal companions to the end.
	+ **Ebony Valley:** A highly aggressive breed of angelic warhorse, extremely stubborn and remarkably strong males. They are somewhat larger than their Ivory counterparts, sacrificing speed and agility for physical strength and power. One must earn the respect of an Ebony Valley stallion before they may tame them, and to do so a Valkyrie risks death at the hands of such a powerful creature. Patience is required, and very few valkyries have managed to tame such a gorgeous creature.

### Known Mounts

*Mounts who are named or have been cemented into history by their riders.*

* **Nash** - The chosen mount of ***Zira Gale***, an Ivory Plateau steed.
* **(Unnamed)** - The chosen mount of ***Serenity Ishalla***, and one of the very few tamed Ebony Valley's.