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Jem had been beyond excited to be going out with Dan. To be fair it was her first time actually being officially asked out on a date, ever. All the guys she’d ‘gone out with’ up until this point had been guys she’d only talked to on the phone. Or maybe hung out with at school or during youth events. She’d never actually been out anywhere with them. Come to think of it, in the time she’d been working in the cafe the only dates she’d gone on had been double dates with Jewel and whoever her flavour of the month was. There were never repeat requests on those dates, and there was something about someone only agreeing to go out with you as a favour to a friend that made you feel awful. It was like Jem had been cast as the loser friend in some terrible coming of age movie, only the director had failed to notice Jem was about ten years too old for the role.
Dan, however, had seemed very keen. Though it shouldn’t have mattered, having a guy look straight past your bubbly best friend, who happened to be one of the most physically beautiful people you’d ever known, and straight at you as though you were the piece missing from his puzzle. That couldn’t help but make you feel kind of beautiful.
From the moment he’d asked Jem out everything had just seemed better, and the only one who hadn’t been impressed with her newfound enthusiasm was Marty. He’d still insisted that Dan could just be some crazy serial killer or something. Jem had decided to ignore Marty. Boy had she been wrong to ignore him. She’d actually been considering that maybe Marty needed a date of his own on her walk home. Of course, if she were in Marty’s position and her friends were trying to set her up it would be terrible. She couldn’t have thought of anything worse. She hadn’t enjoyed a single one of the dates Jewel had dragged her along on. Sometimes she enjoyed the meal. She enjoyed it when there was decent conversation. But most of the time the conversation seemed to centre around parties, girls, alcohol, and dirty jokes. It was like the guys hadn’t aged past their late teens. Either that or they really were only interested in sex, alcohol, and money. Jem had hoped Dan had a few other interests, and that he was intelligent. As far as she was concerned there were few things worse than a guy who had no interest in anyone but himself and his needs or was as thick as a post. It was funny, as a teen she had always prayed for a guy who was a little bit athletic, someone who would challenge her to put down the book and go and do something outside. To help her to stop living in her head, and start doing the things she’d only imagined. She wasn’t sure when she’d given up on that dream, on that prayer, and had decided she’d just be happy with a guy who was interested in her. Somehow Dan brought those long-buried dreams back to the surface, and Jem realised she still wanted a guy who would not only love her but would challenge her to grow as a person. A guy who she would happily spend the rest of her life with. Who she could be a help-meet to. A guy she could trust would honour her in that role. She’d been so excited that the day before their date she’d already picked out her outfit. Then she’d decided the outfit wasn’t right, and had gone out and brought a new one. Then she’d wondered if her first choice had been better. In the end, she’d decided she needed to try on both dresses before the date then get Jewel to have a look and give her some advice. She’d been so nervous. So excited. She’d never felt this way. Which had made Jem wonder when the other shoe was going to drop. Everything felt so right, so good, right up until it wasn’t. Even at the time, Jem had been trying to push aside the feeling that something would have to go wrong just to balance out how happy she was feeling. She shouldn’t have had that kind of attitude, she knew that. But she couldn’t seem to switch off the feeling of foreboding that was walking hand in hand with her excitement. Turns out that her foreboding feeling wasn’t far off.
The entrance of Jem’s apartment was something like a small, thin library combined with a sunroom. It had large sun catching windows, and bookshelves built into the walls. It even had her favourite comfy blue chair sitting in it. That way when she read one of her favourite books for the hundredth time she always had a nice spot in the sun where she could read.
After work, Jem had walked inside her home the same way she always did. Just like every other day her front door was locked and her books were all where she’d left them. Everything was exactly as it should be, until she’d walked into the room just past the entrance where her kitchen, dining, and lounge were. There, leaning against her kitchen bench, browsing through her most recent read was a frighteningly tall man with shoulder-length blonde hair, a coarse blonde beard and piercing hazel eyes. Despite his imposing height Jem managed to get halfway across the room before noticing him. When she finally did see him she’d gasped in shock, then very nearly tripped over her coffee table.
“Greetings. I am Ali.” He said calmly, as though being in a random stranger’s kitchen was normal.
Jem had prepared herself to scream. Prepared herself to run. She’d been preparing to do something, anything, when he disappeared from his spot by the kitchen bench and appeared at her side. He placed a supporting hand at her elbow to help her keep her balance.
“Careful.” He said.
“Who are you!” Jem had exclaimed pulling out of his gentle grasp.
Her eyes darted between where he was standing at her side, and the bench where he had been standing.
“How did you do that!?” She’d screeched.
He frowned at her. “Humans.” He said, shaking his head in exasperation. “I am Ali, son of Odin all father. I am of the Aesir.”
The word Aesir triggered a memory in Jem. “You’re talking about Norse Mythology.” She said dumbfounded, taking careful steps away from the crazy man and towards the exit.
“Norse, yes. Mythology, not quite.” He said.
“You’re trying to tell me you think you’re a god? Look I’m sorry sir, but you need help. That and to get out of my apartment. I’ll call someone for you if you need me too. But you need to get out of my home.”
Looking back Jem could safely say that she’d sounded a lot more confident than she really was. Especially given that he’d just travelled across her room without moving. She’d wondered if maybe she was having a breakdown, or had blacked out or something. She still wondered if something like that was going on now.
“Not a god. An Aesir.” He said simply.
“Look, why are you here?” Jem asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
“I’m here because we need you in Asgard. There’s a war going on, and we need all the warriors we can get.” He said.
“But I’m not any kind of warrior. I’m a cafe worker and a barista. But otherwise I’m a pretty ordinary kind of girl.” She said.
“You may not be a warrior now. But you will be. You are a female descendant of one of the Valkyrie who returned to earth to live with the humans after Ragnarok. You were made for a time such as this.” He said.
“A Valkyrie? Look. I’m sorry. But I’m about the most uncoordinated person you will ever meet. I don’t know anything about war, and I don’t know that I’m keen to find out.” She said.
“Not every Valkyrie is a fighter. It’s possible you are a healer.” Ali said. “It really is important you come with me now. Not just because we need you, but because it isn’t safe for you here.” he’d said.
Jem hadn’t believed him, right up until she didn’t have a choice but to believe. Ali had just been saying how a group of wolf people called the Fenrir had sent someone to abduct her, and the next thing she knew a huge wolf burst into her living room, followed by yet another. Then to add to her fears of insanity the second overly large wolf to enter her home had morphed into Dan. She had watched in horror as the large wolf’s jet black fur shimmered, seeming to retract into its body, its muscles lengthened and its skin paled, softening until it was clearly human. The process was quick, over in just a few breaths, and may have even been beautiful if Jem hadn’t been so terrified. Her heartfelt as though it were breaking when she realised she recognised the now human wolf. It was Dan. There he was, clear as day, standing buck naked in her living room. He even admitted that he had been sent to get her, all while insisting that he was genuinely interested in her. Jem’s whole body had gone numb at that point. Yet again she had the proof that no one could ever truly want her. How could she have been stupid enough to believe that anyone ever would, especially a guy as attractive as Dan.
Before Jem could really even talk to Dan. Before she could get to the bottom of what was going on, or even process any of it. Dan and his friend had pieces of what looked like red ribbon wrapped around their bodies and were screaming in pain. Ali said something she didn’t understand, and the next thing Jem knew she wasn’t in her apartment anymore. She was in a massive wooden hallway while Dan and his friend continued writhing on the ground, and even though she felt hurt by him, everything in her was desperate to get to Dan and help him. Only she couldn’t. She was in shock. It was like her mind and her body were running in slow motion, and before she could get to him Ali was leading her away and had called over four enormous guys to escort Dan and his friend to the dungeon.
“Welcome to Folkvang Valkyrie.” Ali said to her with a smile, “I am sorry about how abrupt our meeting was, and how quickly I brought you here. Usually one of your sister Valkyrie would come to meet you first, explain what is going on. But in your case, we received information that the Fenrir had found you, and we needed to do what we could to keep you safe.”
“What are you doing with them now?” Jem asked, unable to stop herself from watching as Dan was carried away.
“They’ll be taken to the dungeon for questioning.” Ali said, “I know this is all a lot to take in. But we are in a war for the lives of our people Jemima, and those Fenrir, they are the enemy. I have no doubt that if I hadn’t arrived when I had that Fenrir would have you in his clutches right now.”
“So why if the Fenrir were planning on kidnapping me didn’t they do it days ago? Dan’s had plenty of opportunities.” She admitted.
“He’s had you alone?” Ali asked.
“Well, no. Not really.” Jem said. “We were supposed to go on a date tomorrow.” She admitted.
“Then it would seem he was just waiting for the right time.” Ali said.
Despite how she’d lost it at Dan earlier a small part of Jem had been holding out hope that maybe he had genuinely liked her. After hearing what Ali had to say, she knew that wasn’t the case. It made sense that all Dan was trying to do was capture her. Who would want her?
“I want to go home.” Jem said.
Ali looked down at her. “I can understand that.” He said.
“But you won’t take me back will you.” She said.
“I will. But not until you meet your sisters.” He said leading her down a long hallway to a pair of enormous wooden doors.
“I don’t have any sisters.” She said.
“You do now.” Ali replied throwing the enormous doors wide open.
Through the doors was the biggest room Jem had ever seen. It was almost like a church. Almost. The room was shaped like an A. It had a high ceiling with rafters crossing overhead. The entire far wall, as well as the length of the wall on her right, was floor to ceiling windows. The space was huge. Like a football field, maybe even as big as four football fields. More astounding than the sheer size of the room was the number of women inside of it. There were women everywhere. Women of every nationality you could think of. They were of varying ages, though most appeared under forty, and over fifteen. Some were big, others little. There was no rhyme or reason to why these specific women were chosen. Even when Jem noticed how they were gathered in clusters, as though they were all doing something specific together, there was no way to establish what exactly qualified them to be here, let alone to be placed in the group they were in. Of course, she had no idea why she was here. So knowing why any of the other women were here was a bit of a stretch. Ali was noticeably the only male in the room, and the deeper they made their way into the crowd the more noticeable his presence was.
As Ali led Jem into the room she noticed other women being led in, including to her surprise Jewel. Before she could run over to her friend a horn began blowing. The horns trumpeting seemed to be coming from everywhere at once and was almost deafening. As soon as the horn sounded, women throughout the room stopped what they were doing and flocked towards the end of the massive room. As soon as they started moving Jem’s view of Jewel was blocked off and within moments she had been absorbed into the swath of women.
“It was lovely to meet you Jemima.” Ali said placing a hand on her shoulder, “I can’t stay for this. Folkvang is meant for women only, especially when Queen Freya addresses her Valkyrie.”
“Um. Thank you?” Jem said, looking at him.
He smiled down at her. “It really was lovely to meet you Jemima. I’m sure we will meet again.”
Jem smiled back at him as he left, then it suddenly occurred to her that she had no way to find him when she wanted to get home.
“Wow.” A girl with super tight black curls and an English accent said looking at Ali’s retreating form in awe. “Were you brought here by Ali?” she asked.
Jem shrugged. “I guess that’s what he said his name was.”
“Again, Wow.” She said, “You know who he is right?” the girl asked as she led Jem with her to the far end of the room.
“Um. Ali?” Jem said.
The girl laughed. “He’s one of Odin’s sons, Freya’s stepson. He’s one of the Aesir gods.” She explained.
Jem turned toward the door that she entered through and watched as it closed behind Ali.
“He’s a God. Like you know GOD?” Jem asked.
The girl shook her head, sending her dark curls bouncing against her light brown skin. “Not like the big G.O.D. I mean they’re super powerful and live a ridiculously long time, like they’re thousands of years old and stuff, but they aren’t God.” The girl explained.
Jem looked at her blankly. How could they be Gods, but not God?
“It’s kind of like God, but with a little g. I guess that humans thought they were gods the first time they encountered them, and for a while they played on that. You know Greek gods, Norse gods, all that stuff. They aren’t God, but they’re not humans either.” She said.
“So like angels then?” Jem asked.
She shook her head again. “Nah. I don’t know exactly how it works. I mean in some ways I think they’re the same as humans. In others not so much.”
“So they’re like us? Like humans, but live longer.” Jem asked.
“Oh, Hun. You’re not human. None of us here are. Not entirely at least. You’re a Valkyrie.” She said.
“What exactly does that mean?” Jem asked.
“It kinda means you’re awesome.” A girl with porcelain skin, pitch-black hair and a fresh cut across her nose said.
“Heck yeah it does, Maisie.” The curly-haired girl said.
Jem frowned and both girls laughed.
“Don’t worry chick. It takes a while, but I swear, eventually it all starts making sense. In the meantime, I’m Lettie, descendant of Skuld, and this is Maisie, descendant of Gunnr.” Lettie said.
“Oh. I’m Jem, Jemima, um. I have no clue who I’m the descendant of. I’m not entirely sure I should even be here.” She admitted.
Maisie threw an arm over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t meant to be Jem.”
“Yeah don’t worry Jem. We’ll take care of you.” Lettie said.
“Thank you?” Jem said.
The girls laughed.
“We felt the same way when we first got here Jem. It’s all a little bit overwhelming. But Freya will clear everything up.” Maisie said.
“You’re lucky you arrived before orientation.” Lettie said.
“Whoa.” Maisie said, and the three women looked to the front of the room.
On the stage stood one of, if not the most stunning woman Jem had ever seen. With creamy pale skin, hair an almost unnatural red, and wearing a dress that looked like a cross between spun gold and sunshine.
“Who’s that?” Jem asked.
“That is Freya, Queen of the Aesir, and our leader.” Lettie said, “Today must be special. Usually we’re addressed by Lady Gna on Queen Freya’s behalf.”
Maisie smiled broadly. “Something big is going on.” She said excitedly.
Once the women, correction, the Valkyrie, were gathered at the far end of the room where they could all see Queen Freya, the Aesir goddess began to speak.
“Greetings Sisters.” Freya said, and her voice wove through the crowd like perfume.
Jem watched as all around her the women sighed and smiled up at their Queen. Every single woman in the room was clearly in awe of Freya, and though Jem couldn’t help but find the woman both charming and charismatic, she felt a niggle of unease deep within her. Like something wasn’t right.
Freya smiled broadly showing off her beautifully white teeth. “I am so glad I could be here with each of you today.” She said clasping her hands together. “You may not be aware of it ladies, but today is both the end and the beginning for us. Because today we found the last of your sisters in Midgard.”
Freya nodded. “That’s right. We have finally brought every single Valkyrie back to Asgard and for the first time in centuries we are all together again. The Valkyrie have finally returned to Folkvang.”
A cheer rose up across the room with some women raising fists in the air in celebration and to Jem’s surprise some shooting sparks of what had to be magic up toward the high roof.
“Congratulations to those of you who have helped us track down the gifted descendants of my original Valkyrie. You have served me well in this task. To those of you who have trained, and assisted in the training of our new sisters, thank you. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed, and your team leaders have given me glowing reports on each of you. And finally, to our newly found sisters. Welcome.” Freya said looking around the room making eye contact with every one of the new Valkyrie, including Jem.
“Magic.” Maisie said leaning closer to Jem.
“She’s so amazing.” Lettie said.
“Now many of you have heard before why after so many generations on Midgard, I have gathered you all together. But as we are entering into the next phase of our mission I feel it’s worth reminding us all of why we are here. Of the important role each of you are playing, both for the Aesir of Asgard and for the humans living on Midgard.” Freya smiled triumphantly.
Jem looked around the room, feeling a little as though she were missing something. All eyes were on the stage. On Freya, and each of the women in the room appeared to be hanging off of Freya’s every word. Jem tried to focus. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be here, but she didn’t want to be rude either.
“My Valkyrie have always been the most talented, intelligent and strongest of all the warriors of Asgard. As the daughters of my original Valkyrie, you are no different. You are the best Midgard has to offer. Each one of you with your own gifts. Many of you are still unaware of just how gifted you truly are. You, we, are the protectors of the innocent. We stand in the gap between the monsters who would destroy the worlds and the people who live there. This age is no different. Sister Valkyrie, we again are called stand in the gap, shoulder to shoulder with our brothers the Einherjar protecting the worlds from its newest threat. The Fenrir.” Freya said.
An angry murmur echoed through the room.
“The Fenrir are destined to try and destroy us.” Freya said, tears welling in her eyes, “They want to hurt my people. Our people, and I just can’t stand by while they try to hurt anyone else.”
Freya scanned the crowd, as though confirming she had the attention of the room “Many of you have seen the damage the Fenrir have done. Some of you first hand, and to those of you I was too slow to get to, I am sorry.” The tears dropped from Freya’s eyes. “But I promise you, that together we will be the shield that protects the helpless from experiencing the same loss. We will be the weapon that breaks the Fenrir. We will be the voice that speaks reason into a world in chaos. We will be the healers who take the broken and make them whole.”
Across the room cheers rose again.
Freya’s tears glistened like gold, and Jem could even see the women closest to Freya reaching out to catch the tiny drops.
“Freya’s tears are special.” Lettie said, “Magic even. They don’t stay water like ours. It’s actually kind of amazing. Her tears turn into pieces of amber.”
Jem stretched up on her tiptoes and watched as the women who had caught the tears gazed almost lovingly at the now hard pieces of amber stone that sat in their palms.
“For my new sisters, I must explain to you that we are at war. A war for our very existence. A war against the Fenrir. A race of people born from the beast who killed my husband Odin. A race who even now that my husband is gone seek to destroy anything and everything of beauty in this world.” Freya said, her face becoming hard and angry, though still managing to be unbelievably beautiful.
“The Fenrir are a race of people with the ability to appear human. But can become wolves of the most destructive kind. Many years ago I received a prophecy. One that showed how the Fenrir would start with destroying the Aesir in revenge for the destruction of their sire the Fenrir beast, and after destroying the Aesir they would turn to the humans, destroying and enslaving them.” Freya explained. “But do not be concerned my sisters. That is why you are here. A war is coming, but we are prepared. Every day we train is a day we build a defence against the Fenrir. Every day is a day we protect our human friends, and one day soon we will bring the battle to the Fenrir. We will end them!” She declared.
Jem tried to hide the shudder that attempted to work its way up her spine. Freya’s words seemed inspiring on the surface, but once again she had the feeling that something just wasn’t right. All she could think of was how genocide had been tried before, and it had never been the answer. Not to mention the leaders who called for the eradication of a race of people tended to have more than a few screws loose, and ultimately drove their people to their own destruction. While the women around her cheered and nodded at each other Jem felt as though something oily and unpleasant was working its way through the women here. Even the noticeably friendly Lettie and Maisie were being drawn in, and Jem couldn’t stop herself from wondering how bad these Fenrir could possibly be. She wanted to understand. But all she could see was Dan putting himself between her and Mrs. Grover. If he had wanted to hurt her, then why had he done that? Why had he spent time just talking to her? Getting to know her? Telling her about himself? Why would he do that? Why would he hurt his own friend in an attempt to protect her? But maybe that’s just what Dan was like. What the Fenrir were like. Maybe they were the type of enemy that slipped beneath your defences and destroyed you from within.
“For those of you who have just arrived, once again I would like to welcome you. I can understand if you are confused, and even a bit scared. But I can assure you that you are in a safe place. You are with your sisters. With your friends, and we will help you to not only understand but to become the very best version of yourself.” Freya said.
“War is coming.” Freya continued. “But for now we are safe. For the moment at least the Fenrir are waiting. But very soon the day will be upon us. The prophecy did not give a time, but we can see it coming. The numbers of Fenrir are increasing, and so we will get stronger until we can bring the fight to them.” she said.
Jem looked around the room and watched as the women nodded solemnly.
“Go well sisters.” Freya said, “I look forward to seeing your progress with my own eyes today, and meeting the most recent Valkyrie to join us in this battle for the future.”
Freya stepped off the stage, exiting into a room off to the side. Smiling at, but not verbally engaging with any of the women she called her sister Valkyrie. Even as Jem watched Freya walk regally away, she couldn’t turn off the unsettling niggle that had settled in her stomach. Something was so off about this place, and it had nothing to do with the fact that only a few hours ago she would have sworn black and blue that Asgard and Norse Gods were only myths and legends, or the basis for some of her favourite Marvel movies.
Though Queen Freya had left the room, all the women stayed right where they were, a few chatted, but overall the room could be considered quiet. Especially given the number of people in the room.
“Oh, here’s Lady Gna now.” Lettie said.
A woman walked up to the stage, her long red hair curling down her back. Lady Gna’s face was stern, and though she appeared reasonably young, there was something about her that made her seem old. She looked hardened in a way that few women in their late thirties or early forties did. She stared out over the room. Unlike Freya, there was no welcome smile. She didn’t seem pleased to be there with them, if anything she seemed as though she were completing a necessary chore, one she disliked.
“Greetings Sister Valkyrie.” She said, her voice carrying across the room in an emotionless monotone.
“Greetings Lady Gna.” The room of women echoed back reminding Jem of a class of school children.
Lady Gna nodded in acknowledgement.
“As our Queen has said, the last intake of Valkyrie have finally been found and brought to Folkvang. Which means, not only will your training intensify from here on out, but I will expect each and every one of you to be performing your best. We have a responsibility to not only teach our new sisters how to fight but to show them exactly what it means to be a Valkyrie.” She said.
There were nods and murmurs of agreement around the room.
“For now please return to your training.” She said, “Unless of course you have been selected to partner with our new sisters. For those women, I would like you to come forward and join myself and the new Valkyrie at the front of the room. That will be all.” Lady Gna said stepping down from the stage.
Lady Gna was clearly all efficiency, and Jem couldn’t help but get the feeling that no matter what circumstances she met her under that Lady Gna would be prickly. Jem had always had an intuition about people, and up until recently she’d been spot on when it came to her feelings about people. Right up until she met Dan. She had been convinced that he was a good guy. That he had the potential to be something more to her. But even if she put her positive feelings about him aside and assumed that she only thought positively about him because of how attractive he was, it still didn’t mesh. Because the fact was, she wasn’t scared of him. She didn’t feel like he was bad news. Even when he’d been standing naked in her living room after transforming from a hulking great wolf she hadn’t been afraid. If anything she had felt hurt and betrayed. Like he had tricked her. But never did she have the feeling that something was amiss around him. Of course, she’d clearly been wrong. Jem sighed, watching as the Valkyrie split off into their groups. Her perception was obviously miles off because from the moment she arrived here something just seemed off, and nothing had seemed more off than Freya and Lady Gna.
Lettie looked at Jem and smiled. “Come on Jem. Maisie and I will go up with you.” She said.
“Thanks.” Jem said.
“All good.” Maisie said, “We were selected to join the new Valkyrie, so we’ve got to get over there anyway.”
Jem walked up to the front with Lettie and Maisie. Meanwhile, the women returning to their training were watching Jem with interest. Most smiled, some seemed to be trying to size her up, and others barely even noticed her, or avoided looking at her at least. It was hard to say if those women were just nervous, or if they were avoiding looking at her for another reason entirely.
“How long have you been here?” Jem asked them.
“We both arrived with the previous intake.” Lettie said.
Maisie nodded. “Yeah, so that was about what? Six months ago?” Maisie said.
“Maybe eight?” Lettie said.
“Sometimes it feels like time travels a little differently here.” Maisie said, “Slower maybe.”
“I don’t know.” Lettie said, “Some days it feels like it’s going really fast.”
“True.” Maisie nodded. “The training is heaps of fun though. It’s easy to lose track of time.”
“What’s the training?” Jem asked just as they reached the front of the room.
“There are four different Valkyrie factions.” Lady Gna announced to the group, her loud monotone preventing either Lettie or Maisie from replying.
Lady Gna started pacing in front of their group. There were maybe forty women, and of those Jem would have wagered only twenty of them were new recruits like her and Jewel. The other women, the ones that looked confident rather than nervous, were wearing clothing you would struggle to see outside of a cosplay event. Many of the women who were wearing red or gold like Maisie had cuts and grazes of varying degrees on their bodies. Those were clearly the existing Valkyrie.
“Factions step forward.” Lady Gna demanded.
Lettie gave Jem’s arm a squeeze and moved to the front of the group. Once the existing Valkyrie had moved to the front of the group it was easy to see the differences between the factions. Though it helped to have Lady Gna explain.
“Each of you ladies will be placed into one of these four factions. Before being placed in a faction you will be given a chance to learn the basic skills of each.” Lady Gna said, moving across to the group of women in green, which included Lettie. “Most Valkyrie will find themselves in the faction founded by their Valkyrie matriarch. But we believe it is important for you to know about each faction. That way you will better understand the members of the squad you will join. We give you a chance to test your skills in each area of expertise. The Valkyrie in green are our healers.” Lady Gna said.
She moved over to the next group of women. “In blue, we have our negotiators.”
Jem did a scan around the room and noticed that this group was amongst the smallest in the Hall of Folkvang, even though there were hundreds, if not thousands of women in the room.
“In white, we have our magic wielders.” Lady Gna said. “And in red and gold we have our warriors.”
Lady Gna looked at each one of the new Valkyrie, her gaze steely. “You will all be expected to learn how to fight. The Fenrir are ruthless, and if you do not train, then you will die.”
“Can’t we just go home?” One woman asked. “I don’t want to be a part of a war.” She said.
Lady Gna’s lips pursed in disgust. “Yes you may go home. But whether or not you stay here, you are part of a war. By sitting back and doing nothing you are allowing the world’s greatest threat to freedom to survive so they can hurt all the people you love.” She said.
The woman who had asked the question looked down at the ground, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
“For now all we ask is that you stay and get to know you sister Valkyrie. Find out what gift your matriarch passed down to you that makes you qualified to be here. Then make your decision about whether you want to stay.” Lady Gna looked around the group. “Or if you would prefer to return home.” She said, then she left in the same direction Queen Freya had.
An older woman, at least in comparison with the rest of the group, stepped forward, her pale green dress swaying beneath her cloak of darker green. She was one of the healers.
“My name is Erin Galen, though for many years I was known simply as the Eir mender of the gods.” She said smiling at their group. “I would like to welcome you all to Asgard. Each of you is special in your own unique way. But many of you will find that you have very similar Aesir gifts, this is because you are descendants of the same Valkyrie. I have personally known many of your matriarchs as I am one of the few surviving Valkyrie to have stayed here in Folkvang rather than marrying amongst either the humans or the Aesir after Ragnarok.” Erin smiled and indicated for three other older women to join her at the centre of their group.
“I can see that many of you are confused, and likely a little frightened. But you have no reason to be. My sisters and I will be here to guide you every step of the way.” Erin said, her voice soothing. “From each of the four original factions at least one of the matriarchs remains. From the healing sisters, I remain. From the magic-wielding sisters, remains Gondul.” A woman with chest-length white hair in a long white dress stepped forward.
“From our negotiating sisters, remains Radgrid, now known as Reyna Trussler.” Erin said and a dark-skinned woman in blue with curly greying hair and an easy smile stepped forward. Jem felt a kinship with the woman. There was something about her, a feeling that Jem instantly associated with honesty. She seemed trustworthy, the type of woman who would let you know if she was unhappy with you but would be equally likely to tell you when she was pleased with you.
“Last but not least. From our warrior sisters, remain both Geirskogul, known as Temira Garrett.” Erin said, and an incredibly tall, dark-skinned woman stepped forward. Her mostly black curly hair framed her face like a halo, and her golden armour moved soundlessly over her red leather skirt and corset. She was intimidating, but still looked approachable. On the other hand, the woman standing nearby her with her grey hair pulled tightly at the nape of her neck and a permanent scowl looked like an individual Jem would rather avoid.
“And Sanngrior, known as Marthe Freis.” Erin said.
“From this point onward, whether you stay in Asgard with your sister Valkyrie, or return to the life you knew before, I can guarantee you will never need fear being alone again. Personally, I hope each of you will choose to stay. I have no doubt now that you know you are Valkyrie, it will stay a part of you forever, and we will always be your sisters.” Erin said. “Many of the women who have been brought to Asgard have considered themselves alone, only to find that they have a family right here.” Erin said, indicating all the women in the room.
“There is so much to learn. But today is not the day for it. Today I want to invite each of you to look around Folkvang. To meet your sisters and see what each faction is capable of. To see what the squads are doing together. I suggest that you talk to your Valkyrie sisters and have them take you around this beautiful place. Explore to your heart’s content. Then tomorrow when you have had a chance to process all of this we will begin introducing you to the skills of a Valkyrie, and help you learn not only who your matriarch is, but also what your own special abilities are.”