Valkyrie by Kate O’Hearn

Book Preface

‘If on some cold winter’s night you gaze up into the darkened sky and see the glow of the Northern Lights – consider this. Those shimmering colours are not an illusion. They are the glow of the Rainbow Bridge called Bifröst. Across that magnificent bridge, far from the World of Man, you will find Asgard: Land of the Norse Gods and home of Valhalla.

Also known as Odin’s Great Heavenly Hall for the Heroic Dead, Valhalla sits in the very centre of Asgard. Resting deep within the ethereal plane it is accessible from Earth only by crossing Bifröst.

Enormous in size, with a thousand spires rising high into the clouds, Valhalla hosts over five hundred entrance doors. Each door is wide enough to allow eight hundred slain warriors to pass through, marching side by side.

In ancient times, the Vikings fought valiantly to earn a seat at Valhalla. It was all they strived for. But to get there, they had to be selected by an elite group of winged Battle-Maidens, known as the Valkyries.

In the middle of the battlefield, the Valkyries would swoop down from the skies, riding their winged Reaping Mares and howling their haunted cries. Coming to Earth, or Midgard, as they called it, to choose among the dead and dying only the most valiant of warriors to deliver to Odin at Valhalla.

Arriving at Valhalla, these chosen warriors would spend their nights sitting with Odin, feasting and drinking. They would dance with the Valkyries and listen to their enchanting songs as the Battle-Maidens entertained the dead.

A warrior’s days at Valhalla were spent on the training grounds outside the heavenly hall, as they picked up their weapons and gloried once again in endless battle.

This was their heaven and their paradise. In today’s battles, soldiers have long forgotten Valhalla and the Valkyries that fly in to gather up the chosen dead.

Though we have forgotten them, they haven’t forgotten us . .