Valkyrie

A historic city on the Eastern Island of Vanaheim, Valkyrie is a former bastion and current quarry and mining hub split between the human Jarldom of the Eastern Islands and the Vaniri Island League, giving the island a unique status of being duel governed by humans and elves as decreed in The Titan Queen’s decree of 630, 3e.
Named after the warrior angels who carry Aedrinaran souls to the afterlife, Valkyrie is an important settlement in Vaniri and Aedrinaran cultures. The frontier between the two civilizations, the town and its predecessors has witnessed the calamity of war and the benefits of blooming peace between the two peoples.
The current town was founded by High King Haarold I Seasnake in his conquest of the Eastern Islands in the first age. The town has been under the rulership of the prominent Eastern Isles houses, such as House Dragontooth, and the Vaniri Great Houses of Salinir and Springfast.

Demographics

Valkyerie is a diverse town of mixed Aedrinarian Human and Ice Elf heritage with half-elves somewhat common. The people are artisanal and labouring classes, with some mercantile families and a few minor nobles and high ranking religious classes in the mix. A melting pot of human and elven culture, the town has a history of war between the two races but peace has been maintained, for the most part, for several centuries.
The people are united by a shared worship of key Honoured Gods such as Frigga and Freya, but a temple of Loki and a temple of Aerdrie can also be found here.

Government

Valkyerie has a unique governmental structure as decreed by High King Haarold V The Great Uniter in his peace talks during the seventh kingdom. The town is ruled jointly by a human Thane, who has a special oath with the ruling house of the Eastern Isles, and an elven council, who work in tandem with the Salinir's of Effelin. Both ruling authories have absolute juristiciton over their own people, and when it comes to more major rulings and descisions they must share responsbility and agree on the outcome.
During the rising tensions in Duskfall of 1052, 3e, the government was temporarily dissolved at the suggestion of the Temple of Loki, with the neutral Order of St Tara being brought into the administrate the city and try to keep the peace. This was mostly successful, with help from Doomed 2 Die and their allies peace was maintained and the more war oriantated members of the town were cast out or humiliated. In the aftermath of the Scion of the Seas defeat, Valkyerie restored its former government.

Defences

Valkyerie houses thick, stone and ice walls to protect it from monsters and potential invaders. The town is also situated high in the mountains, with narrow paths and watchtowers on the pathways throughout the mountainside and all the way down to the port of Crowsport to hassle any invading army. The town itself fields few warriors, largely Aedrinaran house warriors sworn to its major houses. There is a small elven garrison of soldiers, and a chapter of the Order of St Tara sworn to protect the town from 'monsters' but they stay out of political conflicts where they can.

Industry & Trade

Valkyerie is the commercial hub of Valkyerie, and is the base of its main operations in qurraying, masonary, mining, and smithing. The families who own these industries base themselves here, but have small outposts and worksteads throughout the island, transporting their yield to the town then down to Crowsport for export throughout the isles. The stonemasons of the Town of Crows are considered the best in the realm.

Districts

Whilst Valkyerie is too small for a formal division of districts, the human population tend to live on the northern side of town whilst the elven population tend to live on the southern side, with the middle of the town housing shared facilities and most of the town's commerce and industry bases.

Assets

Name	Type	Notes
Inn by the Arch	Inn	The largest inn in town, centred in the markets. Ran by House Meadsinger
The Calling Crow	Inn	An elf run tavern in the south of town,
Grand Markets	Shopping	The central markets in the centre of town, surrounded by permanant shop structures, guilds, and housing tents and stalls for merchants
Icewall Smiths	Blacksmiths	Blacksmiths ran by House Yeti-Crusher
Vanaheim Metals	Blacksmiths and Jewellers	Elven blacksmiths. Also offers jeweller training
The Floral Flask	Alchemist
Temple of Loki	Religious	Largest temple in town and Grimsweaver arena
Temple of Death	Religious	Mixed pantheon shrine worshipping Hel, The Morrigan, and Naralis Analor.
Temple of Aerdrie	Religious	Seldarine temple
Mason's Guild	Guild Headquarters
Haarold's Hall	Noble House	A grand noble house ran by the Thanes of Valkyerie, House Runestone
Wildfang House	Noble House	Home of House Wildfang
Yeti-Crusher House	Noble House	House attached to the Icewall smiths, home of House Yeti-Crusher
Hall of the Vaniri	Government	Elder council chamebers for elven government
Fort Leviathan	Religious	A chapter house of the Order of St Tara and Divinitist chapel
Government House	Government	Shared administration building for human and elven leaders.
Arch of Peace	Landmark	Triumphal arch built in 813, 3e to honour the history of peace treaties on the island.
Arch of Valkyerie	Landmark	Triumphal arch built between 999-1019, 3e showing the history of the island
Valkeyrie Pits	Sports	A largely out-of-use fighting arena built in the mountainside.

Guilds and Factions

The Order of Saint Tara

The Order of Saint Tara have maintained a small presence on the island since 845, 3e. The order's purpose was to maintain a good relationship with the commercial elements of the town and surrounding factions so the Order's base island of Gudshard would continue to be well supplied. Despite there only being a handful of paladins here, their presence and authority, as well as reinforcements from St Tara itself, helped keep the town in enough peace for Doomed 2 Die to end the threat of the Scion of the Seas.

House Runestone

The current ruling human house of the town, House Runestone are a minor Aedrinaran noble family who made their wealth in masonary and mining. The house have long maintained good relationships with the elven population, and have done their best to stem off anti-vaniri senitiment during the near conflict in Scion Crisis. The house were kept in power thanks to the presence of Ivar Lothgarssen of the Reindeer Clan and Doomed 2 Die.

House Yeti-Crusher

Staunch allies of the Runestones and the master smithers and crafters, the Yeti-Crushers once made their fame as warriors and rangers but now own several mining outcrops and are master blacksmiths on the island.

House Wildfang

Sailors and adventurers, the Wildfangs are pro-aedrinaran and were pushing for a conflict with the elves during the crisis. They were only kept in line thanks to the interventions of Doomed 2 Die and their warrior companion, Ivar, who would make a habit of training and drilling his Reindeer Clan crew outside their manor house.

Temple of Loki

The Cult of Loki, a fringe group in Aedrinaran religion, have a major temple on the island that acts as part brothel, part gaming house, and part religious institution. The priesthood of Loki in the island is a small one composed of largely out-of-towners but they keep the mead flowing and their relationships with the major factions good enough to be tolerated. A grimsweaver arena can also be fouund in thir temple.

The Mason's Guild

The Mason's Guild is the commercial arm of the various quarrying families and their workers, acting as part labour union and part industry lobby. By centralising the talents and skills of the islands masons, the guild has cemented the towns reputation in good quality stone work and craftmanship. The guild has been hired by Einar to help repair the Bear Library.

History

Ancient History

Prior to Valkyrie’s founding by Haarold I Seasnake, Valkyrie was home to the bastion of Nightguard, built by Frigga before her ascension to godhood. In mythology, the mountains near the town is where the Honoured Gods made a pact with Morrigan, the goddess of death, to aide them in their war against the Forgotten Gods.
Post-ascension, the bastion was renamed Frigganhelm and was ruled by House Springfast of Kastaland. The rival great-house in the Eastern Isles, House Salinir of Effelin, established their own rival fortress on the south of the island named Moonharbour and the two houses maintained a tense relationship other the status of the island. Frigganhelm would be sacked by the giants during the Vaniri-Jotun war at the end of the mythic age, but was rebuilt by the early first age. Tensions between the Salinir’s and Springfasts erupted into the Vanaheim War, a short period of minor conflict on the island that saw both Moonharbour and Frigganhelm granted to the rulership of an independent Eldership.

Foundation of Valkyerie

Under the rulership of the Elders of Vanaheim, the island fell into mismanagement and became a pirate haven, with the infamous Vanaheim Raiders branch of the Skallen Syndicate  essentially becoming rulers of the fortress. The island’s attacks on the vessels of neighbouring Orsturkirk saw one of the towns most famous warriors, Haarold Seasnake, invade and sack Frigganhelm with 100 warriors.
Haarold would rebuild the city, naming it in honour of the Valkyries, and building his own palace, becoming Thane of the new town under Aedrinaran rulership in 2835, 1e. The new town, built as a bastion and fortress, would contribute to rising tensions with Asrinheim. Haarold’s role in building the town and destroying Frigganhelm saw him elected the fourth High King of the Third Kingdom of Aedrinar.
Valkyrie became the centre of the invasion against the rest of Asrinheim as territory from across the eastern isles and into the south of Asrinheim itself were conquered by Haarold, pacifying the Vaniri threat and earning him the title “Tamer of Asrinheim.” As capital, Valkyrie grew rich on captured loot and along its main street captured statues and monuments lined from gate to gate.
Haarold I would die at sea in 2867, 1e, sailing back to Valkyrie from the continent when his treasure fleet was caught in a storm and stranded at the bottom of the Vaniri Sea. Haarolds daughter, Ignun Seasnake, would become the new Thane of the island but the town would slowly become a simple fortress settlement and military centre with adjacent mining and herding communities.

Vaniri Reconquest

In the fourth century of the second age, a combined force of Houses Salinir and Springfast would invade Vanaheim. The town would be occupied and the majority of the Seasnakes dying in battle. Surviving Aedrinarans, mainly children and those healed from their injuries, were allowed to remain in the town. The remainder of the Seasnakes travelled to Orsturejya, where they would again face invasion as the Vaniri force invaded that island in spring the following year.
During the Vaniri occupation, the town was known as both Frigganhelm and Valkeyrie, but as the older generation of elves died out and the surviving humans and vaniri mixed, the name Valkyrie began to become common place. Humans, Elves, and a vast population of half-elves lived in mostly harmony with occasional revolts by older Aedrinaran families. House Dragontooth, the new rulers of the Eastern Isles, would occasionally raid and settle along the coast of Vanaheim during the early second age.
The joint Vaniri force of the Salinir’s and Springfasts ruled the island together, but the Springfasts grew more weary of the human presence in the city and a purge of Aedrinarans was undertaken by Elder Gelindrel the Spiteful in 749.
Valkyrie would be reconquered by the Aedrinarans in 810 after a second invasion attempt of Orrsturejya failed. High King Ragnar IV Wintersheart landed his primarily Wintershield and northern house army on Vanaheim. A brief battle at Crowsport, the docks a mile out of the city, wiped out the last of the standing army. Surrendering to Ragnar, the Wintershield King offered a peace treaty known as the Winterspact that granted duel rulership of the island between the Ice Elves and Humans.

Winterspact Peace

The peace brought by the Winterspact allowed both races to live in closer harmony. Represented in local government by both a human Thane and a governor selected by the Elven Houses, the town settled into its status quo.
Valkyries unique status and duel rulership left it largely untouched by political upheaval in both Asrinheim and Aedrinar as a whole. A unique Vanaheim culture that mixed Aedrinaran and Vaniri traditions began to emerge by the mid-second age. Intermixing of the two ethnic groups was also common, with Valkyrie having the highest half-elf population in the islands.

War of the Great Houses

Internal upheaval struck the city in the 26th century of the second age when internal tensions between the Ice Elf Great Houses and intertied alliances led to a devastating civil war. Valkyrie was caught in the middle of the wars between Houses Springfast, Salinir, and House Gildaron. In 2523, 2e, Vanaheim was invaded by both Salinir and Springast forces that led to a great riot in the town between supporters of each house. The Elder Council, seeking to protect their town, disbanded the Elven ruled government for a century and handed control solely to the Aedrinaran Thane, Astrid Mistrager.
The human thaneship offered blanket protection to all Vaniri escaping the war, and expelled loyalists and members of the great houses. Thane Astrid sent for reinforcements from her overlords in Orsturkirk, and a fleet of Stormbarer, Dragontooth, and Ghastsea warriors landed in the Crowsport, fortifying the docks and the town. The Thane then sent a stark warning to all the houses invested in the island, threatening war if the town was attacked or threatened.
This warning appeared to take hold, as the Salinirs, Gildarons, and Springfasts waged war solely around the outskirts of the island, leaving Valkyrie alone. By the end of the war, House Salinir were the only Vaniri great house left active in the islands, and in 2623, 3e a Salinir governor was peacefully installed in the town, continuing the previous system of duel governance.

Seventh Kingdom

Valkyrie remained in peace for the remaining years of the Second age and the beginning of the third. A fringe settlement of both nations, it briefly held a useful diplomatic status and a political centre for trade and treaties between Aedrinaran houses of the Great Interregnum period.
Things would change in 490, 3e when a Yeti Tribe terrorised the countryside around Valkyrie after a quarrying operation moved into their traditional homes on the mountain side. The economy was devastated and countless died trying to battle the abominable yetis, the Dragontooths and Salinir’s refused to commit more forces to the town and island. The island leadership sought external help, and looked to the former mercenary guild leader of The Wyrmlings and bastard descendent of House Dragontooth.
Olaf would vanquish the Yeti band, but when the town could not pay his demanded fees he sacked and occupied it, defeating the local thanes and the Salinirs. Olaf’s installed an Aedrinaran member of his guild and Valkyrie native, Lurki Swifspear. The Dragontooths, at first furious with Olaf’s breaking of the peace, would eventually welcome Lurki as the Thane of Vanaheim under their Jarlship, forming an alliance with Olaf in the process. The island’s Vaniri population were generally left unharmed by lost their previous status and power.
An uprising would occur towards the end of the Reign of High King Karl III in 598, 3e. The Salinir’s of Effelin rebelled and inspired a resistance movement with Valkyrie seeing widespread racial violence between humans and elves for the first time in thousands of years.
Peace and joint rulership would be restored in 601, 3e when High King Haarold V the Great Uniter would arrive. Haarold rode with only two warriors, including his daughter Astrid, into the centre of Valkyrie and gave his famous “Speech to Vanaheim” where Haarold denounced his predecessor High Kings and called on Humans and Elves to honour the longstanding alliance founded by Frigga and Odin. In common legend, it was this speech that ended all conflict and a new treaty was founded between The Great Uniter and House Salinir, restoring the joint government and offering compensation of House Kingmaker’s horde to the common elven citizens of Vanaheim, 2gp per person for each year the treaty was broken.
Haarold’s Treaty remains in effect to this current day, and the town was again spared from the chaos of its surrounding realms after the Calamity of the Terrasic in 789, 3e, which saw the majority of Aedrinaran leadership and their armies wiped out by Eldrian Empire.

Modern History

Valkyrie has become a backwater town notable only for its exports of stone and ores from the mountains. Its markets serve only internal interests, and it is barely considered a key asset for either Vaniri houses or the Eighth Kingdom of Aedrinar.
Due to a wording error in the submission of the Eastern Hold to Sigrun III, Valkyrie is technically not counted as a domain of the eighth kingdom. In practice, it remains a joint rulership island and is de facto part of the Jarldom of the Eastern Isles.
The island became a flashpoint of tensions between the Vaniri and Aedrinarans again in 1052, 3e, following a series of sea attacks on Aedrinaran and Vaniri trade vessels coming too and from the island. The town’s joint rulership were unable to pacify the commonfolk and under guidance from the Temple of Loki theyinvited the neutral Order of Saint Tara to help police and govern the town before tensions break out into full scale war. This was resolved thanks to Doomed 2 Die, and peace was restored.

Founding Date

Circa 3150, me

Apperances:

• Session 146: Questions for the Mist
• Session 147: Temples