Nora Valkyrie

Nora Valkyrie is a student at Beacon Academy and a member of Team JNPR

Biography

Nora was born to unknown parents in a traveling merchant caravan between Atlas and Mistral. Aside from her last name, Valkyrie, Nora knows little about her family, though based on the climate and fuzzy memories she believes she was born somewhere in coastal Solitas, as she remembers snow, sea and mountains in most images of her family. Her father, who she remembers as a large bear of a man, was sometimes called Konungr, although Nora would later learn that that was a title for leaders of the caravan passed on from a bygone era and not his given name. Beyond that she only remembers her family as 'mama', 'papa' and half remembered 'aunties'.
Nora would lose her family sometime around the age of 3; the caravan was attacked by Grimm somewhere in northern Anima, and Nora was one of the only members to escape. In her nightmares Nora sometimes remembers her mother tackling a Beowulf before ordering her daughter to run.
Nora would spend the next several years wandering from village to village, scrounging and begging to get by and traveling as a hitch hiker or stowaway once the population's generosity had run out. By the age of 8 she would make her way to Kuroyuri, where she would meet her friend and future partner, Lie Ren. Kuroyuri would fall to a horde of Grimm led by the infamous Nuckalavee, and Ren would unlock his aura and awaken his semblance, Serenity, in response to the death of his parents, using it to suppress his and Nora's negative emotions and escape undetected from the Grimm.
Nora would sometimes feel guilty that the greatest thing that ever happened to her was the worst that happened to her best friend- Lie Ren would lose his home and family but Nora would gain a life long friend and ally, and the pair of them were much more successful than Nora had been on her own. As they matured physically Nora's intense devotion to Ren would begin to acquire romantic undertones. As Ren had 5 more years of formal education and normal life than Nora he had a better lay of the land and was able to lead them into the borders of the Kingdom_Of_Mistral, where they would have better access to charity and education. By the age of 12 the pair had successfully enrolled at the relatively obscure Masada Academy. Nora had an incredibly difficult time with the entrance exam, as she didn't start learning how to read until the age of 10, but with Ren as a diligent and helpful tutor Nora was able to squeak in. Both Ren and Nora would have to work odd jobs outside of school to afford room, board, tuition and the costs associated with manufacturing their weapons. Nora would begin casting and casing their own rounds and became a self taught expert in the field of explosives, with the pair often selling discount ammunition to other students. The pair typically had to skimp on their food budget, and Nora would acquire a deep sentimental attachment to Ren's homemade pancakes, which served as a rare sweet spot in a bare and utilitarian diet.
By the age of 16 Nora had graduated at the top of Masada's class in combat standings, while Ren had graduated at the top of the class academically. Despite their records, neither of them had the resources to attend a Huntsman Academy and receive full certification, so the pair ventured out into the badlands and operated for several months as mercenary Hunter team known as [The Pink Lotus Company].
In the summer of 80 AGW the PLC would be hired alongside several other Hunters to clear a dust mine abandoned by the Schnee Dust Company so that smaller, less reputable firms could salvage scraps and equipment. The mission details, however, were deliberately misrepresented, and most of the Hunters were killed by an unexpectedly large horde of Grimm- the gang that hired the Hunters intended to sweep up a greatly winnowed horde without having to pay their contractors a single lien. Nora and Ren, however, would not only survive the incident but clear the entire sector, though all their fellow hunters were killed in the process. Once they discovered the charade the pair would retaliate, with Nora breaking the gang leader's legs.
After this, the pair were blacklisted by several employers and ultimately tracked down by Peter Port, who had personally been duped into buying counterfeit Ursa Skin Rugs made by Nora and sold to traveling merchants bring in extra cash. Ren pointed out that since they were operating the Badlands the two hadn't technically violated any laws, since counterfeiting and false advertising were only illegal within the borders of one of the Kingdoms. Realizing that he had nothing to hook the two youngsters on, Port roped the pair into a job to help him capture genuine Grimm specimens for use in lecture. While tracking the creatures, the group would have a run in with the old gang leader who had stiffed and nearly killed Ren and Nora, and his collaborator, revealing that the gang was part of an international drug syndicate using the trace amounts of leftover dust to manufacture a high intensity version of a drug called bliss, a narcotic that overloaded the user's pleasure circuits. They hoped to sell it to various bandit clans such as the Branwens, who used to to pacify slave labor so they wouldn't attract Grimm to their camps.Port, Ren and Nora were captured and Nora was doused with the drug, with the gang leader intending to turn her into a concubine as payback for his broken leg. However, because of the strength of her aura and therefore natural resistance to outside substances, Nora was able to shake off most of Bliss's effects, breaking out Ren and Port and turning the tables on their captors, leading to their death or arrest. Port, sufficiently impressed by the pair's efforts during their mission, offered to sponsor their admission to Beacon.
Nora would later conspire with Ren to remain together during initiation, becoming official partners at the school, and being paired with Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos.

Appearance

Nora is a short, fit young woman with fair skin, orange hair and turquoise eyes.

Personality

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Abilities

Nora is exceptionally strong, both relative to her size and sex and the general population, able to bench press nearly 200lbs in base and 625lbs (or "5 of me" in her own words) with passive use of her semblance- well beyond the typical increase offered by aura fortification. Nora's poor early education means she often struggles with written coursework compared to her peers- this, combined with her bubbly personality and brute strength based fighting style has led some of her fellow students to perceive her as 'dumb'. However, Nora has a great deal of applied knowledge- she's a self taught master of explosives and various chemical reactions and has a rudimentary understanding of electronics, in keeping with her semblance. Nora also possesses a very high emotional intelligence, and is able to make quick reads of other people's intentions, emotional states and attachments. Nora has also been noted by Peter Port as having exceptionally good instincts in the field.
Nora is ranked 4th in the combat standings for Beacon's 80th Cohort.

Semblance

Nora's Semblance, Amp, allows her to channel electrical energy to her muscles in order to greatly magnify her strength. She can convert her aura into electricity to multiply her strength by roughly a factor of 3- alternatively she can convert outside sources such as electric dust or flowing currents, although doing so also expends a considerable amount of her aura. Her semblance was apparently discovered when 'she was struck by lightning and didn't die' at some point during her travels with Lie Ren. Another incident involved her short circuiting an entire power plant. At some point there is a diminishing margin of returns, with Nora's body merely channeling away power it cannot harness for a lower aura cost, but the aforementioned incidents greatly stressed Nora's body once the rush had worn off and if her aura dips below usable levels sufficient excess voltage could still kill her, putting a hard upper limit on Amp's effects, although precisely where that limit is is currently unknown.

Weapon

Nora created and wields Magnhild, a mechashift hybrid between a warhammer and a grenade launcher. Magnhild has a capacity of 6 grenades which can be fired individually or simultaneously to a maximum range of 400m, giving Nora immense destructive capabilities at short and long ranges.

Bio

Sex
Female (♀)
Age
17
Race
Human
Date of Birth
April 1st, 63 AGW
Homeland
Unknown, Outlands

Traits

Height
5'0 (153cm)
Weight
125 lbs (57kg)
Figure
35-24-34
Blood Type
O+
Hair Color
Orange
Skin Color
Pale White
Eye Color
Turquoise

Combat Data

Affiliation
Team JNPR 
Beacon Academy 
Weapon
Magnhild

Semblance
Amp

Aura Level
7500

Aura Color
Pink