The Valkyrie, Warriors of Mount Simthriall

The Warriors of Mount Simthriall go by many names: the Oski, the Randalin, the Bellator Lucis, and most importantly the name they call themselves, The Valkyrie, The Choosers of the Slain. The Order of the Valkyrie protects the cycle of life and death. In death, The Valkyrie protect wandering souls until they reach their final destination. In life, they protect the wandering souls of The Mortal Realm so that these souls may find their purpose and not be snuffed out too soon by unatural forces.

Civilization in the Skjold Cascades

The Skjold Cascades, or the Azure Range, surrounds Rotunda, the valley The Valkyrie call home. Mount Simthriall is at the mountian to the direct north of Rotunda. There are six communities within Rotunda,The Setti, all promised protection by The Valkyries. In exchange for protection, The Valkyries recieve the resources of the land that the people in all six of the Setti cultivate. Each settement transports their part of the tribute to Mount Simthriall at the end of each month. The six Setti are Bondi, Threllkeld, Sarilae, Anacor, Buralo, and Cree. Each community has its own meager government, but if there is a bigger problem than that community can handle, it goes to The Valkyrie. In recent years, The Valkyrie have opened up there borders to refugees from the war that the Domain of Zirconia declared on the Kingdom of Jatheador. I predict that they will eventually have more than six settlements, but will Rotunda hold that many people?
The Valkryie visit these communities and have a good relationship with their safegaurded people, but they themselves live on Mount Simthriall, in Maekirheim, City of Swords. A hall is carved into the side of mountain, named Skathi, is where The Valkyrie train, feast, and come together in unity and honor. The city curves down the mountain with the highest ranking Valkyrie living near the top.
There are more than 500 Valkyries right now, but not all are warriors. Some are healers and caregivers, others are scholars, and even more are druids and rangers, ones who cultivate nature.

Structure

The Eina are the Council of Valkyrie that delegate roles based on the skills each Valkyrie presents. Some of these Valkyries have either proven themselves in battle with intelligence or strength. Others have been given this postition because of their kindness and patience. In total, there are 11 Eina. They have a chamber inside the Skathi.

Culture

I have had the privilege of knowing some high ranking Valkyries, and as such, I has some insight into their sacred traditions. A special ceremony, The Braut Gildi, The Rite of Returning, allows them to travel through Astral Realm, The Astrum in between The Astrums. The ceremony involves a ginormous, half-dead tree, Diris, that is in the center of Mount Simthriall. The Valkyries believe that Diris has been around since The Earliest Age. They believe it created the Skjold Cascades. Connecting with the power of Diris allows one to enter and exit The Astral Realm. Part of the ritual involves going to The Astral Realm and returning with the tooth of a Blankterun, the gaurdians of The Astral Realm. However, The Astral Realm messes with your soul and mind. In order to get to the Blankterun, you must battle yourself. The Blankterun use the information given to them by The Astral Realm to create the hardest challenge for you, the individual.
The tree also repels monsters that exist in the cycle of life and death. Many people believe The Valkryie carry this power themselves, instead of the half-dead tree.
Diris is a secret, and I am one of the few outsiders that know of it. They believe the half-dead tree came from the faded powers of the The Forgotten, and that Diris made the Skjold Cascades to protect itself. It's roots and trunk are alive and well, but its upper branches have lost their leaves, if it had any to begin with. The Valkyrie believe that The Fulcra and The Fallen will fade one day too. Each Valkyrie has a piece of bark from Diris with their name carved into it and a tooth of a Blankterun.
New Valkyries, the Yngi, must go on a quest to prove themselves worthy of the power of Diris. The quest is called The Akalanda. They carry a piece of bark during this quest that will call the back to Diris once they've proven themselves worthy. After the come back to the The Skathi, which has a secret passage down to Diris, the master of ceremonies of The Valkyrie performs the ritual on an shrine in front of Diris. After the ceremony, The Braut Gildi, The Valkyrie has their name carved into the piece of wood that called them back. Now, as one of The Valkyrie explained to me, that worthiness is relative to each individual person. Whether that means overcoming your fears, besting your insecurities, or letting go of your past. The Valkyrie accept anyone into their ranks that is willing to fight for both life and death. Anyone who enters the Valkyries ranks goes through years of training before even going on their quest for worthiness and honor. Many hone their abilites, whether that be magical or physical, in order to even go on their quest.

Death in Rotunda

Rotunda is a cultural mixing pot, so if someone dies, people have their own way to mourn. However, if someone whose family has lived as Firths for a long time, they will typically light a fire to burn the body on a sacred funeral pyre called, a takk. A takk can be seen across Rotunda, summoning The Valkyrie. When The Valkyrie will get to the takk, multiple of them will talk to the families, say a few words, and then go into The Astral Realm to transport the soul to its final destination.

The Final Destination

Yes, the Valkyrie take the dead to their final destination, but do they even know what that destination is? The Valkyrie say that they know when a soul has gotten to their final destination because their memories come to an end. Apparently, The Valkyrie are there to keep the souls grounded so they don't get lost in their memories and also so they don't get destroyed by the creatures in The Astral Realm, of course. But a Valkyrie needs to be able to talk to someone who is in need and comfort them through their hardest times.

History

The Order of The Valkyrie was founded during the Comeargos Epoch of the Ancient Era in which Altus was finding itself, and self-discovery often comes from conflict. Fleeing the turmoils of the world, The Prir, three individuals clouded in mystery, came across Mount Simthriall and Diris. Some scholars believe that The Prir were three demigods created by The Ourvorax. Others believe they were the last of the pure Liberi blood-line. However, The Valkyrie believe that The Prir were just ordinary people fleeing from harm and were called by Diris to understand the cycle of life and death. The Prir true names are lost to time but The Valkyrie now call them Eir, Guor, and Alvtir. Eir, a swan, represents peace and clarity, Gour, a boar, represents strength in battle, and Alvtir, a wolf, represents wisdom.

Foreign Relations

Due to the war that the Domain of Zirconia declared war on Jatheador, The Valkyrie have doubled their gaurd. Relations with these lands were already strained because of the legends about the dangerous warriors that live in the Azure Range. Many myths about the Valkyrie claim they will kill anyone and take them through The Astral Realm to gain more status with The Fulcra. Howevever, Zirconia and Jatheador would trade The Valkyries stockpiles of food that couldn't grow in Rotunda. In return, The Valkyrie would give the Domain of Zirconia magical herbs, angel's valor and seraphim's sorrow, from the garden of Diris that would keep the sickness, The Withering Ink, caused by merithal, at bay. The ones that can fly, would go to Zirconia to exchange resources and fly back over the Azure Range to Mount Simthriall. The third country of the Azure Range region is Valoros, a smaller country that holds nature in high regard. It has been affected by the pollution The Domain is releasing from their Merithal production. There has also been monsters coming of of the forests of Zirconia. Monsters unlike I have ever seen, they have been stitched together by an affliction caused by Merithal that seem to exist outside the cycle of life and death since the aura of Diris doesn't keep them out of Rotunda. I will right my theories about these monsters at a later date.

Protect Freedom In Life, Protect Peace In Death.

Founding Date

Near the end of The Ancient Age, during The Comeargos.

Alternative Names

The Oski, The Randalin, The Bellator Lucis, The Eadrom, The Mwanga, The Valkrja, The Veil-Walkers

Demonym

Those who live in the Rotunda are called Frith.