When I started The Valkyries, I never thought the story of Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna would grow into what it is today. I pieced together a tale of redemption, forgiveness, and found family, thinking it was worth sharing with a friend, and the rest is history.
However, because I wrote the story for myself, historical or mythological accuracy wasn’t even a thought—and it wasn’t until I imagined a future for The Valkyries that trying to stay true to both Viking culture and Norse myth became another goal for this tale.
I quickly realized how my understanding of the original Norse myths had been blurred by Marvel’s Thor and God of War: Ragnarok. Some mismatches were minor—others were near world-altering. I hoped to craft The Valkyries in a way they could fit seamlessly into the root myths, but eventually, I chose to create my own spin on Midgard, Asgard, and the rest of the realms.
Weapons of Choice
The first, and most jarring to the image of the Valkyries in my mind, was Astrid’s axe.
The first image of Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna looked like this:
Kaelva dual-wielding axes—check.
Freyna with a sword and shield—check.
Astrid with a two-handed sword—nope.
Why?
Because historically, Vikings did not wield two-handed swords such as claymores, which originated in Scotland centuries after the Viking era.
And I didn’t realize this until either the second or third draft, after the image of Astrid with a two-handed sword in my head for months. I lost a solid night of writing, trying to find a way to make her weapon of choice make sense, but all it did was shine a light on a blade that simply didn’t belong.
So, I pivoted, trading Astrid’s sword for an axe. Honestly, I hated it… at first. So long I saw her with a sword, and now I had to paint over that image with an axe. To be fair, God of War’s Kratos wielding the Leviathan Axe definitely helped solidify Astrid’s new weapon.
The Valkyries of Myth
Another major inconsistency dawned on me toward the end of my fifth draft of The Valkyries.
The Valkyries didn’t have wings—another deviation I unknowingly carried from God of War, but symbolism existed long before Kratos set foot in Midgard. As Viking culture integrated with Christianity, the image of angels with wings slowly overlapped with the Valkyries of myth.
According to the Jesse Byock translation of The Prose Edda: “There are still others whose duty it is to serve in Valhalla. They bring drink and see to the table and the ale cups. These women are called valkyries. They are sent by Odin to every battle, where they choose which men are to die and they determine who has the victory.”
The Poetic Edda, as translated by Jackson Crawford, describes the Valkyries as: “chooser of the slain,” woman who flies over battlefields and conducts the spirits of the best slain warriors to Valhalla. A Valkyrie is not a separate kind of being from humans, but appears instead to be an occupation that mortal women can assume.”
So not only did the Valkyries not have wings—they had swan-feather cloaks that granted them flight—but they were rarely shown in battle. Instead, they picked worthy souls among the fallen to join the einherjar in Valhalla, then served them food and drink in the feasting halls.
Go ahead—imagine Kaelva serving warriors in Valhalla, many of whom she probably sent there herself in her first life!
Or the swan-feather cloaks instead of their wings—which paints a more epic image of the trio flying into battle?
Unlike Astrid’s axe, I couldn’t compromise the winged warriors Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna became—but I believe The Valkyries is better for it.
The Nine Realms
One world-building direction I took early on was defining the Nine Realms, which was more ambiguous than I thought. The realms most interpretations agree on are:
- Alfheim: the realm of the elves, which was offered to Frey as a gift.
- Asgard: the realm of the Aesir gods, which include popular names such as Odin, Thor, and Baldur.
- Hel: the realm of the dead, where those who have not died in battle reside.
- Jotunheim: commonly translated as “giant-land”, the realm of the giants.
- Midgard: the centermost realm where humans live.
- Muspelheim: the primordial realm of fire and home-realm of Surtr.
- Niflheim: the primordial realm of fog and ice, and outer realm to Hel.
- Vanaheim: the realm of the Vanir, a family of gods associated with agriculture and fertility which include Freyja, Frey, and Njord.
As for the last that would make up the Nine Realms:
- Nidavellir: the realm of the dwarves.
- Svartalfheim: the realm of the dark elves.
Why the overlap?
Alfheim is often depicted as a world of ethereal beauty and associated with light, which implies the elves as a fair-skinned people.
The dwarves, on the other hand, were painted as miners and blacksmiths—occupations leaving the workers covered in dirt and soot.
Apparently the soot-covered dwarves were mistaken for elves.
For the sake of The Valkyries, I opted to include Nidavellir instead of Svartalfheim so as to eliminate any confusion—but that doesn’t mean the fallout of Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna’s victory doesn’t fracture the realm of Alfheim between light and dark. I guess we’ll have to wait until Book #2 to find out…
The Bifrost
Past the midpoint of writing The Valkyries, I read Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart (which I HIGHLY recommend!) to compare it with my story. She succeeded where I failed—The Witch’s Heart offered a unique twist on the original Norse myths without directly conflicting with any of them, stating her primary sources as The Poetic Edda and The Prose Edda.
I read those two books next, and discovered my next variation: the structure of the realms and the Bifrost itself.
Again, thanks to Thor and God of War, I always had the image of the realms being separate worlds completely and the Bifrost being the portal between them.
However, the Eddas describe the Nine Realms as lying within one world—in the remains of the first fallen giant, Ymir—and the Bifrost being a single bridge between Midgard and Asgard.
In The Valkyries, the Bifrost is a portal, like a “fast travel” between waypoints across the realms. As for the realms themselves, whether they are of one larger world of several smaller ones, I leave that interpretation to the reader.
With All Due Respect
There’s plenty more smaller liberties I’ve taken, such as taking away Heimdall’s gold teeth, changing the origin of Freyja’s necklace, Brisingamen, or expanding Valhalla from a single great hall to a subsection of Asgard. My interpretation of Viking culture and the Norse myths they celebrated is made with the utmost respect, sharpening certain areas where I thought best for the saga of Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna.
And as their tale carries on, The Valkyries grows into a myth all of its own.
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