✦ THE LEGENDS OF AETHERIA ✦
THE IRON
VALKYRIE
EIRWEN VALE
The Watcher of the Peaks.
The Mountain Warden.
The Last Wing of the High Peaks.
✦ THE LEGEND OF THE IRON VALKYRIE ✦
A Woman Who Became a Warning
Eirwen Vale is one of the most infamous figures of the Mountain Ranges.
To travelers, she is a warning.
To mountain villages, she is a protector.
To invading armies, she is a nightmare.
For generations, stories have been told about a woman with enormous wings who watches the mountains from the highest cliffs.
✦ THE MOUNTAIN WARDEN ✦
Eirwen Vale
The woman behind the legend.
✦ HER BLOODLINES ✦
Born of Two Mountain Bloodlines
Owl Bloodline
From her mother, Eirwen inherited enormous feathered wings, exceptional night vision, sensitive hearing, silent flight, extraordinary eyesight, and powerful hunting instincts.
Mountain Goat Bloodline
From her father, she inherited powerful legs, exceptional balance, incredible climbing ability, strong endurance, resistance to extreme cold, curved horns, and dark cloven hooves.
Some considered her a blessing. Others considered her an omen. Eirwen considered herself neither.
✦ THE WOMAN BENEATH THE LEGEND ✦
Appearance
Silver Eyes
Pale silver eyes with faint golden undertones resemble moonlight reflecting across freshly fallen snow.
Owl Features
Fine downy feathers blend naturally into the skin around her temples, cheeks, and jawline.
Chestnut Hair
Thick, wavy chestnut-brown hair falls past her shoulders, scattered with lighter strands.
Mountain Horns
Two small curved goat horns emerge from beneath her hair.
Powerful Wings
Enormous wings carry cream, warm brown, charcoal, and muted gray feathers patterned like a mountain owl.
Warrior's Build
Strong legs, defined arms, powerful shoulders, and a narrow waist reflect a lifetime spent climbing and fighting.
✦ THE WINGS OF THE VALKYRIE ✦
Born to Rule the Sky
Eirwen's wings are enormous, powerful, and almost completely silent.
When fully extended, they allow her to glide across entire mountain valleys. Their natural coloring allows her to blend into snow, stone, and clouds.
During storms, Eirwen can disappear almost completely into the sky.
✦ THE SKILLS OF THE VALKYRIE ✦
Abilities
Predator's Sight
Exceptional eyesight and extraordinary night vision.
Silent Flight
Her wings create almost no sound while flying.
Mountainborn
Exceptional balance, climbing ability, and terrain awareness.
Cold Resistance
She can survive temperatures dangerous to ordinary humans.
Wind Riding
She can manipulate and ride powerful mountain currents.
Hunter's Hearing
Her hearing is extraordinarily sensitive.
Skyfall
Eirwen can dive from extreme heights before striking with devastating force.
Moon Sight
Her vision becomes even more sensitive beneath moonlight.
Cliffwalker
She can traverse extremely steep and narrow terrain with remarkable stability.
Silent Hunter
Her instincts allow her to track prey and enemies with minimal movement or sound.
✦ THE WEAPON OF THE VALKYRIE ✦
Ironfall
A long, elegant mountain-forged spear.
Ironfall was forged from Star-Iron recovered from the mountain. Its dark metal contains faint silver veins and never rusts.
Eirwen uses it in close combat and while fighting from the air. She can descend from extreme heights with Ironfall pointed downward, striking with enough force to crack stone.
✦ THE FALL OF HER OLD LIFE ✦
The Night the Mountain Burned
The Village
Eirwen was born in a small settlement hidden high within the mountains, surrounded by Owl and Goat Demi-Human families.
Star-Iron
A powerful human kingdom discovered an ancient magical mineral beneath the mountain and demanded it.
The Attack
The mountain people refused. The kingdom sent soldiers. Eirwen's father was killed defending the village, and her mother died attempting to save the children.
The Avalanche
At sixteen, Eirwen used her knowledge of the mountain to trigger an enormous avalanche that swallowed the invading army.
The Legend
Eirwen never returned to ordinary life. She remained in the mountains and began protecting the remaining settlements.
✦ HER CONSTANT COMPANION ✦
Veyra
The owl who never left her side.
Veyra
Great Mountain Owl • Female • 17 Years
Veyra is a large female mountain owl with snowy cream, muted gray, warm brown, and charcoal feathers.
She possesses unusually strong intelligence and understands spoken language remarkably well.
Eirwen found Veyra injured after she became trapped in an abandoned hunting snare. Eirwen freed her and nursed her back to health.
Veyra never left.
✦ BEHIND THE ARMOR ✦
The Woman Beneath the Legend
Quiet
Eirwen rarely wastes words. She watches before she speaks.
Observant
She notices tiny details most people completely miss.
Independent
Eirwen refuses to be controlled by kingdoms or authority.
Protective
She protects those she cares about without treating them as helpless.
Guarded
Trust must be earned before she reveals her softer side.
Human
Beneath the legend, she can laugh, tease, fear, grieve, become frustrated, and become vulnerable.
✦ THE IRON VALKYRIE ✦
Never Again.
Eirwen Vale never wanted to become a legend.
She wanted a family. A home. A quiet life among the mountains.
The kingdom took all three.
Now she stands upon the highest peaks, watching the valleys below.
And she is watching.