Type of character (protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, etc.): Antagonist

Character’s name: Freya

Goal: To accomplish whatever objective Einherjar Tactical & Security Services assigns her. In this case, the quelling of a socialist uprising on Saturn’s moon, Phoebe.

Flaw: For the most part, she has forsaken her humanity to embrace the warmongering lifestyle of the Einherjar.

Age: The flash-clone she currently inhabits is biologically 24. However, she is on her thirteenth rebirth. Consequently, her consciousness is approximately 89 years old.

Sex: Female

Height: 6’ 9”

Weight: 280 lbs

Race: Predominantly Saami.

Hair color: Reddish brown

Eyes: Steel gray

Grooming: Well-groomed, but Spartan in nature. No make-up or anything else that might say ‘I’m intimately available’. Her hair is shaven on the sides with the top braided and hanging freely to her mid-back.

Clothing: Her praetor Mk IV powered exoskeleton for combat operations. The sterile and militaristic uniform of the Einherjar while on garrison. Working-class attire while on shore leave.

Health issues: None. Einherjar flash clones are bioengineered to be paragons of human health.

Physical abilities: Almost preternatural strength, agility, and endurance from bioengineering. These traits are honed to laser focus from constant Einherjar training programs and her own private exercise regimen.

Speech (accent): Slight Saami accent. Pronounced enough that those well versed in Scandinavian accents could actively identify it, but subtle enough that most would just call it ‘vaguely northern European’.

Parents: Saami farmers from a backwater Martian colony. They weren’t wealthy enough to afford consciousness transferal, thus they’ve been dead for quite some time.

Siblings: No biological siblings. War forms the strongest bonds, however. She has several thousand brothers and sisters in her fellow Einherjar. The protagonist Týr is her closest and most dear bond.

Friends: Ragnarok Company. The company to which Týr and Freya belong to.

Best friend (or person closest to): Týr, the protagonist.

Least favorite people: ‘Unblooded’. Those who have never seen combat, nor taken another life. She shares a common warrior belief that you are not truly an adult until you’ve killed somebody on the field of battle.

Enemies: Whoever the Einherjar are contracted to destroy.

Pets: An HK138 hunter-seeker class combat unit named Fenrir. The HK138s are robots which resemble mechanical canines. They’re primary purpose is reconnaissance, however they are programmed to be able to fulfill supplemental combat duties when necessary.

Residence: The Einherjar’s Leviathan-class capital ship, Jormungandr.

Neighborhood: The Einherjar Marine Corps’ barracks and training ground aboard the Jormungandr

Cultural background: Saami

Religion (and attitudes about religion): Saami shamanism, however most of her religious practices and beliefs are Ásatrú in nature.

Memberships: A Valkyrie quick-reaction force (QRF) unit attached to Ragnarok Company.

Schooling: No university schooling.

Attitude toward school: Largely apathetic. Feels that most ‘college educated’ are still unblooded, and by extension unworthy of her respect. She does hold a modicum of respect for blue-collar laborers however.

Popularity: She is considered a peerless fighter and one of the best Valkyries active on the Jormungandr.

Mentors: Nerthus. Founder of the first Valkyrie unit and current logistics officer for the Jormungandr.

Heroes: Her late uncle Horagalles first, and Nerthus second. However, she aspires to emulate all of the great warriors of old.

Favorite sports: Mixed martial arts and soccer.

Work experience: Farmer in her youth, standard rifleman for her first life cycle. Successfully completed Valkyrie training during her second life-cycle.

Hobbies: Soccer. However she does have a musical side, which people rarely see. She plays guitar and sings, though the only one who has heard her sing recently is Týr.

Likes and dislikes (music, movies, TV, books, etc.): She holds strength and martial prowess in high regard. She views overt displays of emotion as a sign of weakness. She has a disdain for warriors who don’t fight with honor. She holds nothing but contempt for the unblooded and individuals who refuse to fend for themself. If someone physically can’t fight back, she is understanding, however if someone doesn’t fight back on account of what she views as ‘misplaced moral restrictions’ she has no sympathy for them if they are killed as a result.

Fears: The thing about immortality is that several human fears are now rendered void. However, she secretly fears losing the bond of those who are close to her, especially the bond she has with Týr.

Dreams: To eventually assume command of the Valkyrie Battalion as a whole.

Life goals (in 5, 10, 30 years): 5 years, she fully expects to still be completing Einherjar Contracts. 10 years she’s hoping to achieve the aforementioned duties. 30 years and beyond haven’t quite concerned Freya. She doesn’t see herself having a ‘normal’ life. She’s convinced she would find it dreadfully boring and unfulfilling.

Nervous habits: Rolling a small figurine of an ancient Viking warrior between her fingers. She was given the figurine by her uncle Horagalles , who died in service to the Einherjar before consciousness transferal had been perfected.

Foibles: She tends to reduce dynamic and social problems to an ‘us versus them’ mentality. The social and cultural dynamics of asymmetric warfare are completely lost upon her. Instead of viewing the act of killing during wartime as an unfortunate necessity, she just doesn’t see anything fundamentally wrong with the action of taking a human life at all.

Reasoning style: Surprising diplomatic initially. She will attempt to reason with an enemy into a peaceful surrender, however she only gives them one chance. After that initial offer, she lays waste.

How would your character’s friends describe her or him? Týr: “She is a focused and elegant fighter. The grace in which she moves on the field can only be described as ‘angelic’, albeit an angel of death. She’s a great friend, the best friend I’ve ever had. She’s had my back when no one else did, and took some crazy risks on the battlefield to save my reckless ass. Hell, she has literally died for me on several occasions and I can honestly say I’m sure she would have still done so even if we didn’t have the rebirths. I’m worried about her psyche, however. She has grown so cold since our first half-life. I mean, we’ve all grown colder since our first half-life, that’s just the nature of the game. Freya, however, she scares the other Einherjar, and that’s not easy”

Is your character shy or bold? Bold. Stoic, solemn, and introverted, but won’t hesitate to make herself heard.

Is your character talkative or taciturn? Taciturn

What most irritates, embarrasses, or bores your character? Even though it’s been iterated several times throughout this outline, weakness irritates Freya. She is a predator, and she holds nothing but disdain for those she considers prey. She also has a distaste for electronic music, which Týr plays several times during shore leave just to agitate her. She finds herself bored with most things that don’t serve a direct purpose or have an equally direct meaning. For instance interpreting post-modern art would completely bore her, however artwork depicting the Battle of Belleau Wood would interest her.

How would your character complete the sentence “My life is __________”? “My life is full of purpose”

Other things I thought of while filling out this form: Norse pantheons vary from tribe to tribe. Freya is a Nordic god of one tribe, but nobody I talk to knows who the Saami equivalent is. My apologies to any potential Saami readers I may have. Consequently, Freya’s name may change in future iterations to represent her Saami heritage.

Freya is what some might consider the epitome of the modern representation of a fighter. She is second-to-none as far as her training is concerned, never skipping a day. Furthermore, she is as loyal as they come. She has no qualms backing her brethren as long as they have shown that they are willing to reciprocate. Her role as antagonist is directly linked with her most critical flaw: her willingness to forsake conventional humanity which led to her ultimate inability to relate to ‘normal’ people in any capacity whatsoever. This willful disregard for her own humanity culminated in an antipathy for anybody she considers incapable of surviving in the ‘real world’. When Týr begins to reflect upon himself, and the kind of effect prolonged war has had upon him, Freya actively attempts to divert his attention from the perceived weakness of doubt and encourages him to embrace the strength he can find by giving into the bloodlust. Freya and Týr are the literary manifestations of my own struggles with trying to remember what it’s like to be ‘everyone else’ after being exposed to both a less than reputable life in Memphis, Tennessee, and being hardened by the experiences I had endured during my deployment to Afghanistan. Part of me fully embraces the fact that life is cruel and unforgiving, and has in turn given me a different perspective on the world and pain it can bring. Additionally, I had grown to be resentful of the ‘unblooded’, those who have never had to fight for their life in some capacity or another. I had begun to mentally categorize people into two categories: “wolves” and “sheep” with nothing in between. That part of me is Freya. Another part of me fully realizes how unfair it is to view people who have never been exposed to traumatic experiences with the kind of spite I had been prone to. That same part of me yearns to more or less ‘undo’ some of the damage of my life experiences and reacclimate with society in a way that revitalizes some of my own lost humanity. That part of me is Týr.

Joshua Gray

Aspiring polymath...

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