"May this place stand forever and its enemies fall"
Note: Information on this page is OOC knowledge, except with agreement from the Sable GM
Creation
Valhalla was made real by the thoughts and memories of two people, Siegfried Hagen and Andreas Pedersen; the blood of Family; and the power of a Death Blessing. Hagen was an ex-SS officer, and a member of the Germananorden, an extreme Aryan group who believed that the people of the Reich had come from the mythical Germania. Within their belief system, this was located around Mount Vanaheim (aka Mount Anglia), the highest point of the Sable Mountains - the ring of natural defences protecting Sable from the Reich - and Hagen set about looking for it. Not understanding the nature of the mountains, he led a group towards Mount Vanaheim and did, indeed, find what he believed to be Germania, and the Halls of Valhalla. However, the effort broke his mind, and the place was destroyed due to the intervention of Sable forces. That would probably have been the end of it, had it not been for the fact that the following day, an altercation took place at the site which led to the blood of Rupert Delatz being spilled at that location. Due to Delatz's nature, this brought about a change in the Ruins of Valhalla, turning it into a Rock of Creation, which ended up being exploited later by Andreas Pedersen, another Germanenorden operative who had been brought up within the Lebensborn system.
Pedersen learned of what Hagen had done through a variety of sources, and set about planning how to replicate the effect and do it properly this time. He devised a ritual which he believed would rebuild Valhalla from the ruins, but realised that he would need Hagen to make it work. Unfortunately, Hagen had ended up in a mental asylum in Sable, under the care of King Robert. It took him some time, but Pedersen found a way to make Hagen available to him, and as an unexpected bonus, he also managed to capture Stephen Lacey, the King of Sable's young ward. On the theory that two sacrifices were better than one, he arranged for both of them to be taken to the Ruins of Valhalla and set about enacting the ritual which would rebuilt the place in a more orderly fashion. As before with Hagen, Sable operatives interrupted the ritual before it was completed, but not before he had begun the sacrifices and blood had been spilled. Ultimately, they were saved and he was killed, but as he died, he pronounced a Blessing upon his creation: "May this place stand forever, and its enemies fall". Thus the formation of Valhalla gained its own momentum.
What is Valhalla?
Valhalla was initially a pocket Shadow, woven out of the weird stuff of the Sable Mountains and anchored to them. At first, it was located about 150 miles into the mountains from the Sable side. However, King Robert was undestandably unhappy about the proximity to his own lands, and worked with RFSS Delatz to shift the original physical site to a more neutral location, where the borders of Espanero, Schweiz and Franca used to meet. The mountains moved around it, so that it cannot be reached by normal people, protecting it much as Sable itself is protected.
However, the fact that it was built on the blood of four Family members (Rupert Delatz, Siegfried Hagen, Stephen Lacey and Andreas Pedersen), and fuelled by a Death Blessing gave it the potential to become more than just another pocket Shadow. Since its relocation, it has effectively spawned into a seperate world, probably occupying a similar space in the metaphysical cosmos as Argent. It is very stable and very permanent, and has become a Shadow of Destiny for the the souls those who die, or have ever died, who believe in the Norse myths in the Sable-Aurellis universe. As the Norse beliefs are more prominent within the SS than other population group on the Inside, Valhalla is effectively an SS nation. As far as the living is concerned, it can also be reached by the close family (parents, siblings, children) of those whose blood was spilled to create it.
At this point in time, Valhalla comprises an area about the same size as the Reich itself, and seems to be expanding as more souls find their way there, as if it is adapting to welcome those who deserve to be there. It is split into two primary regions: a major city of somewhat Medieval appearance, which has formed around the Place of Blood - the holy of holies in Valhalla, and the very heart of the nation; and the more rural Fólkvangr. The city, also called Valhalla, is of indeterminate size and population, but forms the religious and governmental centre of the Principality. Fólkvangr is a strange mixture of idyllic agrarian landscape, dotted with small towns and villages; and training grounds, where the forces of Valhalla can keep their skills sharp and train for the sheer pleasure of training, to prepare for the final battle. Storytelling and drinking are other popular pasttimes.
Economically, Valhalla is completely self-sufficient. The land is rich and fertile, and it can grow all its own food - assuming its residents need food, which hasn't been proven as yet. Likewise, it can satisfy all the material needs from the abundance of natural resources which have formed within it.
The Valhallans
The Valhallans are the re-embodied souls of those who have died believing in the Norse myths. Dominant among them are those of warriors who have died with honour and a true belief in the rewards of Valhalla and its sister realm, Fólkvangr, including all members of the Honour Guard and all Knights of the SS who have died in good standing. The ruler of the Valhallans is Hochprinz Joachim, father (unknown and unacknowledged) of Andreas Pedersen, whose Death Blessing gave Valhalla life and form. They are closest in nature to the Argentians, and appear to have physical form, and they are able to manifest day and night. More recently, it has become apparent that some of them have the potential to return to the real world, most visibly their ruler. Mobility seems to depend on who they were in life, whether they were Family and whether they had any form of Power. None of them have tried to leave Magica Superior yet.
They hold the Norse gods in reverence, especialy those they consider to be the key members of their pantheon: Odin, Freya, Freyr,Thor and Heimdall. Loki also has some influence with certain of the Valhallans. They also hold RFSS Delatz in high esteem: being predominantly SS, he was always they one they had their first allegiance to, although whether this attitude will change with the arrival of Jürgen Kessler among their number, remains to be seen.
Key Players
Hochprinz Joachim, Master of Valhalla, KSS (Winter Circle)
Hochprinz Joachim is believed to be the brother of Kaiser Wilhelm and NSRAP Chairman Conrad Berthelmes, and there is certainly some resemblance to the latter. As far as the historical record goes, he began his career as Oberstgruppenfhrer commanding the Waffen-SS in the earliest days of the Reich. He quickly gained a reputation as a smart, efficient and somewhat cold-blooded commander, who was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Despite his rank and position, he always enjoyed leading from the front, which earned him a great deal of respect among his men. He was one of the founding Knights of the SS, and remained a close ally of the RFSS throughout his life. The latter didn't wholly approve of his active participation in the Reich's wars, and would have preferred that he direct, rather than lead, but Joachim always laughed off the RFSS's concerns. However, those fears were realised when he fell in the field in SY103, during a battle somewhat deeper in Shadow than was usual at the time, against an opponent just as cold-blooded and ruthless as himself. The identity of the general he was fighting was never ascertained. His body was repatriated, and he was buried with full military honours in the Crypt of the Wewelsburg.
With the founding of Valhalla, as the Fallen attained their reward, Joachim quickly established himself as their ruler, and was responsible for agreeing the alliance with Rupert Delatz, on behalf of the Kaiser and the Reich, on 1 October RY154. He returned to the ranks of the Knights of the SS at Winter Solstice of the same year.
He stands about 6'2", is of medium build, and looks remarkably fit and healthy for someone who is supposed to have died over fifty years ago. He was married to Elisa, who has joined him in Valhalla as his Consort, and they have one daughter still living, Ria, who is Reichsprotektor of Sachsen. He is also rumoured to be the father of the Lebensborn twins, Cornelius and Josef Linz, both of whom remain in senior positions within the SS.
Prinz Jürgen, Warleader of Valhalla
In life, Jürgen Kessler (as was) was one of the longest serving officers within the SS organisation. He was Lebensborn, and joined the SS out of school at eighteen, thereby effectively foregoing his State Service. He was initially appointed head of the SD in RY036, in which capacity he served faithfully for many years, and then became the RFSS's chief enforcer and right-hand man as far as sorting out problems and dealing with difficult situations in RY120. He was made a Knight of the SS in RY069, but unlike Hochprinz Joachim, he no longer bears this distinction. He was appointed general commanding the Waffen-SS in May RY153 and remained in that position until his death in a duel at Summer Solstice, RY154.
On his arrival in Valhalla, he was reticent about the circumstances which had led him there. However, Hochprinz Joachim knew him from long acquaintance and due to their old friendship, and didn't ask too many questions. Instead, he brought him into the fold as a trusted lieutenant, and has appointed him Warleader of Valhalla.
In life, Jürgen was married to Irma Adler, a former Kommandant of the Wewelsburg and a Knight of the SS in her own right, and they had one daughter, Marin, who inherited his lands and titles after his death. Irma rejoined Jürgen on his arrival in Valhalla.