Introduction

Richard Wagner's "Die Walkure" or "The Valkyrie" is a music drama consisting of three acts. A valkyrie is a female figure in Norse mythology, there were a host of them and they chose who would die in battle and who would live.

Before reading my story, you need to know the story of the Rhinegold, gold that sits at the bottom of the Rhine river. Anyone can have great power if they make the gold into a ring, but the Rhinemaidens guard it heavily. If one happens to get past the guardians, they can only take the gold if they denounce love. Long ago, Alberich, a dwarf, denounced love and took it.

Meanwhile, leader of the gods Wotan and his wife Fricka had just had a castle built by the giants Fasolt and Fafner and the payment the giants want is Fricka's sister Freia. Freia is the goddess of youth and beauty and her golden apples are what keep the gods and goddesses young. If the giants do take her, they will not have access to them anymore, so Wotan is trusting Loge, the demigod of fire, to find an alternative payment.

Loge says the only time someone has chosen something else over the possibility of love was Alberich and the Rhinegold, and tells them of the ring. Fafner and Fasolt say they will accept this as payment instead of Freia, but take her as hostage to ensure the payment. So, Wotan and Loge travel to Alberich's subterranean kingdom to retrieve the gold and the ring. In short, they trick him and end up taking the ring and all the gold; however, Alberich places a curse on the ring so that until he gets it back the wearer will live in anxiety and eventually be robbed of it and killed.

Wotan tries to keep the ring for himself but ends up having to give it over to Fafner and Fasolt. Fafner kills Fasolt because they can't agree who will have it, but Freia is returned. The gods then head to their new castle, which Wotan names Valhalla, and Fafner leaves with the Rhinegold and the ring.

Now, a long time has passed since all of this took place. During this time, Fafner has taken on the form of a dragon and guards the gold and the ring deep inside a forest. Wotan has also fathered nine daughters, all likely with Erda, the earth goddess, and they are known as The Valkryie. The leader, and Wotan's favorite of the nine, is named Brunnhilde. They are tasked with recovering fallen heroes in battle and bringing them to Valhalla to protect the fortress should Alberich ever return with the ring.

Wotan has also fathered a son with a woman of the Volsung race on earth, Siegmund, as well as Fricka a daughter with a man of the Volsung race, named Sieglinde. Both were raised on earth, separately, unaware of their divine parentage. Wotan hopes that one of them will become the hero to retrieve the ring from Fafner, as they are not held under the treaty the gods are.

The story will open up with Siegmund and Sieglinde coming across each other while Siegmund is running away from pursuers that wish to kill him. Here is a teaser for the first part:

***

Siegmund ran through the forest, the trees a green blur, his wounded shoulder throbbing. He had to stop soon. But where could he find shelter? He had run for hours, narrowly escaping capture in the battle. Worse: he had lost his weapon, and was helpless if his pursuers caught up to him.

All of a sudden, the sky crackled with thunder and Siegmund soon felt the rain coming through the canopies of the trees. And he thought it couldn't get worse. Still moving forward, Siegmund saw a clearing in the trees up ahead and ran faster.

There was a home in the clearing! He saw the smoke rising from the fireplace and breathed a sigh of relief, sending a prayer to the gods that whoever lived within would be kind to a helpless soldier and let him stay for the night. And perhaps feed him, too.

***

Image information: "Valhalla" (1896) by Max Brückner.

Wotan, by Arthur Rackham

"Brunnhilde" by Arthur Rackham

"Running Through The Woods"

Bibliography: I took my information from the "Das Rheingold" Wikipedia page.