Gna

Gna was the Vanir goddess of swift travel and once the close handmaiden of Freya. After the wars between the gods she pledged her loyalty to Odin and rose to become the last Queen of the Valkyries. Her devotion to Asgard and her hatred of her former friend carried her to a final stand against Kratos and Freya.

Handmaiden of Freya#

Gna was a Vanir goddess of swift travel who long served Freya in Vanaheim. When the Aesir-Vanir War broke out between Asgard and Vanaheim, Gna fought bitterly at Freya's side, and when the war ended in Freya's marriage to Odin to bring peace to the Nine Realms, Gna followed her friend to Asgard. There she pledged her loyalty to the All-Father and sought to serve him by joining the Valkyries, while Freya herself became their queen.

Betrayal and hatred#

Gna's bond with Freya did not survive the peace. When Freya abruptly ended her marriage to Odin, Gna felt personally betrayed by a choice she could neither understand nor accept. Worse followed when Odin cursed and banished Freya to Midgard and then turned his fury on Vanaheim, using Freya's exile as cause to subdue the realm for good and leave it occupied by the Einherjar. From that time Gna was consumed by hatred for the queen she felt had abandoned both her and her people. She and her sisters then served under Sigrun, who had been chosen as the new Valkyrie Queen in Freya's place.

Queen of the Valkyries#

When Sigrun regained her freedom after her defeat at the hands of Kratos and Atreus, and shortly before Fimbulwinter when she defected, Odin needed a new queen, and only Gna would do. Her unyielding commitment to Asgard was rewarded, though much of the work fell to her alone, for most of the Valkyries were gone. Carrying out Odin's will with zeal, she trained the surviving Einherjar alongside her sisters Hrist and Mist with a fist of steel, readying them for the final war.

Ragnarok and the last stand#

Gna led the Einherjar during Ragnarok, fighting to protect what she had sworn to serve until death. Early in the battle on the shores of Ifing she engaged the Shield Maiden Olrun, tearing the wings from her before flying away, and it was then that Freya saw that her former friend had become the new Valkyrie Queen. While pursuing Fenrir and Angrboda, Gna accidentally entered a realm tear opened by the giant wolf, which carried her out of Asgard midway through the battle. She survived, but Ragnarok ended in crushing defeat for Asgard, with Odin slain and the realm destroyed.

As the highest-ranking survivor, Gna took charge of the remaining Einherjar to fight on in Asgard's honor. Kratos and Freya found her at last in Muspelheim, where in a blind rage over Odin's death she engaged them in ferocious combat. After a long battle they gained the upper hand and subdued her, Kratos holding her down while Freya pleaded with her to let go of her hatred. Gna refused, insisting that Freya finish what she had started, and with no other choice Freya agreed. Released and ready, Gna allowed her former friend to behead her. When Kratos and Freya brought word of her death to the Shield Maidens Sigrun, Eir, and Gunnr, Kratos told them only that her end had been swift and just.