Olrun
the Valkyrie Historian
Olrun was a chieftain's daughter who, after her death, devoted herself to knowledge and was made the Valkyries' historian by Odin. Cursed and sealed in Alfheim, she was freed by Kratos and Atreus, then died at Ragnarok by Gna's hand.
Olrun, the Valkyrie Historian, was one of the nine Valkyries cursed by Odin to remain in a corporeal form until madness took her. In life she had been a chieftain's daughter, and in Valhalla she became the order's keeper of knowledge. After she grew too dangerous she was sealed away in Alfheim, then freed by Kratos and Atreus and reborn by Freya as a Shield Maiden, only to fall during Ragnarok.
Life and the pursuit of knowledge#
According to Mimir, Olrun was the daughter of a chieftain, and she died defending him during a Reaver attack. Once she had been escorted to Valhalla, she chose a path unusual among the feasting, roaring dead of that hall: she dedicated herself to the pursuit of knowledge above all else. Odin recognized a kindred spirit in her single-minded devotion to learning and appointed her the resident historian of the Valkyries.
Curse and imprisonment#
After the banishment of Freya from Asgard, the Valkyries fell out of favor with Odin, who cursed them into madness. The reigning queen, Sigrun, locked her sisters away in places where they could do no harm to the realms, and Olrun was sealed within a prison on the Light Elf Shore of Alfheim. Her corruption turned her skin a sickly pale blue and gave her great mechanical wings of golden yellow, and she wore a golden helmet shaped after an eagle.
Freedom and death at Ragnarok#
Kratos and Atreus found her prison and freed her spirit from the curse by destroying her physical form. She left a vestige of her spirit within her helmet, which, placed with those of the other Valkyries on the thrones of the Valkyrie Council, helped the two gods summon and defeat the queen Sigrun.
During Ragnarok, Freya returned Olrun to an uncorrupted body through Vanir magic, her skin restored and her metallic wings replaced with organic, birdlike ones. As a Shield Maiden she joined the final battle in Asgard, but in its early stages she was ambushed and quickly cut down by the new Valkyrie Queen, Gna, who savagely tore her wings from her body and killed her. Olrun was the only Shield Maiden to die during Ragnarok.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Olrun?
- Olrun, the Valkyrie Historian, was one of the nine Valkyries cursed by Odin to remain in a corporeal form until madness took her. In life she had been a chieftain's daughter, and in Valhalla she became the order's keeper of knowledge.
- How did Olrun become the Valkyrie Historian?
- Once escorted to Valhalla, Olrun chose a path unusual among the feasting, roaring dead and dedicated herself to the pursuit of knowledge above all else. Odin recognized a kindred spirit in her devotion to learning and appointed her the resident historian of the Valkyries.
- Why was Olrun imprisoned in Alfheim?
- After Freya's banishment from Asgard, the Valkyries fell out of favor with Odin, who cursed them into madness. The reigning queen, Sigrun, locked her sisters away where they could do no harm, and Olrun was sealed within a prison on the Light Elf Shore of Alfheim.
- How did Kratos and Atreus free Olrun?
- Kratos and Atreus found her prison and freed her spirit from the curse by destroying her physical form. She left a vestige of her spirit within her helmet, which, placed with those of the other Valkyries on the Valkyrie Council thrones, helped the two gods summon and defeat the queen Sigrun.
- What happened to Olrun at Ragnarok?
- During Ragnarok, Freya returned Olrun to an uncorrupted body through Vanir magic and she joined the final battle in Asgard as a Shield Maiden. In its early stages she was ambushed and cut down by the new Valkyrie Queen, Gna, who tore her wings from her body, making her the only Shield Maiden to die during Ragnarok.
Gallery
Images via God of War Wiki
Sources
- WikiOlrun — God of War Wiki entry
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Related entries
Atreus
Atreus was the son of Kratos and the Jotunn Faye, born in Midgard and given the hidden name Loki. Across two great journeys he grew from a sickly boy into the prophesied champion of the Giants, the god of mischief whose fate was bound to Ragnarok.
Kratos
Kratos was the demigod son of Zeus who rose from a Spartan general to the Greek God of War, destroyed the pantheon of Olympus in a quest for vengeance, and then began again in the Norse realms as a father seeking to leave his bloody past behind.
Mimir
Mimir was a Celtic fae who rose to become Odin's advisor and the ambassador of the Aesir before the All-Father imprisoned him for over a century. Freed and reanimated as a disembodied head by Kratos and Atreus, he became their guide, conscience, and friend across the Nine Realms.
Sigrun
Sigrun was the Valkyrie Queen, the most powerful of the cursed Valkyries who fell to Odin's madness. Freed by Kratos and Atreus after a grueling battle, she was later restored as a Shield Maiden and fought against Asgard during Ragnarok.
Alfheim
Alfheim was the realm of the Light and Dark Elves, divided by a centuries-long war over the Light of Alfheim, the source that powered the Bifrost. Kratos and Atreus came to claim a portion of the Light and ended up turning the war once more.
Asgard
Asgard was the realm of the Aesir gods, perched in the crown of Yggdrasil and ruled by Odin from the hall of Gladsheim. Behind the great wall of Hrimthur it stood as a fortress against the prophesied doom of Ragnarok, until Kratos breached it and the realm fell.
Mentioned in2 entries
Gna
Gna was the Vanir goddess of swift travel and Freya's former handmaiden, who pledged herself to Odin and rose to become the final Queen of the Valkyries. Loyal to Asgard until death, she fell at last to Freya's blade in Muspelheim.
The Valkyries
The Valkyries were female warrior-spirits who served Odin by escorting the honored dead to Valhalla. After Freya fell from favor, the All-Father cursed nine of them into maddening corporeal forms, until Kratos and Atreus freed their spirits and Freya reborn them as the Shield Maidens.
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