Valkyrie
One of the other main characters in the Thunderstruck II Slot is Valkyrie. She is the first god you will see in the Great Hall of Spins bonus game in the Thunderstruck 2 pokie and hands out 10 free spins at a very generous 5x multiplier (applied to your wins). You can retrigger free spins in the bonus game.
Well, Valkyries are actually the name for a group of Norse goddesses, the most famous of whom is Freyja. Will this information help you play the Thunderstruck II Slot? Hell, no. But we find it´s always worth educating yourself! Have fun playing this great new slot AND impress your friends with your indepth Norse mythology knowledge, that´s what we say.
A valkyrie is a female legend who decides who will die in battle. The valkyries summon their heroes to the Hall of the Slain, Valhalla, in the afterlife, which is presided by the god Odin, where the martyrs become einherjar.
Free Booze For The Slain Heroes
After battle, chosen slain warriors are guided to the Great Hall Valhalla by the Valkyries.
There, they get to tuck into lots of booze in the form of Mead.
Valkyries also feature as lovers of living heroes - there are often lots of ravens and swans buzzing about.
As with Thor, the fables that involve Valkyries are too many to mention in their full detail here. Let´s just say that there are a lot of them!
Wham Bam Thankyou Ma´am
One famous tale involves 3 brothers called Slagfiðr, Egil, and Völund who live in a place called Úlfdalir (literally "wolf dales"). The brothers find three women making clothes on the shore of a lake and near them were their swan's clothes, so they guess them to be valkyries. The brothers take the three valkyries back to their hall with them and live together for 7 years after which the women head off into battle and do not return. The legend tells of the brother´s search for their lovers.
Blondes Have More Fun
Valkyries are usually drawn as blonde, blue eyed and fair skinned. They wear scarlet corsets and have shields and spears.
Up The Swanny, Milking Cats
As well as being goddesses of death, they were also known as swan maidens (girls who were able to morph into swans). Capture and hold a swan maiden, or her feathered cloak, and she will grant you a wish.
The most famous Valkyrie is the goddess Freyja. She is the Norse goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. A blond, blue-eyed, beauty, Freyja travels on a golden-haired boar or in a chariot drawn by cats. They don´t milk them, by the way. We were just being silly when we wrote the headline. Freyja wears a magical cloak of falcon feathers that allows her to morph into a falcon - a bit of one-upmanship on the swan maidens, no doubt.
Their main duty is to reward the bravest fighters who have been killed in battle. And if you don´t get picked for the one way ticket to the Hall of Valhalla you´re picked up by the goddess Hel and whisked off to her horrible underground world.
Valkyries in Hollywood
Famous Valkyries include:
Brynhildr, Sigrdrifa, Sigrún, Sváva, Kára, Hrist, Mist, Skeggjöld, Skögul, and Róta.
Raven Haven
Perhaps the most famous Norse legend involving Valkyries is the legend of the Raven Banner. This banner was made of the cleanest and whitest silk and it was completely unblemished except when there was a war going on, in which case a raven appeared on it. If victory was coming, the raven appeared with his beak wide open, flapping its wings. If the battle was about to be lost, the raven remained motionless.
Sometimes the warriors would see the Valkyries weaving the Raven Banners, which prophesized the outcome of the following day's battle.