Halia

A Valkyrie made by the goddess Moira to fill the void left behind by the Goddess Cathe's death. She and her kind were only ever meant to be a temporary solution, and so once the Soul Gate was constructed they were left without cause. Halia fell in with the mortals- and the newly god created immortals. Enchanted by life and music, she found her place easily among the living as they travelled far and danced the nights away.
She fell in love with an immortal woman who sang her songs for the church- in honor of the goddess who had decided to bless them with eternal life. Despite her feelings, the woman was already married to a man- who didn't care for Halia very much. Still trapped in her old habits of being born to serve, Halia still devoted everything she did for this woman regardless of what it did to her. 

As time passed and the immortals grew stronger, the mortals knew they could not stand up and rather than wage war, tried to win them over to their sides. The people were not the only ones to see their growing power... Having lost one goddess already, the gods demanded the soul gate be closed and the immortals- now known as The Ageless, exterminated. Being a creation of the gods, Halia was summoned back to their side to help the cause but refused, resulting in her being excommunicated from her own kind and the divine realm. Mortals became divided as well... should they freely offer the Ageless up to the goddess, or try to protect those who had carried them to victory many times over?
Fleeing to the southern Kingdom- who had opened their gates to defend the Ageless in this holy war, Halia took up arms. Her knowledge of the gods and their tactics were invaluable, and she quickly became a key player in the war. Despite this, the very woman she loved began to grow distant... She still believed they could make peace with the gods, no matter how much Halia tried to convince her otherwise. Even if it tore them apart, she was determined to make sure her beloved would be safe at any costs. Her darling joined hands with the Church, who tried to take a neutral stance in the war, believing they were merely being punished for not being devout enough and that they could prove themselves worthy. Halia's pleas fell on deaf ears... She knew the gods more than they could ever dream, and she would not let their own delusions be their doom.

Being the only one with a way to the divine realm, she was presented with the very sword that killed the first goddess- Cathe. The blade had rejected all who had touched it before, she was accepted. The spirit within the blade agreed for reasons she did not understand, but she was grateful regardless. The sword was dubbed Laoise, and though they didn't understand one another at first, they became closer over time.

After saying her goodbyes, she was sent off to try and finish things once and for all. Entering the holy realm, she fought the King of gods and the Sun, Lugh. He offered her a place among their ranks... She was created with the divinity of a fallen god, all she had to do was cast off her heart and he could make her perfect. Appalled by the suggestion and unwilling to cast away the very thing that motivated her she struck the king down... His divinity passed through the god killing blade and into her, rather than dispersing as Cathe's had done before. As she became closer to a god her wings darkened, and her eyes paled, becoming closer to the colours of the very god she'd slain.

Returning home with her newfound power and Lugh's defeat she was met with praise from most... The church, however, was far less pleased with her triumph. While they had tried to keep out of the Holy War, Halia had taken it too far and was branded to be a blasphemous mockery of the gods. Not understanding what else she was supposed to have done, Halia was enraged by the reaction, only furthering to hurt her public image. The mortal King, realizing he could not control this woman and even should they win, she was not stable or predictable enough to be handled. He sent her into dangerous mission after mission, waiting for her to fall... but she never did. The King's betrayal did nothing to her heart compared to the betrayal of her beloved... Siding with the church, she'd cut all contact with the former Valkyrie, demanding she lay her sword down or never see her again. But how could Halia do that? How could she lie her sword down, knowing the woman she'd have died for would be killed for sure? Even if she hated her, Halia knew that the only way forward to ensure her happiness in the future was war.

Returning to the heavens to finish things once and for all she was surprised to find the remaining gods had been prepared this time- they would not fall so easily as their King.... Though she fought like a woman possessed, she could not contend with the power of the gods combined in their own realm. Since her soul was protected by Lugh's divinity it could not be destroyed, so they opted to banish it instead. Before she was sent away Moira placed her under a curse that would follow her wherever her soul landed. Like in this life, she would be doomed for ill-fated loves. In a final fit of anger she lurched forward, grabbing Moira and dragging her into the the spell as it was cast, sending them both into a long cycle of reincarnation.

Rebirth. Over and over... most lives, they did not remember their origins... sometimes they never met, other times they did. In some lives they were enemies, and in others they were lovers. In most of her lives Halia became bitter and malicious, unable to handle her grief from the curse. Either they didn't love her back, or loving her was a death sentence. Again and again and again.... Until her second last reincarnation, when she found her purpose not in a romantic love, but in love for the people around her.

Finally, her soul cycled back around to her original world, alongside Moira's. She had no memory of her first life, or connection to her old powers. She grew up along the coast on the streets, getting into fights and in trouble with the law often. She was often bailed out of trouble by an elven healer who'd fallen deep into debt while trying to care for her sick daughter, Chira. While living on the streets she came to know a wide cast of characters, including a strange and seemingly wealthy man calling himself Murray who approached her for fighting capabilities and a rumor that she could cast a lullaby spell in the form of a song. He revealed to her that it was an ability only held by the Valkyrie, and suggested she may be the descendant of one which she brushed off. He connected her to various jobs, often guarding merchant wagons between towns and seemed uninterested in taking a cut of the profits. Unsure why he'd help her she was wary of the man, keeping her distance outside of work.

After returning from a job that brought her away from town she heard that an elven woman had been severely injured by debt collectors and was in critical care she connected the dots and rushed back to find them. She arrived too late and discovered she'd died from her injuries and that Chira had been left unattended for a couple days and was in poor condition. Unsure what else to do, Halia took the young Chira with her and tried to find another healer who could make the medication she needed. She knew it'd be expensive but the price tag was far more than she had anticipated, and far more than she was making with her odd-job guard work. She considered leaving, but only briefly... She couldn't leave a small child alone to die and so she instead doubled down, taking as many jobs as she could. She confided in Murray that the current work he'd been getting her wasn't enough, so he decided to pull some strings and get her into the Coliseum as a fighter. It paid well and she was unlikely to actually die, but it took it's toll. Under his instructions, Halia kept her lullaby a secret for the time being. Halia kept her work in the Coliseum a secret from Chira for as long as she could, not wanting to worry the already frail child. Between fights she'd take odd jobs and general mercenary work, returning home usually late at night with various new scrapes and injuries. This way she was able to amass some savings as well, and when Chira began to take interest in Alchemy and learning how to make her own medicine, Halia was able to supply her with the materials she needed.

Things changed dramatically for the two of them when Murray paid Halia a visit at her home and met Chira himself. He noticed her alchemy setup and asked Chira to explain what she had, asking pointed questions to test her knowledge. Chira didn't seem to think much about the interaction, but Halia quickly ushered him out of their home. Later Murray gave her an offer she couldn't refuse, saying he'd sponsor Chira to be formally trained in alchemy at the imperial academy if Halia would accept his biggest job yet. Though she was apprehensive, this would be the only chance she'd get to give Chira an actual shot at a career in her passion. She agreed and after sending the young elf off she left with Murray and headed inland.

Instead of a guard he had her go in as a bard, set to perform at some large political gala. She didn't care much about politics or why, but she assumed that knowing why he wanted to knock out a full banquet wouldn't do her much good, either. After arriving in the city she was allowed to wander, so long as she didn't bring Murray up or blow her cover. When snooping around the castle grounds before the banquet, she ran into another woman doing the same. The two of them quickly discovered neither of them were supposed to be there, and worked together to avoid detection from the guards. Despite this being their first meeting, Halia couldn't shake the feeling she'd met this woman before. The two exchanged names and the woman revealed her name was Moira, and that she was here on behalf of the Fae wilds. The two talked more before going their separate ways, occasionally running into each other in the days coming before the banquet.

Though Halia felt guilty about what may happen to her new friend, she still went through with the job, casting the spell. It was during this banquet that she learned of Murray's true motives, and what he'd really been after. He revealed himself as the God of the Sea and wisdom, Lir, and that the one he'd really been after was Moira. He'd been able to sense Moira's approximate location, but because of the Fae's magic he hadn't been able to see her until she made herself known. Unbeknownst to Halia, she'd been the bait to lure Moira out since they had "a history" according to Lir. By being drawn to Moira she'd exposed her location, giving Lir the chance to strike.
Though she'd expected trouble, she'd never imagined she would end up fighting with a god. Without her powers from her original life, she stood no chance of winning their fight. Her only saving grace was when a young man with a face eerily similar to her own arrived, brandishing a sword she knew she'd seen before, but not when.

Lir also seemed to recognize the sword and tried to flee, but was forced to leave Moira behind. He had to choose between getting Halia or Moira out of the hall before everyone woke up, so he chose to escape with Halia.

Over the coming days she'd learn that the man's name was Niamh, and that he was a Valkyrie like her- a brother. He told her everything he remembered from their first lives, and once she was confident that she could deal with it he handed over the sword. The moment her hand touched the metal memories flooded back to her of their times together- both the good and the bad. Laoise. The sword she'd used to kill Lugh and to steal his power, and an old friend. She was able to regain her power and connection to the sun after visiting a temple to the fallen sun god, and was ready to continue her mission to kill Moira... maybe. Now that they'd met and she knew Moira knew nothing of these lives, did she have the right to kill her? The more time passed the harder it got as she recalled more and more of her reincarnations she remembered the times they'd fought until the bitter end, and all the times she'd loved and lost her. Despite Niamh's insistence on killing Moira, she refused to do so outright, meeting in secret a few more times with her in the meantime. Moira had also met with Lir- and been given back her memories of godhood, but not her powers just yet. Before anything could be worked out they went their separate ways as Halia was traced back to the incident and exiled. Deciding she was ready to end all of this, she revealed her identity to the ruler of her coastal home as Halia, the Valkyrie who's stolen the sun. She was able to prove her claims, and upon finding out that their already tense relationship with their neighbors could turn deadly if their alliance with the Fae came to fruition, they decided to strike first, pleading with Halia to join their cause. She agreed after being asked to kill whatever emissary the Fae wilds had sent.

What should have been an easy battle lasted for two years... They'd blocked the routes from the kingdom to the Fae wilds to keep the emissary from returning and solidifying an alliance, but they didn't realize that the goddess of war herself was lending her aid to their enemy. Though they were once thrilled to have the mighty Halia on their side, they quickly realized she was not a force they could control. The only reasons she still helped them was because she had something to gain from it, and because she seemed acquainted with the young elf woman who was the newly appointed Royal Alchemist. They grew fearful, unsure what would happen if Halia finally had enough and turned on them, or turned her blade on them when the war was won. Eventually they decided they needed to end things and fast. In secret they made a deal for a truce... If they lost Halia, and the enemy lost their emissary they would both have just reasons to end the war, and could work towards building a stronger future. They planned to send Halia into a suicide mission- one she surely couldn't win... And to burn the whole place down with her and Moira inside. Both women were far too dangerous to be left to wander, and it was a sacrifice they'd need to make to ensure the survival of both of their kingdoms. 

Halia knew what they were doing. She wasn't a fool and she knew the odds were against her, but she was tired. She fought hard with Niamh and Chira about her involvement, but would not be swayed. On the day of the attack everything went exactly as planned by both parties. Halia made quick work of the soldiers but went deeper into the burning building to find her real target: Moira. She found her abandoned by her allies, exactly as had been planned and when faced with the choice to kill or spare her, she instead shielded her from the flames and the two escaped together. After this they went into hiding, letting both sides believe they'd perished in the fire. Now with the freedom to move undetected, they set out to get Moira's heart back.

(I'M CALLING IT HERE FOR NOW THE DETAILS AFTER THIS ARE IN THE WORKS AND I NEED TO FINISH/MAKE OTHER CHARA BIOS MAN THERE'S TOO MUCH...)