Valkyrie Russ (Nora Valkyrie) was the 6th and final child born to Leman Russ on the death world of Fenris. She was the only child left out of the 6 as Russ's upbringing and hatred of psykers in general had gotten her 4 brothers and sister killed and Russ? He didn't so much as bat an eye lid and banished each of the mothers after each death, and had their names-stricken from memory but Nora held on to each, and had them inscribed in runes on her thunder hammer.

She, baring the twin daughters of Vulkan was the tallest of the primarch children at 6ft 5 outside of her powr armour and 7ft 4 inside of it, making her one of the few royal children that matched their astartes brothers in size.

Her armour was a truly rare suit indeed as it was a mixture of MK1 thunder armour and MK3 iron pattern, the helmet and large broad sculpted breast plate were of the thunder armour and the rest was mk3.

Her pride and joy however were her thunder hammer/mechanised grenade launcher, she had spent years crafting it to perfection once the emperor had united with Russ making tweaks here and there.

Leman Russ had the truly rare honour to have a suit of MK1 thunder but has thrown it to Valkyrie not wanting to waste much time upon her.
Bjorn had been quite the father to her as well as her company captain Thorson, who was a truly rare case, he had been made an astartes by gene seed grown from her genetic stock, which had granted Thorson a maine of bright ginger hair as well as her psychic power which seemed to harness the very thunder itself and made him so much more dangerous to those of Russ's gene seed.

Valkyrie herself however was a rare breed of psyker having the ability to channel Her might through Her very body essentially turning herself into a human force weapon almost on command. Which had made her father despise her even more and her gene sons nigh ostracised as a result.

Something made even worse by how stable she was as a psyker despite the incredible potency of her power, which had been on par with the thousand sons.

Her armour was touted as one of the most feminine sets used by the children only being out done by the Auramite armour of the daughter of sanguinius of the shimmering purple plate of the emperor's children. Her helmet whilst being ugly to some was sculpted to fit her face, making her features stand out, which was in a permanent warm smile a far cry from the thunder warrior who had used it last.

One gift her farther have her without a look of disgust was a wounded thunder wolf she would go on to name "Fenria"
Despite Russ anticipating the pup dying within weeks, but it had defied all expectations and had grown up to be a full mighty beast in deed, able to hold her master's weight enough so that she could be used as a mount.
Her fur was a deep black and grey with its eyes being a deep piercing blue.

Valkyrie's role in her legion was a confused and messy one indeed despite being awarded a severely under strength great company numbering typically no more than 2 thousand at maximum strength.

However, her astartes had grown very accustomed to being the punching bag of mockery and scorn from their fellow brother's, they had a reputation of being near fanatically ferocious in their combat actions, often nearly outpacing their brother's, or even those of the world eaters with the key difference was that their fury could be selectively unleashed in its entirety to a point of even matching the gene sons of Sanguinius.

There tactics reflect the ferocious and "out there" nature of their commander often using rapid and thunderous deployments and making very heavy use of thunder wolves' cavalry, jump pack assault infantry and very liberal usage of rhinos and vindicators and explosives in general.
Valkyrie rebelled and abhorred a lot of the more questionable practices of the legion such as their recruitment methods and organisation and unit names but only as far as she could get away with.

Valkyrie despite being the daughter of a feudal world, took full advantage of her position and the imperium's attitude towards science and had designed her own MK of power armour, the MK3 B "Valkyrie", a jump pack using style of armour with its helmet bearing twin wings coming of the sides at a sharp 60-degree angle. the other key aspect of the armour design was a deletion of the right-side heat vent and its replacement being a back mounted small calibre frag cannon, having taken inspiration from the daughter of Sanguinius and her father's Sanguinary guard.

After the triumph of Ullanor and Horus's ascension to war master and the introduction of the Remembrancers to the legions, Russ had essentially done all he could to avoid them with Valkyrie, who was already very popular with the imperial army, White Scars and even navy elements for her demeanour, willingness to help with more mundane actions and her legendary feasts had accepted them with opens arms and eagerly enjoyed speaking with them.

But the council of Nikea had happened...

For months she had noticed her father's rage against her and psykers get worse and worse to the point of borderline insanity with his eyes becoming a dull pale yellow with a soft red glow...

She stands beside Qrow, Prince of the Thousand Sons' legion with her modified thunder helmet tucked under her right arm, with her left resting on her thunder hammer and her Psychic power ready for the worst, if her farther attacks her even if he was surrounded by not only his brother's, his farther the Emperor and the Royal children of the other legions and thousands of astartes and custodes present.

She's internally having a panic attack being under the gaze of some of thee most dangerous and important people of the galaxy especially with the emperor stairing her down and spirits of Fenris she hoped it wasn't for her choice in armour blends, having heard very scant rumours among the Remembrancers about what befell the thunder warrior legions.

Her breathe was hitching in her throat and her hands were gripping noticeably tightly around her weapon and helmet as she lets the hammer go and researches for her holo projection/video device and sets it down on the marble floor taking the plunge in testifying in defence of the thousand sons...

As the scene plays out in front of her bruised face twitches and aches in pain as the memory of the blow her farther had delivered is relived to its full extent, she's noticeably micro shifting in her armour and her grip on her psychic power was slipping. her only saving grace was the presence of the emperor and Sanguinius and a few others.

As she's about to let out a whimper she hears Qrow's deep voice in her head "I'm right beside you, calm your breathing, take slow breathes. last thing we both need is a psychic power freak out" Valkyrie is about to try and respond telepathically when she sees her farther lurch out of his seat looking at her, and she flinches very obviously and Qrow even reaches for his hybrid force weapon when the emperor stands up and bellows his order for him to sit down.

Looking up at the gantry she can see the familiar white maine of hair that was Wenoa 1st born daughter of the Emperor's Children legion shaking her head disappointedly at the whole display.

however, the gleaming bronze armour of the champion child of the World Eaters who she only knew because of her flagrant disregard for her father's orders never to recruit form his home world and had petitioned on multiple occasions directly to the emperor about personally leading her company in a planetary compliance action.

Once Valkyrie heard the emperor's official sanction and censor against both Russ and his legion with exception being her and her company... As she heard those words leave the master of mankind's lips, she could feel her heart break and she felt a wired sense. it was as if a fate was just sealed... As soon as the words were out of his mouth Valkyrie ran from the chamber at a speed even Sanguinius had a visible amount of trouble trying to register.

Once outside, she bolts over past a custodian, one of the emperor's companions and out on to a balcony and with stress overwhelming her, she violently vomits over the failing dropping her helmet to the floor with a heavy clank as she gripped the railing for dear life, her head ached and pulsed with pain as her power flickers across her hands in pink colourations.

It's not long before she hears the unmistakable sound of Custodes armour walking towards her, in her panicked haze she hears only one set of footfalls.
Looking over to one side she sees the 9ft gilded mass of a Custodian but could not recognise the shield host he belonged to, what she didn't expect was for the stoic gilded warrior to takes his helmet off and Mag lock it to his hip sideways.

"I'm Normandy Arslan, shield captain of the Aquilion shield host. I'm to be your protection detachments leader and your personal companion for the duration of my and my brother's posting"
His tone was dead pan, but bore an accent she hadn't heard since last she had a feast with the Khan and the White Scars legion, including Mulan Khan.

Turning her head to look at him, she sees his hair is cut very short at the front but gets longer the further back along his head with his face being surprisingly soft features, with bright purple/pink eyes but she does notice he's holding out a large glass of water and a cloth.

Valkyrie accepts both washing her mouth out before spitting it out and then while her face clean of vomit "well met venerable Custodes... forgive my current state... I can't imagine it's a welcome sight, to see a grandchild of your Emperor like this, especially wearing the armour I'm using"
The stoic faced warrior let's out a dry raspy chuckle "I have seen far worse than what I'm seeing before me lady Valkyrie"

Valkyrie in turn responds "much like your brother's, renowned charmers" she ends with a chuckle standing up and reaches for her helmet, but Arslan picks it up and holding to her and she collects it mag locking to her hip as he responds "your reputation for humour proceeds you."
Valkyrie then asks "where am I being posted?" She asks him as she text vox signals her company to be ready to depart at a moment's notice.

Arslan answers "a feudal world known at Valerious primus, it's not too dissimilar to Fenris but a lot warmer in climate" Valkyrie nods "ah, I see. How many of your brother's will be coming with us?" She asks nervous having never seen more than 10 than in a single location never mind the amount present here on Nikea.
Arslan answers "20 brothers of my shield host, the emperor believes your farther will come for your head for your apparent betrayal of him."

Over the next coming years since the council Valkyrie and her company and gilded companions had made quite a home for themselves on Valerious prime which had been assigned as her personal world to mould as she was fit.

She had made great strides and efforts to improve the world with whatever resources she could, including the infrastructure to support the considerable contingent astartes she had under her wing on this world going as far to create a gene seed stockpile based on her stock, fearing the censor against her legion would escalate if her farther couldn't be brought to reason.

And then came news of the burning of Prospero...

Leman Russ had been assigned to arrest Magnus the red for breaking the regulations of the council of Nikea, and even was accompanied by an entire shield company including Anathema Pyskana. But thanks to said Custodes the news that he had mutated into some sort of warp creature with the legion effectively at civil war with itself with, Bjorn leading the loyalists to the imperium in a desperate rush to Fenris to see to its defence.

When Valkyrie had heard of this, she broke down completely and had desperately begged Arslan to make dam sure the report was accurate... And when he got pict feed footage of the events from the surviving Custodes that had contacted him, it had left her completely broken minded to the point she'd get violent at the slightest provocation.

However, this didn't last long as she emerged from her fortress determined to take her company to save Fenris and come to Bjorns aid, this however was something Arslan had been specifically told not to allow to happen when he was given this posting. but Valkyrie could not and would not be dissuaded form this path despite the two sharing a very in unorthodox bond even amongst the royal family with the daughter of the Angel and the daughter of the Night Haunter being borderline romantic with one another.

Before setting off Valkyrie had ordered the youngest members form all her forces squads to stay behind on Valerious including the only two dreadnoughts she had, one a Deredeo pattern and the other a Contemptor pattern not wanting to lose the potential future of the legion if the situation gets any worse.

By some miracle both she and her Custodes allies had arrived above Fenris as Russ had yet to hit the surface, as his tainted fleet had been locked in battle with the Fenris defence fleet and Bjorns loyalists as well as part of the Custodes shield company that had gone with Bjorn to stand against the demonic Russ.

Valkyrie stands in the hangar deck of her battle barge the "thunder of the 6th" with many of her "Valkyries", thunder wolf riders and assault troopers, who were loading into the storm birds and mars pattern thunder hawks with their rhinos.

she's resting one hand on Fenria, her pet thunder wolf as she's facing her legionnaires "Sons of Fenris and Valerious! I understand that many of you blame me for the tragedy that has befallen our legion... But I intend to save our home world! Russ, my father! your Primarch! Has fallen to madness! The wolf king you once knew is gone; all I ask? is to lead you for what could be last time"

The astartes present all slam their fists over their hearts saying "we stand beside you wolf queen!"
Valkyrie smiles warmly at this, and raises her hammer above her head channelling her psychic power through it before turning to the assembled Custodes and Arslan.

"I know I have no right to give you orders, honourable Custodes, if you desire to sit this one out, I will not hold it against you" Arslan speaking for his purple robed brother's saying "Leman Russ has turned his back on the imperium, and has become a beast and has slain multiple of my brother's, our orders are to protect you and avenge them, we stand with you" he puts his helmet on and activates his guardian spear as does his brother's.

Valkyrie smiles under her helmet as she mounts Fenria and pats her on the back as she rides her into the thunder hawk, using her vox to order captain Thorson to lead the fleet in orbit in her absence.

By the time she and her troops had hit the surface of Fenris in particular the fortress of the fang Russ had landed with his tainted warband of rabid, spittle spewing berserkers had butchered their way up the mountain slope and was doing so fast.

Her thunder hawk gunship set down and lowered its ramp with her, the Custodes and some of her Valkyrie veterans all rushing out onto frost covered stone, where she is greeted by Bjorn himself as well as a few wolf guard terminator elites

"It warms me to see you well my princess, but what are you doing here?"
Valkyrie very swiftly responds as her troops take up their positions "I wasn't about to stand by and let my farther burn my and our legions home world, it's an honour to have been trained by you Bjorn" she ends with a nod as Fenria barks.

Bjorn smiles under his helmet "what are your orders wolf queen" he asks half chuckling as he readies his frost axe Valkyrie turns her mount to look down the walls of the fang and sees her farther glowing red with the power of the warp and says "the leadership of the defence is yours Bjorn, I never liked defence actions." With that she hefts her thunder hammer up into the air and lighting strikes it causingn her to glow bright blue and pink creating a purple like glow around her as she belts out " STRIKE FROM THE SKIES MY SONS"

All over the fang her Valkyries leap into the sky with their jump packs and start firing their signature shoulder mounted frag launchers into the rabid berserkers of Russ blowing astartes limb from limb and sending them screaming back down the mountain side with her thunder cavalry charging down the slopes and straight out of the transports as they land.

Valkyrie turns to Arslan and says "can you keep up?" She says as Fenria is growling deeply eager to fight "more than able" is visibly reply as she leads himself and his golden brothers down the main causeway of the fang heading straight for Russ.

With her power coursing through her very body, she grips onto Fenria hard she barley feels the bitter cold of her home against her skin and armour, but instead feels raw elemental rage coming straight from her father, and it makes her feel sick to her core at what he's turned into.

His head has mutated and turned into a twisted form of a wolf spewing crimson-stained saliva outwards as she notices a large fist shaped hole in his chest with blood sprinting of it and it seems tainted by the warp...

The last thing she members is her and Fenria mid-air after leaping of a rock as a thunderstorm cloud surrounded them both as her hammer glowed brighter than the sun itself the both of them roaring with rage...

Valkyrie doesn't know how long she's been out cold for when she wakes up against something fluffy, and with the taste of blood in her mouth, which causes her to rip her helmet off and spit it on the ground, breathing and wheezing she turns around and sees Fenria laid on her side whimpering form several bite wounds and a chunk of ceramite jutting out of her head on the right side "Fenria no..." She wheezes out as her whole body feels like she just leapt into a fire covered in promethium.

When she hears a woman's voice, she grabs her hammer and flicks it into its ranged configuration, and relies on her power armour to hold it up and sees a grandmotherly looking woman, probably no older than 67 at most looking at her holding a basket of fresh picked flowers who is shaking seeing 1, a gun pointed at her, and 2 the gigantic wounded wolf behind her "I... I... mean... you... no harm... I heard this thunderclap... whilst picking flowers... what's your name? Do you need help?"

Valkyrie carefully lowers her weapon as she considers her next answer carefully, trying to think of a cover name not knowing where she is and remembering the 1st name of her Custodes friend, says "I'm... Nora... please... my pet need help... please tell me you've got a vox caster..."
the world woman takes out her scroll and throws it to her " Nora... that's a good name. I have a scroll, poor thing, she looks like a loyal friend" she comments as Fenria tries to stand but topples over whimpering, spitting up a lump of light grey ceramite as Nora realises, she's likely killed her farther as she tries to call this world's emergency services as the old woman couldn't herself.

To be continued...