Lorewalker Mo' - Odyn and Helya

As we quested through Stormheim, we got mixed up in the fight between Odyn and Helya. We never really found out why they’re fighting, so what’s going on here?

Odyn and Helya are both titan keepers. When the titans first came to Azeroth they found it under the rule of the old gods. Along with warriors like Tyr they battled against the old gods and their black empire. As they battled the elemental lords they realised they couldn’t destroy them permanently as they weren’t of this realm.

As Helya is an expert sorceress she created a prison within the elemental’s own domain. This elemental plane sealed the elements away from Azeroth, leaving them to battle eachother for millennia. In the aftermath of this war the titans set about tidying up the world and imprisoning the old gods. The centre of titan activity was Ulduar.

Odyn was named prime designate of Ulduar, he was responsible for directing the keepers in maintaining the world and keeping the old gods in check. This went well until the time of the dragons. The proto dragons were semi intelligent for the most part, however one was far more dangerous than the rest. Galakrond was consuming everything in his path and quickly becoming a real menace.

The keeper Tyr, with the aid of 5 proto drakes, managed to defeat the monster. Tyr had stood alone among the keepers as they were too busy dealing with the growing problems in the old god prisons. The other keepers agreed they needed help managing the world itself and moved to empower the proto drakes. The proto drakes were transformed into the dragons we know today, with the 5 becoming the aspects.

Odyn opposed this move, surely not mere creatures of flesh were worthy of the titan’s power. When his own people went through with it behind his back he abandoned Ulduar and his duties. He took a portion of Ulduar and moved it away, calling it the halls of valor.

Certain the dragons would fail, he set about founding a new army. The greatest mortal heroes would be raised into an immortal army of warriors that fought and drank for all eternity: The Valarjar. The only mortal race he respected was the Vrykul, so he took a force of them with him.

In order to select and empower the greatest of Vrykul he would need arbiters to choose them. He proposed to ritually kill some Vrykul and raise them as undead spirits to judge their brethren for eternity. Oddly enough they refused, and Odyn’s few allies tried to talk him out of it. His most trusted ally Helya urged him to try something else. His answer was her.

Odyn killed Helya on the spot, and raised her into the first Val’kyr. He decided from then on that any great female warriors would become Val’kyr, while the males would be the Valarjar. Helya was compelled to obey by the necromancy Odyn had used, but bitterly resented his betrayal. Meanwhile in Ulduar Loken had been named the new prime designate, but he was already being turned by the old god.

He freed Helya and they plotted revenge on Odyn. Using the same magic she created the elemental plane with she sealed the halls of valour, trapping Odyn and his Valarjar. She and other dissenting Val’kyr created a new plane, Helheim and dragged the souls of heroes down to create the Kvaldir in mockery of the Valarjar. The 2 have warred ever since.

There are no good guys in this conflict really. Odyn’s prejudice and arrogance caused the rift, and Helya’s revenge has cursed innocents for generations. Turns out a one eyed god just didn’t have the vision.