Winnehild
Winnehild is the goddess of war. This includes the study of tactics and strategy, and martial skill and general physical prowess also fall into her domain. Winnehild glories in combat and favors those who seek ever greater challenges. As the goddess of war, she is invoked by those seeking victory on the battlefield, though her appearance in times of peace can also herald a coming struggle. She is worshipped by orcs as a goddess of war, but also by dwarves and gnomes as a cunning tactician. Her epithets include Warmaster and Warbringer.
Symbols and Depictions
Winnehild always appears and is depicted as female. Her preferred appearance is that of a human in her physical prime, with chin-length red hair and a suit of armor that leaves her arms free. Although, because like all deities Winnehild can choose her appearance on the Material Plane, she has also been known to appear as an orc, dwarf, or gnome.
Most notably, Winnehild is depicted as having up to two extra pairs of arms, with each of her six arms wielding a different weapon. Each weapon corresponds to a mundane or celestial animal that is considered sacred to her. Depending on the depiction, these animals are both her messengers or representatives, and then become the very weapons she wields.
- Liondog - the longsword
- Tiger - the greataxe
- Qilin - the spear
- Crow - the dagger
- Fox - the quarterstaff
- Phoenix - the bow
Worship
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Myths
Winnehild's demiplane, the Battlefield Eternale, lies adjacent to Ysgard and Acheron. It is a land of unending combat against all manner of opponents.
One myth depicts Winnehild as a mortal adventurer who achieved an apotheosis. During her journeys, she befriended all manner of creatures great and small and from them learned to master all kinds of fighting styles and weaponry. When she fell in battle defending an innocent child, her six companions sacrificed themselves to allow the child to escape. For their great deeds, Winnehild and her companions were raised to godhood. Notably, origin myths concerning Winnehild are few and far between, so this may have some basis in fact. It also makes her a favored god of rangers.
She is said to gather the souls of those fallen heroically in battle. These warriors fight each other in various arrangements and armies on the Battlefield Eternale, sometimes under Winnehild's command and sometimes against her.
When Althyk dies at the end of time, she will give a great cry as she leads the warriors' souls into battle in the War To End All Wars. Her goal is to buy time for the other gods to lay to rest Althyk and the world, lest it become a hellscape of eternal stagnation and entropy.
