Valkyrie Cain

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Valkyrie Cain
Character Information
Given Name	Stephanie Edgley
Taken Name	Valkyrie Cain
True Name	Darquesse
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Birth	12/02/1994
Age	24
Magic	Elemental (formerly) Necromancy (formerly) White Lightning, limited sensitive abilities, flight
Faction	Dead Men (formerly)
Weapons	Necromancer Ring (formerly) , powered concussion stick (formerly), sharp tongue
Titles	Detective, Arbiter
Location	Ireland Colorado (formerly)
Relations	Melissa Edgley (mother) Desmond Edgley (father) Alison Edgley (sister) Beryl Edgley (aunt) Fergus Edgley (uncle) Gordon Edgley † (uncle) Carol Edgley † (cousin) Crystal Edgley (cousin)

Taken Name Valkyrie Cain, Given Name Stephanie Edgley, True Name Darquesse, is a young woman descended from the last of the Ancients. Initially, she practiced Elemental magic, but later, she also becomes a Necromancer and stores her power in a ring. Furthermore, she fights with a powered concussion stick some time after. After losing her True Name and experiencing her Surge, her magical repertoire takes on a totally unique form, allowing her to manipulate so-called "white energy."

She was originally called Stephanie Edgley but had to change her name so she could protect herself from other mages who desired to influence her. Skulduggery Pleasant is her magic mentor, Sanctuary detective partner, and best friend, Solomon Wreath was her Necromancy mentor until 2011 and, before a Remnant possessed her, Tanith Low was her fighting mentor, "big sister" and other best friend. She has been romantically involved with Fletcher Renn and Caelan.

She now owns a German Shepard called Xena.

Biography

Skulduggery Pleasant

Stephanie Edgley is introduced when her wealthy uncle, Gordon Edgley, a writer of horror fiction, dies under mysterious circumstances. He leaves Stephanie, whom he was especially fond of, his mansion and fortune in his will. After the reading of the will, whilst she's spending the night at her uncle's house by herself, Stephanie is attacked by a man, sent by Nefarian Serpine, demanding a "key." As the man attacks Stephanie, the mysterious man in the tan overcoat from Gordon's funeral, known as Skulduggery Pleasant, arrives and saves her, blasting down the door to get in, throwing fireballs at her attacker and shooting him in the shoulder. Skulduggery's disguise of a hat, wig and sunglasses fall off to reveal that he is an undead brilliant, sarcastic sorcerer, made up of only a skeleton held together by magic.

Valkyrie in Skulduggery Pleasant. Innocent times...

Upon the revelation that her uncle was murdered, Stephanie, wanting to escape her previously boring and tedious life, helps Skulduggery investigate his mysterious death. Skulduggery and Stephanie gradually uncover a greater plot for world domination. Stephanie's uncle discovered an ancient weapon used by the first sorcerers, the Ancients, to defeat their tyrannical gods, the Faceless Ones. He sealed this deadly weapon, the Sceptre of the Ancients, in a maze beneath the house Stephanie inherited. The "key" is, in fact, an old, insignificant-looking brooch left by her uncle to his other brother's wife Beryl.

Stephanie and Skulduggery, aided by an immensely strong tailor named Ghastly Bespoke, and English professional swordswoman Tanith Low attempt to prevent the villain, Nefarian Serpine, from obtaining the Sceptre.

Now working as a detective and with Stephanie's help, Skulduggery defeats Serpine, destroying him with the Sceptre to protect Stephanie, breaking the Sceptre's power in the process. After defeating Serpine Skulduggery visits Stephanie and offers to take her on as his assistant and student in sorcery because Stephanie has discovered that her family are descendants of the Ancients and she herself has magic abilities. By using the air and fire power out of the elements.

The Lost Art Of World Domination

A villain called Scaramouch Van Dreg has captured Skulduggery Pleasant, and both are in a dungeon. Scaramouch had been trying to capture Skulduggery's attention but finds out that Skulduggery had been sleeping the whole time. Scaramouch wakes him, and Skulduggery is surprised to find Scaramouch. Skulduggery tells him that he was trying to arrest Rancid Fines and Christophe Nocturnal, much to Scaramouch's anger, who had thought that Skulduggery was trying to arrest him.

Skulduggery asks Scaramouch what he is planning, and Scaramouch realises that Skulduggery only views him as "relatively deadly." Scaramouch tells Skulduggery he is planning to take over the world, not bringing the Faceless Ones back using the Crystal of the Saints. Skulduggery tells Scaramouch all the work and trouble ruling the world would be, but Scaramouch believes that he could still do it. Scaramouch then shows Skulduggery a container, which had been enchanted by twenty-three spells by twenty-three different sorcerers. The container has an insect which could drain the magic of sorcerers. It is one of the Lost Artifacts. Skulduggery asks if he knows if the insect is inside, and Scaramouch panics.

Skulduggery suggests opening the box to find out if the insect is even in the box. Scaramouch places the container on the floor and opens the lid. The insect rises out and lands on the floor. Skulduggery squishes it just as Valkyrie walks in. She uses air magic and the two arrest Scaramouch. Scaramouch is outraged when Valkyrie doesn't recognise him. She, on the other hand, claims that they have real bad guys to stop, but cuffs Scaramouch anyway. As they walk out, Skulduggery tells Scaramouch that there should be more people who want to take over the world and that all the other bad guys think that it's just silly.

Playing With Fire

A year after discovering the magical world, Stephanie Edgley, now known as Valkyrie Cain, continues to work with Skulduggery Pleasant, the wise-cracking skeleton detective, capturing villains for the Sanctuary, which is now ruled by Thurid Guild in a new location after the massacre in the previous Sanctuary. Soon, Baron Vengeous, one of the original Three Generals of Mevolent, escapes his prison and begins searching for Lord Vile’s armour. He planned to resurrect the Grotesquery to bring back the Faceless Ones.

Vengeous confronts China Sorrows in her apartment whilst Valkyrie is visiting. Valkyrie hides whilst China and Vengeous talk. Vengeous reveals that he was released from prison by an assassin named Billy-Ray Sanguine who promptly arrives along with Dusk. A battle ensues, during which Valkyrie reveals herself and defends China. Valkyrie is soon chased by Sanguine. After being a struggle, Valkyrie is saved by Tanith. In the progress Valkyrie steals Sanguine's razor, his primary weapon, leaving the psychopathic assassin with a grudge against her.

Stephanie Edgley's profile

Valkyrie and Skulduggery, along with a convict called Vaurien Scapegrace, go to the shoddy sorcerer town Roarhaven to find The Torment – a mysterious old man who may know where the Grotesquery is. After a battle in a seedy pub with some thugs that once were "friends" of Scapegrace, they find the Torment and ask for his help. The Torment only says he will help them find Vile's armour if Skulduggery kills Valkyrie. Since she is a descendant of the Ancients, The Torment despises her, thinking any power will corrupt civilisation. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie around a corner and they summon her reflection, a living mirror image of Valkyrie who she uses as a decoy, enabling her to live a double life. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie's reflection in front of the Torment and shoots it. The Torment is satisfied and tells Skulduggery the whereabouts of the Grotesquery.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie return Scapegrace to prison and go to find the Grotesquery. Unfortunately, Vengeous' minions have already obtained it. Soon after, Skulduggery and Valkyrie take the reflection back to Valkyrie's house. Valkyrie touches the mirror to absorb its memories and remembers what it is like to be shot. Valkyrie then notices that whenever she tries to look back in her memories one part always remains blank and she cannot pin it down. She realises that her reflection hid something from her, and finds it disconcerting and dangerous. However, she goes on with Skulduggery without mentioning it to him.

Later, Valkyrie is kidnapped by Sanguine who takes her to an old abandoned church of the Faceless Ones where she is taken before the altar where Vengeous awaits her. The evil sorcerer cuts Valkyrie's palm and spills some of her blood onto the Grotesquery's body before using the armour's shadow powers which mingle with the blood. Skulduggery subsequently arrives and rescues Valkyrie, by throwing a collapsible jack onto the Grotesquery and making it out to be a bomb. After a stealing the Grotesquery, Valkyrie is incapacitated and wakes up in hospital. Whilst wearing a "respectable" blue hospital gown, Skulduggery wears a pink one decorated with bunnies and elephants for the doctor's amusement.

Skulduggery turns the lifeless Grotesquery over to the Sanctuary's top scientist, Grouse, to take apart. However, the Grotesquery has already absorbed a lot of power from Vile's armour and Valkyrie's blood and so wakes up in the middle of the night whilst being operated on. Skulduggery and Tanith arrive and the three of them attack the Grotesquery before escaping. Skulduggery works out that Vengeous is actually a pawn in someone else's plan and accuses Guild of being a traitor. In a rage, Guild fires Skulduggery who decides to go after Vengeous anyway. Valkyrie begrudgingly goes to her family reunion as a distraction to Dusk. Valkyrie is subsequently attacked by vampires and forced to flee. Dusk corners her and vows that when he has transformed her into a vampire he's going to set her loose on her parents while in her bloodlust. Valkyrie stabs Dusk in the leg with the syringe he uses to curb his vampiric side whilst he is transforming and as a result, he is caught between vampire and human and put in intense pain. Springheeled Jack comes and rescues her and defeats Dusk so as to frustrate Vengeous' plans because he doesn't want the Faceless Ones to return.

Valkyrie in Playing With Fire.

Accompanied by Tanith, Mr. Bliss and some Cleavers, Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Clearwater Hospital and do battle with the Grotesquery which, due to being part Faceless One, is virtually invincible. Mr Bliss is incapacitated but the Cleavers mercilessly attack the Grotesquery and almost overpower it when Vengeous arrives along with China, whom he has taken captive. Together with the Grotesquery, he kills the Cleavers and beats Skulduggery and Valkyrie into submission. Valkyrie "tricks" Vengeous into releasing her, saying that she will join him and kill Skulduggery, but she releases China who attacks Vengeous and the Grotesquery. This gives Valkyrie time to free Skulduggery, who joins in the assault against Vengeous, tearing off his helmet and breastplate. Valkyrie ignites the protective clothing beneath with a fireball and Skulduggery shoots him in the stomach. In a swoon, Vengeous crawls toward the Grotesquery but his god callously breaks the baron's neck. The Torment subsequently arrives and attacks the Grotesquery but he is defeated. In the ensuing battle Valkyrie stabs the Grotesquery through the heart, killing it. Before it dies it utters a terrible scream, which calls to the Faceless Ones trapped in another universe.

Valkyrie is later seen talking to Skulduggery on a pier. They reason that they must find out who Vengeous and Sanguine were really working for and if Guild is in league with him. Skulduggery ominously tells Valkyrie "Bad things are coming."

Gold, Babies And The Brothers Muldoon

Valkyrie arrives late to a meeting with a zombie. Valkyrie is here to negotiate with the Muldoons: a goblin trio of brothers who have kidnapped three babies and are demanding gold in exchange for their lives. The zombie is to act as a liason. He claims that the Muldoons were descended from powerful sorcerers, possibly even the Ancients, although Valkyrie proves him wrong, explaining they made it up to appear more intimidating. They attacked a group of mortals, and the Council of Elders ordered them to be ambushed. They escaped, but all three were transformed into goblins, with gold as their only source of returning to human form, making them resort to stealing and exchanging babies. Valkyrie and the zombie reach a ruined church, and the zombie leaves for the exchange to take place.

The first of the brothers, Liam, demands Valkyrie's gold, but she persuades him to give her the babies first. He calls his brothers Colm and Fintan, who come with the babies. After she gives them the gold, they reveal that it is a double-cross. Skulduggery was the person responsible for turning them into goblins, and they plan to send Skulduggery Valkyrie's head in order to make him come at them.

The session is interrupted when Skulduggery bursts through the ceiling and crashes onto the floor painfully. The goblins reveal that Skulduggery was attacked by their sister, Peg. She crashes through the ceiling too, covered in wedding dresses and shouting out that she loves Skulduggery. It appears that Skulduggery and Peg have met before, with Skulduggery throwing an entire mountain on her to try and kill her.

Skulduggery and Peg engage in combat, while the Muldoons attack Valkyrie. She burns Fintan and he smacks into a wall. Colm tries to kill her, but she sets him on fire and elbows him in the jaw. Liam and Peg eventually get the better of the two and overpower them. Liam throttles Valkyrie, but she throws him across the church. Skulduggery summons up a piece of rubble to smash into Peg's face, but soon after, Liam rushes for the babies. Valkyrie quickly elbows him and knocks him unconscious.

Peg has an emotional breakdown after Skulduggery explains to her that they don't actually love each other. She leaves, saddened, and Skulduggery is left to be teased by Valkyrie.

The Faceless Ones

"In case you didn't notice, that was me making my decision on the whole quitting idea."

— Valkyrie telling Ghastly that she is staying in the world of magic, Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones

Valkyrie is investigating the murders of four Teleporters with Skulduggery. They go to tell Guild what they know. He refuses to rehire them, reminding them that he has hired Remus Crux instead, a bumbling detective that blindly follows Guild's orders in an attempt to impress him. After discovering the recent murders may have been linked to a Teleporter murder 50 years ago, Skulduggery and Valkyrie go and talk to the only Sea Hag that lives in a lake to see if they can get any information about the 50-year-old murder.

They discover a man named Batu killed the Teleporter and talk to the dead Teleporter whose body is lying at the bottom of the lake. After promising to bury him on dry land, the Sea Hag is enraged and tries to drown Valkyrie, but Skulduggery saves her. They also discover that an object called the Isthmus Anchor and a Teleporter would be able to open a gateway to the Faceless Ones allowing them to enslave the earth.

With China's help, they locate a natural, but unskilled young Teleporter called Fletcher Renn. They manage to save him from Billy-Ray Sanguine who is working for the Diablerie. Fletcher is told about the rest of the magical world and given a talking to by both Skulduggery and Valkyrie to choose the right side. They bring him to Kenspeckle Grouse, who grudgingly agrees to look after the boy. Grouse tells Valkyrie she should be doing normal teenage things and gets annoyed at Skulduggery for endangering Valkyrie. Valkyrie is uncomfortable when Grouse admonishes Skulduggery. then go to Finbar Wrong, a Sensitive, who is able to tell them that the location of the gate where the Faceless Ones can get to earth is on Aranmore Farm. After that, they meet with a Necromancer, Solomon Wreath, who offers the help of himself and three other Necromancers. Skulduggery accepts Wreath's offer, punches him in the face, then leaves.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Aranmore Farm and talk to Paddy, the owner of the land. They tell him to keep a lookout for strange activity on the farm but avoid the subject of magic. While they are talking, Skulduggery realises that the remains of the Grotesquery could be used as the Isthmus Anchor. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to the Sanctuary to steal the Grotesquery and are attacked by Crux, though he is easily defeated by Skulduggery. They set Vaurien Scapegrace loose to distract the Cleaver, but are still beaten to the objective by the Diablerie. Sanguine deactivates the Grotesquery's defenses and escapes with it. Skulduggery and Valkyrie use an emergency exit to avoid being captured by the Sanctuary forces.

Ghastly wakes up at Grouse's clinic after being a statue for two years. Upon a brief reunion scene, they decide to go to Bespoke Tailors. Fletcher takes Valkyrie by teleportation, something she did not consent to and responds by punching him in the face. They bond while waiting for the others on the rooftop as Fletcher tells Valkyrie about his past. The others arrive and Ghastly is told what happened while he was a statue. Ghastly then starts making Valkyrie new clothes, as the old ones were getting tight. While fashioning her boots he tells her about his mother, a Sensitive, and a vision she had – Valkyrie dying, screaming in pain, facing an enemy of "unimaginable evil" – in an effort to make Valkyrie quit magic and return to normal teenage life. Valkyrie tells him that she has already made the choice to stay.

They receive a call from Paddy, who reports a strange man lurking on his land. The quartet visit Aranmore Farm and quickly tell Paddy about magic and the Diablerie's plan. Fletcher locates the exact point where the gate will open.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to get the Sceptre of the Ancients and find another black crystal in case the Faceless Ones make it back to earth, as the last crystal was destroyed. Skulduggery tells Valkyrie that there are black crystals in the caves beneath Gordon's house, which is mightily convenient. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go into the caves and find a copy of Gordon’s house in the caves that was created by the previous owner of Gordon’s house, Anathem Mire.

Anathem is inside the house, dead, and Skulduggery wakes up his ghost. After first attacking them, Anathem calms down and shows them a vein of black crystals. Valkyrie, to Skulduggery's initial shock, removes a large one. She explains that she guessed she could touch them without disintegrating because she is a descendent of the Ancients. They return to find Anathem allowing Skulduggery to leave but wanting Valkyrie to stay with him and be his "queen". Being a fourteen-year-old girl, Valkyrie is rightfully repulsed by the notion and manages to escape by angering him, making him lose control of his magical house.

Returning to the surface with Skulduggery, Valkyrie goes home to say goodbye to her parents who are leaving on their second honeymoon. Surprisingly, Remus Crux arrives at her door and, after the departure of her parents, Valkyrie is chased down and eventually arrested. Crux intentionally puts her in a cell with Scapegrace who was badly beaten up by the Cleavers after his little distraction stunt. Scapegrace tries to kill Valkyrie but she manages to knock him out and ties him to a bed by his broken fingers. She is then able to trick a security guard into letting her out of her cell and she knocks him out and takes Scapegrace with her as he could be used as a distraction.

Valkyrie witnesses the new Administrator attempting to kill Mr Bliss, revealing herself as the traitor, not Guild. Scapegrace flees in the moment of distraction. Valkyrie attempts to stop the Administrator who pins her up against a wall. The Cleavers chase Scapegrace back into the corridor and, upon seeing the betrayal, advance on the Administrator. She tries to run, letting Valkyrie fall to the ground as she does, and Valkyrie trips her causing her to fall into the blue light, killing her and saving Bliss. Valkyrie then runs out of the Sanctuary and escapes with Skulduggery to Aranmore Farm, where the battle has already ensued.

Upon reaching the farm they discover Ghastly and Tanith running for cover as they are attacked by the Diablerie. Tanith, Ghastly, Skulduggery and Valkyrie hide with Paddy in his farmhouse. Ghastly informs Valkyrie that her new clothes are in the van outside, so Valkyrie runs to get changed. The Diablerie force Fletcher to open the Gateway and Skulduggery, Tanith and Ghastly go out to attack. They are ambushed by two or three hundred Hollow Men. Paddy persuades Valkyrie to put on his mother's ring, claiming he had intended to give it to his eventual finacé.

China, a dozen Cleavers and the Necromancers appear and help take out the Hollow Men. Tanith is about to be killed by Murder Rose but is saved by the White Cleaver. Injured, Tanith gets inside the house. Mr Bliss arrives and starts beating up Gruesome Krav. While Valkyrie and Paddy are looking for first aid supplies for Tanith, Sanguine bursts through the wall and attacks Tanith. Paddy tries to shoot Sanguine with his shotgun but is knocked out. Valkyrie picks up Tanith's sword and slashes open Sanguine's stomach, causing him to retreat in horror.

Then, three Faceless Ones come through the fully opened gate and Fletcher manages to escape after the shockwave caused by their arrival. One of the Faceless Ones takes over Krav’s body and then kills Mr Bliss. Paddy gets Valkyrie the Sceptre then reveals himself to be Batu as he knocks Tanith out and hits Valkyrie with the Sceptre. Valkyrie realises that the ring Batu gave her is preventing her from using magic and removes it allowing her to burn Batu’s side. Batu takes the Sceptre and hides it in the trees, being followed by Valkyrie.

Valkyrie in The Faceless Ones

Unable to find Batu, she stumbles across Remus Crux, who attempts to arrest Valkyrie again. She knocks him down. She then watches Skulduggery battle the Faceless One and a Necromancer be killed.

China finds Crux and realises he must have glimpsed a Faceless One, as he is muttering to himself and seems to have gone insane. He had also seen Batu bury the Sceptre and retrieved it himself. China coaxes the Sceptre from Crux and then turns to see Valkyrie running towards her with a Faceless One right on her tail. Valkyrie takes the spectre and fires black lightning twice into the Faceless One that had consumed Krav, killing it. The second Faceless One attacks China, Skulduggery and Valkyrie. Fletcher appears and teleports Valkyrie out of the way. The Faceless One pulls the Sceptre out of Valkyrie's hand and shatters it, destroying the black crystal, and itself.

Skulduggery decides to get the last Faceless One to chase Valkyrie and go through a new portal which Fletcher should open. The Faceless One charges at Skulduggery instead, lifting him off the ground. Wreath, with a broken leg, gives Valkyrie his cane full of his Necromantic power and she uses it to knock the Faceless One back as the cane is destroyed. The Faceless One shoots out tentacles made of its organs in a last attempt to save itself. The tentable whips around Skulduggery and pulls him through the portal with it. The portal closes before anyone can do anything to help. Valkyrie and her team are victorious, but also defeated by the loss of Skulduggery.

Later Solomon Wreath approaches Valkyrie who angrily tells him that Guild has given all the credit of the victory to Mr Bliss. Wreath tells Valkyrie that she can still save Skulduggery by using his original skull as an Isthmus anchor. With new hope, she is also told she is a natural at Necromancy, seeing how skilfully she was able to wield Wreath's cane. Wreath offers to train her, as she will need more power to get through her new mission.

Dark Days

Valkyrie in Dark Days

After Valkyrie has spent nine months obsessively looking for Skulduggery's skull, a vampire called Caelan manages to set up a meeting for her with a man called Thames Chabon, who apparently has the skull. It is revealed that Wreath has indeed been teaching her Necromancy during her search for the skull, and she has placed her power into a ring.

The night before the meeting with Chabon, a deranged Remus Crux manages to gain entry into her house and tries to kill her. Wreath saves Valkyrie, who deflects her parents' worries by telling them a bat had caused all the havoc. The next morning, after talking to Ghastly, Tanith and Fletcher, she learns about Esryn Vanguard and his death; a man called Dreylan Scarab had assassinated him during the war for making advocations for peace. Scarab has just been released from prison a day early after serving his sentence. Valkyrie tells the others about what happened last night with Crux. Tanith and Ghastly don't trust Wreath and think he is trying to use Valkyrie.

They meet Chabon the next day, who manages to swindle them with a different skull rather than Skulduggery's. Realising the con, they chase him through the streets of Dublin and pin him down, asking him about the real skull. Chabon reveals that Davina Marr, the new Prime Detective, had bought the skull for triple the price just that morning. A new plan is made to steal Skulduggery's skull from the Sanctuary.

The plan goes wrong, however, and they are arrested. Valkyrie is interrogated by Marr. Valkyrie manages to overpower her with her Necromancer ring and frees the other three. Tanith and Ghastly distract the incoming Cleavers while Fletcher teleports Valkyrie to Guild's office, where they finally retrieve the skull. They teleport to China's library and she joins the two. The three go to Aranmore Farm, where the portal is opened. Valkyrie insists that she goes in alone, causing Fletcher to kiss her.

After entering the portal, Valkyrie finds herself in a dead world, full of empty houses built into mountain walls and vast streets. She is amazed at the fact that she is on an alien world. She quickly finds Skulduggery, who thinks she is a hallucination. To convince him of her existence, she agrees to get one of his bones back. Upon his reassemblyy, they are attacked by a Faceless One in Batu's old body and a swarm of minions. Valkyrie learns that Skulduggery can now fly, as well as many other new things. The two make their way towards the portal again, chased by the Faceless One's minions. With the help of China – who had been shot when Sanctuary forces came to the farm – they get back through the portal, where Skulduggery, finally believing he has been rescued, says to Valkyrie, "good job".

After learning that Wreath has been teaching Valkyrie Necromancy and that he saved her from Crux, the Skulduggery makes a b-line for the Necromancer Temple, where he forces Wreath to tell Valkyrie of the Necromancy belief. Wreath gives in and tells her of the The Death Bringer, the Necromancer's messiah, and that Lord Vile had once held this title. They also learn that a Soul Catcher has been stolen from the temple. Skulduggery deduces that Sanguine must have been the thief and that he must be at the Midnight Hotel to capture a remnant.

Later, Valkyrie and Skulduggery visit Finbar after hearing about strange visions all the sensitives have been seeing. He tells them that Cassandra Pharos has been having particularly strong visions about this, so they decide to question her. She shows them a vision of the future, where a woman called "Darquesse" destroys the world. Valkyrie watches her kill Valkyrie's parents as well. Valkyrie is shocked and is suddenly scared of growing up. Cassandra hands Valkyrie a Dream Whisperer, telling Valkyrie she has interesting dreams.

Back at her house, Valkyrie learns that her mother is pregnant. She is delighted at the prospect of having a new sibling but is also worried about the dangerous world the baby would be born into.

The next day, Skulduggery and Valkyrie visit the Sanctuary to learn it had been attacked by vampires led by Dusk. Guild barely survived the attack and they pressure him into telling them the truth about Vanguard's assassination: it was Meritorious who ordered the attack, not Mevolent, and Guild had headed the mission. Valkyrie is shocked to learn the truth about unpleasantries of war.

The gang split up to search for Scarab's Revengers' Club. Valkyrie and Skulduggery visit Caelan to see if he knows anything about Dusk. He takes them to a castle which vampires live in. A vampire called Moloch throws her into a room with a large group of Infected. One of the Infected had been bitten by Dusk and taken to a castle before joining Moloch. Valkyrie learns this and is subsequently attacked by the other Infected. She escapes the room with the help of Dusk, who throws her out of a window. Before he can follow to capture (and possibly kill) her, Valkyrie is saved by Skulduggery. Both are let off by Moloch and his vampires.

The gang later visit the Hibernian Cinema, where Kenspeckle Grouse and Tanith are kidnapped. Valkyrie and Skulduggery go to the Midnight Hotel to apprehend Sanguine. He admits to planning on stealing a remnant, and a zombie horde led by Scapegrace go crazy and attack the hotel. Despite defeating the zombies, Sanguine still manages to take a Remnant.

Since China is still injured after she was shot, the two visit Myron Stray, another information broker, to find out where Scarab may be hiding. Valkyrie threatens to use his publically known True Name to get information out of him, so he tells them that Serpine's old castle has seen some activity. The gang get to the castle, and they rescue Tanith and a Remnant-possessed Grouse, who is returned to normal with "Echo-Gordon's" advice.

Valkyrie in her younger years.

The gang realise that the Revengers' Club is going to use the Desolation Engine to blow up Croke Park Stadium. At the stadium, she is bitten by Dusk. The vampire senses something in Valkyrie's blood that makes him stop, and is then attacked by Caelen. When Guild is forced to use the engine to blow up the stadium, she fails to stop him. However, Fletcher teleports Guild to the sea, where the bomb doesn't kill anyone. Except the fish.

Valkyrie fights Sanguine to save Guild's family. Neither win, but Sanguine promises to keep out of Ireland. When the gang return to the Hibernian, Valkyrie kisses Fletcher, and they are now a "boyfriend-girlfirend thing".

Marr manages to get Valkyrie and Skulduggery to escort Guild to his cell so she can kill them while blowing the Sanctuary up by controlling Myron Stray with his True Name, Laudigan. Everyone in the building dies except for the three, as Skulduggery manages to fly them outside.

A few nights later, Valkyrie wakes up from a recurring dream she has been having and find the Dream Whisperer from Cassandra whispering to her. The whispering causes Valkyrie to remember her dream vividly: it is the moment where the Book of Names had fallen to the ground before Valkyrie, years earlier. She remembers seeing her name in the pages – her Given Name, her Taken Name and finally, her True Name: Darquesse.

Mortal Coil

"It's not destiny. Even if it was, I've changed it. It's not happening."

— Valkyrie telling a Remnant she has sealed her True Name, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil

Valkyrie and Skulduggery's hunt for Davina Marr leads them to the scene of a murder, and they realise that Tesseract, a masked assassin, is also after Marr. They track Marr down just in time to save her life and take her to Grouse to be healed. She and Skulduggery attempt to interrogate Marr, but she is assassinated by Tesseract, who then proceeds to defeat the whole group and escape.

Valkyrie then visits Gordon's Echo Stone to learn how to seal her True Name and prevent herself becoming Darquesse, having refused to tell anyone else that she is the sorceress destined to destroy the world. Gordon tells her who to contact, but before going to see them, she asks Caelan to taste her blood and confirm what Dusk saw. Caelan tastes nothing unusual, but he confesses that he loves Valkyrie and the pair kiss, although Valkyrie insists she is happy with Fletcher.

Valkyrie then spends Christmas with her family, learning that her cousins Crystal and Carol have become more friendly as their other relatives make fun of them. However, she is told that she must leave to seal her true name and is taken to Doctor Nye, an androgynous doctor who seals her True Name, but then attempts to experiment on her. Since she is technically dead within the workshop, she struggles to think clearly enough to escape but succeeds in using Necromancy to force Doctor Nye to let her go. She explains to Skulduggery that she is Darquesse and has sealed her name, and the pair track down Scapegrace, who has begun to decay and take him to Grouse in the hope of preventing his body from decaying further.

Valkyrie introduces Fletcher to her parents and they visit a nightclub, but everyone in the club is possessed by Remnants and the pair only narrowly escape. They run into Crystal and Carol, and Valkyrie is forced to explain to them that magic is real in order to persuade them to leave. After several close calls while the Remnants take over, searching for Darquesse, the sorcerers regroup at the Hibernian, and arrange a plan to activate the giant Soul Catcher at MacGillycuddy's Reeks to recapture the Remnants. In the meantime, Grouse is unleashing a harmless virus which makes people act as though they are possessed, as a cover for the Remnants' escape. To complete the plan, Valkyrie reveals Gordon's Echo Stone to help the group with his knowledge on the matter, though Skulduggery claims he suspected this all along.

The group split up to find the key to the Soul Catcher. However, while the key is recovered successfully, the plan comes to a halt when Fletcher is possessed. Valkyrie is rescued from her boyfriend by Billy-Ray Sanguine, who has been hired to bring down the Remnants, and, while reluctant, Valkyrie agrees to join forces with him. Valkyrie discovers that Clarabelle has been possessed and murdered Kenspeckle, and is later attacked by Fletcher. She is saved by Caelan before escaping with Skulduggery, Ghastly, Tanith, China and Billy-Ray. The group drive to the Soul Catcher and Skulduggery reveals to Valkyrie that he suspects that one of their group is possessed. This suspicion is proven correct when China turns on the group, launching a surprise attack on Ghastly, incapacitating Skulduggery, and attacking Tanith using symbols. She orders a Remnant to possess Ghastly instead of Tanith and kidnaps Valkyrie. However, before she escapes, Sanguine steals the key for the Soul Catcher from her.

While the group find the Soul Catcher, Valkyrie is possessed by a Remnant in an effort to spur their messiah's coming, bringing out Darquesse. However, Darquesse is not the Remnant in control - instead, it is a part of Valkyrie which hates everything. It overpowers the Remnant possessing Valkyrie and sets about killing the horrified Remnants with pleasure, massacring dozens before almost turning on her allies. Skulduggery arrives after a few minutes and explains that Darquesse is what Valkyrie will become if she refuses to fight back against the apathy, bitterness and hopelessness, and she finally lets go of the struggling Remnant in her body, which returns her to normal. Skulduggery then holds Valkyrie hostage, threatening to kill her, to force the Remnants to release their bodies, which allows the Soul Catcher to retrieve them. However, the one possessing Tesseract escapes and possesses Tanith. Valkyrie and Tanith fight, but Valkyrie is unable to get her to the Soul Catcher in time, and the possessed Tanith escapes.

Tanith later arrives at Valkyrie's house, after the four-day period before a Remnant fuses itself to a host, and explains that she does not plan to attack Valkyrie, but rather to lead her subtly towards her "destiny" as Darquesse. Tanith then leaves with Sanguine, her new boyfriend.

The Wonderful Adventures of Geoffrey Scrutinous

Valkyrie and Skulduggery are called in to investigate the murder of a person in their living room. Geoffrey Scrutinous is there too, talking to the police officers. Geoffrey inspects a pen and a piece of paper reading "I'm going to be hit by a train." Confirming the victim's handwriting, they come to the conclusion the person didn't know he was writing. This is confirmed when Geoffrey looks down in shock at his own hand writing the words "I'm going to be eaten by a shark." He drops the pen, frightened, and Valkyrie suggests that the pen may be cursed. Skulduggery says Geoffrey has twelve hours before a shark may in fact eat him.

The trio sits in a diner, discussing where the murdered person worked. Skullduggery makes some calls and finds four people were killed in the last two weeks. He comes to the conclusion that the pen was handed down from person to person and each of them was killed in turn. The curse started with a sorcerer named Elwood Satchel. The three take the Bentley to a person who knew Satchel well. Not at home, they wait for him in the car.

He returns the next morning and tells them how Satchel died. He said Satchel was electrocuted while running. A few days later they found a note, left by Satchel. Skulduggery asked if Satchel had any enemies. The man mentions another sorcerer named Davit Maybury, who Satchel had stolen his girlfriend from.

The trio goes to Maybury's house, but no-one answered the door. When Geffrey has only 15 minutes until he is going to be eaten. Skulduggery finds a door in Maybury's bedroom. Geoffrey notices the carpet is wet and soggy. Skulduggery calls out to Maybury through the door, but nothing happens. Geoffrey asks where the water is coming from, but Valkyrie says there is no water. Geoffrey sees a fish but he is the only one to experience it. Skulduggery looks for a way to open the door, without noticing it, he does. The go down a room with a dead Maybury sitting in the armchair. Geoffrey panics, but Skulduggery tries to calm him by telling a useless story.

Skulduggery looks at the cursed pen and cracks the outer shell. He sees four symbols engraved on the inside. Skulduggery notices one symbol is incorrect, which made the curse pass from person to person instead of one person. Geoffrey's teeth start chattering. Skulduggery rings China Sorrows to see if he can correct the symbol. Geoffrey notices the shark's dorsal fin poking out of the water. Valkyrie jumps in front of him but knows that won't do anything. Skulduggery starts talking to China about the symbol. Geoffrey starts shouting, saying that the shark is coming. Skulduggery tells Geoffrey to stop shouting. Valkyrie tells him to scare it away by splashing, but China says not to splash about. Skulduggery continues talking and takes up a scalpel and tries to correct the mistake.

The Shark comes for Geoffrey, Valkyrie grabs his arm and pulls him away at the last second. But she drops him again, under water. He looks for the shark and sees it coming for him. But at that time, the water disappears and so does the shark. Geoffrey thanks Valkyrie for saving him and says he owes her a favour now. Skulduggery wonders why he doesn't get a thank you too and Geoffrey merely said, Skulduggery told him to shut up while he was "dying" and walked away.

Myosotis Terra

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are sent by the German Sanctuary to rescue the missing agent Myosotis Terra. Valkyrie continues to forget what they are doing and what they are talking about. Once they reach the cave, the last destination Myosotis was seen, Skulduggery and Valkyrie enter, only to be attacked by single-minded Sorcerers who refuse to live under Mortal influence. They kidnap Valkyrie and Skulduggery, planning to eat them and feed them to the Beast. Valkyrie is found by Myosotis and immediately remembers her once she is visible. Myosotis tells her she was sent after another German Mage who disappeared here. The Beast turns out to be a cute, little monster that the Cannibals named the Beast because they thought it was funny. Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Myosotis all manage to escape after a gruelling fight with a few people rendered dead and a lot unconscious.

Death Bringer

Along with Skulduggery, the two first appear sneaking into a police station to question Kenny Dunne over the death of Paul Lynch. After they finish, Fletcher Renn takes Valkyrie to her sister Alison's christening. After a few conversations with her family, Fletcher appears again to take Valkyrie to meet with Skulduggery at Bernadette's cottage, who is known to have been in contact with Paul Lynch.

However, they find Bernadette dead, and Skulduggery picks up traces of Adept Magic with Rainbow Dust. They catch sight of the killer, a bald man with a stupid goatee beard, but before they can give chase, he drops a box containing the unbeatable Jitter Girls to distract them while he escapes. Valkyrie forces Fletcher to find help from China Sorrows, leaving Valkyrie and Skulduggery to deal with the Jitter Girls alone. The two are easily defeated, and just as Valkyrie is about to die, Darquesse is awoken. Darquesse manages to force the Jitter Girls back into their box and eventually agrees to let Valkyrie out just as Fletcher arrives ready to fight. They tell him it's over and she and Fletcher teleport back to her home where they step out from behind a tree all muddy, to have all the Christening guests stare at them.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery travel to Roarhaven to visit the new Sanctuary. Before they do so, Valkyrie saves an American tourist family from a horrible shopkeeper, who happens to despise mortals. Valkyrie and Skulduggery reach the Sanctuary and meet with the Council of Elders where they discuss the apparent Death Bringer, Melancholia. Ravel agrees to provide any resource needed to know more about the Passage.

The two then visit the Necromancer to find the same bald man from Bernadette's cottage, who is called Bison Dragonclaw. Ending up in a car chase, Dragonclaw crashes but manages to flee, and instead Valkyrie and Skulduggery encounter a powerful Warlock, but he is defeated. Valkyrie then visits Caelen where it is revealed that Valkyrie is cheating on Fletcher.

That night, Valkyrie is babysitting Alison and invites Fletcher over. Hearing a noise upstairs, Valkyrie finds her Reflection out of the mirror. It tells Valkyrie that she forgot to touch the grass. Fletcher then decided to go to Italy to get some pizza. While he buys the pizza, Melancholia visits Valkyrie in her home and with her new Necromancy skills, she heavily wounds Valkyrie. She barely manages to call Fletcher, and he teleports her to the Sanctuary for treatment. It turns out Nye is the new doctor, but it manages to save Valkyrie's life. Valkyrie wakes up and tries to threaten Nye. However, Nye knows that Valkyrie is somehow involved with Darquesse due to the mutterings and hallucinations as it performed on her to seal her true name. It says that if she tells the sanctuary about the experiments he has been conducting, he will tell the Elders about her involvement in it all and it would raise all sorts of "awkward questions." In the night Valkyrie is visited by Caelan, who is upset over not being able to protect Valkyrie. She tries to make a joke of the situation but fails. Caelan then proposes to Valkyrie but rejects him in horror.

The next day, Valkyrie, Skulduggery, and many Sanctuary agents and Cleavers arrive at the Temple to arrest Melancholia. Skulduggery receives a phone call and tells Valkyrie that Dragonclaw has been spotted. Although he is in charge, the two leave for the airport. They manage to capture Bison who, after interrogation, reveals that Necromancers are arriving soon to assist the Temple. Leaving Valkyrie to stop them alone, she manages to sneak into arrivals and stalls the Necromancers by forcing the police on them. Valkyrie returns to Skulduggery, who tells her that Dragonclaw will show them a secret tunnel into the Temple. They arrive and sneak into the Temple to find Melancholia. They split up but Valkyrie runs into Solomon Wreath, who knocks her out. She waked up in a room to find out Skulduggery has also been captured.

Auron Tenebrae enters the room and begins a story which happened during the War, in which he reveals that Skulduggery became Lord Vile after the death of his wife and child. Valkyrie is highly shocked by the news. Tenebrae leaves Dragonclaw to torture Skulduggery and Valkyrie, but despite the shocking news, they work together to defeat Dragonclaw and escape. While escaping, the two run into Melancholia, who manages to defeat them easily. However, Skulduggery transforms into Lord Vile and nearly kills her, but eventually Vile turns back into Skulduggery. Outside the Temple, Valkyrie tells Skulduggery she has had enough and returns home. When she arrives, she finds nobody home. She calls her Reflection who tells her Melissa was mugged by a man called Ian Moore. Blinded by rage, Valkyrie breaks into the prison Moore is in and brutally attacks him. Valkyrie is about to kill Moore, but changes her mind and returns home.

The next morning Valkyrie is visited by Fletcher, who is concerned for Valkyrie as she is not returning his calls. An argument ensues and the two break up. Soon after the break up, Valkyrie is visited by Carol and Crystal, who persuade her to teach them Magic. However, the two don't succeed and the training session is stopped by Fergus, who shouts at Valkyrie that she will ruin his family with Magic. He then reveals to her that he knows Magic exists and even shows her that he is an Elemental, though not trained. Valkyrie visits Gordon and tells him everything that happened.

The next day, Skulduggery visits Valkyrie who reluctantly lets him in. After a conversation, Valkyrie finally forgives Skulduggery over his past. Skulduggery then tells her of his plan to stop Melancholia, which involved Lord Vile.

As they plan to stop Melancholia, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are visits by Wreath who promises to bring them to Melancholia. Along with Sanctuary agents and Fletcher, they sneak into Widow Hill, the place where Melancholia is hiding. They invade the building, and Craven accidentally kills Melancholia, but the Sanctuary do not know it was just a Reflection.

Valkyrie takes a day off to spend time with her family. She is then left to babysit Alison. While so, Moore breaks into her home and attacks Valkyrie. She manages to awaken her Reflection and they defeat him. The Reflection wants to kill Ian, but Valkyrie stops it and instead they call the police again. Valkyrie is taken to a mortal hospital where she is healed. When Valkyrie and her parents return home, Fletcher visits and the two become friends again. After that, he tells Valkyrie that he is moving to Australia and leaves.

Just before the Requiem Ball started, which is being held at Gordon's estate, Skulduggery buys Valkyrie a new dress for it. They leave for the Ball after. The two have multiple conversations with friends and enemies.

After it is revealed Melancholia is still alive, she manages to absorb the life essence of all the guests at the Ball, and they die. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were not there at the time, so they go after Craven and Melancholia in the Caves. They find them and a fight starts between Skulduggery and Melancholia. However, she easily absorbs Skulduggery's life essence, however, this releases Lord Vile, which forces Melancholia to release Skulduggery back. However, he transforms back into Lord Vile. Valkyrie and Melancholia flee from Vile.

They spend a long time fleeing from Vile, and they are joined by the White Cleaver. They run into Scapegrace, who has his head chopped off by the White Cleaver. They continue running, but Valkyrie is separated from Melancholia as monsters carry off with Valkyrie. They take her to a very tight part of the Caves, but eventually, Valkyrie manages to escape from it. Valkyrie manages to locate Melancholia again, but Lord Vile catches up with them. Realising that only way to defeat Vile, Valkyrie forces Melancholia to try and kill Valkyrie, which awakens Darquesse. Darquesse and Lord Vile engage in a huge fight, which takes them all around Ireland, including Liffey Bridge. Eventually, the two return to their former selves.

For what they managed to accomplish, Valkyrie and Skulduggery are to receive awards, but they decide to miss it and instead visit China who called Skulduggery. They find a woman called Eliza Scorn, who has been blackmailing China, and China herself in a fight. They break them up and Eliza reveals the truth behind the capture of Skulduggery's family. Shocked, Skulduggery leaves and Valkyrie forces Eliza to leave and after she blows up China's library. Valkyrie then leaves China as well.

While at home, Caelan arrives and takes Valkyrie to the docks. Valkyrie, annoyed at Caelan's words, dumps Caelan, who tries to force Valkyrie to listen to him. Fletcher appears and starts hitting Caelan with numerous weapons, but Caelan, who hasn't taken his syringe, transforms into a Vampire and attacks Fletcher, but with their combined effort, they manage to drown Caelan, which kills him due to his weakness to salt water. As they teleport, Kenny Dunne watches on as he quickly thinks of a TV show that will reveal who Valkyrie is.

The End of the World

Valkyrie shows up to save a boy called Ryan. They run through the library throwing fireballs, before getting outside to the Bentley. Skulduggery then gets in and drives them away. During the drive, Valkyrie explains some things about magic and it's people to Ryan before coming to an apartment building. She also explains that Vincent Foe and his friends need the imprint on Ryan's hand to activate a Doomsday Machine, a bomb that was initially meant to destroy the Faceless Ones. Deacon Maybury was a sorcerer who used to belong to Foe's gang, but he betrayed them and stole the key, planning to sell it on.

They searched Deacon Maybury's trashed apartment looking for clues about his murder. While searching a woman came to the apartment, Francine, looking for Deacon. They explained to her that Deacon had been killed and asked if she knew anything about it. She said she was very close to Deacon and loved him deeply. Ryan returns with her to her apartment. When he tells her it was no trouble at all, Francine tells him there will be trouble. Suddenly, Foe appears and kidnaps him. It is revealed that Francine is just an illusion, and she is really Mercy Charient in disguise. Fortunately, Valkyrie and Skulduggery save him, and they escape by jumping out the window.

Skulduggery explains that the only person able to create an illusion is Robert Crasis. They drive to Crasis' house, and he explains that Foe threatened his family so he was forced to disguise Mercy as Francine. Skulduggery asks for a map, and he finds the location of the Doomsday Machine.

They drive to a shopping mall and enter a room, where they plan to stay until all of the shoppers have left. Skulduggery asks Ryan why he doesn't miss his home, and Ryan explains that he was initially planning to run away from home. But Skulduggery tells him that he doesn't have a home. Crasis created Ryan. Ryan is an illusion. And beneath the illusion lies Deacon Maybury. Ryan tells him that he is crazy, but Skulduggery insists that he is telling the truth. Deacon disguised himself so he could hide from Foe's gang, as an average teenage boy. Ryan eventually gives in, and he sits away from the others and weeps. Valkyrie comforts him and tells him that by dismantling the Doomsday Machine he would make Deacon mad.

They find the activation panel, but Foe's gang arrive. They fight, with Skulduggery defeating Mercy and Samuel and Valkyrie defeating Obloquy. Foe flees the scene when Samuel unleashes his vampire form. Ryan dismantles the machine, and Valkyrie comforts and kisses him. But then the illusion fades, and Deacon is revealed. Skulduggery tells him that he may escape, but only because Ryan was their friend.

Kingdom of the Wicked

Valkyrie is sent to investigate Jerry Houlihan who has come up with the idea that he is a butterfly (he's not). It is revealed that Jerry is just one of the many mortals who were suddenly developing magical abilities and were all constantly threatening to reveal the magical society to the general public.

After dealing with Jerry, Valkyrie then travels to Phibsborough to meet with Skulduggery Pleasant who is tracking Ed Stynes whose thin werewolf bloodline has caused the infection to turn him into a werewolf each full moon due to the whole mortals-getting-magical-abilities thing. Equipped with tranquilizer guns the pair enter into the apartment building.

Inside they witness Stynes transforming into a werewolf just before he attacks them. After watching Skulduggery easily being battered by the wolf, Valkyrie manages to get its attention off of him by attacking the wolf with necromancy. She is then forced to leap out of the bedroom window in order to escape but the wolf jumps out after her taking the fight into the public area. After being hit by a bus during the battle and continuously beaten up she begins to hear the voice of Darquesse saying "let me out" but ignores it as Skulduggery re-joins the fight and the pair of them manage to overpower the wolf enough to insert a tranquilizer dart into its bloodstream.

At the Sanctuary they interrogate him in hopes of discovering more about how mortals are becoming magical. He explains to them about dreams that he had recently been experiencing dreams about a man dressed in white with the name "Argeddion". In the dream, he presented a gift to Stynes and ordered him to prepare for the "Summer of Light." The last time he appeared in the dreams "Argeddion" inserted a glowing ball of energy into Styne's chest and said he would return to it later.

As the pair leave the Sanctuary they discuss Skulduggery’s distaste of Doctor Nye because of wartime events and Valkyrie's fears that Darquesse getting out and murdering her parents and younger sister. Once arriving back at her house Valkyrie has a short conversation with her reflection whom she is now getting along with well, claiming that she couldn't fail to be friends with herself. The following morning Valkyrie rushes to get ready to go to school only to find out that it's a Saturday. Her father then tries to hook her up with a boy much to Valkyrie's dismay.

Afterwards, Valkyrie and Skulduggery return to the Sanctuary to continue their investigation about Argeddion by searching through old files in the "Mystical Hall of Magical Cabinets" although they manage to find no record of him at all. They then encounter Ghastly Bespoke training with a punching bag.

Get Thee Behind Me, Bubba Moon

Valkyrie travelled to America with Skulduggery to deal with Bubba Moon.

Theatre of Shadows

Valkyrie and Skulduggery during Theatre of Shadows.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery disappear in Smock Alley Theatre whilst searching for Silas Nadir, prompting the Sanctuary to send Operatives to help them.

The Button

Skulduggery and Valkyrie track down the cause of the world's destruction and do their very best to avert it.

Last Stand Of Dead Men

Valkyrie with the other Dead Men during the War of the Sanctuaries.

Donegan Bane, Gracious O'Callahan, and Valkyrie Cain prepare to head into a Witch's cabin to seek information about Skulduggery Pleasant's disappearance. They meet the Witch's granddaughter, Misery, and after convincing her that they are not there to kill her grandmother, they head into the cabin and into the cellar. They meet the witch Dubhóg Ni Broin who is holding Skulduggery captive after he attacked the front door. Through trickery, Skulduggery manages to trick why Broin was seen conversing with a Warlock who was sent to kill both Pleasant and Cain. Broin reveals that the Warlock was trying to convince her and her sisters to join with the Warlocks leader, Charivari to go to war. During an Elder meeting between Irish Elders, Ghastly Bespoke, Erskine Ravel and Madame Mist, they took with an English Elder Illori Reticent where she tries to convince the Elders to let the Supreme Council establish a Council of Nine and not three so the other Sanctuaries around the World would not be so frightened yet another disaster strikes Ireland. Ravel refuses because he says the Supreme Council has no right to dictate other Sanctuaries how to conduct their Business. Illori tries to convince the Elders to at least to shut down the Accelerator because it would boost the Irish Mages powers beyond anything imaginable. Ravel again refuses because the Accelerator is powering the only cell in existence that can hold Darquesse.

After Valkyrie and her parents with Alice, celebrate her eighteenth Birthday and her parents reward her with an orange car which Valkyrie calls the "Oompa-Loompa" but still loves it all the same. Later she and Skulduggery go to meet Solomon Wreath. Wreath gives an "upgrade" to her Necromancer abilities as a present. Pleasant questions Wreath over why Bison Dragonclaw convinced the Warlock to kill Skulduggery and Valkyrie. Wreath reveals that Dragonclaw gave a name to the Warlock that Charivari wanted which was Department X. Skulduggery says that Department X doesn't exist. It's just used as an excuse in case any mortals ask any questions over why creatures died. Wreath also says that five years ago Baritone, one of the necromancers during the Battle of Aranmore Farm, noticed three mortals boasting about how they faced warlocks. Baritone asked who hired them but they couldn't remember the man. Skulduggery also says that they have been hearing a lot about the mystery man; Davina Marr couldn't remember who hired her to blow up the Sanctuary, Sean Mackin was released from his cell by someone who he couldn't remember and the three mortals couldn't remember who hired them.

Valkyrie succumbs to Darquesse.

Meanwhile, Ghastly is out jogging but is startled when he realises he is being tracked. He follows the trackers to the Accelerator where Bernard Sult and other Supreme Council members are planting explosives to destroy the Accelerator. Sult says that if the Supreme Council cannot have the Accelerator, then neither can Ireland have it. Ghastly manages to defeat the Council members but Sult detonates the bombs himself. He and the others survive but are astonished that the Accelerator wasn't even destroyed or even damaged. Ravel and the Cleavers arrive and arrest Sult and the mages. Valkyrie goes to China Sorrows to find out who and how the Man with Golden Eyes manages to erase himself from other people's thoughts. China says that there is a type of amethyst crystal could induce a level of amnesia so the thoughts can be erased however it is not a discipline of magic so anyone can use it but China also says that most of the crystals are locked away carefully and there can even be one in the Sanctuary in Roarhaven. China asks why Valkyrie really came to her, She says that her parents expect her to go to college and study but she keeps wanting to work at the Sanctuary but also does not want to get too distant from other mortals. China says that its called Second Lifetime Syndrome and it happens when sorcerers watch her friends or family die around them. Valkyrie suggests that she could tell her parents about magic but China strongly advises her against that since Valkyrie's parents' lives will be ruined with fear and worry and will struggle with their lives and won't be able to cope about magic which ruined her Dad's life.

The Dying of the Light

Valkyrie is still suppressed by Darquesse for the beginning of the book. In an attempt to separate her from Darquesse, Valkyrie is the one who gets trapped in the Soul Catcher and Darquesse is in full possession of Valkyrie's body. Skulduggery begins to pick up small hints that it is really Darquesse pretending to be Valkyrie and organises a trap to switch out Darquesse with Valkyrie's essence. The plan half works: Valkyrie is returned to her body, but Darquesse manages to escape, hopping from host body to host body, burning them out one by one. Darquesse also took Valkyrie's magic, leaving her essentially mortal.Valkyrie is forced to make up with Stephanie, and the two become half-hearted friends. Valkyrie does show remorse when Stephanie is killed and used as a permanent host body by Darquesse.

Valkyrie travels to Mevolent's dimension with Skulduggery to bring back Ravel and use him as bait. In the unfolding events, Valkyrie is caught in the explosion of the Magic-Sucker which kickstarts her Surge. She regains her magic but is no longer an Elemental or a Necromancer. In a fight with Vincent Foe she discovers her powers are to produce White Lightning. She can float and produce energy shields and blasts. In an uncontrolled wave of energy, Foe is killed along with Samuel.

Valkyrie helps in the preparations for the final fight against Darquesse. She is given a tattoo of the Meryyn Sigil by China. The sigil grants her twenty-three minutes of invulnerability and super-strength after three tests have been completed in the Necropolis. Skulduggery completes the first two and Scapegrace the second. Valkyrie goes up against Darquesse, destroying buildings and cars in the process. When the sigil is about to time out, Darquesse has Valkyrie defeated, but she is saved by Lord Vile and Melancholia St. Clair. Darquesse sets off a devastating explosion which Valkyrie survives in the last seconds of the Meryyn Sigil's invulnerability. Vile also survives, but Melancholia is killed instantly. The explosion destroyed an entire quarter of Roarhaven. Valkyrie is brought to the Medical Wing by Tanith, but she denies needing treatment and heads out to find the Deathtouch Gauntlet and a Sunburst. She eventually finds her parents in the ruins of the city, running towards her with Alice. Valkyrie asks to borrow Alice to put a protective charm over her. Her parents believe the lie, and Valkyrie takes alice to a secluded area. She kills Alice with the Deathtouch Gauntlet, claims the Sceptre of the Ancients, then revives her baby sister. Valkyrie is horrified at what she did and later suffers from PTSD and depression due to this act.

Darquesse kills Valkyrie's parents by vanishing them and Valkyrie uses the Sceptre to threaten her to bring them back. Darquesse, terrified, does so, then knocks the Sceptre out of Valkyrie's hand, calling her out for not killing Darquesse when she had the chance. On Fletcher's signal, however, Valkyrie blasts Darquesse with White Lightning, rendering her immobile for a few seconds. Darquesse is eventually defeated.

Valkyrie attempts to sacrifice herself to stop the Accelerator from overloading, but Skulduggery pulls her back, telling her not to be silly. He then promptly pretends to walk in himself. Valkyrie blurts out "I love you" before he reaches the dais. Skulduggery then picks up Ravel, throwing him in as a sacrificial soul, "willingly given". He teases Valkyrie later about this.

Valkyrie decides to move to America and get a dog, as she had suggested Stephanie should do earlier. She does this because she cannot face her parents or Alice after what she did to claim the Sceptre. Skulduggery lets her go. She gets a German Shepard called Xena and moves to a large ranch in Colorado.

A few years later, Valkyrie is being tracked down by two killers called Cadaverous Gant and Jeremiah Wallow. A mortal who buys her shopping, named Danny, attempts to help her, but is used as bait to lure her to Gant's literal hellhouse. Valkyrie rescues Danny, and Jeremiah dies in the process. After this, Valkyrie decides to move back to Ireland. Skulduggery comes to Colorado to pick her up.

Resurrection

Suffering from PTSD and depression, Valkyrie stays alone in what used to be Gordon's estate. Skulduggery comes to her for help on a case and she reluctantly agrees. Through the events of the investigation, Skulduggery is corrupted by Azzedine Smoke and turns against Valkyrie. In a krass twist of Russian Roulette, he shoots her in the leg, promising her that he will be the one to kill her. Valkyrie continues the case on her own, alongside Temper Fray and Omen Darkly. She finds out that Administrator Tipstaff was a traitor working with the anti-Sanctuary and reports this to "Supreme Mage" China Sorrows. Valkyrie has an Auxilium Sigil tattooed on her hip to call in reinforcements, but when she is kidnapped by Skulduggery and the others, the shackles and cell prevent her using any magic at all.

Throughout the time Skulduggery spends corrupted, Valkyrie tries to get through to his true nature and eventually succeeds at the very end, before he is about to sacrifice her to resurrect Abyssinia. They fight against the members of the anti-Sanctuary and get caught in a wave of Coldheart prisoners. Smoke attempts to corrupt Skulduggery again, but he throws off the corruption easily this time, proving Valkyrie's strong bond with him. Valkyrie convinces Darquesse (of whom a ghost-like sliver has remained) to defeat Lethe for them. After all the remaining culprits are arrested and they return to Valkyrie's house, Valkyrie agrees to come back full time as Skulduggery's partner.

"We have mysteries to solve, and adventures to undertake, and I need my partner looking dapper at my side."

— Valkyrie to Skulduggery after agreeing to return (in reference to a line said by Skulduggery in the  first book)

Powers and abilities

"You're an Elemental with a Necromancer ring, trained in a variety of martial arts by some of the best fighters in the world. I'm fairly certain that makes you a weapon."

— Skulduggery Pleasant to Valkyrie about her powers and abilities, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil

Elemental Magic

Throughout the series, Valkyrie's skill in elemental magic steadily grows, from an absolute amateur incapable of performing magic when panicking to the stage of a reasonably powerful Elemental, capable of besting sorcerers far more experienced than she herself is. She displays great potency with Fire and Air but shows little aptitude with Water and even less in Earth, due to her not being interested in the former and the fact that the latter turns one into a stone statue. However, she loses this power after she is stripped of her magic. 

Necromancy

Fan Art of Valkyrie's ring.

After seeing her use his cane with great skill despite her lack of training at Aranmore Farm, Wreath decided that Valkyrie needed Necromancy training. She displays a strange skill and talent at the discipline and grasps it very well. Valkyrie has her power forced into a ring and she uses it to create shadow whips, barriers and tendrils, as well as shrouding her hand in solid darkness to increase the power of her punches and launch projectiles of darkness. However, she loses this power after she is stripped of her magic.

Choice

When Valkyrie was to reach full maturity, usually at the age of 19 or 20, she would have had to choose her magical discipline before she experiences The Surge. After this choice, she would lose the ability to use other types of magic, so if she had chosen Necromancy she would have lost her Elemental powers and vice-versa. Derek Landy confirmed that she "can't have both."

However, when Darquesse is split from her, all of her powers, Elemental and Necromantic, are taken, leaving her effectively mortal. However, when her surge is kick-started, she develops the ability to create waves of energy and to summon white lightning. This is possibly a manifestation of Energy-Throwing.

Darquesse

When in grave danger - such as being on the brink of death -, Valkyrie subconsciously allows Darquesse to take over her mind and body. As Darquesse, Valkyrie can wield a unique type of magic, possibly Ancient magic, which grants her a huge amount of strength, allowing her to break boulders, crush skulls, and punch through bones with ease. She also has the ability to fly, the ability to see and manipulate someone's consciousness. Darquesse can also dull pain and has the ability to heal even her brain and organs, making her practically invincible. Darquesse can survive injuries that would easily kill a normal mage, even one as powerful as Skulduggery. Darquesse can even withstand having her head ripped off, though she admitted there was a strong chance she'd have died had she not magically repaired herself within seven seconds. Complete destruction of the brain would kill her - however, this is almost impossible do due to her ability to heal any and all wounds magically. Darquesse has been shown to be capable of disintegrating regular humans, turning them to ash with a mere gesture. In addition, Valkyrie's normal skills, such as Necromancy and Elemental Magic are increased vastly, superior to any average sorcerer. In Death Bringer, she is shown to be capable of fighting on par with Lord Vile; however, it is shown that her power has grown greatly, as she defeats Lord Vile with moderate difficulty, and even later states that she has surpassed him. She is also shown to have the ability to see Magic, sensing its presence and nature in other beings. She can understand different people's abilities, how strong they are, and how they will use it. She can also manifest her magic in the form of telekinesis, such as using it to break Kitana Kellaway's leg and moving her body towards her decapitated head.

Currently, the precise limits of Darquesse's power are unknown. As of 2012, she is roughly equal to Mevolent, if not slightly stronger - however, it has been shown that her power is increasing exponentially every time she emerges. Argeddion also states that she is learning and becoming powerful faster than he did, as she easily mastered the ability to see magic, while it took him many months. It is known that Darquesse has been prophesied to extinguish all life on Earth, and eventually the planet itself. By 2013 Darquesse has completely taken over. She could tear another mage apart with a casual flick of her wrist, destroy a thousand powerful Witches and an army of Warlocks, other mages, Wretchlings and several supercharged sorcerers. By 2014 she is sufficiently powerful to destroy a large part of Roarhaven, absorb thousands of remnants, atomise living beings and even travel to the dimension of the Faceless Ones. It was also said that even weakened, Darquesse could defeat Lord Vile (even after he was supercharged by the Accelerator). At almost her full power, she survives a combined assault by Valkyrie (with invincibility), Melancholia, and supercharged Lord Vile, and manages to defeat all of them with a large blast of energy. However, it was stated that she could not defeat more than two Faceless Ones.

Although the real Darquesse opened a portal and travelled to the dimension of The Faceless Ones, a part of Darquesse remains in the real world. Significantly weakened, Darquesse spends practically all her energy in simply existing and haunting talking to Valkyrie. She is able to deliver a short shock of energy to defeat Lethe, but this leaves her even weaker than before. It is unclear whether she will return to her full, or even average power.

Other skills

As well as being a gifted Sorcerer, Valkyrie has displayed other talents throughout the series, such as being highly intelligent, a gifted detective and an expert hand-to-hand fighter. Her official profile released by Derek Landy states that she practices Kenpo Karate, Muay Thai, Krav Maga and Capoeira. Valkyrie has shown proficiency in punches, kicks, elbows, headbutts, and throws among other techniques.

Surge

After losing Darquesse and having her Surge kick-started, Valkyrie has been able to manipulate energy to create white lightning, create large blasts, make a white shield around herself, and float. She is also able to see magic like Darquesse. This is due to the fact that losing her True Name meant she had no restrictions and was "closer to warlocks and witches than sorcerers." Additionally, she shares some psychic traits. These are subliminal, though enough to cause her headaches in certain areas of Roarhaven (where other Sensitives cannot go) and are activated in Cassandra Pharos' old cottage, triggering a vision.

The extent of her powers will be revealed and discussed in the future.

Relationships

Skulduggery Pleasant

Valkyrie first met Skulduggery when he rescued her from a sorcerer who attacked her in her house. At the time she was still known as Stephanie Edgely and had no knowledge of magic or even any idea that it existed. Skulduggery introduced her to the magical world and they became close friends and partners. Despite bickering regularly, they are fiercely loyal to each other. Shortly after their first meeting, Skulduggery killed Serpine in order to protect her, having originally intended to only arrest him and at one point Valkyrie even went into the world of the Faceless Ones in order to rescue him from the evil gods. 

Skulduggery was Valkyrie's mentor and usually acted as the leader in their relationship but due to Valkyrie's tendency to disobey orders she often didn't do what he said. Skulduggery was often exasperated by this but actually liked her headstrong nature. The Skeleton Detective also acted as her protector and despite Valkyrie's steadily increasing powers it was implied that there were still many sorcerers who could kill her easily; the reason they didn't was that they were frightened of suffering from Skulduggery's legendary rage.

Skulduggery accepted that Valkyrie was Darquesse very easily, due to the fact that he possessed a ferocious dark side in the form of Lord Vile. However, it took Valkyrie a bit longer to accept that Skulduggery had once been the evilest and powerful Necromancer in the history of magic. She eventually forgave him and Skulduggery also managed to snap her out of Darquesse's control, after fighting off his own dark side during their ferocious battle. 

Although many fans like to imagine Valkyrie's relationship with Skulduggery to go further, they are never romantically involved in any way. Stop it. Please.  

Fletcher Renn

At first glance, Valkyrie didn't think much of Fletcher, seeing him as a coward and slightly stupid. However in Dark Days she gets better friends with him after spending more time with him while tracking down Skulduggery Pleasant's skull, after Fletcher kisses her before sending her to The Faceless Ones' universe, she becomes more attracted to him until she tells Skulduggery at the end of the book that they're "a girlfriend-boyfriend thing." Their relationship is going well and has become more intimate although Valkyrie feels guilty for kissing Caelan. They break up in 2011 after she reveals that she has been cheating on him with Caelan although the fact that he responds to her distress call indicates that he didn't hate her for breaking it off. However, they remain good, if somewhat awkward, friends. Fletcher rescues Valkyrie in Resurrection, jokingly stating that it was because she was his first love. He is injured and sent to hospital. Valkyrie visits him during his recovery.

Personality

Valkyrie is shown to be a stubborn, exceptionally mature, and independent girl, who often ignores orders. When approached by strangers, she usually ignores them. She hates when she is treated like a child or talked down to, although almost always happens. She is loyal and caring to her friends and also her family. Valkyrie can also be very selfish, as Fletcher states. She admits to it later on. Her uncle Gordon Edgley described her as "strong-willed, intelligent, sharp-tongued, doesn't suffer fools gladly." After she had to kill Caelan, she became hostile to vampires, thinking them to be horrible creatures.

She tends to glare a lot.

It has been noted on various occasions that Valkyrie is extremely witty and sarcastic, frequently joking and bantering in life-or-death situations, possibly to mask her own fears or anxieties.

As Darquesse, Valkyrie's personality undergoes a drastic, dark transformation. While still retaining her core behaviour and principals, as Darquesse is simply a darker version of her and not a separate entity, they are greatly twisted. She retains her witty, sarcastic personality, but it becomes cruel and malicious rather than playful. She relishes in causing and feeling pain and violence and is constantly seeking opponents who can actually challenge her. However, it has been noted that Darquesse is not inherently evil - simply cold, uncaring and above all curious in regards to her abilities and their limits. She is willing to ally herself with those who would usually be opposed to her, valuing self-preservation above all else.

Description

Valkyrie is usually described as pretty (with a cute lil' dimple), having straight long dark brown hair and dark intense eyes. She is tall for her age and has a slim body with broad shoulders. It is said on many occasions that she is strong. She commonly wears the clothes made for her by Ghastly Bespoke which first included, a black tunic and tight trousers, long boots, and a three-quarter length coat, which are near-impenetrable. Later she gets a coat with sleeves as red as dried blood and a black jacket. The outfit after that is fully black. Before succumbing to Darquesse she is seen wearing a pink shirt the reflection bought and after becoming Darquesse forever she wears a belly-dancers outfit the Brides of Blood Tears wear. In Resurrection she is only seen in regular clothes (jeans and t-shirt) for a good portion of the book. She claims that the jacket was getting snug around her shoulders, though this was probably to disguise her unwillingness in committing to return to the magical world. When she accepts her role as Skulduggery's partner again, she dons the black. Despite the snugness.

Trivia

• The name "Valkyrie" comes from the Norse warrior women who guard Valhalla (she first heard the name after hearing "Rise of the Valkyries"). The name "Cain" came to her mind when Skulduggery claimed she had a "penchant for raising cain," which means that she causes trouble.
• It is revealed she is afraid of penguins, zoos, and falling into a penguin enclosure. However, it is likely just a joke. She does, however, have claustrophobia: a fear of enclosed spaces.
• When Derek Landy was asked about her sexuality, he responded that she was before becoming Darquesse forever "...predominantly straight, with some curiosities. Who knows how they may have developed?"
  • Right now, she is closing in on "bisexual and heteroromantic."
• Valkyrie is seen on the Resurrection cover with a fireball, despite having no Elemental magic anymore.
• The identity of her potential future boyfriend, according to one of Cassandra Pharos' visions, will be revealed.
• In Phase 2, it will be explored whether or not Valkyrie's family is the only family left which descends from the Ancient Ones.

Appearances

See also

• Gallery
• Valkyrie's official profile