All this was centuries ago. Machines changed everything. They brought a time of upheaval and reformation. The world nowadays is a completely different place, with skyscrapers rising high, cars driving fast, and society living an even faster life.
Through all this time the Empire remained, but it has no real power anymore; only a symbolic one. Yet that, in itself, is much. In this fast-living, unstable world, the Empire stands as a reminder of stability and grandeur. Like the Valkyries, it too had to face the passage of time somewhere, and thanks to them, it did so with as much dignity as possible.
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Yes, it might all have been a facade. The Empire was born in fire, and during its lifetime it faced challenge after challenge. Wars, betrayals, murder, sacrifice. The old times were grim, and even the afterlife might have been just a lie. All the scientific facts indicate that when the body dies… that's it. One ceases to exist, and only nothingness remains.
And yet it was the belief in the afterlife, and the faith in what they fought for that enabled these people from old times to face impossible odds, to endure them, to best many of the most insurmountable challenges. Through their legend and their legacy they are remembered, and therefore, in an abstract sense, they have created their own kind of an afterlife.
They still have a huge impact nowadays. Schools teach about them. Politicians reference them. Tourists from all over the world visit the old Union Palace and wander in their footsteps. Cultures cherish them. It was the struggle of many brave souls who fought valiantly and gave their life to create this modern world we live in now.
So if anyone asks: "What has it all been good for?", you can answer: The legend they have written is real. Their love is real. They have given value and beauty to all this madness. This is the story of the Valkyries. Their glory is forever.
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- Various knight orders, like the Knights Templar or the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of the Dragon, the Teutonic Order, any many many more. You need to check out their rules and regulations from back then. They are insane.
- Royalty from back then and even today. Check out the codex of the English, Spanish and Japanese monarchy, for example. These regulations are pretty nuts too.
- The Varangian Guards, Norse who served the Byzantine Emperor as his personal bodyguards
- Not just Norse mythology, but also Germanic one, Roman one, Chinese one, etc.
- Thessia is mostly based on the Holy Roman Empire
- Chinese imperial court.
- So many individual stories of people from all over history I can barely get started.