Solveig

Solveig was a Viking warrior and wife to Rig Reidarasson. She was the mother of Erik Whaleborn.

Biography

At the time she met Rig Reidarasson, Solveig was a thrall in charge of making mead. It was rumoured that they met when Solveig was swimming in a giant vat of mead and Rig dipped in his mug to fill it, only for Solveig to grab the mug and pull him in. That same night, the pair went for a long walk in the woods and consummated their love there. Upon returning, however, they discovered that Rig's family had been executed under accusations of black seidr by Ergon Blade-Tongue, who also demanded that Rig and Solveig be exiled.

The pair packed their belongings and sailed away at dusk, only to sneak back in at night and kill Ergon, leading to a bounty being placed on their heads by King Hadon. They escaped for England with a loyal crew at their side and King Hadon's hunters in close pursuit. They hid inside a beached whale carcass with several loyal warriors and remained there for ten nights. Legend has it that Rig and Solveig made love in front of their fellow warriors from the first until the ninth day, when Erik Whaleborn was born. That night, Solveig heard Rig talking and shouting in his sleep for the first time, and she held her lover's hand through these fits. On the tenth day, with the threat of bounty-hunters gone, Solveig changed her name to "Silla the Sea-Queen" until they could commandeer a ship and a group of warriors to then head for England. In 820, Rig would establish the village of Goldness.

Some time after she gave birth to other five boys and four girls, Solveig was kidnapped by Bolli, the son of Ergon Blade-Tongue, who wanted to torture her in revenge for his father. Rig had his men carry their ships onto the hills nearing Bolli's stronghold, sending the soldiers into a frenzy thinking the golden dragonheads of the ships were actual monsters coming after them. In the turmoil, Rig managed to save Solveig and kill Bolli.

Rig, hearing the voices in his head louder then ever before after that ordeal, proclaimed Solveig "Queen of the North" and sent word to the various ealdormancies, receiving only scorn or ridicule in response. Rig called a witan, with various nobles from Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria attending. Solveig dressed as a man, calling herself "the King of Goldness" and demanding tribute. Rig slaughtered any who would not bend the knee to Solveig, who then became known as "The Only Queen of England."

Solveig joined her husband in his voyage to Constantinople, but, during their return, Rig was killed. Solveig begged Brissy the Elder to not "let him have died with no scroll, no word in his name", urging him to recount Rig's story, which would later be known as the Rigsogur. Solveig fought off various attacks to secure her husband's body's passage back home and buried him in Goldness with an axe and a cross in his hands.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)