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Earlier appearances

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character

Hekla

Hekla the Shieldmaiden · the Amazonian · Brynhild

The Amazonian #2 crawler and Daughters' leader — a smiling betrayer, killed by a mis-aimed Rush from the very 'lamb' she tried to murder.

Story so far

Hekla's gambit ends in her own death. After her invisible phased-bolt attempt on Katia Grim is exposed and Princess Donut blasts her, the shieldmaiden — healed by Silfa — coolly calls a halt, waving the whole thing off with a cigarette and a breezy "no harm, no foul," admitting only "a stupid risk." She reveals the plan's aim through Eva: they never truly meant to kill Katia, just to flare Carl's famous temper into an incident. But Eva's merciless taunting of Katia over her ex Fannar and lost adoption pushes Katia past breaking — Katia Rushes at Eva, misses, and splatters Hekla against the train wall instead.

The #2 crawler and leader of Brynhild's Daughters dies on the spot, handing Katia a golden skull and a 500,000-gold bounty. Her old ties to Reykjavik (psychiatrist to Eva) and her secret sponsorship by Odette make her death a tangle of unanswered motives.

Appearance

A towering, powerfully muscled Amazonian nine inches taller than Carl, iron-handed, with a huge automatic crossbow and twin curved blades; last seen smoking a cigarette in the gore-soaked cab before her death.

Role

Top-tier rival and Daughters' leader, unmasked as a betrayer and killed by a mis-aimed Rush — the season's first slain top-ten crawler.

Relationships

Katia Grim — Her betrayed 'lamb,' who accidentally kills her and claims her bounty.
Eva — Her enforcer and former patient, whose taunts trigger the fatal Rush.
Princess Donut — The prize she coveted, who exposes her and fires the first shot.
Odette — The host who secretly sponsored her, leaving her motives murky.

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

Sources — 4 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 3
  • A buff Amazonian Shieldmaiden, second on the leaderboard, leader of the Daughters and Katia's old ally.
Chapter 21
  • The Amazonian leader of Brynhild's Daughters, second on the leaderboard, who arrives in person to recruit the party for a thousand-crawler rescue.
Chapter 22
  • The Amazonian leader of the Daughters — revealed as a smiling betrayer who tries to murder Katia with invisible bolts mid-rescue.
Chapter 23
  • The Amazonian #2 crawler and Daughters' leader — a smiling betrayer, killed by a mis-aimed Rush from the very 'lamb' she tried to murder.
Character sheet
LitRPG stats — unique to this series. Other books surface a different panel here.
Shieldmaiden LVL 33
Notable gear
  • huge automatic crossbow
  • Dirty Little Phased Bolts
  • twin short curved blades
Character portrait