Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-4141313-20190406053411

I'll admit I did not create this theory, rather I heard something on the TV Tropes Forum that got me thinking. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13639868050A17401700&page=2360#comment-58977 Check the last two paragraphs.

As I'm sure we're all aware by now, each member of the original eight main characters, RWBY and JNPR, has had some hint to their origins explained, with one notable exception: Nora Valkyrie.

The most we know of her past is that she was orphaned in Kuroyuri, and noted to look like a foreigner, the day before the Knuckleavee attacked the village. Having been found trying to take moldy bread from the trash to eat, only to be picked on by some local kids before Li Ren arrived, then later being protected by young Lie Ren and the two being together ever since.

Now, something most of us are aware of are that Team JNPR takes inspiration from various figures in history and mythology that at one point or another crossdressed, in Nora's case, the Norse God Thor. Thor is said to be the son of Odin, the All Father of the Norse Gods. In addition, her hammer, Magnhild, contains the name of Thor's son Magni, the god of Strength. Even her semblance she said she got on a "Crazy Thursday", in reference to it also alledgedly being called "Thors Day".

Odin has been mentioned in regards to RWBY characters before, namely through Raven and Ozpin. Raven's character inspiration is said to be the mythological corvid Huginn, a scout for Odin alongside their brother Muninn. While they aren't directly inspired by them, for the sake of Raven's reference, Qrow takes on the role of Muninn, and Ozpin the role of Odin. And like the story she was inspired by, Raven did not return to Ozpin, and Qrow gained another aspect of suffering as a result of it.

So, why does this make me think that Nora has a connection to Ozpin? I mean, not all character inspirations imply a relation to each other right? Well, in addition to her inspiration as Thor, there is also her last name, Valkyrie. In mythology, Valkyries were essentially Odin's recruiters, taking the souls of those who perished on the battlefield to Valhalla to serve as his warriors. One Valkyrie in particular, Þrúðr/Thrud, happens to bear the same name as Thor's daughter, her name meaning strength, and its debated that the two are infact the same character. A lot of stories, including the book Ragnarsdrapa, state Thrud was at one point kidnapped by the Jotunn known as Hrungnir, but the kidnapping failed and ended in Hrungnir's death.

Now remember, Nora was found abandoned in Kuroyuri, but was said to be a foreigner. As most of Anima has an Asian influence to its design, its implied Nora isn't from Anima, unless she was from Argus due to its Atlesian influence, but considering the lack of reaction to returning there, thats unlikely. So, that likely means she's either from Vale, or from Atlas. Vacuo is less likely as her clothing seemed too heavy for the desert climate of Vacuo, especially for a child. And according to her, she's an orphan, as said during her breakdown at the Noodle Stand before JNPR fought BRNZ, so her parents are most likely dead.

Nora: The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!

Now, recall the Thorsday mention. She said that was the day she discovered her semblance, after being struck by lightning and not dying.

Oscar: And what about you?

Nora: Oh. Struck by lightning. Didn't die. Craaaazy Thursday.

Lightning only strikes the tallest object in an area, or something that acts as a strong conductor like a Lightning Rod. So unless she was standing in an open field when it happened, she had to be high up, possibly in an airship. Well Nora's semblance lets her, in Oobleck's words:

Oobleck: Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles! This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!

In other words, electricity allows her to increase her strength, or rather, reinforce her muscles to make them stronger. Getting struck by lightning already seems like a hard thing to do for a child outside of an open field, but what if she was in the sky?

So, if we take all the knowledge I just laid out, Nora's backstory is possibly this:

Nora was with her family on an airship travelling out of her home, only for the ship to be hijacked, the intent to kidnap Nora. However, a lightning strike caused the ship to crash over Anima, and land near Kuroyuri, killing everyone in the ship with the exception of Nora, the only reason she survived due to being reinforced by the lightning strike and making her more durable.

But what does this have to do with Ozpin? Well, if you'll recall, Ozma's incarnation prior to Ozpin is unknown. It's a generally accepted idea that the prior incarnation is the King of Vale, as both Ozpin and the King of Vale are said to have been the founders of the Academies. So that leads to two possibilities:

1. One of Ozma's prior incarnations is a relative to the Valkyrie family, befitting Ozpin's role as Odin and Nora's as Thor.

2. The Valkyrie family were allies to the King of Vale, one of the Lieutenants Ozma had at the time, and were responsible for overseeing one of the Academies, befitting the role of the Valkyrie's being Odin's recruiters.

So then, why go after Nora? Well, remember who Ozpin's immortal enemy is, his ex-wife, Salem. Salem is shown to have been facing Ozma for centuries, and its implied that the one who took Maria's eyes, Tock, was one of her old servants, hence this line:

Tock: You know, the only reason my master wants you dead is 'cause of your eyes.

And as we all know, Silver Eyes are the Grimm's kryptonite, capable of petrifying, vaporizing, or encasing them, so it would make sense Salem would try to exterminate anything that could impede her plans.

So then, what reason would Salem have for making a servant go after Nora? Well that depends on Ozma's connection to the Valkyries. If option 1, then to destroy anything related to Ozma, including any of his descendants. If option 2, to force the Valkyries to obey her and make it easier for her to get access to one of the relics. In both cases however, the plan failed due to a stray bolt of lightning.

So, it could be possible Nora's backstory is linked to Ozma, even if only indirectly.

I'll admit, I'm sleep deprived as I type this, so this may be the dumbest thing I've ever typed and just haven't realized yet, but is their any plausibility behind this idea? 