Valda
Real Name:
Valda
Identity/Class: Human mutated by magic
Occupation: Adventurer, former skater, diver
Affiliations: Dorcas (deceased), Heidi Bruker (apprentice)
Enemies: Unknown
Known Relatives: None.
Aliases: None.
Base of Operations: A cave in the Austrian mountains
First Appearance: Mandy (D.C.Thomson, 1968-82)
Powers/Abilities: Valda can talk to animals and has extensive knowledge of mystic herbs. She possesses superhuman strength and is able to make huge leaps. She does not age under normal circumstances, but must periodically bathe in the fire of life to sustain her youth; the onset of her need to revitalise can be rapid. She is also the speediest downhill skier of all time, and a skilled ice skater. Apparently able to generate music spontaneously (her skating was accompanied by unidentified music, confusing the technicians as nothing was set up for the public address system), and to influence people's actions (she apparently compelled the judges at the skating competition to evaluate her performance despite others protesting to the judges that she was not an official contestant).
History:
200 years ago Dorcas the gypsy found a young child whom she named Valda.
She was brought up to know the secrets of the herbs and how to talk to animals.
When Dorcas died, Valda travelled underground to the Emerald Grotto of Ice
and Fire, where the cold flames gave her the secret of eternal youth. In
modern times (1969) Valda emerged when the Earth split open, and bathed herself
in the Fire of Life to regain her youth, before embarking on a series of
adventures. She enjoyed testing herself and her skills by unofficially entering
various contests, such as skating and skiing competitions.
Comments: Thanks to Carolyn Ritchie for informing me of Valda's ski-ing prowess.
Alison Bird notes "As I recall, although she was immortal, she did often "die" - a bit like Dr Who really, she gave her life energy to save a mortal at the end of one series of stories and was then resurrected for the next series. I seem to remember she used to have to recharge her life force fairly frequently."
Deborah
adds "She did indeed almost die (not actually) regularly, having almost exhausted
her super-powers saving a mortal or fighting some evil or other. On these
occasions she steadily weakened and visibly aged towards her 200-year-old
actual age. What saved her was some form of fire/ice combination, and the
most easily accessible version of this was a 'magic' ice-like crystal she
carried in a locket around her neck which, when held up to the sun, would
bathe her in a reviving fiery light. Though this magic light was too powerful
for mortals, and I think even dangerous to Valda herself, she could save
mortals who were frozen/exhausted (she mostly lived in quite a wintry world)
by holding them as she bathed them along with herself in the light. I think
the crystal was from some secret magic place where she'd acquired her powers
and which had since been destroyed."
Thanks to Ashira Teanby and Julia Francis for additional information.
CLARIFICATIONS: None
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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