In Norse mythology, Valkyries choose slain warriors and bring some to Valhalla.
The Valkyries are supernatural female figures associated with Odin and battle. Their name comes from Old Norse valkyrja, commonly interpreted as “chooser of the slain.” In mythological poems and later prose, they select warriors who have fallen in combat and serve them in Odin’s hall.
Valhalla is not the destination of every person who dies in battle. Norse sources also associate Freyja’s field Fólkvangr with battle-dead, and the surviving texts do not always present a single, fully consistent allocation system. This is why “all slain warriors go to Valhalla” is an oversimplification.
The Valkyries are also connected with serving food and drink to the einherjar. Later popular culture often portrays them mainly as armored winged women, but wings are not a universal feature of the medieval Norse sources.