Freya "Nornsong" McKenzie

Freya McKenzie (born July 3rd, 1994) is a character of The Secret World.

=• Biography •=

Childhood
Freya was born in a small hospital in Costa Rica, near a digging site where her mother worked (even while she was pregnant). The family took a little break from travelling and returned to Sweden, the home of her mother. Her mother Molly was leader of a group of archaeologists active around the globe and her father Jonathan was a former treasure hunter. Freya has a ten years older brother, whose name is Thjore.

The family was travelling again two years later, from Sweden to Nicaragua, heading further north to Mexico and later the US East Coast. Freya was taught by her mother most of the elementary things and later attended to lessons in internet schools.

The Separation of her parents
Her parents got more and more into conflict about her mother’s job. Molly always said that every archaeological treasure should be shown in a museum, reachable for everyone. All private collections should be resolved and handed over into public ownership. Her father Jonathan thought in another way to handle the artifacts. He preferred a life of prosperity without worries about how to pay the next rent. They tried to argue not in front of their children, but Freya and Thjore were soon aware of the tensions between the two.

Molly and Jonathan got divorced in 2001, when Freya was 7. Molly retired from active field duty and moved with both kids to her house in Sweden. Since then Molly wrote essays for science magazines and worked on a book about Central America’s history. Jonathan tried to reactivate his connections from the times when he was a treasure hunter, but got only few jobs. The contact to his family was only sparse and he repeatedly disappeared for weeks or months without a sign of life.

Thjore celebrated his 18th birthday (Age of Consent in Sweden) one year after Molly and Jonathan got divorced. His father appeared at the party and asked Thjore to join him. Molly was upset when Thjore agreed. The 8 year old Freya couldn’t understand why her brother left her alone – something she has never forgiven her brother. She remained with her mother and took many of her views on the world over.

Adolescence
In the following years Freya had only few contacts with her brother and her father, mostly during Christmas holidays or in the summer. Their relationship was strained at best. Freya got nightmares beginning with her 14th birthday; she couldn’t remember much of them, only that they were dark and frightening. She began to paint unknown symbols on the walls of her room. The nightmares ended after reaching the age of 17. She got psychological care during that time. After the nightmares disappeared she realized that she could read some runes and signs without seeing or reading about them before. She hid this talent because she thought it would be strange to others.

She got along well through elementary school and Highschool. But all the time Freya was fascinated by her father’s adventures and when the time had come to decide to study or find a job, she asked him in an E-Mail if he would accept her joining him and Thjore. The answer shocked Freya. Her father declined her question, she wasn’t ready yet and beside of this, he wouldn’t need one who might replace his ex-wife as moral crusader. She told him that Thjore was younger than her when he joined him, but he didn’t listen to her. Molly was outraged, too. She spoke of betrayal and backstabbing of for what she lived and what she had tried to teach her children.

Freya thought that she had lost everything now.

Leaving Home and Studies
Freya left her home in Sweden to give her mother the opportunity to cool down. She stood with the family of her uncle Björn in Kiel, Germany. Now she had only contact to her brother who sent her a message every now and then, where he was and what they were doing there. The contact to her mother was reduced to anniversaries and birthdays.

She attended to a Gymnasium in Kiel (German equivalent of Highschool) and burrowed herself in her studies and was one of the best pupils of her class. She worked twice as hard as others and used every free minute to learn. She participated at much internship, archaeological digging sites around Scandinavia and northern Europe. The use of yellow gumboots and her unsparing exertion at the digging sites brought her the nickname ‘Mud Duck’.

Her father’s Job
Her brother called her after her first year in Kiel. He asked her if she wanted to join him and Jonathan in a treasure hunt. Freya was suspicious, but accepted and left Kiel few days later. She met her father and her brother in Aberdeen, Scotland. The meeting was rather cool and businesslike first, but that changed when her father told her, what kind of treasure they were after.

Jonathan told her the story of Olav Hâkonsson, a Viking Lord who lived around the year 900. He attacked towns and villages around Scotland’s coasts and hoarded a big treasure. When he tried to get his wealth back to Denmark all of his three Longboats got into a terrible storm in which one sunk and one disappeared. He was able to return to the western coast of Scotland only with his flagship. He had the idea to cross Scotland over land – with the Longboat full of gold and gems. The Legend says that he tried to hop from Lake to Lake to reach the North Sea. He never reached Denmark or the North Sea, but left the western Coast. So he and his treasure must be somewhere in Scotland. Jonathan found records about a rich ‘Olav’ who ‘owned treasures bigger than any worldly king could own.’

Jonathan found a grave of a man with the name ‘Olav’ in which some stone tablets with runes were buried. He needed Freya to translate the tablets, but they were stolen by another party who seemed to be after the treasure, too. Fortunately Jonathan made photos of the tablets and Freya could translate them. They led the Trio to a remote valley in the Scottish Highlands.

What happened there and after she got to London is a secret only some Templars and maybe Freya knows.

=• Personal Information •=

Appearance
Freya isn’t very large like many may expect if they think of Swedish Girls. She has grey-blue eyes and long dark-blonde hair which tend to be curly. Sometimes she wears her hair artfully braided. Her skin is bright and some freckles around her nose appear if she is in direct sunlight. Freya keeps herself in shape by jogging (also through rougher terrain) and her body is of a graceful built. People who meet her speak of an elven-like appearance and that something transcendental is upon her.

A scar on her right hand is her only mark. The two inch long white line is the result of the attempt to climb a steep slope in Central America.

Freya dresses in sporty clothes most of the time, hoodies, jogging pants and running shoes. On the very rare occasion that she gets out for a nice evening or night, she may use make-up and different clothes which would fit best for the location.

Personality
Before Freya left her mother she was a communicative girl, aware of her somehow otherworldly beauty and always with one or two suitors ready to do everything for her. She wasn’t arrogant or conniving, she was just herself and liked her life in Sweden, although she was missing the travelling much and always felt the yen to see distant places. She was friendly and helpful when dealing with others, without prejudice and fear. Freya wasn’t fearful of ‘the unknown’, she was always searching for the next challenge, brave, fearless and straight forward when her family hit the road again for the next adventurous trip to exotic places.

After leaving her mother she was quiet and shy, she hadn’t many friends in Germany and even the family of her uncle would say that she was strange and very reclusive. Some boys tried to date her, but without success. She preferred to be alone and became an outsider.

Everything changed since she got a bee and discovered her magical talents.

Goals and Views
=• Noteable Relationships •=

Lux

=• Trivia •=

