In Germanic religion , any of a group of maidens sent by Odin to select slain warriors worthy of a place in Valhalla .
They rode to the battlefield on horses or, in some accounts, flew through the air and sea. Some had the power to cause the death of warriors they disliked; others guarded the lives and ships of those they favoured. According to various myths, they were either purely supernatural or human with supernatural powers; they were associated with fairness, brightness, and gold as well as with bloodshed.