Sigrid's History
Sigrid was the daughter of a giant and a human. She grew up as part of the Open Hand clan of giants, but never felt quite at home because her feet never touched the ground wherever she sat. She got her size from her human mother, and so the village wasn't made for her.
Once she was old enough, she left her home to visit her mother's home village, the village of Clan Völsung. Finding the village empty, Hervor informed her that the Völsungs were at war and brought her to the battlefield. During the fateful battle, she saved King Leif from a fatal blow, quickly leading to a passionate romance between the two.
Sigrid and Leif shared a bed that evening and Sigrid decided to stay in the village. As time passed, Leif refused marriage to curry favor with other clans who saw their daughters as potential matches for him, but he eventually crafted a throne for Sigrid and asked her to marry him. Upon sitting on the throne, Sigrid felt the ground beneath her feet and knew that she was home.
After their engagement, Sigrid lamented that Leif may never meet her family and that she wouldn't be able to marry in her homeland. Leif quickly promised her that they'd leave for Jötunheim in the morning, and so it was. Sigrid's father, Glaumar, was reluctant to allow Leif in as giants would not dine with men, but Leif followed their customs and convinced him of their love. They celebrated and prepared a wedding ceremony.
The wedding started beautifully, but just as it was about to come to a close, a storm gathered. Thor and Baldr descended from the sky looking for Loki, thought to be hidden among the giants. Glaumar refuted the point, but Thor refused to leave without his bastard brother. Thor began attacking the giants, using his godly powers to kill them, one by one. Sigrid and Leif took the children to safety while the adults were slaughtered. When none but the children remained, Thor set his sights on the hidden children, smashing the entire building down around them. Sigrid and Leif were blown back by the blast and left for dead.
When the dust settled, Sigrid was suddenly pulled down into the earth. She emerged in Hel through Hel's red door, falling down through a waterfall of blood where she met Loki Laufeyson, who had indeed been hiding among the giants. Loki and Sigrid both wanted Thor dead, so Loki offered his help. He told Sigrid of the god-killing iron forged by the dwarf Andvari and promised to help pave her path. He would help her get her revenge on Thor.
Sigrid and Leif set out to find five warriors, each representing one finger of the Open Hand that would close around them in a fist. Hervor and Egill from the Völsung land were the first to join, with Ulfr and the Seid-Kona following shortly after. With this group they sought out Andvari, finding him at his forge. He informed them that his weapons were not sold for gold, but that those who wielded them would be cursed. Sigrid took up Andvari's spear, Antler, without hesitation. Andvari also became their fifth warrior for his private reasons. As they departed the dwarven city, Andvari offered to use the blood of Hel's red door to clad Sigrid in iron, protecting her from harm.
They next sought the help of the Vanir gods in Vanaheim, who would be powerful allies, even if they wouldn't join the fight. They traveled the borderlands in search of the hidden kingdom while Odin's huntsman, the Bolverkrs, searched for the warriors. Odin wanted to protect his son, so the Bolverkrs' goal was Sigrid. The people of the towns had been slaughtered by the Bolverkrs in their search, so Sigrid could only find a small family with whom to dine. They were keeping Thyra captive as an offering to Odin, so when the Bolverkrs came, Leif risked his life to free her. She revealed herself to be the envoy of the Vanir and showed them the way to Vanaheim.
Before they could enter, Thor arrived and wiped out the chasing Bolverkrs, wanting Sigrid for himself. His arrival, like a natural disaster, split the group up at the Black Border so he could fight Sigrid one-on-one. She was no match for him, so he offered her a miracle. She could give up her revenge and he would enable her to have children. She refused, so Thor stepped forward to end her, but his foot fell on Vanir land, breaking the ancient treaty between Vanir and Aesir. He was forced to let them pass.
Though the Vanir initially refused to help Sigrid, Loki whispered a suggestion in her ear and the Vanir changed their tune when she offered to venture into Asgard's orchards to bring back the apples of immortality. In the meantime, they all feasted together. Tensions began to develop between Leif and Sigrid and Leif, in anger, decided to release his thrall, Egill, who left Vanaheim. They then went on to face the orchard's guardian, Fafnir the Snow Dragon, and successfully acquired the golden apples. Unbeknownst to everyone, Loki poisoned the apples so that he could later claim it to be an order from Odin, thus ensuring the Vanir would be angered toward the Aesir.
Before the blame could be given to the Aesir, Sigrid first had to deal with the anger of the Vanir who knew not of Loki's poisoning, but of Sigrid's delivery of the poisoned apples. Sigrid's group fled from the royal palace of Vanaheim while Leif stayed behind to hold back the Vanir. They captured Leif and Loki and locked them away in the head of Hoenir. With the help of the First Wolves who lived on Vanir land, the group was able to locate Hoenir's shrine, but the First Wolves also informed the Vanir, bringing the two groups to battle. Sigrid was grossly outnumbered, but luckily, Egill's departure was temporary. He returned with the giants of frost and mountain, who, after hearing Sigrid's story, wanted to go to war for her. This gave Sigrid the opportunity to save Leif and Loki. Once Loki emerged, he made his claim, neutralizing the conflict between the groups present and successfully setting the Vanir's ire on the Aesir.
With the Vanir and the jötun on her side, Sigrid went to Asgard to meet with the Aesir leaders. King Tiwaz offered to avoid the fight if the Aesir would grant them Thor's head, but Baldr's answer was that Odin would never grant such a request. As such, war was inevitable. While the main forces fought, Tiwaz gave his crown to Sigrid for her secret mission, which was to plant it at the base of the Asgard wall. It would take root and call upon the World Tree to create an opening for an assassination plot that evening.
