Durnipia learned many secrets as a young healer of the Durgeth tribe: that her species grew back lost limbs, that the Comfrey herb cured illnesses, and that the hidden spring her tribe protected could heal even mortal injuries. In those days, intruders were dealt with swiftly, and their flesh fed the tribe through harsh winters. But then the Valkyrie rose, and everything changed.

Kyrie descended upon the swamps in the days following. They said they had been sent by the Archkyrie Einar, that he owned this land from horizon to horizon, and that they were seeking a spring that would make Einar ruler of all Valhalla. The Durgeth resisted for a time, but while their numbers dwindled, the tide of soldiers from the golden palace never slowed.

One night, as the wounded cried out after a desperate battle, Durnipia was nowhere to be found. She was in Einar’s throne room, surrounded by his golden-masked guards, offering up the location of the spring, the prize of the Durgeth, in exchange for her life.

Einar rewarded her richly. Even as his soldiers razed her village, she was adorned with gold and given a permanent place of honor in his court. He even provided her with her own laboratory from which to pursue her study of medicine, and she quickly went to work. There were many strange soldiers to heal indeed after Einar drank of the spring and became a Valkyrie, and creatures from across the universe became her patients.

Durnipia’s methods have proven as effective as they are cruel. She uses her regenerative cells as a bonding agent, allowing for shocking limb transplants—such as grafting her own arm to the Viking warrior Valguard in order to free up space for a new pair of hands. If she had any regrets about betraying her tribe, she has long carved them away, so that only a cold pursuit of science’s greatest secrets remains.

Durnipia is available in the Crooked Crew of the Clockwork Combine army expansion. Pre-order now for a July 2026 release!