Hojotoho! Heiaha! Helmwige! Here! Ride here! Leave your horse near mine. Let them graze together. Which man did your horse carry? Sintolt the hero. Avoid Ortlinde's mare. She's carrying Sintolt's foe. Sintolt and Wittig have always been enemies. Look! Your stallion is attacking my mare. They are fighting dead heroes' battles! Be still, Brauner! Don't cause trouble! Siegrune, where were you? There was work to be done! Is everyone here? Grimgerde and Rossweisse! They ride as a pair. Well met, you travelers! Let your horses graze there. But keep them apart. Wait till our heroes make peace. My horse is settling dead men's feuds. Be welcome! Did you hunt together? We met on the way. Is everyone here now? Let's carry our dead heroes to Valhalla. Someone's still missing. Brünnhilde is bringing the Wälsung. Wotan would be angry if we came back without her. I see Brünnhilde racing here. She's riding toward the woods. Her horse falters. I never saw a Valkyrie ride so fast! Who's on her saddle? She's bringing a woman! How could that be? She shouts no greeting. Brünnhilde, can't you hear us? We should help her! Her horse descends to earth. She bears the woman on her saddle. Sister, what happened? Protect me! I need your help. Why do you ride in such haste? For the first time, I flee. Wotan pursues me! But why do you flee him? Sisters, look to the north. Do you see Wotan coming? Quick! Do you see him? A storm is nearing. Menacing clouds are looming. Father is riding his sacred horse. Wotan has tracked me down. Help me, sisters! Help save this woman! What ails the woman? Hear me! She's Sieglinde, Siegmund's sister and bride. Wotan ordered Siegmund's death. But I protected him in battle. When Wotan struck him down, I escaped with her. Now I need you to save us from his vengeful rage. Foolish sister! What have you done? You dared to disobey Wotan's command? A dark storm approaches from the north. It's moving closer. Father's horse is neighing wildly! Snorting fearfully, it storms this way! This woman is doomed if Wotan finds her. Who will give me a horse so she can escape? You want us to join you in your defiance? Sister, give me your horse. But he'd never flee from Wotan. Helmwige, help me! I don't dare! Sisters, please! Give me a horse! Will none of you help me? Be as loyal to me as I am to you! Save this poor woman's life! Do not trouble yourself for me. All I long for is death. Why did you carry me off? I could have died at his side. The weapon that took his life could have united us. Now I am far from my Siegmund! Let death erase the memory! Don't make me curse you for saving my life. Plunge your spear into my heart! No, live, as love commands you! Rescue the son it created, the Wälsung child in your womb! Then help me! Save my child! Protect me, all of you! The storm moves nearer. Flee if you fear it. Let her go! We dare not protect her. Save me! Rescue a mother! You should flee by yourself. I alone will brave Wotan's anger. I can keep him here while you escape his rage. But where can I go? Who knows what lies to the east? Toward the east are the woods where Fafner took the Nibelung gold. There he lives, transformed into a dragon, guarding Alberich's ring. It's no place for a helpless woman! Sieglinde would be safe in that wood. Wotan never goes there. But now he comes in fury. Brünnhilde, listen! Go then, quickly! Go to the east! Endure your suffering with courage. Laugh, even if grief, hunger, or pain tears at you. And keep one thought before you always. You bear within you a hero, the noblest hero of all. Keep these fragments of Siegmund's sword for your son. One day he will forge it anew, the hero I shall now name. Siegfried! May he be victorious! O greatest of wonders! Noblest woman of all! Your words have eased my grief. I shall save this child for the sake of beloved Siegmund. May my gratitude be your reward one day. Farewell. In her grief, Sieglinde blesses you. Stay, Brünnhilde! He'll be here any moment! Poor Brünnhilde! Sisters, help! My courage fails! Shield me, or I am destroyed. Don't let him see you. Don't answer him. Wotan guides his horse to earth. Raging, he approaches. Where is Brünnhilde, that defiant one? Do you dare to hide her from me? How dreadful your rage is! What have we done to provoke you? How dare you defy me? I know she's in your midst. Stay far from her! She is now an outcast. She came to us, seeking protection. Calm yourself, Father! Have mercy! Whimpering, cowardly girls! Is this the courage I taught you? I brought you up to be bold in battle... ...so why weep and wail when I punish a traitor? I'll tell you what crime she committed. She alone knew my innermost thoughts. She alone knew my true will. She herself carried out my most fervent wishes. Now she has broken our sacred bond. Disobeying my command, she opposed me with the spear I myself put in her hands. Do you hear me, Brünnhilde... ...you who owe me all you possess? You hear my accusation, yet you shrink from punishment. Do you still hope to escape? Here I am, Father. Pronounce my sentence. That task is not mine. You have sentenced yourself. You live by my will alone, yet you defied my will. I gave you my command, but you chose to ignore it. You knew my every wish, but followed your own desire. You bore my shield, yet you raised your shield against me. You were charged with their fate, yet you chose to change it. You roused heroes to my side, yet you turned a hero against me. Wotan has told you what you once were to him... ...but tell yourself what you have now become. Having defied my will... ...you are Valkyrie no longer. From now on, you are what you have chosen to be! Do you cast me aside? Never again shall I send you forth from Valhalla. Never again shall I send you to bring heroes from the battlefield. No more shall you fill my cup at the banquet of the gods. Nevermore shall I kiss the lips of my child. You are cast out from the immortal family of the gods. Our bond is broken. I shall never gaze upon you again. How terrible! Oh, sister! Sister! Would you take away all you gave me? Another will do that! I shall leave you on this mountain, asleep and helpless. And any man who finds you and wakes you shall be your master. Father, take back your curse! Hear our plea! Spare her this shame! Must she wither and die for a man? Spare her! If she is enslaved by a mortal, it will disgrace us all. You've heard my decree. She is banished as a traitor. No more will she ride with you. Her youthful beauty will fade away. A husband will own her, body and soul, and he will be her master. She'll sit by the hearth and spin, derided by one and all. Does her fate terrify you? Then flee from the outcast. Do not stay with her or defend her... ...for any fool who does will share her fate. Now ride away, far from this mountain... ...and never return here, lest such misfortune be yours! Was my crime so shameful... ...that you must condemn me to everlasting shame? Was my defiance so great a sin... ...that I must be doomed to utter disgrace? Was my offense so dishonorable... ...that I must be robbed of my honor forever? Speak, Father! Look into my eyes. Calm your wrath. Hold back your rage, and explain how my sin... ...has driven you to disown your favorite child. Think of what you did. Your guilt is plain enough. Yet I obeyed your command. Did I say to defend the Wälsung? You did, as god of war. But I withdrew that command. But Fricka made you do that. She turned you against yourself. Even still, I warned you not to disobey. But you believed I was foolish and weak. Betrayal must be punished, or I wouldn't waste my anger on you. Although I am not wise, I knew you loved the Wälsung. I knew your quarrel with Fricka forced you to abandon that love. I knew it tore at your heart to leave Siegmund unprotected. Yet you dared to protect him yourself? I saw your love for him, even when you turned your back on him. I, who guard your back in battle, saw what you could not see. I had to confront Siegmund. I told him he would die. I saw his deep distress, I saw him torn by love. I saw his terrible grief. In defiance, he vowed never to abandon his love. He was proud, even in despair. My very soul trembled in awe. I stood before him, ashamed. And knew I must help him. I would share his fate, whether in victory or in death. You had planted this love in my heart. Your will had bound me to the Wälsung. Therefore, I was true to you. And I defied your command. And so you did what I longed to do... ...a wish denied me by fate. You thought such a wish is easily granted. Yet, in grief and rage, I denied my heart, out of love for the world. I turned against myself, raging and helpless... ...driven to destroy what I had created... ...so that I could put an end to my anguish. Meanwhile, you were enraptured... ...yielding to blissful ecstasy. You laughed as you drank from the cup of love... ...while I tasted its bitter gall in my godly grief. So let the careless choice you made guide you. You have broken with me, and I must shun you. As long as life lasts, this god will never see you again. I was stunned by your command. I did not understand it. I was guided by one command alone: to love the one you loved. Must I part from you forever? Must you break ties with me... ...losing half of your own being, that which was yours alone? O god, do not forget! Do not disgrace what will always be a part of you. You will shame yourself as well, if I am ridiculed. You gladly followed love's call... ...now follow the husband who will conquer you. Must I leave Valhalla, and be subject to a mortal's will? Let him not be a weak coward, someone unworthy of me. You have cut all ties with me. I cannot choose for you. You fathered a noble race. It can never bring forth a coward. The greatest of heroes will be born to the Wälsungs. Do not speak of the Wälsungs! Envy has destroyed them. By tearing myself from you I have saved them! Sieglinde carries the Wälsungs' heir in pain and grief. What she now hides in fear she will bring forth. Don't seek my protection for her or her child. She is guarding Siegmund's sword. A sword whose power I destroyed! Do not attempt to sway my will. Accept the fate that is yours. I cannot choose it for you. Now I must go, leaving behind the one who chose to leave me. I can no longer heed your wishes. I have no choice but to punish you. How am I to be punished? I shall lock you in a deep sleep. And the man who wakes you... ...shall win you as his wife. Then I will be helpless, prey to any coward! Grant me one thing, I beg you! Protect me as I sleep. Surround me with terrors... ...so that only the bravest hero will reach me on this rock. You ask too great a favor! I beg you to grant me this wish alone... ...or else take up your spear and slay your child... ...rather than leave her doomed to such disgrace. Command a fire to blaze around me! Let leaping flames encircle this rock. Let the fire devour any coward who dares to draw near! Farewell, my valiant, glorious child... ...you who were once my pride and joy. Farewell! Now I must leave you, and never see you again. Never again will you ride with me, or fill my cup at table. Now I must lose this child I adore, the radiant delight of my eyes. But you will have a bridal fire as has never blazed before. Menacing flames will encircle this place... ...and frighten all cowards away from Brünnhilde's rock. One man alone shall free this bride... ...one freer than I, the god. How often have I kissed these radiant eyes of yours. How often did my kiss reward you for your courage. And how often did these eyes shine on me in the storm... ...when I longed for earthly happiness, for an end to my anguish. For one last time, give me that joy... ...as I kiss your eyes in farewell. May they shine one day on some happy man... ...but never again on this unhappy god. And so this god must leave you now. With this kiss, he makes you mortal. Loge, hear me! I first found you as a fiery glow, and then you vanished. Now I raise you up again! Arise, flickering flame! Encircle this rock with fire! Loge! Loge, appear! Whoever fears the point of my spear... ...shall never pass through this fire.