Valka

"I've lived among them for twenty years, Hiccup, learning their ways, discovering their secrets..."

- Valka

Valka is a strong, uncompromising vigilante who also turned out to be Hiccup's long lost mother and the wife of Stoick the Vast. After being taken by a dragon, the whole village of Berk presumed her to be dead. Valka, however, chose to stay away out of her own accord, believing her family would be better off without her. Nearly two decades later, she accidentally crosses paths with her son Hiccup during his journey to stop Drago Bludvist and finally reunites with her husband Stoick.

Valka's main dragon is a Stormcutter named Cloudjumper. It's the same dragon that abducted her twenty years ago.

Physical Appearance
Valka has auburn hair kept in three separate braids behind her back and has pale skin. Unlike most Viking women, she has a slim figure, yet her skills as a warrior are truly amazing. She wears a yellow long sleeve tunic, an orange belt, and brown pants that appear layered. Over her tunic is a chest plate with a large fur collar and large round shoulder pads. She has armbands and boots with spikes on the sides. She has a few layers of cloth around her waist, with her right leg exposed.

Valka's "dragon" outfit has a chest armor and large armbands with talons above her hands. She also wears a red, torn cape and strips of fabric around her waist. She occasionally wears a masking helmet with horns that represent a Bewilderbeast to hide her identity. This disguise is covered in blue and red paint.

In the flashback of her past, Valka was seen wearing a sleeveless green shirt over her tunic, and a fur one over that as well. Her belt was also different and brown armbands that covered her forearms.

Personality
Valka initially comes across as more feral than human, given how she has had more dragon contact than human contact. Her years of isolation and dealing with nothing but dragons has made her very distrusting of humans in general, reaching the point that she feels distant from them. Because of this, she has an absolute and black-and-white, perhaps even fatalistic view about people, believing them incapable of change and that some people are "born different".

Valka is strong and uncompromising in the belief that she can make the world a better place for dragons, treating talk of the trappers and their abusive treatment of the creatures with scorn. Despite her bitterness over her fellow man, Valka's past as a wife and mother allows her to possess an overwhelming love for those in her care, succeeding in building good relationships with the dragons she rescues.

When flying with Hiccup, Valka reveals a more liberated side of her personality. Without the fear of hurting others, Valka is strong and unafraid, yet with a sense of feeling free. She shows confidence in herself and proves herself be an incredibly daring woman during her feats of agility on the backs of dragons. Valka can be quite sensitive and is very careful not to upset people, as shown when she is afraid that Stoick and Hiccup are angry with her because she chose not to come home. She also acts as a strong pillar of support for those that need it, always the first, besides Astrid, to provide her son with the confidence he needs to achieve his goals.

Abilities and Skills
After 20 years living with thousands of wild dragons, she has learned some of their secrets and new bonding skills for almost every dragon.
 * Dragon Training and Riding: Valka's most notable trait is her skill to connect with dragons after living among them for twenty years. She does not need words to command them and even moves like one at times. She also makes most dragons calm down through simple gestures and most feel comfortable in her prescience. She is a true dragon expert, knowing more about dragon behaviors and abilities than even Hiccup.


 * Strength and Fighting skills: Though lacking the strength and combat compared to her family, she has been shown to trying to face Drago but the latter easily defeated her.


 * Agility: She is shown to be very athletic, able to easily ride dragons while standing on their wings in a display of great balance.


 * Crafting and Inventing: Valka's other notable trait is her skill of crafting. Like her son, she is capable of building various items for herself like her armor, her home in the sanctuary and Hiccup's stuffed dragon toy. She also invented her own staff that she uses for creating vibrating noise for the dragons.


 * Survival Skills: After being taken by Cloudjumper, Valka has learned to take care of herself outside of Berk. She made a home within the caves in The Dragon Sanctuary.

Dragons Trained

 * Cloudjumper
 * Valka's Bewilderbeast
 * Valka's Mercy
 * Valka's Three Seashockers
 * Rumpus
 * Gruff
 * Lump
 * Thump
 * Thornshade
 * Winged Warden
 * Sailback
 * Incognito
 * Gustnudger
 * Pestbud

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
"Every dragon has its secrets, and I'll show them all to you. We’ll unlock every mystery, find every last species together, as mother and son. This gift we share, it bonds us. This is who you are, son, who we are. We will change the world for all dragons, we will make it a better, safer place."

- Valka, to Hiccup Despite her being distrusting of humans thanks to the trappers and Berk's violent past, Valka's affection for her now grown up son still shines despite 20 years having passed by. She regrets having not been around for most of Hiccup's life and relishes the chance for them to build their relationship anew. After Stoick is killed, she acts as a comforting and encouraging presence for her grief-stricken son and watches his synergy with his dragon with pride. When Hiccup and Toothless are encased in the ice by Drago's Bewilderbeast, she breaks down at the fear she has lost him as well but is amazed at the strength Hiccup shows as he and Toothless manage to free the other dragons from Drago's control.

Stoick the Vast
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."

- Stoick after finding Valka

Stoick and Valka first fell in love while fighting Oswald's Berserkers. After the battle, they began to dance and sing (Burning Midnight).

Despite loving Stoick as his wife and mother to their child, Valka had initially believed that he would never change from his dragon hating ways, resulting in her self-exile from Berk. When the two reunite, Valka expects Stoick to be mad at her for not returning home, but instead is overjoyed to see his wife alive, and the two share a kiss after 20 years. Though Valka is happy at the prospect of being able to become a family again on a now changed Berk, the dream is cut short when Stoick is killed in protecting their son. Despite being heartbroken at his death, Valka believes that Stoick would be proud of what Hiccup has accomplished and holds his father in high regard.

Gobber the Belch
Not much is explained about Gobber's relationship with Valka, but it can be assumed that they are good friends. Gobber comments that Valka was a bad cook, claiming that her meatballs can kill more beasts than a battle axe. When Berk is eventually freed from Drago's assault, Valka and Gobber work together in removing the armor worn by the dragons that have been freed from his army, implying that she now helps him.

According to Stoick, he met Gobber when he saw him talking to Valka during their younger days.

Cloudjumper
As Valka's dragon companion for the last 20 years since he abducted her from Berk, Cloudjumper shares a very strong connection with Valka to the point she doesn't even need to talk to command him in flight. She explains to Hiccup that when he took her, he never meant to harm her, he just thought she belonged with him. Together, they began rescuing dragons from dragon trappers and Drago before settling on Berk together.

Toothless
"Oh, he's beautiful! Incredible. He might very well be the last of his kind. And look, he's your age! No wonder you get along so well!"

- Valka takes a liking to Toothless

Though cautious about her at first due to how they meet, and thanks to Valka's years with dragons, Toothless quickly accepts and enjoys Valka's company. She helps Toothless unlock his hidden spike ability, much to his enjoyment. In return, Toothless helps Valka reconnect with Stoick and Hiccup and encourages them all to become a family once again. Even after Toothless fired a fatal blast at Stoick, Valka shows no anger towards him, knowing he was completely under the Alpha's control. Valka is equally amazed and proud of Toothless' connection with Hiccup and finds him to be a perfect new Alpha.

Valka's Bewilderbeast
Valka's long years of saving dragons led her to construct a positive relationship with this king of dragons. She deeply respects the magnificent being since the two of them work together to protect the other dragons from harm, and she was devastated when he was killed by Drago's Bewilderbeast.

Astrid Hofferson


"I can see why Hiccup is so fond of Berk and its dragons... and you, Astrid!"

- Valka

Despite not having any direct contact, Valka is shown to be very fond of Astrid's relationship with Hiccup especially when the two kissed right in front of her.

In Rise of Berk, the two interact with each other many times, including training dragons or talking about Hiccup. Valka even says she sees why Hiccup is so fond of her.

In the Burning Midnight, Valka agrees with Stoick about Astrid being the daughter they had always wanted.

Drago Bludvist
Valka and Drago's relationship is very hostile as she despises him for all the horrible things he had done to dragon kind to the point she reacts with noticeable alarm when she hears his name. Like Stoick, she believes Drago is incapable of change and is more of a madman than someone who can be reasoned with. It is unknown how many times the pair crossed each other's paths over the years, but it seems they have quite a bit of history in intervening in each other's affairs.

Similarities to Valhallarama
Valka acts as a replacement to Valhallarama in the films, who is Hiccup's mother in the book series. Both women have a strong love for dragons and have stayed away from their families for long periods of time (though while Valka was abducted, Valhallarama was off questing for years at a time).

They also have a powerful bond with their dragons. Valka is able to ride on Cloudjumper while standing and Valhallarama is able to steer her dragon, a Silver Phantom, with just using her legs. Even while the Dragon Rebellion is going on in the books, the Silver Phantom still stays by his Rider's side. Another thing they have in common is that Hiccup seems to take more after his mother than Stoick.

Memorable Quotes
The page for memorable quotes by Valka in the films and shorts is here.

Trivia

 * Valka is loosely based on Valhallarama from the books.
 * Valka is physically and mentally similar to Hiccup. Both have the same hair color, body structure, and connection with dragons.
 * The "breastplate armor" Stoick and Hiccup share in their helmets are clearly way too big to fit Valka, and even different sizes, though the incongruity may have been played for comedy.
 * It's also possible the armor was softened and altered by a blacksmith (Gobber) when made into the helmets.
 * Valka's mask resembles the face of the Bewilderbeast, corresponding with Drago's appearance.
 * It also resembles the mask worn by the Witch-king of Angmar from The Lord of the Rings franchise.
 * Her mask and disguise are also similar to those worn by the Dragon priests, undead, servants of dragons who are enemies in the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
 * The blue-green paint, crown-like spikes, and Valka's staff also bear much resemblance to the Statue of Liberty: a fitting analogy, given that Valka seeks the freedom of oppressed and enslaved dragons.
 * While Valka has blue eyes, they appear to be light-green in some scenes. But when next to Stoick or Hiccup, they are clearly blue.
 * Strangely, despite acting as though she has never seen one up close, and that Toothless may be the last of his kind, Valka seems to know about Night Furies in enough detail to be aware of their biology. It is unknown how she acquired this knowledge.
 * In 2014, Dean DeBlois revealed that Valka was originally going be the main antagonist of How To Train Your Dragon 2. This role was later changed to be Drago as DeBlois wanted to make her more redeemable and kind. The initial capture of Hiccup is the last remaining scene from this version of her character.
 * Whilst Valka is voiced by Cate Blanchett for the majority of the second film, her singing voice is provided by Mary Jane Wells during "For The Dancing And The Dreaming".