Solveig grew up in small town Williston in North Dakota. Her dad Finn is working for the Williston police. Her mom died in an accident when she was still very young. It was devastating, but she and her dad became a tight-knit team afterwards. He is her greatest hero, well, besides Jesus. And Perry of course.
She met Perry Nolan in high school and they immediately fell for each other. A lot of her malicious slander came back to her when religious little miss know-it-all failed biology and got herself pregnant. She didn’t care and the day of her white wedding at the Lutheran church was one of the happiest days in her life. Some short five months later tiny Joan Nolan entered the world and Solveig’s life couldn’t get any better. Literally. It got worse.
One night she had a dream about Good and Evil and woke up choking. First she thought nothing of it, but then stuff happened. She made it happen. It frightened her a lot. She showed it to Perry and her dad but they didn’t know what was happening to her. They told Father Cox but he didn’t know either. But he knew who might know and made some phone calls.
A few days after that she was visited by someone in a suit and a New England accent. He told them about how she was special and told them of bees and Gaia. He told of the secret world and that dark days were coming and they needed her. She received powers and now has an obligation to help fighting the rising tide of evil in this world. He told them about the Templar who fight this fight. She was still reluctant. She didn’t want to leave her family and her home town, let alone her country. She talked very long with her husband and her dad and then decided to go to London. Later she found out that the Templar weren’t Christian or even religious at all. But they knew how to push her buttons. They always talk to her about that Utilitarian philosophy they have. She despises it. People matter. Everyone does. But then again, the alternatives like Illus or Dragons are much worse.
When she got back home, at first she told them everything, like she had always done. Kingsmouth was a small town, too, so they could relate to it. But even then there was stuff that was totally alien to them. The biggest thing was the resurrections. Plural. It shocked them when she told how she was killed by monstrous sea creatures at the Polaris wreck and then came back to life just like Jesus. It was surely the Lord’s will, but nevertheless very disturbing.
She could talk about Kingsmouth very easily but as she went on to other places, foreign places like Egypt and Transylvania, the horrors around her grew and grew, and she became quieter and quieter.
At the same time she saw that Perry and Joan managed to go on without her. They had to. Their life didn’t stop just because she wasn’t there. They were always happy when she returned and Perry seems to relax a little and gaining trust that the Lord keeps her save and always revives her. But the fear remains that one day the bees would fail and she leaves to never return back to them. They feel helpless and frightened. She has no words to really ease their minds. She knows what’s out there. The most sickening things are not what monsters from hell do or the Filth. It’s other humans like Orochi or the Red Hand. And even when she gets revived, it does not erase the pain of being hacked to pieces by a frenzy mob or slowly eaten alive by something. Perry tries to comfort her when she spends the whole night in the bath crying, but sometimes he cannot reach her.
For now, she is back home. They’ll go on a hiking trip up to Medicine Lake. Solveig bought a BB gun for Joan to start training her. Her daughter has no powers but Helen Bannerman or Zaha don’t have either. Someday someone will come to Williston. Or something. She must be prepared. With the recent North Dakota oil boom she saw Sycoil setting up shop here. The impacts come closer.
—
My name is Katie-Fast and #IAMTSW.
Source: The Secret World Solveig “Solveig” Johanson #IAMTSW Backstory entry
- Beyond the Veil Tier 272: Special 1st Year Anniversary Edition - July 24, 2018
- Beyond the Veil Tier 270: Happy Anniversary Secret World Legends - July 24, 2018
- Beyond the Veil Tier 269: Something Cool is Coming - July 18, 2018