Samirah al-Abbas

Samirah "Sam" al-Abbas is Magnus Chase's Valkyrie and is the demigod daughter of Loki.

History
Samirah was born to a doctor named Ayesha al-Abbas and the Norse god Loki. She lost her mother at a young age and lived with her grandparents. They eventually arranged a marriage between her and Amir Fadlan, whom she had a crush on since she was twelve. Her father would visit her from time to time but she would ignore him, much to his frustration.

She attended Malcolm X Middle School, where she experienced racism and was harassed by her class mates because she was Muslim. They called her a terrorist, pulled off her hijab, and put insulting letters and pictures in her locker. When she was fourteen a frost giant attacked her school. Despite her hatred of her fellow students she lured the frost giant to the roof in order to protect them and pushed him off the roof. Odin then appeared to her and offered her a place as a Valkyrie, she accepted.

Odin would remain in contact with her and just before Magnus' sixteenth birthday he appeared to her and said to collect Magnus' soul.

The Sword of Summer
Magnus sees her circling over him like a vulture when Surt knocks him aside. She then dives down to Magnus as he and Surt hit the river. When she is bringing Magnus to Valhalla, she tells him to stop squirming or he'll fall into 'The Gap'. She later comes to Magnus's room to introduce herself, when asked if his mom was here, she says no. When Magnus says he is no hero, she slams him against the wall and tells him not to say that at dinner. When the horn sounds for dinner, she takes him to the dining hall. While in the elevator she answers some of Magnus' questions and explains to him about the great hall. When he asked about her personal life. She tells him to stop before the other einherjar arrive. During dinner she answers more of Magnus' questions. When she learns that Magnus' death was filmed, she becomes worried. After his video is shown there is an uproar over her. When her father's name was revealed, everyone in the hall started to boo at her. When the Norns showed Magnus who his dad is and say their prophecy, she is expelled from the Valkyries and vanishes in a flash of light.

Desperate to clear her name, she sets out to find the sword. She goes to the funeral home where Magnus's body is. She knocked out Hearth and searches the son of Frey's corpse, she ends up empty handed. Magnus, Blitz and Hearth spot her and follow her. When they find her again she attacks them. Sam and Hearth get into a short fight until Magnus disarms her. She says she is not working for her father and wants the sword to become a Valkyrie again. She decides to join them.They go to a dock where Blitz throws Mimir's head in to hydrate it. She and Hearthstone bow and she urges Magnus to do the same. Mimir's tells her that Magnus was not meant to go to Valhalla, but his new body could allow him to master the sword. When he offers her knowledge in exchange for her service, she declines saying her loyalty lies with the All-Father. He then leaves and they talk about it over lunch.

On their way to the food court in the transportation building, Sam says she does not trust Mimir. When Blitz says he is wiser than Odin, she says he is only saying that because they work for Mimir, silencing the dwarf. When the reach the food court she is hesitant to eat at Fadlan's falafels. When Magnus is greeted by Amir, the managers son, he recognized Sam and asked why she was not in school, she says she was getting credit for tutoring 'Jimmy' and his friends in Geometry. He tells her to say hi to her grandparents for him. She tells Magnus that Amir and his father are her relatives. When they are whaling for their food, a pigeon threatens to make sure they never eat at Fadlan's Falafels again, she, Blitz and Hearth urge Magnus not to cooperate, but he does, when the pigeon turns into an eagle when it brings them their food and eats all but one pickle chip, Sam identifies the bird as a Jotnar. When the eagle takes off with Magnus on him, they follow and find him on the Boston public library. They reprehend him for making the deal, but settle to go fishing.

When they get to the docks and meet Harald, he lets Sam and Magnus take his boat but not Blitz and Hearth. The four agree to meet at the library later. The demigods pick out a giant bull head as bait, haul it to the boat and set sail. While at sea she explained to Magnus about her life, how her parents met, her desire to become a Valkyrie. When they cross into Jotunheim they throw the bull head over and wait. When they get a bite it nearly takes them under. She stops Harald from cutting the line and introduces Magnus to her big brother. Sam helps Magnus reel in Jormungand until Ran shows up and demands they release him as if he fully awakes he will flood the eastern seaboard. When she cuts the line and Magnus asks for the sword, she demands his soul in return. When Magnus starts to barter with the sea goddess the daughter of Loki aids him. Before Ran leaves she tells Sam that she does not need to be a Valkyrie to fly, as it is in her blood. When they get the sword and apple she wipes a tear from his cheek.When Magnus asks her what Ran meant, she dismisses it. She then goes to the wheel to make sure Harald drops them of in Midgard and not Jotunheim. When they get back to the docks she heads him to her angry grandparents and agrees to meet Magnus the next morning at the public gardens.

Sam ditches her physics class to meet Magnus, Blitz and Hearth at the ducks in the public garden. While Magnus finds the way to Nidavellir She, Blitz and Hearth hold off the advancing Valkyries and einherjar. When Magnus opens a rift Blitz goes in first and she and Magnus help Hearth in to the rift. The four climb the world tree until they find a knothole the sword wants them to go through. Hearth gets stuck and before they can free him Ratatosk appears. While Blitz drags Magnus in to the vanishing knothole she and Hearth hide under her hijab.

Hearth aids her while she is recovering from the squirrel's screech. They avoid fighting deer and make their way to Alfheim, much to Hearth's displeasure. They met up with Magnus and Blitz in Nidavellir where they exchange stories. Blitz tells them that he was challenged to a crafting contest by the world's best crafter. Loser gets decapitated. At Blitz' apartment he makes them egg rolls. After Blitz tells them more about contest, his feud with Junior and what happened to his father. She is shocked at what she hears. After he leaves she asks Hearth if Blitz is any good, he shows them the tanning bed and signs yes but not under pressure. He tells them that dwarves cheat but make it look like accidents, Hearth suggests Sam do what she did on the world tree and she storms off. She arrived after the contest was over and stuck to the back.

When Blitz was declared the winner they received the earrings and rope but found out Junior lied about knowing the location of the Fenris Wolf's island. The old dwarf said that the information was classified but that Thor might know. When Magnus calls her forward Junior calls her out as a shapeshifter and the four, run for their lives. When running she, Magnus and Blitz duck into an alleyway. After Freya takes Blitz to get her earrings, the demigods and elf prepare to fight off the dwarves when Sumarbrander talks and fends them off on its own. They meet up with Hearth who leads them to a river going out of Nidaveller. When Magnus collapses and the dwarves find them again She and Hearth grab the son of Frey and jump.

Sam wakes up and vomits after Magnus heals her. She asked where they were when Otis tells them they are in Jotunheim. He says he is traveling with Thor but was separated. She says Thor is not her favorite god but if he knows where Lyngvi is then to ask him. When Jack guides them to Thor they follow him. on their way to Thor Sam tells Magnus what Hearth tells her about himself while keeping the elf on the goat. Otis tells them that they were out for a day, much to their shock. When they reach their destination, Otis' brother Marvin tells them that Thor is drowning and that if they fail to save him he will kill them, and it is nice to meet them. Sam watches as Magnus throws Jack at the giantess and is washed into a tree when she died. When Thor comes over to them and congratulates Magnus he invites Magnus, Sam, and Hearthstone to dinner, which is Otis and Marvin.

Sam sits far away from Thor and does not talk that often. When Thor thinks she looks familiar she says she was a Valkyrie. Sam tells Magnus that she does not like to shape shift and tells him her family's history with the Norse Gods and that she can never have a normal life. Magnus promises to help her get everything she wants in her life and the two turn in.

The four climb to Geirrod's fortress the next day and rest while they decide what to do next. Then Hearth summons one of Spleipnir's sons she quickly says she does not want to talk about it, especially when Blitz says Loki was his mother. The four mount the horse- dubbed Stanley, and the horse jumps off the cliff. She enjoyed the free fall and defused that a swan the giantess had was Gunilla. She and Magnus sneak into the room and decide to introduce themselves as guests. When they do so one of the giantesseps- Griep lifts them in a chair so they could be heard better, then tries to smash them on the ceiling. They then barter for Thor's weapon and Gunilla. Griep and Gjard agree to do so if they give themselves up and give them Jack. They then say they killed their sister. Which tricks them into admitting they were trying to kill them. Jack takes out Griep but Gjard covers her nose and mouth. She attempts to launch a salt shaker at the giantess but Magnus misinterpreted it and jumped on the knife and sent it into the giantess' chest. Allowing Jack to finish her off. She checsk on Magnus who says his leg we'll be fine in an hour, but Gerriod arrives. When Hearth and Blitz arrive they aid the demigods in getting out of the fortress. They run into the giant and claim guest rights. They begin to barter for Thor's weapon, Gerriod agrees to give it to them if they play catch with him for ten minutes. They agree and he throws hot coals at them. She rouges them and calls Magnus crazy when she guesses his plan. When Gerriod causes the ceiling to fall on himself she dusts herself off and is shocks to see Gunilla hold Blitz hostage. When Hearth distracts Gunilla Sam sends her back to Valhalla, she then breaks the lock on the door holding the weapon. Thor arrives and reveals that he know she was a daughter of Loki and that he did not dislike all of Loki's children. He then sends them to where they need to be.

Sam wound up in her bedroom where her grandparents were relieved to see her and grounded her. She then appeared at Malcolm X Middle School and saved Magnus from falling. She tells him how she became a Valkyrie and that Odin told her to get him. Magnus then tells her that they were meant to go on this quest and they leave to meet up with Blitzen and Hearthstone.

She and Magnus meet up with Blitz and Hearth at Long Wharf who tells them the good news about them, the demigods congratulate them. The four then go to find the dwarf brothers. When they find them Blitz pulls them aside and tells them that the brothers will try to kill them and abando them. But they nevertheless buy four tickets. Sam kept her ax out to keep the dwarves in check. When they docked on Lyngvi the dwarves demanded their valuables for a return trip but leave when Magnus says they do not need a return trip. The four then head for the wolf.

When they meet the wolf she denies that they are related. The Fenris Wolf says he influenced Odin into choosing her to become a Valkyrie. She is tempted to kill the wolf but is stopped by Hearthstone. Gunilla arrives with two other Valkyries and Magnus' hall mates. Samoan tries to reason with Gunilla to no avail. When the caption of the Valkyries orders their arrest Magnus's hall mates disobey her. When Surt arrives with a small army he threatens to kill everyone. She, Magnus, Blitz, and Hearth head to rebind the wolf. She knocks her brother off of Magnus but becomes beaten in the process. Once the wolf is re-tied she heads to Blitzen and Hearthstone, when the island begins to fade she and the other rush to the shore.

When they arrive at the hotel they are brought to the feast hall to have judgment passed on them. The Thames call her, and as they are about to pass judgment, X reveals himself to be Odin. After Odin explains what he did over the past two years he awards Magnus and his friends and gives Samirah a choice, either be reinstated as a Valkyrie or serve directly under him and go on tough missions with great reward. She chooses the latter. Odin gives her full access to all of the nine worlds. She attends the funeral for the fallen Valkyries.

The Hammer of Thor
Six weeks after the quest for Sumarbrander, Sam meets Magnus for coffee and tells him that she has been busy with schoolwork and Valkyrie duty. She tells him that she is taking pilots lessons as a gift from the Fadlans, which Magnus teases her by saying it is a gift from Amir. She tells him that she is meeting an informant but gets word that a hero is about to die and she leaves.

Physical Appearance
Sam is Arab American. She has long brown hair. Magnus described her eyes were the color of redwood bark and were somehow dark and bright at the same time (greatly resembling those of her father Loki), like the ammonite fossil his mother once had. She wears green hijab draped around her neck.

Personality
Sam is a devoted Valkyrie but at the same time, she wants to live a normal life. She loves her grandparents and hates to lie to them. Sam is determined as she demonstrated when she was desperate to find the Sword of Summer to become a Valkerie again.

General Abilities

 * Axmenship: Samirah is skilled with an ax and uses one as her primary weapon.

Demigod Powers
As a daughter of Loki, Sam has the following abilities:
 * Monster Sense: Sam is able to sense the location of powerful monsters. She used this, when fishing for her half-brother, Jormungand.
 * Shapeshifting: Samirah possesses her father's ability to change forms. She used this power to turn into a deer to save Hearth in the World Tree Yggdrasil, and then into a horsefly to sabotage Junior's work. When fighting Fenris Wolf, she turned into a lion. However, when ever she uses this she loses her self and feels her father taking over. Due to this she rarely uses it.

Valkyrie Abilities
As a Valkyrie, Sam has the following abilities:
 * Flight: As a Valkyrie, Sam is able to fly.

Magical Items

 * Ax: Samirah's ax is made out of bone steel and she uses it as her primary weapon.
 * Swan Cloak: As a Valkyrie Sam has a swan Cloak, a piece of cloth that can hide her and one other person via camouflage. She wears it as a hijab

Etymology
Her last name al-Abbas means "the lion".

Trivia

 * Samirah is Muslim.
 * She is a sophomore at King Academy.
 * It is mentioned that Samirah's biggest dream is to fly and she tells Magnus that she would like to be a pilot when she grows up.
 * Samirah has been visited by her father Loki several times over the years, yet she has always refused to speak to him.