Wotan is the chief god, whom we heard in "Das Rheingold". He is trying to get rid of the curse of the Rheingold, and has built a grand plan around Siegmund. Wotan tells his daughter Brünnhilde that she must make sure that Siegmund wins the fight with Hunding. Brünnhilde (the out-of-wedlock daughter of Wotan and Erda, the Earth-Mother goddess) has the power to do this. She is one of eight daughters of Wotan who are Valkyries (German: Walküren). Their job is to collect the dead bodies of brave heroes who have died in battle and take them back to Valhalla, the house of the gods. 