Galena was a Pict woman, the wife of Zynbel and the mother of Senua. Much like her daughter, she too suffered from a form of psychosis, causing her to hear voices and see faces in her surroundings.
Described at a priestess and healer, Galena attempted to assure Senua that her condition was not something to be treated as a curse. Her eventual death would act as a catalyst for Senua's own psychosis to worsen.
Appearance
Though much of Galena's appearance is obscured throughout most of the game, she is an elder woman with her hair tied back into a cloth on the back of her head. When she is being burned alive, she wears a white flowing dress that is designed to restrict her movements on the pyre.
History
When Senua was at a young age, Galena would always try to encourage her daughter to not be afraid of her voices, calling it a 'sight into the underworld'. Zynbel and his druidic practices, however, disagreed, considering his wife's condition as a blight upon their village and a curse.
One night, when Senua was five years old, Zynbel tied Galena to a stake and burnt her alive to appease the gods. Galena implored her daughter to look away, but the sight traumatized Senua and forced her to repress the memory, believing that Galena killed herself instead to be rid of her darkness. Without her mother's positive influence, Zynbel's abusive behavior to control his daughter's curse shut Senua away from the world.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
During the game, Galena's face can be found throughout the various environments that Senua explores. Focusing on them will trigger a memory of Galena speaking to her daughter, praising her and stating that there is nothing wrong with seeing the world differently.
As Senua's journey carries on, she finds herself in the Sea of Corpses. At the insistence of the Shadow, she hears her mother cry out for mercy at the forces torturing her, unable to do anything. She later sees Galena again while trying to escape Fenrir, locked behind a door and begging Senua to get her out.
At the very conclusion of the quest, Senua remembers the true nature of her mother's death and uses it as motivation to fight Hela and her darkness for all it has done to her and her mother.
Gallery
