The Silver-Haired Valkyrie

Year 205 of the Elionian Calendar

A modest villa in the city of Olvia was bustling with activity. Local merchant and winery owner Arimand Savanos and his wife Amara were about to give birth to their first child, a day which was long-awaited for the couple and the people they called friends. It was a time of merriment for everyone who knew them. Beyond the walls and the muffled screams of the birthing of a child the people that knew the Savanos cheered in celebration as the first cries of the young girl they would later name as Kinjita were heared within the walls of their home. This was the brightest moment in the couple’s life.

Her first weeks as a newborn were met with normalcy. The child seemed to radiate the warmth that her mother carried with her through all her days in Balenos. From the moment the young child opened her eyes, however, the family knew that she was very different. What should have been the deep brown eyes of her father, or the piercing blue eyes of her mother, sat a pair of shimmering golden hues that stared up at the parents that bore her with a staunch innocence that clung to her through her youth like a blanket.

As the months progressed this was further re-inforced as the first strands of silvery-white hair began to form, a striking comparison to her father’s auburn color and her mother’s raven tresses. Clearly there was something wrong that the parents couldn’t understand.

“She’s…She’s some sort-of aberration,” Arimand commented quietly. “That’s the only explanation.”

“She’s not an aberration!” Amara pleaded to her troubled husband. “She breathes the same air as we do, was born under the same stars, is built with the same four limbs!”

“You fool yourself Amara,” he stated harshly. “And we’d be fools to think she would be accepted by anyone around us as she is.”

“And we’d be fools to cast her aside,” Amara hastily replied, yet more calmly. “Are we not her parents my love?” Arimand paused and looked to his wife with a confused expression. “Do we not love what it is we labored so hard to bring into this world? Should we not care for her, as all parents do? With our hearts and our souls?”

The burly man grunted a response that was unintelligible as he looked out the window into the night sky, the bristles of his beard shimmering in the moonlight. Amara stood and walked up to her husband, sliding her arms around his waist from the back, pressing herself to him as her face slid to the side, her cheek to his back. “Does she not deserve the chance to try?”

Arimand sighed in thought and slid his arms back, interlocking the fingers of his hands to his wife’s to keep her close as he spoke. “It won’t be an easy road for our little star,” he remarked. “We won’t always be there to protect her.”

“If we raise her right then she’ll never need us to protect her at all.”

They were interrupted by the cries of the young Kinjita in her basket crib which rested in the room adjoining theirs.

“For now though,” she continued. “She will need us to care for her and watch over her. She will learn to care for herself in time but she needs us now.” Releasing her hands from his she turned to the doorway. “It’s time for me to change her garments.”

Arimand grasped at his wife’s hand before she could move and replied, “No…I’ll take care of that.” Amara looked up to her husband with a curious expression as he turned to her. “You’re right. She can’t help being born different than most, and we can’t fault her or ourselves for that fact. I’d be a fool to ever think to let you raise her alone. I’ll get her changed. You prepare her meal dear.”

Amara smiled and nodded with a cheerful tear in her eyes as she turned to move to the kitchen instead of the child’s crib. Arimand took one last look to his wife before taking the short steps to Kinjita’s room, ready to help the child face the world around her.

Year 212 of the Elionian Calendar

By this time it was impressively clear that Kinjita was very different from the other children around her. By size she was larger than most children her age, even the boys, standing inches above them in height. Clearly the children of Olvia could see she was different than they were.

That difference, however, didn’t cause conflict for her. It in fact ended up endearing her on the other children, giving her a young popularity that Kinjita’s parents remained continuously confused about, yet seemed to matter little to those Kinjita found as friends. Often she’d be seen resolving little disputes, making sure the younger and less able children weren’t picked on by the older ones. One could see she had the traits of a leader in the making.

It was also clear that the differences in her appearance would be carried with her the rest of her life. Early on Kinjita’s parents attempted to help the child blend into the crowd by dying her hair a different color to better enable her to fit in. Soaking her hair in a bucket of liquid dye she would sit up and the dye would drain out of her hair as if it would only attach to the water that bore it.

What was also clear was that Kinjita bore her father’s streak of stubbornness when it came to matter pertaining to her own person. Amara purchased head-pieces to draw attention away from the color of her daughter’s silvery locks only to have the child immediately take it off.

“Why won’t you wear the hat dear? Don’t you like it?” her mother would ask.

The young Kinjita shurgged to the question. “It’s pretty, yeah, but I don’t want to wear hats. Jemma likes seeing my hair.”

“Jemma likes seeing a lot of things dear,” her mother retorted

“So does Mikah, Bared and Silfie. I don’t wanna hide it.”

Amara paused at her young daughter’s words, chuckling softly. “You have your father’s wit and stubborn streak of you little one. That could get you into trouble one day”

“So…I should wear the hat to not get in trouble?” The young Kinjita questioned in a confused tone. Het mother stared at the young girl whose golden eyes retained the innocence they had from the moment she opened them.

“No,” she replied. “No, not wearing the hat won’t get you in trouble.” She placed the hat in a drawer in her daughter’s room. “Now go play. I’m sure your friends are waiting for you.” With that the young Kinjita skipped out of her home and found her way to the streets where her friends were waiting.

Year 215 of the Elionian Calendar

Arimand had business in Calpheon, a new supplier for the glass he would use to make the bottles for the family wines. This happened to coincide with the day of celebration associated with the end of the Five Regions conflict, which brought a multitude of people from far and wide to watch the royal parades. This made the now ten year old Kinjita’s eyes wide with wonderment with all of the activity around her.

“Stay close Little Star. I don’t want you lost in this crowd,” Arimand spoke looking down to his daughter, who was now nearly up to his chest in height somehow at her age.

“If I did get lost you wouldn’t have a problem finding me,” she retorted cheerfully. “Just look for the white-haired girl jumping up and down happily!” Clearly she was absolutely in amazement at the amount of people. Olvia never really saw crowds like this and this was a new experience for her.

Arimand chuckled at that. She was right, of course. She was unique and didn’t seem to make a care of hiding that fact. That uniqueness seemed to garner looks from several within the city. Sometimes those looks were pensive, other times curious of the young girl. Most seemed to pay her little attention overall, which made her father relax some. Tt seemed that his worries of her unusual features from her birth wouldn’t fully affect her as much as he’d thought.

The pair were met with a huge crowd which Arimand recognized as the edge of the now ongoing parade. Managing his way through the crowd he found a way to bring his daughter to a point she could watch the parade move past, the jesters juggling through the streets while musicians played their instruments in bright melodies that seemed to echo along the walls of the capital city.

For the most part his daughters eyes were met with a cheerful amazement at watching the entertainers parade through the streets, even commenting on how silly some of the painted clowns seemed to be when they interacted with the young children. It wasn’t until they passed that the young girl’s attention was affixed on one thing in-particular, which made Arimand’s head turn. She was drawn to the polished armors and the graceful traits of the Holy Tactical arm of the region. The young girl had her golden hues firmly locked to the Firey Valkyrie, the tall and proud women of Elion.

Proudly they sat upon their horses as they trotted in formation, their lances pointed upward in their right hands while decorative shields guarded their left. Their very presence was awe-inspiring, their confidence infectious. As they passed Kinjita continued to stare and observe their movements with wonderment.

“The Valkyrie,” stated an elderly woman that had been behind Kinjita. This made her and her father turn briefly to the woman addressing her curiosity. “Holy Warriors of Elion. The Fire and Flame of Calpheon, and of the Five Regions. They embody the best of what we are dear girl,” she spoke.

“They’re beautiful,” stated Kinjita, turning back to watch the Valkyrie riders continue to pass on their horses.

“And ferocious in battle. I’ve seen that very look you take to young one,” she chortled. “I had that same look in my eyes a great many years ago.”

“Where do they come from?” The young girl asked with a bright curiosity.

“They train at the Academy at the heart of Calpheon, the top of the hillside. They are the the burning flame of Elion, which is why their firey red hair is a part of their uniform code, a symbol of the flame of Elion that burns within them,” she replied while resting her hands on an ornate but well-used cane.

As the final Valkyrie passed the young silvery-haired girl canted her head and leaned out to watch them turn the corner down the street, still amazed. It was then she stated something her father never would have expected. “That’s what I want to be. I want to be a Valkyrie.”

Arimand chuckled at that. “You know why that’s impossible Little Star. You just heard the kind woman talk about them. You’d never be accepte-”

The old woman stamped her cane into the ground to halt her father’s words. “Don’t you let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. If you’ve a passion for it, then reach.”

“I don’t really think you should be encouraging her to aspire to something she would never be accepted int-”

The cane clacking the ground interrupted him again. “Who should we be to tell someone they could never aspire to something, hmm? I see her differences. I see the stares of the people around here observing her, like she stares at the Valkyrie as they parade. Those are the same stares of ones I’ve seen in the streets dozens of times that now sit upon the very horses that just moved past. Where there is a will, there is always a way sir. Who are we to say otherwise?”

The elderly woman nodded and turned, moving slowly back through the crowd and disappearing from view. Arimand watched as she left, but Kinjita was still staring down the street at where the Valkyrie had just been as if that spot was transfixed in her mind, preventing her from seeing anything else.

“She certainly was an opinionated woman,” Arimand remarked as he looked to his daughter.

“And she was right too,” she commented, which threw her father off guard.

“What do you mean?” he inquired of Kinjita with a curious expression.

It was then she looked up to her father, the expression on her face the same exact one his wife had given him when they first had their conversation about their daughter’s features in their home oh so many years ago. “I’m going to try. I need to try. I know I can become one father.”

She was determined, and she was stubborn in that determination. He’d learned that about his daughter early on. Once she set her mind to something then nothing he could say could stop her from pursuing her goals. Resigned he hefted out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “Alright…I can already tell there’s no talking you out of this. When you’re of the right age, we’ll try, but I want you to promise me you won’t be disappointed if they reject you.”

“They won’t father,” she stated as if she were so sure of it that nothing could ever prove her wrong, turning to eye that spot where the Valkyrie had been one more time. “I know they won’t.”

Year 219 of the Elionian Calendar, the final days of the Summer Months.

“She will never be a part of this order!” Clammored the armored woman Volaire as she walked hurriedly down the veranda above the courtyard of the Valkyrie Academy.

“She’s paid her dues!” argued Arimand who followed along in tow, two Valkyrie attendants watching his every move while his daughter eyed them all from the training yard below where she was bid to wait, watching the trainees at the dummies. “More-so we’ve given this Academy more than what the entry would ever require! Why deny her?”

Stopping and turning an arm quickly pointed out to the young girl herself, a clack of thunder from an approaching storm in the distance almost heralding her dread. “Elion’s fire refuses to cling to her! This is why!”

“Yet you’ve tested her abilities,” he retorted, determined. “Her speed, her reflexes. She’s even called the breath of Elion to her side! How can you say she doesn’t possess the fire of Elion?”

“That girl is a symbol of the death of that fire!” She replied coldly. “No. As long as I hold sway over this Academy the girl will not be allowed to train as one of us! She may be able to effectively duplicate some of our abilities but you yourself said that her hair will not hold to color, which is required of the Order!”

“So you think that just because her hair refuses to be anything but that beautiful silvery white it is that Elion abandons he-”

“Elion abandons no-one!” She yelled, another clack of thunder close-by from the storm. “He cannot abandon one who he has refused to acknowledge as one of his children. I cannot accept one whom-”

Her words were suddenly interrupted as a crash of lightning aimed for the college itself, striking a pillar near the training yard. Immediately the pillar began to fall towards the Valkyrie in training.

“Clear the yard!” Yelled Volaire, signalling for everyone to move to safer ground. Immediately the trainees began to scatter. In the confusion one of the younger of the order fell and collapsed onto the ground, the falling pillar aiming right for her.

Through it all Kinjita watched, horrified briefly as she saw the pillar aiming to take the life of the girl. She didn’t care what Volaire would think. Bursting into action she sprung from her position in the yard and picked up a heavy shield, sprinting forward towards the young girl who was now already preparing for the inevitable. Bringing the shield over her head she slid to her and sheltered them both under the shield just as the pillar came crashing down on both of them.

“Little Star!” Arimand called out in horrified tone as he and the Valkyrie instructor watched the pillar collapse on them both, kicking up a cloud of dust in it’s wake. Once it fell the Valkyrie in the yard as well as Volaire and Arimand went into action, rushing over towards the position where the pillar had struck them. What they saw shocked them both.

Cradled under the shield were both the tripped Valkyrie trainee and Kinjita who had managed to use the shield to shelter them both from the heavy falling stone, letting it roll off of the shield harmlessly as if it were being pelted by a pebble.

A look of shock went through Volaire’s eyes as Arimand rushed to his daughter to make sure she was alright. To his surprise she was in perfect health, save for a bruise where the shield had marked her arm at the impact.

“Amazing that our own people would fail to have the inner fire to do what one you said could never do has done,” called a voice from near the entryway to the Academy. The group turned to find where the voice had come from. To Arimand’s surprise he recognized the voice, and whom it belonged to. It was the very woman they had met in the streets of Calpheon three years ago at the parade.

Volaire stared briefly, then looked to Kinjita once more. As she turned back to address the woman her words seemed somewhat forced. “M-matron mother. I mean no direspect but…This girl. She may have saved the life of one of our own but that does not mean tha-”

“Have I tought you nothing Volaire?” she interrupted, approaching the group. “Elion’s fire isn’t solely represented by a look, or what it represents.” Volaire paused as the Matron Mother spoke. “It’s represented by the fire that drives our actions. Your hair is only a symbol of that fire, yet as I see it, fire also burns white as the spark of a flame begins.”

Kinjita stook in amazement. That woman was the Matron Mother? She’d heard the Valkyrie were once presided over by a single woman that now lived out her days in Calpheon but had never dreamed to have met her, let alone twice. The Valkyrie trainee whom she saved stood and backed away some, seeming to be in reverence of the woman.

“I’ve seen that fire twice now with this young woman, and it reminds me of my first days with this Order. She chooses to dream where others tell her it will fail. She choses to act in defiance of what others think she should or should not do. She choses to sacrifice of herself for others where one may not sacrifice their views for hers.” The Matron Mother turned to Arimand. “It’s good to see you again sir. Your daughter certainly hasn’t lost that passion.”

Arimand stood bewildered. “I…I’ve done what I could to encourage her to seek out her dreams I suppose.”

“As well as any good father should,” she commented with a soft smile as she turned to Volaire. “Have her trained.”

Volaire was dumbfounded. “But…Matron Mother, she’s…Well she-”

“She’s different, yes,” the elderly woman finished for Volaire. “And that’s a good thing. This world needs something different, perhaps a brighter light than what has been shining to see us through darker times.” She turned once again to the Valkyrie Instructor, “And if she is treated any differently than your other students then you will find yourself in a predicament you don’t want to be in with me.”

The instructor nodded, defeated. “Y-yes Matron Mother.” As the elderly woman moved past Volaire turned to Kinjita to look upon her, the young girl still breathing heavily with the adrenaline of the event that just took place. The firey instructor looked up at the Valkyrie and students gathered. “Well, you heard her! Someone find this girl a bed among our novices! Get the quartermaster up and find her gear! We’ve a student to train!”

Arimand watched as Volaire got her people into action, the activity giving him time to turn to his daughter. “Are you alright Little Star?” he asked, looking her over carefully.

“I,” she started softly, staring off into the distance. “I did it. I can’t believe I did that.” She looked down to the shield she still held onto, astonished by what she’d just accomplished, and the realization of who it was she had met in the streets of Calpheon three years prior. “I am…I mean I should…I mean.”

“What you mean,” Arimand stated, his tone steadying, “Is that you’re alive, and you’re about to see that dream of yours realized.” He smiled warmly to his daughter who was looking up at him with a soft smile.

From out of nowhere called Volaire. “Trainee Savanos!” Kinjita’s head turned, snapping to the position where the voice had come from. “Your training starts now, so what are you standing around for? The quartermaster is through the upper doorway and down a level! Get your gear and report back up here with the novices, and I mean now!”

Firey passion indeed. Arimand nodded to his daughter. “Yes ma’am!” She called before smiling and briefly hugging her father before running off towards the inner sanctum. In the corner of her eye she thought she’d seen the Matron Mother once more looking her way, and in her mind she heard her voice once more the same as it was during the parade saying ‘Where there is a will, there is a way. Who are we to say otherwise?’

This made the golden-eyed girl smile.

Year 224 of the Elionian Calendar, the final days of Spring.

The blade came straight in towards her, aiming to slice a nice and clean stroke through her nose. Her reactions dictated her response and her shield-arm swung upward and left, deflecting the blade away as her right arm swung the sword across her body from right to left. Her oppoinent jumped backwards just in time to avoid the strike.

“Very good Savanos,” called Volaire from the upper steps as Kinjita’s sparring opponent came in for another attack, responding by bringing the blade down at an angle towards Kinjita’s shoulder. Rather than step back she decided to slide under the attack, ducking left under the swipe while bringing her shield around for a strike to the chest, which met it’s mark to cause her opponent to fall backwards off of their feet.

“Excellent shield use,” called Volaire again with a nod. “Excellent. I’m actually dubiously impressed with you Savanos.”

Kinjita returned herself to an upright stance and offered a polite and short bow to Volaire, her sword set at her side. “Thank you Commander.”

Volaire turned to her opponent. “Your angles have very much improved Terna, though you should have seen that shield coming.”

“I’ll be better prepared for it Commander,” she stated, removing her helmet and bowing politely.

Volaire looked on with amusement for a moment until a courier came bursting through the training yard, catching everyone by surprise. Volaire’s attention turned to the courier as he approached quickly with a missive in hand. Taking it she opened the scroll and read quickly, her eyes darting over the pages. What she read changed her expression to a dour one.

“Savanos,” she called up. “You’ve graduated but haven’t been placed on assignment yet, have you?”

Kinjita shook in reply. “No Commander. I was slated to report to the Fortifications near Quint hill to aid with th-”

“There’s a change,” Volaire interupted. “I’m sending you home, and you’ll take Terna with you.” Between the two of them there was a look of confusion until Volaire continued. “There’s been an attack. The Western Serendian Guard camp tracked movement of Steel Imps headed towards Olvia. The city is now under siege and the militia calls for aid.” Rolling the missive back up she looked to the two women. “I can think of no better graduation test than to save the lives of others than matter to you.”

That fact was definitely one Volaire was dead right about. Kinjita’s eyes took on a hint of worry as Volaire mentioned the siege, her mind turning to thoughts of her friends and family still living there.

As if she could read her mind Volaire barked out, “This is no time to be worrying about your parents Savanos. You do them no good to them by focusing your attention on their well-being.”

“No Commander,” she replied. “You’re right. My mind is on all the people of Olvia, not just them. My orders?”

Volaire grinned at that. “You have none now Savanos. I may have not initially wanted to train you. Hell, for a time I was ferverently against it. I look back and suddenly I see what a fool I was to not even consider it. It takes a lot to impress me Savanos, and I won’t admit that too often. You’ve earned your sword, and your Lance.” She nodded in her direction. “Now go. Do us proud by bringing the flame of Elion to those who would do us harm.”

Kinjita stood there only briefly, then nodded, offering up a respectful salute. Once she was done she turned to Terna. “Get Azure and Dabble and get their saddles fitted on them quickly. I’ll get our gear and meet you at the stables. We ride hard and fast for the Guard Camp outside the city.”

“On my way sister. We’ll save Olvia. The Imps won’t know what hit them.” With that she was gone and Kinjita made her way to the armory, readying their gear for the long journey ahead.

Balenos Territory, four hours later.

By the time the Valkyrie pair had made their way to the Western Guard Camp where the combined forces of the Balenos and Serendian militia had made camp it was nightfall, the sun just setting over Karanda Ridge, their horses becoming weary from the trek they had made past the Delphe Knights Castle. Immediately recognized by the militia as friend they were quickly hurried into the encampment and their horses reigned at a make-shift stable. The pair made their way up the hill to the southeast to the main tent where the Commander of the forces had set up his command post.

As both Kinjita and Terna made their way up the people inside turned to meet their approach. “Valkyrie Kinjita and Terna arriving to help reinforce the militia. I’m looking for the Commander here.”

From the group a burly, blonde-haired man carrying the crest of Serenia turned to meet her gaze, arching a brow as he looked Kinjita over. “You’re…A Valkyrie?”

From the corner of the tent a voice came out in recognition, brightly stating, “You’re damned right she’s a Valkyrie!”

Kinjita turned to meet the voice, smiling as she saw the figure of her father standing and coming to her. His bear-like arms wrapped around his daughter’s back as she spoke. “You’re alive father. I’m glad to see you.”

“Your mother too, though she took a nasty fall. She’s in the medical tent being treated,” he stated as he released his daughter from his embrace, looking her over. It was the first time he’d seen her since she was accepted to the Academy four years ago and he wanted to take the sight of her in completely.

“Well,” stated the voice of the blond-haired man. “If Arimand says you’re a Valkyrie then who am I to argue. I’ve just never seen one without hair like flame in my life.” He straightened himself up. “Commander Cliff, Serendian Military.”

Kinjita pulled out the missive delivered to the Academy and handed it to him. “Well met Commander. What can we do to help?”

He sighed in response. “We’re in a jam here. We got caught with our damned britches down and the Imps have the city in a damned five-knuckle grip we can’t break. I’ve got four-hundred troops with me and most of them are fresh out of training.” Motioning to a map he pointed out several positions. “The imps set up dogging camps in five places, cutting off access to Casta Farm completely. Scouts reported heavy camps set up all along the Wolf Hills coming out towards the mouth of the Balenos River where it meets the coast. We sent word to Velia to send ships to the Olvian and Termian coasts but I doubt they’ll make it there before the Imps can cut off access for anyone trying to flee.” He stood again, pulling down his armored breastplate. “We’ve tried to break their lines but they have numbers on their side, and what’s more they keep sending these blasted raiding parties to keep us bottled up.”

“You said you had four-hundred men with you, yes?” Kinjita inquired, looking to Cliff, to which he nodded in reply. The wheels were turning within the Valkyrie’s head as she eyed the map.

“What’re you thinking Sister?” Terna queried, looking to Kinjita.

“I’m thinking that the Imps have no idea how to really fortify a position. Yes, they have numbers, but they have no actual fortifications. They’re using their people as a defense screen long enough to try to get something rudimentary set up.” She brought her hand to her chin in thought. “Commander, could you spare half of your men and still keep the camp here fortified?”

“Aye, I think we could,” he replied. “You’ve got a plan Lady Valkyrie?”

With a nod she replied, “I do.” Her hand went to the map, pointing to a wooded area between the Wolf Hills and the River Mouth. “The trees here won’t make it possible for them to keep direct numbers up like it would in open fields to the West. This means their numbers will likely be weaker here overall, banking on us to try to keep our numbers clustered together to break their lines.”

“What do you aim to do?” Cliff inquired.

“Punch a hole,” she replied in kind. “Have a hundred of your men take to forming a battle line just south of the woods along the road. Once there have them press forward slowly. Let them see them coming and prepare a defense. Once they’re around twenty yards from the defense line then Terna and I will break forward and crash the line.”

“Celestial Spear?” inquired Terna, to which Kinjita nodded.

“My guess,” the white-haired woman continued. “Is that these Imps aren’t used to dealing with much of anything beyond standard military equipment and training. The moment we enter the battle they’re going to see losses to something they aren’t prepared for, and that will make them scatter.”

“And we break their lines and dismantle them moving in two directions,” Cliff stated.

Kinjita shook her head. “No. Even with that our numbers would still be too few to effectively deal with that but if we can move the militia through to Olvia itself,” she stated, pointing to Olvia.

“Then,” cliff moved his finger to their encampment. “We can reinforce and box them in instead. They’d have no choice but to disperse back to the hills or to the beach.”

“And at the beach the ships coming from Olvia could make easy targets of them. They’ll scatter and we’ll have an easier time ending this siege by bottling them up in the Wolf Hills,” Kinjita finished with a nod.

“Damned fine plan if you ask me,” Cliff remarked. “Alright, let’s do it! Gather up two-hundred strong souls and arm them. The Valkyrie have the charge so they’ll take command of those forces! The rest stand by with me for the end charge!”

Acknowledgements came all around as people began to scatter with orders. Tonight the Valkyrie would be tested, and the flames of Elion would burn through the evening light. Arimand watched on as he observed the woman his daughter had become with a prideful smile. “My Little Star,” he commented softly as he watched his daughter head into the camp, and to battle, continuing, “Shining bright for all to see. Your mother was right. She knew it all along didn’t she?” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in-particular as Kinjita turned to face her father once more from down the hill. Their eyes met and a small, understanding smile appeared as she nodded his direction once more as she sped off. “Fly my darling girl. Fly.”