The sky wallowed in shades of grey which shielded the sun from touching the lands beneath it, The sound of wind howling against the sails of the carriage, a lonely and mournful noise that cut through the silence of the dark and cloudy afternoon. Alva who sat alone folding her knees into her chest with her stomach grumbling away, her head buried in sadness as she yearned for her mother and father, the salt of her tears staining her sense of taste. She had no idea where she was going, all she knew was to keep her mothers promise and stay put, her trip leading her into seemingly nowhere continued on for 2 days before the horses pulling her carriage had come to a full stop.
"h-hello? is anyone there?" A strange voice audible in the distance began gradually making its way closer towards Alva who immediately went into a state of panic, she quickly grabbed a piece of timber nearby and hid herself behind a crate stored in the back of the carriage. She could hear the stranger climbing in and waited for the perfect opportunity before ambushing him with a smack to the head.
"Owieeee!" the voice screeched, Alva who was directly in front of the intruder with steam coursing out her nostrils like an angry little boar, could see the stranger's details much more clear. He had on a small little hat wrapped in some sort of turban, his upper body covered in a crimson coloured robe, his face was scrawny resembling that of a rat, his skin appearing quite soft and dark, he was nothing like the men she's used to seeing in the village back home, at most he seemed to be a bit of wimp with the fearful expression he was giving the little girl.
"Ahhh! please! dont kill me!" he screamed as he lifted his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the vicious little demon girl. Alva couldn't believe her eyes at the sight of a man acting like a scared child and began crossing her arms, her eyebrows furrowed in disgust. "Hmph!" Alva scoffed as she demanded "tell me your name!".
The frightened man who was slowly lowering his skinny arms couldn't quite match Alva's intimidating gaze and averted it in a shameful manner before finally responding to her."u...um i am Asad my lady" Alva's expression softened at his polite demeanor but still couldn't quite comprehend it fully, She was still wary of this stranger called Asad but she needed help, she was hungry and had no idea where she was so in fourth she began explaining her situation to him.
Asad listened to the little girl's events that took place recently, his expression filled with shock and terror, he couldn't quite believe her attitude, on the outside she seemed like a prideful little warrior but on the inside he could tell what she was truly feeling and felt a sense of responsibility for her. He began to suggest the idea for her to go to the palace of the kingdom of þrift, where she could seek out some help from the King, Asad offered Alva his aid to lead her towards the capital and could set up a meeting himself for her.
"but how?" As Alva questioned Asad, he began introducing himself to her revealing that he is a well known wandering trader that hails from the distant kingdom of Ishtar. Upon hearing this Alva's mood improved considerably, although she was still a child, she was intelligent enough to still stay cautious of the man and keep her distance despite him showing zero signs of ill intention. She quietly accepted the mans assistance whilst still masking up the pain she was internally storing.
The pair started their trip, making their way for the capital. It had taken exactly 4 days travel to get to their location, Asad had taken the little girl into his merchant carriage, he did not want to leave the horses behind either and had taken the animals along with them.
On arrival Alva couldn't believe her eyes as they absorbed the glorious sight before her, she had never seen such giant walls made from stone and why were the gates so big? could it be that perhaps giants lived in the city too? she pondered.
As they reached said gates Alva began inspecting the line of people awaiting their turn to gain clearance into the capital. She noticed that the people waiting in cue clearly originated from Far off places, there were dwarves shorter than her, elves with pointy ears and others looked half-beast or full with an appearance similar to the wolves she would regularly see trying to attack her family's livestock.
Once it finally reached their turn the city guard asked them for their name, ethnicity and purpose. Asad took the lead as he felt it was his responsibility for looking after the little girl in this present moment and began explaining the situation to him. Upon hearing what had happened the guard immediately notified the other city guards nearby to escort them towards the palace, before she knew it Alva and Asad had gained entrance, their carriage being led by a pair of armored guards, Alva could notice there was a hint of worry in their expression, was it because of the story Asad had told?.
The little's girl couldn't contain her awe and amazement as her eyes darted in every direction she could conceive, there were people everywhere the most she's ever seen, the buildings raised so high that they could reach and touch the sky. She eagerly attempted to jump from the carriage to begin exploring the city at once but was quickly intervened by Asad who had grabbed her by the collar of her neck. "Alva you cant run off on your own, there are weirdo's in this city and you'll easily get lost if you don't know where you're going" he said with a touch of concern heard within his tone of voice.
Alva scoffed in frustration at not being able to control her childish nature and reluctantly agreed."f..fine i guess" she said.
Asad who barely heard her but could still understand her submission, raised his hand into a fist and started to nod his head vigorously, relishing his meaningless victory. Alva who was watching his strange gesture unfold began scowling him for such useless impulsiveness which he cluelessly ignored and persisted in doing anyway.
As the carriage finally reached the end of the city road Alva had caught her first glimpse of the mighty golden palace, she had heard stories from her parents about the Kings palace and what kind of place it would be but to see it in person was a marvel of its own, it had it's own pair of astonishing gates that were protected by a set of intimidating warriors. Upon close inspection she could see that they were females carrying a spear and shield, she wondered if they were the infamous Valkyries her mother had once lead.
As they approached the gates one of the two women had approached the city guards escorting them and started questioning them for the purpose of their visit, as the guards explained why the little girl and her accomplice had come the female warrior's expression too began to show signs of worry, her eyes softly meeting Alva's, the brief link of eye-contact had given Alva the subtle impression that perhaps this woman knows who she is.
The warriors opened the pearly gates and gestured for them to enter whilst asking Asad to leave his carriage at the gate. The staircase leading to the palace door numbered greatly which Asad wasn't very fond of, Alva however was having a blast running up the stairs giggling away like a child.
Asad had noticed that the warriors at the gate couldn't avert their gaze from Alva as they kept their eye on her from a distance, bewildered by his observation he kept a mental note in his head to keep track of such odd behaviour.
As they approached the doors to the palace they begun slowly opening on their own, upon entering the sight of the king sitting on his throne had caught their attention, his head resting against his fist, there behind him all in single file was a female band of warriors all standing in attention giving off a strikingly intimidating aura, for Alva and Asad it was if the king was waiting for their arrival. "Alva Bjornsdottir you have come, my name is King Eric but you may call me Eric the kind if you so please" the king said, his voice although it was soft, still emitted a strong sense of dignity and pride, Asad's head turned in confusion as he looked towards Alva wondering if she knew who the king was.
"hey how do you know my name!" she proclaimed in an attempt to return the sense of dignity and pride unto the king, well for her it was dignity and pride but for everyone else it seemed like childish ignorance.
"You are the daughter of Bjron and Yrsa wilden, your mother and father have committed great acts of service for our kingdom" the king said before continuing "and I believe you have something you need to discuss with me as well"
Alva's mood slowly began to turn sour at the mention of her parents, reminding her of the unavoidable pain in her heart, even though she felt this way she would never show it. "I am honored, yes they are my parents! however.... our village was attacked by a bunch of men, one of them was even riding a dragon so large it covered the top of a mountain, my... my mother and father stayed back...." she said, her voice now slowly trembling as she recalled the encounter that began infecting her prideful nature.
The king who studied the change in her tone of voice attempted to ease her mind."Your mother and father are some of the finest most capable warriors our kingdom has to offer, i highly doubt that their combined strength would falter to the dragon cult"
whilst the king spoke, a sense of hope began washing over her, hoping that the king was right, it also surprised her that he seemingly knew who the enemies were by calling them the "dragon cult", her questions flowing in response. "T-the dragon cult? you know the culprits responsible for attacking our village? did you know they were coming?!" she exclaimed with a hint of concern and anger.
"Although I had no knowledge of them ever coming to our beloved country it is true that i know of them" the king said, Alva felt a little relieved hearing that he didn't know of their intrusion.
Asad who was patiently listening to the two converse had muttered something under his breath that the king heard. "If the dragon cult have come that spells bad news"
"Indeed, if what Alva has said is true and that the dragon cult have managed to enter our homeland, then we may be dealing with a potential war on our hands" The king said as he clasped his hands together, his expression conveying his contemplation towards such a troublesome possibility.
The king then turned back to Alva and offered her a place in the band of warriors her mother once lead, the Valkyries. Alva's eye's widened in excitement and shock as she was given such an opportunity, the chance to make her parents proud was in hindsight. She knew from the stories her mother Yrsa conveyed involved the hardship of battles and the rewards of glory and that this was in her blood from the start.
With a determined and fearless smile plastered across her mouth she pointed a single finger towards the king and declared in an arrogant fashion "I gladly accept! i hope you wont disappoint!"
"wonderful, may i introduce you to Sigrid, the leader of the Valkyries, she will foresee your needs from now on" As the king said this a rather solidly built woman emerged from the middle of the line, her tiara with what looked like wings attached to each side complimenting her magnificent beauty.
She began walking down the stairs, her icy and cold energy surrounding her as she did so approached little Alva whilst lowering her line of sight to meet hers in a kneeling position, her arm over her chest before she spoke. "I welcome you Alva, may your strength be filled and your mind at peace"
Alva inspected her closely, her sharp purple eyes seemed to pierce straight into Alva's soul, her calloused hands began reaching for hers, without hesitation little Alva latched onto her hand with her own, a big smile on her face that displayed nothing but a fiery determination as she accepted the offer.
"I accept! I look forward to training under you!" her tone clearly highlighting her eagerness to begin. The king then turned back to Asad and thanked him for his service of escorting the daughter of a respect jarl in their kingdom and asked
"Your service demands a reward Asad, to be fair i never could have imagined that a man of your talents would be brave enough to help such a young lady" his eyes squinting as he spoke, Asad clearly offended by the Kings second half of his sentence responded in a not so convincing tone. "I may not be a man of courage in the eye's of his majesty nonetheless she is still only a child, it would be disgraceful for any person to simply leave her unattended!"
The king amused by Asad's comment still beckoned him to name his reward and that it would be granted only if it was in his power to do so. Asad who had planned this from the very start and secretly hoped for this outcome was busy drooling over the idea of having so many options available to him, "should i ask for money? a new carriage? maybe some rights to some land?" he thought, but as he did so the image of Alva came to mind, her inspiring attitude and prideful nature that hid away what she truly felt, the pain that she had suffered by losing her home. Even though he secretly wanted to be rewarded his heart was telling him otherwise not to take advantage of the little girls situation.
"I... I dont want anything... i only helped her because she is a child" he said, his trembly voice completely betraying him in the process, to the king it appeared as if Asad was fighting some sort of inner battle to contain his greedy nature.
"this will not do" the king said "even if you say you do not want a reward i will give you one regardless, such is the way of a generous king, you will be given the right to set up store here in the city as you please and whatever you sell will be tax free for the first month"
Asad snapped his head towards the king in absolute awe, he bowed his head in respect for the king and thanked him with sincerity, even though he never openly admitted his greed he was still overjoyed at the kings proposal raising his hands in some sort of victory pose which showed his intentions clear enough.
As the hearing came to an end, Sigrid began leading Alva to her new living quarters, the young girl breathing in the sight of the magnificent hallways of the palace as they walked side by side, the walls covered in traditional Nordic decorations.
Upon entering Alva's new room she felt her body tugged around and pulled into an tight embrace, a silver flick of hair glistening in the corner of her eye "mama? is that you?" so she thought as she slowly began opening her eyes.
It was Sigrid, her strong and frim arms where wrapped lovingly around Alva. "O-oh! its you! um is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine, I'm just excited to meet you is all... forgive me" Sigrid said in response, her calm tone didn't reveal any excitement at all.
"huh!? did you know my mother!? she did say she was with the Valkyries before!" her green eyes beamed brightly at the possibility.
"Indeed, I knew your mother well" she replied with a hint of longing in her voice "she was a great shield maiden, and it was an honor to be guided by her wisdom"
The sound of her words began dancing away in Alva's little heart, the isolation she experienced since her departure, the feeling of loneliness slowly subsiding at the touch of Sigrid's firm and welcoming embrace.
Sigrid lifted her cheek from Alva's scruffy orange hair, her purple gaze seeping into Alva's teary and fiery green eyes. "i want to hear everything about mother and what she was like from before!" Alva said
"hmmm where to begin..." Sigrid said as she pondered, the Valkyrie began exploring the depths of Yrsa Wilden's character, highlighting her influential attributes that spread like wildfire amongst the women who wanted to become a shield-maiden.
Yrsa was kind and gentle but also fearless and calm in the face of battle, Sigrid would constantly mention that she always looked up to Alva's mother, and that she was the prime example of what it meant to be a Valkyrie that led the souls of her foes to a different place...
Sigrid turned her head slightly to Alva, her eyes beginning to soften whilst Alva's irises looked like they were going to pop out of her socket, bulging outwards in an exaggerated and cartoony fashion. The little girl couldn't withhold her inner excitement and awe at the praise her own mother was getting from such a gorgeous and fearsome warrior. The two girls exchanged conversation into the late hours of the evening, speaking together as if they had known each other for years prior, Alva was truly happy to have someone she could truly call a friend.
"well Alva" Sigrid said "your training begins tomorrow"