Helga the First of the Valkyries

“I know you, sir… you are Titus Vaeris, from the Academy. You’re the uncle of Master Aurelius… and… “
The woman pauses, swallowing dryly.
“… and one of the twelve most powerful in the Lion Kingdom.”
The old mage leaned against the threshold of the room, a cramped prison cell with barely any furnishings for the young prisoner. He gave Helga a weary smile.
“It is true, dear lady.”
“Excuse me, but I am no lady!” Helga straightened, sitting off the bed and standing straight to face the visitor properly. “I am just a soldier – at least, I was.”
“I know.” The man replies, rubbing his brow with the tip of his thumb, right into the crevasse of a deep wrinkle. “My nephew claims you left him to die.”
“That is not true!”
“That is where I have come here. To hear the truth.”
Helga took a deep breath in. Sitting back down, she straightened the grey rags she was dressed in, composing herself.
“I’m afraid that the truth is that your nephew abandoned the battlefield. He fled, while others fought and died. Now to cover his actions, he is blaming me.”
With slight hesitation, the woman then walked to the corner of the room, taking out a pile of rags. She threw it into the middle of the room to the light – the rags spilled open, revealing a dark metal pendant.
“This is the proof I have. It belonged to a warlock I met on the field, his master clearly a Black Togas follower.”
The man kept silent for a long time. His eyes remained locked on the pendant, his frown remaining as if the mere sight of it caused him pain.
“Tomorrow, the tribunal will withdraw this accusation. I will arrange a transfer for you… to the Royal Court. I will organise a position for you there, Helga.”
He raised a hand as the woman began to speak, shaking his head.
“I beg you to let all of this remain secret. Do not make an old man kneel before you… I gave all the love I had to this boy, my Aurelius. I have watched him studying in the Academy and hoped he would make a true mage. It seems I should have taught him other skills alongside those of magic.”
As Helga nodded, the man looked down so she would not see the tears pricking at the edges of his eyes. Here was someone who truly deserved a Valkyrie’s title – someone who protected all, the strong and the weak, and did not shy from the fate life had given her.
Helga had never dreamed of being a Valkyrie. Bards with sweet voices may sing that the Valkyrie descend from the heavens… but in reality, they rise from the sweat and mud of gutters. The only thing Helga had ever wanted when she was young was food for her family, where she was the youngest of fourteen children. This was far too much for an impoverished nobleman like her father, and it was not expected for him to be able to care for them all as they grew into their adult years. It was an unsurprising decision when Helga joined to the military, even though she only did so to avoid ending up in one of the homes for unmarried young women. Everyone knew those places only taught women how to be objects. There was no future for her there.
During her training, Helga fell in love with the mage Aurelius – a noble, yet arrogant young man. In his first battle with the undead, Aurelius cowered… but Helga’s courage saved his life. Instead of gratitude, the man laid the blame for the failure on the warrioress. The tribunal were to convict her for desertion if not for Titus Vaeris, the head of one of the Magic Academies, and Aurelius’ uncle. He ensured a pardon for Helga and in exchange for her silence, he helped the woman become of the Valkyries. Now she is one of the youngest and most valiant of their Champions; these warrior maids of radiant beauty are the elite of the King’s Lion Guard.