Valkyrie Black

Chapter 7: Story Time

(Several months later)

Val ran across the rooftops of dockside, watching the crowds below for likely targets. Today there was a good crowd to pickpocket from because a street performance group was passing through. It wasn’t often that the troupes performed here but when they did, they drew huge crowds.

Today they were set up along the intersection of the two major roads through this part of town. It was really the only space large enough for their carts to park and still allow for the carriages to pass by without trampling anyone.

Val stopped above their carts and was about to climb down and try her luck in the audience when an old man dressed in gray robes stepped out onto their makeshift stage. He had a flowing white beard that gave him the bearing of a wise sage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Today I have a special treat for you. I am Story Master Alaster Montag, and I bring you the tale of the Valkyrie from far-off lands.”

The crowd grew still and silent with anticipation. Val froze, crouching low on the rooftop. A still and quiet audience would be no good to her. she needed movement and noise to mask her movements. She glared at the old man but as he began to speak, his voice held a melody that drew her into his tale. She decided to sit and listen as it wasn’t every day someone would tell stories, and certainly not anyone as practiced as this sage.

Besides, hadn’t he said this was a tale of the Valkyrie? Was he going to tell a tale about her?

“Long, long ago the Ori ruled the world. The Ancient Ori were gods under the heavens, able to do things we only dream of now. The Ori had medicine to cure any ailment. Horseless carriages, winged ships to sail the skies above, and weapons that rivaled the thunder of the most powerful storms.”

“The Ori faced a dark and mysterious enemy. Some say their own creations turned against them. Others say the darkness escaped from the mysterious land of Suria, beyond the Stormwall mountains. Whatever the case, the Scath war ravaged the world.”

Val sat mesmerized as the storyteller described the war of darkness that enveloped the world. She wondered if the scath he mentioned were ancestors of the Shadows. The shadows didn’t seem as scary as Story Master Montag made the Scath sound but the description seemed similar.

“In the final, the Ori sought a brave warrior. Upon this warrior, they bestowed all the power of their people and named them general of the armies of the Ori. To this general, they granted the title of Valkyrie and assigned 100 of the strongest warriors to the Valkyrie’s personal command. The reapers, as they would come to be known, had the power of life and death. If any town was deemed a total loss to the enemy, the Valkyrie could order it destroyed in order to prevent the spread of the Scath scourge.”

“The Valkyrie took this new power and worked tirelessly to not only clean the world of Scath but also marked any who were tainted with the corruptible touch of the scath as evil, sentencing them to the same hells they tried to cast the Scath.

“For 100 years the battle raged. The Reapers and their General were sustained by the power of the Ori people and their medicines. However, in time, the great warriors began to fall, succumbing to the sheer number of the scourge.”

Val gripped the edge of the roof with white knuckles as the storyteller’s voice rose and fell, retelling a great battle, and supreme sacrifice by the reapers. Great and terrible acts were committed to free the world from this shadow scourge.

“In a final act, the Valkyrie discovered a device to banish the scourge once and for all. Opening a portal to the hells, the Valkyrie and the Reapers pushed the hoard of Scath beyond the existence of this world, sealing their fate for all eternity. In that final battle, the Valkyrie suffered such damage that even all the power of the Ori could not prevent the inevitable fall of their general.”

“While the body of the General had failed, there are those who still believe to this day that the Valkyrie is reborn every few generations and searches the land, looking to cleanse us of the Scath taint. Should the Valkyrie come, know that those who do evil are counted among the Scath, doomed to meet the Valkyrie’s blade.”

The crowd began to move as the storyteller ended his tale. Several hecklers began asking questions and tossing jeers at the storyteller.

“Nothing good ever came across the Stormwall mountains! Only ghost tales!”

“Watch out! The Shadows might eat you!”

The master storyteller shook his head with a thin smile, “Often times there is truth hidden in the old tales. Besides, we are due for another visit from the Valkyrie and her reapers. The world is going dark once more and needs to be cleansed.”

“Alright kids, you heard the sage. Do your chores of the shadows will get you!” someone called.

Another group of men jested, “You say this Valkyrie was a woman? Wouldn’t mind letting someone like that come for my soul.”

Val watched the crown disperse but couldn’t leave the roof, her mind still wrapped in ideas of the Valkyrie. The story master had said the world was due for a new Valkyrie! Could she be this Valkyrie? She had the name! however, the thought of being a general or a warrior was a bit farfetched for her. Still… the thought of adventuring across the realms and battling monsters excited her.

As she looked at the street behind the wagon, she spotted a Shadow monster slowly working its way through the dark shadow of the building. She sighed. There was no way these could be the feared Scath of legend. They were everywhere, but they were not hard to contend with.

It was a good tale, but Val had other things to do than listen to fairy tales of monsters. There were real monsters to hunt.