Black Magus

Imperator Lucia Pike.

25th of Trescia, 1492.

5th Legion Home World, Brunhilde.

07:00.

***

My job was easy, at first. And then, it wasn't.

Born into a family of knights, dames, paladins, and occasionally, Valkyries, my job was to protect the Imperial Barbaric Princess throughout her life. Due to her prowess and immense strength, however, that left little for me to do for the first few years of my life, other than my morning training and my evening studies. At all other times, I simply followed her around, acting as her shadow. That changed when we met Amun, just before our awakening.

That changed when I met Toril.

He turned out to have lived the same life I had, yet his experience was completely different. He too was born into a noble family of royal knights, dames, and paladins; no Valkyries. Yet, at an early age, he had been sent away to Corvus Tower for his misuse of magic, and thus he hardly knew his family. He entered Amun's service and spent his mornings training and his evenings studying, yet his master demanded he broaden his mind and train rigorously with him every night.

When we left our homeland, I got a firsthand account of what my future was to hold. Then we went forward to the Bodhi Tree. There, we learned not only about class evolutions, divine trees, and the classes we all obsessed over. Yet, there was more to it than that. We- all of us except Amun- learned about ourselves. We explored the personalities that had been repressed by our upbringing as royals and imperial vassals and sought to bring them out; both in ourselves and each other. On the other hand, we learned of the lengths some would go to in order to prove themselves just.

Amun's encounter with Dende Morningstar served as the start of many races. A race to match the impossibly high standard Toril and the others developed after a decade of rigorous training. A race to develop Amun's technology. A race to recruit subordinates. A race to form subguilds. A race to build an empire.

A race to become a Valkyrie.

It was an honor unlike any other; the… reluctance… Princess Roheisa showed when discussing the divine notwithstanding. To be a Valkyrie was the pinnacle of the class, more so even than an agent of the Gods- a Holy Paladin. The role of the Valkyrie was twofold. We served a Deity associated with war by gathering the worthy souls of the dead, delivering them to their divine domains for some grand purpose. So too did we live by war, devoting our very souls to the destruction of our God's enemies.

Therein lay my duties. Not my Oath, however.

My Oath first dictated that I seek. Seek the souls worthy of being reborn as celestials in Eotrom. Seek the wicked souls who deserved abyssal damnation. Seek those souls worthy of becoming agents of my God, both Noctis Legionaries and Valkyrie.

My Oath then dictated that I see. See and bear witness to glorious actions of courage and sacrifice, if only so they may never be forgotten in the memoirs of mortals. See and look down on dishonorable acts of cowardice and selfishness, if only to use them as antithetical examples to the worthy. See and watch over the delivered, becoming their shepherd who leads them to glorious pastures.

My Oath then dictated that I Deliver. Deliver the souls of those who had come to an honorable end by enacting the burying rituals of their culture and guiding their souls to the worlds above. Deliver the damnable, dishonorable mortals a brutal death and send them to fester in their pit of wickedness. Deliver the most worthy but unproven mortals to their place of prominence in the Legio Noctis. Or, in my circle.

Therein was my oath. Tenets that saw my Master Class morph into something more… regal. Something prestigious.

So it was, my first task was to become familiar with the woven worlds of the Legion's founders. Doing so required the worlds to be woven in the first place, then I was required to deliver at least one soul to each of them, birthing 11 new celestials; each of which sprouted 11 new feathers on my wings; granting me the means to travel to and from those worlds with ease. In the meantime, my Doppelganger did as all the others had done and expanded on the 15 souls we recruited in Eotrom by recruiting and adopting the potential dames of Ligin. Trained as a Valkyrie, all of them. Educated in the ways of their other classes, all of them. Trained for their positions in my Legion, all of them. That, however, was not my second task. It was the third.

My second task was to do as the other founders had done. Weave a World. Not just one, however. I was also to weave a moon- a hall for my Valkyrie Courts. Thus when that was complete, I stepped past the third step and reached the fourth. In doing so, I was first given the means to birth Valkyries out of the worthiest souls I delivered. Then, I was granted the ability to bestow crowns unto my Valkyrie, bringing me to my next task.

[Prestige Paladin: Oath of the Valkyrien Empress, Step 4 - Monarchical Valkyries.]

[Before you receive the Imperial Valkyrie Helm, you must complete the ranks of your Valkyries by giving rise to and naming the Valkyrie Queens of your Eternal God's deities, and then having them adopt the values and cultures of their respective deity. (0/11)]

That task occupied much of my time. For, like any good leader, I used the power of delegation to accomplish it.

It started with my Executor, Shivali Hemera. In making her my first Valkyrie Queen, she was lifted in prominence to the point of being able to birth Valkyries as I could, and so she rebirthed her peers and sent them far and wide to Seek, See, and Deliver. Naturally, Shivali accomplished her task first. She sought out a small hamlet in the lands of the Mazi Council, wherein she saw a domestic dispute in an isolated homestead. She witnessed the young woman refuse to be subjected to abuse from her husband and raise her hand to defend herself; a rare act in such barbaric lands.

She fought valiantly, using her cunning and every improvised weapon within her reach to slay her husband, even after being subjected to mortal wounds. Yet even then, she did not despair. She stumbled to her porch to lean against the post and slump to the ground, wherein she died staring at the woven worlds above with a satisfactory smile. So she was when Shivali descended with a silent resolve to palm the cold chest of that courageous soul. In flowing into her, the soul was partially detached from her body, allowing her to watch Shivali bury her atop the nearby hill and see her soul fully separate from her body.

Infusing her magic into the Edindan Bifrost Feather enveloped the two in a celestial light that saw them ascend to the world of volcanoes and subterranean castles. With a deafening bang, they breached through the surface to the divine realm, where the lands were much more expansive and filled with flora and fauna tailored to thrive in the deadly environment in which I awaited.

There, on Princess Roheisa's world, the soul once again had dark brown skin and similarly colored eyes that gazed upon her strange environment with the wonder of a child. That was all she retained from her past life, however. Her name, her memories, her age; everything but the skills she developed in life and the visage she once had were buried with her body. That was what it meant to be delivered.

That was what it meant to die and be reborn a celestial of Eotrom.

My Executor set her on the fertile grounds of Edinda with reverence before saluting me, her bronze armor glistening amidst the reds, blacks, and greens of the background. The return of the gesture saw me keep my hands over my sternum long after hers fell, allowing the divine energy infused within me to condense and take shape into a beating heart of bronze blades; and in meeting the gaze of this delivered soul, I declared. "You, who have fought with tenacious courage against your oppressor and held fast in the face of death, have proven yourself worthy of joining the Valkyrie Court.

"Do you accept?"

Her face tightened at once. Her feet pulled themselves together, erecting her dignified frame as she did her best to salute me. "I do."

Kneeling before her, I pushed the Valkyrie Heart into her frame, invoking a wave of particulate matter and crimson energy to flow into her from the world around her. Her skin darkened as the moments passed, adopting the same black sheen as the obsidian around us while her eyes and hair burned red like the lava in the distance. Her back arched as she inhaled the first breath of her new lungs. Then she lurched forward as small obsidian arms sprouted from her shoulder blades and shuddered in delight as bladed feathers of steel formed small wings on her back.

Those were only the exterior changes, however. On the inside, her strength, endurance, speed, and durability were superior to mortals. Her soul was linked to both me and Edinda, permitting her to be reborn indefinitely, thus enabling her to fulfill her duty in perpetuity whilst using the powers of her Goddess, Imperator Roheisa Deapou. Yet, she was not mature. Her powers were superior, but not super, and her skills needed refinement. And so… "I hereby name you the Magmatic Valkyrie of Edinda, Elara Aghagan!"

My declaration once again saw the matter and energy of her world surge. Not into her, however, but into a singular point between her clasped hands, separating them as a glistening helm of crystal and steel formed before her burning eyes. With large, whiskered fins protruding from the cheeks and a fiery mane held in place by a crown, it appeared much like the salamander the Princess fought last year. So it was for the others in my court.

The two leaders of my Corps of monks, knights, paladins, and clerics were the first to deliver someone worthy. They sought her out in the Kasian Empire and saw her fight against a group of slavers until the glorious end. They witnessed those she told to flee escape to safety and exchange words with the local militia to acquire help. They descended, Neasa Urimo, to destroy the vile in the name of our God; Hange Juventas, to bury and take hold of the woman's soul. Together, they delivered.

To Pangaea, she was delivered, wherein the Valkyrie Heart saw her take on the energies of the world to make her brown skin richer, her hair burned with fire, and her eyes shone as blue as the ocean. Her dragonfly-like wings developed into dissimilar things of fire, earth, air, and water that shone with a divine radiance; and so it was, she was named the Omni-Elemental Valkyrie, Fauna Amurdad.

My Civil Chief, Helvia Uzun, was the next to Seek, See, and Deliver. In the wilds near the border of Vruria and Nevstan, she saw an old ranger defend the lands behind her from a dangerous magical beast. They witnessed her exchange deadly blows with the creature and fall, staring at it until it drew its last breath, wherein she allowed herself to fall into her eternal slumber. Only, her rest never came. Helvia delivered her to Naubuuru, wherein her frame of tan-brown skin, green eyes, and brown hair grew wings of obsidian and quartz covered in feathers of paper and carbon fibers; and so it was, she was named the Divine Bestial Valkyrie, Mohoana Claritia.

While many were delivered in the meantime, it was a full tenday and more before my Technical Archmage, Modron Safli, delivered the next Valkyrie. She sought her out in the Rharian Mountains, wherein she saw a grueling fight take place between some traveling merchants and a group of bandits. She witnessed the conclusion of the battle; a witch was cornered between the bandit's leader and a cliff. The valiant soul in question, a survivor hidden nearby, tackled the assailant off the cliff, pummeling them even as the mountain pummeled their falling bodies to paste.

After erecting a cairn over the brave soul's remains, she was delivered to Krakatol, wherein her rich, dark skin, gray eyes, and puffy afro took shape and became enhanced by the small wings of sparking feathers that came with her rebirth; and so it was, she was named the Sky Valkyrie, Steinunn Drist.

Dagr Caracalla, my Marshal, delivered the next Valkyrie at the end of Duotra. She sought her out in the heart of Kasia, wherein the age-old war gave rise to a courageous warrior who, even in old age, refused to remove herself from the battlefield. And so, Dagr saw that woman of legend reign supreme on the field of war, mowing meadows of her foes until they cowered in the wake of her blows. She showed no mercy, and yielded no ground, even at the cost of her limbs.

There, on the field on which that brave soul died, Dagr descended and lit afire her funeral pyre, then fought valiantly to defend her honor against anyone who dared try to taint the precession until there was naught of her but ashes; and after delivering those ashes to their final resting place, Dagr delivered the warrior's soul to Ruthica Prime. There, in the tempestuous world of the one I saw most dearly, her form was realized to have caramel-brown skin, black hair, and eyes with the same cobalt-blue vibrancy as her sparking phantasmal wings; and so it was, she was named the Tempest Valkyrie, Pelagia Nagdauf.

The militant leaders of my 3rd Corps sought the worthy in Brybs, wherein they saw a young soul run herself ragged by stealing food and medical supplies from the oppressive powers that controlled them. They witnessed her plans for blackmail fall through and watched her fight even in captivity, wherein she escaped from her cell to strike at the beast that plagued her from the inside. And so, when she succumbed to her wounds, Ione Tweplom and Bilqis Cheichei descended to those dreary lands to bring to justice the cowardly deeds she tried to expose and memorialize her by mummifying and sealing the valiant corpse within a mausoleum. She then was delivered to the world of dusk, Nue Dracule, wherein her skin absorbed the perpetual twilight to adopt a heavily tanned hue with black hair and gilded eyes. Her wings, made of black feathers speckled with gold, formed on the small of her back as opposed to her shoulder blades; and so it was, she was named the Twilight Valkyrie, Mathildis Fidiadi.

Those of my 2nd Corps of healers sought out the worthy in Redagh, wherein they saw the young and old alike defending the ancient island from pirates. While they aimed to poach, the pirates proceeded to take any and everything they could sell. Including lives.

While they watched, they witnessed a young druid-to-be awaken great power that saw the pirate scum sink to the ocean depths. Thus Spes Kotuut and Pia Saulia descended on those flooded shores of Redagh; one to heal those who were fought for and the other to send the temple of that brave soul drifting into the ocean blue. Delivered, she then was, to Oceania, wherein her pale, almost blue skin, kelp-like hair, and black eyes took form from the essence of the divine world. From her back sprouted large fin-like wings of coral and aluminum-bronze; and so it was, she was named the Sea Valkyrie, Meritides Proncruo.

My final Corps and support army sought the worthy in Bakewia with my Engineer, Theodosios Eupraxia. There, they witnessed a group of lethargic artificers slip when creating enchantment crystals and watched the building explode in solemn silence. For days, they worked, delivering souls to the realms above just as the brave soul they sought toiled below, seeking to contain the magical flames, floods, and other plagues resulting from the arcane explosion.

She saved far more lives than we delivered, working until mana fatigue forced her unconscious. Only to force herself away from the witches the moment she awoke. Such a tenacious battle saw her with a victory to be proud of as she took her final breath; only to take another when Theodosios palmed her chest. That brave soul then watched Daphne Aghah calm the extreme mana zone while Metis Ipro used her stroke of divinity to repair the damage done. Then, they ascended.

Preem was where she was delivered, wherein her hair thickened into thick, wire-like locks, her eyes grew black and bulbous with red pupils, and her skin grew gray like steel. Her wings developed into skeletal things like mechanical arms that used thrust and heat to lift her off the ground as opposed to beating wings; and so it was, she was named the Industrial Valkyrie, Udalia Bebin.

General Andromeda Kausalya sought out the worthy in Ligin, wherein she saw the courageous defend the weak throughout the dreary night. So great was their success that those they sought to protect knew not of the battle until the following day, wherein the locals endured the long trek to secure their water. When they arrived, they bore witness to a transformed environment. Terraced and quayed were the banks. Fountains and water troughs had been installed. And somewhere in the distance, Knights of the Undying Tempest could be seen.

She bore witness to all that transpired, but after the dead completed their work, General Andromeda buried the valiant soul in a tomb and memorialized her efforts with a statue, then delivered her. Nocturne was the place of her deliverance, wherein her skin manifested to boast a shale-gray hue with white hair and all-black eyes. Her wings seemed to grow from scaly arms, yet they boasted feathers of a dark metal as opposed to the leathery texture I imagined; and so it was, she was named the Gloom Valkyrie, Lachesis Thost.

At last, my Doctoral Witch sought out the worthy in Rhar, wherein the elves who thought so highly of themselves were seen as tyrants by the non-elven locals. They decided where the non-elven refuges would dwell in their forest and determined how much they could hunt, forage, and fell trees. Determined, the amount was, at the time of the settlements founding, taking no heed to humanity's rapid population growth. Thus, as the generations passed, the refugees fell deeper into poverty. Being so deep into the ancient forest left them with little choice. They could either suffer as cowards as so many had done; or rise up like the braze soul witnessed by Echidna Imoo.

While she was no hope against elves, she struck them where it hurt all the same, destroying swathes of their precious forests by poisoning the rivers downstream. While she was silenced, executed, and barbarically displayed as an example for all to see, her tale had been witnessed, her body had been recovered and buried with a blessed acorn in a safer place, and then she was delivered.

In time, the liberation of her people would come. In time, the judgment of Rhar would come. In the meantime, the valiant soul was delivered to Lolea, wherein she realized her pale skin, red eyes, and black hair. Her wings, while still underdeveloped, were large and marked with red eyes like that of a moth's; and so it was, she was named the Bloodmoon Valkyrie, Euphrosyne Shoubang.

While the last of them was delivered merely two weeks ago, they all spent years on their respective worlds, mastering the art of war with spear, shield, bow, and divine magic. And now, at the end of such a long journey, we were here, on Brunhilde, ready to begin a journey anew.

From high above the realm, we saw the worlds weave themselves into a line before their magic began to rain down. Thus we had little time to act. I turned to my young Valkyrie, now hardly younger than me, and met their eyes in turn as I gathered my divine mana. I looked upon their helms, tucked tightly under their arms, to visualize crowns, coronets, and diadems for the menagerie of masks. Then I began to state their names in order.

"Pelagia Nagdauf." With the eagle-like half-helm.

"Mohoana Claritia." Boasting a helm like that of a crow.

"Udalia Bebin." Clutching a faceless helm of angular lines.

"Elara Aghagan." Whose helm boasted whiskered fins.

"Shivali Hemera." With a baroque helm like mine.

"Fauna Amurdad." Holding a bug-like helm.

"Euphrosyne Shoubang." Cradling a moth-like helm.

"Mathildis Fidiadi." And her owl-like helm.

"Meritides Proncruo." Whose helm appeared like a sea shell.

"Steinunn Drist." Carrying her beaked helm.

"Lachesis Thost." Grasping onto her draconian helm.

"With these crowns, I name you Valkyrie Queens. Prime Celestials of Eotrom. Deliverers of the Noctis Legions. Mothers of new Valkyries, dedicated to the Gods of Eotrom. Dawn these crowns with reverence and serve with tenacious courage, my Queens, and go. Seek. See. Deliver." I told them, gripping my spear tightly to raise it high, chanting. "Only the worthy!"

"We seek!"

Their echoing chant saw them raise their Valkyrie Crowns high and don them proudly, bringing about a flash of energy that saw them mature as celestial beings. The superior abilities that were once augmented by their armor became one with them, as did their armor itself, growing their wings to their full size and awakening within them their own unique divine abilities. Then came the wake of our world.

Like the others, it poised itself above Crater Lake and let loose its gilded energy. We found the comfort of our world released from our feet, now suspended above the Bodhi Peninsula, where we could see our next task as clearly as the worlds above.

Everywhere we looked, we saw suffering; we saw death. It came from the diamond-dense mana, the thunderous storms, the emergence of magical or divine beasts, and the rise of the machines; from volcanic eruptions, intense mana zones and their evolutions; lands lifted into the heavens by the silver light and pits opened to the depths by the gilded darkness. The seas themselves howled. The sky itself sang. Gloom hissed in the background, harmonizing with the Legions' praise as it thickened on the horizon.

Our work was only beginning.