Cordially Invited

Hamlin Wilks was born in a minor noble family where he trained in the ways of knighthood since childhood. His parents had the hope that he would be picked up by a master from one of the greater nobles and bring prestige to their ailing family. Through a combination of his own efforts, his family's connections and Goddess granted luck he was accepted as a squire by a renowned knight and later on became a fully realized knight himself.

After his knighthood Hamlin went on to serve as a guard for the head of the noble house of Brimsey and unlike his peers took a more proactive approach to his duties. While most of his peers other scions of noble houses became complacent Hamlin continued to train and study whilst under Lord Brimsey's servitude keeping his mind and body sharp. Ultimately it led him to not only become very proficient with a sword but also as well read as any scholar.

He also kept his ear to the ground in regards to politics and because of this Hamlin has a keen understanding of Wenia's political landscape making him aware of the true nature of the various noble factions, the dynamics of power in Wenia and their machinations towards the country, the people and especially each other.

Through a combination of his hard work, intelligence, guile and piety he managed to impress and endear himself to his master Lord Brimsey. So when word was sent from Everguard that reached the Lord Brimsey in the capital Hamlin was chosen to lead a small squad to the backwater town to investigate the validity of the claims and invite (read: bring back) the Valkyrie to the capital city. Hamlin was well aware that this kind of opportunity meant as much to his Lord as it did for him.

Everguard was about as insignificant as a town could get in terms of location and viability for Wenia. It exists more as a source of tax funds than anything else. But because it is part of Lord Brimsey's domain there is a system in place for him to receive important information in a quick and timely manner. And in this case it was only a matter of time before word of the Valkyrie's appearance reached the other nobles but with Everguard being so out of the way Hamlin was reasonable sure his lord was the first to receive the information enabling him to act upon it on such short notice.

Presenting an actual Valkyrie before the King will be sure to raise his status and gain him favor just as Hamlin will gain favor for being the one to deliver the celestial warrior.

Hamlin had his doubts about the claims even after he read the report written by the militia Commander that was sent with the letter from Everguard's mayor. Elias was a name he vaguely remembered and a brief investigation turned up a knight of some renown that chose to retire in some out of the way town. As for the report itself it was clear, concise and professionally written but depicted a rather unbelievable tale of a Valkyrie battling a Demon.

Part of the reason for his disbelief was the fact that monsters weren't necessarily a problem in Wenia. Sure there were the occasional sightings of a few that make for nuisances but that was all that they were. For a one to appear and a Demon at that and stay within Wenia for years, Hamlin dreaded to think what that meant. The disbelief and denial only lasted until he actually arrived in Everguard when he heard the whispers from the guards, the testimonial from Commander Elias, the gossip from the commoners and the aftermath of where the battle took place.

This was real, this happened and Hamlin felt genuine dread at the implications.

Monster sightings have been taken more seriously in recent years stemming from the infamous incident wherein when one of the monster Overlord's daughters led a successful invasion against one of Holy Order's strongholds and turned it into a Demon Realm. Later on investigations into the incident would reveal several very concerning pieces of information that was directly or indirectly responsible for monster's success and aided in the theocracy's downfall. Most notable among these concerns were: the high monster sightings in the territory, disgruntlement amongst the general populace and negligence of the ruling council.

There were more however these three seemed to be main culprit behind why a theocracy that was considered at the time as one of the greatest strongholds of the Holy Order that was churning out a high rate of powerful Heroes was transformed into one of the darkest most depraved Demon Realms in the world within a shockingly short span of time. The whole incident highlighted the dangers of monsters and how they are not to be underestimated as well as the infallibility of the Holy Order whose negligence and gross incompetence resulted in one of the greatest tragedies in human history.

But this incident seemed to be a catalyst that saw the somewhat lax handling of monsters replaced with a zero tolerance purge policy. Even in Wenia where monster sightings were few and far between every monster sighting will be thoroughly investigated and the appropriate amount of lethal force would be authorized to stamp out the monster and any sympathizers with extreme prejudice.

Though it wasn't stated to be a priority Hamlin took it upon himself to investigate the incident. Unfortunately the Valkyrie had left before he arrived however at that point his mission took less precedence. With the incident fresh on everyone's mind and on everyone's lips it did not take long for Hamlin to get a somewhat accurate retelling of the events and found one common denominator in all of them, a boy named Jacob.

For some reason this boy found himself in the center of a conflict between a Demon and Valkyrie and Hamlin wanted to know why. He would not receive an answer from the boy but instead be brought before Commander Elias and the Valkyrie's companion Isobel. After confirming that he wasn't a traitor to humanity the priestess went on to reveal quite bit of information that was not mentioned in the commander's report.

For good reason too as Elias wasn't aware of them either.

The reason why some random boy was caught up in all this was because Jacob was the key. For reasons unknown to him the Demon was grooming the boy in order to form a contract with him. Hamlin knew the infernal species are able to form unholy contracts with humans however he failed to grasp the true meaning of such a thing. He especially didn't understand what was special about that boy in particular but whatever it is the Demon deemed it important enough that even following her defeat she sent her minions to kidnap him.

The Valkyrie chased after them leaving several instructions for the priestess to follow in case she doesn't return.

~O~

In the end Hamlin could only follow Isobel and hope that she meets with the Valkyrie. Despite the deep discussions they held and the plethora of information shared by the priestess Hamlin couldn't help but feel she was still holding back. He's had a few days of travel to get all his questions out and to her credit she has been very forthcoming. For instance Hamlin now has a clearer grasp of the dangers presented by monsters and that Demon in particular.

What questions she wasn't able to answer she gave plausible reasons that he neither could not deny nor had not context to refute without sounding irrational. The woman was an impeccable conversationalist and Hamlin had her pegged as a noble despite her denying his claim. Either she is lying or the Holy Order raised them different in Eristora which in all honesty wasn't very farfetched. There is a reason why the Holy Order is a major faction in Wenia politics and Isobel proved his point by how she navigated her way through their conversation as well as how she handled an incident with one of his subordinates.

Gunnar Hochberg was technically his subordinate however his family is both wealthier and more influential than Hamlin's own a fact he is not afraid to remind him of constantly. He and Hamlin don't see eye to eye because despite being from a lesser noble family Hamlin is his superior and it rankled Gunnar's ego to be taking orders from him. So the entitled little shit has taken every opportunity to undermine Hamlin's authority.

He does this through rather unsubtle and blatant attempts to one up him. As if his pathetic attempts were even worth Hamlin's attention but his latest attempt certainly did. See in his attempts to gain more information from Isobel the two have taken to having frequent talks. Somehow the men have gotten it in their heads that Hamlin was attempting to court her. It is a ridiculous concept but unfortunately in the capital amongst the court of some highborn noblemen they make sport of seducing priestesses, usually the young ones in training.

Hamlin did not care for that particular pass time and he didn't feel like having to explain to his subordinates that him conversing with the priestess wasn't anything beyond just that. He probably should have because Gunnar decided to try his hand at courting the woman. Hamlin recognized the attempts for what it was, the other men could recognize it for what it was and Isobel herself can recognize the attempt as well. Hamlin could have and would have shut down the attempt but for some reason he let it play out of morbid curiosity.

Isobel's response to the entitled scion's advances was to relate to him a story in a calm and placid manner. This particular story was apparently a hot topic amongst the ruling council of the Holy Order. See the power of a priestess is derived from their purity in the spiritual, mental and physical sense so the more 'pure' a priestess is then the more powerful they are. To nurture their purity the Order hosts these women in temples isolated from the rest of society.

It made for powerful priestesses however the flaw in their designs began to show in that these women were often naïve and curious. They began to be taken advantage of especially by men with no respect for the church. Measures were taken by the Holy Order to protect educate these maidens and among these measures was a law. Said law decreed that any man who 'sullies the virtues' of a priestess will be subject to punishment which include and is not limited to death and castration.

In her own words "to rob a priestess of her virtue was to rob humanity of a beacon of light to fight the darkness and such crimes are tantamount to treason against humanity and an insult to the Goddess."

And since she was the companion to a Valkyrie this punishment can be advocated and will likely be enforced even against a highborn. Hamlin did not know this, none of them did and after sharing this tidbit of information with a beatific and sharp smile on her face even someone like Gunnar could take a hint. The last leg of their journey was uneventful and they arrived in Freyberg with some amount of fanfare after all its not every day that a contingent of knights visit small towns.

While Hamlin went on to coordinate his men into the best inn in town Isobel left to find the Valkyrie. Hamlin prayed to the Goddess that she was here and for a while it seemed that his prayers went ignored however just when he began to worry she returned but not alone.

The woman to accompany Isobel immediately caught his attention as she certainly stuck out from the typical women he is used to seeing even Isobel. She was certainly one of if not the most beautiful women he has ever laid eyes on. Smooth olive brown skin, long silver grey hair tied into a ponytail and crystalline blue eyes that seem to stare into his soul. Yet beyond her alluring and exotic features the knight could almost see an aura surrounding her body.

'What is that?'

"Hamlin Wilks?"

The man was startled out of his trance by her voice. It was light yet commanding and projected both power and authority that almost compelled him to obey.

"Y-yes miss" he paused to swallow "I am Sir Hamlin Wilks."

"Isobel has briefed me on what has transpired in my absence" she gave him a once over and Hamlin could not help but stiffen under her scrutiny "we have much to discuss, come."

And with that she did an about pace and left with Isobel trailing behind her. It took a moment for the sudden realization to crash on top of Hamlin. It was so obvious he should have figured out a long time ago.

'She's the Valkyrie'

~O~

Hamlin felt a headache coming on. His earlier hypothesis of Isobel holding back information was true. But in her defense it was an order from the Valkyrie Sigrdrífa, an order that has now become void due to changes in circumstance.

"Originally I wanted to leave with Jacob to begin his training In Eristora and let the Order assist with handling things here" the Valkyrie informed "that is no longer a viable course of action."

It turns out that not only was Jacob an important pawn to the Demon but he was also important to the Goddess herself as not only was he deemed worthy to become a Hero but he was also given the privilege of being taught by a Valkyrie. It felt as if this entire conflict revolved around that boy however Hamlin had other priorities to deal with at the moment.

"How much damage can this single demon do to the integrity of the kingdom?"

He's heard all sorts of things about the monster that was driven off. Eveleena was not just any random Demon (though her being a Demon is worrying in itself) she was a Demonic noble from the infamous 'greater demonic house' Astaroth. Hamlin wasn't able to grasp the importance of such a claim and was thus ignorant to the true severity of the situation. The two ladies were swift to inform him and by the end Hamlin felt the icy clawed grip of dread take his heart.

To put it mildly the Astaroth are a family of high class Demons being led by an Arch-Demon one of the most powerful monsters in existence. They are royalty in their own right being in charge of a country with vassal states all across the Demon Realms, they command legions of tens of thousands of monsters and were directly and indirectly involved in some of the most well known historic tragedies in human history.

The fact that a member of such an infamous clan of Demons occupied Wenia for years made him shudder at the implications because if she was just interested in the boy then she would have taken him and thus be done with her business. This could only mean that something else made her stay and given their track record chances are they could be looking at the worst possible outcome.

"We need to alert the king immediately" Hamlin suggested once he got his shock under control.

"Do what you must however keep in mind the Demon and her servants had plenty of time to infiltrate your society and build foundations for their plot" the Valkyrie informed.

Hamlin felt his teeth grind "are you saying that it's already too late?"

"I am advising you to tread lightly with those you choose to trust. Monsters are very adept at coercing humans and Demons in particular make sport out of it. They use subtle magic, flowery words and promises of riches, power and pleasure to make minions out of the desperate, power hungry and greedy."

Hamlin flinched at the description "then that means anyone can be an agent of the Demon."

"Indeed" the Valkyrie agreed "however if she is half as clever as she is powerful then I doubt that Demon would spend her time enthralling random commoners."

"If her ultimate goal was to take over Wenia she would go after the ones in charge" Hamlin deduced.

"The ruling council, the royal family or nobles in general" Sigrdrífa listed "I found in my travels that it is the ones that already with power and authority that are susceptible to manipulations when the possibility of more is thrown their way."

He would like to make an argument defending humanity on that one but Hamlin has been too entrenched in politics not to agree with the Valkyrie's assessment.

"I understand" he conceded.

"I am glad you do. Isobel informed me that you were sent here by the local Lord to request for my presence."

Hamlin glanced at the priestess before nodding "yes, Lord Brimsey wanted to personally thank you for ridding his territory of the Demon by throwing a banquet."

"Very well then, I accept his most 'gracious' invitation" the Valkyrie scoffed.

"Then we shall leave as soon as my men rest and resupply."

"No, we shall move out at first light tomorrow" the Valkyrie countered.

"Pardon?"

"I was in the middle of training Jacob before this interruption. I intend to see it through."

Hamlin wanted to interject, wanted to implore that the safety of Wenia should matter more than cutting his training short however the steely look in her blue eyes caused him to reconsider.

"Alright then, we will leave tomorrow."

"Thank you for understanding."

~O~

The next day after a good night's rest they resupplied and the group of knights met up by the horse stables ready to depart. Isobel appeared alongside the Valkyrie still disguised as a human. This time the woman wore gleaming silver and gold armor looking every bit the warrior she was. As a matter of fact her standing alongside Isobel looked for all intents like a noblewoman being accompanied by her handmaiden. It took a moment for Hamlin to tear his eyes away from the striking visage of the two beautiful women to notice the new face.

Hamlin didn't really know what he was expecting when encountering 'Jacob' for the first time. The boy must obviously be special since he caught the attention of both a high class Demon and Valkyrie but he was left disappointed by what he was confronted with. A young man, a boy really, that was a bit tall and fit with sun kissed skin, dark hair and eyes. His posture was slumped and he dragged his feet seeming to slink behind the two women.

Jacob reminded him of a fresh recruit during their first week of training because he looked exhausted and sore. It made sense given the context and the Valkyrie's words the day before and in hindsight it was unfair of Hamlin to expect anything from the boy at this point. He certainly doesn't appear to be like someone worthy to be chosen as a hero taught by a Valkyrie and his men shared the same sentiment. After informing them of the Valkyrie's charge he is sure that much like himself that they were expecting…more.

Pleasantries were exchanged with the boy perking up from his exhausted state to introduce himself. As they all boarded their individual steeds it became clear that the boy was the odd one out. One of his men offered to rent a carriage however that idea was shot down by the Valkyrie.

"There is no need for that Jacob will be riding with me" the Valkyrie spoke while leading her steed towards the boy. It was much larger and muscular than the others a genuine warhorse.

The boy startled at her words and stared at her with hesitation "uh a-are you sure."

"Torren can bear the burden of five grown men if needs be."

The warhorse locked gazes with the boy who froze up for a moment before visibly settling down and meeting the horse's gaze. Eventually the horse snorted and lowered its head and the boy reached out to place his hand upon it. The Valkyrie looked pleased with this result and Hamlin could only shake his head. He'd just watched a hero-in-training get scrutinized by a (most likely) magical horse and apparently passed its test.

The Valkyrie for her part hopped atop the saddle in one smooth motion without the assistance from the stirrups. A gauntlet clad hand was grasped moments after it was held out and the boy was pulled atop the horse in front of the disguised Valkyrie. The horse saddle was able to hold both of them with only mild difficulty.

With that the party set out to the capital city of Wenia.

~To Be Continued~