Hello! If you've survived my writing so far, thank you for your time reading Valkyrie's Shadow. This is my first work posted on FFN and, because I am either blind, stupid, insane or all of the above, I could not find any way to nest author notes, images or blurby side things like maps, character sheets or profiles in my chapter posts...so I ended up deciding to just dump what I could into an appendix at the end of this act. Not being able to place them in the appropriate points in the story made for some strangely short chapters, but hopefully what I'm allowed to add here will still contribute to the flavour of the narrative.
Class Highlight: Noble Fighter
From the brash tales of bawdy musicians in seedy taverns to the sweeping epics of eloquent minstrels in the highest imperial courts, the annals of history sing the tales of storied nobles who wield both pen and sword with equal proficiency. They rule wisely from their high courts and lead grand armies on the field; performing legendary acts of valour in service of king and country.
The Noble Fighter is a living manifestation of this history, frequently appearing as nations rise and necessity drives their leaders to become directly involved in the security and direction of its nascent territories. As a variant of the Fighter class, they forego the general freedom that is usually associated with a Fighter's non-combat skillset, instead specializing in the disciplines that revolve around leadership and administration while retaining the Fighter class' personal martial prowess.
As feudal societies achieve a greater measure of security, stability and prosperity, Noble Fighters become increasingly scarce. However, while aristocrats of pure civilian focus become more prolific as nations develop to maturity, Noble Fighters may still be found where duty or necessity demands their presence. Scions with no realistic prospect of inheritance may seek a martial path, aspiring to serve as a member of a noble retinue, professional army or knightly order while retaining their aristocratic ties. Regions with strong military traditions or fiefs wherein noble houses are expected to guard the realm against foreign threats will also tend to produce Noble Fighters from within the ranks of their ruling elite.
Contrary to the flowery image painted by romantic tales, Noble Fighters are not necessarily benevolent. They are exemplars of militant aristocracy, striving to uphold a well-rounded portfolio of effective governance, leadership and martial proficiency expressed through actions that may range throughout the moral spectrum.
A/N: As the Sorcerous Kingdom is founded with the annexation of E-Rantel, starting with a Human character seemed the best choice. I am not sure how relatable she is to the reader, though, considering she is born and bred as a noble. Her POV explores the foundational elements of Valkyrie's Shadow, after which other MCs start to appear to expand the scope of the setting. Her house and territory are far removed both physically and politically from the usual affairs of Re-Estize, and her education under her parents and a priest of the Six Great Gods has led to her developing a rather stoic and austere mindset. When she is introduced, she is stiff and formal, with a severely limited worldview. Readers will get to follow her as she tries to figure things out and apply them to her own situation, and grow as a person.
Ludmila starts out as a level 1 Noble Fighter (Genius). The Genius modifier in Overlord indicates aptitude in a class and its skillset rather than any sort of intellectual prowess, though characters might appear to be quite smart as long as something falls within their range of expertise.
Class Highlight: Acolyte
As Civilization spreads its light over lands wrested from the wilds and tamed by the hands of its people, powerful institutions rise to serve as pillars of support for their societies. Their many agents, spread throughout the lands, will occasionally discover promising individuals who answer a call beyond that of their everyday lives and these men and women are encouraged to enter their hallowed halls. The most esteemed of orders may even receive regular applicants who petition to become candidates to walk the sacred ways.
Just as Paladin Orders induct Squires to join their ranks, the Acolyte is the path of the supplicant who seeks a life of the cloth in civilized realms. From students attending the halls of shining colleges in vast theocracies, to humble disciples aiding the local village priest, Acolytes explore what it is to be an agent of divinity – to be a representative of the gods; whether it is in service to the downtrodden, or in pitched combat against enemies of the faith. This career path may be entirely academic, buried in the practical realities of front line civilian work, or even life-threatening in the case of those who rise through service in tumultuous battlefronts. However, they are generally encouraged to experience the full breadth of what being in service to the faith entails throughout their tenure.
Through this sampling of life as a member of the clergy, Acolytes develop an understanding of their personal calling and how it fits within the complicated framework of their theology, working to become increasingly proficient in the paths that answer it. Upon ordainment, the Acolyte will have a well defined vision of their own future, and their levels are converted into the appropriate Cleric-related job classes that lead to its fulfilment.
A/N: Sophia, Bohdan's disciple, is an Acolyte. This is a class not mentioned in canon, but follows along the same lines as the Squire class. Something makes certain characters very 'clean' in their character sheets, despite all the other things they run around doing, and proto-classes related to formal institutions are the answer in Valkyrie's Shadow.
Character Dossier: Lorel Dale Reis
Lorel Dale Reis, or Bohdan – as he was known locally to the inhabitants of Warden's Vale – was born in the southern cities of the Slane Theocracy 119 years before the founding of the Sorcerous Kingdom. The second son of a common warehouse clerk and a seamstress, he was brought up in a meagre household, destined to follow in his father's footsteps as an apprentice.
His fate was changed when a shift occurred in the policies of the Slane Theocracy as its leadership began preparations for the next wave of Players: directing their various institutions to expand recruitment, education and training. Bohdan was swept up as his generation was readied for what may have come. Joining the ranks of the priesthood as an Acolyte, Lorel experienced a curriculum that not only included the Theocracy's stringent training, but also studied events related to Player waves – notably those of the Eight Greed Kings, the Thirteen Heroes and the Six Great Gods of the Slane Theocracy. The vast majority of this generation never realized what they were being prepared for.
Though his tenure as an Acolyte was meant to gird him for those coming times, he ultimately found his calling elsewhere. To the north, the call of a burgeoning Human civilization pulled the young Lorel away from his homeland to answer the growing need for priests and missionaries to both aid the growth of Human realms and spread the faith of the Six Great Gods. At the age of 18, in his search for a place to serve humanity, he encountered Andrei Zahradnik. The intrepid Ranger captured both his admiration and respect, and Lorel would settle in Warden's Vale, serving the Barony faithfully as its priest for four generations.
After receiving news of the Re-Estize's defeat at the Battle of Katze Plains, Bohdan headed the flight of the residents of Warden's Vale, meaning to lead them to the safety of the Slane Theocracy. He, along with those who followed him, vanished some time later in the wilderness while en route to their destination.
A/N: This guy led a long life with a sad end. I was yelled at by one of my beta readers for hooking him up with Narberal. He is a major influence in Ludmila's formative years, so one could say that her story is not possible without his contributions.
Notes
On PoVs: Someone asked me to point out that unlike Overlord, which freely flips back and forth from third person omniscient to third person limited at the whims of Maruyama, Valkyrie's Shadow is written almost entirely in third person limited. This means that, aside from certain passages that are written to set initial scenes, the readers are experiencing things from the characters' direct perspectives. Characters can come to the wrong conclusions; they do not read minds or know everything automatically. There are also characters that perceive things differently due to enhanced senses(or lack of senses) and racial abilities. Certain characters, like Pandora's Actor, can read minds, which add to his own perspective and decision making processes. Comparing what the various characters think about events versus the reader's understanding of canon is part of the fun of this fic.
On Auto-translate: This is also fun one to play around with(at least for me), and unexpectedly works as a tool that adds to character voice rather than detracting from it. The auto-translation 'feature' in the New World will only translate concepts that one already understands into the languages that each individual knows. The NPCs, whose starting native language is Japanese, will hear things like honorifics, accents and verbal tics that exist in Japanese. This works the same way for New Worlders, in their own respective languages. For instance, Shalltear Bloodfallen's Yoshiwara accent is not registered by Ludmila, but the other NPCs do hear it. By the same token, when a Vampire Bride addresses Shalltear as 'Shalltear-sama', Ludmila will hear 'Lady Shalltear'. Unless she learns Japanese. The presence or absence of accents and specific concepts indicates that characters are speaking a language that the current POV understands to a point where auto-translation is not required. This comes into play quite frequently in Valkyrie's Shadow, and certain characters have learned some neat tricks with their knowledge of how it works. The rough intricacies of auto-translation in the NW were explored briefly in the Evileye Side Story released some years ago.
On sources: Some readers may have already realized this with the description of the Death Knights and Bohdan's reference to the events of the Evileye Side Story. The priority for setting information generally goes LN Canon and the EE Alt timeline, WN Canon, depictions from the Anime/Manga adaptations and games, as well as Pre-Nazarick stuff mentioned in Mass for the Dead. There is also a great deal of borrowing going on from the stuff that Maruyama also borrows from for Overlord, so you may sometimes see things from various TRPGs, MMOs and other games appear where they fit appropriately into the setting.
Relation to Canon Timeline: Act 1, Chapter 1 begins a few days after the battle of Katze Plains in Volume 9. Pandora's Actor's encounter with Ludmila, followed by her arrival in E-Rantel, all happen within a week of the Sorcerous Kingdom's official founding, approximately one month before the start of Volume 10.
Hamsuke Where?: Someone noted that Hamsuke is not with Momon and Nabe! Knowing her lazy nature, she is probably sleeping somewhere; cuddling with Death Knight-kun. The state of E-Rantel is such that Hamsuke is actually too slow to keep up with how many places Darkness has to go and constantly visit to make sure that the Humans don't run for the border. She will show up later at some point.
Other Stuff
I have a small, but crazy group of beta readers, who I would like to thank here.
Then there is Ziggy's Autism, which as helped me out quite a great deal. Maybe ziggy himself as well, but I am uncertain where Ziggy's Autism ends and ziggy begins.
Act 2 of Birthright will continue with Ludmila's story. Shalltear may or may not survive all of the infodumps thrown at her.
Once again, thank you for reading!