[In the streets of Gerabellum, Warhammer walks through the Town Square, past
the slaver's cages.]
WH: To quote Freya from the beginning of the game, "Fate can be a cruel
mistress."
*
Destiny, What Art Thou?
A Valkyrie Profile fanfic
Based on the Playstation game made by Enix and Tri-Ace
Written by TWHammer, teknosw@hotmail.com
Note: Some of the events referred to in this fic are from the official manga
books published in Japan. So, there will be some minor discrepancies in the
story when compared to the game. I'll explain at the end.
*
High above the grounds of Midgar, the clouds parted as a human shaped
figure flew to the grounds outside of the large town of Gerabellum. Upon
first sight, it would appear to be a woman clad in dark blue armor, a white
billowing ankle length skirt, and feathered helm. To most, this would
appear to have been an unusual sight, but for those who knew better, this
was the Battle Maiden, Valkyrie.
The large wings that helped her glide slowly to the ground dissipated as
her foot touched the soft soil in the middle of a grove of trees. The winds
of death had called her to the town just north of her location. It was the
voices of those who would soon be slain, which drew her to this town.
Those voices also gave her pause as her armor changed into a heavy cloth
dress, long sleeved shirt, and thick wool vest and her helmet vanished into
thin air. From what she could hear, it was a man's voice. The voice had
suggested that much time had passed since he had felt true joy, yet was not
at all resigned to despair or misery.
It was not long before she had entered the town and could not help but
wonder how people could still live in such a dreary town. One could not
turn around without beholding the drab color of stone. The roads were
stone. The walls were stone. The houses were made of stone. Even if some
of the people were not made of it, their actions suggested they would have
been suited for stone.
In the middle of all this stone which passed for a city, there was a single
noble soul which she would place at her side and send to Valhalla for the
sake of winning Ragnarok against the Vanir. Yet, from the other Einherejar
she had found, finding a soul with faith, humility, and virtue was a truly
hard thing indeed.
Passing through the Town Square, Lenneth noticed several large and empty
cages and their black clad owners. Though she knew none of the slavers, she
could not help but feel a slight bit of animosity for those who made a
living off of selling people. Yet, she felt a bit of confusion at the anger
she felt. She had never seen them before and had no real personal reason to
do them harm. She let them be and continued to where the emanations became
stronger.
*
Walking down the streets of Gerabellum, Belenus Von Williams found the day
beginning to grow dreary and dank. Mother Nature appeared to be in a rather
foul humor today. The wind, although slight, was still cold enough to chill
anyone improperly equipped.
Behind him was what most considered to be his personal slave, but such was
hardly so. Asaka Ichijo, a Yamato woman of about twenty-five years, dressed
in a similar fashion of her master, followed obediently.
It was one of those rare days when his mood and the weather were actually
in harmony. The man was on his way to the central square to 'purchase' a
slave from the traders who rounded up the children of parents who had no
choice but to sell them. Or people of foreign lands foolish enough to let
their guard down. He required that Asaka accompany him, because he could
not speak the language of the Yamato should he purchase one of their people.
Asaka had voiced her objections to going to the slaver's pen. The memories
of being there once was bad enough, but to return and see other innocents
being sold and traded like pieces of furniture was beyond her capacity of
pain. In an effort to stay away, she had attempted to take them away from
it by taking interest in a flower she had taken from the side of the road.
That flower, along with the grass, which grew alongside it, was one of the
few things that had any sign of life in the city.
Belenus had deduced her discomfort and told her that her picking a flower
was very little, if not at all, different than choosing a slave. It was
destiny, he said. Once more, he kindly implored Asaka to accompany him.
She finally agreed and followed him.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Lenneth spotted them and watched Belenus
from a distance. From her unique ability of hearing the past and future,
she began to hear the story of the one who would eventually become her
Einherejar.
Belenus was born into one of the wealthier families in the city. Sadly,
his memories of his mother were scattered and foggy at best. A plague had
come and utterly destroyed Annabelle Von William's health in his third year.
Try as he might, Jonathan Von William found himself unable to take care of
his young son. As a result, he had hired Maria Brayen as a handmaid to
raise the young master.
Belenus had grown hardly knowing the man his father was. Though he was
able to find in his late mother's journals the type of man she had married,
it only brought sorrow to his heart to see the cantankerous and stingy old
man his father had become. It was like his father had left and a complete
stranger took his place.
Through the years, there was little to no contention between Belenus and
his father. However, that was soon to end as Belenus began to train himself
in the ways of a swordsman at the age of fourteen. At a young age, he had
found his ability to wield a sword came next to natural and threw himself in
study of the sword. Reading through his mother's journals, he discovered
that she too was quite handy with the sword before marrying his father and
henceforth found his ability to come naturally. His skills grew in leaps and
bounds. Within a matter of two and a half years, Belenus was known as the
best swordsman in all of Gerabellum.
His father, however, was against his choice and demanded he study the laws
of the country as a diplomat. Belenus refused, for swordsmanship had become
a new passion for him. The words between Belenus and his father only grew
hotter and more vicious as Belenus entered his eighteenth year. Until one
night, Belenus had chosen to take some money he had saved and travel,
abandoning his studies, his home, and least important of all, his family.
In his travels, he had discovered many different places that almost made
him envious of their simple lifestyles. Yet, he also saw the poverty that
was prevalent among the lower classes and felt the first pangs of guilt
about his position as a son of a diplomat. A month or so later, he met a
young man of eight years leaving the dreaded Valley of the Weeping Lilies.
The boy's face was literally covered in dried tears and in spite of his best
efforts, Belenus could not discover the reason for his new companion's
sorrow. All Lucian Voltaire did was repeat a single name, but the name
became lost within the depths of Belenus' memories.
For months, Belenus and Lucian traveled together, helping the boy regain
his sanity and hopefully move on. It was also where Lucian also showed
great potential for the sword and from his own experience, discovered
Lucian's nearly self-destructive excitement in the field of battle. Implore
as he would, Belenus found his young apprentice exceeding him in terms of
skill, but not in control.
It was also that same time that Belenus began to see that was becoming more
and more like his father. The fits of anger, the long silences between him
and Lucian, and the near draconian tone that his voice began to develop. It
also brought back of all the memories of kindness Maria had shown him. He
had tried to place his thought of anywhere except home, but it was no use.
In a sudden moment of inspiration, he felt the need to return. Lucian,
though confused as Belenus was, followed him back to the city.
It had turned out that another plague had overcome the city and his father
was stricken with it as well. Belenus, without thinking, had administered
an antidote he had received from a physician in his travels to save his
father's life. The medicine was readily available in the eastern countries,
but nearly nowhere to be found in the west. To Jonathan's surprise, Belenus
had chosen to save his life, in spite of all the heated and hateful words
they had exchanged. Belenus had admitted to Jonathan that father and son
was more alike than they dared let on. The young master was only nineteen
when his and Lucian's paths divulged.
From his knowledge of making the antidote, Belenus was heralded as a hero
on the city for the many lives he had saved. Even the lives of his father's
political opponents found themselves awestruck at the selflessness of
Belenus Von William. With Maria's help, Belenus and his father did what they
could to repair the emotional damage that had festered for nearly twenty
years, though it was a slow and painful process.
Two years later, the slave trade inside the city had reached an all time
high and many of the higher-class citizens were eager to possess their own
slave for whatever reason they wanted. From his travels, Belenus had
discovered, much to his horror, exactly how slaves were treated and did
everything in his power to stop it. Yet, the ruling class had made its
decision. It was not long, however, before Belenus would get an even closer
look of the trade he despised so.
The poor child was only eleven years old when the slavers had found
her and brought her back to town. Maria took pity on the child and purchased
her, much to Lord Von Williams' dismay. However, she had appealed to his
more human side and allowed her to stay and became a close friend to
Belenus. He was a young man of twenty-one at the time.
With the passage of time, Asaka had become less of a slave and more
like a friend to the young master. From his experience on the road, Belenus
had treated Asaka more fairly and justly than anyone else she had met. Some
of his colleges, however, did not share the same sentiment. Most of, if not
all, the Yamato in Gerabellum were slaves and were treated as such.
When she had turned sixteen, Belenus had offered her freedom. She could
continue to live as a servant, earn a salary, and pay her own way or she
could leave and return to her people. Much to Belenus' surprise, she chose
to stay and be his handmaid after Maria had passed away the year before.
Within the following years Crell Monferaigne had begun to declared war on
several of its neighbors. Jonathan was called as a negotiator to help stem
the flow of soldiers coming from the north, but alas, he was to be one of
the first casualties. Yet, some people believe that it was a miracle that a
tornado came along and blew countless Weeping Lilies into the massive strike
force sent to conquer the other cities. The soldiers never got up and
perished where they slept.
Though the war was short, the scars left upon Belenus were almost more than
he could bear. After so long, after trying so hard, all his efforts to heal
the scars of the past were in vain. To many, seeing a strong man of
twenty-five weep as he did would more likely than not bring nothing but
ridicule. However, Belenus was beyond caring. He had lost his father, who
had become one of the most important people Belenus knew. The evening when
he heard the news, Asaka had held him the same way he remembered Maria and
his mother holding him. It was through Asaka's care of him that brought him
out of his depression.
Though not much had changed with the passage of time, they had still
remained as true friends as a brother and sister could be. Yet, such a
friendship nearly turned sour when he announced his plans to marry Ellen
Melrose. The reason being Ellen's attitude was rather cold hearted when it
came to foreigners, which was not much different than most in town.
However, with Belenus' insistence, all had become well for a time.
The peace in their household did not last for long. For the following
nine years, Lady Ellen miscarried every child she and Belenus attempted to
have. It was no use and the home, which once held warmth and comfort to
those who would enter, only found it to be cold and bitterly silent.
Later, doctors had discovered that Ellen's blood had a disease in it
which not only made her barren, but began to wear away at her health. In
spite of all this, Belenus had done his best to remain a faithful husband,
though he and Ellen lost all communication with each other.
It was not until a month ago, that her weakened state had finally become
too much for her body to keep up with. The sky had turned dark and the rain
beat mercilessly upon Belenus and Asaka as they buried Ellen. Though Asaka
feared that Belenus would break down like the time before, she was saddened
even more that he turned even more inward than before. He would come out of
his reprieves often to do what was necessary. To her subsequent relief, he
started to act more and more alive, but time was starting to catch up with
him.
"Fifteen years..." he muttered to himself. He ran a hand on his face and
felt that time had not been kind to him. At age thirty-six, he was hardly a
weakling by the standards of warriors, but he was not the land traveling
adventurer that the famous Kashell Unmeir was.
"Lord Belenus... are you well?" Asaka asked him, noticing his hesitation.
Coming out of his reprieve, he nodded and continued onward. The Valkyrie
with the silver hair continued to listen in beneath the confines of his
body, to the swirling confusion of thought beneath.
Destiny. What was it? If anyone could truly define what its life changing
power was. Was it destiny that placed Asaka into his care? Was it destiny
that his parents were to die in such horrid manners? That his wife was
stricken with diseases that no medicine could cure and Maria unable to
withstand the vicious jaws of time?
He took one last look at the flower that he had placed on her ear, giving
her the same innocent appearance she had when they first met. Was it that
flower's destiny to be picked, like hers was be to be picked from her home?
In all honesty, Belenus did not know.
*
To his mild disappointment, the slavers had no one to offer today. And it
looked like it would remain that way for a while. The new war Crell
Monferaigne had waged made the slave trade all the much more difficult to
deal with. Asaka was pleased, yet not overly so. If Belenus did purchase
any slaves, they would be treated well. Unlike her, the rest would be
consigned to a fate worse than death.
It appeared that nothing could be done. After speaking with the man in
charge, Belenus started on his way home, with Asaka following close behind.
Lenneth, upon seeing them leave, felt the winds of death come closer and
closer. One of them was going to die very soon. The only questions were
how and when. She broke her gaze from the noble and the Yamato girl to see
a man in a black cloak leave the square. As a goddess, she could feel the
souls of anyone she came into contact with, but she could only feel a void
with that man.
'The undead.' Lenneth said to no one.
*
Evening came quickly, and for some it was far too quickly. Belenus had
found sleep to be impossible at the moment, but tried nonetheless. However,
looking at his window, he discovered that the moon was giving his room an
eerie glow to it. In addition, he started to feel very cold, even beneath
the covers of his bed.
Something was wrong. He emerged from his covers to see a small light
floating around his door. Already, Belenus felt the dread rise in his blood
as he reached for the sword by his bed. Unsheathing the weapon, he charged
and swung, only to see the spirit dodge his blade as easily as a bird
escaping the grasp of a child.
Seeing the futility of the situation, he started back upon seeing the
spirit closing in. In all his years, he had never faced off against a
spirit. Only beasts and bandits felt the edge of his blade, never ghosts.
He was about to give up all hope of survival when a shining light came
through the light of the window and slashed the spirit in half. The light
then grew and changed in shape, revealing to Belenus that it was the Battle
Maiden.
Lenneth turned to the awestruck Belenus and said direly, "The girl. She's
in danger." No sooner had the words left the Valkyrie's lips, Belenus heard
Asaka scream in fright. Not wasting another moment, Belenus dashed from the
room to the servant's quarters.
Lenneth only sighed at his hurry. It was far too late for him to do
anything. Yet, she had more important work to do. Without another thought
she flew out the window and to the bottom floor, where the Undead was and
Belenus would be.
"Asaka!" Belenus screamed, kicking open the door to the Yamato woman's
room.
All he found was his servant collapsing to the floor, lifelessly and the
beast that dared kill an innocent woman. In a black cloak, the vampire
looked from the lifeless Asaka to Belenus and smirked, revealing his sharp
teeth.
"Good of you to come. You just saved me the trouble to hunting you down
too." The man with red hair said, right before Belenus raised his sword
high to chop him in half. However, the vampire's speed and strength was
much greater than Belenus'. So, the vampire knocked the sword away and
grabbed the Gerabellum noble by the neck.
"You know, I actually feel kind of sorry for you." The vampire said,
raising Belenus higher. "Do you have any idea just how much Ellen hated
your little Yamato wench? So much that she wanted you dead too."
Belenus' eye widened at the pronouncement. "You... lie!" he said, trying to
keep conscious.
The vampire shook his head and continued with mock sympathy, "She thought
you were having an affair with that little waif, and so she summoned me to
kill her and you." His grin only grew wider as a chuckle began to form.
"Yet, the sad thing is that you never would have touched the Yamato girl,
but, I must do as my summoner asks. And the best part is, the price she
paid was her own life. I do not mind telling you, human, that you were most
certainly rooked."
The grip on Belenus' neck tightened more, until bones were about to crack.
At that rate, Belenus' neck would have snapped had it not been for an
omnipresent voice booming, "Desist! Defiler of Souls!"
The grip on Belenus' neck loosed and the noble coughed viscously as he
rolled away. From his position on the ground, Belenus beheld the Valkyrie
once more, but this time, she was not alone. Behind her, were a young woman
that bore a striking resemblance to the princess of Artolia and a rather
large man with an even larger sword.
The vampire looked at the trio with disgust and hissed, "And just who does
Odin's lapdog think she is, interfering in Lord Brahms' business?"
"Brahms?" The large swordsman said.
"Brahms, the king of the Undead and enemy of all that lives. With
abominations such as this one here, he causes chaos and misery among the
children of men." The Valkyrie said, drawing her sword.
"Heh." The larger man growled happily, brandishing his massive weapon, "So
that's our enemy, huh? Sounds good."
The vampire scowled before snarling, "I'll make sure that Brahms devours
your wretched souls whole!" With that, he charged and a battle between the
vampire and the Valkyrie and her agents began.
"Burn like the piece of trash you are!" The female Einherejar screamed
before sending a pair of lance shaped flames at the vampire. Though the
blast had hit their mark, it also succeeded in enraging the vampire even
more so. In seconds, the girl found herself flung to the wall before
Valkyrie or her large companion could stop the vampire from doing so.
With his sword in his hand again, Belenus tried to push himself to help,
but found more questions forming in his head.
"Why? Why can't I gather the courage to do more than just watch?"
Though the Valkyrie and her warriors had the vampire outnumbered, the
latter seemed to have gained the upper hand as he summed several ghouls to
send Valkyrie into the wall.
Belenus looked to the lifeless Asaka and recalled the vampire's cutting
words. The only explanation that he could come up with was destiny. But
was it destiny that drove Ellen to insanity? To lead Ellen to try and kill
Asaka and himself when no wrong had been done unto her? Was that what
destiny was?!
Even with the larger Einherejar's size and strength, he found himself
struggling to keep his balance as the vampire mercilessly struck him down.
If seeing all this death and misery was what destiny was...
"I will not accept it!" Belenus screamed before charging straight at the
vampire. With the larger Einherejar out of the way, the vampire brought his
arm back to strike Belenus down. Seeing the arm raise, Belenus swung early,
purposely missing, using the momentum of the swing to turn around, switch
the grip in his hands so that the blade pointed downward, sped up his turn,
and with all his strength, thrust the blade into the vampire's neck.
"Burn in hell, blasphemer." Belenus growled with an anger and rage he had
not felt in years.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Valkyrie jumping into the air,
allowing a pair of magnificent crystal wings to appear. From those wings,
sparks of light emerged until they formed a large spear in her hand. Giving
the female Einherejar a nod, she brought her hand back, and with all the
force of the Goddess of Fate, screamed, "Nibelung Valesti!"
At that same instant, the female that accompanied Valkyrie dashed forward,
gathered Belenus in her arms, and leaped to the side just before the giant
spear utterly destroyed the vampire.
The sword Belenus used fell to the ground with a loud clunk as nothing of
the undead man remained. Valkyrie and her compatriots breathed heavily, for
this agent of the dead was much stronger than what they were used to. Their
victory was the last thing on Belenus' mind as he raced towards Asaka's
side, calling her by name in vain hope of reviving her.
Turning to the Valkyrie, he implored, "Please. I beg of you. Help her."
The noble's hopes were dashed as the Valkyrie shook her head, "I cannot.
It was her destiny to die like this. No one has been able to escape it."
To the Einherejar's surprise, Belenus screamed on the brink of tears, "Be
damned of you and your 'destiny'! She did nothing to deserve such a fate!"
Valkyrie remained stoic as she continued, "Destiny favors, nor spares any.
Nothing can change that truth."
Holding Asaka's dead body closer, Belenus sobbed quietly, "I loved her...
she deserved more than what life or destiny gave her."
Seeing Belenus hold the dead Yamato girl close suddenly made Valkyrie's
headache. All of a sudden, she saw a young man, cradling a girl in a field
of strange flowers. The boy was crying, and though the words she heard the
boy and Belenus spoke were different, the feeling was not. Then the pain
became stronger as Valkyrie held a hand to her head in hopes of suppressing
it.
"Hey, Valkyrie, you ok?" The larger man said.
The Battle Maiden nodded once before continuing. "Belenus." She stopped a
fraction of a second to consider what she was about to do. Yet, if it would
put his fears to rest, then all should be well. "In spite of what I said
earlier... there is a way to bring her back."
The noble quickly turned to her, revived hope glowing in his eyes.
"Soul Transfer... she will be revived and returned to the world of the
living... but you will take her place in turn." Seeing Belenus' hope almost
made her stop, but continued nonetheless. "In addition, you will be enlisted
by me. You will be a servant of the Gods as an Einherejar."
Belenus did not need any time to think. He stood up, walked past Valkyrie,
and within minutes returned with a letter and placed it upon Asaka's bed.
Kneeling beside Asaka, he said quietly, "I cannot help but feel that all
this is my fault," he then turned to the Battle Maiden and whispered, "I
accept your offer. I will do all in my power to assist the Gods in their
endeavor in return for Asaka's life..." He was about to say more, but held
his tongue.
Lenneth nodded once before allowing the wings, which had appeared earlier
to return. "For your sacrifice, the Gods shall protect her from harm, so
you have nothing to fear concerning her safety."
Belenus smiled one last time before whispering, "Thank you."
Spreading her wings and arms, Lenneth changed, "By the power that is
mine... let this single soul be taken in exchange for the one that was
lost." Within seconds, Belenus' eyes grew heavy and he slumped to the
floor.
"Now let us go."
*
Blinking, Asaka pushed herself up to see her master, lying dead on the
floor next to her. She tried to raise him, but found it useless. From the
corner of her eye, she saw the letter left on her bed. Curiosity driven,
she opened the envelope and read the letter within.
"Asaka;
By the time you read this, I will be long dead. I am writing this to you so
that you'll be left comfortably. I was planning on giving you my estate and
fortune when I retired, for I have no use of it. Yet, because of what has
happened, I cannot help but allow it to be given to you now. I chose, of my
own violition, to give my life so you could live. Do not mourn for me, for
I do not regret my choice. Do with my house and fortune as you see fit. Or
use it to help more Yamato slaves escape from the fate that you escaped
from. Go to some of the other nobles that are good friends of mine and show
them another letter I left on my bed, they will help. If you wish, you may
also sell my property and return to your people. It was too late for me to
acknowledge that I loved you while we both breathed. So now, I want you to
know that I always cared for you deeply, though I failed at showing you
adequately. Please Asaka... live... live the life that I regretted not
choosing... live the way you choose.
I love you;
Belenus Von William"
Tears began to well up in her eyes as she turned to see Belenus' inert body
and held the letter tightly as more followed, trying in vain to keep them at
bay.
From the realm of the unseen, Belenus bowed his head at seeing Asaka weep.
"Forgive me, Asaka... Ellen... I did my best for you both and I gladly damn
myself had I done any less."
*
In the room that once belonged to Ellen Von William, Lenneth opened the top
drawer to see what exactly drew the vampire to this house in the first
place. A small clay slab with a pentagram and several unknown runes lay on
top of the sheets. In addition, the stains on the slabs were ones of blood.
"So, the woman spilt her own blood so she could shed the blood of another."
The though of the unjust accusation and sequential deaths caused her to
clench her fist, utterly destroying the clay slab.
"But why? Why did she do such a horrid thing?" Her thought turned to the
vision she saw upon seeing Belenus and Asaka. "What was that I saw? A
memory?" More recent memories brought back her first encounter with the
Necromancer, Lezard Valeth.
When she was about to collect her second Einherejar, Arngrim Sayers, she had
met the spy Lombert and the man who had assisted in his evil works. The
Necromancer simply watched as she and Arngrim meted out justice against the
traitor, only to create a horrid monster that had entangled them all after
falling in a rune circle.
During that time, Lezard had not only declared his perverted love for her,
but also had the unmitigated gall of removing the Nibelung Ring. The loss
of the ring was the beginning of all the visions and headaches.
The pain she could deal with, but the thing that hurt her most was the
confusion she felt every time she saw those visions.
What did they mean?
Unknown to her, two pairs of suspicious eyes watched Lenneth warily from a
distant location.
"Is the security working normally?"
"Yes it is. She will never know the truth."
"And if she does find out the truth?"
"No worries. She will be negated and a more capable one will take her
place."
"Good. As cruel as it sounds, our victory rides upon her ignorant
obedience."
THE END
[Outside of Gerabellum, WH walks through the forest.]
WH: I'll have you know that I was listening to Samuel Barber's Adagio for
Strings in woodwind, brass, choral, and organ when I wrote this. And it
should be taken into account that Valkyrie Profile's atmosphere is not
really a happy one... just like ours.
I could have chosen any other characters for focus on, but I chose Belenus
for a few strange reasons. I've always liked the type of heroes who can
give their lives for the sake of another. And anyone that would give his or
her life in the place of another has got to be a pretty dang good guy.
A small gripe: In the Japanese Anthologies and 4 Koma books I've collected
about VP, they've always listed Belenus as having a Lolita Complex... that's
sick. Also, considering the fact that Belenus and Asaka weren't that far
apart age wise, when they first met and Belenus is supposed to be 36... it
just doesn't add up! Heck! Even that brat Jalenda looks younger than Asaka,
so what are they griping about?! But enough of this.
I've also included the battle scene that took place in the manga published
by Enix in Japan and added a few things myself. After all, is not fanfiction
a source of creative license? Though it was a short fight, I hoped my fight
scenes were believable enough.
Destiny is quite an odd thing, if I do say so myself. It's hard to truly
define and even harder to figure out... so my answer is this: Hope for the
best, but expect the worst.
Let us not forget: C&C is ALWAYS appreciated.
Valkyrie Profile and everything affiliated with it belongs to Enix and
Tri-Ace.
I receive no monetary gain from this fic, so don't bother finding a reason
to sue me.
Now, I am off to write more. Take care, all ya in fanfic land.
[WH falls over a tree root and into a bush, which was right by a river and
floats downstream.]