Valarie

"*Sins may be forgiven. Crimes require punishment.*"
—Valarie's tenet.

**Valarie**, **daughter of Bonifer** was a mercenary leader and a Paladin of the Zakarum. Valarie lead the Faithful Fifty, an extremest faction of the Eternal Companions, and supplied their benefactors with fresh recruits and able bodied warriors. Valarie was also a moderately successful tournament fighter across the Western Nations, rivaling against legendary fighters such as Lady Melara Redpool. In her final years, Valarie rose to the rank of Paladin within the Zakarum Order and died during the Battle of Orange Coast. In the Western Nations, she was known as **Valarie the Valorous**.

## History

Valarie is the second child of Bonifer, a mercenary leader hailed from Westmarch. An unholy, ill-tempered man, Bonifer bathed his daughter in combat training from a young age, and eventually she became his page and later a squire. Valarie's mother died during child birth and her older brother fell ill to disease when she was 3 years of age. Though she never received a proper education, Valarie learned to read and write when her father's band of mercenaries required to receive or delivere messages to neighboring cities, thus prompting her to pick up a quill and parchment to oblige. In the years that follow Valarie continued her combat training; by the time she succeeded past novice combat her father had achieved much success in his mercenary endeavors.

Whenever Valarie wasn't squiring for her father or assisting his allies with messages, she was attending tournaments as an avid attendee. She picked up her first lance at 14 years of age in a Torrance tournament and entered as a mystery knight. She was unmounted in her first joust, nearly breaking her ribs if not for her shield block. The experience gave her a thrill, prompting her to train upon horseback in the years following. Among her other hobbies, Valarie was headstrong at artisan work and horseback riding. Her level of commitment to learning astounded her father so much that he eventually enrolled her into a school but she dropped out due to constantly bullying other children.

While attending a tournament at a Westmarch town in 1250 A.K. Valarie was nearly killed after she insulted an unfavorable Knight and he retaliated with violence. Her father intervened to defend his daughter against the Knight's assault, and Valarie ended up stabbing the Knight in the back as he fought Bonifer and killing him. She was detained by the city guard and thrown in jail for slaying the Knight but ultimately was released since the Knight had been in a drunken rage. As punishment, she and her father were banished from the town and forbidden from ever returning.

### ***Heavenly Dream***

Circa 1251 A.K. while traveling with her father and lodging at an inn, Valarie received a 'divine dream' that she was a champion of Heaven. The dream was so vivid and real that upon awakening she fell into a duration of euphoria. She kept the dream a secret in the years that followed, telling no one nor letting it encourage her to attend church. Yet, unbeknownst to her, the dream was an unintentional intervention caused by a Paladin of Zakarum staying in the room next to hers, caused by his holy aura during a meditation process.

Calling it her 'vision', the dream raised many questions about Heaven and Hell, a subject that she did not openly discuss with her peers. Instead, she perceived the vision as a way to abstract the moralities of mankind. Her attitude toward fighting was profoundly changed to the point where she did not fear death. Valarie's vision would later prompt her to seek philosophical advice in hopes of understanding the meaning behind her dream, such as open debates with Zakarum followers. Her father took notice of her daughter's shift in demeanor, alas named her his second-in-command so that she may take on the role of a warrior.

### ***Wolf Without Teeth***

   By the time she was 23 years of age, Valarie had lead her father's mercenary group on nearly 50 missions throughout the Western Nations, mainly within Torrance. Among her accomplishments were eliminating a group of highwayman, leading convoys for wealthy lords, and slaying a Khazra chieftain in single combat. Her father sought to find a proper suitor so that she may raise a family, but every time she denied them. Her wish to remain celibate stemmed from her desire to one day become a champion of the Light. With enough gold and silver earned over the years Valarie began preparing a departure from her father's shadow as a mercneary leader. By 1256, Valarie had earned enough profit to uproot her life and move to the Westmarch Capital much to her father's dismay.

Starting anew within the capital, Valarie was initially overburdened with by the Westmarch denizens. She quickly learned that Westmarch was no place for female warriors, yet her fierce demeanor proved to be an oddity that sparked interest by both the commoners and noblemen. Presenting herself as a mercenary, Valarie began offering her services but had a hard time getting locals to take her skills seriously, alas she was eventually hired by a noblemen as a bodyguard. She was able to prove her worth in combat by entering tournaments and surprising the attendees with her combat prowess. Slowly over time her work as a bodyguard and her achievements at tournaments provided her with enough income to stay comfortable within the capital.

Valarie began taking her first steps at joining the Zakarum religion after she moved to Westmarch. By attending church and befriending the priest, Valarie's reputation grew in positives ways; her service to the church, such as community service, allowed her to stay close to the church leaders. However, due to her gender, Valarie faced a difficult decision if she were to ascend into the Zakarum church: relieve her duty and blade as a warrior. Unable to abandoned her service to the Zakarum, Valarie reluctantly swore never again to use a blade or weapon for combat. The priests of the Zakarum bared witness to her vows and took her in as a sister to live service and obedience to the Zakarum Monastery within the capitol.

Valarie's service to the Zakarum hierarchy slowly began to turn bitter when she learned she could not be risen to the rank of Paladin within the Hand of Zakarum, let alone a faith militant. Seeking to find a way to wield a blade for the Light, she requested an audience before the priesthood and proclaimed she would prove useful in the field as a warrior rather than in a chapel as a community leader. The priesthood once again denied her from combat, stating she belonged within the community as a nurturer. When her bitterness turned to resentment, the priesthood sent her away from the capital to assist the Father Alger in the small town Far Valley. There, she began providing worship along with Father Alger to the citizens.

### ***Lance Rivals***

Valarie lived in the town of Far Valley for nearly a year, her assistance to Father Alger proving helpful to the Zakarum followers who sought guidance. However, her heart's desire to wield a blade ached and she soon began sneaking out of town once a week to spectate tournaments in the region. While spectating she would dress as a commoner to avoid detection from Zakarum members. Over the years she practiced her horseback riding and use of a lance in the forest near the outskirts of Far Valley.

During the spring of 1261, Valarie took a leave of absence from Far Valley to travel westward to attend the Grand Tournament and created an alibi that she would be visiting Bramwell to meet with Zakarum worshipers. In truth Valarie wished to enter the Grand Tournament in Dunwich, Torrance. With money she had saved onto from her years of mercenary work, she purchased a new and glamorous suit of armor for the tournament. She climbed her way to the top of the open bracket by defeating all her opponents, except for one other female challenger: Lady Melara Redpool. Both women went round-to-round in the lance tournament and Valarie was narrowly defeated in a best of five challenge. After Valarie was unmounted in the final round and defeated by Lady Melara, the two exchanged kind words and sought to face each other again in future tournaments; following that day the two women became well known fighters through out the Western Nations and their rivalry, albeit friendly, began to quickly surpass other competitors in the following tournaments they attended.

## Character and Appearance

Valarie was a woman bound by valor, devoted to strength and courage. However, she was known to have little regard for honor, such as her constant abandonment to laws and conformity by taking justice in her own hands. Believing in her own set of principles, Valarie was viewed by her peers in a grey light that some claim to be acts of vigilantism. According to Executor Ikeda, a close friend, she is stubborn, short-tempered, and willful.