𝙎𝙊𝙇𝘼𝙍 𝙀𝘾𝙇𝙄𝙋𝙎𝙀, ᵀᴴᴱ ᴹᴬᴺᴰᴬᴸᴼᴿᴵᴬᴺ

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙇𝘿𝙀𝙉 𝘼𝙂𝙀

Aurelia's capital city, Jinyu, was gleaming under the intense heat of the sun but its citizens continued on without fuss. Aurelian people had beautifully bronzed skin, kissed by their sun's rays, and could withstand the relentless heat beating down on them. But the Valkyries stuck out, even amongst their own people. The golden tattoos decorating their arms attracted attention wherever they travelled in the overcrowded city.

Shivani often found herself growing tired of the colour gold. So abundant was its influence, that she could even see gold when she shut her eyes. She couldn't escape from it, no matter where she went. Aurelia may have been beautiful but she had nothing to compare it to. The planet had practically exiled itself years ago, sealing its citizens away from the influence of other races and reducing the risk of thieves and murderers. If Aurelia wasn't so oblivious to the rest of the galaxy, they might've been more worried. While they had been content to stick to the way they had always done things, much of the galaxy had evolved its technology. Aurelia was ethereal but primitive.

Shivani's daydreams about other planets got her into trouble sometimes, but she couldn't help it. Of course not all planets were covered in gold, so what did they have instead? What colours were they? Were the people nice? Did they have great warriors like the Valkyries? Her list of questions were endless but the worst thing about it was she knew she would never get an answer.

"Ugh!" Shivani groaned as she was slammed onto the training mat. The wind was knocked out of her lungs and she winced with pain. That was gonna leave a horrific bruise.

"Zaia is our winner." Eos announced as the dark-skinned girl smirked down at Shivani. All the young trainees competed with each other to be the best. Praise and honour was all the reward they were given for their hard work so the students lapped up everything they could get.

Shivani rolled her eyes at Zaia's smug expression as she pushed herself to her feet. A quick but respectful bow of the head was all the satisfaction Shivani offered the other girl before she moved to stand with her mentor, Katali. The Valkyrie's face was impassive but Shivani could just tell that Katali was disappointed in her. Without a word, the older woman strided out of the exhibition courtyard, leaving Shivani to trail behind.

"You were distracted." Katali finally spoke as they travelled through the glistening hallways, her signature blue cloak flowing around her. "Again."

"Zaia beat me fair and square. She was the better warrior today." Shivani declared maturely, head held high as she fell into step with her mentor and mother figure.

Katali stopped abruptly and turned to face the girl. "She shouldn't have been able to beat you. You shouldn't have given her the opportunity. You are the stronger warrior by far. Zaia's back should've been on that mat before she could have a moment to think." At that, Shivani hung her head and Katali breathed out a sigh. She placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. "Something is bothering you, Vani. What is it?"

"It's nothing." Shivani dismissed, shuffling her feet from side to side and avoiding all eye contact.

Katali let a small smile creep onto her face as she lifted Shivani's chin into the air. "What have I always told you? Valkyrie warriors keep their heads up high." Shivani nodded at those words with a smile that matched her mentor's. "Now tell me what's going on in that intelligent brain of yours." The two continued walking with one of Katali's hand pressed reassuringly on Shivani's shoulder blades.