Valkyrie In The Making - Proscenium

They walked until midday, by then they could see the gates to the village. It seemed small, but safe. Briggita thought she may be able to sleep indoors that evening.

The village was surrounded by a rickety wood fence, it looked as if it had been hurriedly built long ago. But the homes looked sturdy, mostly built from stone, at least the farms and stables that laid outside of the city were.

Nobody seemed to notice her passing by, perhaps they were used to stangers.

A small door in the large front gate was open and they entered. It was the only village Briggita had ever seen, so it seemed cramped and large. The stone and wood built homes and taverns and stores seemed to be built on top of each other. The dirt road was busting with wagons, merchants selling their wares and villagers walking to and fro. She was at a loss as to what to do. Muninn, who was now perched on her shoulder seemed to be at a similar loss.

She just kept walking, hoping an idea of what to do would come to her. One thing her parents had not taught her about was village life and what to do in well-populated areas. They lived a very secluded life, her father only went to town once a year to sell his furs and leathers, but she was never allowed to come.

"No place for a girl, or anyone else. It's unnatural to live so close to other people. Those villagers couldn't survive one day in the woods, they are not real men and women." Her father would say.

So, as a result, she was more lost here than she was out in the wilderness. Soon they came to the village square. It was just a small open area in front of a huge wooden structure that Briggita guessed was the main building in the village, her father had told her that every village had one of these large structures.

To her left she saw a small group of people gathered together, watching something. She decided to see what these people had found so interesting. The closer she came to the group the more restless Muninn became, he fidgeted, as if nervous.

"It's all right, I just want to see what it is that they find so interesting." She said as she petted his head, trying to calm him.

What she saw once she got close enough was a man on a small, hastily constructed platform, speaking beautiful words, words she had never heard before. His voice was clear and smooth, as soothing as the sounds of rushing water or the cooing of a dove. He was a thin, but obviously muscular man. His face was angular, every line was clear and pronounced, so that his every expression could be seen by even someone yards away. He had a mop of short, curly black hair that sat on top of his head and fell into his eyes, and his eyes were the bluest blue she had ever seen. They twinkled with...something, joy, perhaps? No, she didn't think it was joy, but something deeper than that, whatever it was she was instantly entranced.