I recently posted all about Valda over on Threads, so it felt natural to post about her first on the new blog, as well! I’ve expanded upon what I posted there, and as I’ve been working on the novel recently a few details have also shifted slightly, so even if you read my thread, please consider reading through this post as well for the most up-to-date details :)
Valda Cortova is the main character, Lorena’s, older half-sister. At the time the story is set, she is 32 — 12 years older than Lorena. Valda and her twin brother, Coroza, were born on the Mother Ship Evening Fury, and were five years old when it crash landed on Illyraem.
I’ve changed her nose recently — she and Lorena now have the same nose, and it’s also their mother, Cugga Cortova’s, nose. They also both have birthmarks on their face by their left eye. Valda’s sharp cheekbones and pointed chin are features from her father, Alaric Cortova. Alaric was the captain of an exploratory vessel that was on a mission away from the Mother Ship, seeking a livable planet to land on, during her mother’s third trimester. His ship, the Evening Light, never reported back from their mission, and so Valda and Coroza never knew their father.
Even though they were five, and pretty big, Cugga “baby-wore” the twins after the Crash, one on her back and one on her front, to escape the crash site and get to safety. Valda admires her mother immensely, and thinks of her as a strong woman who always does what is necessary, even when it is not easy. When her mother remarried an Illyraen Terran, she was mostly supportive. When she found out her mother was pregnant, however, she went through a period of hating her mother and feeling immense jealousy toward the unborn baby. When Lorena came premature and nearly died, however, it rattled her, and she had been fiercely protective of her sister ever since.
Humans who are “fresh off the spacecraft” (also called Spacewalkers) do not have the ability the manipulate Manna into Magycke, only humans who were born on Illyraem. However, Valda has a secret: the longer she’s lived on Illyraem, the more she has developed a passive Magyckal ability the Naibu (native alien people) call Ancestral Sight/Memory. The picture I drew with the purple smoke in her eyes? She’s having a vision. Valda’s Ancestral Abilities usually present while she’s sleeping — taking the form of a dream, in which one or more of her ancestors visits her in her sleep to deliver a message, sometimes cryptic, sometimes clear, sometimes benign, sometimes a warning. This at least makes it easier for her to hide her abilities, as Terrans (humans) who have Magyckal proclivity are usually seized by the Hykareh (ruling class of Naibu, the indigenous alien people) and never seen again. She has never told anyone, even those within her own family, about her abilities. When Lorena’s Magycke manifested, and proved so unruly, she felt it sealed her fate to never reveal her secret, as the strain on her family would simply be too much. Valda went along with her mother and stepfather’s plan to keep Lorena’s abilities hidden. They knew the Hykareh would take her away otherwise, and she didn’t want to lose her sister.
Valda has an on-again/off-again relationship with a minor character named Paulannis. She does love him, and has always felt guilty about him because she doesn’t enjoy being intimate with him, and the love she feels isn’t romantic, and she doesn’t know why. He’s familiar, and head over heels for her, so she keeps going back, compounding her guilt each time. I initially wrote her as a “closet lesbian” and had Alex from the DC Multiverse TV Series Supergirl in mind — a woman who never actually realized she was a lesbian, and had an epiphany when she met someone absolutely wonderful. The more I write Valda and Paulannis (and Valda’s actual future love interest), however, the more I think Valda may actually be bi, but with an unexplored preference for women.
Lorena’s powers were successfully hidden for two years. She had become friendly with some of the similar-aged Naibu in the community — despite her parents’ unease with these relationships — and one of them, Bellona, the half-human niece of their taan’s Daar (a taan is a very small village; a Daar is a low-ranking member of the aristocracy), found out her uncle and betrothed her to a Kijin (one of the Naibu subspecies) Lord in the neighboring Kaandem of Mernia, even though she was only eleven. Valda agreed to help Lorena sneak Bellona out of Harborage to escape this fate, but unfortunately they were caught by the Daar’s guards. Lorena lost control of her powers trying to protect them, and the next thing Valda knew, she was waking up three months later in the town doctor’s home, with a massive scar on her face which impacts her vision in her left eye. They told her Lorena had almost killed her. She insisted it was an accident. Both Lorena and her stepfather were missing, and Valda knew it was likely her stepfather had taken Lorena somewhere to hide. For the first time ever, she meditated hard and used her Ancestral Sight on purpose, and was guided to the Afryndarian Wetlands. She hunted for her sister for weeks, then by happenstance rescued a small group of travelers from bandits. The “travelers” turned out to be the youngest son of the Kaanix (essentially the queen) and his guards.
As his guard had failed to protect him and Valda had rescued him, he asked Valda to accompany him to the capital and be his personal bodyguard. She wanted to refuse, but the Daar was happy to be rid of her, and threatened to make life miserable for her mother and brother if she caused an incident with the capital, so she went. She and Nathaan Qin, her charge, have actually grown quite close, though he does have at least ONE secret he keeps from her.
- before Valda was a bodyguard, she made a living as a blacksmith… with Paulannis and his father, Philraard.
- Lorena was originally inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest of pale hands wearing iron rings shaped to look like runes. Valda came to be a character as the blacksmithing older sister who made those rings for her — though the rings never actually made it into the story.
- In the very first version of the story, Valda’s name was Maarta, and she never got past being jealous of her mother’s new baby, and was not at all close with Lorena. The more I wrote for them and as the story developed, however, I made their relationship far less antagonistic and swapped Valda and Coroza’s relationship roles with regards to Lorena.
- “She got her scar defending a member of the aristocracy from a mage.” This rumor was judiciously spread by the kaanix herself to justify allowing her youngest son a Terran, a Spacewalker Terran, of all things, bodyguard. It is technically true — Valda shielded Bellona from Lorena’s outburst — but Valda dislikes this rumor because she feels it is misleading, and villainizes Lorena.
- “She has turned down lucrative offers to remain in her current post.” The Hykareh love this rumor, and use it to champion Valda as an example all Terrans should aspire to of loyalty and good servitude to their overlords. In truth, Valda has been offered exactly one high-paying alternative to her current employment, as a prize fighter for the kaanix. Her position allows her to refuse the kaanix without retaliation, and she has done so on multiple occasions. Valda is a defender, not an aggressor, and has no interest in fighting for the sake of fighting.
- “She abandoned her family and her homeland in a time of strife.” This rumor is commonly spread in Terran circles. Her proximity to the Hykareh royal family makes other humans wary of her, and how she got there is proof enough to many communities that she is not a safe, or a good, person. Valda knows she really didn’t have a choice, and does her best not to let it bother her. But it does.
- “Any and all sexual or romantic advances towards her are met with prudish indifference.” This rumor can most commonly be heard within the barracks in the capital city. In truth, Valda has never found sex particularly enjoyable, and therefore isn’t interested in casually engaging in it. As for romance, as far as she’s concerned, she’s in the capital to do a job, not find love…
- “She’s so loyal to the Kaanix’s youngest son because she and he are secretly lovers.” This may be the most popular rumor about Valda in the Northern Reaches — how scandalous! And romantic! But scandalous! — and it is also patently false. She and Nathaan have never. Neither of them is mildly sexually or romantically interested in the other. She has worked for him just over three years at the point of the story beginning, and while they have an easy friendship, neither of them feel anything beyond the platonic.
- Sewing, crochet, and knitting
- Being direct/when others are direct with her
- Spending time with her family
- Frills, lace, ribbons, and ornate designs, especially on/for clothing
- Sleeping (nightmares/ancestral dreams)
- Unstructured time/not having anything to do
- Beating around the bush/sugar-coating
- Plain, rough, monotone clothing
- Sword and dagger dual-wield
Both my first illustration of Valda and her character sheet are currently on display as part of my solo exhibition at the Corridor Gallery in the Putnam Municipal Complex! I love that people are getting to see her, and I got to gush about her a bit at the opening, which was one of my favorite parts of the day. Do you guys want to know anything else about Valda? I’d be happy to answer any questions 🥰
