Valin

''The following refers to Prince Valin. For the king of the Arkan Creed, see King Valin.''

Prince Valin is the Prince of The Arkan Creed, the dominant mage clan in Koheigh up until the events of the takeover of Hellfire. Valin is a skilled mage, and an old friend of Griffon. He is the only tertiary protagonist in the story.

Valin wields the staff Lumncela.

Background
Valin lived with The Arkan Creed in the outlying regions around Silverwind, as an ally to the forces there. However, upon hearing of the realm created by Griffon, Valin left to meet his longtime friend, and the rest of The Arkan Creed decided to follow him. Here, he would participate a little in the battle involving Griffon, Aurius, a4d9, and Cute against a small force wishing to overthrow Griffon, dealing the fatal blow to the final member of the rebel force. After this, the remaining members of The Arkan Creed reached Koheigh, and began to build settlements in the area. Due to the abundance of resources, the mages were able to set up two settlements quickly - Ironwood and Castle Lumien, which were ruled by Prince Valin, and his father the king, respectively. The mages made sure to avoid associating with outsiders, aside from The Defender Alliance in order to avoid making enemies unnecessarily. Unfortunately, this would backfire, and Hellfire would lay siege to Ironwood not long after it's settlement, killing the entire militia, aside from Valin, who would buy the citizens enough time to gather on a ship, before joining them and setting sail for Castle Lumien. Here, at the Castle, Prince Valin would tell his father of Hellfire's annexation of Ironwood, as Hellfire arrived to lay siege to Castle Lumien. During the short siege, King Valin would tell Prince Valin to gather as many mages as he could, and retreat, to which Prince Valin complied. After 2 days of sailing on a small raft, Valin and the remnants of the Arkan Creed would reach the Defender Alliance, as Hellfire announced his official annexation of Griffon's Realm. The Arkan Creed and Defender Alliance would join forces, retreating to The Defender Stronghold to prepare for the epic battle that would await them. During the battle, Valin would command the remaining mages of the Arkan Creed from the guard tower in the Stronghold, until a catapult would launch a boulder at the tower. Valin would barely jump off in time, but the remaining members of the Arkan Creed would not, and thus perished. Valin then went to assist the remaining members of The Defender Alliance on the ground, helping them win the battle. After the battle, however, once Griffon had been revived by Jesska, Valin would decide to leave on his own, in search of another mage clan to join. At this point, he is the last surviving member of the Arkan Creed.

Strengths/Weaknesses
Valin, being a mage, is much more adept academically than he is physically. Although he is capable of fighting on the ground with the spearhead on his staff, he is considerably stronger casting spells at a distance. While Valin's physical strength is about average, his agility and speed are more paltry, despite being clothed in mage robes.

In comparison to other mages in The Arkan Creed, Valin equals The Archdruid in power, and is second only to his father, King Valin. His tactic is greater than any other in The Arkan Creed, with the exception of King Valin, making Prince Valin the most suitable leader for the remnants of the mages after King Valin's death. Unfortunately, this would not matter, as the rest of the Arkan Creed would fall during the Siege of The Defender Stronghold, and thus would leave Valin to find another group of mages to join.

Ethics
Valin is the most representative of neutral human ethics - caring equally about himself and those close to him as the rest of human society. Depending on the stakes, Valin is equally likely to make a selfish decision as he is to make a selfless one, though if his friends are in danger, he will most often make the decision that protects them rather than protecting those whom he is not acquainted with. During the Siege of The Defender Stronghold, Valin would retreat with the remnants of The Arkan Creed and The Defender Alliance to The Defender Stronghold in order to best preserve their chances at life. However, upon learning that Griffon planned to fight against Hellfire's Army, Valin decided to offer the support of The Arkan Creed as well, knowing that if The Defender Alliance would fall against Hellfire, that the rest of the world would be doomed.