Val Greaves

"'How about I rush over there, faster than any of your mind-controlled minions can react, then bury my flail six inches into your snowy-white cranium? Oh, and then strangle Baldy with his own guts. How does that sound?'""—Val insulting Azura and Jorrin Kal"Valentina "Val" Greaves, a character in "The Crown &amp; The Flame" series, is a mercenary. It is unknown which of The Five Kingdoms she is originally from. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 3.

Appearance
Val is a well-built woman with long auburn hair which she keeps tied up in a pony tail. Usually, she wears a red armor woven out of leather over a gray long-sleeved shirt. Her flail is holstered in one front side of her brown belt, with a brown pouch attached in the other.

Personality
Val is a tough, bold but loyal woman. She hates her real name "Valentina", to the point where she threatened injury or death to anyone who mentions that name or reveals it to others. She is devoted above all to Kenna, and in Book 2, swore undying loyalty to her with a blood compact. She even acts as a spy, albeit with much protest, in order to help her liberate Lykos from the Nevrakis family as well as provide intel about Hex's new war machines, but only if it is as Kenna's order.

As Whitlock, Annelyse, Leon, and Raydan have mentioned in one way or another, Val lacks grace, manners, and etiquette, preferring to behave as a full-blooded mercenary, being wild and free; she took no time hesitating in giving Azura the finger. She is quite aware of these traits and will viciously confront anyone who teases her with them, such as when she threatened to punch Whitlock with his own metal hands when the latter brought up her table manners.

Val dislikes reading, prefers to talk with her fists, and hates "acting like Annelyse". She curses even more than Leon, and speaks her mind bluntly to anyone, be it friend or enemy. According to her, Val's way of showing affection is trash-talking. She is also a heavy drinker, happily taking any opportunity to drink, such as during Annelyse's party, and after Kenna's conquest of Lykos; she was even willing to split an entire barrel of very potent ale with Leon before the latter's death.

Val is also known in the group for her greed, displayed when she betted against Kenna in her duel with Severin, calling it "easy money"; jesting about melting the Aurelian statues and selling them; attempting to steal the gear in the Technocrats' labyrinth; and pocketing some of Whitlock's trinkets. This explains her working for Aurelia and her skills in jewelry appraisal.

She also gives amusing nicknames to the people around her, calling Raydan "Fancy Man", Rowan Thorn "Tree Woman", and Azura "She-Who-Craps-Lightning". This extends to Ducitoran soldiers, whom she describes by how their helmets look, e.g. Birdface and Mr. Fancy.

Severin Cale
Severin Cale leads the mercenary camp where Kenna meets Val and Gabriel. She seems to be a leader among her peers, and is considered one of their best fighters.

Raydan Lykel
Val shares a love-hate relationship with Raydan, who frequently teases her in return receiving death threats. However, it is shown that Val really cares about him, as she was obviously shook by his apparent betrayal to Azura.

Will Jackson
Val and Will aren't the best of friends, but they get along. Val usually teases him because of his background as a trained knight, and says that he secretly wants to grovel to others.

Kenna Rys
Val and Kenna's relationship starts off with Val unknowingly insulting Kenna and her mother, the late Queen Adriana. Once Kenna defeats Severin, Val begins to respect her and agrees to fight alongside her. She eventually becomes one of her most devoted allies and will defend Kenna immediately, through words or her fists. In fact, she tried to kill Dom in blind rage after he accidentally burnt Kenna and had to be restrained, as well as pledging herself to her after the incident, in blood. Kenna even trusts Val with her life, and can pursue Val as a love interest if the player chooses.

Trivia

 * Originally, Val was supposed to be a male mercenary in Kenna's army named "Mercenary", but the writers later changed their minds.
 * The player gets a chance to play as her in Book 2 and Book 3.
 * Val was once crowned queen of her village's midsummer fair, but she later sold the crown. This is mentioned in the asset progress screen.
 * Val seemingly has a soft spot for animals, as she sympathized with the baby kraken in Hex's laboratory, and seemed very excited to have a "talking puppy" should Kenna adopt the wolf pup in Book 3.