Seven Seals: The Legend of Bālthazar Book One Proof of Valor Novel Guide

Plot points/Scenes

• PROLOGUE
• INTRODUCTION

An INTRODUCTION written by Odindis Skorgrím, Balthazar's granddaughter, informs the reader that "The Legend of Balthazar" is a retelling of the life and times of her legendary grandfather Balthazar Skyburner. Her version of the tale was adapted from The Balthazaragon, a historical text composed by The Academy of Tarus Abid meant to counter "A Ballad of Lavender Roses", a poem written by Skald Sōbizel Summers, a woman who was present for some of Balthazar's adventures, but greatly dramatized the events and made up what she could. The Legend of Balthazar is composed of both the previous text but also possesses secondary and primary sources to paint a full picture of the course of events as best she could.

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Odindis is composing this text to preserve the great acts of heroism and selflessness her grandfather performed in an age where Billy and his adventures are called into question concerning the lasting consequences they had on Yggdrasil. The Legend of Balthazar aims to paint a full picture of the knight and provide justification for what he did and why he did it. The act of composing this text is more difficult than others as Balthazar's escapades were numerous and stretched from Midgard to Dragonstone, and back again to even the Kingdom of the Dead. 

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As such, even the record keeping of Camelot is lacking in minor and key details about his adventures. And even if it were not, Camelot is not to be taken without a grain of salt as they have a history of portraying their Knights in a more favorable light than a historically accurate one. First-hand accounts of interactions with Balthazar from smugglers, politicians, and Lords exist but are questionable as their view of him was framed by the situation. The Balthazaragon contains extensive historical evidence, much of which Odindis will incorporate into her text, but is perhaps too critical of Balthazar in an attempt to contrast Summers. This brings Odindis back to "A Ballad of Lavender Roses", which is very interesting as a source. Summers was quoted as once saying "This is the legend of Balthazar, not the documentary of Balthazar.", a notion she seemed to live up to in her works. The Ballad is a poem and is 9999+ Passags long, written in her native tongue and translated countless times over. It is esoteric and employs frequent use of metaphors when it really should not and sections are just songs.

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With so much noise in the circulation, Odindis needs to cut through it all. When composing the text, Odindis has sacrificed some elements of drama for clarity and purposefully left certain elements unclear, not for the sake of drama, but to maintain the integrity of "A Ballad of Lavender Roses" as it is still one of the foremost authorities on what actually happened. In this way, some sections of the text are inter-spliced with commentary from Odindis, interviews with key figures, and secondary and primary sources unaltered for the reader's own interpretation.

• ACT 1
• INTERMISSION 1
• ACT 2
• INTERMISSION 2
• ACT 3
• INTERMISSION 3
• ACT 4
• INTERMISSION 4
• ACT 5
• EPILOGUE