Had an idea come to mind during breakfast. One possibility would be that our characters each receive an invitation to compete in an elite competition that would determine who could enter the Valkyrie league ultimately. Over the course of the competition, each of our characters would be recognized for their raw talent and abilities and would each then be extended an invitation to come and train for the next level of competition in the Valkyrie league. That way, we could each be creative in describing a battle with an NPC of our choice for the first arc of the story instead of being thrust immediately into battles with one another.