History Reborn - Chapter 1
History Reborn by Ka (MQ):

~Chapter 1~

Twenty years ago, while the evil witch Karla was in possession of the priestess Leylia's body, a child was conceived. The child's father was the Emperor Beld, who was at the time in the midst of war preparations and had taken Karla/Leylia out of careless whim. During the clash between Beld and King Fahn, the child, born early as a result of Karla's influence, had been hidden away somewhere on the outskirts of Marmo.

After the death of Beld, as well as the passing of Ashlom and the destruction of the dark wizard Wagnard, the island of Marmo became silent and dead. The child, older now, was intrigued by the lifeless land harbouring her. So, not much later, she was 'visited' by the supposedly dead Kardis. The Goddess of madness and destruction informed the child about Marmo's ancient and recent history, explaining to her the reason why she was alive...but more importantly, the reason why she had to remain that way.

Kardis went on to explain that, although her soul had perished a long time ago, her consciousness remained -- that was why she could 'converse' with the child. She added that the child was of great importance to her. Kardis explained that, with the child's help, she could twist Fate and claim all of Lodoss...

Intrigued by her past, and by her imminent future, the child accepted Kardis' consciousness/presence as a part of her own mind. Kardis, much like Karla in the way that she shared the body of another, guided the child in the rebuilding of the Empire of Marmo. The island was reborn bearing great resemblance to the way it had looked and operated while Beld sat on the throne; but, as Kardis sternly insisted, Beld's ways had been more than adequately suitable for the needs of the island.

Unfortunately for the child, she had not considered the depth of her involvement with Kardis until it was too late. Kardis' consciousness was taking its toll on the child's mind; the more Marmo's condition improved, the more the child's mental health decreased. The madness of Kardis greatly influenced the unsuspecting child, so much in fact, that Kardis was able to gain more control over the child's mind as a whole.

However, the child's own ambition and reasoning did not perish in the mental landslide.

With the island of Marmo back to its original state, and perhaps even a little better, a pressing matter had to be attended to, that is, before the Empire's citizens could begin to indulge in chaos and anarchy. That matter was to crown a new leader. To give the child what was rightfully hers by birthright -- the throne of Marmo -- Kardis had to find the Demon Sword, buried deep within the lower levels of Beld's ancient fortress.

And so the Goddess of madness and destruction sent the child, Ka, daughter of the dark Emperor Beld, to the intented location of the greatest prize yet...

***

Arwen's eyes widened at the sound of Marfa's words, "Oh my God!" She gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock.

"It is true, Arwen," The voice of Marfa echoed through the brightly-lit temple, "but no good will come of this if you give in to panic." She added wisely.

Arwen understood Marfa's advice, but she found herself unable to feel less than shaken. This woman Ka, that she knew only by name and had never actually seen, had found the Demon Sword, and along with that, the Holy Sword of Falis! Earlier, Arwen had been summoned by Marfa to perform a special task; she was to find the Holy Sword of Falis and weild it in battle against the Empress of Marmo, who, at the time, hadn't yet been officially crowned. But things changed, and now Arwen was in trouble.

Marfa had been disturbed by the uneasy presence of evil in the land and had just as soon pinpointed its source as being Kardis. At first, the Goddess of creation had cast the thought aside, believing Kardis long dead, but then her mind changed as she examined the island of Marmo. Marfa did not actually find Kardis, but what she did find was a young woman bearing much resemblance to a man that she thought she would never see again: Beld.

Alarmed by the woman's determination to rebuild the Empire of Marmo, Marfa looked into her cause with greater interest. It was then that her suspicions about Kardis were proved. The Goddess of madness and destruction had found a way to live on, cleverly enough, inside of the young woman's head. Marfa could not be sure of Kardis' intentions, but at the alarming rate at which Marmo's military strength grew, she logically guessed that Kardis desired domination of Lodoss.

With this in mind, Marfa contacted the one person who could possibly wield the Holy Sword of Falis against the woman Kardis shared consciousnes with and win. The person Marfa summoned was the daughter of the Holy Knight Parn and the High-Elf Deedlit: a pure-hearted woman named Arwen. But of course, like the ambitious woman on Marmo who's name turned out to be Ka, Arwen could not possibly defeat her enemy alone.

And that was why Marfa had to pay close attention to the situation.

A battle would inevitably occur, and during this battle, Arwen would have to face Ka hand-to-hand. As Ka was not entirely Ka, Arwen would have to not be entirely Arwen. To achieve this, Marfa would meld with Arwen as Kardis had melded with Ka; only this way would the battle be won. Unfortunately however, Marfa could not 'jump into Arwen's mind' until the time of the duel.

But before any of these things could occur, Arwen had to find the Holy Sword of Falis. Unfortunately, she had already been beaten to it.

"So this Ka woman is Empress of Marmo now, isn't she?" Arwen asked the seemingly empty temple, kneeling before a large altar decorated with sweet-smelling flowers that cascaded over its surface and tumbled down its edges. She loved the temple, as it was a place of exquisite serenity and peace. There wasn't a more beautiful place in all of Lodoss.

Marfa's soothing voice swept through the room once more, "Yes." Came her perfunctory answer, "But you musn't focus on that right now, Arwen. Although the Holy Sword of Falis is in Ka's possession, it is not rightfully hers. You must retrieve it, as it is the key to defeating Kardis and her servants." She declared pointedly.

Arwen sighed and hung her head, her light brown hair tumbling over her shoulders and into her eyes, "You want me to go to Marmo?" She asked meekly with a heavy hint of disbelief in her voice, "It's teeming with soldiers and ugly creatures...I'll never pull it off alive! And besides, how will I get to the Holy Sword if it's within Ka's fortress? Because that's where it is, you know. Won't it be guarded?" She asked worriedly.

"Trust in yourself and you will suceed." Marfa responded lightly, "The Holy Sword will speak to you, it will guide you to its location once you've reached Ka's fortress. I assure you, the creatures of Marmo, and Ka's soldiers, will not be of concern to you. All you have to focus on is your task and all will be well." She concluded contentedly.

Arwen raised her head and took a deep breath, letting the reality of her task engrave itself in her mind, "Very well, Marfa." She breathed after a while, her features gradually setting deterninedly, "I will find the Holy Sword and bring it back, I promise you." She vowed and got to her feet.

"Praying again?" Came a cheerful voice from the doorway, "You've been doing that often lately, Arwen.".

Arwen looked over at the visitor and smiled, "I was settling some affairs with Marfa, Kalie." She said and watched as the other woman stepped inside the temple and headed towards where she stood.

Kalie was Arwen's best friend, a woodland elf that she had met at a very young age during a picnic with her parents. The two had spent much time together since then and had grown very close. Only recently had Kalie actually left the forest to live within the city of Valis; she was quite shy with humans, as they lead such different lives than her own people, but with time she learned to overcome her silly fears.

"You make it sound so important..." Kalie said, stepping before Arwen and idly brushing a petal off her her friend's shoudler, "...is this about Marmo again?" She asked a little annoyedly. For a while now, Arwen had spoken to her of the dark island, saying that and ancient evil stirred there and that Marfa was beginning to get worried about Lodoss' safety. Arwen had not, however, spoken to Kalie about the fact that she was directly involved in the fight against Kardis. Quite frankly, the elven woman would have freaked out to hear of it.

But now, as Arwen studied her friend's wide-eyed innocence, she realised that it was useless to continue hiding the details of the situation any longer, "Um, Kalie, there's something I never really told you about before." She said hesitantly.

Kalie raised a blonde eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, "Like what?" She asked pertly.

"Well," Arwen began, swallowing audibly, "Remember everything I've told you about Marmo's rebirth and Kardis and all that?" She asked then waited for Kalie to nod before continuing, "You've heard of the Demon Sword and the Holy Sword of Falis, right?" She asked furthermore, getting another, more impatient nod from her elven friend, "Well, those two swords have been found by Ka -- I know you know who I'm talking about. The thing is that I have to get the Holy Sword back from her...now." She declared slowly, unsure about he way Kalie would react to the news.

Kalie frowned, "Why?" She asked curiously.

Arwen took a breath, this was the biggie..."Because I need it to defeat Ka and Kardis." She answered, eyeing her friend's uncomprehending glare, "I'm the protagonist here, Kalie." She repeated, in simpler terms. Sometimes Kalie could be so absent-minded...

The elven woman gawked and drew back in suprise, "Really?" She asked incredulously, "Why you?!" She cried then, wondering why on earth her best friend had to go fight some war against the worst the world had to offer.

Arwen shook her head, "I'm not sure. Marfa came to me a while ago...there was really nothing I could do about it." She replied calmly, "And besides, it isn't really all that bad. I'm doing it for Lodoss, after all..." She trailed off, images of heroes come and gone playing through her mind. At the top of the list came her father, Parn; he was such an inspiration to her. She had his courage, now maybe she could finally make something of it.

"You'll die, Arwen!" Kalie moaned dramatically, clutching her friend's arms tightly, "It's crazy! I mean, it's just you versus an entire empire!" She added, "Forget about the Holy Sword! You'd be insane to go out to Marmo alone!" She went on, roughly shaking Arwen in a desperate attempt to bring her back to her senses. She just had to get off this heroic power trip!

Just then, at the sound of Kalie's words, Arwen's eyes brightened and a grin spread across her face, "But I won't be alone, Kalie," She cried gleefully, "Because I want you to come with me!" She declared, amazed at herself for having thought of such a brilliant scheme.

Kalie jumped back about five feet, her emerald eyes as wide as saucers, "WHAT?!".