(AN: Now I finally got to where I needed to be in the last chapter, so here it is, portraying events mentioned in Siegfried and Sophitia, but of course from different perspectives. Should be fun.)

Ostrheinsburg

I now had a name and the Ivy blade was guiding me toward the continent. I crossed the Bosphorous, purchased a carriage for my goods and, once again dressed as a boy, made my way into the continent. Not but a day out of Constantinople and I was beset by enemies on both sides: the Turks against the Romanians. It was the first time I was brought before real warfare. Gunfire was everywhere, as were the roars of the two parties as they charged into each other's lines over and over again. It was only my sword that kept me alive through all the chaos.

I continued on, traveling north-west, towards the Rhineland. I encountered nothing else along the way, save for a young girl with a sword who tried to delay me. I taught her a lesson and went on my way: killing her would be meaningless and I was in haste. Also, this young girl was not exactly a seasoned warrior. I could tell that from her apologetic tone and her innocent stare. She was clad in very little armor and did not seem as though she had would follow me if I made a small show of force. But it took up my time, and so I did not stay overlong to punish her. Instead, I threw Peter's jacket back onto my body and cracked the reins over the horses' backs, galloping onward as hard as they could go. I was led by the Ivy blade's will and nothing could hold me back now.

The blade led me into the Rhineland, to a valley east of the great Rhine that was shrouded in darkness. If one looked with eyes only, they would truly disgusted by what they saw in this valley: there was nothing living or anything green in all the valley, the stench of decay hung heavy on the wind and the light of the sun could not penetrate the dark clouds. But I could sense the magic in this place, more powerful and darker than anything I had ever encountered. Something had killed all the grass and chased away all the animals: not even birds flew into that valley. But I purposed to go thither, for my sword was urging me onward, into the valley.

From where I stood, on the carriage atop a hill looking down into the valley, I saw the Rhine itself, cutting across the middle of the valley. In the midst of the river was a great castle, and it was to that castle that I purposed to set as my compass. I cracked the reins, driving my horses onward. Yet even as they passed under the shadow of that valley, they went wild, neighing and chomping at their bridles. No matter how much I cracked the reins or lashed at their backs with the whip, they would not go further into this valley. So it was that I angrily set them free and abandoned the carriage. Now left with the unhappy prospect of walking across this blighted land, carrying my luggage by myself, I opened one of the trunks and began dressing myself in proper clothing. Perhaps I could convince those within to carry my luggage out for me. Not that I could not do so myself, but it was a long distance and my own magic could not hold for that great a distance.

I made the final approach to the castle on my own. There was no resistance, yet I kept my sword close at hand. I walked down to a gatehouse with broken-down gates. It seemed rather pointless not to repair these gates, for I continued in regardless. Beyond was a bridge that connected the island with the keep to the eastern shore. Over the bridge I went and through a great archway that led into the castle proper. It must have been a magnificent sight in the days of its glory, yet now it seems forlorn and gloomy. Perhaps it was because of the lack of sunlight or of anything living in this part of the valley that made it seem all the more dead to my eyes. I would have thought it had been abandoned had I not heard the bell toll the hour after mid-day.

Up to the great keep I walked, and met a pair of wooden doors bound with iron. These had been repaired, I could see, for they had been besieged and repaired over the years. I pushed my hands to them and found that they swung open easily. Beyond was a darkened hall with a high, vaulted ceiling streaming with ancient banners. What little light there was came from torches in several niches in the walls. The floor was overlaid with a scarlet carpet that led up to a throne at the farthest end of the hall. My heart beat fervently as I slowly walked towards the throne. As I came closer, I began to discern the figures gathered upon and about the throne. One was obviously male, impossibly large and muscular, like the statues of the gods I had seen in Naples. Another creature, perhaps a jester or other sort of varlet, was hiding in the shadow of the throne, whither my eyes were directed.

Upon the throne sat a man clad in blue armor from head to toe. His head was covered in a blue helm with a single spike, his left hand sat on the arms of his throne and the right hand, larger and more powerful than the other, sat on the hilt of a broadsword, the likes of which I had never seen in all my life, from then until now. Its blade was of silvery steel and there was no cross-guard between the grip and the blade. But upon the blade itself, at the end of the fuller, was a single yellow-red eye that seemed to be looking. Once I saw that eye, and the person who sat upon the throne, my heart leaped within me. Here surely was the apparition in living flesh.

"Who dares come before me?" the apparition demanded. Even his voice bespoke of power. I bowed before him and thus replied.

"It is I, great one, your humble servant, whom you deemed worthy to appear before me and grant life to my sword."

The blue-clad figure nodded silently, then retorted: "Why have you come to my fortress?"

"My lord," I continued. "My sword has guided and protected me throughout this long, arduous journey, and it has at last led me to you. I offer you my service, great one, in return for the favor you showed me."

Looking back on the decisions of this day, it might not have been the wisest choice to make. But I owed my life to my sword and this one had given it life, therefore I felt obliged to serve him in exchange for what he would do for me; aiding me in destroying Soul Edge.

The lord called me forward and asked me to kneel before him. He then introduced his attendants. The muscle-bound giant was Astaroth, a golem of Fygul Cestemus. I had heard of that cult, pagans, worshipers of the vain gods of the ancient world. Yet it did not seem vain anymore, for their powers had brought this beast to life. The second one, whom I had thought a jester, repulsed me at the very first. He looked like a wingless dragon, clad from head to toe in scales like a fish, with the face of a dragon and the tail of one as well. His breath reeked of rotting flesh and a hungry glare was in his eyes. The lord introduced this one as Aeon Calcos, a Spartan from ancient times, though I affectionately called him 'Lizardman' here after. He never liked it.

"We are summoning souls to this place, woman," the lord said, after he had introduced his minions. He rose to his feet, and I saw that he was not very tall but broad-shouldered. An aura of greatness permeated his being even as he stood glowering over me. "Every one of us here serves a purpose: I am the summoner, Astaroth is my body-guard and Calcos was once a Spartan warrior. What unique talent do you bring that would benefit our cause?"

I told them of my skill in alchemy and sorcery, but none of them were very impressed. They were not even shocked when I told them I was a sorceress. It seemed rather anticlimactic: for years, my Father had warned me about keeping our secret practices unknown to everyone for fear of the severe reprisals we would face. Now I spoke my full mind and found that this great secret, as I had seen it, was no great matter to these great ones. But it was when I mentioned the sword that the lord asked to see it. I stripped down to my harness and revealed my sword to them. Foolish, but I had seemingly lost all my things back with the carriage and I was clad only in my black dress and the harness.

This seemed to please them: I was sworn into the service of the lord, the Azure Knight. For the sake of vengeance, for the lure of power and for my Father's memory, I bought servitude at the price of my freedom, my body...and my soul.

(AN: Yay, we're at Soulcalibur I now! Like in Tira, I paraphrased my own work, since I didn't really need to quote the full thing.)

(I also thought it was interesting that, in this story, Sophitia [that woman she encountered] was nothing more than a nuisance whereas she was the heroine of her own story. Surprising how one person's "bad guy" is the hero of their story, and that same person is "joe[sephine] nobody" on the side of the street.)

(Please review some more. I want to know how I've been doing so far, and if you have any thoughts on what is going to happen next.)