A woman sat down in a soft chair and stared at a small orb before her. Her long dark purple and black silk dress fell to the side of the chair and on to the floor as she slightly tossed it to her left. She placed herself down and brought her hands up.

This woman was simply known as The Maiden, a sorceress who was feared all around. It was the only name she went by and it was the only name she was to be called by her servants without question.

As she slowly moved her hands around the orb, she looked at herself in the mirror. Despite having long white hair, which was tied in a single loose braid, her complexion made her look as though she was only 18 years old, when in fact, she was many centuries old.

The Maiden remembered the days when she had blond hair and fair skin. Since then, due to her sorcery and dark arts, they had turned into their current chalky colors. Her eyes, once a pool of blue, have now been replaced with what was probably the blackest black could go, aside from the whites in her eyes. Never the less, it was not of her concern anymore.

“At last…300 years have passed,” The Maiden said out loud to herself. “The powers of Soul Calibur and Soul Edge are now more powerful than even the Gods themselves.”

The thoughts of her plans came to her once again, as it has for those many long years. Her dream…to create an army strong enough to dominate the world, as she had dreamed of since she was a child.

No one was sure how it happened, but ever since she was young, she and her twin sister seemed to have more knowledge than the average child. The Maiden figured it was because they were both blessed with the power of sorcery by an unknown deity. Their powers granted them immortality and their aging both stopped after their 18^th birthday.

However, her blessing also became a curse, at least that was what she thought. To know so much and to live for so long would mean having to learn many of the cruelties the world would bring upon. To her, humans were gullible and naïve. Too many wars were fought over land, people were cruel to each other because they were different, and worst of all, their own children would grow up to be just like their ‘idols,’ which would cause the chaotic cycle to start anew.

Over three hundred years ago, The Maiden decided enough was enough. She made the decision to take matters into her own hands. She wanted to raise her own army to bring peace and order to the world.

But even with her own powers, no one except for her sister believed that she could do it. The Maiden wanted to prove them wrong. She wasn’t sure how to go about her plans…until she heard about the two enchanted swords known as Soul Calibur and Soul Edge.

They were known to be the most powerful weapons in the world, especially Soul Edge. It was supposed to be the ultimate weapon and whoever held it’s power would have the ability to alter everything that they saw fit. Soul Calibur, however, was made to destroy Soul Edge. The Maiden knew that if she had both weapons in her hands, there would be no way that anyone would try to stop her from her plans.

With that, she was able to continue her plans without further judgment. For a while, it would seem like it was a good idea to do just that. That was until her sister discovered her plans. Being that Soul Edge was more of a powerful weapon than anyone thought, she went out to stop her sister…

The Maiden smirked, thinking about the beautiful stone, set outside in her beautiful courtyard garden. “Alora, Alora…you are just as naïve as humans. But don’t worry yourself. Your long nightmares will soon come to an end…”

She continued to wave her hands over the orb. Soon, a dark purple mist emitted out from the object and various images appeared in the orb.

There was one secret she kept from all who knew her plans. Although she had limited powers to see in to the future, she was still able to see the lives of many, even years before they were born. With this power, she was able to figure out which of these lives were going to possess strong power when they got older. These people were known as her ‘children.’ In addition to those willing to join the army, she wanted to make sure these souls would end up in her army as well.

She then decided to have a little fun for a bit. Waving her hands more, the images flashed quicker the more she thought of the unknown souls.

“Show me some of my children,” she whispered. With one more wave, she was able to see the current state of her ‘children’s’ lives.

***

A young woman slightly moved a velvet curtain aside to look on at the audience who sat in wooden chairs. They talked softly amongst themselves as they looked on to the empty stage in front of them.

“Emlyn!” cried out a voice from behind her. Emlyn quickly shook her head a little and turned around to face the person who called her. Another woman walked over to her with a smile that seemed to never want to leave her face. Her short light blue hair was tied in two low pigtails and also wore a blue dancing attire. “There you are, what are you doing?”

Emlyn sighed under her breath. “I was just seeing who was in the audience, Angel.”

“You’re not nervous are you?”

“Not really, but I noticed that a majority of the audience are men…”

Angel smiled even more than before, making her dark blue eyes sparkle a little. “Don’t worry about that. Look on the bright side though…the more men, the more argent.”

“Well, that’s true,” Emlyn agreed. “We do need more for our travels anyway.”

“That’s the spirit! Now, I think we’re on in another five minutes. I’ll meet you over here in three minutes.”

With that, Angel skipped away happily. Emlyn sighed again and slightly brushed away a loose strand of dark brown hair that was too short to be tied back with the rest of her long hair. She looked up with her light blue eyes and scanned the room a little. Emlyn was the only one in the area and decided to just wait for Angel to come back.

It was only a week ago that Emlyn and Angel left Northern France to begin their travel around Europe. They were originaly part of a French dance troop known as The Enchanted Sparrows, a group who traveled the country to entertain the rich. Their group also used their dancing techniques as self defense. Both Emlyn and Angel enjoyed both activities. However, Emlyn felt that she lacked skill in the self defense.

When a fellow dancer heard of this, he suggested to Emlyn that she traveled Europe to improve herself. It was known that when one traveled to improve their skills, they would become better at it. Emlyn wasn’t sure about it at first, but it was Angel who convinced her to go.

Emlyn smirked to herself as she thought of that. Ever since they were young, the two were always there for each other and were close as sisters. Angel had been there for Emlyn since the day she joined the dance troop. She and her mother joined the troop after the sudden death of her beloved father. Since she was originally from Wales, the move to France took her some time to adjust to. Angel herself was orphaned at a young age and kind of knew what Emlyn was going through.

And now they were here, traveling the world together to improve their self defense. However, while they did that, they would stop at lodges and offered to dance for their guests for a certain amount of money in order to continue with their travels. This was their second time doing something like this and so far they were making a pretty decent amount.

Four minutes seemed to pass quite quickly for Emlyn as she thought of all of this. Angel showed up once again then with her two star-shaped tambourines ready in her hands. Emlyn picked up her two circle-shaped tambourines as the announcer came on to the stage.

“Mesdames et messieurs ... peuvent je vous présenter maintenant à : les Filles de Moineaux Enchantées!”

The audience clapped as Emlyn and Angel assembled themselves on stage. They stood a foot away with their backs toward each other as the velvet curtains opened. When the two beautiful women were revealed, some of the single men in the audience began to whistle. Soon, the clapping and whistling ceased and within a few moments, they were replaced by a pair of violins.

After the first four beats, the girls began their dance routine for the audience. They slowly walked a few feet forward for about twelve beats. Then, they quickly turned around and began showing off their unique movements while shaking their tambourines in perfect rhythm. Some of the single men once again whistled at them. Angel smiled as she enjoyed the attention. To match her friend, Emlyn forced a smile and continued her dance.

For another minute or two, they continued on. Then, they both stood quietly walked over to each other in a fast pace. Then they stopped just a few inches from each other. They were both the same height, at least it looked like it. The two women looked into each others’ eyes before moving one step to their right. They placed their tambourines in their right hand, linked arms, then spun around a couple of times without moving their eyes away from each other.

This caused the men to whistle even more. Emlyn never understood why men were so fond of seeing two attractive women dancing so close to each other, but it didn’t matter. As Angel said, it brought more money.

They placed one of their tambourines back into their left hand. The women twirled around each other as they shook their instruments. This time, they took their eyes off of each other, much to the slight disappointment of their male audience.

The dance continued on for a little while longer before the show ended. The audience clapped, cheered, and whistled as Emlyn and Angel bowed and left the stage…

Later on, Emlyn sat on a bench outside of the lodge wanting to get a little fresh air. A black cloak wrapped around her small-framed body. In the distance, she saw a large lake that reflected the trees that surrounded it. The soft wind managed to detach some of the leaves that held on to the trees. Emlyn watched as the leaves floated away. Some landed in either the ground or the water.

“Emlyn!” she heard Angel cry out. The young woman turned around and saw her best friend walk up to her with a large brown bag.

“We definitely did a good job tonight!” Angel announced. “This may last us until we get to Germany.”

Emlyn smiled at the good news. “That’s better than what we made last time. However, I still want to go south for a bit before we head east.”

“All right,” Angel said. “There is one thing we should do now. We should get back into our room and rest for the night. I want to try to get to Valence before sundown tomorrow.”

“Why the rush?” Emlyn asked curiously.

Angel smiled even more. “I hear there are even more men down there than here. We could try to put on another show for them and make even more than what we did tonight.”

“I’ll be back inside in a minute,” Emlyn decided.

“Well, all right,” Angel pouted. “But hurry up. I don’t want to stay up all night wondering where you are.”

Emlyn laughed a little. “Don’t worry, I won’t be that long.”

With that, Angel skipped back into the lodge. When she was out of sight, Emlyn turned her head a little. She then noticed a young couple in a dark corner holding each other as close as possible. Their lips seemed completely glued together and they breathed heavily with passion.

Emlyn sighed to herself as she watched. She wondered what it would be like…to feel the lips of a man pressing against her own and for him to hold her the way the couple were holding each other now. For a while now, Emlyn would fall for someone, but either they were with another, or they were not interested in her.

Maybe I’m not destined to experience those feelings, she thought sadly.

She then decided to go back inside. Emlyn got herself up and walked back into the lodge.

***

A sound of many horses’ hooves pounding into the ground could be heard in the distance. Most people would run from the frightening sound, but Ryuji Fukushima stayed where he was on his black horse. Even the horse itself didn’t finch from the sounds.

Imbeciles, the 30-year-old Japanese man thought to himself. They truly think that they could possibly beat me?

It was only an hour ago that Ryuji had left the bar of a lodge on his way to Mt. Fuji. Things were fine at first, but it was soon enough that someone discovered that he was a samurai because of the big katana he carried with him. Ryuji remembered the person walking up behind him.

Then, the unexpected happened. Ryuji let out a small laugh. “Teinousha…” the samurai mumbled. The laugh made the man let out a small yelp and was sent out running with fear. With that, Ryuji placed his katana back in it’s scabbard as though nothing happened and sat back down. The man behind the counter looked at him nervously while trying to dry a glass with his cloth at the same time.

The samurai looked at the attackers for another moment before turning his head to him. The employee looked at him nervously. “Watashi wo kizutsu ketehaikenai! Watashi wo kizutsu ketehaikenai!”

Now, as Ryuji waited for the men on their horses coming after him, he came to realize that a witness, most likely the employee, sent out some men after him for disgracing them.

Little did anyone realize that Ryuji was a member of the Warrior Kings, a group of Samurais from both Asia and Europe whose purpose was to defend their causes. They have been around since the 13^th century, but for him it all began with Ryuji’s father, Hiroshi Fukushima.

At a young age, Ryuji’s mother left along with his infant sister. As a result, Hiroshi made the decision to travel to the border of Europe and Asia to join with the Warrior Kings to give himself a better purpose in life. He took Ryuji along with him and they both learned the way of the samurai.

After Hiroshi’s death six years ago, Ryuji became one of the best in the army. During his time with the Warrior Kings, he came to realize that no one, not even a whole army, was able to take him down. Along with that and his constant traveling, he was soon nicknamed, ‘The Undefeated Traveler.’ It was a nickname Ryuji wasn’t exactly into, but he ignored that fact as though it was nothing.

Not long ago, Ryuji came to the realization that life was boring, considering that no one was able to defeat him in a battle. He also realized that a strong person was not going to be in a mere army. So, he returned to Japan, pondering on what to do next.

Then, while hunting for food, a pair of hunters talked of a woman in Western Europe who was a reincarnation of a fire deity. Ryuji has seen strange things before and hearing about this was no different. He had tried to ask the hunters for more information, but the hunters couldn’t provide him with any more information except that the woman was of different shades of red.

Ryuji didn’t know what they meant by that, but it was going to be useful information during his travels. He left his home the next day, but before he could get on the next ship to China, he heard a rumor that a girl in red was roaming in the Mt. Fuji area. Knowing it to be a volcano, Ryuji had a good feeling that the reincarnated fire deity was there. Why else would anyone hang around there?

The samurai was a big believer in fate and even took the littlest things for granted. That included the small stampede of an angry mob on horses coming after him. Ryuji wasn’t sure what the results would be in the aftermath, but whatever it was to happen, he would know that fate once again would play a part in this.

He soon was able to see the mob on horseback holding various farm tools. Ryuji smirked to himself. Just by the weapons alone, he knew that he was going to win this small battle.

Once they were close enough, Ryuji struck them down with his sword, his horse neighing in what seemed like satisfaction.

***

Two pairs of kunais clashed with one another as the sound of steel hitting steel rang around the cave. A flash of green and red whizzed by each other, then the weapons collided again.

Keida Kuroda eyed her green opponent, Eshana Amal, who eyed her as well. Keida knew that just behind her was a golden jeweled sword standing on it’s base, one that was obviously sacred. Keida was sent by her clan, The Ruby Dragons, to get the sword. She didn’t know what was the real reason that her master, her aunt Michi, wanted the sword, but that didn’t matter much.

However, the clan must’ve not known about Eshana, a member of their rival The Jade Dragon, coming for the sword as well. Perhaps they knew about Keida’s clan’s plan to claim the sword and they decided to send Eshana out to have the sword for themselves.

This wasn’t the first time Keida and Eshana had crossed paths. Though she was of both Indian and Philippine descendent, she was like any other female Japanese ninja, a beautiful one as well. Her black hair was pulled up in a high bun and she had what looked like a dark tan. Her dark green eyes, which seemed to match her clothing, kept watching Keida’s every move.

Keida watched Eshana’s movements as carefully as possible. She stood in the same height as the green ninja, but she was obviously a native of Japan. Her silky raven hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and her dark eyes were full of concentration.

The fight went on between the rival ninjas for sometime as the sacred sword continued to slightly glitter from their movements. Keida slashed her kunai at Eshana’s face, but the green ninja arched back quickly, the sword barely an inch above her. She then pulled herself forward and aimed her own kunai forward, but Keida saw it coming and pulled herself quickly to the side to avoid the small blade.

“It’s time to end this,” Keida muttered under her breath.

Then, to Eshana’s surprise, Keida jumped up, turned herself upside down, and stood on Eshana’s shoulders with her hands. Then, with quick speed, Keida spun herself around, bringing her green rival with her. Eshana felt her world literally going round and wondered when Keida was going to stop.

It felt like some time before Keida jumped off of her and landed back on the ground. Eshana stumbled about from dizziness. This was Keida’s chance to grab the sword and get out of the area.

The red ninja began her approach towards the sword. She was about to reach for it when she felt a sudden heat on her back. Suddenly distracted, Keida turned around to see where the heat was coming from. To her surprise, she was quickly met with a long line of green fire and flew back from the force. She crashed into a wall with a thud, then back on the ground with a small yelp.

Once her mind was able to settle, Keida realized that Eshana managed to regain herself and shoot a fire projectile at her. Ironically, Keida knew that she possessed that move, but because the green ninja rarely used the move in a fight, Keida would usually forget that Eshana possessed this technique.

Keida looked up and noticed Eshana standing a few feet away as she placed the sword in a small brown bag. She then tied it around her orange belt, then looked down at Keida. “I must go, excuse me,” she said with a bit of remorse. Then, in a burst of green smoke, Eshana disappeared.

Keida sat there for a moment, bewildered by what happened. Soon, the realization sunk in…she failed an assigned mission. She had failed herself and she had failed her clan.

“DAMN IT!” the red ninja cried out, slamming both of her clenched hands on to the ground. ‘How am I going to explain this to Michi?’

For a long time, Keida sat there with no thoughts, other than pondering on what to do next. She knew that she didn’t want to return to the clan’s hideout right away, not wanting to face anyone at the moment. After those thoughts, she decided to stay at Mt. Fuji for a couple of days before making her journey back.

Little did Keida realize was that it would be much longer before her return…

***

“Thana! Thana!” a young woman in green cried out as she ran towards a red-haired woman standing nearby. “We need your help!”

The woman simply known as Thana looked over at the person who came up to her. “What is it Flora?”

Flora placed her hands on her knees as she took a moment to catch her breath. “Co…come with me!” She immediately grabbed Thana’s hand and she began dragging her friend farther into the forest.

Thana slightly sighed to herself, wondering why Flora wanted her to come with her. The two had been hunting for food along with the rest of their cult. The cult was a religious one, currently unnamed, their purpose being to heal others in their time of need. Perhaps it was better off that they remained nameless, knowing that people of war were always out to destroy what could be good.

The smell of smoke suddenly hit Thana’s nose. She looked up and saw dark grey smoke rising above the tall trees before her. She knew then…there was a fire somewhere nearby…

Flora must’ve realized the view as well. She slightly turned her head to Thana. “There’s a small village not far from here and there is a forest fire not too far. You can do this, can you? not”

Thana quickly nodded with a bit of confidence. Flora nodded as well and the two continued to run.

It was a type of thing Thana was used to, ever since she could remember. Whenever a fire occurred, her cult members always called to her for help. This was because she had an unusual power…the power to control fire at her will. Some say she was a reincarnation of a fire deity of the same name. Thana believed that in a way, she believed that the Gods granted her this gift for a reason.

However, now at 19 years old, Thana came to the realization that there may not be a real purpose, only that she granted a well-needed power for the heck of it. Because of her powers, people have looked up to her like a Goddess from Heaven due to the fact that she also possessed a pair of wings, which gave her flying advantages. People would shower her with gifts and worship her, including the members of her cult. She has been with the cult since she was a toddler, most likely left there as an orphan. She had hoped by now that they would get over the fact that she possessed these powers. However, they were just like those she would save from danger.

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to help. She knew that a guilty conscience would settle within her if she didn’t use her powers in situations like the village coming close to being on fire. It was just that Thana preferred to do this job without being seen. Her cult always encouraged her to meet with those she saved and to appease them, and she did so.

They soon reached the village. The fire was very close to the very first house in it‘s wake. The entire village had been evacuated long before and there were hopes that no one else was trapped within the village.

Without any words, Thana spread the wings on her back and began to take flight. As she maneuvered herself into the air, she took out a long staff, which was enchanted with magic, and spread it to her right. Once she reached a comfortable height, Thana flew forward and began her duty.

As Thana flew over the village, it seemed as though a large gust of wind followed her. People on the ground, including those in her cult, watched with amazement. With each area she flew over, the fire would decrease until it completely was put out. Some time past before the task was completed and with this, the witnesses cheered with happiness.

Thana quickly landed back in the area where she first flew off, meeting up with Flora again. Flora immediately ran over to her. “You did it!” she cried out with excitement as she hugged her red-haired friend. “You saved the people of the village!”

The young woman was about to speak, but it was then that the village people and members of her cult can over to her. The village people immediately got on their knees and bowed to her, their arms extended in front of them.

“Rise!” Thana called out. “There is no need to bow to me.”

Immediately, the village people got on their feet. An older man approached her then. “We thank you miss. We are all most appreciated.” He then brought up a small brown bag. “Please accept my collection of gold.”

A weary smile appeared on Thana’s face. “Thank you, but I couldn’t…”

A man called out to her then. “I want to offer my exotic fruits back in my village.”

“And my trinkets!” a woman cried out.

Everyone began their offers to whatever valuable they could give to the reincarnated fire deity. Thana wasn’t sure what to do, but then she found Flora cutting her in. “Sorry everyone, but we must go!” She then pushed Thana along with her. Soon, the two and the rest of the small cult began their walk out of the village and back into the forest.

“We know we are not for socializing with outsiders for too long,” said the cult’s leader Nia.

“I’m sorry,” was all Thana could say.

“Let us return to our hideout,” Nia announced then. Then, quietly, the cult began walking forward.

Thana lingered behind the group as they continued to travel, all with brown cloaks over their bodies (the wings stuck out from Thana‘s cloak). Thoughts came to her then. For so long, this was how it always been, ever since she was able to control her powers. She was respected, praised, and received more attention than she could bare. Sometimes, she just wanted to run away…

That’s it…run away. Things were just going to be the same anyway. Thoughts of running away had always lingered in Thana’s mind, but she never really had the courage to do so. Where would she go? What would she do? Then, she remembered what an elder in a previous villager said to her…Do not ever question yourself. If you do, you’ll never go far in life.

She looked over at the cult. Would they care if she was gone? They probably would, but they wouldn’t bother looking for her. They would just think that she would come back.

‘I’m not going to come back this time!’

She stopped in her tracks. She stood there for a long time, watching as the cult walked farther and farther until they were no longer in her view. Then, without thinking about it, she spread her wings and flew into the air and over the trees. The questions she usually asked herself no longer came to her. She was going to find a place to be and once she got there, she’ll figure out those questions…

***

The Maiden smiled as the images from the orb disappeared. She only saw some of her ‘children,’ but it was enough to bring her satisfaction. She would check up on her other children later. She wanted to take a bath for right now.

The woman went out to the garden and into a small building that was known as her bathing house. Servants had already set many cauldrons filled with water that were heated up by fire underneath it. Everything in the room was made of gold, aside from the various plants and the glass windows. The large, round tub stood underneath a glass dome on the ceiling, looking up above the blue sky.

The servants, all female and dressed in black brassieres and purple loin cloths, immediately carried the cauldrons to the tub, two each carrying one. At the same time, they all poured the heated water into the tub until all the cauldrons were empty. The Maiden placed a finger in the water, then nodded to the servants in aprovement.

“You may leave now.” she said. As though in a trance, all the servants left the bathhouse. Once the last servant was gone, The Maiden stripped all of her clothing off, stepped into the tub, and sat down. She sighed with relief as the heat of the water warmed up her pale body.

She closed her eyes then, enjoying the moment. Not even a minute passed when a sudden flash of white came before her. A few more flashes came, then a face appeared. It was a white face consisting of black eyes and a large, sadistic grin.

The Maiden quickly opened her eyes, a bit surprised to see that vision. ‘What was that all about?’ she asked herself. She closed her eyes again, trying to get the vision back into her mind, but it was to no avail. The Maiden sighed to herself and opened her eyes again. ‘Who’s face did that belong to?’

To Chapter Two