Record of Lodoss War Vol 1 Chapter 2.1

Chapter 1

At the edge of the forest, there was a gently sloping hill. The sides of the hill were covered with thick gra.s.s. A gray shadow, standing in the knee-deep gra.s.s, lifted both hands in the air. A strange voice lifted and was carried away by the wind.

Soon a shooting star split the dark night sky. Crimson, the afterimage of this missile hung in the air. Growing larger and larger, the track it had left became a rain of giant fireb.a.l.l.s that pelted the hill. On the hill, there stood a solitary castle.

The light flared. Moments later, a loud boom, the sound of an explosion, could be heard. As the castle walls crumbled, the gra.s.s around them burst into flames. Illuminated by this inferno, the land around Kanon’s royal palace, Shining Hill, shimmered like a mirage.

The emperor of Marmo, Beld looked upon this sight with all the solemnity of a priest officiating a ceremony. Mounted on a ma.s.sive black warhorse, he wore a black cloak over his blood-red armor. So attired, he commanded the respect an emperor was due.

Beld was over sixty years old. At that age, many a ruler would have been dozing away the days in his throne room. But he had the body of a man in the prime of his life. Even Beld, looking on his own reflection, saw a demon in the gla.s.s. That was thanks to the magical power held in the longsword he wore across his back. The longsword once held by a great demon still let forth an evil aura now that the one who had defeated the demon carried it. The sword had taken countless lives and destroyed many souls. Even now, it was vibrating in its sheath, as though in ecstasy from killing so many new victims.

Behind him, the hundred-some mounted knights who had come to look over the blazing ruin of the castle let out an exultant victory yell. But Beld’s expression did not change.

Beld had been hiding in the woods at the foot of the hill, waiting for this moment. But the battle was far from won. Even in the chaos of the burning castle, the enemy’s numbers were ten times that of Beld’s forces.

Stepping out of the shadows and advancing slowly through the long gra.s.s, Beld turned back to look at the elite fighters waiting for his signal. He slowly lifted his right hand, then brought it down in a flash.

With a rumble that shook the earth, Beld’s knights, all clad in identical black armor, charged out of the forest and up the hill towards the castle. The battle cries they screamed melded together into an earth-shaking song of death. Beld himself took off after them, drawing his sword and holding it straight in front of him. It was an evil sword that seemed to swallow all the light around it. The dark aura emanating from its blade was visible even in the darkness of the night. The air grew heavy under the weight of its evil energy.

“Are you heading out yourself, your majesty?”

Suddenly a voice rang out from his side. Beld reined in his horse and turned to look at the speaker. It was a lone woman, wrapped in gray robes. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had a long ponytail of jet black hair hanging down her back. On her forehead she wore a strange circlet. A green gem hung on a fine metal chain across her brow. The gem was ever moving, as though alive. The light in the jewel changed as it moved, giving it an eerie, unreal look.

The woman was known as Karla. Even Beld knew little more, only that she was a witch of dreadful power and that she had agreed to help him. That was enough for him. His court mage, Wagnard, had warned him repeatedly that she was dangerous. Wagnard was not jealously protecting his own status, nor did he know of a concrete threat that she might pose. No, he was merely wary of the power and motives of an unfamiliar witch.

The magic that had ripped apart the once-solid ramparts of the castle of Shining Hill was hers.

Beld showed Karla his sword and let out a great laugh. He wielded the longsword easily in one hand.

“My sword desires blood. Human blood is its favorite meal, you know.”

“True. But you’re the same, it seems to me. They say that swords merely reflect the desires of their wielders.”

“Indeed.” Beld laughed loudly. As the sound was swallowed by the wind, they could hear the noises of the battle. “But magic is the same. Those flames are your own urge for destruction, are they not?”

Beld pointed to the red flames of Shining Hill with his sword.

“That may be true,” answered Karla in a soft voice. “My work here is done. I have no other plans in Kanon. I indeed to make for Valis as soon as possible. My bed is made, so I might as well lie in it.”

“You’re a busy one, aren’t you? Take care. Things should be fine in Alania.”

“Of course. You’re almost done here. We’ll crown you king of Lodoss yet.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Beld turned his horse and gave it a kick to the sides. It sped up, galloping like a flash of lightning up the hill towards the burning castle.

Once he got going, it never occurred to Beld that he might not succeed.