The Four Swords

Prologue-

1999 AD

My name is Sophie and I am not as young as I seem. True, in this body I am only at the age of sixteen, yet my soul is much, much older than that. In truth, I have lived almost six lifetimes, all in the name of a man named Dante. He is the reason I have been reborn this many times, and can remember every detail from my past lives.

Dante was a mage; the highest form of magician that I know of. He came to me when I was barely thirteen, and told me of my destiny. The fate of the universe rests on my shoulders, and my shoulders alone. No one can help me in this quest, and I am forever being pursued and have been near death before I could complete my mission more times than I can count.

"Those that will help you will die" he said as we sat at the stream near my home. I shifted uncomfortably in my kimono, tapping the heels of my wooden sandals together. Back then, I was a Japanese girl by the name of Misato. I was from the house of Ikari, and the last born in my family. Funny, it's been so long since then, I hardly remember what my real parents looked like.

"Why? Why will they die?" I asked as I looked up into his eyes, the only things I could see clearly under the hood of his cloak. They were a startling light blue, and his voice almost made me believe he was a young man. But the wrinkles under his eyes proved otherwise.

"Because any one but you will perish in this task. No one will have the powers you will have, and no one will be able to accomplish the tests that you must go through"

"I will always be alone then? Even now?"

He shook his head "No, perhaps not now, but soon. A war in the west will start soon, and after that your world will fall apart. My suggestion is that you learn all you can about the four swords- for the information is scattered all over the world- before you die"

"That's all? So... do you know how... why can't you help me?" I asked near tears. I was afraid. Who wouldn't be? I was just told I would be alone for four lifetimes.

"Because I will be long dead before then"

"Where will I find the swords?"

"Instinct. Each power you have will be drawn towards the swords. But you must learn to control it, before you can complete your task"

"But... I'm not right... I'm scared... I can't..." I was crying now, digging my head into my hands. Dante put a withered hand on my shoulder.

"You are the one, and the only one with enough strength of spirit to do this. Do not fear, you will not be alone forever"

He pulled his hand away, and when I looked up at him... he was gone.

"Misato! Misato! Where are you!" Came my sister Aieka's voice, and when I got up and turned around I saw her come over the rise, and look down at me. She was almost seventeen, and about to be wed. It was a good thing that they were both so in love.

When she saw me her face softened. She lifted the bottom of her kimono so as not to get it muddy, and came down the slope to me.

"Where have you been? Is everything all right?" She put her arms around me in a gentle hug, which almost felt comforting.

"No" I sniffled, digging my head in her shoulder and crying more.

"What is it? Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I can't"

She sighed, pulling away from me.

"Well, when you're ready to tell me, you can, all right"

All I could do was nod to her.

"Good. Now, Shiji's been looking for you. As well as our other brothers"

"Ok. I'll come back now"

We walked back, with my aching to tell my only sister everything that had happened. I'd had a large family then, I remember that now. One sister, six brothers. I hardly remember their faces now. They all seem to blur, and mix in with the many other faces I'd met in the many years my soul has existed.

The thing I remember most is the swords. And the powers. I can never forget the first power. Dante had also told me I would know which power I had, because that knowledge would be within me from the moment I was able to comprehend things. Well, as they say in this century, first impressions last.

I will be telling this all in English, because my country now speaks it, and since I have already begun telling this story so.

I have been all over the world, and known many cultures since then. The first was in Hawaii, believe it or not. Right under a dormant volcano, which ran near a river.

Forever will I remember this, because my purpose began to become all the more clear to me the first time...