This is definitely what I call a SpamFic.  It's not meant to be serious.
But, just to prove that I can write something other than Samurai Pizza
Cats... :)  Here goes.  Heh... 1 hour, eh?  We'll see...  I'm a fairly
slow writer...


   The room hadn't been disturbed for years.  Probably centuries. That's
the way things go.   A once lively place falls into disuse and people
even forget that it exists.

   A slight creak would have been heard by the inhabitants of the room,
if there had been any.  Not even any rats were present to witness a
small sliver a light that intruded into the ancient darkness.

   "Be careful, Parn!"  A light, almost musical, voice called out.

   The crack of light grew wider.  The dust stirred from the wind that
now had an entrance.

   "I'm _being_ careful.  This door hasn't been opened in ages."
Another, deeper, voice answered back.

   The resistance suddenly gave way, answered by an "Oof!" from beyond
the door and spilling a tremendous amount of light into the room.
Odd-looking tables and chairs were haphazardly scattered about the room.
The walls were covered by strange designs, surprisingly not faded by the
years.

   A sigh from the owner of the first voice.  "Do you always have to
make things so difficult?  Come on."  Stepping lightly, a regal-looking
female elf entered the room.  She looked around the room, trying to
capture every detail.

   "Wait up, Deed!"  Next, a young male human thundered into the room,
a hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

   Sparing the young man a glance, the elf sighed again.  "There won't
be anything for you to attack in here."

   Ignoring the comment, the young man continued to scan the interior.
"What is this place, anyway?"

   "It was a temple to the Goddess of Light, Martha."  The elf walked
further into the room as she continued her monologue.  "Martha was
considered the keeper of Wisdom.  When she died, many wonderous secrets
were lost as well."  The elf walked over to one wall and looked at a
dark, but oddly reflective surface.

   The young man walked up next to her and looked at the dark mirror.
There where a series of runes below the mirror.  The man began to panic
slightly as he realized that his female companion was brushing her
fingers over the symbols.  "Do you know what those runes mean?"  He knew
that if they were magic, they would be better left alone.

   After shooting the young man an annoyed glance, the elf replied.  "Of
course.  I've seen this type of device before.  It's a kind of magic
mirror.  You can see into the past with it."

   The human almost cursed to himself when his elven friend pressed
against one of the runes.  Several of the other symbols began glowing.
Others glowed for a second then darkened again briefly before repeating
the pattern.  "Are you sure this thing is working right?"  He didn't
know much about magic, but flashing usually meant it was unstable.
Worse yet was the fact that his companion now had an uncertain look on
her face.

   "Well, I've never actually seen one that _worked_ before."

   "Maybe we should leave."  A hopeful suggestion from the warrior, but
knowing the elf's curiousity, one that he didn't really believe she
would give any consideration.

   "Don't worry, all I have to do is..."  The elf pressed another rune,
which began glowing.  At the same time, the mirror brightned and showed
a picture of a kindly-looking human woman whose eyes were full of
intelligence.

   The picture began moving and a voice seemingly came from nowhere,
"Welcome once again to 'Martha Stewart Living.'  Today, we will be..."

   And they began to learn.


Notes: I've only seen the first tape of Record of Lodoss Wars, so pardon
me if Parn or Deedlit are OOC.  I don't know if the Goddess' name is
supposed to be Marda or Martha.  It sounds like 'Martha' and I've seen
it spelled both ways by other fans.  Anyway, this is just something I
came up with a while back and decided to go ahead and write it when I
saw the 1-hour challenge.  Thanks for reading!

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    Josh Green, aka Pi -- SORT@BUCKET.UALR.EDU
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