Polgara's voice, however, did not answer.  Parn stood, staring at the rushing
river in front of him.  This river bank was located on the edge of a forest.
Trying
to remember the map that he had studied so long ago, he realized that were no
rivers that ran through Mt. Garuda.  

"Where did she bring me?"  Parn wondered aloud. He still did not trust her and
decided to do some investigating before he jumped into the icy cool water in
front of him.  

He spent the several hours walking up and down the river bank, looking for a
bridge, some rocks, or a shallow part of the river; but it was all the same.
Finally, Parn slowly stepped into the river and his foot immediately sank.  He
stumbled back was able to step out of the river and back onto the bank.

"Its deeper than I thought..."

Parn braced himself and stepped back into the river, this time, prepared for the
depth.  Unfortunately, he was not prepared for the waters' current.  He lost his
balance and fell under the water.  The force of the water quickly moved him
downstream
and Parn was unable to regain his footing.  With growing terror, Parn
realized that
he was sinking.  If he didn't grab hold of something quick, he was going to 
drown.  

Parn, who had been completely lost his bearings after being thrown about,
suddenly
slammed into a large boulder that was half submerged into the river.  He tried
to grab hold of the boulder, but it was too large and the current too swift.
He 
was pushed around the left side of the boulder and started sinking again.  

*Its the armor*  Parn suddenly realized.  *My father's armor is weighing me
down*

He vainly thought of a way to get back on dry ground without taking off his
armor.

*NO!  I can't give it up!  It's all I have left of him!*  Parn dimly
remembered the
time his father's sword had broken when he had tried to save Deedlit. *I
lost the 
sword, I WON'T lose the armor*  

Determined as ever, he tried to swim laterally across the river to the opposite
bank.  He made little headway as he crashed into another object.  Dazed,
Parn turned
to see what he had run into and was relieved to see a large tree branch.  He
grasped
on with both hands and tried to get on top of it.  It was at this point that
Parn
noticed the waterfall.  

*Where did THAT come from?*  Parn had walked down river for at least an hour and
had never seen it.  The log had slowed him down a bit but not enough.  

Staring at the waterfall, Parn made the most difficult choice of his life; he
took off his father's armor.  For a second he watched as the armor sank into the
river, then he jumped off the log and started swimming towards the river bank.

He was still moving downstream but he was also quickly moving towards dry
land. His
suddenly lightened body, coupled with adrenaline, moved him far.  As he got
towards the
river bank, he drew the sword Polgara had given him and thrust it into the
solid ground
at edge of the river.  Using the sword as an anchor he pulled himself up and
climbed
out of the water.  

He collapsed onto his stomach, gasping for breath, totally fatigued.  

"Congratulations.  You almost failed."  

Parn suddenly looked up to see Polgara sitting on the grass next to him, staring
out at the river.

"What, *gasp*  *cough*, what was the point in all that?!"  Parn demanded.

"Survival, " Polgara said, still staring at the river, "and carrying on only
with what you need."

"What are you talking about?!"  Parn yelled.  He was still upset over losing
his armor.

Polgara finally looked at Parn.  Her eyes were filled with tears, "You
almost died
in that river Parn.  What was it that kept you alive?"

"I- I had to get rid my father's armor."  Parn replied, his bitterness dulled by
the sight of Polgara's tears.  It was the first time she had shown any
emotion other
than anger.  

Polgara's gaze intensified.  "That's right Parn.  Your armor was holding you
back,
not only in the river, but in life.  That armor represented your past, and 
a future that is impossible for you.  If you kept the armor, you would have
died."

"I still don't understand Polgara!  I'm a knight, like my father before me.  It 
was what I was born and trained to do!"  Parn's anger was returning.  

"NO!  You are not a knight!  Did you make you Holy Vows to Falis?"

That stopped Parn short.  "N-no, I..."

"You left Valis before you could.  Instinctively, you knew that it was not the
path for you."

Silently, the two of them stared at each other.  After a few moments,
Polgara took
Parn's hand started the teleportation spell.  When they arrived at the
hovel, Parn
started to go inside, he was still wet and shivering and wanted to dry off.
Suddenly,
he turned around and looked at Polgara.  

"Would you have let me die?  In the river, I mean..."

Any trace of the emotion was gone from Polgara's face.  

"You can't depend on anyone in life Parn.  Not me, not Sephrenia, not any of
you friends...  You loved and trusted that elf, didn't you?  But she left.
All you'll ever have is yourself and that sword. "  

Parn looked at his sword.  *That's right.  I used it to help me in the river*
All traces of rust were gone from the sword.  It had a dull luster, it WAS
looking
better day by day, but Parn felt that it was not completely finished yet.

Thinking about Deedlit, he suddenly remember what Sephrenia had told him about 
love and friendship, he gave Polgara a suspicious look.  

"You _do_ know what Sephrenia teaches me, don't you?"  he asked.

"Of course."

"Do you agree with her?"

Polgara suddenly became angry, "You had better listen to every word she
says, Parn,
she cares about you very much and knows what's best for you!"

"I care about Sephrenia too, and I will listen to her"  Parn said defensively.  

"I mentioned it because the two of you contradict each other! "

"So we do."  Polgara said calmly.

"I give up, I'm going to bed..."

"We're not finished yet, Parn..."

"YES, WE ARE!"  Parn suddenly roared. Polgara stepped back, staring at his
angry eyes.

"I've had enough of you trying to kill me for one day.  I'll see you the day
after tomorrow."

Parn stormed into the house and went up to his room. He quickly removed all
of his wet
clothes, climbed into bed and immediately fell asleep.  As he slept, Parn
began to dream.

Once again he was in the Temple of Falaris, waiting helplessly for Kardis to
awaken.  The 
ground trembled with Her power and then he saw the Demon Sword of Marmo.  He
could feel the anger, the rage, the blood; the hatred radiate from the
sword.  It both
invited him and made him want to turn away in revulsion.  He slowly walked
towards
the sword.  He thought it strange that the Holy Sword of King Faun no longer
reacted
to the evil sword's presence.  

He needed more power; he wanted to save Deedlit.  He wanted to save the
woman he loved.
He wanted more power; he wanted to defeat a Goddess. He wanted to be a hero
to all Lodoss.

Parn wrapped his hand around the hilt of the Demon Sword, and pulled it free
of the ground.
Power raged through Parn's body.  For the first time in his life, he felt
complete.
He was stronger than any man, living or dead.  With this power he could do
anything!

Now he could sense _Kardis_ fear; her helpless anger.  In a last ditch
effort, the 
Goddess of Destruction lashed out.  Red lightening flew forth from the
temple, straight
towards Parn.  Parn stood his ground and watched as the lightening hit a
shield that was protecting him.  He wondered where the shield had come 
from, but it really didn't matter.  The lightening was a link to Kardis,
with it he started leaching Her energy.  He would take all her power.
For the first time in history, the Child of Balance would become a God!

Suddenly, Parn woke up.  *What the hell was that!* His body was covered
With sweat and he was breathing heavily.  *That's NOT the way it happened!*
Already, the images of the dream started to fade, and Parn could not
capture them into his memory.  

After a while, he noticed a glow emanating from under his bed.  He looked 
under his bed and took out his sword.  He drew it from its scabbard and gasped 
at what he saw.  The blade was gleaming a bright silver with the word 'Balance'
etched in blue.  *Balance? What does that mean?*  Parn knew that this was
somehow related to his dream, but he could not remember how. Parn sat in bed,
wondering how his life was going to change; hoping if he was ready for it.

				********************************

As the sun rose, Parn got dressed and walked down stairs.  He had not slept
since waking from the dream and had really wanted to talk to Sephrenia.  
When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he noticed Sephrenia sitting at
the table, drinking some tea.  She turned towards him, a serious look
on her face, and said "Good morning, Parn."

Parm knew that something was wrong, Sephrenia was usually cheerful in the 
mornings, and she always smiled when she greeted him.

"What's wrong, Seph?"  Parn asked.  He had affectionately started using a
shorter
version of her name.  It was just something else that showed how comfortable he
was around her.

"Sit down Parn, we need to talk."  Sephrenia waited for Parn to sit at the
table before she continued.

"Parn, you hurt Polgara yesterday; rather badly."

"I hurt her?!  She tried to KILL me!"

Sephrenia took ahold of Parn's hand.  "Polgara would NEVER do anything to
hurt you Parn.  She loves you; we both do."

Parn was a bit surprised to hear that statement.

"But we never talk, Seph.  She doesn't know me.  All she does is order me 
around and train me to fight. The next thing I know, I almost drown in a 
river and lose my father's armor."

Sephrenia smiled as she squeezed Parn's hand.  "Parn, we've known you
since you were born.  We watched as your mother nursed you lovingly.  We 
watched as your father held you for the first time, and swore by
the Knight's Code that he would guide and protect you.  We wept with
you when the news of your Father's death came. We-"

"Stop... please stop.  I understand."  Parn said, his voice choked with
emotion.  

After Parn dried his wet eyes, he continued. "What was all that Polgara
said about not counting on friends?  She seems to think that I should
spend the rest of my life alnne.  As...as a knight, I guess I could
expect that life style.  But after meeting Deed..."

"Parn, think about everything you've done here, regardless of you taught you...
what have you learned?"

Parn closed his eyes and thought about his life over the past few weeks.  
*What HAVE I learned? All I did was talk, run, spar, nearly-drown, dream...*

Parn opened his eyes.  "I'm living a normal life, not unlike anyone else my age.
But I get the feeling that I am preparing for something.  Something wonderful
and terrible at the same time..."

"You're preparing yourself for what's to come.  All we are doing is pointing
you down the right path."  

"I'm being prepared for life.  To make my own decisions, not based on my past
or my friends, but based on what _I_ want..."  Parn said, the realization
sinking in.

"You're learning self-reliance." Sephrenia said knowingly.

Parn looked at Sephrenia closely. "I don't know what I am yet, Seph... but it is
something dangerous... something that no one else will be able to help me
with, right?"

"Exactly."  Sephrenia answered in a sad voice.

"But at the same time, _you_ are helping me realize that I can still have
friends,
can still love...  The choices I make have to be made alone, but that doesn't
mean that I have to be lonely."

"Very good, Parn.  I'm proud of you."

Parn rubbed his face in shame, "God, I owe Polgara an apology..."

"Apology accepted."  A voice said from the doorway.

Parn turned around in his seat and was surprised to see Polgara.  His surprise
turned back to shame and he said, "I _AM_ sorry Polgara, I guess I just didn't
understand..."

For the first time since he met her, Polgara gave Parn a warm smile, "Like I
said, 'apology accepted'."  

"I didn't expect to see _you_ today, Polgara. What's changed?"

Polgara's face took on a serious expression, "You tell me."

"The dream..."  Images started flashing in Parn's mind; bits and
pieces of his dream came together, and then he remembered his sword.

"What is the 'Child of Balance'?"

Polgara looked pleased and a bit relieved at the question.  She sat
down at the table and said, "You are; the current one, anyway."

"That doesn't exactly help... what does it _mean_?  What am I supposed to do?"

"To put it simply, it means that you have the ability to control the 
forces of both Good and Evil."

Parn gave Polgara a blank look.

"Remember when you were the Temple of Falaris in Marmo?" Polgara asked
patiently.

"It's not something I'm likely to forget..."

"Why did you pick up the Demom Sword, Parn?"

Parn fidgeted under Polgara's scrutiny.  "I don't know... It just seemed like
the right thing to do.  I knew I could not defeat Kardis, I guess I was
getting desperate."

"But desperate enough to use _evil_?   Not even the bravest of Knights would 
have tried to draw that sword, Parn.  Even Asharam, whose heart was filled
with evil, needed weeks to master the sword.  You managed it the moment
you touched the sword."

Parn stared at Polgara with growing horroron his face, "Does that mean
I'm evil?!  What's happening to me?!"

"Calm down!  AS usual, you weren't listening to me."  Polgara said.

In spite of everything, Parn laughed, "Now, you sound like your old self..."

Ignoring the comment Polgara continued, "As I was saying, you didn't listen...
You can control GOOD AND evil.  Otherwise, King Faun's sword would have 
rejected you as well."

"So that means the choice is still up to me..." Parn was relieved.

"True, just like everyone else in life... Your capacity to affect things is
just a great deal larger.  You can conqueor this world, or try to cure all
its evils.  It is up to you.  We can't interfere, and frankly, we don't
care what choice you make. "

"WAIT A MINUTE... If I wanted to rule the world, you wouldn't stop me? "

"Parn, we have no idea what choices you will make, our duty is lead you down
the path of discovery of who you are... nothing more, nothing less..."

"That doesn't mean we can't get attached to you, though..." Sephrenia added.

"The term, 'Child of Balance' has meaning Parn." Polgara continued.

"It means you have the ability to control Good and Evil, but it means more
than that.  Whatever choices you make will be counter-balanced in the
long term... That's how nature works.  If you decide to rule the world, good
people will rebel against you and eventually win.  If you decide to bring
peace to the world and fight every injustice, sooner or later, an evil
person will kill you.  Or you could be killed by chance as well..."

As Parn absorbed that bit of information, another thought occurred to him.

"What is the sword, then?"

"Every 'Child of Balance' that has been born has a tool, the sword is yours,
it fits your nature, and the tasks you set out for yourself.  If you were an
archer, we would have given you a bow, a mage would get a book of spells, and
a farmer would get a hoe or a shovel.?"

"A farmer?!"  Parn asked incredously.

"Actually, the last 'Child of Balance' _was_ a farmer. We gave him a hoe as
his tool and for four hundred years he tilled the land and no on Lodoss went
hungry.  He was able to make plants and vegatables grow on even the rockiest
terrain.  He once stopped a war by making a large crop of corn grow right
in the middle of a battle field. Then one day, a mule kicked him on the
head and he died.  After that, Lodoss suffered the worst famine in its
history... All the crops, grown by magic, died.  The earth itself was drained
of its minerals and on top of everything, a drought occurred."

Polgara paused to look at Parn.  "Balance, Parn.  Balance."

Parn looked confused.  "He was a farmer, how did he use magic?  Was it the hoe?"

"The hoe was a TOOL for the 'Child of Balance'.  It started to form the minute
he was born, just as your sword began to form the minute you were born." 

Polgara continued, "Regardless of his occupation, he was the 'Child of the
Balance'
he mastered the magic of his calling, just as you will."

Parn looked almost pleased. "So I'm going to be the greatest swordsman in
all of Lodoss?"

Polgara laughed, "Not unless you improve your technique and parry attacks a lot 
quicker.  You still haven't beaten ME yet."

Parn looked abashed, "Oh.... Then what am I supposed to be?"

"Parn you seem to be going around in circles-"  Polgara started.

"You still have time to decide Parn," Sephrenia interjected.  "Be what you
want to be."

A silence dropped upon the trio for a few minutes.  Parn finally spoke up.

"So, does this mean I have to leave now? Is my training done?"

Polgara smiled, leaned forward and placed her hand on top of Parn's.  

"Your training is _officially_ done.  But you can stay as long as you like.
There
is much I can teach you if you want to become 'The Greatest Swordsman in all
of Lodoss'."

"I.. I'd like that." Parn replied shyly.

"Besides, " Sephrenia said teasingly, "You haven't learned my recipe for
Garlic Roasted
Pheasant."  

Parn laughed, long and hard, the other two joining in.  The tension that had
built in
him over the past weeks had been finally dissipated.

				*********************************

The Elven Council at Elendar had reconvienved yet again.  King Gladorel,
Deedlit's
father, was finally going to explain why he had called the council to
order in the first place.  Gladorel stood up, faced the council, and without
any preamble said, "Two very powerful factions have grown among all the Drow
tribes.  In fact, the factions have grown so powerful at ALL the tribes belong
to one or the other of them."

Conversation started breaking out all over the Council hall.  As long as the
Drow nation had been fragmented, the other races would be able to deal with
them, but joined together they formed a serious threat.

"Your majesty?  " Deedlit queried, always formal towards her father in public,
"What are the factions doing?  It doesn't make sense that the tribes would
suddenly join together like this.  They hate each other almost as much as they
hate us."

Gladorel looked at his daughter gravely, "They are preparing for war."  

The council erupted in conversation once again. To an outsider, this display
of emotion, confusion, and fear might seem out of place for the Elven kind.
Elves, however, just like any of the other races, became agitated when
faced with a threat and overwhelming odds.  

Gladorel raised his hand and the council became silent once again.  Deedlit
took the opportunity to speak up once again.  

"But, why TWO factions?  If they are preparing for war, why not join forces?"

"That...is what we need to find out."  Gladorel looked closely at his daughter.

"Will you accept the mission I have asked of you?"

Deedlit looked at her father and remembered a prior conversation  that they
had had.

****** Flaskback ******

Deedlit entered her parents' chambers quietly, in answer to her father's
summons.
Although it was late at night, King Gladorel was sitting sitting out in the
balcony
the connected to his room.  Deedlit found him staring off into the star-filled
sky.  

"You wanted to see my father?" She asked gently.  

Gladorel turned, and looked at his daughter.  The king was an old man, even 
for an Elf.  His hair had long since turned grey and not a few wrinkles lined 
his face.  To Deedlit, however, he was still the most handsome man she ever
knew. 
Not her brother, any of the Elven noblement, or even Parn was as handsome as
her father. 

He had been very angry when she had left Elendar.  He did not want his only
daughter
mixing with other "inferior" races.  The had not parted on good terms.  Gladorel
was a gentle and very forgiving man, however, and was very happy to see his 
daughter when she returned home.

Gladorel stood up and walked over to Deedlit.  He stood in front of her and
gently caressed his face.  "My beautiful child..." He said with a sad voice.
He dropped his hand to his side and continued, "There is something I want
you to do for me Deed...Something that you are best suited to do in all of
Elendar."

Deedlit smiled curiously at her father, "What do you want me to do?"

"The problem with the Drow is very grave, Deed.  I'll give you all the details
later, during the council meetings.  However, I can say that this is something
that we Elves can not handle on our own.  I want you go back to the outside
world and gain support for cause from the humans.  The dwarfs are more or
less with us, but..."

"I understand father.  You want me to return to Valis, after the council
recesses..."

Gladorel smiled at Deedlit and said, "I am very proud of my child... After this
is all over, we should work on getting you married.  Its about time..."

Deedlit blushed as she lowered her head.  "I was working on that before you
summoned me back home."

"So the rumors are true... You DID fall in love with a human."

"Yes Father..."

Gladorel put his hands on his daughters shoulders, "Oh Deed...  I can't say
that this is what I wanted for you... You'll be hurt child.  Human life
is so very short.  He will grow old and die, and you will still look as you
do today.  You should spare yourself that pain..."

"I know father, but...but I love him."

Gladorel sighed hugged his daughter and said, "Whatever makes you happy
child..."


****** End Flashback ******

"Of course your Majesty, I will leave as soon as the council meeting has ended."

Gladorel smiled warmly at Deedlit.  "Splendid. You should all know, " Gladorel
addressed the council, "that Princess Deedlit will be our emisarry to the
humans,
as she has dealt with their kind before."

Gladorel raised his hand before any objections could be made.  "I know that none
you want to involve the humans in an Elven affair, but this concerns them as
well.
Besides, we are going to need their help."


			************************************************

A solitary figure stood in throne room in the ruined castle of the kingdom
of Marmo.  The figure was tall, almost lanky, man with long black hair.  He
was dressed in plain clothes, with very earthy colors and had a large black
cloak covering his back.  In fact, they only thing that made this man look
anything other than ordinary was the gold, glittering feminine circlet around 
his head.  Karla/Wood's eyes glowed with life as he said, "So it has
begun... again."
and his laugh reverberated throughout the empty halls of the castle.

***************************
END OF BOOK ONE
***************************

Ok, the second part is being planned right now.
So if you liked it, let me know and I will plan and
write faster.  Interestingly enough, this is my
first non-Ranma fic and it is longer than anything
I have written up to date...  Lodoss Wars was one
of my favorite Anime, and I just wished there was
more... Since there wasn't, I decided to write
this story.  Special thanks to my prereaders, espcially
Radler who encouraged my to get this out soon, and to
Andrea Konecki who gave me lots and lots of constructive
feedback... C&C anandr@earthlink.net
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Anand Rao
anandr@earthlink.net

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=