“I don’t have to answer that…but I will anyway. One of the reasons I’m here is that Wort and I are old friends. We once fought together, side by side. Another reason is that I wanted to see you all again. And as for how I managed to find you—that was the simplest of all.” Karla leaned her elbows on the table and clasped her hands, fingers intertwined. Most of them were adorned with rings of different shapes and sizes; they knew from the previous battle that they weren’t just ordinary jewelry. The witch could wield powerful magic with the shake of a finger.
“You said you want to talk to us?”
“I have a proposal. Like I said before, I value all of you highly. Won’t you join me? I’d be happy to put our…unfortunate previous encounters behind us.”
Parn’s eyes widened in fury. He opened his mouth to yell in a fit of anger, but restrained himself out of respect for Wort.
“There, I listened,” he said. “Did you actually think we would agree? We’d never work for Marmo.” His voice cracked with rage, but he managed to keep himself from yelling, at least. He couldn’t believe she had such a low opinion of him, to think he had it in his nature to sell his soul to evildoers.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding,” Karla responded with a sigh. She swirled the red liquid in her glass, which reflected the lights of the room. “I am not Beld’s minion. I cooperated with him for a time, but my goal is noble. You know of the ancient kingdom, correct? It was a magical civilization that thrived in Lodoss, and in fact, across the entire world of Forcelia. Do you know the real reason it was lost?”
“Legend says a powerful magic spell went out of control,” Slayn chimed in, “though that was long years before all of our time, so we have no way to know the truth,” He looked over to Deedlit to see if she had anything to add, but she shook her head.
“I wasn’t born yet, and the elves don’t pay much attention to human events,” Deedlit explained.
“The wizard is basically correct. In the last years of the kingdom, the wizards built an enormous device that would generate inexhaustible magical power to use for infinite spells. By implanting a small crystal ball into their foreheads, connected to this device beyond space and time, they shared this infinite magic power. The experiment succeeded and the civilization prospered—spawning an age of great magical invention. Entire cities were lifted into the skies or floated in the oceans. They had complete control of the spirit world, even using dragons as servants. But the wizards lost the ability to use magic without relying on the device. When they attempted the ultimate spell, the device couldn’t sustain it and was destroyed—leaving no wizards left who could use magic.”
“Around that time, the savages began to attack in earnest. The powerless wizards couldn’t defend themselves and were wiped out. It took less than five years for all that they’d built to be reduced to nothing…”
Parn listened with his arms folded across his chest. His gaze was locked on the witch’s pale face and blue eyes so intensely it was like he’d forgotten to blink.
A long moment passed. When Parn realized that Karla was likely waiting for an answer, he mumbled, “So what?” He didn’t understand the point of her story.
“You don’t understand why it fell into ruin?” she asked, closing her eyes and searching through her memories. Images of the greatest wizards slaughtered one after another came rushing back to her like it was yesterday. Her memories never faded because her existence was memory itself. “The world should never rely on a single power. No matter what it is, it will ultimately lose control and lead to catastrophe. The ancient kingdom perished trying to establish a supreme magical civilization, but magic isn’t the only dangerous power. Fahn’s ideals, Beld’s ambition—they are equally dangerous.
“There must always be balance. Once that breaks down, catastrophic destruction is unavoidable. But it’s impossible to maintain a perfect balance—the scale will tip one way or the other, even more so when trying to balance the entire world. But what if the scale is endlessly rocked back and forth, so neither side can ever attain full victory?” Karla paused, thoughtfully swirling the wine in her glass, following the liquid with her eyes.
“Look at it at any given moment,” she went on, “and it will seem that one side is winning. But looking at the greater pattern, it might as well be balanced in the middle. I have meddled throughout history to tip the scales because it’s what’s best for Lodoss. Fahn’s faith in the light of law, Beld’s destructive power…if either gained supremacy, Lodoss would stabilize under a single power. But that stability wouldn’t last forever. In the future, when it finally crumbles, the destruction would be so great that the war between the gods pales in comparison, and civilization would collapse again. It could even cause the end of the world.”
“You must realize that what I’m saying is true,” she said, “so I’ll ask you again—join me, and save the world from destruction—”
“Is that it?” Parn asked in a low voice. Karla nodded, waiting silently for his reply. “Then here’s my answer—no. We’re not going to join you. Maybe there’s some truth to what you’re saying, who knows? But no matter the reason, toying with people’s hearts and lives is never right! How many have died in the battles that you caused?!” Parn stood up and slammed his fist on the table. An empty glass fell over and rolled into a wine bottle with a clink.
“Even if many more lives are lost when the day of destruction arrives?” Karla asked, her expression unchanged. She met Parn’s furious gaze unflinchingly.
“Even if that’s true, a single human being shouldn’t be allowed to manipulate destiny! That should be left to the gods!”
Karla simply nodded once, then stood. Everyone braced themselves, but Karla simply walked past them, straight toward the door.
“Then I’ll leave it at that. If you disagree with what I’ve done, fine. Try to stop me if you want. I’ll take you on any time.”
“Then we’ll settle this right here and now!” Parn shouted, hand on his sword.
“I told you, no blades here!” the Great Magus said sharply.
Karla waved her right hand at Parn, preparing to meet his attack—but before she could activate her magic rings, Ghim grabbed Parn from behind.
“Parn, wait! Just wait!”
“What’re you doing, Ghim?! You’re going to let Karla escape?!”
“Ghim’s just saying not here,” Deedlit said, helping the dwarf hold him back.
“I apologize, Great Magus Wort,” Slayn said to the old man with a bow.
“You should mind your manners,” Karla said with a cold laugh, and continued on.
“May I ask one thing?” Slayn asked. Karla paused and looked back.
“What is it?”
“Have you really lived for five hundred years? There’s no known spell for eternal youth—at least, not among Academy wizards.”
“Why do you want to know? Would you seek out this spell if you found out it existed?”
“I don’t know. I’m just surprised that you’ve lived so long, even for a wizard of the ancient kingdom. Even in ancient texts, I’ve never seen an immortality spell mentioned. Just the knowledge that one exists would be a great motivation for the wizards.”
“What an interesting way you think.”
“Is it?” he said. “Perhaps not as interesting as you. With your powers, there could be other methods to save the world from destruction.”
“There aren’t. I’m not omnipotent. I can only affect the balance on this island, and I can only exist like this because I’ve always remained hidden in the shadows of history. If I had stepped out into the open even once, someone would have killed me. My role in this modern era is over—everything has already been set into motion, so I will retreat into the shadows until I am needed once more…” Karla turned back to the door. “Wort, I will take my leave. Brave adventurers, may you receive Marfa’s blessings.” At last, she opened the door and left.
Ghim, keeping with his grip on Parn, continued to stare at the door until her footsteps had faded.
“Great Magus Wort,” Parn said, turning his furious glare on the old man. “We have a lot of questions for you. That’s why we’re here.”