Sophitia was born in Greece during the time when that ancient land
was part of the Ottoman Empire. To help support her family, Sophitia worked
in a small bakery in Athens. Although most Greeks had stopped worshipping
the ancient gods by this time, Sophitia often prayed to the goddess Pallas
Athena, guardian of her town and the embodiment of wisdom and prudent
warfare. One morning, as she bathed in a forest spring, her prayers were
answered. A dazzling light appeared, and took the form of Hepheastus, god
of the Forge. He greeted Sophitia and asked him to recieve his oracle. He
then proceeded to tell Sophitia the tale of an evil sword called Soul Edge.
Among all the weapons that mankind had created, it was the Soul Edge
that worried the Olympians the most. Soul Edge was true evil: It had been
forged blindly and swallowed the hatred and pain of it's victims. Many
decieved people sought the wicked weapon for the power it provided.
Disaster would soon follow, and this was not something Hephaestus would
allow. Because this evil sword was a creation of the forge, Hephaestus felt
that it's deed were ruining his reputation. He asked Sophitia to find Soul
Edge before it could do any more damage and destroy it.
Sophitia realized the importance of the task Hephaestus had given her
and desired to undertake it, but she did not know what she as a mere mortal
could do. Hephaestus explained to her that she was not as weak as she
thought, and that her prayers had made her friends with Pallas Athena. It
was Athena herself that had recommended Sophitia to Hephaestus, as no one
else could hear their oracles anymore. Hephaestus promised that if Sophitia
visited his temple, that he would give her arms and armor with which to
complete her task. He then left, and the spring fell silent.
Sophitia quickly ran home and prepared for her journey. She was
packed and had left before dawn for the Eurydice shrine. The once great
shrine, built by Hephaestus himself, had lay in ruin for centuries, but was
now restored by Sophitia's faith. She entered the temple and found a blessed
sword, shield and armor that Hephaestus had made for her. She put the armor
on and then set out on her journey.
Guided by her sacred weapons, Sophitia quickly found her way to an
abandoned Spanish port town. She had met several people along the way who
had also been looking for Soul Edge, and she wondered if they had come to
this place as well. The dark emanations were strongest near the area of a
docked pirate ship, the Adrian, and it was there that she found the sword's
owner. The tall pirate, Cervantes, stood
before her, clutching the twin swords in his hands. He told Sophitia that
he had been waiting for her, as he recognized her as the one who had recieved
the oracle. Sophitia defended against relentless attacks, and through the
power that she had been granted was able to drive the foul pirate back.
Again and again, she struck at the evil blades until the smaller of the
two swords shattered. It was a great victory, but the price was high.
Dozens of the evil shards pierced Sophitia's skin and she was badly wounded.
Cervantes shrieked in pain as if a part of him had been destroyed, and he
stood over Sophitia and prepared to deliver a fatal blow. Sophitia was
in great pain and was unable to defend herself.
Just then, a voice called out to Cervantes. It was Taki,
a demon hunter from Japan who had come looking for Soul Edge as well. She
challenged Cervantes, and the two began another fierce battle. With the loss
of one of the swords, Cervantes was completely out of control, thus Taki was
able to defeat Cervantes. Leaving him for dead, Taki came to rescue Sophitia.
The ninja carried the unconscious Sophitia far away from the docks, and as
they left they heard a massive explosion of evil energy. Surely that was the end
of the evil sword. Taki stopped when they were a safe distance away, and
tended to Sophitia's wounds. She then accompanied Sophitia safely home and
then returned to her own land.
Sophitia regained consciousness several days
later with little recollection of what had happened after the sword was
destroyed. While she lay in bed recovering, she was visited by Hephaestus,
who thanked her for destroying the evil swords. As he left, Sophitia's
sword, shield and armor shrank to the size of her palm. Time passed and
Sophitia fully recovered from her wounds. She returned to the bakery,
thinking that she would spend the rest of her days in peace.
One day years later, Sophitia was out shopping with her sister when
she suddenly lost consciousness. She experienced visions of Soul Edge and
the vast destruction it was causing, but remembered little of them afterwards.
She was rescued and carried back home by a young man named Rothion who lived
in the next city. They were immediately attracted to each other, and soon
decided to become engaged. They went to the temple of Hephaestus to report
their engagement to him, when the god of the forge appeared before them.
He revealed that the remaining Soul Edge was regaining it's power and he
needed Sophitia' help once again. Rothion refused, as Sophitia had told him
of the massive injuries she had sustained during last quest, and asked that
he be allowed to go in her place. Hephaestus insisted that Sophitia go, but
allowed Rothion to forge the armor and weapons that would protect his
beloved. Rothion, who made his living as a smith, was given a raw chunk of
sacred iron with which to forge the items. Hephaestus then ordered Sophitia
to completely destroy the Soul Edge so that it would never harm anyone again.
When Rothion had completed her armor and weapons, Sophitia took them
and left home in search of Soul Edge. With her spiritual power, she
purified lands that had been siezed by the Evil Seed, which had been released
during the explosion in the port city.
After fulfilling her sacred duty, Sophitia returned home to her
betrothed. She and Rothion were married at last with the blessings of the
townspeople. Time passed and Sophitia was blessed with the birth of her
first child. Although Sophitia could no longer hear the voices of the gods,
she thought that perhaps in time her child would. |
