History of Lodoss
War of the Demon King
It seemed a grand Golden Age was approaching. The lands of Lodoss were united; great progress was being made in science, art and magic. Peace reigned and the people prospered.
Yet, there came a great darkness from the west. A greedy duke, in his desire for power, summoned up a demon to grant him the blessings of the gods of darkness. What he summoned was no normal demon, but a demon god... a king of demons. This demon took the form of a young woman, and from her flesh she pulled the dreadful sword Soulcrusher. From her blood, legions of demons were spawned. First, they escaped from the labyrinths beneath Lodoss. Their first strike was on the dwarven Kingdom of Stone. The nation was destroyed, and it's survivors scattered to the wind—including the king, Fleve.
From the southern corner of Moss, demons rose up and began to spread across Lodoss. Next to fall was the Mirror Forest. The normally reclusive elves were rescued by humans, including an army of soldiers in Marfa's name. The battle for the Mirror Forest ended when Marfa descended into her priestess, Neese, and her power drove away the Demon King. After this battle, seven great heroes arose to be known by everyone in Lodoss; the warrior priestess of Falis, Flaus; the red haired mercenary, Beld; the holy knight, Fahn; the wizard, Wort; the Marfa priestess, Neese; the dwarven king Fleve; and a mysterious nameless warrior sorceress.
The heroes went on to free Lodoss from the demon blight. An army of knights and commoners, priests and mages, dwarves and elves, and anyone who could pick up a sword, a bow, an axe, or cast a spell, amassed behind them, and became known as the Hundred Heroes. The Hundred Heroes marched into the labyrinth to face the Demon King, and six returned victorious. Those six; Fahn, Beld, Wort, Neese, Fleve, and the nameless one were praised in story and song, tales that are still told and honored today.
Fahn would return to Valis and one day would take the throne of Valis. Beld returned to his homeland of Marmo, carrying his prize; the Soulcrusher sword taken from the Demon God herself. Neese would return to Tarba where she would become high priestess of Marfa. Wort would recluse himself and devote his time to knowledge in privacy. Meanwhile, Fleve and especially the nameless warrior sorceress, would disappear for a long time. Though fallen, the warrior priestess of Falis, Flaus, would also be honored by becoming a Saint.
War of Heroes
In the thirty years time after the fall of the Demon King, the lands of Lodoss were at peace once more. But Beld had other ambitions. Beyond his small island of Marmo, the island continent of Lodoss awaited. He marched forth with his terrible armies of soldiers, dark elves, kobolds, goblins, and ogres to bring Lodoss under his control. And leading his monstrous army was Lord Ashram, the dark knight.
Karla, the Grey Witch, would not sit idly by. The Balance of Lodoss had once more been tipped, and all was in jeopardy. She set out to play both sides of the war, pretending to be allied with Beld, yet working with her own agenda. She helped guide a band of young adventurers, six new heroes, to the final battle with Beld's army.
King Fahn, hearing of Beld's invasion, sent his own army to face off with the Dark Emperor of Marmo. Time and again, their armies clash, but the war was quickly becoming a stalemate. Knowing there was but one way to determine the victor in such a battle, the two heroes of old marched out to face off in single combat. Enemies, who were once friends and comrades in arms, now battled to the death for Lodoss.
The elder Fahn was no match for Beld, and the good king died from a fatal wound dealt by the demon sword Soul Crusher. The men in Fahn's army were outraged—even the valiant King Kashue of Flaim. An arrow loosed by one of Fahn's men struck Beld in the arm, and taking this opportunity to strike, King Kashue attacked and slew Beld while he was distracted. Beld fell, and the War of Heroes was over.
Note: It should be noted that the death of Beld does differ in the timeline of Chronicles of the Heroic Knight than that which was in the original OAV. This should be considered the true cause of death, even if it is less epic.
Between the Wars
The Marmo army had been stopped, but the losses were terrible. Over a third of Lodoss remained under Marmo control, including all of Kanon and half of Alania. The rest of Alania and much of Valis were heavily decimated by the war.
The heroes of the war, Parn, Deedlit, and the rest, set out to bring order to the turbulent lands that remained free of Marmo's control. First and foremost, the party of heroes set out to destroy Karla, who had initiated the war itself and still possessed the body of Leylia. In their ultimate showdown with the Grey Witch in the dreary castle, they managed to break her spell and sever her control over Leylia's body. In the battle, the dwarf Ghim died as he valiantly tried to save Leylia from Karla's clutches. But they did not destroy Karla or her circlet, and the Grey Witch took possession of the thief Woodchuck and escaped into the deserts of Flaim.
Note: Parn and the others did not meet Shiris and Orson at this point. That encounter will take place five years later.
Within a few years, Parn and Deedlit, with the armies of Valis and Flaim, secured the free kingdoms and brought order across the land again. For five years, Parn, the Free Knight, stood as the great champion and symbol of their freedom and prosperity. All was well in Lodoss, but not all of Lodoss was free. Parn knew that the lands occupied by Marmo would have to be freed, but it would be many years before they could amass such a war again.
While Parn and Deedlit worked to help the recovery of the war ravaged lands, the other heroes went on with their lives as well. Etoh was wed to Princess Fianna, daughter of King Fahn, and together they became King and Queen of Valis. Slayn married the priestess Leylia shortly after she was freed from Karla's possession and they soon bore a daughter. She was named Neese, in honor of her grandmother who had been a hero in the war fought thirty-five years before. But into Little Neese was born the reincarnated spirit of Naneel, the sorceress-priestess of Kardis who had fallen four hundred years ago and vowed to be reborn so that she could resurrect Kardis. This was revealed to Slayn upon Neese Elder's deathbed when Neese was barely fourteen. Leylia had been adopted by Neese as a baby, cursed with a soul shared with Naneel. Naneel was repressed in Leylia as she was protected by the priests of Marfa, then later when she was possessed by Karla for seven years. Once Leylia lost her virginity to her husband, she was no longer a suitable host for Naneel and the dark priestess's soul moved on to her daughter. Yet, Little Neese was also believed to bring the rebirth of Marfa herself. The destiny of Little Neese would determine the fate of all of Lodoss in the years to come...
