Shikkoku: I do not own Soul Calibur or it's characters, the almighty forces at Namco does.

If you don't know who I am yet, my name is Shikkoku Kiyoshi, and this is my Soul Calibur story based on Chronicles of the Sword. I always though that it was a well though out part of the game. Well at least story-wise. Gameplay wise, it was really, really frustrating at times.

And by the way, playing COTS all the way through in one sitting is not a good idea, trust me.

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Tsurugi no Kirokusuru

By Shikkoku Kiyoshi

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Abelia Schillfelt was getting back from some work that lasted longer than originally estimated. But she still couldn't just go to bed, for she was anxious. The military exams were starting tomorrow, and though she was a shoe-in for passing, there was still a little nervousness that came with the big day.

But the one thing that bothered her was the 19 year old cadet named Sarieth Spada.

The Spadas were a family of swordsmen who not only mastered various styles of weaponry, but forged them in mass numbers and sold them for the highest bidder. The Grandall army promised them funding and protection from other armies in exchange for exclusive use of their high quality weapons and shielding.

Sarieth was the oldest son of the current head of the business, and had more money than ninety percent of the other students in the Grandall academy, so people was surprised when he officially stated his desire to become a general in the looming war.

He claimed he partly wanted to join the military to assist his cousin, Riona, after her uncle died in a skirmish with a neighboring country awhile back, but some say he had his own reasons. Some were uncomfortable with his gung-ho attitude about going to war. Others thought that his family's status would mean he could flunk ever test he took and still 'buy' himself a top rank in the military, but Sarieth was determined to prove that he was taking this decision seriously.

Sarieth was very intelligent and popular with the other students, but he had a reputation of improvising strategies instead of planning, and had, at most, a casual relationship with the rules. He often wouldn't show up for classes, claiming family emergencies' when he really just went to his family's home to sleep the rest of the day away. Despite that, however, he was a very considerate person, and put his heart and soul into making sure no one thought he was 'unsuitable' to go to war.

Abelia found herself standing in front of his marked room a few minutes later. She knocked on the door to his room, and for awhile, he didn't answer. Finally, he unlocked the door, the signal Abelia needed to enter.

His room was very clean, except for the mass amounts of weapons strewn across the room, and the bed, messed up from him lying on it. Sarieth himself was disheveled, as he had been asleep only 3 hours since he returned from the Spada's compound to tell his parents the news. His brown short hair was sticking out everywhere. He still had the clothes he left with on, a white shirt and long leather pants, and they clung to his skin. His dark bluish-gray eyes were half lidded.

"Hey, Abelia." He murmured. "What are you doing up at this ungodly hour; unless you're here because you wanted some 'stress relief' from me?"

The broad sword wielder paid no attention to the comment. I just got back from lookout duty, and I heard you've returned, so I wanted to see you before I went to sleep."

"Well, I'm okay, if that's what you're worried about." Sarieth yawned. "Did you have to wake me? Finals are tomorrow and I must be alert and awake for Giradot."

Abelia rolled her eyes. "You'll probably just skip them, you did that the last exam when you got drunk the night before, and was too hung over to leave your room."

"Yeah, yeah. I made that exam up anyway." The young man was too tired to continue this exchange. "Listen, go to sleep. Wake me up early though; I want get something out of the shop for someone."

"Very well." She smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Sarieth."

"Good night, Abelia." He closed the door, and went back to bed.

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Kalent Spada was a very kind person. Being a Spada, he was respected throughout Dalkia as a blade genius, and he even fixed the queen's sickle after it had started to crack a bit. When he participates in battle, however, his personality changes into someone very dark and ruthless. Despite the fact he was the only fifteen, his skill was equal to higher ranked officers, and Dalkia noticed that immediately. His academy stay was the shortest on record, and he virtually outranked everyone else by exorbitant numbers. As a soldier, he had been known to massacre entire units in less time than it took to find them. The blood covered battlefields were a testimony to his actions.

Nonetheless, the kind Kalent was the one present when he was to meet the queen Aurelia.

"Aurelia is very pleased to finally meet you, Kalent." Roin, head of the army, and Kalent's superior officer, said.

"I'm much honored to meet her too, sir."

The young boy replied, as they made their way down the hallway. The walls had huge paintings of wars from various periods hung from them, along with pictures of the former kings and queens of Dalkia.

Well, the queen is right behind those doors. I'll be outside the palace when you're done." Roin left the young solider by himself. He took a long breath before knocking.

"You can enter." A light voice said from the other side. Kalent opened the door.

The queens room was bigger than any room the young solider had been in his entire life. The windows were huge, various decorations lined the walls, and the bed was bigger than most houses. And there was Aurelia, wearing her green dress, sitting on a chair, drinking tea. Kalent promptly kneeled before her.

"You summoned me, my queen?" He said softly.

"Yes, Kalent. Have a seat over there." The young boy sat down on the chair immediately. "I am quite astonished by how much you grown over the past few years. I remember when you I first met you when you where fourteen and you wanted to fix my sickle for me. Now, you're a powerful force in the military. I am very pleased with you." She smiled a Kalent, causing him to form a slight blush.

"Thank you, my queen." He said softly.

"You're very welcome. Roin and I have discussed this for a while now. How would you like to be apart of a special unit?"

"Special unit? That sounds very interesting but I am happy with my current unit."

"I will also advance you up a rank."

The prospect of a promotion perked his interests. "Alright, I will agree to your proposal."

"Would you like to hear about your team, then?"

Kalent smiled. It wouldn't hurt to have some new people to work with, maybe someone that didn't run away when he was around. "Very much, madam."

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They spent some time going over the new team, the kingdom, and news about their battles with the Halteese. Kalent bid the queen farewell before leaving the castle. He met up with Roin shortly after.

"I got the news. You recommended this, did you?" Kalent asked.

"I think you would do fine with some new teammates, Kalent." Roin answered. "You don't seem to be very happy with your current squad."

"It's not that I'm not happy, it's just the fact that being somewhat more 'experienced' then the rest of my team kinda makes them look bad."

"You don't need to worry about that. Your new squad has people more of your level." Roin gathered his things. "I have to see the queen for a strategy session. You should be leaving tomorrow morning to the new base."

Kalent sighed. Roin's intentions with the queen was so obvious, you could almost see the quotation marks around the words 'strategy session'. Kalent saluted him, before going back to his barracks to gather his equipment.

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There's another chapter up right now, so keep going.