This document was written by Mario Di Giacomo (mdg_online@yahoo.com).
It is being hosted on the web site of Soleil Lapierre (lapierrs@cuug.ab.ca).

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With the possible Magik appearance in X-Men Unlimited #19, I've dusted
off my "Theory of why there must be two soulswords, and hence Magik is
still alive.", or the Theory, for short.

I've tried to be accurate, and incorporate as many canonical references
as possible.  While some may fault me for using the Soulsword and
Promethium arcs, they *did* happen, and I felt I should make them work.

Now, on with the show:

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                      T H E   T H E O R Y


The 15th century:
        Bound by his magicks to a group of Elder Gods, the sorceror
Belasco is sent to the dimension which some have called Limbo.  These
Elder Gods forge part of it's substance, the mystical metal called
Promethium or soulsteel, into a magical sword, which Belasco uses to
corrupt the souls of other sorcerors, thereby enslaving them to his
will, and adding to his power.  This ploy, while often succesful, did not
result in sufficient power to break his masters' confinement.
        At some point between then and now, Belasco, turned demonic by
his masters, not only inspires portions of Dante's Inferno, but also has
his right arm severed by his own sword.
        In recent history, Belasco used a spell which created mystical
bloodstones, in a ploy to corrupt the soul of Shanna, the She-Devil, but
was foiled in his efforts.  At a later date, he was more successful in
corrupting the gypsy sorceress Margali Szardos, but was not able to
complete the spell.  His sword was instrumental in this process.

11 years ago:
        Illyana Nikolovena Rasputina is born at the Ust-Ordynski
Collective, on Lake Baikal in Siberia, the sister of Piotr and Mikhail
Rasputin.

3 years ago:
        After being kidnapped by the assasin Arcade, and rescued by her
brother, now a member of the X-men, Illyana is sent to America to live
with him.  A surprising move, considering the adventures her sibling
found himself experiencing.  And one which was ultimately costly, as the
X-men were soon placed in conflict with Belasco, and Illyana was
accidentally captured. (Note: one record indicates Belasco knew her
potential, but there is no clear proof of this).

Timeline 1:
        The seven-year old Illyana disappears.  The X-men are defeated,
save only for Ororo Munroe, Kitty Pryde, and Kurt Wagner, who are
trapped in Limbo.  Cut off from the biosphere, Ororo soon loses her
weather-control abilities, but undergoes a study of sorcery, becoming
quite adept.  Kitty becomes a warrior, known as Cat, while Kurt, now
demonic in spirit as well as body, serves Belasco.  Some years pass.

Timeline 2:
        The X-men are defeated, but manage to escape, leaving Illyana
behind. She is first apprenticed to Ororo, but Cat, fearing her
corruption by magic, takes her under her wing.  By now, Belasco had
noted her potential, and soon takes the young sorceress under *his*
tutelage.
        He begins the process of corrupting her, using the Beatrice
medallion (created in the age of Dante, and used previously with Shanna
the She-Devil)   Meanwhile, he also starts to work on Ororo, now
powerful enough to be a benifit, or a threat.
        However, his young pupil, now 6 years older, prevents him, at
the cost of Ororo's life, and soon after, loses a further part of her
soul.  Enraged, he entraps her in the now deserted garden Ororo had used
for a refuge.
        Although Illyana first tries to create a work of positive magic,
as Ororo did, the effects of Belasco's corruption prevented this.
Instead, half-remembered experiences of her early captivity inspired her
to create a sword of her own, forged not of soulsteel, but of the sum
and substance of her magical abilities.
        Breaking free, she attacks her tormentor, in a scene not unlike
the Emperor/Skywalker confrontation in "Return of the Jedi".  Like Luke,
she held back at the last moment, realizing the danger of giving in to
her "Dark Side".  Calling a stepping disc, a feature of Limbo she had
great proficiency with (due to her mutant heritage), she traversed time
and space, reappearing in the X-mansion...
        Belasco was forced out of Limbo, and turns his attentions first
to his former victim, Shanna O'Hara, attempting to use her in his plans.
Defeated by her and her fiance, Ka-Zar, he travels instead to the Land
Within, home of the demonic Cat People, where he soon becomes their
ruler.  He places the sword in hiding, having devised a rather baroque
stratagem.

(still) 3 years ago:
        Illyana returns, now 7 years older.  At first she attempts to
return to her family, but her parents did not really understand the
truth, and she continued to live with her brother (who was more used to
bizarre occurences), and became a member of the "junior" team: The New
Mutants.
        While battling the mystical Demon Bear, Magik begins to manifest
"Eldritich armor".  This armor was a subconscious exercise of her
mystical ability, and symbolized the positive aspect of her soul,
defending her from corrupting magicks.  For the rest of her tenure on
the New Mutants, the armor would manifest to defend against the effects
of Belasco's enchantments.
        At one point, to save her friends from the techno-organic
extraterrestrial known as Magus, Illyana brings them to Limbo, only to
have Magus follow her, infecting first her servitor S'ym, and then one
facet of the entire plane.  Illyana plunges her soulsword into the
plane, purging it of corruption, but the mystical feedback shuts down
her powers, temporarily.  However, as they are still latent, they are
easily re-activated with the telepathic assistance of Charles Xavier.
        For much of the rest of the year, S'ym continues to rebel, as
his own infection,  stronger because of direct contact with Magus, was
not cured by the sword, increasing his power immensely.  Only once, when
Magik vengefully gave him a troop of "Smile-Faces" did he temporarily
relent.  (Note: It's also possible that he, like Belasco, is not native
to Limbo, and is hence immune to it's transmutative effects.)
        When, in a fit of rage against the mutant Forge, she "reclaims"
her sword, actually subconsciously ceasing her concentration on
reshaping the plane, S'ym revolts yet again.  This time, however, her
psychic defenses are weakened enough that Belasco causes her to summon
not her blade, but his.  His plan was near fruition.

Inferno:

        S'ym gains control of Limbo,  while N'astirh convinces Magik to
embrace her demonic side. She does so, and now opens a portal to Earth.
She soon realizes her error, but now S'ym and N'astirh, both infected by
the techno-organic virus, are in control of NYC.  Furious,  Illyana
opens up to *both* sides of her heritage, manifesting full armor,
as well as the full demonic panoply.  She battles with S'ym, drawing
him, and the New Mutants, to Limbo, where she has become almost fully
demonic. (I suspect, had events not occured differently, she would have
lost another fifth of her soul,  making her 4/5th's his thrall, and
possibly dooming her to Belasco's service).
        Careening through Limbo's history, the other New Mutants rescue
the Illyana from timeline I (see above), and at the last minute,
convince "their" Illyana to relent.  Teleporting them to Earth,  she
cast what she believed to be *her* soulsword at the rift, sealing the
breach.
        She realized, however, that only by causing the other demons to
believe she was truly no longer a threat would she have time to prepare
for their final defeat, she 'ported the other Illyana to earth,
protecting her with a hastily conjured duplicate of her armor, and hid
herself in a forgotten corner of Limbo.
         Within a few short months, "real time", Belasco had relocated
 his blade.  Since the Storm of the main timeline was believed to be
dead (and was, as far as he could determine), he set his sights on the
young Katherine Pryde, recuperating in England.   He sends his sword out
to a lighthouse where Shadowcat was living.  To his surprise, this
version had great potential, and might even become the Matrix of
Realities.  He began to plot anew.

Last year:
         At one point, the despotic mystic Victor von Doom snatches the
 blade, and uses it to locate the promethium deposits on Limbo, which
 were under the care of Darkoth, formerly a US operative, who had
Promethium bonded to his skeleton by Doom.  Upon his "death", the metal
was pulled back to Limbo, dragging his soul along with it.
        Due to the intervention of Roma, Excalibur, and the West Coast
Avengers, Doom is defeated, although he acquires a suit of Promethium
armor.  Darkoth defeats S'ym. becoming de facto ruler of the Plane.
        At some later date, he resists the attempted overthrow of the
plane by the sorceress Shrill, but the grievous wounds he recieved allow
S'ym to be released.  Soon after, Belasco returns from the Land Within,
and reclaims both Limbo and his Soulsword.
        At some point during the year, Belasco uses the mutant Cable to
successfully chastise S'ym, removing the last remaining barrier to his
dominion over Limbo.
         The second Illyana Rasputin dies, a victim of the Legacy Virus.
 Belasco recovers the blade, and returns it to Katherine Pryde, who
 wrongly believed this was due to the death of the child. (This belief
is further supported by a subtle, Belasco-created, mystical effect at
I-2's death...Belasco has no shame)   The corruption of Kitty begins,
but before Belasco could take root, other events intervene.
         His sword, an artifact well known in occult circles, becomes
the focus of a contest among the sorceror Gravemoss, the mystical
warrior Shrill, and Excalibur.  At first, it seems to be a victory for
Excalibur, but when the blade is passed to Margali Sefton, Belasco makes
his move, completing the process he had begun years earlier,  and easily
swaying her to his will.
        Assisted by the shards of a Demon-lord's trident (also made of
soulsteel?) Margali acts out Belasco's impulses, attempting to release
an arch-devil from imprisonment.  (a dry run for Belasco's true
purpose...the release of his masters) When the attempt fails, Belasco
takes Margali prisoner, reclaiming his sword for himself.  Since then,
he has been quiet, reappearing only recently to test members of
Excalibur, for as yet unknown purposes.

However, by using the bound souls of the other members of the carnival she
traveled with, Margali was able to swap minds with her daughter, Amanda
"Daytripper" Sefton, and along with her foster son, Kurt Wagner, was able to
free her physical form (as well as those of the carnival troupe) from
Belasco's dominion, where, after a confrontation with the still functional
S'ym, they confronted Belasco in his tower.

At one point, Belasco dropped his sword out a window, where it was swallowed
by the shifting sands of Limbo.  After his seeming destruction, and the exodus
of Margali and Kurt, Amanda became guardian of Limbo, although she does not
wield  the Soulsword, which had been the previous sign of stewardship.

Unnoticed by the heroes, an armored hand reached from the sands of Limbo,
clutching the Soulsword...

To sum up:
        We have two swords...one, Belasco's, which has centuries of
history, and has been the focus of much contention (rather badly
written, by all accounts) in Excalibur.  It was last seen being gripped in an
armored glove, wearer unknown.
        The other never left Illayana.  If she lives, and there is no
reason to believe she doesn't, she may still be able to use it.
However, Belasco still holds a claim on her soul, and she is therefore
still at risk of becoming his slave.  The Darkchilde still exists, as
well.  If she does in fact wield Belasco's blade as well, the risk of further
corruption is greater...personally, I don't believe he's dead for a minute.