This is a story. A story that has been lived many times, over and over again. Each is different in its own way, but each still follows the same path. You may ask, "What story would this be?". In due time, you will find out. It all begins here.

I awoke in a dark cell. How did I end up here? I had no such memory of anything.

"Is anyone there?" I shouted. No response.

Great. I still had no idea as to who I was or where I could possibly be. I quickly decided that sitting here in this disgusting filth would get me nowhere. I scavenged through the worn down cell to find some way out. There were two or three mouse sized holes, but obviously, I couldn't fit through them. Something creaked above me. I looked up, and a dead body fell from the sky. I scurried out of the way of its descent. I looked up to the ceiling to see a trap door, and a man clad in armor kneeling at its edge. I looked down at the body.

"Thank y-" I said, but to no one, for when I looked up, the man was gone. Attached to the corpse's belt was an iron key. Hopefully, it would open the door. I walked to the cell door and inserted the key. The key was very rusted and only turned about halfway before breaking in the keyhole. I sighed and did the only thing I could possibly think of, ramming the the cell door down with all of my might. It wasn't an easy task, but the door gave way on the third try.

I walk down a long dark hall, water pooling at the base of the wall on my left. I looked to the ceiling. Dirty water was dripping from the cracks in the brick ceiling. Was it raining? I had a feeling that this structure, obviously some sort of asylum, hadn't been used in years. I approached a rusted ladder at the end of the hall and looked up. I quickly glance back down the hallway. Suddenly, a loud moaning sound emanated from the other end. This was fuel to my fire. I climbed as quickly as I could.

Was I afraid?

No. I just didn't know what to expect, and really didn't want to find out.

I walked out into a bright room, covering my eyes from the invading sunlight. I looked ahead, seeing a dying flame sitting in the room's center. I decided to try and get my head clear and rest for a moment, but the last ember of the flame went out as soon as I sat down. I sighed. There was certainly no relief in this godforsaken place. I suddenly had the urge to stand again. Something in me made me reach my hand towards the pile of ashes. I focused, and the ashes ignited into a blistering flame. The sudden ignition of the once dead fire surprised me, causing me to take a step back.

That wasn't normal.

I tried with all my might to remember something, anything, but came up with not even a thought. I looked at the rags I was wearing, hoping that it would trigger a memory, or even give me a clue as to who I was, but nothing clicked. It was almost as if I never existed until this point in time. But that couldn't be true.

Could it?

After a good amount of rest in front of the fire that I created from thin air, I decided that it was time to move on.

I got up and looked around the area with more detail than I had previously. There was a very large stone door, and another cell door, but the cell door looked barred shut from the other side. I knew that there was no way of ramming that one open. So I decided to try the big door in front of the fire. I pushed with all of my strength, and, slowly, it opened. As I walked through the large room that was now before me, I heard a booming roar from above. I noticed a giant hole in the ceiling, and standing over it was a giant, terrifying creature. I was paralyzed with fear.

I slowly made my way through the room, hoping that was roaring at anything but me. I figured I was in the clear until the thing suddenly came crashing down in front of me, putting me face to face, or rather face to stomach, with the hulking beast. It had reptilian skin, and vicious, bloody teeth. It roared, dripping spit on my clothes. It brought its large stone hammer up, aiming to crush me. I panicked, and dodged its swing. the attack smashed through a couple of pots, revealing an open door and a stairway. Figuring that anywhere was better than here, I ran through it as fast as I could.

As I proceeded down the stairs, I heard something slam against the ground. I turned around and realized that a steel gate had closed off the way in. The beast would never be able to reach me, but now, I was trapped. I had no choice but to continue down the stairs. At the bottom of them, there lie another pile of ashes, like the fire before. I decided to test if I could light this one as well. I reached my hand towards it. It ignited brilliantly, almost brighter than the last. Something in my head clicked. A bonfire. That must have been what it was called. It felt right, but with no memory to guide me on these things, I had been completely in the dark on what seemed to be ordinary in this world. I sat down to collect my thoughts.

I was slowly growing worried of the dangers ahead. I had nothing but my bare fists, and with that being said, I knew I stood no chance against what lie beyond. I was nearly killed by the monster upstairs. I finally got the nerve to start moving again, but with reluctance, not wanting to leave the fire's side. I walked through a doorway, and there was a man with a bow at the end of the hall. It wasn't the man who dropped the corpse. It was someone else.

"Hello?" I called out to him. "Sir!"

He said nothing. He just stood there, motionless. I approached him slowly, attempting to attract his attention. It worked, but not the way I expected. As I got closer he raised his bow and proceeded to shoot arrows at me. I dodged most of them but got hit in my leg while running into a side room. I noticed a skeleton on the ground, which had a sword and shield in its hands. I grabbed them, testing thier weight. Not exactly the best, but now I could defend myself.

I walked out into hallway with my shield raised to deflect the barrage of arrows. As I got closer I noticed that the man firing at me wasn't a man at all, not quite. It looked like it once was, but it was almost as if it was simply a skeleton with skin. What evil was this? I couldn't dwell on the matter, however. I had to focus on surviving. In order to find out who I was, and what my purpose was, I could allow no skin and bones monster to stop me. I charged forward with great speed, sword prepared to strike. The undead creature tried running away as I proceeded to get closer.

I wouldn't let him escape.

With my hand clenched tight on the sword, I swung fast and hard, landing two blows on the creature. It was injured but not dead. I finished it off with a third and final strike, but as the sword sunk through its chest, I grazed my leg on a rock, reminding me of the pain that I had felt there moments ago. I looked down to my leg after pulling the sword out of the monster. I had felt it bleeding for a few minutes now, but the blood was an odd color. It was black instead of red. I was about to roll up my pantleg to check the wound, but I was startled to see that my hands were similar to that of the creature that I killed. I removed my shirt, and was surprised to find skin that wasn't human. Or, at least, I didn't think so. I checked for a pulse at my neck, but there was nothing. This was very odd. I decided to continue moving, hoping that I could find something to treat my wound ahead.

I went up a set of stairs and found myself behind a wall of fog. I wasn't exactly sure what I would find behind it, but I knew that I couldn't stay here. I had to keep moving forward. I walked through it, and turned right. I came upon a staircase. With my shield raised, I slowly proceeded to move up. I head the sound of stone cracking, and a boulder began heading right for me. Out of instinct, I jumped off the staircase onto a lower set. The boulder crashed into a stone wall, revealing a room. I walked in, and was surprised to find the man who had dropped the corpse into my cell. I rushed to his side, figuring that, maybe, I could get some answers, or at least an idea of what the hell was going on.

He looked over towards me. "You made it out. Thank goodness." He said. "I'm done for, I'm afraid."

"You'll be fine. We can both get out if you come with me." I said, trying to rouse him up.

"No. Nothing can save me. First i'll lose my sanity. I'll wither and die. Then, I'll come back as a hollow, as is the fate of the undead." He said.

"The undead...?" I asked. I looked at my hand.

"Before I die, I have a favor to ask of you." He said. "Hear me out. Won't you?"

"Of course." I replied.

"Regrettably, I have failed in my mission. But perhaps you can keep the torch lit. There is an old saying in my family; Thou who art Undead, art chosen. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know." He said. "Well, now you know... and I can die with hope in my heart."

"But where do I go?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You'll know when you get there. Oh, one more thing. Here, take these." He said, handing me a key and a green glass vial of golden, glowing liquid. "Its an Estus Flask, an Undead favourite. The key opens the door, just up there." He said, pointing to the top of the stairs with a bit of strain.

"I..." I stuttered. "Thank you."

"I would hate to harm you after death. you should leave." He said.

"But I don't even know your name." I complained.

He looked at me. "Oscar. Oscar of Astora." He replied. "Go now... And thank you."

I nodded at him, and turned to walk out of the room. I hesitated, but only for a second before moving on.

I walked back up the stairs and fought through a few more undead soldiers. These guys were seriously getting on my nerves. According to Oscar, I was an undead, too, and so was he. Every bit of information that he gave me only made things worse, creating more questions than it gave answers. The biggest one now was why couldn't I remember anything, but Oscar could? It was too late to ask now. I had to keep moving. I looked up from where I was standing, facing another barrier of fog. I walked through it and found myself on a balcony above the room in which I was ambushed by the creature with the hammer earlier. I looked over the balcony, hoping that the room was empty.

Of course it wasn't.

My old nemesis, the Asylum Demon, stood below, unaware that I was right on top of him. I had the upper hand. I dropped on him from above with great force. He looked up just in time to get a facefull of sword. He roared, dropping his hammer and reaching for me, the blood dripping from his forehead blinding him. He got a grip on my torso and threw me across the room. I got up as he recovered. My sword was still planted in his head. I needed it, or else I would be killed quickly. He swung his hammer, breaking a support pillar. If he could bring his hammer directly down into the ground, then maybe I could run up to his head and pull my sword out. I ran towards him and threw a rock, tricking him into thinking that I was in front of him. He brought his hammer down, and I grabbed the hilt of my sword and ripped it out. He roared a mighty roar and swung directly at me, hitting me back across the room. I hit the wall hard, then hit the floor. I reached for my Estus Flask and drank a sip of it. I instantly felt better. I got up, feeling like new. I charged the beast with my newfound strength and began slicing its stomach. After what felt like hours, the disgusting beast toppled, its flesh melting. A key sat in the fleshy ooze. I picked it up and shook off the blood. As I went walking towards the door, I felt a sensation that I couldn't put into words. Something filled me, and even greater sensation of strength than when I drank from the flask. It wore off on mere moments, however, leaving me feeling drained.

I used the key to open the door, which revealed a pathway to the top of the mountain the Asylum rested upon. I was slowly growing stronger, which was a good thing, because if Oscar was telling the truth, then I was sure this journey wouldn't be an easy one. I decided to look over my gear for a moment. When I finished preparing to move on, I started walking up the path until I reached the end. I was greeted by the view of a mountain filled skyline. While I started into the distance, I heard the flapping if wings beneath me.

Heavy, heavy wings.

Suddenly, a giant bird grabbed me by my shoulders and whipped me up off of the ground. I was startled as it flew me up, far above the ground. I punched its leg, but realized that it was not the best idea. I decided that wherever the thing was going to take me, I had better hope that it wasn't to my doom, because there wasn't much at all that I could do about it.