"Wwwwaaaahhhh," A baby cried out.
"Ssshh," A woman with a stunning complexion and blonde hair said, calming the baby down. She gently stroked the baby's cheek and held it in her arms. She cradled the baby until it made no noise and laid it back into its wooden crib.
Just after, a man with brown hair and a partial beard walked into the old, creaky house. He closed the door behind him, making the house shudder in response. The house had no windows and the only thing that was in it was a chair, bed, crib, and a pot. Everything in the house was either worn out or broken.
"Welda, is he asleep?" The man said.
Welda took one last glance at the baby and looked back at the man who asked her the question.
"Yes," She calmly said.
"Good," The man walked behind his wife and began to massage her shoulders. "You must be exhausted."
"Mmmmmm," Welda said, lost in the moment. "Midas, don't ...stop..."
*Knock* *Knock*
Midas ceased his actions and walked to answer the door.
"Can't even enjoy a good massage..." Welda exclaimed with her arms crossed.
"At least I know it was good," Midas responded with a sarcastic tone and opened the door.
Midas was surprised to find two big men standing outside. They had on big silver armor with brown fur on their shoulders. They had big boots and wide pants to occupy them. They were each holding a morning star in their hand, a shield no where to be seen. Their masks covered their head but left their face wide open, not considering the metal line that covered their nose.
Midas could barely see their faces since it was nighttime but he knew who they were...they were cleric knights.
"You know why we're here, you undead scum," One of the men said and shoved Midas.
Midas stumbled back and fell to the ground.
Welda was about to run to him but Midas stopped her.
"Welda, I need you to take Leo and go. You're not what I am. "
Welda scrambled Leo into her arms and made her way to the door, only to be stopped by one of the knights.
"I'm sorry but that baby has to cleansed too. "
"You're not touching my son, " Midas yelled and tackled the knight who stood in Welda's way.
Midas and the surprised cleric knight slammed onto the ground. They both wrestled on the ground, Midas trying his best to keep the knight pinned but the knight's strength was far greater than Midas's. The cleric knight kicked Midas off of him, making Midas slam into Leo's crib. The crib collapsed on impact, making Welda gasp.
The other cleric knight closed the door and held out his mace.
"No more fooling around you undead. We will rid you of this poor life style right now!"
The cleric knight ran to Midas and smashed his mace into his left leg.
Midas screamed in pain as the sharp spikes of the mace tore through his leg and clothing.
"Midas!" Welda yelled in desperation.
The knight gripped his mace and pulled the mace out of his leg. Blood ran down the leg of Midas, dripping on the old wood that was the floor of the house.
"Hah hah hah hah hah, it makes me happy to see undead suffer," The knight said in joy. "Now...for the finishing blow!"
Midas gripped his left leg in pain, blood still pouring out.
He crawled over to a wall and used it to help him stand up.
"Poor undead, you made a mistake trying to live in Thorolund," The knight who had struck him said.
Both of the knights walked over to Midas and held their maces high but before they could strike him, Midas grabbed a chair and struck one of the knights. He dropped his mace and fell to the floor. Midas took this opening and quickly grabbed the mace.
The other stunned knight swung his weapon but Midas swayed back and thrashed his mace into the knight's helmet. The knight collapsed on the ground, unconscious after the blow.
The knight who was still conscious swung his mace into Midas's left leg again, causing Midas to fall on the ground in pain again. The knight yanked the mace out of Midas's leg and swung again, hitting Midas's left arm.
Midas fell over on his right side, making in pain.
"Now it's time to di-"
The knight soon became deathly quiet and his body ,silently fell onto Midas, a knife in his back.
Welda stood, stunned of what she had just done. She then snapped out of her daze and dropped down to aid her husband. She moved the dead knight's body from atop of Midas and noticed Midas wasn't moving.
"Midas! Speak to me! Are you OK?!"
Midas didn't respond.
"Midas!" Welda screamed out, waking Leo who was laying on the ground next to her.
Midas then began to move, but was it ever so faint.
"Welda... " Midas faintly said. "Go...Leo... You... Must be safe... "
Tears ran down Welda's face as she was trying to understand what he was saying.
"No! I'm not leaving you! " She cried out.
Midas raised his hand and latched onto Welda's hand.
"Fine...I keep the...Estus in the...shed..."
"Right! " Welda walked to the door.
"Welda! " Midas yelled out.
"What?"
"Bring Leo with you; I don't want him to sleep in...this."
Welda scooped up the baby and walked out the door.
Now he was alone. Welda was gone, safe. He could now do what he needed to do.
Welda ran to the back do the house and ran into a wooden structure that was the shed. The shed was basically a junk place for Midas and Welda so Welda would have to find the Estus quick in order Midas. She started to rummage through dozens of stuff and ran across a glass bottle. She held it up and examined it.
Midas raised his hand and fire started to engulf it. Henever told Welda that he was a pyromancer but it was too late now. Midas struggled to stand up and leaned against a wall. He slumped into the middle of the house and took a deep breath.
"This is it!" Welda exclaimed.
"This is it..." Midas said to himself. A tear rolled down his face as Midas raised his hands and slammed them onto the floor of the house.
Welda ran back around the house and stopped in front of the door when she started to smell burning wood.
"What the-"
Fire pillars erupted from the house and engulfed the house. A pillar erupted from the door and sent Welda flying through the air until she hit a tree. She skidded down and landed on her bum, baby still in arms. Her right arm was burned but she paid little attention to that as she watched in horror as her house was being consumed by flames.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Welda screamed at the top of her lungs but there was little she could do. After a few more seconds, the and all that was left of her husband and her house were ashes.
Welda stood up and walked to the now burned house in a weird manner. She approached her house and fell on her knees. Streams of water left her eyes as she stared at the ashes.
She looked at the baby sleeping away in her arms. "Leo...I will protect you...I swear on my life... "
24 years later...
Fire. Fire and smoke filled the air, making the process of breathing nearly impossible. Sounds of a woman screaming pierced through the midnight air impacting his eardrums and the a burning cabin was put into sight.
A dark figure emerged from the flames and began to slowly walk towards him. The figure was not that of a human and seemed to look more as a demon as it got closer. Step by step it got closer and when it was close enough, it reached out its hand.
"Diiiie..." The lithe figure managed to say. It's voice was sharp and hard to understand.
"Diiee...DIIIIIIEEEEE!"
Leo sprung from his bed, sweat trickling forehead. He brought his hands to his face and studied them. Who, no, what was it that he saw?!
Leo took a huge sigh and on his bed. Today was more combat drills, and the day started roughly.
Once fully clothed he exited his bare room, to see his mother by the table, wrapping up some bread and cheese in a small piece of clothe. Once finished she handed him the pouch, and smiled sadly at him, his face was a heavy reminder of his father.
His mother never talked much, Midas's death had changed her greatly into a shy more introverted person, but she never stopped caring for her son.
"I'm proud of you." she said, taking him completely by surprise, on the rare occasion she did speak, she was very unsure of her voice, having since been unused for great stretches of time, but this time she spoke like she hadn't before. She spoke with an ease that he he'd never seen, though still it was tinged with grey hair was unkempt, and her features; once beautiful in youth, were now ragged with age.
He left his home with a strange confidence, unsure of its origins.
As he walked the streets of the Astoran town, Gourth, he went over the drills in his head making sure that his memory was correct.
The camp he was traveling to was a few miles out from the town's edge, from the edge of town he would take a commonly used path through the woods, where he would then arrive.
The trip took him a few hours, and when he had arrived men were already sparring with dulled blades. Men were throwing playful jeers at a particularly tense match. One of the duelists he knew; Merek, his name was. The other one he believed to be Rowan.
They circled each other, both were fidgety, looking for the perfect moment to strike. Rowan, who was infamous for being impatient, struck first.
It was far too telegraphed though and Merek easily swiped the blade away. Seeing an opening Merek jabbed at him. Rowan just barely sidestepped the attack, and quickly retaliated at the now open Merek with a vertical slice.
Merek scrambled back in a desperate attempt to avoid the blow, and in doing so he tripped over himself and landed on his hind, his sword lost from his grip.
Rowan brought his blade down to Merek's throat.
"Do you yield?" he said smugly.
Merek replied with a low growl as victor walked away.
Their instructor, an elite knight named Oscar, walked over to the two men.
He offered the fallen man a hand which was accepted.
"In a duel you must always offer your opponent respect." he said to the mannerless duelist.
Rowan simply scoffed at that and headed over to the archery fields.
"The day begins." Oscar told the rather downtrodden man.
As the day went on a few more sparring matches took place, though none as tense as the one from the beginning of the day.
A troubling dark smoke appeared later in the day, coming from the direction of the town, so Oscar dispatched a runner to see what trouble had occurred.
As night drew close and the cold and darkness began to fall, their practice had come to a close and multiple bonfire's had been set up where rabbits were cooking on spit's with men sitting around them their hands over the fire, or holding a cup of ale.
Leo sat at one particular fire, rubbing his palms together, watching his breath mist out in front of him.
Rowan was delivering a raucous tale of some women he'd bedded, boasting of what he did. As his story was coming to a close a breathless messenger ran out from the treeline screaming incoherently about some beast. Oscar stood sharply from his place on the log and jogged over to the out of breath teen.
"Tell me boy, what did you see?" Oscar inquired worriedly.
"There- It- I!"
"Slow down, tell me from the beginning."
"I- I came at the edge of town, and… It was all burnin' the-the-there was bodies everywhere…"
"What… What force did this."
"It- it was a thing! Oh It was horrible! A wretched demon!"
Oscar turned to the men men around them listening to the teen's words in horror.
"Gather your blades! Put on your mail!"
They all ran for the weapons, strapping the sheathes to their hips, scrambling to put on their the armor.
As soon as they put on the gear, they ran for the town. Leo was one of the first to to begin the trek back, running at full speed. He passed a few other of his comrades tightening straps on their armor as they ran.
He saw Oscar just ahead running at the head of their hastily prepared force at a decent pace even though he was bogged down by his plate. The trip was painfully long, the anxiety of it all stressed him to no end.
Almost there he thought as he neared the town. He burst from the treeline and was so utterly horrified that he was paralyzed. A thick smoke rose from the burning buildings. Bodies were strewn across the streets. Some corpses even held makeshift weapons in the hands.
He was shook from his stupor by Oscar.
"Quick, we must avenge these people." Leo couldn't see the knight's face but he could hear the rage in his voice.
He followed Oscar into the town running past building after building searching for the perpetrator of this wretched act.
The knights went into a halt when a demonic scream shook the ground. The area they stood in seemed to become darker and darker as earth-shaking footsteps neared them. Leo's morbid curiosity got the best of him for he walked ahead of the group and called out, "Show yourself, you damned beast!"
Leo's curiosity was cut short when a deformed, bulbous head peeked from a corner of a building. Dozens of eyes covered it's disgusting head darting in every direction, dark fog poured from its every orifice. Once the beast's body was well in sight, you could see that the dark energy was trying to sew the body together so the beast wouldn't explode from its heavily bloated stomach where specks of white light was bursting through.
Overall when the beast came into sight it was a massive thing, crawling on all fours, heavily deformed, it's limbs were distended, and extremely long. Boils grew and popped all over it's body, slowly growing to then pop in an explosion of noxious fumes, and a toxic greenish, brown liquids. It twisted awkwardly into a position where it struggled to move, it was like an infant learning to walk as it quite pathetically wobbled over thrashing violently and moving erratically, seemingly spasming as it moved. It looked vaguely humanoid, maybe that was what it once was... but now it's something to abhor. As it moved it moaned, a screeching noise that hurt ones ear, but almost sounded as if… it was in pain. A curious oddity that would not be pondered at this time.
"What...what is that?" Rowan said.
Oscar stared at the monstrosity that stood before them, his hand to his helmet.
"That is a demon," Oscar answered," But it doesn't look like the ones I've read in books...it's different than the others..."
"Look out!" Rowan yelled, warning Oscar of the incoming danger.
The demonic, dark beast extended one of its arms and it came to Oscar at full speed. Oscar held his shield in front of him and waited for impact but something unusual happened. The beast's arm curved around Oscar and slammed onto Oscar's side.
He flew into a wall of a wooden building and smashed through it, gone from sight. His shield had fallen from his grasp and lay a few feet away from Leo, his own shield just a simple buckler. They all charged at the moaning creature, screaming pathetic warcries. Leo just stood back, completely paralysed, he'd always wanted to be a knight, a dashing hero from stories his mother told him. He especially loved the story about the faithful knight of Gwyn; Artorias.
Here though, he stood stock still, his eyes wide open watching as the men he trained with and for some befriended ran into an almost certain death which he knew would befall them.
The first man to reach it was quickly smashed to bits by a brutal stomp. Blood and gore was splashed onto his comrades. Coating them in red.
Another ran forward and slashed at the beast. In response, the things head cracked open revealing two sets of brutal deformed teeth. It let loose a howl into the night sky, and the closest men staggered back screaming and clutching their ears before their heads exploded in a spray of blood, bone, and grey matter. It shut it massive jaw and used it head as blunt weapon and slammed its head down on one man, mashing him beyond recognition. It reared its head back then leapt into the air, and slammed into the ground crushing two footmen under it. Seeing this as an advantage Merek charged forward to attack at the beast, but as he was about to strike, a boil popped, coating him in acid, his screams punctuated the the knight, through the crackle of the burning buildings, as he, layer by layer, was melted down.
When it got back on its feet it unhinges its jaw once more as it grabbed a footman by the waist, his feet shaking wildly slammed it teeth into him over and over until he went limp, and the beast tossed the corpse away.
All that stood before it know was Rowan he stood shakily, weakly clutching his longsword. He charged forward only to knocked over when the beast swiped him away. It raised its foot over Rowan's knees and slammed down, turning it into a red pulp. It bent its head down closer to legless Rowan's head who was whimpering as all the eyes on its head looked straight at Rowan, who was now sobbing.
The beast opened its jaw and growled, it was a guttural noise, and it vomited out a glowing, grey, thick liquid over Rowan. He spasmed under it for a few seconds, then he went still.
All eyes turned to Leo, and its head rose from Rowan's corpse. It moved towards him, its movement less infantile, and more steady than it had previously.
Unseen by both the beast and Leo, Oscar who lay crumpled under a pile of wood, stood weakly. A plethora of bones had been broken, and those bone fragments ruptured many of his internal organs. Oscar knew the trouble Leo was in and he had to save him...he swore to Welda, that troubled old woman, that he would protect him. He steadily began to get up, even though his body ached in the process.
When he made it outside, he noticed the dark beast sprinting toward Leo. Oscar had to protect Leo...even if it cost him his life. Right when the demon pulled back its arm to hit Leo, Oscar dashed in front of him to take the impact, knowing what would happen to him.
"Leo...tell your mother I'm sorry," Oscar said.
Oscar turned back to the demon and yelled," Come at me, you foul beast!"
Oscar's words were cut short when blood shot through the sky, everything went silent…
If you made it this far, then you have earned a thank you from me. Please comment so I know what you thought and don't be afraid to follow! Cheers!