The long bridge that spanned the length from the great wall to the enormous cathedral was always a sight to behold. The frost clung to the smooth stones, reflecting the distant setting sun with a gorgeous orange glow. Eleum Loyce was always a beautiful land, but it was truly breathtaking during sunset. There wasn't much time to gawk, however. Dire news from distant Forossa required the haste of the young courier-knight who now quickly marched along that long, sparkling bridge.
His boots cracked the ever present ice that perpetually built up all over the city. Hit attire fitting the hard journey between Forossa and Eleum Loyce, the Faraam Armor providing plenty of insulation from the great white expanse of the frozen tundra. The Knight passed by others of similar status, though they wore the armor more befitting those chosen few who were ranked among the Loyce knights. They nodded in respect and greeting towards one another, each recognizing the little personalization's of each other's gear, from small bits of multicolored cloth to intricate engravings in the metal.
They had all spent enough time together to recognize one another without having to remove their helmets, and it was that time spent together that prevented the two passing Loyce knights from stopping the younger Faraam Knight to talk and reunite like old friends. The younger man's quick pace and unusually stoic and straight-backed demeanour indicating that the news he brought was nothing good.
His armour was showing signs of wear, not just road wear however, for the long scratches and dents showed that his journey had not been an easy one. The two knights fell into step behind the courier, both to sate their own curiosity as to what ill tiding's the young man brought, and to provide assistance should it be needed.
They marched in silence, with nothing but the wind and the clanking of metal to accompany their suddenly tense approach. The great doors of the Cathedral opened to them once they had been spotted by another knight, who in turn signalled for the opening of the doors so as not to delay the courier. Inside, the last priestesses who remained to tidy up after the day's rituals and prayers quickly made way for the stolid knights as they entered the massive building.
Once they finally reached the throne room, all three knights knelt in a little circle facing a great gate, with the courier in the center and at the forefront of the group. After a few moments of shuffling, a regal voice called out from atop his high seat atop the very centerpiece of the room.
"Rise, my friends. And tell me what tidings come from our homeland." The Ivory King spoke, kindly but firmly, and to those that knew him, slightly fearfully.
The courier stood from his kneeling position, while his two companions remained knelt in reverence for the great king. He removed his helmet and held it at his side with his left hand, displaying his sharp features and dark hair. "I bring ill tidings my lord. Forossa has fallen to her enemies. She is nothing more than a land of bandits and mercenaries now." The courier hung his head sadly, and the reaction from the small gathering of priestesses and knights surrounding the throne was as expected. Hushed murmurs and expressions of shock vibrated throughout the throng whereas the Ivory King just nodded and hung his head as well.
A frail, pale hand landed quietly on the cold stone railing that surrounded the stairway to the throne, gripping the rock tightly to hide its trembling. The Queen Alsanna stood at the Ivory King's side as she always did, appearing as a mere sickly shade against the massive prescience of her king and husband. She spoke quietly, almost too quietly for the courier to hear her, but he managed to make out her words well enough.
"How did it happen, Sir Knight? That we may prevent it here." She looked down somberly, much like her king as she awaited his answer.
The room quieted at her words, once they had fully sunk in amongst the assembled people. They knew her insinuation, that if the great and proud Forossa could fall without the constant pressure of great evil, what chance did they have in their duties?
The knight looked up at her and smiled kindly, though it was more for the benefit of her and the other shaken members of the court than for any particularly happy news. "They were beset on all sides by traitorous and dishonourable scum for generations my good lady. Not even our great skill could save an overwhelmed country. Though it grieves me deeply to say, we are now on our own." His smile faltered for a moment, before returning with an almost religious zeal. "However, I am not afraid! For we are the greatest warriors in the land, led by the greatest king who ever lived! Not even the fires of chaos can bring us to our knees, so how could we fail?"
This brought murmurs of assent and shouts of agreement, along with the return of the indomitable spirit of the men and women of Eleum Loyce. Alsanna's own expression shifted to one slightly less fearful, almost turning into a small smile. And the Ivory King's face lit up with pride at the words displayed by the young knight.
"Well said, my friend. Though this may be a somber day, we shall take solace in our family," He looked down happily at Alsanna "And our duty." Before his gaze turned towards the back of the cathedral, were a gaping pit descended directly to the source of all of Eleum Loyce's worries and problems.
This brought a shout of agreement from the assorted men and women, and a salute from the knights situated around the room. The Ivory King turned his gaze back towards the gathering of people and spoke "Return to your families, mourn our former home and prepare for tomorrow where we will plan for the future. Knight Marcus, remain so we may speak further." With that, the Ivory King turned and awaited his Knight to ascend to the throne so that they may speak easier and without such a large crowd.
After a few moments of various people welcoming him home now that the official business had finished, Marcus shook hands with the two knights who had escorted him in, and after a few claps on the back, ascended the steps to give a more detailed account to his King.
It took many hours, and the night had long since fallen, with the clouds blocking the moon, leaving nothing but orange torchlight as light sources. The Ivory King listened intently, taking in every detail in silence. His queen, similarly, was attentive, though fatigue was obviously beginning to claim her. Marcus knew the king would have had her escorted to her room, but from the way she silently clung to his hand it was pretty easy to see that she wouldn't be going anywhere without him.
After Marcus had completed his detailed report, the Ivory King was silent for a few moments, before abruptly standing up to face the younger knight, whose gaze didn't waver from the king's own eyes. The king extended his hand, and Marcus shook it without hesitation as the King spoke once again. "You have done myself and our kingdom a great service, Marcus Antony. Be proud of yourself." This caused Marcus' eyes to widen before his face took on an expression of suppressed pride. It wouldn't do to look so undignified in the king's presence.
"I do, unfortunately have one more task for you in Forossa." The King's face dropped for a moment, unhappy with his very necessary orders, and more than a little scared. Though as to why that was, Marcus could only guess at.
"I need you to return to our homeland, and gather as many former knights as you can who would be willing to fight for Eleum Loyce. If you can, search out specifically Vengarl and Shieldless Lothian. They would be great assets in our duty." The King continued to speak, and Marcus nodded without question, though some of his disappointment at being sent away so quickly must have shown through on his face. That or the Ivory King was simply very perceptive.
"While this is a priority, spend some time with your family and your brother's before you set out into the wastes once more. You deserve that much." The Ivory King seemed like he was finished, but just was Marcus was about to disengage his hand from the King's grip, the king's hand tightened, keeping him in place.
For a moment, the usually faultless king seemed, hesitant. Before he spoke with a voice that portrayed the gravity of what he was about to say. "I have a gift for you, as a thanks for your so far less than rewarding work as our messenger to our homeland. Wait here for my return." With that, the king let go of Marcus' hand and quickly marched off towards a room adjacent to the throne room.
Marcus did as was told, and stood and waited for the king to return. His gaze turned to Alsanna, who seemed unhappy that the king wasn't close to her, though her eyes were on Marcus. "He trusts you a great deal, you know." She spoke, once again, quietly and timidly. In a way that made Marcus want to protect her, as one would protect a little sister.
He turned his full attention to her, asking a wordless question as to her meaning. Which she supplied with slight hesitancy. "He loves of you all as his brothers, as his sons. He knows each and every one of you Knights, and I can only hope that his love isn't misplaced." It was rare for her to make such a statement, or speak out of turn at all for that matter. Similarly, she didn't shrink away from the look of surprise Marcus gave her, but before he could reply, the king had returned. And with him, a small tiger cub.
"This, is Mira. She is the only of Aava's cubs to have survived our most recent blizzard. I trust you will treat her well." The Ivory King spoke, sadly, but also with pride. While also giving Marcus a searching look. He already trusted the knight, at least with being one of the few lines of information to and from Forossa. But this was more personal, he was trusting his most valued pet's only child to the knight. Leaving Marcus speechless, as he dumbly nodded his head at the king.
Mira was a small tiger cub, with white fur and black stripes, perfect for the frozen tundra. Her canines were elongated, displaying that she was a sabretooth Tiger, bearing a clear resemblance to the Great Aava. Marcus had no real experience with animals, but he had spent enough time in Forossa to learn the customs when meeting lions, so he reverted to those rules.
He knelt down and extended his hand in respect for the small big-cat, and waited for her to decide to approach him. After a few moments, he felt a little foolish, almost as if he was treating the magnificent animal like a dog. He was about to stand up, when the tiger cub nuzzled her head into the palm of his hand. He smiled giddily, and was so entranced by the small animal that he didn't notice the dual emotions of happiness and deep despair flash across the Ivory King's features.
"Good, now go. I'm sure you are eager to reunite with family and friends alike." The King gave Marcus a kind smile, and gestured to the door. Marcus stood up, saluted and did as commanded. Glancing over his shoulder every other step to make sure Mira was keeping pace with him, which she easily was.
Days later, after he had spent time revelling with his friends, and retelling stories to his mother and his baby sister, he prepared to set out into the frozen wastes once again bound for Forossa. This time with a companion. There was something that bothered him however, whenever he would meet with the king, whether to discuss his journey or just to visit with the always kind man, there was always something lingering in the corner of the room. Nothing tangible, but something that made their conversation's feel strange, off. As if the King's attention wasn't entirely on the subject at hand, like it usually was.
Marcus, however, could do nothing about it beyond praying for his King and his country. Before he set off once again into the wastes. His armor was repaired, all the wear and tear removed and extra padding added on at Marcus' request. He brought extra supplies, including cloth and blankets for Mira. His longsword and shield were strapped to his hip and back respectively
The walk would only get easier once he was out of the snow, so he set off at a brisk pace, carrying the small tiger cub in his arms as he walked. It wasn't for several days until the monotony was broken. An arrow struck the gap between his neck and his armor, striking directly into his collar bone as more arrows came flying out of the snow. He shielded Mira with his body, as arrows began to stick out of him like a pincushion, before he finally staggered to the ground and collapsing into the snow.
He had so little time to process the surprise attack that he forgot to let out a cry of pain. That was the last thought that went through his mind as he curled up into the fetal position to protect Mira, before falling unconscious. The wind was picking up, and then, in a flash, the world seemed frozen in ice.
*CRACK*
With a whir, the ice shattered, and a strange metal object started grinding into the metal breastplate of Marcus. It spun with an immeasurable speed, before it was suddenly removed and replaced by some kind of voice.
"Hey I found something!"
Minutes went by as the ice was steadily chipped away, and soon, all onlookers gasped at the object buried in the ice, hundreds of feet from the surface. The body of a man, frozen in time that was just now beginning to start leaking blood.
A nearby woman did something by what she described as reflex, and reached down to check his pulse, agitating the arrow in his collarbone. His body shifted, and everyone surrounding him resumed the shocked expression of those completely unprepared for this kind of situation. The woman however, seemed better in crisis situations than the others, as she quickly recovered and called out "Hey! He's still alive! Get a stretcher and a medical team ASAP!" She looked around as no one moved, making her sigh in frustration as she slapped the nearest person, which apparently kick-started the entire group, as they rushed to do as told.
As he was being moved, the shivering of another being became apparent, as the medical team put the strange man on a stretcher, uncovering his chest, revealing a house cat sized ball of fur, that weakly growled at the onlookers, but didn't seem to have the energy to do much else.
As they quickly ascended the tunnel, a voice called out "Specialist Schnee! What happened?!" To which the woman replied with an almost disbelieving voice "We found two things alive General! A man and a… Cat?"
"I don't appreciate games Schnee, what's really happening?" She didn't get a chance to reply, as the elevator to the surface stopped and the door opened, and the now revealed General stepped away from a nearby microphone, only to stop and gape, much like everyone else around. Thankfully, the medical team had had enough of their surprise and practically screamed at them to move. Which they did, clearing the way to the nearest sickbay.
Winter Schnee cautiously walked towards General Ironwood before speaking. "You know I don't joke about the job General." She let her words sink in, as the General's mind started going into overdrive. "What are we going to do with him sir?" She asked, but the General only shook his head.
Alrighty then, so Authors note, huh? Well here we go.
This is my first story, for those who aren't aware. I'm unsure whether or not I'll continue to update it as time goes on, but right now I'm certainly going to try. I've got no real direction in mind for the story, at least in terms of end goal. For now I'm simply looking to refine my writing skill for perhaps writing a book one day.
So, if you think you can critique this, go right ahead, I could use the help.
I loved Eleum Loyce when I played through DS2, (which is my favorite souls game, please don't hit me.) And I hope I portrayed its society well enough in this small tidbit. I didn't want to write too much about it, as a lot of it is undefined, thanks to dark souls' intentionally vague storytelling. If it comes down to it, I'll be taking some liberties with the lore of Dark souls, so be aware that my version might not be what is universally accepted as cannon.
Another thing to be aware of, Marcus Antony (Yes, I named him after the Roman General) isn't undead. Not yet anyway. I'm not going to rule out the possibility of him getting cursed later on, but for now, he is a regular ol' humie.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Hope you stick with it, should it continue on.