The Chosen Undead
Chapter 1 – Dark beginnings
It was quiet, the air dense with a translucent fog. Through the fog, a man emerged, a man with no name, background, or even belongings, all he had was his purpose, to reclaim that which had been taken from him…..his soul, his very being. Inside he felt confused, lost even, but his purpose it seemed, was the one thing that was clear to him. He wandered lonely through the fog, scanning the nearby scenery, looking for any sign of life, though none was apparent. In the distance, a bright light seemed to penetrate the veil of unnatural fog and gain the man's attention as the light softly caressed his cold, brittle skin and gave him a warm, pleasant, and safe feeling, feelings he had long since forgotten. He cautiously wandered towards the strange light source and wondered, "What could it be, some sort of ember, or maybe even a fire". As he approached it, it became apparent, it was no mere ember or fire, it was a bonfire.
On the ground, close to the bonfire, he found a knight wearing silver chainmail and grasping a shield with a red and black crest, the knight looked to be in pain and almost near death. The injured knight let out a faint whisper, "Please, help me, put an end to my suffering, I can take no more". The man looked down at the knight and wondered, "What could have done such a thing, what could have brought a man so much pain that he would happily beg for death". He listened to the knight's plea and decided that he would have to help him, to put this man out of his agonizing pain. He reached down and slowly raised the Knight's Short sword, without any hesitation or further pain being caused, the man hastily plunged the sword through the Knight's heart, putting an end to his pain once and for all.
The knight's body slowly slumped on the cold hard ground as he let out a sigh of relief and his warm blood created a small pool aside him on the ground. The man didn't know how to feel, sad, that he had taken this man's life, or happy that he had been able to help stop the knight's pain, all he knew was that it would be a long time until he saw another friendly face again, or so he thought. Shortly after the Knights departure, a sinister voice spoke out, "You certainly handled that well didn't you, ha ha", the man looked around, and unsure of what was to come next he stood solitary, waiting for this stranger to reveal himself. Suddenly the fog to the left of him dissipated and revealed a lone man sitting on a rock with a strange smile on his face.
"Welcome to Lordran, it's strange to see a friendly face around here, well, I say friendly, you certainly seemed to finish that fellow off quickly, you even enjoyed it I'd say ha ha".
"I was doing him a favour" said the man. "He asked me to", he added.
"Oh is that it, well if you could be as kind as to forfeit me that "favour" then I would kindly appreciate it ha ha ha".
"What do you want" asked the man.
"Merely to help" he replied. "You should start off by grabbing that short sword and shield, and one more thing, that knight had something rather special on his person, an Estus flask.
"And what is what exactly" said the man.
"An Estus flask is a container of sorts that is, not so commonly used, to store a healing poultice. You can refill it at the bonfire, behind you, and any other you may find on your travels, just rest at the bonfire and you will notice the flask refilling, you may also be healed by the power of the bonfire".
"And what is this" the man replied while raising another flask found among the knight's effects.
"Ah, now that IS something special, that is an Alembic. The Alembic has a far stranger use; it is used to store a large mass of souls, or a small amount of souls, if they are large enough that is".
"And what would I need these souls for" the man asked.
"By killing small creatures and enemies, you will acquire a small amount of souls which can be saved in the Alembic and used later on to empower yourself.
The man asked "How do I know you're even telling me the truth, I don't know you, and I don't exactly trust you".
The strange man grinned, "I would not lie to you. I need something from you, and by helping you I am in fact helping myself, which I am very good at ha ha ha".
"So, tell me, firstly, what is it you need me to do accomplish, and secondly, why should I help you?"
"Well" the strange man said, "I have noticed something peculiar about you, you are a hollow, not unlike myself, you are lacking a soul". "If you would help me, I could help you retrieve your soul once more".
"Truly?" he replied, "You can help me retrieve my soul", "what would you have me do?"
"The Alembic" Said the strange man.
"Yes, what about it, do you want it?" asked the man.
"Yes, and no, first of all, you must overcome the task of filling the Alembic, you must defeat a creature named "The Asylum Demon", whose soul is large enough to fill roughly one fifth of the Alembic".
"So you're telling me I will have to defeat five of these creatures to fill the Alembic and if I do so, you will help me?"
"Yes" replied the strange man, "Certainly". "You will find the Asylum Demon north of here, you will pass through a dark valley shrouded with trees, and then you must turn left at the fork and continue straight on until you reach the Asylum's main doors". Now there is not much time, you must go forth on your journey".
"Is there anything else I should know?" said the man.
"Be careful" replied the strange man, "that is all you need to know, by the way, before you go, you may call me "Crestfallen", I'm sure we will meet again".