Beast of Burden
This was it. His journey would soon be finished now. There he stood, Lordvessel burning the souls behind him. Gwyn would be somewhere down these stairs into nothingness. It was time to prepare.
The bottomless box was the first thing to find itself one the ground. It was far too clunky to have it weigh him down in the next fight and so the fire bombs joined them not long after. All he took with him was the Black Iron armor on his back, the sword of Artorias in his hand, a small crossbow on his belt and his flask with some more tools strapped to his belt.
With a few last movements to secure his gauntlets he went down the the stairs. Ghosts of times long past joined his descent and their whispers became louder with every step. Women, children, me, elderly; every voice was met with a translucent figure. The light became stronger to the point where he could no longer see anything but the shadow of his fingers pressed against the offensive spectacle; now grateful that his helmet limits his vision.
Soon he would see what was beyond the light.
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While one travelled into the light another tried to flee from it. So it came that Louise Francieu de la Valliere rolled over underneath her blanket and shut her eyes just a little tighter. Today was an important day, that she knew with every fibre of her being, but dread and fear had her stay in bed and wish away the day. Yet she was unable to due to the commotion in the hall outside her room and thus decided to get up and prepare for the Summoning Ritual that was sure to ruin her reputation further.
If that was even possible at this point, that is. She was already reminded of her failures daily with her moniker "The Zero" and even her mother had voiced her concern for her future. A future as a trophy with the title of Valliere most likely. With a sigh, she got out of bed and dressed herself.
"Such thoughts shouldn´t ruin my morning." She said while combing her hair.
All set and ready she left her room and made for the stairs and the summoning ground; her steps seeming far too light to her ears. Maybe there was still hope. A Valliere had the will to see everything through and no obstacle no matter how big would stand in her way. She would be damned if something ever disgraced her name. So she braced her fate and walked out into the courtyard.
Groups of students lined the field and a few teachers ran about yelling orders for them to line up. It seems the second years were already going through the ritual. She wasn´t late, how could she be when she was on of the last to be called on to perform, but this just meant a few more hours of trepidation. The Rule of Steel appeared to wilt in the rust that was her failure.
Her mortification was disturbed by the feeling of silk in her neck and slender hands grabbing her shoulders.
"Prepared, Zero? I heard you talk about some great plans a couple days ago."
Zerbst. If there was one demon in her world it was this she-devil who just would not stop tormenting her until her entire attitude came crashing down in a burning heap. Louise was never in the mood to allow her such a victory.
"I will have you know that I fully intend to summon myself a Familiar AND it will be far more powerful than anything that could crawl to your bidding!"
She already knew that these words would be the nail in her coffin. Yet she smiled on with a superior glint in her eyes and insults on her tongue and she continued to stand her ground against her tormentor. A captain would always go down with their ship after all.
"Such big words!" She puts a hand on her hip "For someone as small as you, that is."
Their bickering continued for another hour or so and Louise, despite her best efforts, was on the losing side of the argument.
Fortunately for her, Colbert, one of the teachers of her grade who was tasked with keeping to the ritual, called for Kirche to attend. The guards who were send by the palace to not only assure the safety of the students in case a familiar proved to be difficult to pacify and increase the reputation of the palace in the minds of the students.
The guards themselves weren't anything to be worth a second look. Lowly nobles with barely enough magic in them to cast a flame bigger than a candle or the sons of merchants who used their money to put their children in a position where they would not cause trouble. Her mother called them "Pillow Knights" because they were supposedly very sheltered.
Applause filled the air so Louise decided to turn her attention to the main group of her peers. Zerbst has summoned a flame salamander which, of course, would later be used to rub her failure into her own face. If she was allowed to stay after failing to complete such a crucial point in her academic life, that is.
Tabitha was next and she actually summoned a dragon! That was it. She would have to live with the shame of failing the ritual AND stay in the shadow of the feat of her summoning a damn dragon. Damnit! She would be satisfied with even the smallest insect if she would be able to summon it.
Now it was her turn. She could see the guards tense on the edge of her vision; of course they would suspect that she kills them all with one of her explosions. Unlikely but not impossible, after all only one student had to fall on something hard or sharp. But now is not the time to think about possible murder so she concentrated on the ritual.
She just hoped for the best and stepped into the circle for the summoning. This was it.
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This was it. There he stood, in front of the fog gate that kept the Lord of Sunlight caged to the First Flame, the kiln that created life with nothing but fire. A god among mere mortals who sacrificed himself to stave of the Dark that threatened to consume his age and everything within.
Nothing was left but to fight here and seek the truth of what both sides really meant to him. Light and Dark were plentiful inside himself and so were they plentiful in the world. Would he really find answers behind the fog or would it just continue to cloud his vision? Questions breed questions, none are answered or ever put away. But what could he do about it? He was nothing more than a pawn with the power to change the fate of everything that existed. Sometimes he wondered if all this wasn´t just a sick joke of some other being or god; cruelty was no human trait after all.
His hand touched the fog gate and pressed forward. That was it.
Within the second of having passed the gate his vision was assaulted with a blinding light and a force throwing him around like a pebble. Instincts kicked in the moment he hit the ground as he twisted his body to stop rolling. A hand grabbed for sword as his legs pushed him upward. But he failed; his legs were like sticks that broke underneath his weight and they gave in immediately.
He let go of his sword, it falling down in front of him, falling on both knees and hands. There was smoke, thick and biting, too thick to see for more than the length of a man. Reaching for his sword, his fingers slapped against the handle and eerie piercing filled his ears and fell back on his face. At least his vision wasn´t blurry anymore.
Getting on his feet with sword in hand he did a quick check on his equipment. The flask was gone, his knifes secure on his chest and the dagger on his belt was also still there. Whatever caused this attack would be greeted with a fight.
A shout filled the area and the smoke was blown away suddenly and it revealed at least a hundred people and what seemed to be even more creatures at their sides. Looking around, his confidence in surviving the next minutes fell to a level beyond being salvageable. Dogs, birds, lizards and even a dragon accompanied what appeared to be an army of sorcerers.
His chances were insignificant now. But he wasn´t killed just yet so he levelled his sword at the two mages closest to him; an old man and a young girl with a ridiculous hair colour. Taking a few steps back, he tried to get a view on the situation. Too many to fight and surrounded as well; just good that none made a move to attack him yet.
The old man regained his senses first and called out to the other mages; the language was different than the one used in Lordran and its neighbouring countries. He could here the clank of armour now and, soon enough, there were three armed men with swords pushed through the ranks of people surrounding them.
Shouts left their mouths and swords were placed in hands. One of the men, a little taller than the others and with somewhat adorned armour, stepped forward, yelling even louder than the rest of them. He could see that the older man, the one with the staff, take the somewhat bewildered girl away from him and the armed men. So there was supposed to be a fight then? Very well.
The soldiers apparently had enough of waiting around and charged at once, swords swinging high. This would be an easy fight. Grabbing the sword with both hands, he twisted his body so that the arc of the slash would be wide and low, aiming at their legs. Surprise was written all over the faces of the men as the sword cleaved through their knees. Not cutting off the legs, mind you, but breaking them all with but a swing.
Screams soon filled the area, both students and soldiers alike, some children and their familiars ran inside the building while others were rooted to the spot out of fear of a slaughter. Yet none of it concerned the Undead as he inspected his blade; it was dull, so dull that it didn't even cut when swung at full speed. This far more unnerving than the army of humans in front of him.
Some students took it to heart to now stop the monster summoned by the Zero and started to cast spells at the threat posed on their lives. Fire and earth came flying towards him and stone met blade, turning it into dust, flame met air, failing to hit. He was bombarded from almost all sides.
Coming up from a role he heard the old man yell again though whether it was encouragement or a call for hesitation he didn´t know, and didn´t care anymore. A hand reached for his chest and found three throwing knifes; with a twist of his hand they were send to their destination, a group of mages flinging fire balls.
A chill in the air marked the entrance of a wall of ice, protecting the students from a certain yet not fatal wound. He was cautious now; when a mage was able to just conjure up a wall of ice within a few moments fighting them would be difficult. Though most mages were nothing but an easy kill once they had to fight up close, what is a staff against a solid piece of metal, after all they were just flesh.
Standing still and looking for the mage in question revealed that a small blue haired boy and a woman with red hair were the ones responsible. Interesting enough, the old man from before joined the two as they seemed to talk while keeping an eye on him. A good moment to check his equipment for damages.
The armour was still in good condition with only a few singes here and there, black iron was known for this perfect resistance of fire. Only a few knifes were left so switching to his crossbow would be best now, so he primed a steel tipped bolt for the next clash. Fighting three mages at once would be almost impossible if not outright suicide. But running would mean exposing his back so fighting it is.
Apparently, the mages had prepared as well for the blue haired boy stepped forward while the others stayed back and began to murmur into their staffs. The boy whistled and the dragon stepped forth beside him. A duel then, though the mages in the back must have planned something for them to stay back and not help outright.
The fight began as the dragon surged forward, most if not all students had left the courtyard at this point, opting to avoid any injuries to them or their familiars. The Undead secured his crossbow at the hip and charged to meet the dragon head on. Evading its bite proved difficult but not unmanageable, ducking, rolling, sliding and blocking were all well suited to avoid being hit by its surely lethal bite.
There was a slight fizzle in his ears and a sort of static felt on his neck, magic was used next but from where? A dragon front meant good enough cover from spells and there were no people behind him so from where could it possibly come from? Spears of ice rained down from the heaves and two pierced his torso, staggering him long enough for the dragon to swipe him off his feet.
Laying on his back, he reflected on what just happened. The boy was able to fly and create ice from nothing, even being able to use it as a way of attack! Magic must be very different in this strange place though the use of staffs was still very much there, who knows why. Getting up, he noticed the look of surprise written on the faces as the ice fell to his feet as snow.
He would have to react quickly now. Sprinting forward, he tucked his blade in the nook of his neck and his shoulder while using the crossbow to shoot at the one floating above. The bolt didn't connect but it gave him enough time to get close to the dragon and dash to its side, ramming the tip of his sword in its flank. It squealed as blood, red as it should be, gushed from the wound and coating the left side of his helmet.
The mages who stayed in the back had finished casting now and created a combined stream of flame aimed directly at him. But he could only see them pointing their wands at a small floating ball of fire so he wondered how it would fare against his own though this was no time to test such a thought.
As the spell erupted he could feel the heat through the slits of his helmet and singe his brows. Reacting on instincts he pushed his left hand towards the attack and summoned the parasite that haunted his very essence, the Dark Hand. He wasn´t sure how it was able to create a shield able to withstand most attacks with ease though why bother figuring it out when it works on its own?
The shield worked well but the edges didn´t stop the flames from licking his shoulders and his boots, the hand creating the shield started to spread the darkness over his wrist and it looked like it was growing. No, not growing; consuming. It was consuming his very being the more he used it. Though who would care for their arm when they are faced with an ongoing stream of fire?
He would have to do something, anything, and fast. Staying in the middle of it would surely have him fried but rolling would also end his life short. Pushing forward, he brandished his sword in his right hand and stomps carried him to his destination.
Walking was slow but steady though it felt more like ages rather than seconds. Every step meant pain and death as the flames shot around him. Though he was still on his feet and the fire seemed to be less spread out now, meaning that the mages were close now. Twisting his body, he swung his sword in an arc and heard a cry as the stream of fire subsided.
He had hit the woman in the forearm and the old man lost his step trying to catch her, both ending up on the ground. This was the chance he needed! One strike would raise his chances exponentially. Taking a solid stance, he put the blade over his shoulder, prepared to strike.
More spears found their way into his back though they couldn´t stagger him out of his position. But there was something on the edge of his vision; a slight flicker of the air. Then, a absolutely deafening explosion hit him in the side, sending him flying. He came to a stop a few paces away from the wall.
The force of the explosion was strong enough to rip the armour off his chest and even shatter his sword. It was broken in half, one shard of the blade was stuck in his neck. He couldn´t even hear anything anymore, not to mention see since his face was pressed into the ground. Was this the same mage who caused him to be so weak when he found himself transported?
Getting on his feet again, he noticed the young mage, presumably a girl if the skirt was anything to go by, rooted to the spot and aiming at him. The blue haired boy in his cloak flew down and seated himself on top of the dragon. Hmm, he was wearing a skirt so maybe it wasn´t a "he" and more a "she"? Not important now.
His sword wasn´t longer than his foot now but it should be enough to kill them if it connects. Left hand grabbed around the shard and started to pull, black blood coating it in a silky embrace some drops even falling on his now bare chest.
The mages hesitated for a moment. Never before had they seen a living person get up after one of Louise´s explosions and sport such a peculiar colour of blood as well. Tabitha stepped forward now, her experience with fighting would be needed to stop this man; if man was actually the right word she didn´t know.
Should he fight or run? Both options could lead to his death in this desolate world, he only took the time to have a look around. A enormous castle with towers as big as Anor Londo itself kissed the sky to his right and a luscious forest found itself outside the gate. Running would take far too long and he might not even be able to put up a good fight at this point.
If he had to go down then he would at the very least embrace it with open arms. So he did. Taking off his helmet he stepped forward, arms spread and chest pushed outwards. Taunting was always a valid option.
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Louise just couldn´t believe it. She had rightfully summoned a familiar, only to fail and be doomed to play master of such a cretin. This was pure madness! First, she actually achieved something in her life and then it is taken from her in the form of an unheard of familiar and it shames her even more by attacking the guards sent by her Majesty!
As a Valliere, she would not tolerate such behaviour and insults to her honour. Her magic might not be as impressive as the "Dragon´s Breath" Zerbst and Colbert created but her explosions had enough power to throw any opponent off their feet; though she never saw someone get up afterwards.
This foolish dog didn´t know when to put his tail between his legs and beg for forgiveness. A lesson would have to be learned and Tabitha must have had the same idea since she stepped in front of her.
"Dangerous." She said without looking over her shoulder.
Louise pushed her aside and walked towards the man.
"A Valliere will not allow such foolishness!" Her strides were fast and powerful; a bold move that even stunned the Undead along with the other mages.
"FAMILIAR!" A yell that could be heard in the entire academy.
"Drop your weapons!" Her wand was now pointed at his face.
"Zero! Are you insane!" Zerbst called from her place in the grass. Judging from the way she held her arm it must have been broken if not worse. Good for her that Tabitha was close, healing it wouldn´t take more than a couple minutes.
The man in question appeared to be confused though whether it was because he noticed her shaking hand or just didn´t consider her demand as something to be taken serious she could not tell. Nonetheless, she had to stand up to disobedience, especially when it was her very own familiar.
The man in question was torn between attacking the mage who was bold enough to come melee range and staying put in the face of this sheer stupidity. Maybe even both? He just wasn´t sure at this point. But he couldn´t understand what she was saying either so he just shrugged.
Louise was fuming. This imbecile of her familiar mocked her. This disgrace was insulting her name by disobeying its summoner! Actions such as these need to be punished. With anger in her mind and boiling blood she casted more explosions; each introduced by a high-pitched scream from her lips.
Luckily for the Undead, they created distortions in the air , allowing him to rush forward while dodging them entirely. Explosions hit the wall behind him as he closed in on the girl. His confidence was the opposite of Luoise´s growing frustration; though while one would regard her lack of fear with a sense of incredulity she was far too angry to even consider such a train of thought.
Truly, the only thing bigger than her pride was her temper and nothing would begin to compare to her ego. But hope was not lost for the young Valliere as another mage, Tabitha, took notice of the danger, using what little time she had before her classmate was impaled to cast spell.
As the last explosion failed to the man coming for her, Louise fell to her knees; too exhausted to carry the weight of her body. The man was on her in an instant; stump of the blade shining in the light as it was swung to pierce her skull. Well, she thought, better to die trying to defend her honor than live with shame and disgust of not lving up to the goals and ideals of her family name.
"The Rule of Steel" was no virtue earned by her mother through a plethora of hardships, that she realized in the moment as the acknowledgement of her own death set in. It was an ideal, an ideal that demanded every weakness, every emotion to be erased from its bearer so that they would live to protect their honor and die to protect it further. A set of strict rules that had formed her life and influenced her decisions up to this point. A parasite that was at fault for the misery, at fault for the walls she created for herself and at fault for all the despair her own failures brought with them.
Funny, it all seemed so miniscule now. The answer was there, it had always been, but how sickening was the feeling to only see the way out yet lack the power to get. She was not failure, not anymore. She had summoned a familiar and proven her worth and not even her own mother would be able to talk her into feeling ashamed now.
This moment would be remembered by her as the first time she felt free of the obligations of her name, free of the demands of her peers and free of the detrimental thoughts she went to sleep with. A moment of elation, clarity and absolute terror. It was the best moment of her young life. And now it was supposed to just end? How unfair yet oh so fitting for someone like her, she thought.
A small whistling could be heard just before a giant icicle descended from the heavens, impaling the Undead through his shoulder and stopping him dead in his tracks. Several more found their way into his body and others pierced the ground beside his body, limiting his movement with an icy embrace.
Silence filled the courtyard; no sound coming from the forest or the mountains. Louise was shocked. Shocked to see such a spectacle of magic without warning and shocked to see the numerous black lines flowing away from the body and colouring the ice.
Tabitha appeared at her side, slightly out of breath.
"Dangerous." Whether she was scolding her or not Louise could not tell though she honestly didn´t care either.
"Miss Valliere." Colbert walked over to the two of them. "As insane as it is going zo sound but I have to ask you to complete the ritual. Not only is it tradition but this will be your sole requirement for attending the remaining school years."
Kirche joined them not soon after, Tabitha tending to her arm immediately.
"A familiar that tries to kill its summoner? On the first moment of summoning as well? Maybe there really is a first time for anything."
"I´ll have you know, Zerbst, that I am not afraid of a dog; even a rabit one."
That was, however, a complete lie. Louise had learned to deal with her fear but never to face it, always putting up walls to defend herself. But that side would never see the light of day.
"But.." Her attention now turned to the rather gruesome sight of a man impaled and probed up by spears; not as gut wrenching as she thought it would be but that she mostly attributed to the war stories told by her mother. "Is it still alive?"
Now, that was a question none had yet considered. Colbert, being the first one to act, shuffled over to the statue of ice slowly. He used his staff to prop up the limp man´s head. Louise had a good look at her soon to be familiar; tanned skin with several spots and lines of white; scars she assumed, dark longish hair that appeared greasy, a small mouth and closed eyes.
"He´s alive." Colbert explained "He blinks so he should be unconscious. Impressive with such wounds."
Kirche tried to get a good look as well but only caught a glimpse since Tabitha kept her put.
"Not the best catch." She said with a smile. "But we cannot choose our familiars to begin with. At least he can swing a sword around, no?"
"Miss Tabitha, would you be so kind as to take her to the infirmary?" Colbert really didn´t have the patience for another quarrel at this point; better to do it without the risk of another Valliere fallout.
As the two left the compound, Kirche protesting but not doing anything to break Tabitha´s hold, Colbert turned to what he thought would be the biggest problem to the academy in the last 20 years. Some familiars were always a bit pushy with being summoned to a foreign place but they were also far more frightened to do anything even remotely close to attacking and were no whatsoever because of it. Sure a dragon might think that fighting is a good idea but they had mages for that and the soldiers for those familiars that weren´t so big.
Taking a look at the unconscious heap of the aforementioned guards who would surely be very sour once they were fully awake and fully aware of the damage done. Colbert knew that this was just going to be a huge amount of pain to deal with considering that nobles would never allow this to be settled with only a letter of apology. He could already taste the leather of the boots to lick on his tongue; something he wished he was exaggerating.
"Again."
"What?"
"I want to try it. Again." Louise´s gaze was boring into his skull; fierce and cold.
"A human summon is a disgrace to the magic our world is built from and almost heresy in its own right. I want another try!"
"Miss Valliere!" Colbert was shocked to say the very least. "This ritual has been tradition for 6000 years and I will not allow ANY of my students to break something so founded in our school system. While I do understand your peril I cannot even consider such a request; you will have to keep your summoned familiar."
Silence answered him as she turned her head to the familiar in question again. A taste of disgust found itself in her mouth. She knew that she had absolutely no right to raise any standards but she would be damned if she was ever satisfied with anything but the best; she just couldn´t bear the thought of stepping in front of her family like this.
"Be proud of what you have achieved today, Louise."
He was trying to be as honest as he could be with Louise but he also didn´t want to silence any bad aspects of her summon; truly a delicate topic if he ever saw one during his time as teacher.
"This was the first time I have ever seen a human be summoned before so you might as well have done something none other student would ever be capable of!"
She started to walk in the direction of the doors, neither looking at Colbert or the ground.
"That is what they say about my failures as well, my dear Colbert." Soft steps on the grass gained weight after her eyes travelled over the bloody mess that was her familiar. A thought that was very grim to her, though she could not tell whether it was because she now accepted it as her familiar or because of the pool of black blood that threatened to ruin her shoes.
She decided that today was not the day to deal with this.
Contrary to Louise, Colbert was quite glad that she just walked away from everything for now since he would have to take care of this situation and dealing with anyone able to annoy him now was difficult. He would have to bring the man some place that was secure enough to serve as a makeshift cell and then have the water mages apply first aid.
That is, if there was even a life left to perform first aid on. The fact that there was still blood running down the icicles was good, it meant that the heart was still beating, but bad considering the amount of blood that stained the field already. Well, no time to waste.
"Let´s take him to the basement, I guess" He sighed as he took a look around the courtyard. All in all, it had been a bad day but there was still hope for the rest of the week. Hope that was shortlived as he now had to take on the task of getting the body off the icicles.
AN: SO! This is a reupload cause there were some issues with the last one but that shouldn´t hinder the mood, right? Not much to say here despite what is already said in the chapter above. If you can, I would very much prefer a review or any form of feedback.
Peace out.