Ilanya of the Boreal Valley trudges her way through what little smog remains from the brief emergence of the Abyss brought on by High Lord Wolnir, her bones aching from battle and lack of rest. These catacombs have been nothing but trouble since the moment she set foot in them, but she believes she has finally reached the end of this accursed area.
Good riddance, she thinks to herself as her feet begin to guide her up the steps in front of her.
Ilanya's goal throughout this journey has been a simple one, but not easily accomplished.
She is to face off against the Lords of Cinder, and return them to their thrones however possible.
She has already fought the first of them, the Lords cumulatively known as the Abyss Watchers. They were not much of a challenge, she recalls, but she certainly understands how they gained their reputation and their title. They were certainly fearsome, but, at the end of the day, it was she who stood victorious, claiming their Cinders to return to their corresponding throne back at the Shrine.
There are two Lords left: Aldrich, Saint of the Deep, and Yhorm the Giant.
Yhorm is said to be a fearsome opponent, dwarfing all of his foes on the battlefield. They say he Linked the Fire in an attempt to quell the Profaned Flame and protect the ones he ruled over, but that it was all for naught due to the Profaned Flame instead growing stronger and scorching them all. Certainly a tragic figure, to be sure.
However, it is the other Lord of Cinder that Ilanya primarily has her eyes set on. The one who eats men, the one who controls an entire congregation, the one who would see the entire world drowned in a realm known only as the Deep.
Aldrich is her main target.
Many years ago, at the height of Irithyll's power, Ilanya was a respected cleric among her fellows. She was powerful, and many said she may have even rivaled Sulyvahn, the most powerful sorcerer among their ranks. They said she might be powerful enough to Link the Flame herself.
Sulyvahn was not enthused by either of those notions, and so set in motion a plan to have her taken out of the picture. He collaborated with several high-ranking members of the Deacons of the Deep (who, at the time, were still members of the Way of White, before the Deep corrupted them) to sabotage her inevitable attempt to Link the Flame.
They confronted her on her way to do so, being the only thing standing in her way. They came under the guise of wanting to offer her advice on something she no longer remembers (all the same, since it was a lie, anyways). When she had dropped her guard, they struck, grievously wounding her and leaving her for dead.
However, she refused to die.
Instead, she struggled to her feet and trudged the rest of the way to where the First Flame was fading. She stuck her hand out to offer her soul as Kindling for it. She found herself lighting on fire, beginning to be consumed, and then...
Nothing.
She opened her eyes a moment later to find that she had been rejected by the First Flame, and had instead failed to Link it. She collapsed to the ground once more and let death claim her.
When she awoke, it was already a new cycle, and she had been shoved into a coffin. What woke her up was the bell of Firelink Shrine, calling all Unkindled to rise in order to retrieve the Lords of Cinder and return them to their thrones at the Shrine.
It was from a man at the Shrine that she had learned who had instead Linked the Fire in her cycle.
She had heard of Aldrich back then, and knew of his power. She had also heard how he loved to indulge in feasting on the flesh of his fellow man, which only served to further heighten said power. He was a man worthy of both respect and condemnation, and the fact that he had done what she had been poised to do irked her.
Aldrich became a Lord of Cinder not long after Ilanya failed, and he was given an extravagant resting place in the Cathedral of the Deep, complete with countless guards and a congregation completely dedicated to him. They say he is nothing more than revolting sludge now, endlessly writhing as he moves and devours.
Ilanya grimaces at all of these thoughts as she continues up the stairs, then stops when a familiar feeling begins to creep its way onto her flesh. She looks up at the top of the stairs, where an opening in the catacombs waits for her. The feeling is coming from there, and she never thought she would feel it again.
A sort of biting cold that is only felt in one land.
With renewed purpose, she hurries the rest of the way up the stairs and rushes out the opening, where she comes face-to-face with a truly familiar sight.
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.
Ilanya can't believe it at first, thinking she must have fallen victim to the machinations of the Abyss, and she was now seeing only what she had truly wanted to see. She rubs her eyes and finds that she is not, in fact, hallucinating.
She's here.
She's home.
Her awestruck gaze at her place of origin is torn away from it when she catches a glimpse of a bonfire out of the corner of her eye. She hears herself let out an involuntary sigh of relief as she turns towards and walks up to it. Just being in close proximity to it begins to soothe her aching body, and she lets herself rest beside it, lingering there for several moments.
Ilanya doesn't realize she'd fallen asleep until about an hour and a half later, the familiar winds lulling her into slumber as her weary body relaxed beside the fire. She shakes the groggy feeling away as best she can and rises to her feet once more, body only slightly protesting as the bonfire largely rejuvenated her.
She feels a chill unrelated to the weather crawl up her spine as she steps foot through the first archway, likely a sign that Sulyvahn has had his way with this place since she first died. He always was a devious bastard, and Ilanya has never had anything but contempt for him, believing him a madman.
After seeing the Outrider Knights along her journey, she feels justified in this belief.
She's only a short distance through the archway when she hears something materialize behind her. She turns to see a truly horrifying creature staring her down, flinching as its discordant scream leaves its mouth.
It rushes at her, fangs bared and one mighty paw raised in preparation to swipe its claws at her. She rolls out of the way before it can hit her, her journey having taught her well in the ways of avoiding the attacks of huge monsters. She counters with a swing of her giant mace, causing it massive pain. Instead of immediately cowering, however, it tries to retaliate with a snap of its menacing jaws, which Ilanya only narrowly avoids by the skin of her teeth.
The battle continues on for several moments in a bizarre game of cat-and-mouse that eventually culminates in Ilanya knocking the creature onto its back. She's about to finish it off when she notices what it's doing.
It's praying.
This foul, unruly creature, certainly not something that naturally occurs in this world, is praying for some reason. Ilanya can't fathom how or why it's doing such a thing at first, until she remembers that it was quite likely Sulyvahn who created it, whether from scratch or through mutation of something that already existed.
Is it praying for forgiveness? An end to its suffering? Some sort of miracle? She can't tell, really, but she knows that there's some sort of dark reason why it would do this. Perhaps it knows that the sorcerer that gave it life would likely not take pity on it? Or maybe it's deluded enough to think he would help it? Whatever the reason, Ilanya doesn't wish for it to suffer any longer, even despite its origins.
With a mighty swing, she ends the creature's life, and, as some sort of strange reward, one of Sulyvahn's black eyes. She found one of these prior to this, on the corpse of Vordt, who was her first encounter with another of her kind in this cycle. She had crushed that one, feeling the haunting feeling of Sulyvahn peering into her soul and hounding it.
She has no qualms about doing the same thing here.
She continues on through the city, dealing with witches harnessing the power of the Profaned Flame, Sulyvahn's personal guardsmen, bizarre knights clad in silver, and the ghouls that had once been the denizens of this place, finally ending up at the doors of an immense chapel, which simply oozes a sense of foreboding and danger, making it no mystery as to what—or, rather, whom—awaits her inside.
She pushes the doors open and enters, with her eyes catching sight of him at the opposite end.
Sulyvahn.
He doesn't seem to notice her at first, his eyes closed in mock prayer. But, as she approaches, he ignites both of his swords, making it known to her that he has known the whole time that she's been there.
"Twas some time ago when last I saw thee," he says in a voice as cold as the area he inhabits. "Thine goal was to Link the Flame, was it not? A pity thou didst not achieve it."
"I was ambushed and left for dead," she says, her grip on her mace tightening. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Sulyvahn?"
"Me? Such accusations doth wound me, young Ilanya." He tilts his head, examining her closely. "Thine appearance is largely the same as long ago, though the dark circles around the eyes vex me so. Is it some sort of bizarre fashion statement? Not that I am complaining; thou hast always been quite a lovely woman, so this small change does not much of a difference make."
Ilanya shudders, feeling violated just by this monster's words alone.
"That glorious blonde hair pulled into a braid most tight and perfect, and those luxurious eyes blue as the sea...they are as I remember them."
"Enough talk, Sulyvahn," she says with a growl. "I'm here to kill Aldrich. You're in my way."
"Ah. Thou 'rt on a quest to retrieve the Lords of Cinder in an effort to renew this Age yet again, and the all-powerful, all-seeing Devourer of Gods is on that list?" She can barely see it in this lighting, but he smirks, finding this notion amusing. "Thou shalt fail now, as thou failed back then."
"I don't need this from you! You're a monster whose words are empty as your soul, and I'm going to end you to get to Aldrich!"
Sulyvahn laughs, then assumes a battle stance.
"Very well, young Ilanya," he says. "I shall play a part in thine end once more, and perhaps thou shalt find thineself lucky enough to be devoured by our Lord this time."
Ilanya grits her teeth and steels herself for what is sure to be a tough battle.
This is part of the reason she came back to this place.
Aside from her obligation to fulfill the failsafe prophecy, she's had a score to settle with Sulyvahn ever since he arranged for that ambush so long ago.
And, once she's paid him back for that, she'll move on to destroy Aldrich for claiming the throne that should have been hers.
Coming home has been the best decision in her journey yet, and she'll make sure to make the memory a fantastic one.