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Chapter 2: To ascend into light.
"Why did you think you could kill one that has transcended the curse?"
It was a simple question that caused Pardoner Thomas's heart to seize up in fear. This creature had just slaughtered his company and now… and now he realized it was not a mindless undead. This wretch had maintained its sense of self throughout the years. How powerful must it…
"I asked you a question, and I expect an answer."
The voice came again, clearer than before, more human. Pardoner Thomas gazed up at his target and felt blind terror renew itself within him once more. Wisps began to flow from the bodies of the slain pardoners and enter into the ancient undead. Each wisp caused gouts of flame and ash to flow from the wounds it received in the prior battle. When the flows stopped the wounds were gone, as if they never existed. However, that was not what truly caught the attention of the Pardoner, it was instead the fact that the corpse was being restored to life. Each time a wisp made contact with the corpse a change occurred. First the skin seemed to tighten around its frame. Then the body began regenerate; hair grew back, eyes regained their light and a myriad of other changes led Pardoner Thomas to realize one thing, his actions and those of fellow pardoners led to this unholy rebirth.
When to process was finished Pardoner Thomas saw the undead as it truly was. It was a woman standing at height much taller than the average man. She had dark skin that bore scars from countless battles, and crimson eyes that seemed to devour what little light was present in the crypt.
"We were given a mission, a holy mission to destroy wretched ilk like yourself!" Pardoner Thomas spat.
"Really, and what makes me so wretched in your eyes mortal? It is not like I have laid waste to any great civilizations, or slew the greatest of holy figures? The Undead responded.
"You ignored your sacred duty, the duty of all undead. You were supposed to link the…"
"The flame and end the curse of un-death yes I know, your compatriots told me more than enough." She interrupted. "The reason why I am asking you is that I would like to hear from a living voice rather than another soul. You'd be surprised about what you can learn from a simple conversation."
"How… did…what are you talking about?" The Pardoner asked shocked.
"Those wisps that you no doubt saw, those were their souls and now they are a part of me. Their knowledge, strengths, and skills are mine to use as I see fit, and believe me when I tell you, all of you had very similar answer. Some may have been more zealous than you but the answer was the same. Kill a sinner, come back to wherever you all hail from and receive a new assignment. It is a touch pathetic really."
"Hold your tongue you monster, you…you ate them, you ate their very beings! If you speak about that so easily then our mission was justified!" Pardoner Thomas screamed back.
"You poor pathetic fool, you had no idea what this mission entailed did you. You merely assumed that this would be a simple kill didn't you? Well let me give you my interpretation of what would have happened. If the world were kinder to you and your men, then I would be as hollow as you expected me to be. You would have killed me and my power would have gone to all of you. The return trip would have been easy at first, all that power and the feeling of victory would have made you all believe you were invincible. Then over time, your party would begin to eye each other hungrily. You would want the share of power that every other member had and you would kill each other until there was only one survivor. That survivor would then return to his masters and report success."
"From there, two things could possibly happen. On the one hand, the survivor could be killed by his superiors and the cycle renews itself until only one remains. On the other hand, the survivor would be given some inane title of power and be used as hound for his masters until he was so weakened that disposing of him would be a simple job. Either way, the battle over the souls I possess would continue until people forgot what was being fought for." She paused in her speech for a moment and stated, "Just like the Curse of Want actually."
"I digress though, since you have seen fit to enter into my kingdom un-announced, I believe it would only be fitting to escort you out of my kingdom."
"Come no further! My life is not yours to take!" The Pardoner shouted, terror bleeding into words.
"Well if you look at it that way, then as queen I can only offer you two choices. You can pick up any number of these swords" she pointed at the thin blades that were scattered haphazardly across the floor of the crypt "and try to avenge your fallen friends or" she pointed at the ascending staircase behind him "walk up those steps and take your chances with the denizens of my kingdom."
It took Pardoner Thomas a few seconds to decide what he wanted to do. He turned, cradled his ruined hand, and began to run up the steps. He was half way up when pain exploded in his chest. One of the rapiers his party carried had run him through and the wielder, the queen.
"Forgive me, I can be rather forgetful at times" she chuckled. "If I do remember correctly most kingdoms punish those who assault royalty with death, and as I Rohanna, Queen of Drangleic am royalty" her voice adopted a darker tone, "your punishment is the sword."
The sword was wrenched out of Pardoner Thomas's chest. The last thing that he saw before darkness took him was the undead queen reaching into her coffin as if to grasp something.
Those souls, each had been plagued by an unfathomable amount of zeal. Dispatching them had been relatively easy. However, more would surely come and there were some secrets Drangleic held that should not be un-earthed. These were the thoughts that were running through Rohanna's head as she began to retrieve her belongings from her coffin. All of the items that she had acquired in her journeys were placed within an old chest. On the surface, this chest did not appear to be special. However, it was enchanted with old magic and could seemingly hold an infinite amount of items. As she was retrieving the chest, Rohanna began to take stock of her appearance. Her armor has seen far better days in the pasts and served her little purpose. She looked around the chest and decided to take the robes of the late chancellor. As she donned the dark robes, she began to hear the noise of a fire in the antechamber above her crypt. Only one being in all of Drangleic would announce itself in such a fashion.
As she ascended up the staircase she was greeted by an old acquaintance.
"Aldia, to what do I owe the pleasure of your audience?" She sneered.
"Did I arrive too late? It has been quite some time since we have received living guests in these halls. How… curious, my queen may I have the opportunity to examine them at length?
"I really am not that concerned as to what you do with the bodies. What I am more concerned about are the whereabouts of Agdayne and his wardens. Surely they would have prevented these assassins from getting this far." Replied Rohanna.
It took the monstrous form of Aldia several moments before responding. "Ah yes, the fenito, from last I heard, they set off some time ago to silence some twisted song." He chuckled.
"Another demon of song was birthed? Alright, I'll leave the crypt and castle proper in Agdayne's care until I return."
"You seek to discover the whereabouts of their masters? I thought their souls would have told you enough? Aldia asked.
"Despite what you may overheard with that last fanatic, the knowledge gained was not instantaneous. It will take some time before all of it is available to me and for what little I have gleaned from their souls it would seem as though there were several middle men between our esteemed guests and their leaders. What I have discovered is that they arrived on rather nice ship that is conveniently docked on an outcropping off the cliffs of Majula. Sometimes nature can be so accommodating."
"This seems to be the point in which we part ways. We may yet meet again, Old hollow". With this said, Aldia's form vanished in a burst of fire and ash leaving the undead queen alone in the crypt.
"Yes we may, damned abomination." Rohanna muttered to herself as she began to leave from Drangleic's undead crypt.
Side Story 1: What is in a name?
The light from the fire flies was enchanting. Each one seemed to bathe the ruined structure in a soft caressing light.
The one who had stirred them gazed longing at the multitude of insects before something drew its attention. There was a lake not too far from it. So close and yet…
The lake changed and became something different. A churning mass that called out for anything to enter it. The figure stood before the small maelstrom and hesitated.
"The fireflies" It thought. "they burn so intensely but, the water…
The figure took an unsure step and fell in the dark waters. Before the light vanished, it saw a man and a woman holding a child.
The figure awoke to coldness. They weren't wet. They should have been wet but the idea of caring for their current state was soon forgotten. The figure began to focus on a light in the distance. It started to walk towards the light. As they did, the figure passed several piles of bones as well as small figures crouched within the area. The figure paid them no mind as they wanted to reach that light. The light came from a small cottage just across a bridge. The figure didn't bother to knock as they forced the door open. It first looked at fire at the end of the room before turning its eyes to the three women around the flame. One sat right next to the fire while the other two were seated at a table, one facing the door and the other facing a staircase.
"Heh heh heh… what seems to be all the ruckus? Said the one facing the door.
"Ooh, my! Your face. The face of the curse." Said the one facing the stairs.
"It's an undead. An undead has come to play, heh heh… They all end up here, all the ones like you. You spoke to that kind old dear, didn't you? Heh heh… You're finished, you'll go hollow. Yes, you will become one of them." Said the one next to the fire.
At this point the figure just listened caring not for who spoke.
"Hollows prey upon men, feast upon their souls. This is the fate of the cursed. Heh heh heh…" The women began to laugh as if the curse was a point of humor in their eyes before asking the figure.
"What is your name?"
The figure did not immediately respond. It tried desperately to remember its past for anything that would give it an answer. A memory came… the smell of blood and flames, a voice was calling out.
"Retreat! Retreat! RETREAT!"
"My name" the figure croaked out "My name is Rohanna."
Author's Note:
Sorry for the lateness of updating. Life and varying degrees of general procrastination are the culprits. So in this chapter I have revealed the name and gender of the DS2 protagonist. This name is a real name that hails from Sanskrit. Of course the meaning of the name is used more as cruel joke than something to aspire to. Aside from that I'll be working on the next chapter forthwith. Chapter 3 will have the DS2 protagonist leave Drangleic and introduce you to another major character. Constructive criticism is most welcome. In the future, Rohanna's powers will be explained and they were not pulled from thin air. Consider them more as appropriations of powers seen in DS1 and DS2.
Special Thanks to my Betas; Red Renegade, Jarl Dova, and Polkovnik Strelok