It's been awhile. I haven't finished yet correcting of the prologue and the first chapter and had some problems at home. Good news though - I will enter university this october for my chosen subjects (Japanese and English Studies). Sadly, it isn't the uni I wished to go, but maybe a wonder is going to happen and I will be able to go there instead. I will know in september.

Next chapter, feel free to leave comments and thanks to those, who already wrote some! And of course a thank you to those who added my story to the favourites!

By the way, comments help me think for some reason...


Chapter 7: Venture in the Dark

Darkness enveloped her like a blanket. Blindly she searched for a way, guided by the small, glowing orbs at her feet – probably the clerics left them. Her pyromancy hand gave off a bit off light but not enough to enlighten her surroundings completely. The farther she went, the darker it became. Giant skeletons stood in her way and she was not sure, how she had managed to beat them without getting herself killed. Fire killed them or knocked them off edges, but she was not sure, how much longer she would be able to fight on. She was exhausted, her skin withered away slowly. She had to soon consume humanity or souls or else she would not make it out sane. At a secured ledge she rested and sat down at an almost extinguished fire. Her knees were drawn to her chest and she stared at the ember. The air felt cold and she decided to rest up until she felt better.

"Concentrate on the fire, Claire." Little Claire, ten years old, tried to form a flame in her open palm. A few embers gleamed in her palm, but no flame.

"I can't do it." she squealed. She pressed her hand into the turf.

"Don't do this." her teacher snapped and grabbed her arm. "The flame is part of your soul. You are not supposed to extinguish it like that. Or would you dig a part of your soul in the dirt?"

"The priests said..."

"To Chaos with the Priests!" he said sharply. "Those damned Priests stole everything from your family! They forced them and so many others to hide in the swamps. You won't survive a day outside of the Swamps if you trust them. Hate them, for what they did."

At a little village, Claire performed in front of a group of farmers, mostly children. Flames rose in the air like birds, she juggled with fire balls, before the fire dripped down and formed new figures. From the corner of her eyes, she saw clerics standing a the church, eyeing her wearily. She stopped her performance, bowed and gathered a few copper coins, before dashing away hastily. Their curses followed her until the forest, before she stopped, to take a breath. It was also the first time, she saw an Undead – a young man, with the glowing circle at his hand, begging her silently, not to scream. As the clerics caught up, their attention shifted from her to the Undead. Between his desperate cries for help and mercy, Claire fled the scene.

As she stood at her parents' grave, holding the hand of her crying brother Claire silently wondered, what she was going to do. He was only seven – her teacher might care for them, but there was not enough money to feed all young orphans. And Sven was too young to be an apprentice. Maybe it would be better to leave him alone in an orphanage? There were a few near the border – Thorolund was not the only neighbouring country, Astora was close as well. If Sven would be there, she could continue her studies while he had a chance for a better life, she told herself. In her heart, she knew that she only wanted her brother go away – he was a burden for her. Her teacher came closer, holding out his hand to the siblings. Claire grabbed it gladly and followed the old man to his hut.

"You know, girl, it is the cleric's fault. They could have healed your parents, both of them, but they would never lift a finger for us pyromancers or for those who have no money. Remember this. Don't show them your gratitude, only your hatred. Don't trust them. Don't rely on them. Just hate them. On the front is written saint, on the back is written hypocrite."

Claire shock her head, cursing herself silently. She was getting caught up in her memories yet again – and she absolutely hated it. She stood up, not minding to extinguish the flames, before she carefully left the fireplace, not keen on falling into an abyss possibly miles deep. Soon she saw a familiar face – Trusty Patches.

"Hello there, lass." he called. "Hope, you're not angry with me slipping and pulling the lever."

"It was just a mistake, was it not?" Claire gave back, smiling softly.

"Yeah, it was!" Patches stated cheerfully, before pointing down the pit. "And as a compensation, there is treasure down there. We will split, how does that sound?"

"What kind of treasure?"

"Don't know yet. Weapons I guess. Armour. But anyway, it will be useful! C'mon, take a look! From there where the glowing orb lies, you get a pretty good look down there!"

Claire moved carefully to the ledge. "I cannot see anything." she said.

"Take a closer look, girl! It'll shimmer you blind!"

Claire bowed than, until she almost kneelt at the ground. She felt stupid, gaping at the darkness beneath her. "I still cannot..."

Trusty Patches – gods alone knew how fast he got behind her – kicked her. Claire stumbled, waving her arms in hope to regain her balance – and ultimately fell down. She had barely opened her mouth to scream, awaiting a long fall and an even worse impact at the ground, before she smashed in the bottom of the hole. Her ribs cracked and she felt them slashing through her skin at her sides. All air was pressed from her body as she coughed up blood.

From above she could hear a cruel chuckle, as Patches called down to her. "This is what I do, my friend. The trinkets I'll be stripping of your rotting corpse – that's the real treasure!"

As he continued to laugh, Claire, finally snapped. "You goddamn bastard!" she shrieked. "If I get hold of you ever again, I swear by Nito, that I will rip every single limp of, and then burn you slowly to death, you fucking asshole!"

Only laughter answered her furious and she sat up, only to slump at the ground. Her sides hurt and she could feel blood seeping out of her wounds. Suddenly, a white shadow moved and Claire lit her flame in a matter of seconds. Rheas pale face was seen and – to her gratefulness – she was still Undead and not yet Hollow. "Finally good news." she managed to get out, before she fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Hold still. I will treat your wounds."

Claire felt a soothing healing miracle wash over her body. The pain diminished, than vanished. Her broken bones retreated into her body, closing the wounds and with quiet cracks, her ribs adjusted themselves before repairing. Mere minutes after, Claire sat up and eyed Rhea.

"Thank you."

Rhea gave a faint smile, before sighing. Now Claire could see that she cried.

"Where are two others?"

"Hollow. They have yet to attack me. They were so brave knights, my former escorts. Who would let two so strong souls be hollowed?"

Claire did not answer, instead she stood up, feeling around for her sword. Luckily, it did not unsheathed itself as she fell or else she would be in a pinch now. With her sword and her flames she could stand up to the hollowed knights alone – no matter how skilled they might have been.

"Stay behind me.", she told Rhea, before she drew her sword. In the darkness she could not see neither Nico nor Vince, but she could hear their rustling armour. Hollows, as far as she observed, followed their instinct, craving for the life of others. She did not have to go after them – they would come to her. Minutes passed before the shape of a man – Nico? Or was it Vince? - appeared in the darkness. Claire acted swiftly – she thrust her sword in the chest, than slicing up a large part of its upper body, forcing it to go away from Rhea. She lit up her flame, before setting the body of the former cleric knight aflame, hoping that Rhea would not see the damage down by the fire. The second one tried to sneak up on and stabbing her with her spear, but she could dodge and she threw quickly a few fire balls in his direction. Soon, both knights collapsed, burning to ashes because of her flames. She carefully walked back to Rhea, and sat down beside her.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes, yes... the gods must have hold out a protecting hand."

"Maybe."

"You... banished those two Hollows, did you not?"

"If it would not be like that, I would not be standing here."

Rhea sighed. "It pains me how much trouble my failings have caused. I am certain that both Vince and Nico are grateful to you. Thank you very much." Rhea smiled warmly and Claire turned away.

"Are you sure about them being happy?" she murmured. "I killed them just now by throwing a Fire Ball at them."

"You freed them of being Hollows. Being Hollow is a fate that we want to escape, no matter what will happen. Since the first Undead appeared in the Way of White, we were being sent to Lordran in order to gain the Rite of Kindling – raising a Bonfires strength in order to become stronger and to strengthen the Age of Fire. To keep the Flames from dying out."

"A flame will only remain lit, if you feed it. What is the food of them I wonder?"

"I do not know. You should head back up."

"What about you?"

"I will only endanger you, if I choose to go with you. Let me gather my strength and I will make my way up alone. Please do not worry."

"No, you will come with me. It is to dangerous."

"I will pray to the gods that they might guide me."

"Praying to the gods will not help you to survive to the Firelink Shrine. Come with me. I do not wish to see any other person go hollow. I already had to kill my own brother!"

Rhea shock her head. "My condolences. But it will still be to dangerous for the two of us to return safely to the Firelink Shrine."

Claire bit her lip. Then she grabbed Rhea's hand, hauling her off the ground. "You are coming with me, whether you like it or not!"

Rhea sighed, defeated.

Trusty Patches paled, as Claire and Rhea emerged from the shadows of the Tombs of the Giant. On his head sweat formed as Claire came closer. "Oh... hey... it's you..."

"Seems like that. I do hope, that you do remember my... promise. The promise about ripping your limbs off and burning you to death, I mean."

Patches lifted his hands in defense, paling even more. "That is just a misunderstanding... These urges, you know... they suddenly overcame me. I couldn't do anything about them."

Claire lifted her eyebrows. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, sure. You get urges to kick peoples down in deep hole and loot their corpses after they died."

There was silence for a while, until Patches sighed relieved and patted Claire's head with one hand. "Nice that you understand..."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Claire screeched, shaking his hand of angrily. "You are telling me blatant lies like that and you think I would believe you? After you turned a spiked bridge, kicked me down into a pit, waiting for me to die and trying to tell me that certain urges are the reason that I fell?"

"Wait, wait, wait... I mean, we share the same fate, do we? All of us are jolly Undead outcasts, aren't we? And you two girls are still alive, aren't you?"

Claire lit her Pyromancy flame.

"Wait, wait, wait... Wait! Don't overdo things or act rashly, sweetie!" Patches took a step back. "Please, forgive me! Will not happen anymore! I promise! Please! I'm sorry!"

Claire starred at him. "Be lucky, that I need my strength to return to Firelink Shrine. Or else..."

"Y-Yes! I won't harm you! Turn around and walk away, have a nice day!"

Claire and Rhea turned around, to retrace their steps toward the exit. Before they left Patches' immediate vicinity, Claire stopped once more. "Before I forget it... If I ever meet you again and you try to back-stab me or anyone else, I swear I am going to kill you."

Rhea did not talk much, until she and Claire reached Firelink Shrine. It was night and silence laid upon the place only disturbed by the wind whistling and the occasionally cries of the crow. The sky was overcast by clouds, heavy and thick.

"It will rain soon." Claire mused.

"It could be a thunderstorm. In this case we should take shelter as soon as possible."

"Let us head to the Undead Church. We should be safe up there."

On their short way to the elevators, they encountered nobody – neither Lautrec nor Griggs nor Petrus nor the Crestfallen Warrior appeared, for which Claire was glad. She briefly thought about what she would do with Petrus, if she would encounter him, but she dismissed the very thought of him quickly. In the church itself it was calm and silent. The broken bench creaked beneath the weight of the two girls who were silent.

"May I ask where you are from?" Rhea turned her head to Claire, eyeing her curiously.

"I am from the Great Swamps." Claire laughed at Rhea's shocked look. "Yes, you heard me right. I am a heretic. But if this is any consolation to you, I was born in Thorolund and educated in the tales of the gods."

"But if you were educated in the ways of the gods, than why did you..."

"Clerics framed my family for hiding Undead at our farm. My parents were taken into custody, I was given into an orphanage. My family and I managed to escape to the Swamps and it became my home."

"But how were you framed? Was there an Undead at your farm."

"No one I knew off. Our farm was small – my parents worked there alone. There was not much place to hide anything anyway."

"But why were you framed? I never heard of such a case before."

"I later found out that on our grounds were a gold vein. Someone wanted it, framed my parents and bought the farm with the gold vein. And for the thing about never hearing about the framing... Would you believe a heretic? And even if you would be able to prove your innocence would they live to tell?"

"But such a thing has to be..."

"Stopped? Please, this is simply not possible. You may have grown up as a lady of Thorolund, but we are Undead now. You can keep your righteous anger to yourself. My past is long forgotten – even if I would have the chance to return to Thorolund I would not return. I have lost everything that connects me to Thorolund. I even do not have any reason to return to the Swamps. I... We have no place to return to."

"Than why, if you have no hope left, did you save me? What would it be of your concern what happens to me?"

"Someone told me to find a reason to life. And I thought I could find it with you."

"You could not have been more wrong about this."

"Maybe. But we are here." Claire paused. "You know... You are actually one of the first who believed me, that I am no heretic. Even most from the Great Swamps believe, that everyone from the Great Swamp is a heretic."

"Is that so?"

There was silence for a while. While they have talked, it started to rain. Large drops hit the ground, making it difficult to see anything. Lightning flashed shortly, illuminating the church and the thunder shock the ground.

"I wonder what happened to Petrus." Rhea suddenly asked.

"I broke his nose, last time I saw him. I figured that breaking his nose after he essentially told me to do anything I want with you was a fitting retribution."

"Perhaps he realized my weakness all along. Maybe that is the reason, he left me behind. After all, it was my frailty and my ignorance that sealed Vince and Nico's fate to end as Hollows."

"That is not an excuse. He was supposed to take care for you. He should have done it right."

"I can hardly blame him."

Claire stood up, taking a few steps away. "He was tasked to care for you and he failed. He made a run back to the Shrine and left you rot for good. How can you be so forgiving?"

At the same moment, something hit her from behind. A morning star, by the feeling of it. Claire staggered, hitting the bench beside Rhea, before she fell to the ground. She hissed in pain, before turning around. Petrus stood behind her, his broken nose swollen and red.

"Oh, it's you?" he asked. "You saved Milady, did you not?"

"Seems like it, coward." Claire hissed, clenching her teeth. She had broken her ribs yet again, the third time, if she was right.

"Too bad, that you will not save her another time." He gave Rhea a short glance. She sat there, unafraid and dignified. "It will amount to nothing. Without her family's name she is worth nothing."

"Is that so, Petrus? I wonder what has gotten into you."

"Oh, humanity does come in handy in Lordran. You two will die because of this."

"Oh, shut up." Claire snapped, reaching for her sword. "In my eyes, you are just a traitor who is escaping his duties as a guard."

"And you are a heretic from the Swamps, no matter what you claim to be."

Claire drew her sword, standing up on shaking legs. Taking her shield would cost to much time and she had to defend Rhea as well. She took it into both hands, before looking at Petrus. She was faster than him, but his armour would be difficult to pierce. Claire stepped aside, before attacking him. Her sword was blocked by his shield and he countered with his morning star. Claire avoided it by a hair's breath, but stumbled across a fragment of a statue. Her fall reminded her of her broken ribs and she gave a small cry of pain. Petrus lifted his morning star – probably to crush her skull and end her (Undead) life – but he stopped. His eyes widened, he let his morning star fall on the ground and he looked down on his chest.

"Why... How could I... What the... What did I wrong..."

An ominous, but yet cheerfull voice answered him. "Thou hast sinned. Fear thine indelible wrongdoings. I shall accept thy next confession, in the hereafter!"

Petrus slumped and fell to the ground, hitting it with a heavy thud.

"You shalt burn his body so he does not rise as a Hollow again." The man advised her. Claire could only nod, to stunned to say anything else. Rhea was crying, she could see it from her place. Surely Petrus had meant some sort of comfort to her in Lordran, even after his betrayal. Claire stood up, before she lit a flame. Petrus body was soon enveloped by her flames and as she watched them burn, she almost regretted not to burn him as he stilled lived. He would have deserved it.

"May I ask your name, dear sir?" Rhea asked.

"My name is Oswald of Carim the Pardoner. You are friends. Sin is my dominion, so do one of you feel the need to confess?"

"Thank you for saving us." Claire said, before turning around.

"Hmm... Thou with the silver hair... Thou art carrying heavy sin as well. Like Petrus thou art drenched in sin."

"Yes I do. And I am willing to atone for it."

"Thou art? This is rare. Most deny this very fact."

"Does it matter? I am willing to atone. My goal is to ring the Bells of Awakening. I need to find a way to Blighttown."

"Blighttown! A swamp filled with sin and chaos!" Oswald exclaimed.

"I think I should get going. I did lose too much time. Farewell."Claire turned around. For some reason she was sure that Oswald would not harm Rhea – he killed Petrus so she should be safe. Her sins may have tainted her but she wished to atone for them – alone. It was her objective from the beginning and staying here would not bring her any further.

"Thou art welcome anytime. It is only human to sin and to confess."Oswald said in a disturbingly cheerful voice.

"I will remember this." Claire said, suppressing a shudder.

"Vereor Nox." Rhea quietly said.

The street of the Lower Undead Burg was quiet. The only noise was the screaming of someone, who fell prey to the Capra Demon.