A Crusade Of Fire

By Lucius RC

A/N: Hello there dear readers! And welcome to the ninth chapter of A Crusade Of Fire!

Today, as some suggested, we will follow the story of the newly risen Champion Of The Dark Sun, someone who looks more like a threat to the Pontiff than Joseph is!

I mean, one is a Crusader of Fire bent in kindling the fire and crushing anything that stands in the way of kindling… and the other is the Champion of the DARK SUN! surely someone so involved with Gwyndolin must be pissed at Pontinfinite Staminavhan and company!

To answer some reviews:

SethTheGreat: Freth not, Freth not! I am aware of this, I myself think that the world is fucked no matter what you pick, although I do feel that by linking the flame you are giving a chance for new kingdoms to rise and thrive at least for a few centuries… although you're right, it is not a cure, but a delay. Dark Souls is indeed such a great game for it, I would love if all the characters had a good ending… but I am also thankful that they don't, since the tragedy is what makes Dark Souls a great game, and sadly it is also the game closest to reality since in both the world is fucked up beyond repair

Altough I repeat, Freth not, Freth not! A lot of people who uphold causes end up disappointed greatly by their causes and either abandon them or uphold them with little enthusiasm, maybe Joseph will experience the same thing when he starts seeing the negative effects of fire more clearly… but right now he has just arrived to the Settlement, its still a long way to the Kilin

Soleimon: Originaly I actually intended for Joseph to become an Abyss Watcher, but the idea was scrapped… although don't worry! For in the future you will see a lot of Farron Greatswords! ; )

Tylermech: The classical pairings! Awesome!

Cosmic: your vote has become a reality, my friend!

Without further delay, lets start!

Chapter 9: Fallen Champion

Gwyndolin, he had to find Gwyndolin

Athanel groaned as he began slowly dressing up in his armor, the silver armor used by the Knights Of Anor Londo, a silk purple coat over the armor with the symbol of both the Darkmoon and the Dark Sun on it, his legs were only covered in leather armor and hidden inside a purple robe, a Broadsword on his belt and a mace on his hand as well as a big steel shield on his left hand

His face, dark and with a brown goatee beard and short hair, was protected by a black helmet used by the Berenike Knights from his age, the cleric and Blade of the Darkmoon was soon fully armored and protected and with a growl he began walking away from his tomb, he had to find Gwyndolin

He didn't recognize the castle looming over the cemetery nor the red and golden banners in the distance, how much cycles had passed? Probably quite a lot, the flame was still alive, he could sense it, the light proved it… that meant that another undead had done what he had failed to do

And then a sudden realization hit him, he was alive, he was an Unkindled, the flame was threatened yet again and now the end approached, which gave him even more reasons to find Gwyndolin and help him plan out the final battle against the Age Of Dark, damned be everything else, Gwyndolin was his top priority

He looked at the building in the distance as he walked, probably there would be a bonfire there, a bonfire he could use to teleport to the City Of The Gods and find Gwyndolin, ah! The Dark Sun would be so happy to see him again after all those years… but his train of thought was soon interrupted as four spots around him began glowing purple

Immediately he slammed his shield into the ground and took out a talisman from his belt, closing his eyes as he casted a miracle and his mace was soon covered in a purple aura, the Darkmoon Blade, he picked his shield up just as four purple figures emerged from the circles and materialized into three men and a woman

There was a man using quite fragile looking clothing with a golden crown on his head, a symbol he didn't recognize on his chest and a fragile slim blade on his hands, the other two men were heavily armored and held a Claymore and a Great Axe respectively, while the woman was more lightly armored and held a Katana

"Champion Athanel, yield your weapons and get on your knees" the man with the crown said as the four readied their weapons

"On whose authority do you try to subdue me?" The Cleric shouted as he looked at the four soldiers nervously and readied his mace, prepared to strike at anytime, he had absolutely no intentions to surrender to these brigands "You are mistaken if you think I will go with you willingly"

"On the authority of His Holiness Pontiff Sulyvhan Of Irithyll and the Church of the Deep" the crowned man said with a smirk as he rose his blade, Sulyvhan? Irithyll? The Deep? Those were names he didn't recognized but as he was about to answer he yelped as he felt a blade slice into his legs, making him fall to his knees, before slicing twice into his shoulder and head, his armor thankfully protecting him from most damage as he fell to the ground, the Katana woman had backstabbed him "And our task is not to take you alive, but to kill you"

With a roar Athanel rolled to the side as a great axe smashed into the floor, he quickly slammed his hammer at the man's knee and caused him to fall, he quickly stood up and blocked the slash of a Claymore before skillfully parrying the Katana of the woman, he looked at her with hate on his eyes as he paid back the backstab with a riposte

His hammer slammed hard into her gut, and then again into her chest, the woman screaming in pain as she fell to the ground, but he wasn't done yet, and with a warcry he charged forward and slammed his mace down into the woman's face with all his might as she tried to stand up, her face being smashed and reduced into a lifeless bloody pulp

But he was soon punished as a claymore slashed into his back, penetrating his armor and leaving a huge bloody tear on his back and forcing the Cleric on his knees, tears filled his eyes as he struggled to stand up, he was so close to falling… but soon the image of the great Gwyndolin filled his thoughts, he had to find him no matter what

With a roar he ignored the pain and rolled the next slash, as he rose he came face to face with the man with the Great Axe and with a smirk he jumped to the side as he slashed and watched with satisfaction as the axe hit the Claymore knight right in the head, splitting his helmet in two and killing him instantly

The bodies of both the woman and the claymore man began fading into souls as Athanel threw his shield aside and grabbed his mace with two hands as he approached the Great Axe warrior and began violently bashing his head with his hammer, hitting him five times until the helmet broke and fell off to reveal the bloody and wounded head of the warrior

With a cry of anger he grabbed the back of his head and began slamming him into the rocks over and over again until his skull was crushed between his hand and the rock, three of four were dead, and soon the Cleric turned around to face the crowned Knight, who had been watching the battle with surprise and fear on his eyes

"You are surely regretting trying to kill me right now, but I will spare you if you tell me your reasons" the cleric declared as he threw his mace aside and unsheathed his broadsword, using his talisman to imbue it in the Darkmoon Blade as he advanced forward towards the Knight, who rose his own slender blade with determination

"The Myths were true, you are a brute" the knight said as he stepped forward as well, the cleric looked down at his armor to see all the blood and gore staining it, especially on his hands, but he disregarded it as he kept advancing without answering, the crowned knight continuing his speech "You shall know our purpose before you die, beast, you are a relic of the former Anor Londo, and you are a threat to the Age Of The Deep, and as such you shall be put down and left in the past where you belong" the knight said before smirking "I am sure you will enjoy being devoured next to Gwyndolin"

Athanel stopped at the mention of Gwyndolin, what did he mean by devoured? His God was in danger! He had to protect him! "You damn bastard! Where is Gwy-" Athanel didn't manage to finish his sentence as the knight used the cleric's distraction to slash right at his head, the slim blade was way harder than it looked and it sliced right through his helmet, leaving a gash on his cheek as he fell to his knees

The cleric grunted as he removed his helmet and tossed it aside before standing up and looking at the knight "So be it then" he said before charging towards the Knight, the duel was quite intense, the knight was a formidable foe and too agile, rolling all around to avoid the slashes from his broadsword and slashing at his weak spots over and over, tiring the heavily armored cleric

But all men commit mistakes, and the Irithyllian soon rolled right into one of his slashes, the fragile armor the knight wore broke almost immediately to the Darkmoon imbued steel, and he fell to the ground with a sliced and bleeding stomach, the crowned man's eyes widening as he desperately tried to hold in his guts

As he tried to hold his guts with one hand, he rushed to grab the estus flask in his belt before his hand was pinned down and broken by the cleric's boot "Irithyll, where is it?" he demanded as he pressed down on his broken hand with his boot

"I-In the Boreal Valley! The valley where Anor Londo once stood!" the Pontiffical Knight screamed in pain as he squirmed, his guts slowly spilling out "Please, let me drink my Estus, have mercy!" the knight begged as his life began fading

"Warrior, you have sinned against the Laws of Gods and Men by invading someone and blaspheming against the Dark Sun, and as such thou shalt be punished" Athanel said as he rose his blade and slashed down at the Knight's neck, decapitating him and ending his suffering before slowly walking away, there was a bonfire nearby, and he quickly sat down on it as his wounds began healing

So the valley around Anor Londo was now called The Boreal Valley, and the city apparently was now Irithyll… what a strange era, he could only hope that his God was still alive, yes, he had to be, who could be strong enough to kill the mighty Dark Sun? with a confident smile he closed his eyes and touched the bonfire, and when he opened them he was in a tent, part of several other tents in what looked to be an abandoned camp besides a Tower

He slowly stood up from the bonfire and placed his helmet back on to protect himself from the subzero and terribly cold temperatures, there was a blizzard going on, and the only cover was the tower looming over the camp, without hesitation the cleric rushed to the tower and opened the door, quickly getting inside and closing the door

And just as he turned around two purple circles were on the floor in front of him, two women rising from the circles as purple spirits before materializing and looking at him, one of them was armored decently and with a spear while the other one had twin swords, Athanel could hear more invasions going on upstairs

He didn't even wait for them to speak as he smashed his mace into the twin-sword lady's face and sent her crashing against the wall before turning around and parrying the spear coming towards his face and punishing the woman with a mace to her stomach and then her head, sending her sprawling to the wall as well

A fireball hit his back and he screamed in surprise and agony as the fire covered him for a few seconds, and he quickly rolled out of the way as another fireball crashed in the ground, his eyes quickly finding the culprit: a man in black robes with a Pyromancy flame, and he could see that the twin sword lady was charging towards him as well, he had to act quickly

As the woman's blades were about to hit him he span around and bashed her stomach with her shield before hitting her with the edge of it on the face and sending her to the ground, and as she tried to stand up he slammed his mace into her stomach and kicked her face and enjoyed the sound of a rush of souls as she died

He span again and rose his shield to protect himself from the newly cast fireball before throwing his shield at the shield woman that had just risen up and was charging towards him, the shield slowed her long enough for the Cleric to take out his talisman and rise his hand as it began cracking with a golden color, a Lighting Bolt appeared on his hands and he threw it at the Pyromancer, hitting him straight in the chest and wounding him

He turned to face the spear woman just in time to feel the spear sink into his thigh, he screamed in pain and fell to his knees as it was pulled out, he looked up to see the spear coming towards his throat and he rose his arm to stop it, the blade piercing it painfuly but not reaching his neck and with a roar he closed his eyes and recited a Tale, the Wrath Of The Gods

The woman was killed instantly as she was caught in the righteous fury of the Gods of Anor Londo, and the cleric huffed as he pulled the spear out of his arm and reached for his estus flask, drinking the golden liquid desperately to heal his wounds, but as soon as he finished a bolt hit his back and a fireball sent him to the ground

The Pyromancer! He had forgotten about him, and apparently he had a new friend: a crossbowman was standing near him in the stairs, he had no shield to defend himself now, his only hope was that he was fast enough to get them… and that his armor was strong enough to hold the spells and bolts back

A bolt soon hit his shoulder as he began advancing forward, but he managed to roll away from a fireball, only to receive another bolt, this time to his face, his helmet absorbed most damage but still left his stunned and on the floor, but the Gods listened to his prayers, as he slowly stood up to see the Pyromancer charge another fireball and the crossbowman loading another bow, he saw a white robbed man descending the stairs

As the pyromancer was about to throw another fireball, a Rapier soon appeared on his chest alongside a good amount of blood, the man only had a few seconds to look down at the steel coming from his chest before he was smashed to the ground and the rest of the rapier sank in, ending his life quickly

Next was the Crossbowman, who received a big blue dart-like projectile to his head and sent him down the stairs, the cleric recognized it as a Soul Arrow, of the Heavy variety, and a second one ended the life of the crossbowman with another head shot and now the Darkmoon Blade had a clear view of the stranger

A man, slim and quite tall, with very pale skin and a set of robes as white as snow that covered all of his body except for his face, which had a handsome look and a juvenile beard in it, there was a rapier on his right hand and a wooden staff on his left, a Wizard by the looks of it, the man lacked the purple aura of the invaders, but Athanel didn't trusted him still

"Who are you?" the Champion spat as he took his estus flask out and began drinking from it, sighing in relief as all his burns and wounds soon healed fully thanks to the golden elixir, the wizard stood still for a minute as they both examined each other before finally speaking

"I am Lozar, at your service! You don't look like one of these foul Faithfuls and you were fighting them, so I suppose you aren't a foe" the Wizard, Lozar, said as he began walking down the stairs towards him "I was hiding from the Faithful quite well until you appeared, looks like I will have to change hiding places, again, is the Pontiff after you as well?" the wizard said with dismay as he stretched his hand towards the cleric

Athanel slowly took the hand and shook it as he looked at him, he wasn't a threat… not right now anyways "Athanel, Champion Of The Dark Sun" he declared and smirked behind his helmet as he saw the wizard's eyes widen in surprise "You speak in terms I am unaware of, who are these Faithful? And who is this Pontiff?... and most importantly, what is Irithyll?"

Lozar looked at him for a few moments before walking upstairs "Too much to explain, specially to someone that comes from your Age… I will give you the basics, Unkindled, the madmen and women who just attacked us are Aldrich's Faithful, servants of the Saint Of The Deep that both defend him in his Cathedral and chase down his enemies, people like you and I" the wizard said as the cleric followed him, and soon they found themselves on an studio

The Wizard hurried to collect several scrolls laying around and place them in a box as he spoke "The Pontiff is Sulyvhan… it's a long story, lets just say he declared himself Pontiff of the Darkmoon Church and then began worshipping Aldrich instead of the Dark Sun…" Lozar's face darkened "and I don't think you will like the next part…. Now hurry! We must leave, more Faithful are coming to kill us"

Athanel wasn't understanding anything about what the young wizard was speaking of, his answers only generating more questions for him: Who the hell was Aldrich? Why was he being worshipped instead of the glorious Gwyndolin? Why didn't the Darkmoon Blades do something to stop that madman Sulyvhan?

"More answers will come, my friend, but-" his speech was interrupted as a deafening trumpet was heard outside, it made Athanel's whole body chill and almost freeze in fear, for a moment he felt like a horrible sinner, like an Heretic that had to be destroyed, a worthless blasphemer… the feeling only lasted for a few seconds but it was enough to intimidate him and convince him of leaving

The wizard was even paler than usual "Oh no, Oh no no no… we have to get out of here, we have to get out of here! SIR VOREAS IS COMING!" Lozar shouted as he ran downstairs with his box and kicked the door open, running for the bonfire and ignoring the blizzard and freezing temperatures, Athanel soon following him

From the corner of his eye he could see several purple shadows rising from the ground all around them, there was no way they could fight against so many enemies, he hated to run from honorable combat but… this was a horde, not a single enemy, soon they reached the bonfire and Lozar quickly grabbed the coiled sword "HURRY UP AND GRAB THE SWORD! SIR VOREAS IS COMING! Oh I should've guessed, you are a massive threat to Aldrich and Sulyvhan, of course they send the Hero Of Irithyll after you! JUST GRAB THE DAMN SWORD!"

As Lozard ranted he turned around just in time to see a big shade coming closer and closer, without thinking twice the cleric grabbed the sword, and as he began fading and teleporting to another place he managed to get a glimpse of the so called Hero Of Irithyll

He easily towered over any normal man, Lozar, who was the tallest of the two, only reached to his stomach at full height, he was heavily armored as well, a thick set of plate armor covering him from neck to toe, his face was fully revealed tough, he was as pale as Lozar, but much older, long silver hair going down from his beard and his head, his eyes blue

But before he could see more details he fully faded towards whatever destination the Wizard picked, he stayed on the dirt for a while, grunting before rising his sight to look at a massive cathedral looming over the land

"The Cathedral Of The Deep, the place where they least expect us to be" the Wizard declared as he looked at the looming structure "Place is mostly overrun with monstrosities from the Deep, or so I heard from a traveler, the Deacons only control a part of the Cathedral… but that doesn't means it will be easy"

Athanel was having a headache by now, he needed answers, and he needed them quickly "Tell me a goddamn reason we must go into that accursed Cathedral, and I DEMAND YOU TO TELL ME EVEYRHTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS GWYN-FORSAKEN AGE! AND WHAT THE ABYSS HAPPENED TO GWYNDOLIN?!" he shouted, rising to his feet and looking at the wizard, who sighed

"sit down then, for there is much to learn… I escaped from Irithyll with several magic scrolls when the Pontiff took power, and I've been on the run from him ever since, so I am not well informed of what has happened… but I've heard the very same tale from all travelers I've found" the wizard looked at him with sorrow in his eyes, and Athanel's stomach began to feel empty as he heard him "If the rumors about… you and him…. Are true, then I offer my most sincere condolences, for Gwyndolin is dead"

A/N: THE END!

I felt this chapter was weak like the Yhorm one, although it did had a good amount of action! But yeah, I've decided to separate different storylines before merging them, Athanel and Lozar will explore the Cathedral and Athanel will continue his quest to find out what happened to Gwyndolin… I doubt he will believe Lozar until he sees it with his very own eyes

And we will have Joseph explore the Undead Settlement, the foul Road Of Sacrifices and then, the accursed Farron Keep(seriously, fuck that poison), next chapter will be with Joseph, and who knows! Maybe a couple of heroes will find him and go with him! I am eager to continue the Abyss Watcher's storyline myself, so I can't wait to go to Farron Keep's!

From now on it will be one chapter per character or group of characters (Joseph-Athanel-unknown hero-unknown hero-etc. etc.) I hope you enjoy the mechanic!

See you next time… and may the flames guide you