A/N: I wrote this chapter LONG ago …didn't publish it for some reason :/
Forest of Ulinivr
Premise:
Forest for Ulinivr is an ancient forest with multiple dead ends and branching paths. It was once the sanctuary of rogue witches like Beatrice. Something terrible occurred, turning the forest to an accursed place. But those who walked the path of sorcery ventured into these cursed woods for an ancient treasure. A treasure so powerful that it's wielder can match the father of sorcery himself without much trouble. Many had perished whilst seeking treasure only to return as vile and deformed creatures to hunt the living. I should mention that the following area is a bonus area like Ash Lake that won't affect the main story line.
Enemies:
Perturbing hollows: half man hollows with black roots sprouting from various areas. Comes in different variations; some can quickly bleed you with their whips and hands while others develop a large wooden mass that can crush skulls with ease.
Devourers: anti-magic humanoids resembling a small shrub. They possess a large maw that can absorb any sort of magical damage along with its caster.
Perturbing sorcerers: these half wooden hollows often tag along with devourers. Their spells will entangle the player entrapping them so the devourers can kill the player.
Perturbing archers: dangerous archers who camouflage themselves within the forest. Their shot is kind of slow and expected. However, when the player gets shot by those special arrows, he will be paralyzed for quite some time leaving him vulnerable.
Wailing trees: nearly all of the trees of Ulinivr's forest are wailing ones who will cry if the player hits them enticing the slumbering wrath of it.
It: the fearsome creature of the forest of Ulinivr. Some considers it as the protector of the forest. It will hunt the player for hurting the trees. Some foes aren't meant to be killed…
Accursed witches: they are found deep into the forest. Those rouge witches had been corrupted like the others. Unlike them, however, they can kill the player in one hit with their insane spells. Their only weakness lies within one of their sane sisters. It is best to sneak past them since they are blind.
Possessed roots: these animated roots (varied in size and shape) are the roots of the wailing trees. Some are sharp with a bleeding tendency while others are slow and large. Easily dispatched from afar.
Murkers: don't mess with the Murkers; those wooden scythe wielding creatures can kill the player from afar with throwing sickles or with their slicing scythe. They tend to leap unexpectedly as well.
Thorned Wardens: these animated female resembling tangles of thorns tend to guard specific places. They are famed for their nimble Swordsmanship.
1- The start:
-Mr. Chosen will find a clearing ahead of him. Trees grew once here but most of them were either cut down or burnt to ashes. There are many corpses with mainly souls or sorcerers set….and our favourite hyena poking around.
Talk "eh? What are doing here mate? Ahh, I know! You are here for the looting are ya?"
Yes "Well, sorry mate, but those goodies are mine and mine only… you can buy'em for a price of course hehehehe" if the player looted one of the corpses. Patches will turn hostile "Didn't I tell ya not to loot them corpses?! Now I will loot yours too mehheheheahehheh!"
No "Well, aren't you a rarity? Here, this one is on me, bruv. No no no, take it! I insist! Hehehe!" he will give you some shitty ass soul of lost undead or something…typical patches.
-After his looting, he will sit on a lonely log and sell the stuff he pillaged/owned. Here is the list:
Sorcerer's set, Wooden catalyst, various consumables, arrows and bolts and Dyre's ring. The ring was one of the corpses but since the player didn't argue with patches, he will have to pay 50000 souls for the ring.
Talk "You know, I always hated clerics. Damn bastards praying to their 'gods' and what not bah! Mages on the other hand, they are…. To be considered. A word of advice though, don't enter this forest; I never saw anyone getting out of these woods, bruv."
Talk "Not out of love or respect or any of those bullocks. If you went inside, I won't be able to loot your shambling body. I will be damned if I entered this bloody forest!"
2- halfway through:
-The player will encounter four branching paths. Each with its own pros and cons:
First path is but a dead end, Brimmed with perturbing hollows and archers. In the end, the player with find the perturbing set on a corpse.
Second path leads to a locked shortcut, a small door hidden under a broken tree. In order to progress through his path, the player must cut down/burn the wailing trees obstructing the way.
Third path is the right path where the player will find a mixture of enemies, traps and pitfalls awaiting for him. There is a secret area that needs a leap of faith in order to get to it. if successful, the player will find Dyre's walking cane. There is another hidden area concealed by small wailing trees. Burning them will reveal a small makeshift camp with corpses around and many devourers. Upon defeating them, the player will hear a whisper from above "Psst! O-over here!"
The player will find a small girl enshrouded in a black cape with a sliver tree insignia on it and a small wood catalyst "A-Are the wood monsters… gone?"
Talk "urng, I am so scared! Papa told me to hide in the tree… where is papa? Have you seen him?"
Talk "Oh papa! Where you are?! PAPA!" She will start to cry afterwards. She will stumble around touching everything around her as if she is blind. Eventually, she will touch her father corpse.
Talk "Papa! Why wouldn't you listen?! Why… why…"
Talk "… can you protect me? Just briefly…. I need to retrieve the side sword of my papa. It is not far away. Please, i… I will teach you my sorceries …f-for free!"
No "…why? Why! I will die here by myself. Oh, papa *cries*"
Yes "Thank you! L-lead the way…"
If the player decided to help the little girl, she will go back to first area to enter the fourth path. If not, she will continue onwards. The player will enter a clearing to encounter it.
It:
-It is a sentinel sized Ent-like creature with a terrible howl and multiple wooden arms. It is resistant to any sort of damage receiving only 1% of any attack (a 1200 dark bead will make 12 damage for an example.) its health will be huge like 10000 or something. Any hit of his will insta-kill any player. It is not advisable to fight it just yet. If the player equips Dyre's ring, it won't be hostile unless provoked. Due to its sluggish movement, the player can easily skip him and enter the boss fog on the other side.
Fourth path is another dead end filled with mostly archers and sorcerers. Having the small girl will make this path a cake walk as she will fire some really long ranged spells dispatching them despite of her being blind. In the end, the player will find the side sword among some corpses of knights. The player could retrieve the side sword first then save the little girl to save some time. Either ways, she will ask the player to get out of the forest where she will explain everything.
Talk "Y-you are very kind, thank you dearly. I am Ygern from house Erbin of Baldr. Papa brought me here to fulfill my destiny. My home was renowned for brave knights. Magic is bizarre to our culture…but somehow sacred at the same time. My natural abilities were foreseen in an ancient prophet of ours. I am supposed to 'mend the history's weave' but none understands…. I am just a child! I want to run across the field playing! This responsibility is too much for me! Because of that stupid prophet, papa is dead and I am all alone *cries*"
Talk "at least I have you…h-here, have some of my spells as promised." She will give you:
-Soul star
-Soul Flood
-Soul typhoon
-Soul Barrier
-Soul storm
-Soul ray
Talk "My spells are…a bit unique. They require a master of sorcery . They are so easily forgotten after casting as well so you might want to buy a couple more scrolls of them from me. but they are totally worth it! Teeheehee!"
She will act as a spell merchant afterwards selling her spells for a hefty price:
Soul Star: 50000 souls.
Soul Flood: 60000 souls.
Soul typhoon: 70000 souls.
Soul Barrier: 40000 souls.
Soul Storm: 100000 souls.
Last light: 20000 souls.
The boss fight:
-Upon entering the fog wall after it, the player will encounter Ulinivr…more like her corpse. The life bar is empty the witch sits on a throne made of vines and withered roses. Next to her body lies Dyre's mask and a hatch to the dark side of the forest.
3- The dark underground:
-It is pitch black down below. One might want to fight in the dark unless the player wants to attract the Witch's attention nearby in this narrow underground passage. But it won't matter since the player will have to confront the witch in order to pass.
-The accursed rouge witch will cast almost instantly like wrath of the gods. Like the archers, their soul spells can paralyze the player briefly. The witch will scream before throwing up some green mesh into the player mouth (like the dick wraith dark hand). The player will die afterwards (duh).
"Yet another hound lusting for power…" a Beatrice-like witch will wake up the player. The player will find himself in a wooden cell with many Wardens roaming aimlessly. She shares the same cell with the player. There is a baldr knight in the opposing cell ramming his cell restlessly. The player's hands have thorned vines all of them… the player can't equip any gauntlet.
Talk "Satisfied now, undead? As if one curse is not enough…sigh…"
Talk " you bear our curse now. It is only a matter of time till you become like my sisters….hmmm…I think it is best for me to kill you then." She will turn hostile in a tick firing soul arrows in on hand while fending herself with a long sword. Killing her is quite easy actually. She won't drop souls and items though because she is an illusion.
"Well done, undead. Well done indeed. So you are not a shambling hollow,eh? Good, the name is Aine…I am….well, I am the last sane rouge witch." She was actually in a separate cell next to the player.
Talk "Long ago, a foreign creature of ancient power fell into this place. The forest grew out of its corpse. Ulinivr was the first to harness its power and so she taught these soul arts to her daughters…the rogue witches. When the darksign plagued these lands, our forest protected us… for a price."
Talk "the Ulinivr curse began to seep through our veins slowly. This…old and wise creature might be dead but its corruption never rotted. My sisters became obsessive with such power. They would kill any seeker of knowledge nearby. Eventually, the old power drove them mad corrupting them and everything they touched. You must break free and retrieve the corrupted soul of Ulinivr deep inside. I shall aid you in your blight." She will handle the player a soul torch and a cleansing wick and a cell key.
Talk "the cleansing wick will break your curse… that is if you want it to be broken in the first place. The soul torch will light the way for you at the cost of precious souls. Use it against my fallen sister; they loathe the dark light of the torch. Best luck of you."
-Freed, the player will fight his way against the wardens to exit the area. The player might consider to open the cell door to the balder knight. Upon doing so, the man will say "have you seen my niece? A small little child in a black cape?"
No "…" "I see, this knight of Balder offers his thanks to you. I must go; my little niece needs me…"
Yes "Ygern! i… I couldn't express my gratitude. I am Falgren, her foolish uncle. You would surely question our sanity in sending a little girl to a forest of death and decay but you have to understand…we had no other choice. The prophecy demanded us to seek a mighty power of magic for the star blessed child. She is our only hope to survive."
Talk "Despite all odds, the kingdom of baldr survived the curse of the undead centuries ago. Now, our kingdom is but rubble. We embarked a great journey to the unknown seeking untouched lands. We winded up in this Drangleic. Our small settlement began to wither slowly… that's when Ygern was born. This poor little girl; so much burden on her shoulders…may the lords forgive our sins."
- moving on, the player will face one powerful warden who guards a great wooden door. Afterwards, a large cavern will welcome the player to the forest's underground with roots dangling from the roof. There are plenty of things to discover and loot from the cavern before heading to the final boss:
-Dyre's set can be found on the far corner of the cavern guarded by wardens.
-The perturbing archer set and their entwined bow and some Perturbing arrows can be found on a corpse surrounded by Murkers.
-Wooden scythe and throwing sickles are random drops from Murkers.
-Thorned long swords are random drops from Wardens.
It is wise to use the cleansing wick to break the curse. The soul torch will light the way for you at the cost of your souls. It will also scare off the accursed witches leaving them vulnerable for a couple of seconds. They are still deadly though.
Fighting the old one:
-Ohhhh yes baby, you will be fighting the barely-alive core of the old one who will immediately shower you with soul projectiles. His projectiles are weak but constant. When the player manages to get close, a large soul burst will knock him off/ kill him.
- It is quite an easy fight for dodgers/ fighters. Magic/faith users will face some trouble but in the end the old one will slumber once more. it will drop :
- Old Demonslayer's soul.
-Corrupted soul of Ulinivr.
4- Nearing the end:
-the player will have to backtrack all the way to Ulinivr's boss area where he will have the option to return the soul of Ulinivr to its rightful owner. She will wake from her slumber with a gaping gasp. There are two options:
Bearer of the curse:
Ulinivr will thank you dearly offering you the chance to enter her covenant. If you said no she will be hostile.
Boss fight:
- Her attack patterns are fairly unpredictable, from petty soul arrows to mighty soul spears. Her health is relatively low. It will bash right into the fight to protect Ulinivr when her health. Its high defense stats have been lowered severely after fighting the old one (the player can kill it before the fight to spare some trouble.). Still, it can still tank all the way to the abyss. Most of its hits are one shot…good thing, they are slow.
-She will summon phantoms from another worlds by implanting two spores on the ground, they can be destroyed.
-killing Ulinivr will kill it immediately, though it is highly unlikely since it will protect Ulinivr all the time. The player will gain the cleansed soul of Ulinivr as a reward afterwards.
5-The end
-The player will exit the forest only to find Ygern, Falgren and Aine. The trio will thank you for your effort (Aine will be hostile if you didn't kill Ulinivr.). Ygern and Falgren will return to the main hub area to be merchants as while as Aine who will stay at the edge of the forest.
Loot and item description!
Dyre's walking cane:
An ordinary walking cane of the legendary Dyre, Crosser of worlds.
Legend speaks of her as the witch who ventured through Boletaria, Lordran and Drangleic among many other worlds yet to be discovered. Her powers are beyond measure. This cane might be old and withering but it inherits a fraction of its wielder granting it the power to cast spells.
Dyre's ring:
An ancient ring made of delicate soft wood, worn by Dyre.
Perhaps one of her greatest treasures. This ring can turn any raging beast to a docile one (unless provoked .)
Somehow it lost most of its powers. Instead of a permanent effect, it discharges the wave of calmness in periodic blasts soothing the temper of one's foes.
Dyre's mask:
A mask made of hardwood with many cracks and fissures, worn by Dyre's.
Has no special power. Some postulated than Dyre wore the mask to hide her deformity…. That is if she had a face in the first place (insert Myazaki's theme of storytelling here.)
Dyre's Skin-robe/ Skin-gloves/Skin-Boots.
A robe worn by Dyre, the world crosser.
Despite its name, it feels more like with wood with a cloth-like texture far away from any skin. perhaps this was the skin of a beast of another time?
Perturbing whips:
Unlike the thorned whips which can cause bleeding, those vile whips will cause bleeding even after one hit (the bleeding bar will increase solely after one hit.)
Perturbing Arrows:
These arrows –made from the roots of the accursed forest- will paralyze its mark for a few seconds with minor poisoning effect.
Throwing sickle
Small sickles that have low range but can cause bleeding, there is a small chance for the sickle to bypass a shielded up foe.
Perturbing set:
A set of entangled vines and armor. Provides decent defense but terribly weak against fire.
Thorned Long Swords:
These enchanted swords of the wardens cause can heavy bleed damage in just one hit. They are easily broken though.
Soul star:
A powerful spell made by the gifted child of Baldr, Ygern.
Creates one powerful soul mass that follows its caster very slowly, targets foes very slowly for a massive damage. (Req 60 INT)
Soul Flood:
Another spell made by Ygern.
Creates a large souls mass which floods a certain area with souls. (Req INT: 60)
Soul typhoon
A powerful version of Soul flood. Can easily dispatch powerful foes. (Req: 70 INT)
Soul Barrier
A Barrier of souls that can fend its caster from any damage (70 INT)
Soul Storm:
A devastating storm that obliterate foes , very slow to cast (80 INT)
Last Light (99 INT)
Perhaps the most powerful spell ever created. Fires a bolt of souls that never dissipates until it hit its mark. Very, Very, Very slow casting but can one shot pretty much everything.
Note: Ygern's spells are used only ONCE. You can purchase them again for a hefty price… that's why they are so OP.
Wooden Scythe:
A scythe used by the Murkers of the old forest.
Very low durability due to how delicate it is but it compensate such defect but a sharp enchanted edge capable of slicing the sturdiest foes.
Old Demonslayer's soul:
Soul of a fallen hero who surrendered his will to an ancient being.
Contains many corrupted souls mangled together but none of this world could forge something worthy of this wondrous soul.
Corrupted soul of Ulinivr:
Soul of the rouge witch who succumbed into ancient temptation. The soul is corrupted giving its consumer a terrible curse. It is best to return the soul to its shell.
Soul torch:
A torch which feeds on souls.
It emits some sort of dark light to repel the creatures of the dark. How fitting.
Cleansing Wick:
This ancient wick will cure anyone from the Curse of Ulinivr. Perhaps it is wise keep it for a while since their numbers are finite… scarcely so.
Cleansed soul of Ulinivr:
This mighty soul will grant immense Intelligence to its consumer and a small number of souls
(10 INT level ups+ 20000, can't be used more than once… duplicated souls will grant only souls.)
Covenant of Ulinivr:
To gain access to this covenant, you must revive Ulinivr herself. She will thank you "Brave undead, you had vanquished the old one… for a purpose. You shall be my servant…what does thou say?"
Saying no will make her hostile.
Yes "But of course, my curse…is futile to resist. Come forth servant. Embrace the true power of Ulinivr!"
Note: you can't break your oath afterwards, you can however kill Ulinivr to be free.
A small cut scene will roll in which Ulinivr will touch the forehead or giving him this green insignia like the dark sign. Afterwards, Chosen's body will be all mossy with vines and what not. It will act as a merchant from now won't be able to equip anything but items and you are very vulnerable to fire.
Aim:
Your mission is to infect and curse as many trespassers as possible by invading their worlds and killing them . as a foliage-esque creature, you have spores and germs inside you that can buff perturbing creatures of the forest. You must prevent the host from killing it/Ulinivr herself as well.
Infected players who are not in the covenant (not like you.) will receive heavy penalty to their stats encouraging them to :
-kill Ulinivr to break the curse.
-using Aine's cleansing wick (only one found, can be traded with other players.)
-kill other members of the covenant of Ulinivr by invading their world.
Forms:
There are many forms according to one's delight and ranks. It will grant you more forms. These forms are similar to dragon stones but for a price.
With each player you infected, you will receive an old seed like dragon scales in which you can trade with It for better forms. Or you can be summoned in the boss fight of another player (like old monk)
Gaining a rank doesn't mean that everything is available for you. It means that it is unlocked for purchase.
Rank I
Right/left hand:
-Whipping vines (free!) : For dex builds, this extension of your arm deals massive damage to light armored foes.
-Hardwood fist (free!) : For strength builds, the player's hand morphed into a chunk of hardwood crushing foes with ease.
Dried lead shield(free!): small shield for parrying merged with your hand.
Hardwood great shield(free!): a mighty shield, only weak against fire.
You can equip two vines ; one in your right, the other in your left and so on.
Note: further ranks will increase damage, you can't swap your weapons (i.e you only have hardwood fist in your right hand, you cant switch it back to something else.)
Body form: regular.
Head form: regular.
Rank II (infect 10 players)
Right/left hand:
-poisoned claws(10 seeds): advanced dex weapon with high attack rate and quick poison build up.
-Blight wood hammer (15 seeds): advanced strength weapon, this bulky extension of your arm will turn enemies into pancakes with slow poison build up.
-Slingshot arm (10 seeds): for ranged attack, doesn't have much range but has quick reloading time.
Body forms (like dragon torso )
-Vine form (30 seeds): makes you really agile, your hits consume less stamina and you can run faster at the expense of armor.
-Hardwood form (30 seeds): makes you a brutish tank but you are slower and you consumes more stamina.
Head form:
Devourers head (50 seeds): just like the devourers, it will passively absorb most of spell damage and replenish any spell uses
Rank III (infect 50 player)
Right/left hand:
Enchanted hand (30 seeds): for magic builds, used as a catalyst with a special R2 attack that will entangle your foes.
Blessed hand (30 seeds): for miracles with a special attack that will heal you and your allies.
Charred hand (free!): for pyromancers, consume hp with each second.
Dark hand (30 seeds): for hexers with a special attack that sends a leech that drains health from foes to you.
Body form:
Ash form (free!): your body is on a wicked green fire that will consume hp but it will increase your pyro damage. you can set your perturbing allies on fire making them combust violently after death for a AOE damage.
Magic form (50 seeds): this form will increase your spell damage but it return it will make you very vulnerable to physical attack.
Blessed form (50 seeds): will increase your miracles in the expense of your dark defense. Allies around you will slowly heal around you.
Dark form (50 seeds): will increase your hexes at the expense of your light defense. Standing near allies will infect them with a deadly leach that will deal massive damage upon the death of its host.
Head forms:
Wailing form (20 seeds): a scarecrow like head that will send a heart scattering screech… aggroing ALL of the enemies far away.
Blight form (20 seeds): a blistering sac of pus and disease that will spew a corrosive spit with some poison. It will burst upon death.
Final rank (infect 100 players):
Old form (Free!): Ulinivr will grant you this form of the old one as a sign of your dedication. highly resistant hollowed wood-like. No weakness except that it devours ALL of your souls gained. It is constantly protected by soul orbs manifesting every few seconds.
New spells, New areas new enemies, new weapons and armour, new Npcs with quest lines, new items and new covenant, woohoo!
That is pretty much it! as you can see, this is one of my biggest work…so a little shout out won't hurt, eh? Share your thoughts with me :D