Event 20: To Be The True Heir
Three days. For the Undead to return to life, it takes three days. Three days of sitting by a dimly lit bonfire. Three days of staring into the flames, warmly lit fire reflected in chocolate brown eyes. Three days of waiting, waiting, and nothing else but waiting. When at last Seiko was reborn from the ashes, every remaining person who supported her stood before her. She was Hollowed, her hair exactly as it had been when she died human. Her beautiful blue eyes were empty sockets. She hadn't a tooth to speak of. Even more strange, the Black Knight Greatsword she'd died wielding was with her, just like all her other items. Having given her Estus Flask to Jinta, which had saved him from Gwyn's single Sunlight Spear, the only things she had were her custom black outfit and the broken pendant in her pocket. The dragon scales she'd earned, as well as the Titanite Slab she'd received from Sieglinde, were stored in Jinta's Bottomless Box within the flames of every bonfire. Getting to her feet and pulling her hood on, Seiko regretted being seen in such a state. She turned to the fire, having a few Humanity of her own by now, and reversed her Hollowed state. When at last she turned, grabbing up the black sword she'd claimed, Seiko found her answer to Abyss corruption at last.
"I'm sorry..." said Seiko. Whole and human by some miracle, not a trace of the harrowed form she'd been at the time of death remained. Her eyes were whole and piercing blue, her nails were grown in, and her hair was healthy and long again. "What happened...?"
Jinta, kneeling next to her, looked down at his helmet, gleaming in the sun as it lay on the mossy bricks of Firelink Shrine.
"We won... Solaire and I did it... But Solaire stayed behind. Ryuuko was right," said Jinta, looking back at the pale woman he'd referred to. "The past three days have been different. The clouds were how I could tell, to be honest. The first new day it became fully overcast, the day after it began to clear a bit, and today it seems the clouds may leave the sky for a time. Time is certainly moving again but without a way to sustain the First Flame forever or a way to stop the Dark from killing us all, it's just a small step forward. We have no leads as to where to go or what to do about it, but we're hoping we can find some by, actually, asking you a few things..."
Seiko tilted her head, confused.
"In your fight with the Four Kings," began Kuronoko, the woman with curved horns and a curved greatsword, "What did you do to overcome the Abyss?"
Seiko blinked, thinking back. "Went to my father's grave and got his ring. Came back with the ring on, and dropped into the Abyss. The ring came off and I started choking... Then... …?"
"Then what?" said Ryuuko. She and everyone else were leaning in, intensely curious.
"I... Think I crushed it..." said Seiko.
"Crushed what? The ring?!" said Ryuuko.
Seiko nodded, trying to remember if she'd done something else with the ring during the fight or if she'd lost it. She didn't remember anything like that, since she would have panicked at its loss. In fact, Seiko couldn't remember much after her burst of power. She knew she'd won, and she remembered going into the Abyss and fighting two of the Kings. After that it became hazy.
"So, what did the ring do? When you had it, of course," said Kuronoko.
"Kept the Abyss from invading me," said Seiko.
"So when the ring fell off you must have instantly been near death, right?" said Kuronoko.
Seiko nodded.
"What was that like?" asked Kuronoko, as if they were getting closer to something.
"Like drowning," said Seiko.
"And how did you stop it?" asked Kuronoko.
Seiko almost smiled. She could remember a bit better now that she'd been worked up to the event.
"I crushed the ring... It's completely gone..." said Seiko.
"Things don't just disappear. Where did it go?" asked Ryuuko, looking at Kuronoko.
"I think I absorbed it... Or something..." said Seiko, another bemused look on her face.
"That ring was The Covanent of Artorias," said Kuronoko. "It was a symbol of his clan and was created in the Abyss. If you destroyed it and whatever was inside is in you now, that means the Abyss sees you as one of its own now. You don't command it, you exist with it. It's mutual, not master and servant."
Seiko looked away, processing what she'd just been told.
"You don't know a thing about your clan or your parents, do you?" asked Kuronoko.
Seiko looked at Kuronoko and shook her head.
"Then allow me to give you these two starting points. It's all I know, but I'm sure you can find out more. First, no one knows where you mother is. She disappeared after the death of Artorias and there was no more mention of her. The only thing passed down was that she and Artorias were close, and she visited his grave only once before she disappeared. If you can find her, she may know more. I wouldn't imagine she'd be far from Artorias' grave, so that's a good place to start. The second thing is that your father was the greatest master of greatswords of his time. His sword was blessed by his clan and a similar one was given to his partner, Sif. If you truly want to be like your father, or surpass him, you must have a greatsword made for you and you must master it."
Seiko looked at Jinta. She didn't feel like explaining what happened when she tried using swords. Jinta answered for her.
"Seiko's broken every weapon she's picked up. The last thing I saw her use effectively was a modified Dragon Slayer bow, but she ran out of arrows far from any blacksmith and had to leave it behind. How could she master a greatsword without breaking it with such strength?"
"If you recall," said Kuronoko, "Artorias was also unnaturally strong. The feats credited to him could not be performed with anything less than the strength Seiko also possesses. I did not say she should find one, I said she should have one made for her."
"And what blacksmith do you know that could make such a thing?" asked Jinta. "The sword would have to be heavy enough for a giant and small enough for her to actually use. No human could make that, not even with good magic."
"There is one. But he is not human, or very bright," said Kuronoko.
"What?! Where?" said Jinta, surprised she had a lead.
"The giant blacksmith in Anor Londo. Did you honestly miss him?" said Kuronoko.
"I wasn't in Anor Londo for long, nor, I believe, was Seiko."
"Then you have who to go to. Like I said, he's not too bright, so if you want him to make something from scratch instead of improving something, you'll need to draw it up for him. Take that Black Knight sword with you. I'm sure he can use it to make something suitable. He's in a large chamber to the left of the main entrance," said Kuronoko.
Seiko looked at the greatsword that rested in her right hand. The end of it sat on the bricks, and it was as tall as she was. The weight was good enough for her to use properly, but it was too big.
"What about all of you?" said Jinta, picking up his helmet and standing up from his kneeling position.
"I'm taking them to Ash Lake!" said Rii, pumping a fist. "We're gonna duel each other for Dragon Scales to cure them of their curse!"
"Isn't that what you did?" asked Jinta.
"Exactly. Problem is, once you start the Stone Dragon won't let you leave with his transformation stones until you give him eighty dragon scales. Without those stones, there's no way to suppress the Undead Dragon's 'curse.' And without the scales, the Stone Dragon can die. He's stopped regrowing his own, so he needs his followers to gather them. Pretty clever, huh?"
Jinta gave Rii an odd look. "If you say so," he said, putting his helmet on.
"Anyway, this is where we part then," said Jinta, his voice now a bit muffled by his helmet.
Rii ran forward and hugged Seiko. Seiko flinched in surprise, but dropped her sword with a heavy crash to hug back right after.
Rii pulled away and Kama chuckled, a black bone hand held up to her smiling face.
"Take care," said Kama, shifting her scythe and bowing. Rii bowed as well, but the other three simply nodded their heads.
Jinta looked at Seiko and opened a hand. Seiko grabbed up her greatsword and slid her hand into his. Gloves or no, it was definitely different than the past few times they'd done it.
"We'll see you again," said Jinta.
"Someday..." said Seiko.
The two glowed a faint orange, shifted forward into the bonfire, and flared out of existence as the women watched...
"Well, well, look who's back," said the Firekeeper. As always, she leaned against the wall, her bronze armor gleaming in the low firelight. "And even better, I see you finally managed to catch your knight friend," she said to Seiko. "Though, when I last saw him, I don't believe he looked quite the same..."
"Ahh, hello," said Jinta. "And, yes, you are correct. When I first made it to Anor Londo I still only had basic knight armor and an old claymore. But, I'm curious, if I look so different now, how could you tell it was me?"
The Firekeeper shrugged. "With the way she was chasing that knight, I doubt she'd show up again in the company of anyone else."
Seiko smiled at that. It was good to see that others could understand her despite her silence.
"What brings you back to Anor Londo?" asked the Firekeeper.
"We're here for the giant blacksmith," said Jinta.
"Ahh, him. In all the time I've lived I daresay I've never seen such skilled metalwork as his. He speaks little, but he understands very well. Just make sure you're specific if you want him to make something... I've had several warriors leaving Anor Londo in a huff after receiving a sword twice as big as they were and still being forced to shell out souls for it."
"Hmm... We've been warned about that, but thanks. It was good to see you again," said Jinta.
"Likewise, Chosen Undead... But before you go, a question..." said the Firekeeper.
Jinta paused mid-turn. Seiko just watched and waited, listening.
"How can you still be here when Gwyn has been succeeded?" said the Firekeeper, her tone changing to something almost like accusation.
Jinta sighed. "Solaire took my place in the Kiln. Instead of challenging Gwyn alone, we went together, in one world. I don't suppose you know anyone who could tell us how to sustain the First Flame indefinitely, do you?"
The Firekeeper let her head hang. "As I thought... I was beginning to wonder if anyone would try that..." She looked back up. "As for your question, sadly, no. Even The Witch of Izalith couldn't do it. So while Solaire has freed Lordran from the cycle of time, the cycle of death remains. I trust part of why you are here involves that?"
"After the blacksmith, I had planned on speaking with Gwynevere," said Jinta.
Seiko looked at Jinta, this being the first she'd heard of that part.
"I doubt she has a solution... But, she may know where to find one, so, with that, I can only wish you luck."
"That was more or less my thinking as well... Take care, then..." said Jinta, turning and heading up the stairs to exit the chamber.
As it turned out, the giant blacksmith's chamber really was hard to miss. From the massive staircase leading to the castle, there were gates to the left and right. As instructed, Jinta and Seiko headed left through one of the gates. On that side of the castle there was a smaller set of metal doors. Saying they were smaller was more or less like saying a humpback whale is smaller than a blue whale. Jinta tried knocking on the giant-sized doors, but ended up barely making a sound. Seiko stepped forward, getting creative, and raised her Black Knight greatsword. Turning it to use the flat side, Seiko carefully slammed the sword against the door several times, trying not to break the sword or the door. A few seconds past before the doors began to swing open. A giant, just like the ones that could be seen at Sen's Fortress, pushed open the doors.
"Who are you?" said the giant, his booming, low voice articulating with an odd cadence.
"Forge your weapons?" continued the giant, raising pitch at the end to indicate it was a question.
"Actually, we need a weapon made. Can you do that?" hollered Jinta, making sure the tall blacksmith could hear him.
"Can make weapons... But need shiny..." said the giant, turning around and heading back to where he'd been sitting.
"So, you need metal? We've brought a heavy sword, but we need a smaller one with similar weight. Can you do that?" asked Jinta.
"Mmm," affirmed the giant. "Sound like old sword."
"We need a sword that Knight Artorias could wield," said Jinta, hoping that was what the giant was looking for.
"Ahh, I knew Knight! Gough good friend! Can make knight weapon," said the giant, fully understanding now.
"Wait, you knew Artorias and Gough?!" said Jinta, honestly surprised.
"Talk, 'tis no good. But forge, very good. You talk. I no talk. Just forge. But happy!" said the giant. Jinta and Seiko guessed that meant the giant didn't want to have a conversation, but would be happy to work for them and listen to them.
"If you say so," said Jinta. "Though, I'll probably be the only one talking, if that doesn't bother you. My partner here doesn't like to speak either. She's Artorias' daughter, and she needs a sword that won't break if she tries to use it. For the metal you need, we brought the greatsword of a Black Knight. Will that be enough?"
The giant shook his huge head. "Need two. But have one. Can do."
"You have one here already?"
The giant nodded.
"Well, then. I almost thought we'd have to go back to the Kiln... Should we draw up what we need then?"
The giant reached down by his side and picked up a box, which he set in front of Jinta and Seiko. Seiko opened it to find rolls of paper and a large brush that used ink. There was an inkwell stopped up and resting in the corner of the box. Seiko pulled out a roll and took up the brush, using the box to weigh down one side of the paper roll and standing on the other end. Jinta helped by opening the ink and setting it near her. The inkwell was meant for a giant, and so was very heavy for Jinta to move, bringing the hint of a grin to Seiko's face. She liked being able to do things Jinta couldn't, like moving large things, since she couldn't heal him or speak as well as he could. Seiko dipped the end of the brush into the ink, waiting for some of it to drip off so as not to smudge the paper, then carefully drew out the first few strokes. It took several minutes, during which the only interest the giant blacksmith showed was leaning over and moving the odd mask over his face to see better. When Seiko was finished, she leaned the brush up so it could dry over the inkwell, then looked over at Jinta.
"Help?" she said, bending to pick up a half of the paper.
"Sure," said Jinta, moving the box of supplies with his foot and grabbing up the other side to keep the paper flat. The two walked it closer to the giant blacksmith, who took it from them when he could get both hands on it. The giant flattened the paper against the wall, pushing it up with one hand and operating some clip device with the other hand. With the paper attached to the wall, the giant moved a large barrel over to keep the bottom half of the paper from rolling up, then accepted the Black Knight greatsword from Seiko. He picked through some of the other weapons he had stored behind him in more barrels to find the Black Knight greatsword that had been sold to him. Seiko and Jinta went to sit near a set of stairs while they waited for the giant to do his work. Without a real forge nearby, at first they wondered how the giant intended to reshape the two swords into what he needed. Their questions were answered when the giant carefully pulled the pommel and guard off of both, then held the disassembled blades in one hand. With the other hand, the giant started tapping his knee, developing a beat. As Seiko and Jinta watched, the giant's hand began to glow with heat. The giant was using Pyromancy to heat the swords, and using the tapping of his finger to count how long he'd been heating them. With the thick leather straps on the giant's hands, it seemed a bit unrealistic that he could hold superheated metal without hurting himself. Jinta took off his helmet to see better, but Seiko had already noticed what he was inspecting. The metal wasn't actually touching any part of the giant's hand, and seemed to be suspended in his grip inside a bubble much like the one Seiko had been captured in once. The giant started bobbing his head in time with his tapping finger, then suddenly slammed the metal in his hand down on his anvil. Sparks flew and the ground shook a bit, but the giant paid it no mind. He bent over, took up his hammer, and began to flatten the lump he'd made...
Jinta and Seiko had to wait several hours for the giant to finish. During that time, Jinta took note that the sun wasn't setting, no matter how long they waited. It was as if Anor Londo was still frozen in time somehow. However, there was no way for him to prove it, and he didn't understand magic in the slightest, so he didn't worry over it. Jinta had miracles, Seiko had Pyromancy, and that had been more than enough so far. When the giant was at last finished, he set his hammer down and used his index finger and thumb to pick up the sword. Popping noises came from his back as his spine straightened for the first time since he'd started. The giant held the black sword close to his mask, rotating it, turning it on its side, and making a general inspection. When he was satisfied, he carefully grabbed the blade on the flat sides, and handed it to Seiko, handle first. It was a black katana, perfectly sharp and shaped entirely out of the same metal as a Black Knight greatsword had in the blade. Even the guard, grip, and pommel were metal. Seiko tested the weight in her gloved hand, finding it heavier than the greatsword. It was the blades from two compressed into a single weapon after all. Seiko turned and walked out of the huge metal doors, standing in front of the metal fence keeping anyone from falling to their death. She raised the sword and slashed. The metal fence parted easily around her blade and not a single ding could be seen on the sword itself. The blade was dense, sharp, and intensely heavy. Seiko tested the sword's balance last, then headed back inside to see the giant.
"How is it?" asked Jinta.
Seiko set the sword at his feet, then turned to bow for the giant. She held a hand up to him, ready to give up souls in exchange for a weapon she could finally use. The giant dipped his head as his form of bowing back, then accepted most of the souls Seiko had saved up in her long journey. The work was expensive, but completely worth it to Seiko. At last she had something she could use without risking her well-being. It slowed her down considerably with its weight, but that sword would allow her to really fight from now on. Jinta bent to try and lift the sword, grabbing the handle and testing it. The sword didn't even shift. He pulled harder, just using his arm. Nothing.
"This thing is... You intend on fighting with this?! Even carrying it must be intense!" he said, standing up straight.
Seiko walked over, lifted the sword as if it were a normal katana, and rested the blade flat in her left hand.
"Put a hand under it..." she said.
"You're not going to drop it, are you? You'd crush my hand..." said Jinta, acquiescing.
Seiko slowly let more weight into Jinta's hand, every second watching as he had to struggle more and more to keep his hand in the same place.
"Alright, enough, enough!" said Jinta, putting a hand on his arm and trying not to give out.
Seiko lifted the sword again, relieving him.
"Almost half," she said.
Jinta turned his head to look at her, his eyes disbelieving.
"I knew you were strong, but that's just insane... No wonder you could handle those crystal Hollows so easily. It certainly makes sense if you're Artorias' daughter, though, I must admit. The kind of things he could do with a greatsword could only be done by someone with that much raw strength..."
Seiko had no way to sheath the sword; any strap she would use would snap instantly. She'd have to carry it everywhere.
"With that, I'm sure people will recognize you as a member of Artorias' clan. I think your mother would be proud too. It's not a greatsword, and it's not a dagger, but it's something that requires the strength of your clan and the finesse your mother was famous for. A fitting weapon, I'd say."
Seiko looked down at her new blade and smiled, the black sliver bisecting her blue eyes in its reflection...
Event 21: The Broken Pendant coming soon...
Author Note: I'm just gonna throw this out there because it's an interesting fact... Smough's Hammer takes 58 strength to wield, right? But a Black Knight Greatsword takes 32. Oddly enough, two Black Knight Greatswords are equal to the same weight as one of Smough's Hammer. Does this mean Seiko has 58 Strength? If it does, what would her Dexterity have to be to wield a Katana that heavy? And to move something that heavy like a katana and not an Ultra Greatsword would require even more Strength, right? Basically just trying to show you how convoluted these stats would have to be if I released them... Which is why I never will. It's not about number-crunching, it's about sending a message...