The Blue Sentinel of Alagaësia

Chapter 1

A New Journey

"Oh, hello. How do you do? I am Anri of Astora. Unkindled, like you. This is Horace, a friend and travelling companion"

-Anri of Astora

She had done it, she had finally done it. After this long, painful, and forlorn journey she had finally done it. Aldrich, the Man Eater, the Devourer of Gods; had finally been slain. Anri fell to her knees, panting and letting out a quiet laugh, it was finally over. She looked up to see the abomination's ashes floating into the air, as if to confirm it for herself. If only Horace could have been here to see this. If only she could have found him beforehand…

A sound drew her attention to the other occupant in the room. Oh but of course, she wasn't alone in the fight, that drew a smile from her covered face. Her new friend, he had come of his own volition and of his own will. He didn't have to suffer, he never had to come, but he did anyways. It was nice to not have to celebrate this alone. The Unkindled who had helped her, wearing the garb of the Undead Legion, held a hand to her kneeling form. Staring at it for a moment she took it, and with a grunt he hauled her to her feet. "I owe this to you. Thank you. Truly," she said with conviction. She was honestly unsure if she would have been able to defeat Aldrich alone. With Horace she probably could, but. . . She still never found out what had happened to him. The Unkindled nodded, it was funny, he had hardly spoken to them. He was almost as quiet as Horace was, but just as kind from what she had gleaned from their few conversations. Turning away she looked one last time at the place where Aldrich had died, sheathing her sword. "Horace we've done it. We really have…" She didn't see her friend's disposition change for a moment. The small downturn of his head or the small flinch when she mentioned Horace's name.

He had been forced to kill Horace. The Chosen Unkindled has met up with Anri in the Catacombs, and had learned that the two knights had been separated from each other. Of course he decided to help her, they hadn't talked much but she was a small ray of joy in this accursed existence. But when he made it back to her with the news? "Oh, Horace, where have you run off to? Have you abandoned me? No, what a horrible thought…" He hadn't the heart to tell her. He couldn't, how could he? Horace seemed to be her last friend besides him, they were inseparable. He couldn't tell her that he had killed her companion, even if he had gone Hollow.

He shook himself from his thoughts before he went further. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, maybe he's out there, somewhere." He felt his time draw to a close, he was a phantom in this world, helping Anri. His duty done, he would be sent back to his own. She noticed this as well, and before he could protest she wrapped him in a hug. A hug that he hesitantly returned before he disappeared into little bits of light. She wanted to say more, but she knew that that was probably the last time that she would see her Unkindled friend. Her duty was fulfilled. Aldrich was dead. And with that duty done, she had no other purpose. It would happen, not now, but soon. She was going to Hollow. What an accursed existence indeed.

The first place she went to was the catacombs, searching high and low. She scoured over every ledge, every little crevice that she could find. Nothing, she even went to a large lake at the bottom of the cavern, there were some ashes there. It was unlikely to be Horace's, so many skeletons fell to their deaths, they weren't exactly the most intelligent of creatures in this place. She even ventured into the Demon Ruins, but couldn't stay for long. Powerful though she may be, she wasn't the Chosen Unkindled, she was barely able to vanquish Aldrich. It was too dangerous to go deeper, and no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't make it. So she kept searching.

Her next place to search was the Crucifixion Woods. Where she had met the Chosen Unkindled. Once again she searched as much as she possibly could, even venturing into the poisonous swamp near the Farron Keep. The Abyss Watchers were oddly quiet, perhaps her friend had vanquished them as well? It didn't matter, no matter where she searched she couldn't find her friend, and she could feel her Hollowing draw ever nearer. The one last place she could think to search was the Cathedral of the Deep, but yet again she could not find him.

Oh how it pained her so. She, heavy hearted, made her way back to Firelink Shrine. She sought a corner and finally broke, curling into a ball and crying. She didn't know how long she was there for but eventually she had come to accept the face that she would never see him again. With that in mind she went to Ludleth, she had two things to take care of. She gave him one of her two swords, keeping its twin. She had given the old Lord a request. When the Chosen Unkindled returned to the Shrine, that Ludleth would give him her sword. And that he wouldn't seek her out. She didn't want to burden the Unkindled with her fate, that they might be forced to kill the other. With that done, and final farewells given, she had one last stop.

The only sound she heard was her own footsteps as she traversed the narrow path upwards. Her journey had been long and hard, full of sorrows and of pain and of suffering. She was the only child that had escaped Aldrich, and now she would join them in a way. Her oldest friend was lost, wandering or dead she did not know, and that was the heaviest burden she carried. There was a ray of happiness though, in the darkness. She had met a friend, a true friend. A new companion in the shape of a fellow Unkindled. He helped when there was no need for him to do so, it seems he took her little saying to heart. He was one of the best things about her onerous quest.

Her musings were cut when she reached her destination, a small group of headstones. She knelt down in front of them, the graves of the children who did not escape like she did. And now she added Horace's name to the list, for she was sure that he had fallen. She stared at the names and began to weep. She was truly alone, her existence and her memories would be lost, turning into a hostile and mindless thrall. "Horace… Please, I just want to see you… One last time." Her pleas went unanswered, and she began to feel herself slip away. Everything that made up her being was beginning to disappear, like dust blowing away in the wind. "Oh Horace, everyone, forgive me… I was weak on my own… I don't want to go like this…" She felt it approaching whether she liked it or not, but it seems that fate had other plans for her. As her soul slipped away, something grabbed it before it could disperse. The little light that made up her being was held close and cradled, as if it could shatter at every moment.

And so it was, her soul was deemed to be worthy, and was whisked away, far, far away from the cursed land of Lothric, far away from the Age of Fire. And to a new land. A new land of Dragons and of Magic. A land, while cruel, was not cursed by a power hungry god and his Age of Fire. This one could still be saved, and in order to do that, it needed a Blue Sentinel.

The sounds of battle. The sounds of swords and of strife were the first things to grace her ears as she awoke. What…. She shot up to her feet and looked around, and found herself in an alley of sorts. She made for the source of light at the end and what she saw made her pause. "What… Where…" *It was a town, and there were people! People that weren't cursed with undeath, genuine citizens of a town. Women, men, children, and all ages in between. That was almost enough for her to forget the noises, and that they were running away from something. And that was when she saw it. Well, she more heard it first. It was a large creature, clearly male, and wearing little but a loincloth and a strap across its chest. It wasn't human, obviously so by the grey-ish skin and the horns coming from its head. It had a larger than average club with spikes coming from it, it was a fascinating creature. And it was charging right at her.

Her eyes widened at this realization and her body acted on pure instinct. She sidestepped the creature as it swung down hoping to hit her armored head, and beheaded it with a quick and fluid swing. Blood once again coated her blade as she observed the creature with morbid curiosity. It wasn't disappearing, and it wasn't giving her souls from its death. Her thoughts were put on hold when she heard another scream nearby. She looked across the street and saw a child being cornered by two of them, their intentions were obvious. "Hey!" That drew their attention, and also their caution at seeing a knight charging them with sword and shield in hand. These two responded much better than their friend from earlier, but it mattered not. The first one wielding an axe swung at her from the left, and met her shield, perfectly set up for a parry. His momentum halted, she swung her shield to the side, leaving everything vital exposed. A quick thrust to the creature's chest ended its life, but it's compatriot was not one to wait.

Anri let loose a hiss of pain when she felt a sword bite into her side, but she was long used to pain by this point, and her armor was not a sad piece of work. She grabbed its sword and ripped it from her side, pushing it away and letting her punch the creature's face with her fist closed around her sword, sending it reeling. She bashed it with her shield before slashing to the side with her blade. The creature fell to its knees not seconds after, unable to stem the flow of blood.

She looked to her side at the injury and reached for a flask of estus, cursing when she found none. She had no miracles either to heal herself. She would have to be much more careful here, wherever here happened to be.

She looked to the child who was staring at her with wide eyes, obviously not expecting a literal knight in shining armor to be his savior. She bent to one knee before him, "get to safety child, find your parents." She spoke in the gentlest tone she could muster, and it worked, the child broken from his awe and nodding, running off.

More sounds drew her attention and she turned her head, seeing more of the creature's chasing the townsfolk and killing those that were unable to run fast enough. She looked at her shield and sword, briefly contemplating what was happening. Where was she? Did she Hollow? Was this some forgotten town in Lothric? What were these creatures? The screams made her shake her head of these thoughts. She knew one thing in all of this madness. She was a knight, and people needed her help. She readied her blade and started advancing towards the crowd, she had felled Aldrich, Devourer of Gods. She would not be brought low by a bunch of foolish creatures. She was Anri of Astora, this would not be her end.

Eragon and Brom were making good time. If they kept up like this they would be in the town of Yazuac in no time at all! With high hopes they continued their journey until they saw the smoke. They looked at each other before moving faster, something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

So I've decided to work on another story that came to me earlier today. As usual with Pilot Chapters, this is meant to be more of a teaser than an actual chapter. Pilot Chapters will usually be about 1500-2000 words, while normal chapters will be anywhere from 5000-10000 words. I'm really excited for this, I'm using Anri, a character that I feel has a tragic end. It shouldn't end like that, so why not give her a new beginning?

The main stories being released will be as follows: Remnant's AI, Remnant's Colossi, and this.

Secondary stories that I'm going to write will be: The Lost Kingdom Rises, and any new ones that I will start writing. Dividing my attention between too many stories is a recipe for disaster for a relatively new writer such as I. I hope you enjoy this, and once again I feel like great things can come of this.

Regards to All, Digital.