As I walked further into the so-called "Firelink Shrine", I noticed four sets of stairs. Two sets down, two sets up, and one of each on each side. I walked down one of the sets of stairs, toward an elegant woman with bleach white hair and all dark gray clothes. What was strangest about her was the purple steel-like mask she wore over her eyes. She gave me a small smile and a curtsy.

I bowed back. She was one of the exalted Firekeepers after all, maidens who gave their very souls to serve those in linking the Fire. In my old mine, some of the young'uns would dream and hope that they'd be able to get one of their own Firekeepers, to become a hero and save the world from darkness.

"I am a Firekeeper. I tend to the flames, and I tend to you, Ashen One. The old Lords of Cinders have left their thrones and must be delivered to them. To this, and any other end, I am at your aid."

I removed the coiled blade from the pouch at my side; I'd collected it before I left the arena. "Firekeeper, what might I do with this? It's certainly not a blade meant for war, nor will I use it as such."

She ran a pale hand over the blade. "Ah," she began, "yes. Ashen One, you must plunge the blade into the dead bonfire there and will it to life. For only then could this place truly be named Firelink Shrine."

The dead bonfire she referred to was close by. It was at the very bottom of the main chamber, right before the five thrones. To my right was a man sitting solemnly on the steps in strange yet familiar-looking armor. To my left, sitting on one of the Thrones was a small man with no legs.

"Ah, finally taken notice, have you? Fret not, my elder fellow, I take no offense. To think, a Pygmy such as myself becoming a Lord of Cinder. But ne'ertheless I greet thee, Unkindled One. I am Ludleth of Courland. My fellow Lords have abandoned their posts, as you might well know. I pray you bring them safe return!" He laughed. It was hollow yet also full of humor.

I plunged the blade in, willing it to ignite. And blaze to life it did, a roaring flame that renewed me even from here. The Firekeeper seemed content with this, as she turned my attention to her once more.

"Ashen One. I sense a well of unfocused strength, sovereignless souls brewing within you. Allow me to harness and refine these souls, that you may grow stronger in your quest. Kneel, Ashen One, and touch the darkness within me."

Her words echoed in my mind. I did as she directed and felt that unfocused strength inside begin to become solid and flow throughout my body. My armor felt less heavy and I felt as though… I suppose the easiest way to say it is that I had more life. I felt more alive than before.

I stood. "Thank you, Firekeeper."

She said nothing.

I looked around and noticed an opening behind us. And at the very end of the corridor was…

"Andre!" I cried, jogging down to the old smithy. Andre was a friend of mine from before I was a miner. By some stroke of luck, we always seemed to be in service to one another. Even now that seems to be true. "Andre!"

The gray-haired smith looked up from his work. "By the gods… Jerrik! Truly, it's you! I'd heard what I thought was yer voice and thought 'That's impossible Andre. Jerrik's been long gone since the Fire started ta fade. It's a grim world we face, but I'm glad to have my drinkin' buddy back! So," he added, getting serious, "what can I do for you?"

I held out my pickaxe and the shard of titanite and the scales and crystals of the Ravenous Lizard. "What can you do with these? I found them on my way here."

Andre's eyes glittered. "Oooooh… Aye, I could use these beauts, bu' not with yer pickaxe like it is." He glared playfully at me. "Give it here. I'll sharpen it for you. Honestly, no matter how many times I tell ya to keep 'er in good condition ya go and ruin her."

I handed Andre my pickaxe with a mirthful laugh and chatted with him as he worked on my improvised weapon.

As it turns out, he once lived in a far-off time in a far-off land called Lordan. When it fell to the Undead curse, he stayed and continued his practice in a church parish using scraps plucked from unlucky corpses and adventurers who thought it easy to steal from him or try to kill him. Eventually, he grew tired of the constant stream of hopeless Undead, with the exception of one, and left the parish wandering the world as it slowly died and revived itself and died again with the First Flame. He soon found himself in the employ of the Lothric kingdom.

"And the rest, my friend, is history." He said with finality, handing me my pickaxe once again. "First one's free, but next time I'll need some payment." Andre winked at me, laughed, and shooed me away. "Be careful! I don't want to see my work squandered!"

I nodded and returned to the Firekeeper's side. "Where to now, my Firekeeper? I am lost, for I don't believe I can travel any further forward."

She approached the bonfire and turned to face me. "You must travel to the High Wall of Lothric Castle and proceed all the way through to the Farron Keep where you will find your first Lord of Cinder, the Abyss Watchers." The Firekeeper cast her hand toward the bonfire's sword hilt. "Come, Ashen One, and press forward."

Once I made sure all of my things were in order and secured, I approached the bonfire and grasped the hilt of the blade. I closed my eyes instinctively, and I saw an empty room covered in vines and tattered cloth.

"Focus, Ashen One. Envision yourself standing there and the bonfire will ensure you arrive safely." The Firekeeper's words sounded distant, yet they reached my ears and I heard every word clearly.

I did as she commanded, grasping the hilt of the blade and felt my senses dull. I was aware that my eyes and ears were filled with a golden fog, and I felt my feet leave the ground. For a moment I was weightless in nothing, floating along in an empty void.

Soon, though, I was on solid ground again. I opened my eyes and found myself in a small rounded room, like the one I saw at Firelink. I slowly turned around to gather myself. Directly behind me was a stone dias with a stone bowl and bonfire blade on it. The gap behind it was boarded up but light still shone through, giving the two items an important air.

I couldn't help but think of Firelink Shrine, and a strange large golden bowl, and smile. I pressed on, opening the wooden door and stepping outside.

The first thing that caught my eye was Lothric Castle. My jaw dropped. Never in my long life had I been so near to the castle of Oceiros. It was marvelous to behold. Directly across the way was what I could only assume was the Grand Archives, the place that Lothric Scholars gathered, studied, and supposedly doubted and disapproved of the Fire Linking rituals. Perhaps they're the reason the cycle is repeating once more…

It took me about ten minutes to pull my gaze from the castle and continue onwards. I found a dead bonfire and approached it, feeling unnerved by the Hollows infused with wood coming up from the ground. I reached my hand out and willed the bonfire to ignite.

Once I had done that, I looked in front of and behind me: Two pathways. I took the path behind me first. I walked down the stairs and saw some Hollows praying to one of the Infused Hollow tree things and two dogs. One of the dogs was closer and started barking at me, making the praising Hollows cower in fear.

The dog rushed me down, leaped at me, and bashed its head against my shield. The impact shook my arm a little, but my shield held up. I went to drive my pickaxe through its body when an arrow shaft punched through my shoulder. I spun around, looking frantically to find a Hollow Knight with a crossbow aimed at me. It loaded another flaming bolt. While I was distracted, the dog bit my arm and tore my shield away. I flung the dog off as the other came charging at me. I slammed my pickaxe into the dog's spine, snapping it in two and killing it. Another bolt punched through my arm and the first dog came again.

I spun around like a top, launching the dog over the ramparts and sending it to the ground below. Reattaching my shield, I climbed the stairs and pulled the bolts out, drinking some Estus to heal my wounds. I found the gap that led to the Hollow Knight, gripped my pickaxe tightly with both hands, and painted the low walls and myself with its black blood, my fury rising with each blow yet never reaching a boil.

Once I calmed myself from the bloodlust, I watched as a larger Hollow fellow slowly made its way toward me, halberd in hand, but I don't think it noticed me. It walked on the corpse of the dog as if nothing was there, so it wasn't focused or even cognisant of my existence. I waited for it to be just below me before I jumped off and plunged my pickaxe through its head. The blood gushed out like a black fountain and the Hollow toppled over, dead.

The Firekeeper called them sovereignless souls. The strength I've been feeling well up with each kill. It was strange, putting a name to a feeling, especially a new feeling. During my life, I never felt this kind of strength. Just my own slowly leaving me as my years went on. I became lost in thought, pondering my situation again.

I was a miner, a laborer, before my death. I've been dead for who knows how long, as evidenced by Andre's reaction to seeing me again. Yet, I, Jerrik, am supposed to prove my worth to the Flame by slaying Lords of Cinder. I'm not even certain what Lords of Cinder are, yet I'm supposed to slay them all. I fear that the Fire has chosen the wrong fellow for that; I could barely get through a day's worth of mining before my time was up. But that was before my time was up.

Now I have the opportunity to become a powerful warrior and a savior to the world. I will not pass this up.

I was brought from my thoughts as a massive axe slammed into the ground next to me, leaving behind a deep cleave. Another Large Hollow had snuck up on me, and this one seemed far more cruel. Fortunately, I was able to put it down with little damage, though the effort did leave me exhausted. It seemed as though this path was, for the most part, a dead end. Only the raised rampants remained before me, and a short set of stairs to my left that led to a locked door.

Down the other path, then. A pathway riddled with Hollow warriors eager to slay the new moving creature that stumbled into their place. They were easy enough to put to rest once more, though some managed to land piercing blows in my arms. Thankfully my Estus flask had two drinks left, though now that I was down to one, I began to grow nervous. Atop the tower that stood before me laid a slain dragon. Or was it a wyvern? My ancient mind wasn't sure; we miners weren't schooled much before we gripped our first stonebreakers. However, there were more Hollows on top, though thankfully they were resting, or perhaps sunk in their endless despair. A lantern-bearing Hollow attempted to rouse them, but a swift swing of my pickaxe and it was silenced.

The three Hollows sitting around the corpse of the draconian creature were easy to pick off, as a strong downward strike was more than enough to send them back into an unending slumber. I dropped from the edge of the tower onto an outcropping and found a desiccated body with a small bundle nearby.

I picked it up and pulled the cloth away to reveal a pair of vessels filled with a golden sap-like substance. My heart beat faster; I knew what these were. Back in the mines, only the Lizard Hunters were given these and in small amounts. I'd managed to find two vessels of Golden Pine Resin. I stored them in my back pouch, mildly amused to know not only had I been chosen to save the world, but I'd been given a great gift so soon into my journey.

Perhaps as a matter of taming my hubris, as I continued down the path, something massive and gray swooped overhead and landed on a nearby tower. It breathed a heavy gout of flame as it passed, setting alight every Hollow creature and sending a wave of souls into me. Unfortunately, the fire also caught me in its path, as I was attempting to maneuver my way around a pair of Hollows on some stairs. I couldn't get my Flask in time and the flames burned me away. That mocking voice returned, louder and more in focus, echoing "You Died." and laughing.

I awoke at the first Bonfire of the High Wall, screaming bloody murder as the phantom burns seared my skin. I felt as though I was weaker, and in a sense I was. My skin had returned to that mummified state, though I didn't look nearly as bad as the Hollows around me. Worse yet, my store of souls was depleted again. That same rage as the death to that monstrous man before the Shrine boiled over again, although perhaps this time recklessness could not be afforded. Once the burning pain subsided, I retraced my steps to the bottom of the tower where I found the Resin.

Now I saw clearly the dead beast and the one that incinerated me were of the same brood. I tentatively stepped toward the lower path, keeping the pair of Hollow soldiers in my sight. The beast let out a mighty roar, and swept the lower path with another gout of flame. A handful of Hollows at the other end were near burnt to ash, though being wiser, I dodged the initial burst. Once the embers had died down, I rushed down the path, quickly touching the pool of blood that held my souls and made it to the other side. More Hollows blocked my path, but with some well-timed rolls and swings they joined their brothers-in-arms.

I made my way up the steps to find myself face to face with a sight that made my heart stop for a moment. A Lothric Knight, likely patrolling for ne'er-do-wells along the wall, stepped out from the tower ahead of me. I wasn't sure if it had noticed me yet, but the sudden movement and clanking of metal armor told me it had. A forward thrust would've caught me square in the chest, but a reactionary dodge saved me another mockery. I slammed the blunt face of the pickaxe head into the Knight's leg and swung down with all my strength. The Knight blocked the blow with its shield, though I left a deep gouge and knocked the thing aside. I drove my pick deep into the Knight's torso, gripped its neck like a vice, ripped my pick out, and drove it in deeper, launching the Knight into a low wall and spinning into a follow-through motion. It had been slain, its armor punctured as if by ballista bolt, and a stagnant black ooze slowly draining from the wounds.

The wave of soul energy from the Knight was roughly six times that of the previous Hollow soldiers, and I felt like nothing could stop me. Lothric Knights are notorious for being well-trained dragonslayers, and even now the thought of doing combat with even one Knight sends a chill down my ancient spine. I stepped into the tower the Knight had stepped out of and walked up the staircase to find a second Bonfire. Relieved to find a new place to respite, I willed a flame to light and sat, feeling the warmth surge through my bones. Perhaps I should visit the Firekeeper and grow stronger again. I do need to use these souls somehow…

Once I had the Shrine pictured clearly in my mind, I felt the same floating sensation and found myself once more in the dreary shelter of Firelink Shrine. Yet, despite the bleak atmosphere…

It felt like home.

So, after six pages of writing, I decided that the High Wall was gonna be too long. Apparently I'm going to have to write every area in two chapters, the first for the first half of the area, and the second for the latter half and the boss fight. Who would've guessed. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave a review and favorite/follow the story for the next upload. I'm going to be getting back into college next week, so it might take me a little longer. Regardless, have a wonderful New Year's, and I hope to see y'all next time

Ta-ta~~~