I'm honestly bursting with excitement guys! With only two-thousand words I already have about thirty-five favorites and fifty-three followers! After seeing that I just had to sit down and start typing again, I can't help it :D I would've had this out sooner, but my dad partially dislocated his shoulder which meant I had to go work with him at his construction site for a few days. This of course cut my writing time down to nearly nothing.
Before we get started I'm going to answer some questions :
Sociopathic-Antichrist : Will souls form the basis of dust with miracles, sorcery and pyromancy imbuing them?
With the turn of the new age, the ways of doing things will change. In the Ashen One's age, the soul was something that could be taken, traded, and formed into something such as weapons or spells. Whereas in the age RWBY is in, the soul is something personal, something only you can have that no one else can take. So while both powers come from the soul, they aren't the same. You'll see how this plays out later.
With that over, I hope all of you will enjoy the rest of the story so let us get down to it…
Silence is all I know now, it's all that has inhabited my mind throughout my task. Silence and darkness, but not the kinds that are unwelcomed. As I feel the walls of my tomb being probed once again, my eyes slowly open once again to stare into complete blackness. For what felt like hours, but what could have only been minutes, I waited…and listened for any sign of a threat. But as every time before, none came, and eventually the intrusive scratching faded into nothingness.
Knowing whatever trying to gain entrance had gone away, I turned my head slightly, disrupting the layers upon layers of dust, ash, and rubble that had coated my armor to check upon my charge. Just as she'd been the time before, and every time before that all the way back to the Kiln, the Firekeeper kneeled before a dead bonfire, sleeping. I pulled off a gauntlet while taking a knee before her and reached out to touch the flames dancing across her face with the tips of my fingers. Warmth, comforting warmth, something I kept forgetting even though my own ember still burned. There was just something so different about experiencing the flame of another. As I kneeled there, I thought about what had become of the world, or more rather everything that once inhabited it. It was a world of monsters, demons, and madmen. But as darkness always exists, so does light, and as of right now she was the only thing that I could see within the darkness. The small flames licking across her form lit only the immediate area and nothing more, but it was enough. It will always be enough. Each flicker cast a different shadow upon the ashen ground, but each flame was a different life that sprung up every second, each just as beautiful as the last but dying just as quickly.
Pulling my gauntlet back on, I stood and faced outward once again, just as I'd done countless times before. Grasping my sword in both hands, I pressed the point against the ground and waited. Before long, I felt myself start to slumber once again. Closing my eyes, I feel my mind slip back into-Suddenly feeling the very earth shake, as if Yhorm the Giant had just smashed his blade into the ground, my eyes flew open as dust and rock shook all around us. After a few seconds the noise and shaking stopped just as soon as it began. Looking around myself, I felt the magic seals finally break after so long. As my gaze wandered the room, they settled on the door to the tomb where small streams of sound and dull light were filtering through tiny cracks that had formed on the door, slightly lightening my surroundings. It was now that I realized that my tomb wasn't what I thought it was. Turning in circles, I found the comfortingly familiar main room of Firelink Shrine instead of the barren battlefield of the Kiln.
Turning in a full circle my eyes found my charge, causing a spike of adrenaline to shoot through my body. Lying on her side, the Firekeeper was weeping blood from a head wound caused by a falling rock about the size of my fist. Rushing to her side, I turn her onto her back and inspect the head wound. Finding it to be a shallow cut I calmed down and used a minor healing miracle to close the cut. Looking around once again, I lay the Firekeeper down comfortably as I peered down the hallway leading to Andre's forge, or rather where his forge would of been. Instead of opening into a larger room, the hallway stopped about right where Andrea used to work his forge with walls on either side, effectively sealing off each part of Firelink separately.
Making sure the Firekeeper wasn't in danger, I stood up and walked down the hallway only to stop where the Handmaiden used to sit. Where a chair and old woman used to reside now stood a block of stone that filled the entire nook with writing and images carved into it. Looking at the top left, I found an image of a figure walking towards what I recognized to be Firelink. The next showed the same figure charging a taller figure with a diamond shaped helmet. I quickly realized that this was carving depicted my fight with the Abyss Watchers. Skipping down to the bottom right, the last couple images showed me bowing before the filled Thrones of Cinder while fire flowed into me. The final showed a highly detailed carving of myself and the Firekeeper by the dead bonfire as we'd been for the last however many years.
Looking back down the hallway where Andre used to sit, I saw a wall that had a blacksmith hammer leaning on an anvil carved into the stone. Below the image was carved Andre the Blacksmith. On the wall to my left was were carvings of a Thrall Hood, a spear and shield, and witches hat resting on a tome. Below each was Greirat the Thief, Unbreakable Patches, and Karla the Witch. Across on the right wall were carvings of crossed staves, a hand holding a flame, and a hunched form on its knees praying. Below each was Orbeck of Vinheim, Cornyx of the Great Swamp, and Irina of Carim.
I took a step back and gazed long upon each carving that showed what was left of my companions. Most might of felt sorrow at their death, but I felt nothing other than relief. After so much time, so much pain, they were at rest. Properly buried and not left to rot or have their corpses defiled by foul magic. Bowing my head and clasping my hands together, I recited a prayer Irina had taught me. I prayed for their souls to stay at rest and asked for their forgiveness, as it was my decision that caused our world to end…and inevitably their deaths.
I don't know how long I stood there praying, but as fire flared alive in the sconces my head raised and turned slightly to find the Firekeeper standing at the entrance to the tunnel, "Milord, their deaths are not thou's fault. Thy did what was required of thee as did I, nothing could have been done to save them without delving into foul magic that not even the Witch would touch." She walked over to Irina's symbol and ran her hand over it, "Our companions passed peacefully and are forever at rest." Turning back to me, the Firekeeper tilted her head slightly, "What will thy do now that our tasks are complete?"
I stared, unsure how to answer. I didn't remember anything before waking up in the Cemetery of Ash, and by then I only had one goal in mind and that was to survive. Though I very quickly figured out that surviving wasn't the problem, keeping my sanity was. Pushing forward I eventually found Firelink Shrine along with my damnation that was disguised as salvation. I was given a purpose, link the First Flame and allow this world to continue. What I didn't know at the time was the pain I'd endure on my journey, both physical and mental. And for the first time ever since waking up, I was unsure of my current path. Before I had a general sense of direction, a sort of tug that pulled me towards a new location. But now, I was at a loss. Not knowing how to respond, I just fell back to my default response, a shrug. Such as small thing, just a tiny lift of the shoulders, but capable of expressing every word meant.
The Firekeeper gave a small smile, happy to see my mentality hadn't changed during our long entombment. Stepping sideways, she motioned out towards the dead bonfire that had streams of light hitting it, "Let us venture out to see the new flame for ourselves. With our duties complete, I do not relish the notion of spending the rest of our days sitting here wilts a new world rests above."
I stared at her for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. As she turned to walk out to the bonfire, I decided to not care. Obviously the Firekeeper wished to see the new world and who was I to deny her that just because I didn't care for it. Nodding my head, I followed her out to the barren bonfire only to stop upon catching sight of two things on the shelf below Knight Lothric's throne. The first was the Coiled Sword of Embers the Lords of Cinder used against me, only now it had shrunken down to the size of a normal blade. The other object was a tightly wrapped, narrow bundle about three feet in length. Walking up to the shelf I took the Coiled Sword and set aside as I gazed upon the bundle. Knowing that I wished some time alone, the Firekeeper left to stand by the door as I bowed my head once again, feeling a vast wave of sorrow wash over me as I sent another prayer, hoping the bundles owner's spirit was at rest.
After a few minutes of silence, I look up and reached out to strap both objects to my back, leaving my hands free to grab my personal sword and shield if, or rather when they'd be needed. Turning my back to the thrones, I walked up the stairs to meet the Firekeeper by the entrance. Reaching the wall that sealed the door, I found that the passage of time and whatever shook Firelink had severely cracked the stones, allowing a dim light to slip inside. Motioning the Firekeeper behind me, I reared my fist back without a word and drove it through the wall, showering myself in dust. Gripping the outer rocks, I sharply pulled my hand back which created a hole big enough to fit both my hands inside of. I continued to pull away at the wall until a man-sized hole appeared.
Sticking my head out I immediately realized that we are still underground, but somehow light is still coming from above us that was not fire. I take a careful look around, finding there to be no hostiles in sight but that doesn't mean they aren't there. If fighting my way through Lothric had taught me anything it was that enemies could, and will always be hiding close by. I pull my sword out, making the savage teeth on the back of the blade scrape against the sheath but left my shield on my back. Taking a cautious step forward, I spin around and carefully check every nook and cranny in sight. Finding everything to be clear, I walked back to the wall and offer my hand to help the Firekeeper through the hole.
Bowing her head in thanks, the Firekeeper takes my hand in hers as she steps through the jagged hole I had created. Making it to solid ground, the Firekeeper "looked" around, seeming to take great interest in the odd flames above us, "These new flames are…different Milord, I can't really explain it." She then looks down the tunnel towards an area that seemed to of caved in, "Over yonder seems to be the source of the shaking, mayhaps there is some sort of civilization." I decided not to comment on how any civilization I found in Lothric was filled with things that wish for my grisly death. Motioning me forward the Firekeeper began walking towards the cave-in, taking in every detail she could. As we reached the pile of stone blocking the tunnel, I couldn't help but notice how…quiet it seemed to be. After something like a cave-in I expected something to appear, whether it was the cause of it or otherwise. As soon as I finished the thought, I heard a roar which made both the Firekeeper and I spin around to find several bipedal creatures charging us. They were as black as the abyss with blood red eyes and bone armor, but were extremely far from the most terrifying demons I'd faced.
Looking to my left, I found a door that seemed to be made of iron half covered in rubble. Pulling my chime off my belt, I held it aloft and cast a force miracle, blowing the rubble and door away. Putting the chime back on my belt, I grabbed the Firekeeper's hand and pulled her through the door just as the lead monster swiped at us with its claws. Pushing the Firekeeper behind me, I drew my sword and swiftly cut the offending appendage making the monster howl in pain. Before the monster could try to break down the wall, I willed a pillar of fire to erupt beneath its feet, completely turning it to ash. Once the fire's rage had calmed, the stones around us shook once again though not as fiercely as before. Due to the heat and force spells I had used, the stones above the door began to collapse which blocked the doorway from the other creatures. Satisfied that the monsters couldn't follow us, I made a tiny flame in my hand to light up the small hallway.
Turning around, I found the Firekeeper hugging herself and shaking slightly, causing me to step forward to check her for injuries. But before I could get any closer the Firekeeper shook her head, "I'm not injured Milord, but those creatures of darkness are…wrong. I can't feeleth their souls, as if it did not possess one." I looked to the side in thought, just now realizing I hadn't taken the soul of the creature I had killed. The Firekeeper shook her head once more before motioning towards some stairs, "Let us continue upward, I wisheth to see the sun and begone from this darkness."
I nod my head as the Firekeeper made a flame of her own to provide some small comfort as we continued upward. After several minutes of silent climbing I saw another door up ahead with light filtering underneath it, but that wasn't the only thing. As we drew nearer I also heard the sound of combat, the clashing of metal, the explosions of pyromancies, and the roaring of monsters. Readying another force miracle, I blew the door away which flooded the tunnel with blinding sunlight causing me to lift a hand to block the sudden flash. After a few seconds I lowered my hand to find a sight that perplexed, awed, and angered me. Motioning for the Firekeeper to stay hidden, I pulled my sword and shield out and charged out to do what I did best…slaughter.
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(POV Ruby)
This is bad this is bad this is bad! Even though my team was drawing as much attention as we could, there were just too many Grimm! Several were slipping past us and charging towards the civilians that weren't able to escape the carnage quickly and there wasn't the thing we could do. I could only watch in horror is a Beowulf lunged at a terrified woman holding her child behind her on the other side of the plaza. Right as it was about to cleave the woman in half, a figure jumped between them and bashed a shield against the Beowulf which threw it back several feet. Getting a firm stance, the figure held its shield up and readied a sword. The Beowulf got to its feet and roared at the figure before charging it. Not flinching in the slightest, the figure waited until the Beowulf was close before taking a single step forward and drove its sword through the Beowulf. It then, very quickly, pulled the sword out and decapitated the Beowulf in one swift movement. Not even waiting for the Grimm to fall, the figure charged a very large group of Grimm without a moment's hesitation.
That was all I was able to see before I was forced to focus on my fight as several Creeps surrounded my team and I. The next several minutes were a blur as my team and I held out long enough for teams CFVY and JNPR along with the Atlesian military and teachers to show up and help out. As the final Grimm fell around us, I remembered the lone figure that had went up against the large group of Grimm that had slipped past us. Spinning around at a speed only I could attain, I quickly looked around for the figure but didn't find him.
Spying the woman and her child hiding in a ruined cafe, I ran over to them waving my arms, "Excuse me, did you see where that person went that helped you?" The lady pointed a shaky finger down the road near where the breach was before Ms. Goodwitch patched it. Quickly thanking her, I ran in the direction she pointed, hoping the person was alright. Arriving at the wall that surrounded Vale, I saw the person (who I now saw was a man in awesome looking armor) approaching a doorway in the wall. Smiling, I used my semblance to rush over to him and grab his arm, "Hey thanks fo-" I stumbled back with a scream as I felt something slice my abdomen. Landing on the ground, I held a hand against my bloodied stomach as my eyes began to water in pain. Looking up with blurry vision, I saw the man holding a brutal looking sword that dripped with my blood.
Seeming to realize what he'd done, the man quickly sheathed his sword and rushed to my side while pulling what looked like a weird bell off his belt. He forced my hand away from the cut and inspected it, making me scream in pain again. Pressing his hand against the wound, the man rang his chime as golden light seemed to engulf his hand with a comforting warmth. After a few seconds, the pain faded away into nothing. Wiping the tears away with my clean hand, I looked down at my stomach to find that not only had the wound healed, but there wasn't a scar to be seen! As I was about to thank him, I suddenly hear a very familiar scream of rage and look up just in time to see Yang punch the man into the wall in a cloud of dust.
Afraid she would jump after him and kill him, I grabbed Yang's arm and pull her back, "YANG STOP, HE DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
Yang shook my hand off and threw a hand in the dust clouds directions, "HE ATTACKED AND CUT YOU WITH HIS SWORD! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DIDN'T MEAN TO?"
I quickly moved the cloth around the wound and showed Yang the healed skin, "As soon as he saw who he attacked he healed the wound. I just surprised him right after a fight, it's not his fault."
Still not trusting the guy, Yang stayed where she was but gritted her teeth in anger. Before anything else could be said, we saw a golden glow in the corner of our eyes causing Yang and I to turn and find the man holding a glowing hand to a chest while a woman in a beautiful but simple black dress helped him rest against the wall with her back to us.
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Dammit dammit dammit! I'm too used to everything I come across wanting to kill me, and now I've attacked and wounded a child! I rush over to the little girls side as she whimpers in pain while holding a hand against the bloody wound. Forcing her hand away, I insert two fingers into the wound to see how deep it went making her scream again but it had to be done. Finding the cut to be only a inch or two deep, I readied a intermediate level healing miracle and cast it. Quickly, the child stopped whimpering and inspected the wound herself, surprised to find all evidence of the cut gone.
As she was looking up, I suddenly felt something hit me at such a force that I flew back several feet into the stone wall, making a man shaped crater in it. Falling to the ground, I silently groaned, feeling like I did after the Stray Demon had thrown me against the guard tower wall the first time (And every time after that). I pushed myself up with one arm and weakly used the last of my magic to cast another healing miracle on me, knitting together whatever bones that had snapped or shattered upon impact.
Feeling a two hands carefully shift me off my knees, I look up to find the Firekeeper leaning me against the wall with a small smirk, "Yonder child hits hard doesn't she?" I humorously, but silently nodded my head, wondering how such a small thing could hit with the power of a two story tall demon. Finally leaning against the wall, I breath out a sigh of relief as the miracle did its job and healed my damaged body. Glancing down at the girl, I saw her standing in front of another blonde wench who had her fist clenched in anger.
As I sat there I started hearing the sound of clanking metal and footfalls growing steadily nearer. Looking behind the two girls, my adrenaline spiked as I saw several strange metal beings without faces charging us with even stranger weapons that didn't have any blades and would make poor bludgeons. Behind them were ten more children that couldn't of been more different (Two of the children somehow had animal features) along with three adults. The first was a portly man in burgundy clothes carrying a double bladed ax with a peculiar looking shaft. The second was a crazy looking green haired man that carried a pole that had what I think was a weight on the end of it with a bit of fire coming out of the top. The third was a woman with blond hair and glasses sporting a tattered cape that was violet on the inside and black on the outside. In her hands was a black leather riding crop, something I find to be a very poor choice of weaponry, but she seemed angry enough to put it to good use.
I jump to my feet and shove the Firekeeper behind me which causes the girls to look behind them. I pull my sword out of its sheath and ready my shield in case I need to protect the Firekeeper from a thrown weapon. The girl wearing a red cloak, the one I helped, seemed to realize I was under the impression that the people were a threat and jumped up and down waving her arms and yelling in a language I couldn't understand. I widened my stance and braced my shield, unsure if the girl was calling for help or trying to convince the group the Firekeeper and I weren't a threat. Surprisingly it was the latter as the group of metal men and people slowed to a stop as they reached us. The metal men kept their weapons pointed at us, making me think they were a projectile type of weapon, maybe small bolts or something. The other children just stood there staring at us strangely while the adults eyed us cautiously with the same level of distrust the blonde girl was still glaring at me with.
The blonde adult woman leveled her riding crop at us and spoke in the language I still couldn't understand. Apparently not liking my silence, the riding crop began glowing with purple energy making me realize she was a magic user, probably sorcery. I start taking cautious steps back, making sure the Firekeeper was properly hidden behind my shield and I. As soon as I started retreating the woman pulled the riding crop back, causing the purple glow intensify making me brace my shield with my sword hand.
Before the woman could unleash whatever attack she was preparing, the red cloaked girl jumped between the woman and I still waving her arms around like a maniac. This cause the woman to pull back her attack or else she risked hitting the child. The girls then launched into a long tirade filled with arm waving and no pauses, all the while pointing to my sword and then her healed wound. Whatever she was saying seemed to calm down the adults enough for them to send the metal men away but I kept my sword and shield raised nonetheless.
The blond woman lowered her riding crop and asked me a question, or at least I think she did. However I was unable to answer due to my own silence and inability to speak their language. Asking the question again, the woman started looking annoyed as I continued to remain silent. I glanced over my shoulder at the Firekeeper and gave a small shrug.
Seeming to understand what I was asking, the Firekeeper shook her head, "We cannot just attack or retreat. If we wish to learn aught of this time then thy must be willing to taketh a risk. Truthfully I doubt thee could find a better group of people to trust, the young child is trying hard to protect us."
As I listened to the Firekeeper, I noticed the green haired man seem to perk up in great interest when she started talking. He stepped up to the blonde woman and said something I couldn't understand while giving his weapon to her. He then strode up to us, holding his hands up to show he wasn't a threat and spoke in a different dialect that I was familiar with but didn't understand. Seeming to realize that I still didn't understand him, the crazed man whipped a notebook out of nowhere and flipped through the pages at a pace that seemed inhuman. Finding what he was looking for, the man stumbled through some words that I could understand, "Do-do you unde-understand my?"
I hesitantly nodded my head as the Firekeeper stepped up to my side (Though I made sure I could lift my shield in front of her if needed), "Yes we do sir, know that we don't wish to cause evil."
The man seemed to grow excited as he spun around to address his allies in a speedy manner similar to how the red cloaked girl did earlier. Spinning back to face us he flipped through a few more pages before talking again, "Ho-how do you speak so flu-fl…well in an anci-ancient language?"
The Firekeeper seemed to choose her next words carefully, "How longeth has't the passage of time flowed since our language became barren?"
The man seemed to stop short after hearing that, "Our language?" He asked. The Firekeeper nodded her head, making the man slowly turn to his allies and relayed what was said to him. Needless to say, I readied myself to fight if worse came to worse as the blond woman pushed in front of the crazed man and once again held her riding crop while speaking again in the language we didn't understand. The man nervously glanced between the woman and I before translating, "You have some…explaining to do."
And so it ends! Thanks for reading Chapter 2 of my Silent Ashes everyone and I hope you all are liking it :) If any of you are confused how the Firekeeper is "Seeing" stuff then let me explain my thought process. Even though she's "Blind", she still reacts to almost all of your emotes in game and often talks about seeing flames. This makes me think she has some sort of sixth sense that makes it so she can see in some way shape or form. As for her "Olden Speak" I'll do my best by using a Shakespearean dialect though I'll keep it readable.
If the talking between the Firekeeper and RWBY characters seems bad/blocky right now then I apologize but that's kinda on purpose. It'll get better once the Firekeeper and Ashen One become more familiar with the language of Remnant.
If you have any questions or just want to let me know if there's anything I can improve then leave it in the review section.
Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll see all of you next time…
…Archangel Out
