God I'm tired. Anyway, here's the third chapter for Dark of Zero. After this the plot will pick up and I can start adding more to the actual story rather than more world building and Guiche dickery.
Also, I did some more research/replayed the game and I found a few more Abyss magic's other than the Homing Soulmass. Still, most of it is just a black re-coloring of existing spells and nothing truly unique. He does have access to them, but again still has no tools to allow use.
Oh, and I wanted to ask something. Why does everybody act like the Chosen Undead is supposed to be some kind of Herculean figure? The whole point of the game is basically to show that the Chosen Undead is weaker than 99% of everything else in the world and that he relies on his brains rather than his physique. The best builds in the game rely on versatility and most if not all his strength comes solely from his gear. Unlike most RPG's where the main character could fight in his undies and beat the end-boss if he grinded, the CU would get demolished by even the random mook's if his strategy and and gear weren't up to snuff for the current task at hand.
That's not to say he's not strong. Gameplay-wise there's nothing stopping you from backstabbing through armors with your fist or parrying giant swords bare-handed, and this will reflect into the story well enough. Still, even with that it's obvious that the Undead's strength relies mostly in his tactics and sheer tenacity rather than being able to tank everything without problems. There's a reason the games tagline states "Prepare to Die". He does at least have the benefit of somewhat augmented strength even in his weaker state.
That and the Chosen Undead fights like...well, he fights like an asshole. And no, I don't mean in the attitude kind of way since fighting fairly in Dark Souls is tantamount to placing a giant "Kill me" sign on top of your head. I'm talking about the fact that his fighting technique basically boils down to slashing left and right, smashing up or down, or stabbing forward and backward depending on the weapon. No finesse, no training, and I'm pretty sure I can do more complex stabs and slashes. He basically fights like an untrained noob and it's only his shield and dodge roll ability that saves him a lot of the time. Compare his swordplay to the character's from the Assassins Creed series or Dragon Age and you can see he's horribly lacking. He'll improve on this as the story goes, along with losing the annoying habit of pausing mid-sentence.
Now to answer some worries/questions others have:
Nix's Warden - He doesn't actually look like a corpse. Though he states that he thinks he looks like one, in reality he just looks malnourished/thin rather than out and out emaciated. It's a bit of a shock for him since even the thinnest body-build in Dark Souls is obviously chiseled, so he exaggerated his new condition. Besides, in animeland being malnourished/thin equals being slender, at least appearance-wise.
Necrofantasia - Yes, in the early parts of the story the Gandalfr powers act as a sort of crutch to allow him to fight till he gets access to his items again. And I'm surprised you're asking how he gets better stats, because I thought that would be obvious: Using souls from the creatures he kills to upgrade himself. Yes, the Chosen will kill people in the story, so please step away if you have a problem with that. Death isn't an alien thing in the Tsukaima world and many characters do it: Agnes is shown doing it at least twice, Colbert many times in his backstory, Saito when he shot down people with his Zero, and Louise killed God knows how many when she summoned that Void abyss. Though I will be keeping it to killing mostly monster's from the countryside or other hostile human's. Named character's like Guiche are safe since they play roles in the plot, same as Dark Souls with its numerous NPC's.
And he still has a ton of leftover souls in his bottomless box/pack, provided he can get to it. If he manages to get to them then there's nothing stopping him from powerleveling to a pretty good level.
Blinded in the Bolthole - As I said before, Louise is intended to be shown as a brat here. Also, I forgot to add a line or so justifying herself since I was so tired: Basically she sent him out because she thought that was as healthy as he would get. He was talking, he was having no episodes, and he outright says he's her new Familiar and responded to her orders. That and she overheard their conversation about him not healing from his wounds even with magic, so she thinks it's pointless to baby him when they already tried and failed.
That and she doesn't like staying in close proximity to him for too long; somewhat disgusted even. She still has recent memories of what he did and she can't even be sure if he's as human as he appears or some kind of cloaked monster. Would you be comfortable staying in the same room if you were in her place? She sent him out because it established her place as the Master and allowed her to get away from him without being too overt about it.
Also, did you forget that Louise was thoroughly unlikeable early in the plot? When Saito explains he's from earth her response basically amounts to "Don't know, don't care. You're my bitch now." and then she collars the poor bastard and whips him when he complains. She's also a giant hypocrite, seeing as she calls Saito a pervert and yet seems to have the same sexual tastes are her whip-wielding older sister, if her daydreams are anything to go by. She didn't start becoming sympathetic till about the Viscount Wardes arc in the original sources.
Last note: The Chosen may seem like a...retard, I guess, when you see how he acts here. I liken him to a soldier coming back with major PTSD; he's not used to being in such a crowded and safe environment since fighting is all he knows. He also seems clueless about the most basic things because he has nothing to go on but Lordran's convoluted standards. Again he'll learn and adapt more as the story goes.
"Familiar...?" The pale Undead set down the basket and repeated the words in his mouth again, staring at the strange marking on his left hand, "Expected...worse..." He touched the markings carefully and traced the strange writing. It was unfamiliar to him, written in a vocabulary he had no familiarity with. Well, it was either that or his time in the Kiln had fried his brain to the point that he became unable to read. He sincerely hoped it was the former.
When he had been saved from his eternal torment, he knew it came with a price. Everything came with a price, he knew that from experience. And yet, was the price he was given so terrible? To be a servant who simply helped someone and defended if necessary? He had expected far worse. Maybe being sent to fight monsters in the far off land of Boleteria (impossible considering his damaged/missing equipment)? Or, if fate were being ironic, being told to be the new keystone in a prison of eternal frost?
No, this was something he could live with. Maybe if he pleased his so called Master well enough he could avoid being sent into eternal torment again and actually find the peace of death everybody else seemed to have gotten.
Wait, who was everybody else again? Damn it, his memory was still fuzzy. One moment he could clearly recall them and the next he was back to being an empty shell devoid of memories. Maybe some time spent away from the fire would allow him to get a stronger hold on his memories. He had no idea where they were now.
And what was wrong with his voice? While he usually never talked, it didn't mean it was impossible for him. Right now he was having a hard time speaking and he had to pause mid-sentence since his throat felt strained. Most likely it was the constant screaming he did for a better part of 10 years that caused his voice to go out. Now it sounded airy and unfocused. Gwyndolin would've been laughing his cross-dressing snake ass off if he saw him now.
But first he had to deal with this first obstacle; the laundry. Or rather, what exactly was laundry? It sounded like some kind of enchantment to be put on armor. Was that what his Master wanted him to do? If so, then he had to go back and explain to her that he wouldn't be able to do that without any of his souls or embers on him. He was able to enchant weapons and equipment well enough, but the lack of bonfires and souls meant that knowledge was pointless.
But to do said 'laundry', he had to first find a way out of his current predicament. Apparently his master trusted his navigational abilities well enough that she trusted him to get where he needed to be without proper directions. While he appreciated the fact that his master was willing to treat him like a regular human being, it also bothered him that the entire campus confused him more than the entirety of Blight-town and Anor Londo combined.
"Ah, it's you!"
Siesta gave a shocked look at the sight of the young man from earlier. The last time she saw him he looked to be at death's door. Now...okay he still looked pretty bad, but at least he didn't sound like he was about to stop breathing anytime soon, even if his appearance indicated otherwise.
"Its...me?" He pointed to himself hesitantly with a confused look on his face.
"O-Oh, I meant you're okay!" She bowed and gave a relieved smile, "I found you earlier in the hallway and wondered why Miss. Valliere wanted you in her room," She shook her head left and right, "Well, you're here now so that means you're alright."
"Um...yes," He could do nothing but nod in agreement at her energetic words, "You...found me?" He ventured to ask.
"Hmm? Oh yes, I did," She gave a relieved sigh, "I found you barely conscious in the school hallways not too long ago. Most of the student's had already retired to their dorms by the time I found you, so I really wasn't surprised no one had picked up on you being there earlier."
She was the one who found him earlier? Strange, his new master said nothing about another person finding him before she did. She told him that she found him, but gave no explanation about how he got to her room. Perhaps he should have asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I haven't introduced myself yet," She suddenly gave a curt bow, "My name is Siesta and I come from the village of Tarbes, but please just call me Siesta. Pleased to meet you!"
This girl was...energetic. He hadn't seen such movement since meeting Solaire, "It's...nice to meet...you," Stupid voice breaking, "I'm...Familiar." Well that introduction flopped. Still, it was technically his name now, even if it sounded more awkward than Frampt's cheering.
"Familiar?" The maid gave him a questioning look, "Well, you are familiar to me since I saw you earlier," She seemed to miss his point, "but that's not really what I'm asking. What's your name?"
"...Name...don't have..." The Familiar stared down with a melancholic expression on his face. He always went by a moniker since he woke up from back in the Undead Asylum. Going from the simple "Undead" to the slightly more complicated "Chosen Undead" or even "Lord" for some cases. Even those who called him friend simply called him...well, "Friend". Right now the moniker he was given was "Familiar", and that was what he would be called.
"Huh what do you- Oh!" Siesta started fidgeting with her fingers, "I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend!" She bowed deeply, "Please forgive me for offending!"
"You didn't...offend?" The Undead Familiar looked uncomfortable at the constant bowing the maid did. He had never seen someone apologize so profusely...in fact, he couldn't recall anyone apologizing to him at all. Even Rhea gave simple thank you's rather than apologies for her previous behavior. This girl apologizing so hard when she did nothing wrong was making him worry.
People with no names were very rare, but they were unfortunately all too real in the world of Halgakenia. While others considered being servant's shameful, they were practically nobles in comparison to slaves. While slavery was officially considered illegal in all the lands, it was very much an open secret that many nobles from various countries still practiced it.
Being a slave was a fate worse than death, as many who had escaped told. You weren't treated like a person, but an object. Your entire being belonged to your master and the idea of resisting was an impossible thought. And the worst came from master's who didn't even bother naming their slaves: Naming them implied they had an identity, which even the ones who did bother giving names preferred to crush any idea of.
On an ironic note, the 'brutish and war-like' lands of Germania was possibly the only country that absolutely refused to tolerate slaves, as they considered the objectification of even an enemy to be insulting. While they did deal in the business of death and war, slavery was completely unjustifiable no matter the situation.
The person in front of her was undoubtedly a slave, though whether he was one currently or he escaped was unknown to the young maid. 'Wait, that noble was looking for him earlier, which means...' Siesta's eyes widened as the thought reached her mind. If there was one flaw Siesta had, it was her hyperactive imagination. Everybody chided her not to let fantasies run wild in her head, but evidently she never took their words to heart.
'Is he an escaped slave? A current one? Is the young mistress so powerful that she can afford to have a slave and flaunt him so openly- Wait, was that why he was fainting on the hallway!? Oh no! I caused someone to be brought back to slavery! Oh please, forgive me~!'
So first she was bowing and now she kept looking around like she was stuck in the middle of Sen's fortress? This girl was odder than Solaire, and that was saying something, "Um...Siesta?" The name felt odd on his tongue. Was it Vinheim or Carim in origin? Louise's sounded similar to to Thorolund naming, and yet this one was confused him.
"Uwah!" The dark haired girl bounced back and nearly fell off her feet as the Undead's words interrupted her, "W-What?"
"Can you...please help-"
"Of course!" Siesta immediately had a determined look on her face and held the pale young man's hand tightly, "I apologize for sending you back into your horrible circumstances earlier! I promise to do all in my power to help you in whatever you ask!"
She seemed eager. Oh well, it was an admirable attitude to have, "I need...to do laundry..." He picked up the dropped basket and held it up, "I...don't know how..."
"...Eh?"
"Uuuuu, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions!"
This was the third time she'd said that, and it was the third time the Undead once again nodded to show he had no problem with it; if only because of the fact that she was graciously doing the laundry - which apparently consisted of washing clothes with soap and water over a basin of water - and told him he didn't need to help at all.
He had tried to help, seeing as it was the task given to him, but that ended up in a horrible failure. I'll spare the gory details, but it included quite a few scowls, grunts, and the required removal of one of his arm bandages (which the long sleeves of the shirt thankfully covered up) due to too much moisture. Siesta was kind enough not to comment or ask when she saw the burns on his arms, though she did feel some slight nausea when she saw them.
With nothing to do, the Undead simply had to busy himself with other things. Since picking apart his bandage in the vain hope his injuries would disappear had gotten old pretty fast, he made do with paying attention to everything else around the area.
The first thing was the most obvious; two moons. While he really didn't have any point of reference, what with Lordran being a moonless land, he did recall hearing at some point that the land of Astora had one sun and one moon. Did every land have different constellations? Intriguing. All things considered, the twin moons of opposing colors were very pretty to look at. Maybe that was all they needed to be.
The second thing was the fact that he saw no sign of miasma or corruption in the ground. While he was aware that Lordran was the last place for good comparisons, he was also under the impression that all the lands had at least minor corruption; even the most holy land of Thorolund, despite being the most pure place in the world (according to them), suffered from infertility and decay. The place, Tristain she called it, had none of that. Was this some kind of paradise or sanctuary? Did the corruption when he linked the flame?
"So...Mister Familiar," She waited for him to nod at the impromptu name before continuing, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but which land do you come from?" She paused her scrubbing and made a quick pointing gesture at him, "Your appearance marks you as a foreigner, if I'm not mistaken."
Ah yes, that was the last thing: His appearance. Before he chose to link the flame his hair and eyes were dark in color and his skin had a slight tan to it. Now his skin and hair had lost all pigmentation, instead displaying an unhealthy white and his eyes burned an abnormal shade of bright yellow. His physical structure was also completely different from before; he was much thinner than before and his movements felt more sluggish as a result. The months he spent sacrificing souls to augment his strength, speed, and various other attributes had effectively gone to waste.
He also looked younger. While he rarely ever spent time in a healthy human form, 'Humanity' being expensive and all, the rare times that he did he found himself with a face that appeared to be at least in his early twenties with a physique to match. Now the maid commented that she looked pretty close to him in age, though she couldn't tell how exactly due to the bandage covering parts of his right side. His age didn't really matter to him so long as he could keep fighting.
A souvenir from his time spent in the Kiln most likely. The color of his eyes reminded him too much of the burning center of flame he'd spent the past decade memorizing over and over and the skin color was probably the curse of his Undeath doing its best to keep his body intact and failing. He couldn't explain his reduced age, though if he could hazard a guess he'd say it was the Kiln slowly killing him. He wasn't immortal like the God's and he suffered for it. Even after he had gotten free, the God's of Lordran made sure he would never forget them.
"I'm from...Lordran..." He flinched as the name passed from his lips again. Oh how he hated that place, "What...about you?"
"Oh, I was born here in Tristain, but my great- grandfather was apparently a foreigner who came from some far-off land," She replied cheerfully, "The village I live in is just a small one that's on the countryside, away from all the big cities." Her scrubbing slowed, "Strange, I've never heard of the country of Lordran from before. Is it far away?" She asked curiously.
He really didn't want to talk about that God forsaken (ironic considering the name) place. He needed to change the subject, "Tristain?" Now that was a point of interest. She'd called this place by that name before, but he didn't get a chance to ask her on it yet, "Where...is Tristain?" He really needed to do something with his voice.
"Oh, well I'm not really sure," She said with some slight shame, "Servant's really don't get much education, so I only know the basic information." She placed her fingers atop her chin and adopted a 'thinking' pose, "Um, well...Tristain is located east of Albion and is separated by the sea. Germania lies to the east of Tristain while Gallia is to the south, and both are connected by land. Romalia is even further to the south, though I'm not exactly sure where." She went back to scrubbing, "And please don't ask me for their history because I don't know. Only the nobles and scholar's get education on it."
He knew none of these lands. When his master had first referred to mages, he thought that this place might have been Vinheim's school of sorcery. But apparently this was some other land called Tristain, with even more different lands connected to them. This was getting too odd.
"...I'm lost..." He couldn't stop himself from blurting it out. Siesta gave a pitying look at the bandaged Familiar and patted him on the arm sympathetically. While he did clarify that he wasn't a slave, he also made it clear that he was serving Miss. Valliere in some capacity as her Familiar. Siesta really couldn't comment on his situation since the complications of being a Familiar were unknown to her - and indeed to all foreigners. He was alone here, but he at least had a second lease in his Unlife.
The two of them stayed in a comfortable silence afterwards, the only sound interrupting them between were of the clothes being scrubbed and wrung one by one by the efficient maid. He'd offered to help earlier, but that only resulted in him getting one of his bandages wet and being forced to remove it. Siesta refused to even let him touch the basin afterwards, half in fear of his health and half in fear of having to see the deep burn that grazed his right arm.
"Why...are you...here?" The sullen Familiar suddenly blurted out. It was a simple question to ask: Everyone had a reason for being in their place. Every person he'd met along his journey had a stated reason for being where they were. This girl undoubtedly had one as well.
Siesta gave him an odd look for the impromptu question but decided to answer all the same, "I came here because I want to help my family," She wrung another piece of undergarment and placed it on the thin wire, "I have eight siblings and I'm the oldest, so it's my job to help them and my parents. Being a maid was the best choice available."
"Maid?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, do they not have maid's where you're from?" She gave an airy giggle, "Maid's are servant's to the nobles and we follow their orders in exchange for payment and wages. It's not the best job in the world, but it's better than many of the other alternatives." She didn't bother elaborating on what alternatives meant. The Undead personally wanted to know how they were being paid in souls considering how peaceful the entire place seemed to be. Perhaps they were paid with something else?...No, not possible. Only souls carried much weight.
A maid. Was that why she wore that impractically frilly outfit? No matter how much he checked it he could not find any attributes that it changed or added to. Dusk of Oolacile wore an outfit similar in style, but when he wore it (an experience he wasn't proud of) it was actually a very powerful set of equipment. Again maybe this was an enchantment that worked only for her. Perhaps it was what allowed her to do this 'laundry'?
"There, all done!" Siesta stood up and stretched before hanging the last piece of clothing over the small fire, "The clothes should be done by tomorrow morning, so please be sure to come back here by then. I'll help you again if you need it. I'll most likely be in the kitchen from noon up to the late afternoon, so find me there."
...How odd. An individual offering to help with no precedence or without expecting anything in return was completely new to him. Even Solaire's act of kindness had the dual purpose of him also surpassing the monster if he chose to summon him for help. Here she was offering to help him with no reward to her whatsoever, or at least no reward that was terribly obvious.
"Thank...Thank you..." By the abyss he was being an idiot. Already he could feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards into a goofy smile; an expression he hadn't done since he saw Siegmeyer sleeping in the middle of a poisonous swamp right after they'd fought together. Still, try as he might, he couldn't force it down. His lips refused to budge.
"You-You're welcome!" Siesta felt her face heat at the small gesture of happiness. While parts of the right side of his face were indeed covered in a thick cloth bandage, the parts that were exposed still showed him to be fairly well-off in appearance, at least for someone who looked to be nearing death not too long ago. And Siesta couldn't deny there was a certain appeal of mystery the bandages added to him. The light of the moon bathing the area around them and making the entire scene like something out of a romance novel certainly didn't help.
"I'll...see you tomorrow." Both Siesta and The Familiar nodded before going their separate ways. The former with a warmer face than usual and the latter one happy to find someone who wasn't out to stab him in the back...for now.
He spent the next few hours exploring the Academy again. Undead had no need for sleep, mostly because fatigue disappeared whenever he went to a bonfire. Granted he couldn't see a single bonfire here, but they couldn't be all gone could they? Linking the fire should've made the Bonfire's stronger, and him leaving didn't immediately make them disappear. So while he was feeling slightly tired already, he was confident he would be able to find a bonfire later if he asked his master.
Exploring the academy he went. At times he would spot the occasional flicker of movement, but when he checked there had been no sign anyone had been there to begin with, "Just...paranoid..." He mumbled to himself. He was unused to going so long without getting attacked by a monster or being invaded by black phantom's. Even the complete lack of traps in the area had begun to make him suspicious. His lack of weapons and proper armor certainly didn't help.
"Oh Katie, have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" The male voice knocked him out of his reverie and forced him to stop walking, "If not, I shall scream it to the heavens if I must!"
The Familiar hid himself behind a column at the sound of the inherently annoying voice. With cautiousness born of multiple decapitations, he peeked his head out slowly and tried to spot the source of the voice.
"Oh, Lord Guiche~" A short, brown haired girl practically melted like a butter onto the arms of older, male noble.
The male had a confident smile on his face and blond locks that would give Solaire a run for his money, along with a well balanced physique that would have made him a good thief or archer. The girl by contrast seemed almost tiny against him, with long chocolate brown hair and a petite body structure that made it obvious she was the younger one between the couple. She reminded him of Rhea in that respect.
The uniforms they wore were similar to the one his master wore, though with obvious changes for the male. The same white fabric clothed their upper body's, but the girl's cloak had a brown appearance in place of the dark color the male and his master wore. The male also wore pants in place of a skirt, which was a relief because it would have been awkward for him to see...not that he had any experience wearing dresses or anything.
"My Katie, do not be afraid," The blonde boy produced a rose from absolutely nowhere, "I hope you realize that I have eyes for you and only you." He pressed up against her and pushed her gently against the pillar, hands cupping her chest and lips quickly making contact with hers. The Undead watched this with a look between curiosity and uncomfortableness.
What exactly were they doing? It looked like the male was trying to strangle her by cutting off her air intake, but if so why were his hands on her chest rather than on her neck? The girl seemed to be responding well to the so called attack, so it was safe to say that she wasn't in danger and he needn't interfere.
"L-Lord Guiche- Ahh!"
Okay, that was his cue to leave. He found no reason to disturb the two of them nor to stick around and watch whatever they were planning to do. Besides, some of the sounds they were making certainly didn't make it likely it was an act to be done in public...or private, really. It sounded odd and unnatural to him.
After a few more hours of exploring, and finding himself lost into a few more dead ends, the sight of the sun draping across the horizon signaled to him that he had to make his way back into his master's bedroom. Siesta had thankfully given him directions beforehand so it only took him about 5 times getting lost before he saw the familiar door that belonged to his master.
"Where have you been!?"
Louise stood in the middle of the room when he arrived; still dressed in her nightwear though no less intimidating for it. On her hand was some kind of small wooden stick, which she was currently pointing at him in an accusatory manner. No doubt it was the catalyst she used to cast her spells, though it was shorter and more pointed than the one's he'd seen and used.
"Explor-"
"No, never mind!" She stomped over to the wardrobe and pulled out another one of her uniforms, tossing them not so gracefully to confused Undead, "Here, hurry up and dress me so I won't be late for class."
Again he kept his questions to himself and did his task silently. He would serve this girl to the best of his ability, and the tasks she gave out were monumentally easier compared to the ones he faced during his time in Lordran. With fire in his heart (God's that was a bad metaphor), he grabbed the white shirt like cloth and draped it clumsily over her waiting arms, followed quickly by the skirt and then the cloak.
Louise felt a shiver go down her spine when his hand briefly touched against her shoulder. She still couldn't shake the feeling of aversion and mistrust against him, even if he'd pledged himself to serve her faithfully as her Familiar. Part of her was still nervous that he'd suddenly go back to being a flaming corpse and attack her when she least suspected it. But she needed this, needed him. She needed a Familiar as proof that she wasn't a worthless mage and that she could make her family proud.
"That's good enough," She turned around in the mirror quickly before bounding out the door, her familiar following right behind her in a much slower pace.
"Stay outside the classroom," Louise turned around and placed a hand against his chest, pushing him back slightly, "I'm having a class right now and I don't want anyone to ask questions about you," She pointed off to the side, "Stay with the other Familiar's and wait till class ends. Got it?"
Despite asking for his opinion, she stepped into the class before he could answer. With a sigh, the Familiar trudged over to the direction she pointed at and immediately felt his nerves freeze in terror.
Monster's. Dozens of monster's, lined up together like a group about to blast him back to the Abyss. He could see some familiar ones such as salamanders and dogs, but various other monsters that he had no familiarity with crossed into his field of view. Floating eyeballs, birds of small length but giant eyes, and even rather large mouse creature with claws stared at him with an expectant gaze. He could practically feel them beckoning him to come to them so they could kill him and bury his body under the cold earth.
His master expected him to stay with those things? Not a chance. He would be torn apart before he could find something to defend himself with and the lack of bonfires in the area was already beginning to worry him with their absence. If he got killed he had no idea where he'd end up again.
But what was the alternative? Disobeying his new Master certainly wasn't an option right now and it wasn't like he was completely helpless even without his equipment. The memory of him beating the Asylum demon half-way to death with his bare hands before his injuries forced him to flee was still fresh in his no doubt burnt mind.
He needed to do this. Cautiously he stalked forward, not so subtly staying closest to the least threatening monster - the large eyed bird - he could find and trying to keep his breathing in check. At least there was no dragon; that would have made him lose his nerve, especially considering the his experiences with Seath and the Gaping glutton.
The first thing that he noticed was that none of the monster's actually attacked him. Many of them didn't so much as budge from their spot, save for the rat like creature burrowing underground and coming back with different rings and pendants in its large mouth. The floating eyeball once got near him and started circling around, but it never made a move to attack or even make contact; it just stared at him.
"Hhhhhhhaaaaaahhhhh", Or maybe he spoke too soon. The sound that greeted his ears sounded like a mix between a growl and exhaling flame. Next to his right leg he could see the large flame lizard thing sniffing his leg and giving him a blank stare. Already he could feel his nerves shoot up nervously and his hand ball into a fist, ready at any moment to smack the demented monster back into whatever pit it came from.
"Haah" But rather than an attack, the large lizard continued to sniff him till it managed to reach his right forearm, before once again stopping and giving him a blank stare.
"Are...you..." He left the question hang, but the beast seemed to somehow understand and gave a grunting sound in response. With just the tiniest of glances to see if his master was there, the Familiar gave a simple nod and pulled the sleeve of his loose shirt back.
The salamander seemed to recoil slightly at the sight of the burnt flesh before once again leaning in closer to observe. It was the only burn wound on his body that lacked a bandage, no thanks to his laundry mishap, and so it stuck out pretty well against his skin.
Salamander's were attracted to flame, hence why many of them became Familiar's to flame mages. Despite this, however, they often gravitated more to natural flame rather than the conjurations of magic. The Salamander could smell the flames on him, feel the mark it left on his body. While his master's flame was indeed bright and powerful, no flame was as pure as the inferno from the Kiln. And he was a walking witness to it.
"I'm marked...aren't I?" The Familiar gave a sardonic smile as the lizard continued to observe the wound, "Will...it heal...?" He asked, even though he knew the monster (should he still call it that? It never attacked him)wouldn't reply back. Perhaps he was simply desperate for companionship that he was willing to ramble against something that would never understand him.
The action continued for a while more before the Salamander got tired and eventually stalked back onto its former spot, giving him free reign to return his sleeve.. Unfortunately he wasn't safe, as the floating eyeball from before - which he was beginning to find extremely annoying - seemed to take his non-reaction to the Salamander's sniffing as permission to continue its observation from before. Which it did, with an annoying gusto that tempted him to just grab the damn thing and smash it against the wall till it turned to paste. But he refused, if only because his master would've flung him from the top of her room if he did, and he still didn't see any bonfires anywhere.
*BTOOOM*
Thankfully, it appears fate had chosen to give him an Estus flask this one time. Smoke poured out of the classroom behind him and a stampede of student's followed soon afterwards, yelling something about a "Zero" or whatever. All of the monster's around him, including the salamander and annoying eyeball, immediately left their places and ran over to the gaggle of coughing students.
"Familiar, we're leaving..." His master emerged from the crowd, blackened by ash and smoke, and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from the messy room before he could go investigate what the source of the powerful explosive was.
Maybe now would be a good time to ask her about the bonfires, "Master-"
"Don't. say. a. word," She emphasized every word with a slam of her foot, "We're going to the Alviss dining hall and you are not going to say a word till we get there. Am I understood?" Her tone indicated there was no room for arguments.
"..." Guess he'll have to wait on that.
"Hey, is that Zero?"
"I'm surprised she's still here. Wasn't paying for her Familiar bad enough?"
"Well, where else would she go? I doubt even her own family wants her now!"
"That's true. I feel so sorry for the Duke and Duchess."
Louise gritted her teeth and ignored the insults that came. Her Familiar, mercifully, had followed her orders and didn't make a single comment as they bounded down the rows of the Alviss dining hall.
She was already taking a risk bringing her Familiar in with her instead of leaving him outside. In fact, she would have done so if not for the fact that he refused to stop shaking whenever he got near any of the other Familar's, particularly Bianca's floating eyeball that she could've sworn kept eying him whenever the two of them passed. Besides, she needed to feed her Familiar too, and he looked to be human enough so human food was probably needed.
"Familiar, the food-"
"No thanks..."
If Kirche were here, she would've been rolling on the floor at the dumbfounded expression the pinkette gave at being interrupted.
Undead didn't need food or water, so he had no reason to consume matter needlessly. The Estus was usually enough to sustain him, and even going long periods of time without the golden drink still didn't bother him the few times he ran out. Better that he spent his free time doing something constructive.
Speaking of which, "Master...where is...the kitchen?" He needed to talk to Siesta and ask about the laundry from earlier. And, if possible, pay her back for her help earlier. She told him he didn't need to earlier, but he felt uncomfortable leaving a debt unpaid. Unpaid debts had a bad habit of coming back to destroy you later, usually in the forms of invading Dark moons who were bored and felt like prosecuting anyone they perceived as wrong.
"Why do you want to- Nevermind. The kitchen's are over there," Louise pointed to the large doorway off to the side of the large hall, "Just come back before the allotted time for eating ends." She honestly had no time to deal with whatever he was planning. And it wasn't like he could do anything worse than he had already done when he arrived.
The Familiar nodded and walked slowly in the given direction, pointedly ignoring the various stares and pointing the other student's gave him. It was odd enough for him to see so many people in one place so close together.
"...Siesta?" He peeked his head into the kitchen, only to get nearly bowled over by said maid carrying two full trays of food ramming into him at full speed. Were it not for her being used to collisions, the entire tray would've been plastered against the both of them.
"Oh, mister Familiar!" She greeted enthusiastically. She would've waved as well, if not for the fact that she was currently carrying two trays, "Are you here to get some food?"
"No...I wanted to...ask about the..." He needed to keep his sentences short. The pausing and throat soreness was really beginning to irritate him.
"Laundry?" She guessed, "Well, it should be dry now, but I'm not really in a position to pick it up right now," She shook her hands as a gesture to the trays, " The eating hours for the nobles are the most busy time of the day and all of us are already lacking in numbers as it is. I'm sorry."
Without a word, he grabbed one of the trays from her hand, mimicking the odd way in which she held them, "Let me...help..."
"Oh no, I can't expect you to do that! You aren't under the employ of the Academy-"
"A...favor..." The Undead gave an almost microscopic smile at the maid, "You helped me...and I'll help you," He clarified, though he once again grimaced at the irritation that spread across his throat.
Siesta wanted to refuse, she really did, but she couldn't deny that an extra pair of hands would've been immensely helpful considering the amount of maid's that had recently left. Count Mott had really stepped up his recruitment quota and they hadn't been able to replace the servant's that he hired to work for him. His injuries didn't seem to bother him at any point, so that excuse was already out.
"Alright, if you insist." She gave a relieved smile, "Since you don't have any experience in serving, just please follow me around and help me carry the tray of food and plates. Is that alright?"
The Familiar nodded and followed Siesta around the room. While the rate and speed both she and the other servants showed was nothing if not organized, he couldn't help but observe how opposite the supposed nobles they served were in contrast.
While the servant's were synchronized and worked in tandem, the nobles were messy and often grabbed food from the trays without even looking at the servant's; as if they were just part of the decoration and didn't need to be acknowledged. It was an eerie reminder of the legends about the God's of Anor Londo ignoring their subjects since they were trapped in their own little worlds.
It saddened him slightly. Weren't they all humans? Or the same species, at least? None of them were superior to one another. Regardless of their clothes or appearance, they were all the same when it came down to it.
"Siesta...that smell?" He had only noticed it now, but the maid smelled of a watery fragrance that he couldn't place. The stench of it was extremely strong and he didn't really like it, but he was curious all the same. And it at least smelled better than the waste filled toxic swamp of Darktown. He wished he could give that Eyngi a good boot to the face right now.
"Oh, do you mean the perfume?" From the pocket of her maid uniform she took out a small, purple glass bottle, "I received it from a noble last night, though I don't know why. He told me to get rid of it, but I thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste so I kept it. Here do you want to try it?" And like his Master, she all but shoved the perfume into the pockets of his trousers before he could voice his opinion.
He shoved it right back into her pocket though, eliciting a small laugh from the maid. Oh well, more for her.
"Mister Familiar, this is our last order before the lunch hour ends," He could practically hear the relief in her voice. He could sympathize; moving around without the adrenaline of danger to keep him energized was tiring.
"...Yes..."
The two of them each grabbed one tray before Siesta led him towards a crowded table towards the center of the hall. Briefly he could see his master giving him an odd stare as he passed by her table, but she didn't bother to stand up or call out to him so he assumed she had no problem with what he was doing.
"And then me and my father fell the beast with a mighty spell!"
The last table they were in was crowded predominantly by females, but at the center of the crowd was the same blond haired boy that he saw from last night. Oddly enough, the girl he saw in his company last night was not among the crowd of females. Closest to him was an also blond girl with a hairstyle that he would describe as circular ringlets. Compared to the others at the table, she looked rather put off with his tales.
"I'll finish the rest of the story after I get a good drink," Ah, there was that weirdly annoying voice again, "You, maid!" He snapped a finger, "Pour me and the rest of the girls a drink, and make it quick!"
The Familiar looked slightly uncomfortable with the demanding voice the blond gave out, but Siesta's smile didn't so much as twitch as she poured the drinks in quick succession. She had obviously learned from experience not to cave someone's face in for being a demanding ponce.
Siesta gestured to him to bring the tray over and give it to her. He complied with her command with a curt nod.
"Hey, don't I know you?" With his one good eye, he saw the blond playboy giving him a curious look, "I never forget a face, especially with one as...unique as yours." Though his wording was polite enough, the way in which he said 'unique' left the Undead with no doubt that he was being insulted. Still, best not to fall into his bait. He'd dealt with insults and disrespect before.
"...I don't know..." He replied back honestly.
The blond fop wasn't willing to let this go, however, "No, I'm sure I know- Now I remember!" An unsettling smirk had suddenly pushed its way onto his face and he clapped his hands, "You're that actor that Valliere pretender hired, aren't you? I'm surprised you're still here."
"..." The Undead's eyes narrowed slightly, but he gave no other reaction.
"So how much is she paying you for this ruse?" He continued, "I must admit; I find your dedication to this joke to be slightly admirable. Valliere must have gone the extra mile to ensure she'd get a loyal actor that would see this through," He paused and stared at the tray on his hands, "Or maybe not, seeing as you seem to have no problems taking odd jobs with the servants."
"...Let's go," He nodded to Siesta and made to move away from the table, making sure to dump the tray onto the table first. Or he would have, if not for the fact that the rose wielding mage had grabbed onto his shoulder rather roughly, "...What?" The barest hints of annoyance seeped into his voice.
"How disrespectful!" He turned to the other ladies and feigned an insulted expression, eliciting some polite clapping and soft giggles from all of them, except the one girl with blond hair that still looked rather put off, "Is that any way to treat your betters? A commoner actor has no right to ignore a noble, especially since his master is a pretender."
"..." It took his entire being to prevent his fist from flying right into his mouth or to grab a tray and shove it down his throat. Without his weapons he wasn't sure if he would be a match for a sorcerer, especially in his weakened state. Though he would have made damn sure the annoying blond wouldn't come out of it unscathed.
"Mister Familiar, perhaps we should get going," Siesta was at his side, trying to pull him away, "Miss. Valliere is probably looking for you." She reminded him somewhat nervously. She recognized the blond boy at the center and didn't want to stick around.
"Oh by all means, go back to your fake Master," Guiche smirked and held up both hands nonchalantly, "I'm sure that you have to put your tongue to her boot in order to earn your next wage."
The Undead Familiar was always in control of his actions, but this wasn't the case now. He could feel his right fist shaking something fierce and the want to attack the blond brat increased with every passing second. The superior tone he kept using reminded him of his burning hatred for Dark Sun Gwyndolin, and the flamboyancy the boy held up certainly wasn't doing him any favors.
"Guiche, hold up," The ringlet haired girl from earlier stood up and made her way next to him, "I've been meaning to ask something of you," She pointed to the maid, " That scent you have seems familiar. Where did it come from?"
The Familiar could almost see the sweat pool around the cocky nobles face as Siesta pulled the perfume out of her uniform. It didn't take long for the Undead Familiar to make the connection when he saw the nervous looks he gave the small bottle, "A-Are you talking about this, milady-"
"Give me that!" Guiche practically lunged at the poor maid, intent on grabbing the bottle out of her hands. Unfortunately, the ringlet girl was faster and he found himself grabbing only empty air.
"I knew it!" The entire dining hall was silenced by the rather audible sound of the female noble yelling, "Guiche, this is my perfume!" She turned and gave a full on scowl at the playboy, "Why does this maid have my perfume with her!?"
"Her perfume...?" Siesta's voice was nervous and filled with horror. The Undead's rage from earlier was gone now, only to be replaced by worry. Why was Siesta so nervous? "I-I didn't know...I-I would not have accepted it if I knew this was the case!" She pleaded.
By now an entire crowd was beginning to form around them. Off to the side he could see his master trying to push her way to the crowd, only to be met with no success as the people refused to budge. He would've helped her if not for the fact that he wasn't sure if leaving Siesta on her own was such a good idea.
"Accept? Guiche, did you give this girl my perfume!?" She demanded again, "You know I gave that to you as a sign of our engagement! How could you give it away like a common mixture!"
He hadn't given it as a present. Katie would've found out about his lies if she saw the perfume since the two of them being engaged was a common rumor around the academy. It wasn't uncommon for fiancee's to give each other presents made using their specialty skills; Guiche himself had given her a small statuette he made of her a few months before. So rather than get his own hands dirty, he simply found the closest servant and gave the perfume in hopes of replacing it later.
Things obviously didn't go according to plan.
"M-Montmorency, I would never break your heart!" Another rose was pulled from out of nowhere and offered to the fuming girl, "I assure you on my honor that I remain faithful to you and only you!"
"Then how do you explain this maid having it?" Her tone had lightened slightly when she saw the rose, but she still seemed rather suspicious of him.
"I...I must've dropped it and she picked it up," He excused quickly, "Or maybe she stole it from me," He added.
"What? But you gave-"
He fervently ignored the rapid explanations Siesta gave and continued, "Yes, that must be it! I would not be as careless as to lose something as important as a gift my fiancée gave me to celebrate our union!" A reassuring smile made its way onto his face.
"I-I guess you have a point..."
Rage seethed at him again. While the two couples continued to pander back and forth on the truth, both they and the crowd ignored the maid who was all but crying at this point.
"Siesta..." He whispered softly.
The poor maid looked like a mess. She constantly shook all over and her hands kept opening and closing like she was hoping to find the solution if she did it enough times. He could see her mouth moving rapidly, but no sounds came out.
"I-I'm going to get fired...that's the price of stealing from nobility..." Tears started to leak from the nervous girl's eyes, "And that's if I'm lucky. Stealing from nobility is a serious crime and I'll probably be sent to the dungeons if I get blamed. B-But I didn't do it! H-He gave me the perfume last night when I bumped into him!" She didn't bother voicing out the complaints to the oblivious couple. Only he heard it, and there was nothing he could do.
So he was willing to ruin someone's life just to preserve his own reputation? He was worse than Lautrec! And that was saying something considering all he'd done and that evil laugh that basically said 'I'm going to betray you later'.
"Guiche..." The blond, Montmorency he called her, seemed to soften at the passionate explanation her lover gave her. She was also ignoring the maid's desperate explanations,, "Y-You're right, maybe I was jumping to conclusions-"
"Lord Guiche?"
Or maybe she was right and the blond fop was simply a worthless playboy.
A short, brown haired girl stared at the blond with mix of surprise and, much to the playboy's horror, pure sorrow. She pushed through the crowd with remarkably more success than his master till she reached the center of the scene.
Katie stood there, teary eyed and with a giant frown on her face, "D-Didn't you say that you had eyes only for me?" She gripped the hem of her cloak and did her best to try and stop herself from voicing out her thoughts.
"Ah, K-Katie-"
"Katie!?" The soft expression on Montmorency's face was gone, replaced with even more rage from before, "So you do know this girl, don't you Guiche?"
"Wh-What? Of course not, I-"
"H-Huh? But you said you loved me!" She'd officially given up holding the tears in and let the small droplets cascade down her face like a waterfall, "I-I gave you my first kiss!"
"First kiss! Why you cheating bastard!"
Two loud slaps echoed across the room, both of which came from the rather irate perfume maker. Guiche stepped back, eyes wide in surprise and irises diluted as the emerging red color started to spread across his cheeks. Katie did nothing but collapse into a nearby chair, continuing to cry her eyes out as sympathetic hands from the crowd patted her gently in comfort. Siesta could only step back carefully, barely dodging the stomping form of the blonde haired noble, who was promising to do some very unpleasant things against her would be fiancée.
"Let's go..." He grabbed Siesta's arm and gently tried to tug the girl from her reverie. Both to escape the situation and to avoid having to explain himself to his master about what happened in a public area.
The maid refused to budge. Fear had rooted her to the spot and she was too afraid if she would still be blamed even if she chose to leave now. The price for stealing was bad, but the price for stealing and running was even worse. Her family would suffer as well and she would do anything to stop that from happening.
"You, this is all your fault!" Guiche stood back up and leveled an accusatory hand against the maid, "You caused all this with your theft!"
And now he was even going as far as to believe his own lies even when he had already lost? This was getting ridiculous. Blaming Siesta would've served no purpose at this point other than to retain some of his lost ego, which the Undead was sure wouldn't have mattered in the very least.
He stomped over to her and pulled out his wand, aiming it at the crying maid, "Admit to your theft before I-"
The young noble found himself being rather roughly shoved away from the maid and tossed across the floor. Silence reigned across the hall; even the crying from the maid and innocent noble had stopped to be replaced by shock and curiosity. The Undead stood in front of the maid, looking rather stoic despite the sight of the noble on the floor.
No one was as shocked as this than Guiche himself however, "You...You dare hit a noble!" He brandished the wand and aimed it straight at him like a firearm, "I will have you pay for dearly for this grievous insult!"
From within the crowd, Louise paled. This was bad, this was VERY bad. Please Founder, let her idiotic Familiar come to his senses and apologize.
"... Idiot..."
Was her familiar an Idiot!? He was going to get himself killed!
"I have suffered your insult for the last time!" Technically it was his first time, but one was way too many for the annoyed noble, "I was simply trying to dispense justice and clear my name, and yet you try to stop me? Very well, I will accept that as a challenge!"
It wasn't enough for him to play victim, but now he tried to make himself out as the hero in all this? This was getting beyond stupid for him. He was half tempted to challenge him now even if he had nothing but some bare clothes on him (and maybe a tray if he could grab one) and his opponent was a magic user. If he could fight Ornstein and Smough with broken armor, a half charged pyromancy glove, and a nearly broken lightning spear, then he was sure he could at least put up a decent fight against a cocky Sorcerer who (probably) didn't know any crystal spells.
And the crowd was buying into all this? Were they simply stupid or were they so bored that they would take the side of the aggressor so long as it extended their fun and piqued their interests?
"...Pathetic..." He didn't know whether he was referring to Guiche or the crowd in general.
Something snapped in Guiche. Not literally, but mentally. He could feel rage overtake him and the urge to murder the impudent commoner had increased tenfold, "If you would insult me as thus, Commoner," he spat out the word like a poison, "Then I urge to drop your costume and look me in the eye!"
With barely constrained rage, Guiche lunged forward and grabbed hold of the bandages covering the Undead Familiar's head before pulling them away with a great tug. This was followed by another bout of silence, though noticeably more uncomfortable this time.
Siesta covered her mouth with her hands, Louise felt the urge to vomit, and the other nobles had reactions ranging from mild disturbance to outright disgust.
Guiche had expected the bandages to be fake; a simple prop to make the performance more believable. What he found instead was...horrifying. Burnt skin, charred a dark red and injuries the likes of which he hadn't even heard of before, save some odd tales from his father. Despite the wound being exposed to open wind, the Undead gave no indication that it bother him and both eyes continued to train themselves on the stunned noble.
"By the Founder...you really are a monster aren't you?" The bandage hung loosely from his hand before he threw it away in disgust, "Or are you so dedicated to your fake master that you would willingly injure yourself for a few coins?"
The remark earned a few jeers and laughs from the crowd. Guiche felt his confidence boost with the sounds of their support, "Or maybe you're simply ugly. I personally find that explanation more believable." More laughs and jeers. Guiche was doing what any noble would do; replace fear with disgust and superiority. The fact remained that he had magic and, as far as he knew, his opponent did not. There was nothing for him to fear.
"Well, whatever the explanation, I shall take your barbed insults as a duel. I assume you're aware of what a duel is. Or has that rotting also affected your brain as well?"
He knew what a duel was. He'd been challenged by enough invading black phantom's that it was impossible for him not to, "...I know..." He replied back neutrally. Now whether the 'noble' - and he used that term loosely - was worthy of a duel or not was besides the point. He would play along for now, seeing as fighting him and the entire crowd really didn't appeal to his survival instincts.
"Good, then meet me outside by the Vestri courtyard. You shall see what your crimes against nobility shall get you."
Finished this one as well. Since I SUCK at fight scenes, the next chappie will take absolutely forever to make. Hopefully it won't take too long
Oh, and the next chapter probably won't be as long as this. This chapter was mostly world-building and dialogue doesn't take as much space or words.
More Author's Notes: I'll also start making more obvious changes to the plot by the middle of the foquet arc and after it, though I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't go off-tangent to the canon too much. I'll also be taking arcs from both the anime/manga and the novels, depending on which medium portrayed the arc better.
I've already made changes by making Louise and Guiche (the how much the former's changed is up to you) way more unlikeable, and addicted to their so called superiority that they honestly believe their life is worth a thousand other commoner's. I'll also focus a bit more on the politics and backyard dealings that seem to get shuffled under the rug in favor of more romantic drama. I personally wanted to watch how Halgakenian politics worked or how destabilized Gallia's monarchy with its constant assassinations.
Also, can I ask a question to everyone? The first major arc after the Foquet one focuses on Reconquista overthrowing the nobility and putting them out of power...so how is this a bad thing again? At that point the number of decent, kind-hearted nobles could be counted on one hand, and even they have their vices or secrets. At that point every noble is a jerkass at best (Guiche, Louise, various other nobles) to glorified rapists and power abusers at worst (Mott, that tax collector who harassed the Fairy Inn, etc etc). Isn't the revolution technically a good thing? So why is it portrayed as wholly negative when the people they plan to overthrow aren't the clean victim's they pain themselves as? This really confused me and I'm most likely just missing the point or something, so I'd appreciate if someone explained to me.
On a less serious note, does anybody know what the hell they say to cast spells? I can't tell what it is and I'll just have to default to either non-verbal spells or latin if no one knows.
That's all for now. Please read, review, and comment accordingly. It encourages me to write faster and don't be afraid to criticize; just stay polite and make sure the things you criticize are valid.