Gundrik watched the spiraling stone pillars and the deep mists that dotted Liurnia in the morning sun, the water below it an ethereal blue as he and his new army marched through it. It brought back memories of his first foray into the Lakes, his armor almost as beaten and broken as it had been in the present, dried sweat upon his skin from his fight with Godrick the Grafted. It had looked beautiful then, but still, his objective had not changed much from those early days. The only thing that had was the army of exiles behind him. All at once, he felt what Godfrey must have during the Long March. He had been a simple soldier, no different from the other souls that followed the former Elden Lord.
Not anymore. Gundrik was Elden Lord. But no matter how often he said it, how often he thought it, it did not stick.
"I had not taken you for the quiet sort. Or perhaps you have finally lost it entirely, leading this army for less than a week," a deep voice said beside him, his pale skin almost making him blend in with the mist that surrounded him. If it weren't for the long crimson hair and cracked scars that marred him, Gundrik almost wouldn't know Radagon was there.
"I was thinking about the giant lobsters that stalk these flood plains," Gundrik said absentmindedly. "How many men do you think we will lose to them? They can send columns of water at breakneck speeds."
Radagon for his part walked beside Gundrik, never wavering. Gundrik was worried that the army wouldn't know who to follow at the head; not that he expected many of them to have ever seen Radagon in the flesh. The former Elden Lord was clad in simple armor that kept his chest free, but it was still a far cry from wearing Marika's black dress around his waist like a blacksmith's apron. As much as Gundrik was sure Radagon wanted something that would accentuate his piousness, unfortunately, all they had was repurposed Banished Knight armor for the other half. Gundrik could hear Radagon's teeth grinding as he put it on, halfway across Stormveil.
About halfway through the lake, and Gundrik already missed Torrent. Of course, he doubted Radagon at his side would care.
The former Elden Lord scoffed. "Does the wildlife scare you so? Perhaps I ought to reclaim my mantle after all."
"Or we could give it to the lobsters," Gundrik suggested. "I'm sure we would see an age of shellfish. What wonders we would gaze upon, being eaten alive by our crustacean overlords."
"So, you really have completely lost all sense."
"Or I just want to annoy you."
"You are succeeding admirably! I only hope you can command an army half as effectively."
"Worst comes to worst, I have killed a god, and you are one half of a god with a good sword made out of light," Gundrik supplied, turning back to the knights that flanked them, awkwardly looking between each other. "And do me and everyone else nearby a favor and stop demeaning our troops. I was an exile like them, once, and I don't take too kindly to insults."
Radagon grunted, looking forward. His eyes widened marginally upon seeing something within the mist. He didn't need to utter a word before Gundrik followed his gaze, ready to pull out the Bolt of Gransax in an instant.
Gundrik felt he was right, as the immense body of a giant lobster laid before them, its gray body tinted green with either algae or moss. Black eyes gazed into nothing as not even the antennae one its 'face' twitched. The smell confirmed it a moment later; it was dead.
"Is this creature what you were so afraid of, Lord Gundrik?" Radagon asked, and Gundrik did not miss the mocking nature of the question. "It seems as if someone has already taken care of it for us, and I doubt that someone has slain a god."
"How do you know this lobster isn't the Elden Lord of all lobsters?" Gundrik asked suddenly. "We have no idea the multitude of lobster varieties that make up their social castes. This requires further study."
"Perhaps a study of your head would prove more fruitful. How something can contain so much yet so little would stump even the brightest of Carian astrologers."
"Well, it's stumped you, and I guess you aren't much of an astrologer," Gundrik replied, stepping around the lobster carcass warily. "No helping it then. Just go around. Don't mind the smell, men-"
"What in Marika's name is goin' on around here!?"
Gundrik blinked as he turned to the lobster corpse, watching Radagon's expression twist from momentary shock into a grievous scowl as he unsheathed his greatsword. A moment or two later, as the army stopped behind them, a familiar man with an iron mask came from around the lobster. Gundrik let out a sigh of relief.
"False alarm, this lobster is not a mimic. It's dinner," Gundrik said, turning to Radagon. "Do I need to introduce you?"
Radagon looked down at the new arrival from the bridge of his nose. Blackguard saw fit to not move in the presence of him, as if the former Elden Lord would not be able to see him so long as he did not move a muscle.
"I see the mask of a prisoner. I assume he is a friend of yours? Precious few of them you have."
"That stings, Radagon," Gundrik said, before turning to Blackguard. "I see you took my warnings to heart, huh?"
"Bloody hell!" Blackguard swore, and Gundrik could see one of his eyes squint from behind the mask. "I did, but don't look like it 'elped much, if I'm standin' here in front of the last goddamn Elden Lord! I thought ya killed him!"
"Blackguard. It would take me all day to explain to you why he is not dead," Gundrik replied dryly, shrugging. "And if you cannot tell, we don't have a lot of time for explaining."
"Not that I would appreciate you explaining how complicated the situation is to a lowly prisoner," Radagon commented, crossing his arms. "Tell me now, Lord Gundrik, if there are any more lowlifes you wish to induct into our bastard of an army. Perhaps they will serve as decent shields against the volleys of crystal and frost."
"What the…" Blackguard raised a hand to his head. "I think I've 'ad enough of this. Ya can't explain it, yeah? Then bloody well explain where in the seven hell's you're headed, 'cause there ain't much this way 'cept shellfish and cutthroats."
"We're going to burn Raya Lucaria to the ground," Gundrik replied succinctly.
Both Blackguard and Radagon stared at Gundrik for a moment. The former, with an incredulous, one-eyed expression, and the other with a glare that could melt rock.
"We'll evacuate Queen Rennala first," Gundrik assuaged, turning to Radagon for a moment before focusing his attention on Blackguard. "And besides, this army is full of hungry men. Hungry men who get angry and whisper of mutiny if they are not properly fed. And I just so happen to know a man who knows a thing or two about food."
"Oh," Blackguard said, his head tilting back as he stumbled through the ankle-deep water a bit. "I see what yer sayin'. Givin' me a job, then, is that it? Was that yer plan all along?"
"If it was, then he is an even bigger fool than I had given him credit for," Radagon said.
"We could always go for round two, Radagon," Gundrik shrugged. "Or we could go and save your ex-wife and bring Raya Lucaria down to its knees. Your choice. You're the god here."
"This was a mistake," Radagon hissed, running a hand down his face. "I should have let Marika deal with you. She appears to handle you better."
"No take backs," Gundrik replied.
Blackguard turned from Gundrik to Radagon as the two sniped at each other. When they were done, Blackguard shook his head.
"Crazier than a pack fool o' feral dogs, you lot are. But fine. Not like I got much goin' on with me anymore. Better than I woulda expected a prisoner to do," Blackguard grunted. "Gimme a fortnight and I'll have these boys and girls chanting your good name, er, Lord Gundrik."
Gundrik clapped, turning to Radagon. "See? Being nice to people can be a good thing, Radagon!"
"Your existence offends my very being."
"I love you, too. Now, let us keep moving. Raya Lucaria awaits."
The Academy of Raya Lucaria stood as a beacon amongst the broken and waterlogged ruins that surrounded it. Built high up so as to avoid the ultimate fate of those who work with raw glintstone, its height had only been increased in the wake of the Shattering, with all of the surrounding landscape covered in eerie fog, easily cloaking the horrid creatures that stalked the nights.
Gundrik remembered very clearly running away from an abomination with too many arms and legs, moving almost as fast as Torrent could run as it smashed through stones and trees to tear him limb from limb. He would have awoken at a Site of Grace from such a death, but his mental state no doubt would be a problem should he had suffered it. Such a beast was only one of many things lurking within Liurnia, and even the lakes could not hold a candle to the nightmare that Caelid had become.
Despite that, the army's march through Liurnia was as smooth as was possible, with few if any daring to take on such a large force. When one was a lowly Tarnished, passing through atop a spectral steed, no doubt one would look like easy pickings. Gundrik relished in the fact that such a situation would likely never come about again. With an army at his beck and call, and a god at his side, for the first time in a long, long time, he felt as if he could actually take on the world, and not just get by on the skin of his teeth.
He knew, realistically, that such thought was folly, and rightfully so; the histories were full of people who thought themselves invincible. General Radahn thought himself invincible, and what remained of him ended up inside of Alexander the Warrior Pot. While Gundrik knew that such a fate was likely for him one day, it would not be during the assault of Raya Lucaria.
The closer they came to the academy, the more he noticed Radagon's expression shift. While the former Elden Lord could be reasonably described as dour and acidic at the best of times, his golden eyes turned thoughtful upon gazing at the glistening spires of Raya Lucaria. Even the Golden Order Greatsword at his side seemed to dim with its owner's melancholy.
At the drowned gate town, at the threshold of the academy grounds, just before Gundrik would lead the troops into the broken ruins, he spoke with Radagon one more time.
"Are you nervous?" Gundrik asked, swirling the water around his foot as he leaned against the broken wreck that once was a house. "I don't blame you for being nervous."
"Nervousness has no place within me, Lord Gundrik," Radagon replied simply, his massive form against the broken house as he held his sword out. "This blade was her gift to me. Did you know that? It had been a thing of glowing moonlight, and I turned it into this, all to show my allegiance to the Erdtree and the Greater Will. I recall never asking you from where you retrieved it."
"I found it in an icy cave in a snowfield, being used by a red-haired Misbegotten," Gundrik replied, as if it wasn't insanity to say such a thing. "There were a lot of those things, come to think of it. One near Castle Morne to the south, another within Redmane Castle, and of course the Haligtree had several."
Radagon simply stared at Gundrik, his gaze unblinking and his face painfully unexpressive. After a moment, he uttered one word.
"What?"
Gundrik shrugged. "I don't know how it got it, either."
"You say it as if it is such a normal thing, to find a legendary weapon wielded by menials!" Radagon seethed, lunging forward.
"It's not? I have been finding some pretty amazing weapons in the muck a lot, to be completely honest with you, Radagon," Gundrik replied, not kowtowing before Radagon's aggressive display. "The Misegotten at Redmane Castle had a sword made out of the stone of a ruin, and the one in Castle Morne had a sword made out of a dozen other swords. I never used them, and left them for my fellow Tarnished to discover if anything should happen to me, but my point still stands."
"To think that Misbegotten, spurned by the Erdtree, would so carelessly steal the weapons of their betters!" Radagon snarled, turning around as he held up his sword to his face, as if taking comfort in its glow. "Had I less restraint, I would slaughter them all."
Gundrik tilted his head forward. "And it's that kind of thinking that led to the destruction of the Golden Order."
"Our Order was just, and all who were spurned or could harm the Erdtree deserved destruction or subservience. That is all there is to it." Radagon argued, turning with eyes blazing. "To imply otherwise is blasphemy."
Shaking his head, Gundrik replied, "Not anymore."
Radagon laughed. It was a sad sound, like the dying throes of a horse. "Of course. You and Marika, you have seen to it that all are to be accepted, even those clearly unworthy. How quaint. Fine, then. Have your Perfect Order. I will even defend it, if I must, but I will never accept it."
"I think I'd like Marika back. She's much nicer than you, and that's saying something," Gundrik sighed.
"Can you not see how she manipulates you? Does it not make you wonder, why she would show such affection towards one who murdered her former husband?" Radagon asked pointedly, causing Gundrik to fall silent. "She is a snake, Lord Gundrik. Always remember that. She will coil around you, whispering and delivering sweet nothings into your ear, all the while she is merely sizing you, waiting to devour you whole. Take care. Take care, Lord Gundrik."
"This is pointless. For a moment, I thought I'd gotten through to you. I suppose I was wrong. There's nothing left within that stone body of yours," Gundrik said, his voice low. "Was all of this a ploy, to get me to doubt? I thought you wanted to see Rennala again. Was your love for her merely another play? A puppet show, with strings around her and your children?"
Radagon swiped at the ruined pillar with his sword, cutting it in twain as the other half fell to the watery ground.
"Do not test me, Lord Gundrik," Radagon growled. "You know nothing of me."
"I've been trying. By all the Grace in the world, have I been trying, but you battle me at every turn," Gundrik replied evenly. "You were talking about the sword, earlier. About how it was a gift to you. A symbol of your marriage to the Full Moon Queen. Was it a sham?"
Radagon went silent, as if he didn't know how to respond. He took a step back, placing the tip of his sword in the ground as if to steady himself. After a moment, he finally responded, much quieter than before.
"No," Radagon croaked out. "No, it was not a farce. It was not a trick. I truly did love her, as Marika loved Godfrey. As Marika loved her, so did I love Godfrey. We are two sides of the same person."
"So you keep saying, and it was the Greater Will who forced you apart, who forced you to… mate with yourself. I know that much. I gleaned it long before we had this conversation, judging from what Marika told me. It's not here anymore. There will be no persecution. No wanton slaughter. Not anymore."
"Is that not what you intend to do here? At this broken academy?" Radagon asked.
"We're destroying this academy because of what they have done. Because they are barely an academy anymore. I saw what happened to the Albinaurics. You saw them as we came in, running from us with their blackened eyes and bulbous heads. I saw chambers within Raya Lucaria last time I was here, chambers filled with cages and torture devices. They have become nothing but sadistic monsters, and the Lands Between shall not suffer them a moment longer. We are not oppressing the downtrodden; we are destroying the oppressors," Gundrik spat out, rasping before entering a small coughing fit. "This place is bad for my lungs."
Radagon stared at Gundrik for a few moments – a past time of his that Gundrik was dimly taking note of, and hoping he wouldn't do too often – before he let out another laugh, a little more lively than the one that came before.
"That was almost a speech fit for a Lord. Do not suffer those that offend you. Destroy them!" Radagon said, clapping once before standing up fully, sword in hand. "The men will need to be rallied. Have you a plan for getting through the gate?"
"If you're talking about the seal, I just so happen to have two keys inside," Gundrik replied, "Not that I think we'll need them so long as we blow the gate open. I've had enough of sorcery."
"And how do you plan to do that? Do you not think the measly sorcerers within will be easily quelled? Were you not here not long ago?"
Gundrik shrugged. "It'd help with morale if the men got in on the action. At least, that's my thinking. Putting it into practice will probably be a bit more difficult, but I'm willing to give it a try. How about you? Ready to see Rennala again?"
Radagon's brows furrowed as he turned to face the academy one last time, before nodding.
"I am more than ready."
As the army marched into the remnants of the gate town, they did not meet much resistance.
Just as Gundrik predicted, the remnants of the academy's army was no match, what with having lost their minds long ago. A good and proper force easily outmaneuvered and outnumbered them. Gundrik knew, however, that the real battle would be within the academy itself. Even as they moved into the main square of the upper gate town, no enchantments made themselves known, no defenses sprung upon them, not even the magical arrows that had rained down upon him as he had approached Caria Manor so many moons before showed their face. As the last of the gate town's inhabitants fell to the blades of their soldiers, Gundrik knew something was up.
Radagon didn't even need to brandish his blade; half the time, the enemy soldiers cowered under his presence, as if they recognized him. Perhaps they were not as far gone as Leyndell's troops, if they could recognize the face of their former lord, and know their doom.
Nepheli would be managing the troops at the gate town once Gundrik and Radagon destroyed the barrier that blocked the way. Just as they were upon it, standing side by side without a word, Radagon moved suddenly.
"Down!"
In an instant, Radagon was upon him, and for a brief moment, Gundrik thought that he had betrayed him. In the next instant, however, blue dragon fire swept across them like a wave of flame, scorching the ground beneath them, yet the flames never licked away at Gundrik's form. A golden barrier stood between them both and the fire, crackling slightly under the strain before reforming as strong as before.
Gundrik knew what had happened, and he groaned as Radagon stood back, his golden eyes to the sky.
"I should have known that not killing that dragon would come back to bite me," Gundrik grumbled, slapping a gauntleted hand against his helmet.
Radagon turned to him incredulously. "You knew of this!?"
"No. It's a long story. A dragon guarded the key needed to get into the academy and instead of fighting him, I just went around," Gundrik explained, looking to the sky and seeing leathery wings beating against the air. "Looks like it's time to amend that error."
The dragon itself looked like others he had come across; those of a somewhat lesser breed than their ancient counterparts, with only four limbs, with the front two doubling as the beast's wings. Instead of the singular horn many of its kind shared, however, its head was almost completely covered in glintstone – a side effect of devouring so many sorcerers. It explained the blue fire it breathed.
The dragon flew far before banking to the right, ready for another bout of fire.
"Let it be known that it was Radagon of the Golden Order that sent you to your death, creature!" Radagon shouted, swinging his sword once and sending a wave of light hurtling through the air. It hit the dragon in the wing, cutting through its leathery skin and interrupting its breath. However, it did not stop; instead, it continued forward, its wings helplessly flapping trying to maintain altitude.
A moment later, it crashed into the bridge, sending bits of dirt and stone flying high into the air. Its forelimbs clawed at the bridge, attempting to stay on as it raised its head and let out a shrill roar, blue fire gathering within its mouth. Gundrik held the Bolt of Gransax high in the air, red lightning gathering around the golden framework before he lunged forward, sending an ancient dragon spear directly into the dragon's maw. The beast squawked, the fire billowing out in black smoke as it coughed before it fell off the bridge, letting out nothing but a few whimpers before it slammed into the watery ground below, completely limp.
Gundrik let out a deep breath. "That was a lot less eventful than I thought it'd be. That was mine, by the way. I'm taking the credit."
Radagon scoffed. "It was my attack that sent it careening into your range."
"Yes, but I struck the killing blow, ergo it is mine."
"As delusional as I theorized."
"Don't talk to me like that or I'll turn you into a sword."
"I would suggest the same to you, but I fear a sword made out of you would be a dull blade indeed."
Gundrik stood there, his mouth agape as he looked away, grumbling.
"Let's just get into this thrice-damned academy already."
Getting through the seal proved to be a non-issue; whatever Radagon did to it tore the whole thing apart. The dark mists cleared and the way further into the academy presented itself. While the path was overgrown, it paled in comparison to the decrepit gate town and the rest of Liurnia.
From what Gundrik had gleaned in his travels, Raya Lucaria chose to not participate in the Shattering Wars, with the academy sealing itself away as the world around them burned. Gundrik would have called it cowardice, but then again, the Shattering had proven to be the single most destructive event in the history of the Lands Between, with only the burning of the Erdtree and the release of Destined Death as a close second.
Gundrik felt a small pang of guilt shoot through his chest, knowing he caused the latter.
Despite the dragon attack at the bridge to the gate, the rest of the academy had not changed much since last Gundrik had been there. Aimless sorcerers with their stone crowns wandered about, and always they would stare for a second at the group of armed men charging them down before they were unceremoniously slaughtered. More than a few dropped their staves upon seeing Radagon in the flesh, their magic useless in the face of his overwhelming force. Gundrik found he scarcely needed to raise his hand against many of the scholars within the academy.
Some part of Gundrik felt as if he was doing something wrong, but then he remembered the academy's betrayal of their queen, and the horrid experiments that had wrought. There had been an Abductor Virgin within the grounds, hauling off people to Volcano Manor. There were few things Gundrik could be sure of, but the death of Raya Lucaria was one of them.
Before long, they found themselves within the Debate Parlor, staring up at the grand library where Rennala now doubt still resided. Radagon stared at it for a while, his gaze almost unblinking as Gundrik stood beside him.
"I don't think she will be coming down to see us," Gundrik said.
"I am just," Radagon stopped himself before closing his eyes. "I am imagining how this might go. I would not be surprised if we were to go inside and find her corpse rather than she."
Gundrik shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know how long she was in there for, but last time I checked she was still cradling the amber egg you gave her. She might've wasted away by now, or she might still be there, still cradling that egg. You have the Great Rune she had within you now, it's a part of the Elden Ring."
"I need a moment to gather myself. I was not as prepared for the end of Raya Lucaria as I had thought," Radagon breathed out.
Gundrik nodded, turning to the men behind them before tilting his head. "It will be fine. I will be here. The men can take care of the rest of these sorcerers. Let us put this chapter of history to bed."
This chapter originally was supposed to have the 'confrontation' with Rennala, but that could be saved till next time. Besides, the chapter after this one would be a bit slim without it, and these chapters are already shorter than my usual lol.
Anyway, thanks to GrandPaladinTyrux for going through the rigors that is the raw chapters of this fic! Go and read their stuff, seriously, it's fucking amazing.
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