Chapter 5
As the Tarnished and her descended down the Grand Lift of Rold, a chill could be felt in the air, much akin to that of the snowfields. It was an odd place, the Forbidden Lands. Although calling it a 'land' was being generous, as it was more akin to a simple path that linked the mountains above to the capital below. She had not spent much time here, as she only had passed through twice. once on her journey to the Haligtree, and the other after the battle of Aeonia. Although during that journey, she had been unconscious until she had returned to the Haligtree.
She looked to the Tarnished, standing beside her as the lift finished its descent. He had reached for his blade. Catching her glance at him, the Tarnished pointed upwards, to the top of the exit doorway. What seemed to be a massive, black gargoyle was perched above it.
"Do you plan to fight this creature, Tarnished?" she asked him, gripping her own blade as she did so. He nodded in response, his sword held tightly in his hand. She smiled slightly, glad to see the training the two had done together had seemingly helped her Tarnished, if at least a small bit.
"Good, then I shall join you, let us move quickly." she said. The two slowly walked forward, blades at the ready. The sound of their footsteps echoing throughout the room the lift was in. as they approached the gargoyle, it began to look down upon the two. As they caught it's gaze, it leaped down to the ground before them, sending dust and dirt out from the spot from where it landed
"Ready then, Tarnished?" she asked him. He nodded in response, and with that, the two charged forward. Malenia going towards the gargoyles right side, while her Tarnished approached from the left. She struck the gargoyle in the knee, her blade clanging against the hardened skin that coated the jet black creature that towered above them. After her strike, Malenia leapt back, looking to her Tarnished as she did so, seeing him land a strong blow against the the gargoyle's leg, causing the creature to recoil in pain as the wound had been engulfed in the black flames that her Tarnished's blade spewed out.
While the blow clearly injured the gargoyle, it struck back at her Tarnished, and despite his best attempt to block with his blade it had sent him sliding backwards. Causing her Tarnished to fall to his knees and sending his blade skittering across the floor. He looked upwards, only to see the gargoyle barreling towards him, brandishing its axe as it prepared to strike. Fearing for her Tarnished, Malenia sprinted towards him diving in front of the attack, managing just barely to block it with her blade.
"Tarnished! Quickly, the other leg!" she yelled to him. She continued to dodge and weave the onslaught of attacks the gargoyle threw at her as the Tarnished ran for his blade. Grabbing it, he ran towards the gargoyle's right leg. Leaping up, he brought the blade down upon the gargoyle's right knee, once again causing the wound to erupt into flames. The gargoyle fell to the ground for a moment, writhing in pain. As the chance presented itself, Malenia moved in for the final blow.
She leapt into the air, her blade held above her head. And in an instant, she is back on the ground again, a flurry of blows striking the gargoyle. Her sword gracefully cuts through the air with each elegant movement, almost akin to a dance. And within a few seconds, it is done, Malenia stands still after the final strike, one final blast of air erupting from her to strike the gargoyle, which now lay dead upon the ground. Seeing the battle was done she composed herself once more, looking to her Tarnished as he stood beside the corpse of the gargoyle. Staring at her with wide eyes.
"Are you alright, Tarnished?" she asked, walking over to her Tarnished, looking him over for injuries. He nodded, his eyes still wide with awe from the event. She saw this, stepping away for a moment.
"Is something amiss, Tarnished?" she asked him, retracting her sword back into its place in her prosthesis. He nodded no, but attempted to copy the finishing blow she performed against the gargoyle, although far slower than she had. After mimicking her movements, he looked back to her, awaiting a response.
"Ah, the Waterfowl Dance, yes? What about it, Tarnished?" she asked, seeing her Tarnished point to her, and then back to himself. Taking her best guess based on what she knew from her Tarnished, she had assumed he was interested in trying to learn it.
"Hmm.. you wish to learn the technique, Tarnished?" she asked, he nodded quickly in response. She was correct, although, rather uncertain. She was unsure how he would manage to learn it, let alone perform it with a blade as large and heavy as his.
"Well Tarnished, we can see, next time that we make camp, we may practice. See if you may be able to learn it. Until then, let us move onwards, we may talk as we go."
And with that, the two stepped out into the forbidden lands. The cold winds biting their skin, the snow crunching beneath their feet, and the thick fog constantly obscuring the vision of them both. They walked in silence for a moment, before Malenia posed a question to her Tarnished.
"Tarnished," she asked. "Do you have a family of any sort?"
The Tarnished turned to her, nodding a yes in response.
"I see, did you have strong bonds with them?" he nodded once more, causing her to smile. It was good to know her Tarnished did have a family, even if they did reside far away, off in the Land of Reeds. It was something to fight for, an idea she knew all too well.
"Have you any intention of returning one day? Home to the Land of Reeds and your family there?" he looked down as she asked this question, sadly shaking his head. Perhaps it was a sore topic, and it was best not to push further.
"At least you have family to think of, Tarnished. Family that has not yet scorned you" she said. "It is a boon not often afforded to many, I myself, have my dear brother Miquella."
While she had cared most for her dear brother, she still had her mother, Marika the Eternal. And her father, Radagon, although at points she never truly considered them family. The hatred they had often directed towards her, and even her brother after he chose to leave the Golden Order. They had chastised her for her rot. never to the point of beating, for they still feared it, but to the point of isolation. She did not have hate towards them, per say, but no love either.
The Tarnished looked to her, a look of what appeared to… determination? Upon his face. It made her smile softly, seeing how he was at the very least, loyal to the cause of rescuing her Dear brother.
"Ah yes, my hero, the Tarnished" she mused, chuckling as she did so. "Coming to help me save my dear brother. I do thank you for it, of course. Tarnished, I need not make your efforts into a joke."
He smiled, glad to know his work was at the very least, being appreciated. It was a rather infectious smile, that one. Making her smile and blush ever more, much like the night in the catacombs. Seeing her get as flustered as she was, her Tarnished looked forward, seemingly wanting to spare her the embarrassment he was causing her. She sighed a small bit in relief, clearly happy to no longer have her face on display.
The two walked mostly silently for the last leg of the journey. At the end, they had reached a lift they would likely lead them up to Leyndell. As such, they decided to make camp, as small as the forbidden lands were, their journey from the catacombs and through the lands both had taken nearly the entire day. Sitting around a small fire her Tarnished had made, the two sat beside each other, simply resting for a while by the heat of the flames. After a while however, her Tarnished had tapped her on the shoulder of her prosthesis, trying to get her attention.
"Hmm?" she said, turning her head to see him beside her. "Is there something you needed, Tarnished?"
He nodded, before getting up off the ground where they sat, grabbing his sword off his back before looking down to Malenia. After thinking for a moment, she had remembered that earlier he had wished to train.
"Ah yes! You wished to learn the waterfowl dance, if I remember correctly." he nodded in response. As such, she also got up, ready to train with Her Tarnished. She had led him over to a more empty corner of the room, brandishing her blade as she stood before him.
"The waterfowl dance, in simple terms, is a series of quick movements, fast enough to create shockwaves of air as you move" as she spoke, she mimicked the movements as she described them, moving slowly enough so that her Tarnished may properly observe.
"The idea is to mimic the moves of a waterfowl, such as a duck, moving through a body of water. Gracefully, swiftly, as if it simply was not there at all." she said, finishing the explanation with the final move of the dance. She looked back to the Tarnished, ready for him to attempt to try the move himself.
He moved as best he could, although his speed was.. Lacking, and near the end, he had ended up falling over. She looked down to him, making sure he was alright.
"Tarnished.." she said, a worried tone permeating her voice. "I had feared this before, but I don't believe you can perform this technique, not at least with the blade you use. It is heavy, hard to swing, unable to cut through the air as needed for this."
She looked to him, feeling rather sad at the fact he could not perform the move. However, he stood up, a determined look upon his face as he turned to her.
"Someone seems to be rather fervent about this, do you plan to continue trying as we go on this journey?" she asked him, he nodded fervently. She did respect the lengths to which he seemed to be willing to grow, to improve, as she always had.
"Well then, Tarnished, I feel it best if we worked on this tomorrow then, it is late, and both of us could use rest. Will you join me for bed then, Tarnished?" he nodded, walking back over to the small fire with her. She sat upon the ground, while her Tarnished had placed his blade against the wall. He looked to her as he sat down, before gently laying his head upon her lap and closing his eyes.
She had begun to close her eyes as well, her prosthetic resting against his cheek as she began to drift off into sleep with him.
"Rest well, my Tarnished."
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