DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dark Souls or any of its related works.
WARNING: This fic assumes you've played through Dark Souls 3 and achieved the Usurpation of Fire ending! If you haven't done so, then you WILL be confused!
Chapter 1: The Council of Londor.
The Darksign hangs in the sky, the light of the Sun having faded into a white dull. Under its darkened light, the Lord of Londor—the mightiest of all Undead, donning the charred knight armor of the deific Soul of Cinder—sits unmoving; the Coiled Sword of the First Flame thrust into the ground by his side, its handle gripped tight.
His blind Fire Keepers; one in white, one in black, their robes flowing freely; flank each side of him, hovering close. His ever-loyal knight, dressed in silk and silver armor, stands protectively close to His Lady Anri; hand tightly gripped on her thin longblade, whilst Anri herself sits simply, yet nervously.
Yuria—donned in her black, churchly robes—steps forward, arms raised high; her sister Liliane trailing behind, dressed in the same garb.
"May the First Session of thy Council of Londor, begin."
"The Council of Londor; Yuria's idea." The Lord of Hollows muses to himself. "A democracy amongst a monarchy, where my closest companions argue and debate on how to guide my next actions."
"Before today, the Sable Church commanded and taught the Hollows, to giveth them purpose and drive." Yuria, the Middle Sister of Londor, begins. "Now, however, we find that there mayst be more Hollows than we have hands to rule."
"So we propose that we incorporate Lothric's reign of Pillars." Liliane, Youngest Sister of Londor, seconds; stepping forward while holding aloft a cushion. Four rings rest on the cushion; four rings for four fingers. "A Knight, to fight for Lord and kingdom; a Hunter, to protect thy Lord and strike from the shadows; a Scholar, to guide thy Lord and any future descendants; and a Priestess, to serve as thy Lord's confidant and moral compass."
"How will you convince the Hollows to follow?" Cornyx, Old Sage, asks. "There are no more bonfires, no more estus; whatever drive a typical Hollow would have has long since perished."
"We hath a bonfire still, perhaps the greatest one of all." Yuria says, turning her head towards her Lord.
"You plan to supply them." Karla, Dark Witch, says; a revelation and sly grin crossing her frail features. "By telling the Hollows that serving these new Pillars would be serving the last bonfire, they'd be scrambling to regain any scrap of estus that they could! What a wicked thing you are."
"Look at us." His Lady Anri says with a shake of her head. "We are Undead, yet here we are; taking on mantles that once belonged to Lords—"
A harsh sound interrupts her, all heads gathered turning to the Lord; whose body has become racked with a horrific fit of coughs. Quickly and swiftly the Fire Keepers move to comfort him, just as his grip nearly slips from the Coiled Sword.
"My Lord—!" "Ashen One—!" "Oh my—" "My pupil—!"
A raised hand the Lord of Londor ceases their exclamations, as the coughing fit halts. Questions are raised, but no one speaks them. They hadn't noticed just how… weak… the Undead Lord looked, not until he slowly… too slowly for the greatest Undead, crawls back into his motionless position of rest; his Fire Keepers steadying him as he regrips his rightful weapon.
"The Fire… fades, still." The Lord of Londor says slowly. "I am Embered… yet I can feel my time approaching."
"The Linking of the Fire required champion souls to maintain itself." Yuria says. "Perhaps something similar can extend—"
"No."
The speed of the Undead Lord's denial silences the Council. Eyes dart back and forth, murmurs whisper under soft breaths, and a strange disbelief fills the air.
"My Lord." Sister Liliane begins. "Surely thy can see the benefits of extending—"
"The Fire is unnatural." Her Lord ends. "It is a dead thing… a cycle caught in glory days past… waging a long-gone war inside of my body. I will not create a new Age of Fire; this dead thing will die with me, and we will be better for it.
"But before that, I can see… a great flood on the horizon." The Lord of Hollows says slowly, distantly. "The Deep rises; and Londor is not ready."
A quiet nothing gathers under the Darksign, the Council of Londor lost in their own thoughts; trying to either make sense of the Undead Lord's somber words, or attempting to find someway to combat an oncoming flood.
"On that uplifting note, I shall return us to our initial subject." The Dark Witch mumbles, yet the gathered hear the statement just fine in the broken silence. "I think the Pillars can work, but we will need to hold council often. So we do not suffer a divide like Lothric."
"Lothric suffered a more serious division than just the Pillars." The Old Sage interjects, shaking his head slowly. "The civil war—as well as that new faith—seemed to be what really brought it all to ruin."
"Would that not be all the more reason to hold more councils then?" His Lady Anri asks. "So we may all agree on a course of action?"
"If only it were that easy My Lady!" Cornyx laughs. "No; I'm afraid no matter the outcome, we will all have disagreeances with each-other, sooner or later. Such is the way of politics."
"The fact that the matters at hand are impossibly important, will only expedite such animosity." Karla sighs, fiddling with her hat. "I detest politics so, such noisy business."
"Would thy Keepers wish to partake in our discussion, My Lord?" The Younger Sister of Londor inquires, having noticed how both the Fire Keepers had yet to add anything to the Council's first session.
"My duty is sworn to thy Ashen One." The black-robed Keeper speaks, eyes hidden behind her mask. "I would be of little aid on how to rule."
"I would not fare any better." The white-robed Keeper speaks, milky-white eyes unseeing. "I know of miracles and Carim, but not how to rule a kingdom."
"A shame, but ye shall still be honored members of the Council of Londor and its following sessions." Sister Yuria says. "Would the Sunless Knight wish to add thy thoughts on the matter?"
"I am in favor of the idea." Sirris, the Sunless Knight, says; still standing vigil by His Lady Anri. "The lack of a proper chain-of-command led to the downfall of the Sunless Realm, as well as the downfall of any force to rush to the aid of the Divinity. I wish to prevent such a disaster happening again."
"Then if all parties have decided, we shall reach a consensus." Yuria says. "Simply raise thy right hand if thou approve of the Pillar system, and raise thy left hand if thou art against it."
The first raised hand belonged to Yuria, swiftly followed by her sister Liliane.
The third hand belonged to Anri, who failed to see anything wrong with the idea.
The fourth and fifth hands belonged to Cornyx and Karla, who gave the concept one last thought before deciding for it.
Hands sixth and seventh belonged to the Fire Keepers, unaccustomed to ruling a kingdom in any capacity and voting close to last.
The eighth hand belonged to the Lord of Londor himself, and it was only when his hand was raised did Sirris raise her own as the ninth.
"Now, we must decide who shall gain the rings and titles of the Pillars." Yuria says. "My Lord, I prithee with the honors."
The first choice, in hindsight and in foresight, was fairly obvious.
"Sirris shall be my Hunter." The Lord of Londor orders, the Hunter's Ring being slipped onto the Sunless Knight's finger.
"You honor me, My Lord." The Knight-Hunter says.
The second choice takes the strongest of Undead a little while longer to make; only finally settling on a choice when noticing how uncomfortable Karla looked when viewed as a candidate.
"Cornyx shall be my Scholar." The Lord of Londor orders, the Scholar's Ring being slipped onto the Old Sage's finger.
"Ah, to serve as a master once again." The Sage-Scholar says.
The third choice takes the longest, with many candidates in the room liable for the role. Long and in thought the Champion of Ash waits; thinking, planning, predicting. Finally, this too has a decision reached.
"Karla shall be my Priestess." The Lord of Londor orders.
A silent still falls on the council. Sirris's brows furrow; Yuria and Liliane stall trying to process what they just heard; Cornyx's head tilts confusedly; Karla rubs her temples; the black-robed Fire Keeper giggles; the white-robed Fire Keeper sighs in relief; Anri looks on confused as to why the others were confused.
"Okay." The Dark Witch finally says after a minute's contemplation. "Out of all the people here, why me?"
"I can't afford to take anyone from the Sable Church." The Ashen One states slowly. "And you are one of my trusted companions. Only you can be my Priestess of Hollows."
"You flatterer." Karla teases. "Surrounded by women—while married no less; yet it seems this skinny little heretic can still turn a few heads."
A soft cough breaks the conversation, as Yuria slips the Priestess's Ring onto the Dark Witch's finger.
"What a wicked thing, to trust me as your confidant." The Witch-Priestess says.
Only one last option, but the Champion of Ash had already decided on who would wear it.
"Anri shall be my Knight." The Lord of Londor orders—
"My Lord." Yuria speaks up, still holding the Knight's Ring. "Permission to speak freely?"
"Granted."
"I am vehemently against this. Thy spouse should be safe and by thy side. Surely thy Lordship can see how dangerous such a title would be?"
"I can." The Lord of Hollows speaks. "But Anri is strong… a strength that will be looked past if she is only known as my spouse. With this… our enemies will know that I alone do not carry the weight of Londor on my back; for my Queen will be my Knight and will lead our forces to battle."
"Very well." Yuria sighs, slipping the Knight's Ring on Anri's finger. "If that is My Lord's wish, I am duty-bound to obey."
"I was never officially knighted, but I won't let you down!" The Lady-Knight says.
"Have we discussed everything you wish for, Yuria?" The Lord of Hollows questions.
"For now My Lord; for now."
"Then I; Lord of Londor; hereby call an end to the First Session of the Council of Londor."
AN: I had another cool Dark Souls idea, so I wanted to try and put it to paper.
Never in my life did I ever think that I would nearly 2k words of politics in a Dark Souls fic, but here I am.
(i promise i'm still working on DB: Gathering of FighterZ and SAO: The Beginning of a Wild Friendship (KiriArgo Week 2021), work's just eating a lot of my time.)