Chapter 9 - Golden Accord
Alden's POV
I stared at Godwin's stretched hand, looking back at Godwyn; I could see some anticipation in his gaze, so I decided to accept the handshake.
"Nice to meet you Godwyn, my name is Alden."
"Well Alden, nice to meet you. Sorry for the lack of courtesy, you are the first visitor I have received, unfortunately due to my condition I could not order a feast to be prepared for us!" Godwyn said as he smiled at me.
"I'm sorry if I'm being rude Godwyn. But why am I here?" I asked Godwyn as we stopped our handshake.
"Right, straight to the point. But before that, would you like a drink?" Godwyn said.
Suddenly in his left hand appeared two large golden goblets and in his right hand a large bottle of wine.
"Yes please." I accepted out of politeness, due to my undead status, I can't taste anything.
Godwyn took a sip from his goblet; I did the same to mine. As I thought, I didn't taste anything, so we sat on the floor again.
"Let's put it this way, I'd like to make an accord with you." Godwyn said.
Not again "What kind of accord?"
"I would like you to help me solve the problem with those who live in death." Godwyn said as he took another sip from his goblet.
"I've heard it before, but I don't know what it means. Could you clarify for me?"
"Okay, but I'm going to give a little history lesson." Godwyn said as he walked around me and drank from his cup.
"Long ago all the inhabitants of the Lands Between who possessed the Grace of Erdtree were immortal, their bodies could perish but their souls would continue to exist and would be absorbed by Erdtree to be reincarnated, this is due to my mother Queen Marika removing the rune of death of the Elden Ring and giving it to her half-brother Malekith."
"It doesn't look that bad." I said as I drank from my goblet and placed my hand on the mark on the back of my neck. Being reincarnated feels better than living cursed.
"Believe me, it was a wonder, but it didn't last forever, let's just say my death changed the afterlife method a bit." Godwyn said as he looked at me and brought his index finger to his thumb.
"Your death? So that means that night…"
"Yes, but that's not all, to know the reason for my death, I'll have to explain a certain family problem. My father Godfrey is a warrior with an insatiable bloodlust, to the point that Serosh had to be grafted into his back as some sort of limiter, but that doesn't matter at the moment. My mom desired to spread the influence of the Greater Will and the Erdtree in the Lands Between, and for this my parents launched a military campaign that lasted centuries."
"I take it Godfrey was leading these campaigns?"
"Yes, but there was also another man named Radagon, but we'll talk about him later. My mother proclaimed herself ruler but this came into conflict with Dragon Lord Placidusax who was the current ruler of the Lands Between, Placidusax then sent Gransax to the capital, that was the first and only time the capital's walls fell, but the forces from the capital, my mother, father and I managed to kill Gransax. Oh! I was already forgetting there was also a mysterious warrior helping in the battle. Are you not related, or are you?"
Godwyn asked me as he gave me an amused smile.
"No, I'm a newcomer to these lands, I've never heard of the mysterious warrior before." I said nervously, I drank the wine from the chalice to try to disguise my nervousness.
"What a pity. The mysterious warrior wore peculiar equipment, did you know? A black armor with gold trim, a long red cape bearing the symbol of some unknown kingdom, he also carried a spear that released lightning that was effective in ripping off dragon scales, he also shared a disturbing resemblance to Radagon. Are you sure you're not related?" Godwyn asked once more.
"Yes." I jumped suddenly when Godwyn put his hand on my shoulder.
"No need to be so nervous! It was just an innocent question, wasn't it?" Godwyn said as he smiled at me.
"Of course! Just an innocent question!" I said as I picked up the wine bottle and refilled my glass.
"Could you fill mine too?" Godwyn said as he offered me his cup.
"O-Of course!" I said nervously, I was shaking perceptually, almost spilling wine out of the goblet.
"Thanks." Godwyn said as he drank again.
"Y-you're w-welcome!" I cleared my throat.
"Where was I again?" Godwyn asked me.
"You were talking about Gransax's attack on the capital." I said as I took another sip from the goblet.
"Oh! Of course! Gransax's attack on the capital! Continuing, after Gransax was defeated, the war against the dragons began."
There was a war against dragons in this land? As history repeats itself, I remember traveling to the time of the war against the dragons using the memories of the slain dragon in Tseldora.
"During the war I met my best friend, a dragon named Fortissax; we became friends after I beat him in combat, after my death he ended up in…"
Godwyn didn't finish, he just stared at the ground with half-closed eyes, he bent down and touched the ground with his hand, I had the impression he was looking at something below the ground.
"Let's say at the moment he's in a deep place. After years of war, with neither side advancing, it was determined that the worship of dragons did not go against the principles of Erdtree, so peace was achieved and the Cult of the Dragon came into being. The conflict with the dragons was over, but there were still many enemies to face." Godwyn said as he stopped in front of me.
"And that's where Radagon enters the story. He was responsible for conquering Liurnia, a land ruled by Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, head of the Carian royal family, and leader of the Academy of Raya Lucaria, she is a master of magic, with her scholars and Cuckoo knights, they managed to resist Radagon's advances, eventually Radagon and Rennala met on the battlefield, but instead of fighting to the death they fell in love and ended up marrying and having three children. Radhan, Rykard and Ranni."
I couldn't help but notice the anger in Godwyn's voice when he mentioned the last name.
"So there was only one more enemy to face, the fire giants and their Outer God, the Fell God or One-Eyed God. Call it what you want. The flame from the giants' forge was powerful enough to burn Erdtree. My father and his knights along with the troll knights slaughtered the giants, leaving only one, cursed to protect the forge from anyone who tries to wield the power of flame."
Did this place also have a war against the giants? The similarities only increase.
"When the last enemy was defeated, my father lost his Grace as all worthy opponents were defeated, and became the first Tarnished, my mother seeing this banished my father and his men, but she didn't do so immediately, despite my mother being a goddess and i a demigod we have an image to keep so my mother pretended nothing was wrong but secretly she called Radagon to the capital to become her consort, Radagon left Rennala, the queen went mad due to the broken heart. My mother then banished Godfrey and married Radagon, thus making Radhan, Rykard and Ranni part of our family."
"It doesn't end there, does it?" I asked.
"No, it just gets worse."
"Ranni, enraged by what happened to her mother, resolved to take revenge on my mother in the most painful way possible."
"Killing you."
"Exactly, Ranni hired the black knife assassins and infused their knives with death rune shards. Don't ask me how they managed to get past Malekith, for I have no idea. And then on a night that became known as the Night of the Black Knives, I was killed, or at least my soul was."
"What do you mean by that?"
"My soul was destroyed but my body continued to live, at the same time from my death, Ranni killed her body but her soul continued to live inside a doll, another reason for Ranni to kill me was to escape the influence of the two fingers, but this is another history lesson that i don't have the patience to explain at the moment. Due to my death, my mother began to doubt the Greater Will and Erdtree, so she shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon tried to repair it. I believe you already know the rest, the war between demigods and the return of the Tarnished."
Godwyn then sat across me again.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with me and those who live in death."
"Well, let's just say there were other consequences to my death besides the Elden Ring being torn apart. My body was buried in the roots of the Erdtree, in the vain hope that my soul would be absorbed and reincarnated, but that obviously didn't happen, what actually happened was that my body corrupted the roots of the Erdtree, creating the Death Root and Those Who Live in Death, souls that can neither truly die nor be absorbed back into Erdtree. These beings are usually ghosts, skeletons, and zombies that keep causing trouble in the Lands Between."
Godwyn then drank all the wine from his cup, so did I.
"That's where you come in, I would like your help to solve this problem, that woman Fia, wants that too, but she won't do it alone, I would like you to help her, I want you to help her get to my body. So what do you tell me? We have an accord?" Godwyn said as he held out his hand to me.
So this land also has an undead problem? I've seen what can happen if the undead get out of control, but I don't agree with the methods used in Drangleic, if there's a way to solve this without having to imprison and torture the undead, then I want to help.
"I accept." I said as I shook Godwyn's hand.
"Great, I knew you were a reasonable person, my friend who lives in death!" Godwyn said to me as he smiled.
"Wait! Do you know?!" I asked with wide eyes.
"Yes! I could feel that mark on the back of your neck the moment you set foot in the cave. You are an interesting person, a being who lives in death unlike the others. If you don't mind, could you tell me how you ended up like that?"
"Curse." I answered seriously.
"I see it's a sensitive subject, I hope you can tell me when you're ready."
Godwyn then threw me a medallion with a string attached to it, the medallion was the same as the face I found in the cave.
"What is it?"
"A gift for you, it will allow me to accompany you on your travels."
"You are going with me?" I asked as I hung the medallion around my neck.
"Of course! Do you know how long I've been here without being able to do anything? It's been a long time since my death; I'd like to see how the world has changed. You and I will explore ancient ruins, face powerful enemies, and along the way we'll get you some maidens!"
Godwyn said as he stood up, walked behind me, placed one of his hands on my shoulder and pointed at the cavern ceiling with the other.
"I already have a Finger Maiden." I answered Godwyn as he lifted me up.
"That's not what I meant." Godwyn replied with a smile.
I don't understand. If I already have a maiden, why would I need another?
"Well, looks like it's time to go." Godwyn said to me.
I looked at my hand, saw it disappearing.
"Wait, I still have questions to ask. What is the Greater Will? What are the Outer Gods? If your soul has died, then who am I talking to?" I asked Godwyn.
"Don't worry, everything will be answered in due time. See you in the world of the living!" Godwyn said as he smiled and waved me goodbye.
So I disappeared
Alden's POV
When I came out of the memory I saw I was lying on the floor of the cave, the giant face was still there, I felt a weight on my neck, looking down I saw the medallion Godwyn gave me, but there was no sign of Godwyn. I will worry about that later, I had a difficult day today, I will return to the Roundtable.
TIMESKIP
Transporting myself by Grace, I appeared at the Round Table, started walking through the corridors until I reached Fia's room.
"Hello, great champion, what brings you here?" Fia said as she stood up and smiled at me.
I didn't answer; I just approached Fia and hugged her. She jumped a little in surprise, but I felt her hug me back.
"Great Champion that was a surprise."
"Let me stay here a little longer, I've had a rough day."
"Looks like I won't have to work hard to get you some maidens."
I heard a familiar voice beside me, looking in the direction of the voice I saw a tall man, it was Godwyn, he was there smiling at me.
END OF CHAPTER