Prophecy

Sulyvahn had insisted on seeing the spectacle of the wyvern's arrival for himself, leading them out to the courtyard which is where he spotted Lorian as he staggered off the wyvern's back. Lothric watched as his brother regarded the Pontiff calmly, figuring out who the man was before Sulyvahn had a chance to introduce himself. More often than not, people tended to underestimate his brother, which made it that much more enjoyable when Lothric saw the flash of surprise cross Sulyvahn's face.

Lorian looked past Sulyvahn and met his gaze; he was still wearing his brass armor, his hair was windswept and his cheeks reddened from his trip flying on the wyvern.

Wynfrith took the wyvern away as Lothric had instructed and he beckoned the group back inside. They returned to their seats around the vast wooden table where Lothric sat at the head, Lorian to his right, and Kriemhild to his left. Sulyvahn sat at the other end with the monstrous woman poised behind him. "Shall we begin then?"

"If it pleases you, my Lord." Sulyvahn bowed his head, the smirk on his lips never fading. He reached into his robes, pulled out a small black box, and slid it across the table to Lothric. "As promised."

Lothric held the box in his hands, turning it over carefully. Once he opened it and the discussion began in earnest, he knew there would be no turning back. He also knew the repercussions that could come if this conversation was to ever leave the room. "Albert. Kamui. Please wait outside. If we are in need of your assistance, we will call for you. Allow no one to enter without my explicit permission."

The two hunters bowed and exited the room, taking up their posts in front of the large wooden doors. They knew the artifact Sulyvahn had taken was significant and related to the Fire Keepers but they didn't know the specifics yet and Lothric intended to keep it that way.

"Open it," Sulyvahn urged.

Lothric pulled the box open, revealing the eyes within. At a glance there appeared to be nothing remarkable about them aside from their dull silver hue. Lothric passed the box to Kriemhild who looked carefully for a few moments before nodding to him in confirmation.

"For what reason did you take them?"

"They would have been dangerous to have in your possession while King Oceiros was watching you so closely. You are not the first to hear the rumors of the eyes; Oceiros also heard of them, many years ago, and sent a team of scholars to not just find them, but to destroy them. Imagine what he would do if he were to find them in the future Lord of Cinder's belongings? I could not risk such a valuable artifact being lost to such senselessness."

"It is true my Father is not here at the moment, but he has sworn he would return as he had in the past. So why have you brought them now?"

"Even if Oceiros returns, he will not be the man he was. He has spent too much time engrossed in the teachings of the Paledrake. Like those before him that studied the dragon, he will lose all sense of self. He will be nothing more than a puppet dancing on the strings of a dead dragon."

"I fear you may be right." Shortly after the first wyvern returned, Oceiros had achieved what Lothric could only assume was the breakthrough he had been striving for. In the weeks between the first wyvern's arrival and the second, his Father had continued his gruesome transformation, his limbs mutated beyond recognition as being human and his face malformed. He summoned the Queen and stole her away into the night in a fit of madness. No one knew where he had vanished to or whether he would even return.

Sulyvahn was silent as he regarded Lothric. "It's been truly terrible recently, has it not?"

"Yes, I suppose my Father has been rapidly declining-"

"Not your Father. The sense of dread growing in the pit of your stomach. The unease of knowing your time is running out."

Lothric froze, staring at Sulyvahn. He could feel every pair of eyes in the room staring at him. It was true. Lothric had been sleeping terribly these past months and he felt weaker each day he woke. Each time the bells tolled he wondered, was his time finally up?

"The writing is on the walls, if you know where to look: the increase in hollowings; the rapid spread of the abyssal corruption; and the sun does not shine as bright. Time is running out, Prince Lothric, but how you handle the situation to come has not yet been decided."

"On the contrary, everyone has known how the situation to come will be handled since the moment I was brought into this world."

"If that was true, you would not have gone to such lengths to acquire the eyes." Sulyvahn smiled. "According to the legend, any Fire Keeper that turns her back on her duties and gazes through the eyes will see the world as it was intended to be, before the cycle was corrupted and the dark soul was tied to mankind. The age of fire was never intended to last for this long. It is a pitiful spark at this point, artificially extended at the cost of terrible sacrifice; not just those who become Lords of Cinder but also those who could never survive the flames. All are fed to the fire as kindling in the hopes that it will continue and with it continue to prolong the lives of those who call themselves Gods."

"Yet to let the age of fire pass and welcome in the age of dark would be a death sentence to all except the undead."

"Your suggestion is that we do nothing?" Lorian asked.

"No," Sulyvahn replied, "My suggestion is that you act deliberately in opposition to the fire. When the time comes, Prince Lothric, present your Keeper with these eyes and allow her to snuff out the remains of the flame. I believe there is more beyond the age of darkness, as a dear friend once told me. Beyond the age of darkness is the age of deep seas, dark and vast. A disruption of the cycle."

A silence fell upon the room. It was clear that Sulyvahn truly held these beliefs and he thought that there was a chance Lothric might heed his suggestion, otherwise he would not be here. "And if I was to ignore the calling entirely?"

"A slower means to reach the same end. Though it also leaves the opportunity for another to usurp you as Lord of Cinder and link the flame in your stead."

Kriemhild interjected, "The Keeper also would not be bound to the vision the eyes show her. No matter which path you follow, my Prince, there is a chance your decision will be undone and the fire linked regardless. But… it means you have a choice."

Lothric pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache arise. "You have all given me much to consider. I will need time to deliberate my options." He lowered his hands. "Pontiff Sulyvahn, will you enjoy our hospitality for a few more days?"

Sulyvahn nodded his head, once. "I can make arrangements to stay for another day, but then I must return to Irithyll. You are not the only thread on this tapestry I am weaving, your Highness. However, should you require my consultation in the future, you need only ask."

"Thank you, though I should hope this is the last time we meet to discuss such matters. Mistress Kriemhild, will you escort the Pontiff and his guest to their rooms for the evening?"

"Of course. Please, follow me." She stood and led Sulyvahn and the woman with him out of the room, leaving just Lothric, Lorian, and the eyes.

Lothric leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands over his eyes as his mind raced. In his heart, he knew the decision he would like to make, but what he wanted and what must be done were entirely separate things. There would be consequences no matter which path he chose.

"You should consider his alternatives." Lorian said as he set his hand on Lothric's shoulder.

"No matter what I choose, all paths lead to my demise. The only difference is how long I am allowed to live before it occurs and how those closest to me are affected." Lothric lowered his hands and pulled the map of the kingdom towards them along with the figurines they used for outlying their strategy during a siege. He placed two figures on the map in the center, then four larger ones, and lastly several pieces representing regiments of knights.

"If I do nothing when the bells toll, the people will be nervous at first, but that will soon turn into fear. While I am expected to confront my mortality at all times, the people will grow terrified the moment they realize my inaction may indicate their demise." He shuffled several pieces towards the castle from the kingdom. "They will turn on me, siege the castle, and kill me - that is if my own knights do not kill me first." He knocked the piece representing himself over. "If you attempt to stand by me, they will kill you too. If you will recall, they now have four wyverns they control. You may be the strongest warrior in my command, but even you will be overwhelmed. " He surrounded their pieces with the four larger ones before he knocked over Lorian's piece. "They will find another to link the flame and our deaths will be meaningless.

"If I choose to use the eyes and instruct the Keeper to snuff out the flame, we can never return here." He stood their pieces back up and set their pieces outside the map. "This is of course in addition to the fact that the world will be destroyed shortly thereafter by the dark soul, and we will die anyway. If we are even able to survive extinguishing the flame - which I sincerely doubt is possible." He knocked over their pieces once more. "And everyone else will also perish except the undead. A land overrun with hollowed monstrosities.

"The final option is the role I was born to fulfill." He stood up their figurines one last time, placing Lorian's in the castle and his own outside on the outskirts. "I seek out the First Flame and link it." He knocks his own piece over one last time. "You remain here, alive and well. You rule the people until you grow old and die; they celebrate their kind and honorable King while I fade into no more than a memory."

"There is another option you failed to consider." Lorian picked up their pieces and placed them on the outskirts of the map. "When the bells toll, if not before, we leave this place."

The mere suggestion of it filled Lothric with dread. "Impossible. They would send the Black Hand to kill us. We would be hunted for the rest of our lives. But, more importantly, with Father and Mother both gone they will never allow for us both to leave."

"Then we will make a reason for them to allow it. I can handle any of the Black Hand who would dare try to find us."

"And what of the people? Will we allow them to suffer in the hands of Father when he inevitably returns as a husk of the man he was; driven mad by his obsession?"

"Mother will keep him in control, she will watch out for them," Lorian countered.

"She left Gertrude here when she left and told me to watch over her." Lothric bowed his head, "If I am correct, she has no agency any longer."

"One of the advisors then."

Lothric shook his head. "It is not so simple!"

"Then explain it to me."

"This kingdom is being held together on hope and a belief in my title to become a Lord of Cinder." He lifted his head and stared sadly at his brother. "It is as Pontiff Sulyvahn said, there is an increase in the number of hollows that exist. Not a day goes by where I do not receive a letter telling me of a new region witnessing hollowing that is becoming more and more difficult to contain.

"The Cathedral of the Deep has gone silent entirely aside from the Evangelists that are infiltrating all the villages and towns nearby. I have been told that they are carting villagers back to the Cathedral in droves and each knight Godwyn has sent to investigate has failed to return.

"Irithyll and Anor Londo have also gone quiet after the rise of the Pontiff to power. None of my emissaries have been able to cross into its borders for months now. I have not heard from Gwyndolin or Yorshka either, and I can only assume the worst at this point.

"And to top it all off, yesterday I was informed that there was yet another demon sighted on the outskirts near Farron's Keep. From what my scouts have reported, the demons are being forced out from their refuge underground out of fear of the Demon Prince.

"Do you know I spend each day writing letters and missives to placate the masses and to try to retain some level of alliance between our kingdoms? Some days I feel as though my hand may fall off if I am forced to write another letter. Do you understand, Lorian? I cannot trust another to maintain this fragile balance I have managed to create; least of all Father or one of his incompetent advisors!"

Wordlessly, Lorian leaned forward on the table and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Tell me how I can help."

"There is nothing you can do."

"No." Lorian countered, "There is one thing I can do to help. Do you remember what I said after I brought you the wyvern's head? When you asked how I would continue to prove my worth to you?"

Lothric raised his head in disbelief, "You only just returned."

"I swore to you I would bring you the Demon Prince's head. If that is what will bring you some peace, then allow me to go."

"You also said then that you knew you were not yet strong enough to fight it."

"Do you have faith in me?"

"Of course, however-"

Lorian shook his head, cutting him off, "Yes or no?"

"Yes. Yes, of course. I have trusted you since I was old enough to know what trust is and I will trust you 'til my last breath, but know that if you do not return, it is almost a guarantee that I will follow you to your grave soon after."

Lorian was disturbed by Lothric's statement, but knew deep down that it was likely true. Lothric's political maneuverings could only do so much. Left alone with no one to fight on his behalf… "On your life, I swear to return."

"Then promise me you will stay, at least for a while."

"If things are as dire as you say, then it is for the best if I leave immediately."

"And if I told you that things were not as dire as they seemed?" It wasn't true, of course, but he had always felt safer when Lorian was around. And he had been gone for so long already.

Lorian's expression clouded over as he rose to his feet, "I would implore you, brother, do not lie to me or treat me merely as a pawn in this. Of all people... not you."

Without giving Lothric a chance to apologize or explain, Lorian stormed out of the room.