AN: And here's where all of my rather large breadcrumbs related to the legend all come together. Sorry for the long wait. I'm aiming for weekly releases, but I haven't quite managed it so far. To my audience, please hold me accountable. Send me private messages as reminders to write if I miss my deadline, or, whatever. The idea is that I'm publishing one every Monday, but as you can see, this one is late. Also, I've decided that I don't really care about high word count; this one is going to wind up being 5,000 words or more. Please leave reviews. I really do want to know what you think. Enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Four: Parish Panic
Raven stepped out onto the balcony, curiously examining the armored warrior standing on it, staring at the sun. Havel seemed equally confused, but Oscar laughed, rushing towards the warrior in delight. The man turned, revealing a T shaped visor on his bucket helm, and began laughing as well, before Oscar reached him and they hit the ground in an embrace. Both of them got up promptly, still laughing. Raven glanced crosswise at Havel, who shrugged.
"Solaire!" Oscar exclaimed, "It's good to see you, buddy!" They were both laughing with joy.
"I see you've found your own method of jolly co-operation," Solaire commented, nodding to Raven and Havel, and Oscar chuckled.
"This is Raven," Oscar said, gesturing to her, "and I'm sure you recognized Havel on sight."
"Ha. That I did. Say, do you mind if I join you on your mission? Who knows, I might find my sun along the way," Solaire was upbeat, maybe even more so than Oscar.
"Why not?" Raven entered the conversation, inviting Solaire along on their adventure before Oscar had a chance to refuse, which she didn't think he would, but she knew they needed all the help they could get. Who knew what horrors they would face next? Solaire chuckled, and came with the party back up the stairs, beginning to cross the bridge towards the parish. Suddenly, Raven heard a roar in the distance, and felt a jolt of panic shoot through her, and judging by Oscar's reaction, through him as well. Both of them broke into a sprint, trying to reach the far end of the bridge before the dragon arrived, leaving Havel and Solaire exchanging confused glances. They didn't get anywhere near close enough. Raven managed to reach a point where the bridge was wider, and took cover behind a corner as the bridge was doused in orange flames. The red drake swooped overhead, landing on top of the gate at the far side of the bridge. Raven quickly assessed the situation. Both Oscar and Solaire were down, screaming and desperately attempting to extinguish the flames that they were covered in. Havel rose to his feet, slightly singed but seeming otherwise fine. Raven turned towards the massive red drake, sitting in an imposing manner on the other end of the bridge. It almost looked smug. Raven chuckled, meaning to fix that. She pulled out the crossbow she had obtained in the burg, loading it with a bolt and taking careful aim, waiting for Havel to catch up. Solaire and Oscar were as good as dead by this point, and she would have to pick them up as their darksigns regenerated them at the bonfire, barring that they had gone hollow.
"Well, that went poorly," Havel said, taking cover next to her as he caught up, "But it looks like you have a plan. Care to explain?"
"I'm going to try and hit the drake through the eye," Raven said, and Havel chuckled.
"You don't think I can manage it?" Raven asked accusingly. Havel fervently shook his head.
"Of course I think you can manage it. I just don't think it's really going to DO much. It's eye has a clear membrane over it that'll make the arrow bounce clean off. Here, try this instead," he said, pulling out a bow that was taller than she was, and handing her an arrow to match.
"Where did you even keep this?" Raven asked, looking at him incredulously.
"Bottomless box," Havel said, like that explained everything, "You can keep the thing, if you want. Never had much use for it myself. Regardless, a greatbow like that should do far better against this beast than that little toy." Raven nodded, and nocked an arrow.
"So, you shoot it in the eye. It'll probably jump down to swipe at you. What then?" Havel asked, listening intently once more.
"Then I want you to rush in, smack it's head sideways so that any flames that it might breath are directed away from us. Keep it occupied, I'll rush around to cut it's tail off. That thing looks just as dangerous as anything else. Then we just take turns getting it's attention, make it spin back and forth, keep it off balance. Should kill it fast enough," Raven commented.
"Sounds fair," Havel nodded in agreement, "I'll get it's attention while you charge up for the shot. You need to plant one end on the ground before you can draw it, takes time. If it's focusing on you, long enough for you to get burnt to a crisp." With that, he jumped out from cover, yelling and making noise. Raven stood up as well, anchoring the bow and drawing it, aiming the massive arrow. The dragon inhaled, preparing to roast Havel alive, when she released the arrow. It flew true, skewering through it's eye and actually stunning it for a brief moment. Raven dropped the greatbow, intending to come back for it when the dragon was dead, and lifted the Zweihander onto her shoulder.
As predicted, the dragon jumped from the bridge in rage, and Havel followed the plan to the letter. His massive club batted it's head away from both of them, and the flames it spewed out flew harmlessly away from the bridge, dispersing over the burg below. Raven sprinted past it, slashing with the Zweihander and hewing a good chunk of the way through the tail. A second quick hack and it came completely off, disintegrating to leave behind a small straight sword. That's when everything went wrong. As she was expecting, the dragon spun dramatically to face her. However, as it spun, the leading edge of it's wing caught Havel, flinging him off the bridge and sending him plummeting to his death. The dragon inhaled dramatically, preparing to roast her. She desperately snatched the golden eye orb out of one of her satchels, focusing on it's printed pattern. She felt an otherworldly pull, and dematerialized. The dragon's flames met empty space.
Raven found herself on a platform overlooking a city, gilded and lit beautifully by the setting sun. She shivered at the sensation of being incorporeal, even for a moment, before shaking her head to clear the sensation. Her position left her only one way to go, with stairs leading down into the bulk of the city. Before she had descended very far, the clamoring of a populous region came into her hearing, and she grinned. She missed those sounds, heard throughout Carim, Zena and Astora, the three regions that she had visited. The stairs ended in a balcony which led into a building. There were several giants working on the construction of a statue inside, all towering over her by massive amounts. There were smaller folk, too, but none nearly as short as she was. As a human, she felt dwarfed by the population of what she could only assume was the great city of Anor Londo. Her small size, instead of causing her to vanish, turned heads as she went, everyone commenting and murmuring about the human appearing in the city. What drew infinitely more interest, however, was her sword. Once they had noticed her, their eyes invariably fell upon the Zweihander, and they gasped. She looked around, trying to see anyone who might be the Father of Giants. She saw plenty of giants, but none of them looked like they would be titled based on their fatherhood. She kept walking, coming out onto a landing with people bustling about, coming to and fro, up from a lift that led down further into the city, and flowed into and out of three distinct entrances. She had little idea what any of them were doing, but she didn't much care. She continued walking, analyzing the crowd. She saw no might-be Giant Dads. She decided to try," the lift, rather than checking the rooms. Likely someone so noteworthy would be in the palace, rather than near the entrance to the city. As she stepped into the room, waiting for her turn to use the lift, she suddenly felt a knife at her throat, and gasped.
"You're not welcome here, human," a feminine voice spat in a harsh whisper, "And I don't care about that massive imitation you're toting around." Raven tried to turn around to see her assailant, but she was held firm by a second blade at her back. Then she looked down at the blade at her throat. It was a shimmering, golden-orange tone. A gold tracer, just like the one that...
"Ciaran," Raven whispered in awe, and Ciaran scoffed.
"Oh, you know my name. Am I supposed to be impressed? I'm only one of Gwyn's four knights, no big deal," Ciaran replied, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm. Raven, panicking, searched for something to say. Then she realized that she didn't have to say anything. She simply slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the golden eye orb, holding it up over her shoulder, before tucking it back into her pocket.
"You're kidding," Ciaran exclaimed, "A HUMAN? A damned HUMAN found the legacy of... oh, let me guess. The Father of Giants? And a woman, no less. He's not going to accept you, you know. You just don't fill the role."
"Oh, really?" Raven asked, and spun the hand that was still anchoring the Zweihander to her shoulder, causing it to pivot and bash Ciaran in the side of the head. She spun, following up the opportunity strike with a horizontal slash that stopped inches short of Ciaran's neck. Her eyes went wide.
"Fine. I'll let you have an audience. Don't get your hopes up, though," Ciaran said in disgust, "Follow me." Raven complied immediately, amazed at the fluke that had allowed her to best Ciaran in mere seconds. Raven caught her mumble something about Artorias being a distraction, but she didn't come anywhere close to catching it all. Ciaran led her off the lift platform, across a bridge, and up to the palace itself. Before entering, however, she turned to the left, and opened a door. Inside was a giant blacksmith.
"Hello, Ciaran," the blacksmith mumbled.
"Hello," Ciaran replied with a more friendly tone than she had used with Raven, before asking, "Have you seen the Father of Giants?"
"Upstairs," the giant answered, before continuing to tap away at a sword which was far too small for anyone Raven had seen so far in Anor Londo to use. Ciaran practically dragged her up the long staircase in frustration, coming to an enclosed area with stained glass windows looking out over the rest of Anor Londo, while also overlooking the palace below. Sure enough, a giant stood there, swinging about a Zweihander that matched Raven's own, although it was much more proportional to him than it was to her. It left trails of flame as he swung it back and forth, and Raven watched in awe as he performed a few quick striking blows with the blade, before standing up straight, acknowledging their presence.
"Hello, Ciaran," the Giant Dad rumbled, "and who might this be?" he asked, turning to Raven, spreading his arms wide. He wore a mask which certainly looked like a father. It was no wonder he had the title he did. Raven, in response bowed deeply, only to find that he flicked her, causing her to stumble and fall over.
"If you want to succeed me, you must learn my ways. Never bow. Greet your friends and enemies alike with arms spread wide." The Giant Dad demonstrated once again, and Raven imitated him, announcing her name as she did so. She had to be honest with herself, it felt pretty good. The Giant Dad chuckled. Raven glanced over at Ciaran, who was scowling noticeably.
"Oh, Ciaran," the Giant Dad turned to look at her, "Again with your bias against humans? She learns quickly. I think that she'll be perfect to carry on the mantle, although some... adjustments will have to be made to the title, given her gender." Ciaran scoffed and trudged off.
"So, do you have a name?" Raven asked, "Or must I say Father of Giants every time I wish to address you?" The Giant Dad's laughter boomed through the air.
"I like you. You're bold. I want that, in my successor. Yes, I have a name. It's Arthur, and you have permission to use it," the Giant Dad replied.
"Pleased to meet you, Arthur," Raven said, spreading her arms wide again. Arthur chuckled.
"Now that we have that out of the way. I'm afraid that your time here is brief. The flow of time in Lordran is convoluted, but it does have it's limits. Soon enough, you'll be drawn back to your own time. I have a way to bypass some of the training required, but you still require lessons. To prevent over-long explanation of what you have to do, take this list," Arthur handed her a sheet of paper with a bunch of bullet points on it, "It lists the items you have to find in your world, and lists a few possible locations for each. Those might be wrong, I can't see the future. Also unfortunately, I didn't anticipate you being your size, so I can't give you any of the items you need. I can, however, rekindle the flame of that blade. Let me see it." Raven complied, offering the Zweihander up to Arthur, who took it respectfully. He raised it into the air, and a pyromancy flame ignited in his other hand. He touched the blade, which blazed to life. Arthur handed the blade back to Raven, who gave it a few experimental swings. Sure enough, a dark red flame trailed after the blade, indicating that it's enchantment was working once more.
AN: FIRE THE BASS CANNON! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Moving on.
"Now, that list says the Mask of the Father, but... I think that the Mask of the Mother would be more suited to you, given... well," Arthur said with another chuckle, "Now, a few lessons. You already know how to use the sword, that much is clear. However, there are strategies beyond just the sword that you have to know. First, Pyromancy will be invaluable to you. I can't bestow a flame upon you, but I can teach you the spell that you should use." Arthur demonstrated a body twist leading with the flame in his left hand. A massive explosion of fire plumed out in front of him, but was dark red and black, and seemed to consume light rather than emit it. Raven quickly memorized the spell, and Arthur chuckled.
"One last thing, before you must go. Your sword's flame is fueled by your humanity. The more you have, the more effective it will be. Be ruthless, Raven. Serve my legacy well." Arthur finished his sentence just in time, as Raven felt an otherworldly pull, being yanked back to her present. Oh, hell. The drake was still right there, looking at her confused. Raven spread her arms wide, as Arthur had required of her, and the drake prepared to strike. Just as it did, Raven dropped the pose, and took a swipe at the dragon, the red flame beam slashing across the drake's snout. Several shards of teeth and a few scales fell to the ground, and Raven followed up with another swipe that cut the drake's bottom jaw off, and a third and final slash that cut it's head off. The drake dissolved into smoke, leaving behind only it's tail sword. Raven stumbled backwards as she absorbed more souls than she had ever felt before. Just then, Oscar, Solaire, and Havel came running across the bridge to her assistance. All three of them stopped, shocked, as they saw that there was no drake.
"You killed it on your own?" Havel asked, sounding impressed. Solaire and Oscar just stood there, unable to form sentences. Raven picked up the drake sword, tossing it to Solaire, who, in his shock, almost didn't catch it.
"Probably better than that ceremonial thing you've got," she explained when Solaire gave her a quizzical look. He gave it a few experimental swings, and while he was learning it's balance, she pulled out Arthur's list, looking it over.
- Grass Crest Shield: Somewhere between the Undead Parish and Darkroot Basin? Likely guarded by a black knight.
- Mask of the Father: Firelink Catacombs? The Tomb of Giants? - Owned by Pinwheel, also possesses masks of Mother and Child.
- Giant Armor: Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo. Ask for a custom set if not a giant.
- Havel's Ring: Obtain from Havel or one of his knights.
- Ring of Favor and Protection: Good luck. There's more than one out there, that's about all I can say
- Pyromancy Flame: Find a pyromancer. They aren't that rare.
- Dark hand: Talk to Kaathe.
Raven's eyes hovered over Havel's Ring, and glanced up at Havel, biting her tongue.
"What's that?" Havel inquired, pointing to the list that Raven held.
"Oh... The Father of Giants, he-" Raven couldn't get further than that before Oscar interrupted her.
"You spoke with him alone? I was going to come with you, provide backup. It could've been dangerous!"
"More dangerous than fighting a drake by myself? Not that I blame you, it's not any of your faults. The point is, I wanted to get away from the dragon, and the orb was the only way that I could do that. I got dragged back after a while, though, and wound up having to kill it on my own anyways. Oh, wait. You're right. It is more dangerous than fighting a drake solo. I nearly got into a fight with Ciaran, you see..." Raven winced. She had gotten way too defensive, over Oscar's concern.
"Wait, wait," Solaire butted into the conversation, now, "You met CIARAN? As in the LORD'S BLADE CIARAN? Now I'm sorry I wasn't there." He ended in a chuckle, and Raven shook her head.
"It wasn't like that. She was up in my face, just looking for any excuse to kill me. She was actually disappointed when Arthur took a liking to me. That's the Father of Giants' name, in case you didn't know."
"Well, that's not what I was expecting," Havel said, "She was never that way with me." As he said this, he moved to pick up the greatbow, and slid it back into his bottomless box.
"Shall we move on?" Raven asked, looking towards the gate which the drake had been perched on. Everyone nodded collectively, and Raven headed through, lighting the bonfire that was set up just on the other side.
"Let's all take a rest here," Solaire said, "Before we continue on our way." The party sat down, and Raven offered the souls from the drake to the flame, feeling herself grow stronger. When they all stood up, she did a quick experiment, performing a horizontal swipe with the Zweihander in only her right hand. She grinned as she didn't overbalance or drop the sword. She hefted it back to her shoulder, and went back to two-handing it, having nothing to use in her other hand. A hollow soldier charged them as they exited the bonfire anteroom, and Havel quickly squished him flat. Raven looked up the tower, and decided to check on what was at the top. She gestured for the rest of the group to follow, and began to climb up to the top of the tower. At the top, a black knight with a massive ultra greatsword loomed over her. She immediately took a swing at it, breaking through it's armor and causing it to stumble. Havel was the next up the stairs, and followed up her attack with a slap to the face with his club, causing the knight to stumble further. Raven spun the Zweihander back in the other direction, slashing again. The knight managed to get it's shield up, but Raven broke his guard and shoved him back even further. A massive blast of energy, unleashed from Solaire's new drake sword as he reached the top of the tower, sent the black knight over the railing of the tower, plummeting to his doom. Oscar was the last one up the tower, and frowned as there was no action left for him to take.
"Don't worry, Oscar," Solaire reassured him, "There seems to be an armored boar in yonder courtyard with your name written on it!" Both knights chuckled at this, and began charging down the tower. Raven took the opportunity to survey the courtyard a bit better, and saw a soldier ready to close the gate, barring their progress. She extended a hand to Havel.
"Greatbow, please," she said, looking at him pointedly. Havel produced it, along with an arrow, and Raven deftly planted the bow, drew, and fired. The arrow flew true, striking the gate guard in the chest and bowling him over.
"Thank you," Raven said, handing the greatbow back to Havel.
"You have a good tactical mind," Havel commented, nodding in appreciation, "Now. Shall we go save those two from their own arrogance?"
"I think so," Raven agreed, taking the stairs back down the tower at a run. When she rushed into the courtyard, she saw that Oscar and Solaire were handling things with the armored boar quite well, taking turns distracting it and stabbing it through chinks in it's armor. However, there were a few crossbow archers above them, training their sights and setting up for a good shot. There were also several soldiers that were hanging back, not wanting to get caught in the boar's thrashing.
"Handle the ones on the ground," Raven instructed Havel, "I'll take care of the archers." Havel rushed into the fray without hesitation, smashing a soldier flat. Raven glanced around the courtyard, seeing a staircase leading upwards towards the archers. Raven rushed up it, and was met by a spear-wielding hollow soldier at the top, barring her path to the archers. She didn't much care, batting the shield aside with her foot before decapitating the soldier with her massive, flaming Zweihander. The archers looked up with expressionless faces as Raven charged, shoulder-bashing the first one off of the ledge and onto a burning pyre constructed just below. The second one was cleaved vertically in two as Raven performed a massive overhead slam, before hopping off of the small bridge onto the ground, landing nimbly. Havel had just finished dispatching the final soldier on the ground, but Oscar and Solaire were still working on the boar. Havel watched from where he was standing, amused, but Raven was getting impatient. She rushed in and hacked through the boar's armor in one swing, chopping it's rather sizeable head off. The boar disintegrated into ash as she did so, leaving only a hollow, empty helmet clattering across the cobblestones.
"We were handling it!" Oscar exclaimed, frustrated that she had stolen yet another enemy from him.
"Yeah, and I was getting bored. Deal with it," Raven told him, and Solaire patted him on the back.
"Relax," Solaire told Oscar, "I'm sure there are plenty more foes to come! Shall we?" This last bit was directed to the entire group, who collectively nodded, and walked across the courtyard.
"So," Solaire asked Havel as they walked, "Why are you helping us? I mean, we've all got our goals. I'm here trying to find my own sun. My friend Oscar aims to ring the bells of awakening to receive his own undead mission. Raven, well, she intends to succeed the Father of Giants. A mighty task, that. What about you? What are your goals?"
"Revenge," Havel stated simply, "I want revenge against the paledrake, Duke Seath the Scaleless, whose crimes got me imprisoned. I want revenge against the Dark Sun Gwyndolin, who whispered in his father's ear that I was guilty. I want revenge against Velka, who set up the whole blasted system to begin with. That enough of a list for you, or should I go on?" Havel looked Solaire right in the eyes, daring him to ask Havel to continue. Raven knew that he was just looking for an excuse to add Lord Gwyn himself to that list, although Raven subtly shook her head at him. She didn't want their party tearing itself apart before they even approached their goal. Solaire, thankfully, declined the offer.
"I get the point, friend," he said, "And I've never really liked any of those three anyways. Gwyndolin, especially. He was largely responsible for expunging my master from the histories, wanting to be king himself. No love for Gwyn, either. What was he thinking, rejecting his own son like that, just because he decided that not all dragons were evil? Gwyn himself came to the same conclusion. Just downright hypocritical, that one." The news hit Raven like a bucket of water. She stopped dead, startled.
"Wait. You mean that you don't serve Gwyn?" Raven said, looking at him, not even coming close to keeping her shock from her face.
"Of course not. We serve his firstborn son, the Nameless King," Solaire replied, looking at her like it was common knowledge. With how many other things Raven had needed clarification on, she realized, it probably was. She burst out laughing at her own stupidity, and got funny looks from all three of them. She barely noticed, and just kept laughing. Finally, Oscar nudged her, and she looked up.
"Raven?" he asked, looking concerned through his helmet, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Raven replied, traces of laughter still in her voice, "Just laughing at my own stupidity. Here we were, Havel and I, keeping a secret from you because we thought your allegiance was to Gwyn. I just feel so..." she trailed off again as she was struck by another bout of laughter.
"What se-" Solaire started, before an estoc erupted from his chest, and he gasped in pain, before his corporeal body faded. With horror, Raven realized that the noise her laughter had made had attracted a hollow knight who had been, until this point, likely guarding the church. She immediately slashed him in half with her Zweihander, as two more knights formed up around her. Oscar immediately broke off to fight one, while Havel engaged the other. That was, until a bolt of blue, magical energy hit him in the side of the helmet, and he looked up.
A six-eyed, robed figure wielding a 3-pronged spear, appearing to double as a catalyst, stood at the entrance to the church, behind a throng of glowing blue hollows
"The channeler is mine!" Havel shouted, rushing forwards. Raven took over his battle, and immediately found her massive sword batted aside easily by the knight's round buckler, and it's massive weight yanked it out of her hand. It clattered uselessly to the ground, leaving her wide open. The knight prepared to thrust, but a sudden burning feeling formed inside Raven, and she channeled it. A massive plume of black flame, in the form of the spell that Arthur had taught her, erupted from her left hand, blowing the knight backwards. A charred husk was all that was left by the time his corpse hit the ground. Oscar, having just dispatched his own enemy, turned to look on her in awe.
"You never told us you were a pyromancer," Oscar said, pointing at the glowing flame flickering in her open left palm.
"I'm not. Or at least... I wasn't," Raven said, extinguishing the flame in her palm before grabbing the Zweihander off the cobbled ground.
"That's impossible," Oscar told her, "Someone has to give you a flame. You can't just... make one."
"This isn't the time to discuss it," Raven scolded, "seeing as we're in the midst of battle." As if on que, Havel let loose a mighty scream as he swung his club towards the channeler. A deft thrust of it's trident to his chest interrupted his swing, although it had no effect against his armor. A myriad of broken blades clattered against his armor, as hollow after hollow, controlled by the channeler, attacked his off-balance form. Most simply bounced off, but one or two found gaps, and Havel gasped, dropping to one knee.
"Havel!" Raven shouted, rushing into the fray and cleaving between 3 and 4 soldiers in two with a single swipe. She summoned flame back to her hand, and an explosion dispatched six more. The channeler's attention was entirely on her, now, and the recovering Havel had apparently been forgotten. That was the last mistake that this creature would ever make. It stumbled forwards as Havel's massive dragon tooth club slammed into it's back. Raven thrust her Zweihander forwards, skewering it, and a second slam from Havel's club pushed it's still thrashing form all the way up onto the false guard. A bit of focus on Raven's part, and the Zweihander's fiery enchantment flared to life, reducing the channeler to ash.
Now it was Havel's turn to be stabbed in the back, as he was flung forwards onto Raven's still-extended Zweihander, skewering him as well, and he dissolved into ash himself. A hulking knight, easily ten feet tall, stood facing her, and raised a massive tower shield as a wall between them.
"For Astora!" Oscar shouted, rushing at the knight from the side. The knight spun incredibly fast, shield bashing him in the face and knocking him flat on his back, before raising it's mace to crush him. Raven spun, slashing upwards and hacking through the haft of the mace, which repelled her blow. The mace crashed down on Oscar, crushing him. However, the blow snapped the weakened mace in two, and Raven now faced an unarmed, albeit well-defended, knight. Raven hastily blasted it with a black flame, causing it to stumble under the sheer force of the combustion. She proceeded to slam the Zweihander into the side of it's calf, and it dropped to one knee. She whirled around, decapitating the hulking knight. She lifted the Zweihander back onto her shoulder just as Solaire rushed up.
"What happened to everyone?" he asked, looking around at the aftermath of the battle.
"Oscar was crushed," Raven began, "and Havel was impaled after being bludgeoned, slashed, and also crushed. You got off easy with a sword through the chest." Solaire looked surprised at the flickering flame that was still burning in her hand.
"No, this isn't the secret that we were keeping," Raven told him, "It just sort of... happened."
"That's curious," Havel said as he arrived, panting, "but I see you dealt with the Berenike Knight quite easily. Say, where's Oscar?"
"Crushed," Raven and Solaire reported in unison. Havel chuckled.
"Are you laughing at me?" Oscar demanded as he arrived just after Havel.
"I'm afraid so," Havel replied, "But it's all well and good. We're all still human. No harm done, right?"
"I suppose," Oscar replied, "but I really do mean to discuss that flame of Raven's, once we can confirm that all of the enemies in this accursed church are dead. Let's keep moving, shall we?" The group collectively nodded, and headed into the church. Immediately, Raven caught sight of something laying on the altar. Picking it up, she realized it was a glowing white flower-shaped crystal, seeming to radiate life and healing energy.
"Well, I'll be..." Havel observed, "That's a fire keeper's soul. Hand it here, will you? I'll hang onto it." Raven handed the soul reverently to Havel, who slid it into his bottomless box. The party wordlessly continued up a set of stairs to the right, and up a few ladders after that. They arrived at a shimmering white light.
"The bell tower is going to be on the other side of this," Oscar announced, "But there's doubtless something big guarding it. My money is on another damned drake. Maybe even a dragon. Anyways, have Raven go through first, and bait out whatever is over there, since she hasn't died since we've known her. I have no idea how she's so lucky, but she's the most likely of us to survive an initial attack. We'll follow her through once the creature reveals itself. Got it?"
Raven nodded hesitantly, as Havel and Solaire nodded eagerly.
"I've never died before," Raven mumbled to herself as she stepped through the fog, "This'll be interesting." But there was nothing there. She came through to an empty roof, and strolled right across. When she was about halfway, she heard stone cracking, and looked around, only to see one of the gargoyles on the bell tower come to life before leaping down at her with flaming breath. Raven ducked underneath a majority of the spout of flames, but the cloth on her back was ignited, and she yelped, feeling the heat on her back. The gargoyle landed on the far side of her, and turned it's attention to her three companions. Raven stood up, taking a swig of estus, and charged the gargoyle from behind, lopping off it's tail as she slashed at it. The bulk of the tail melted away, leaving only the axe at it's tip behind. A lightning spear thrown by Solaire took it in the face, and Oscar quickly followed suit. Raven summoned the black flame once again, and let it loose on the gargoyle's side. Havel was the last one to reach the beast, and crushed it's head under his club.
"That was ea-ahh!" Raven's sentence degenerated into a scream as she suddenly felt herself lifted off of the ground. She looked up to see the gargoyle carrying her high into the sky.
"Raven!" Havel called, as the gargoyle turned west, ascending towards the mountains in the distance. As it crested their peaks, Raven was greeted with a very familiar sight. The city of Anor Londo shone in all it's glory before her. Raven immediately slashed at the gargoyle, cutting it's head off and dropping onto the same landing that the golden eye orb had placed her on, not long ago.
AN: Leave a review to pick which character you want the story to follow as a parallel perspective to Raven! I'm currently leaning towards Havel, but you can feel free to suggest Oscar. I'll even do Solaire, if enough people comment on him. Hope you enjoyed!