AN: Not much to say about this one. I didn't really get many PoV requests very quickly, and to stay on schedule, I have to move on. I'm writing for Oscar and Raven, now. With that out of the way, let's get started. Also, keep an eye out for Onion Bro!
Chapter Five: The Bonds We Share
Raven felt cold as she walked through the city of Anor Londo. It was still populated sparsely by giants, but they seemed like statues more than anything else. She had even prodded one in the leg with her Zweihander's pommel, and still got no reaction out of it. As she wandered, she heard the tolling of a bell, likely the first bell of awakening. She came to a ledge near the lift, and had a brilliant idea. She stepped off the ledge, closing her eyes and feeling the air whistle by her face, the ground rapidly approaching. She wasn't prepared for the pain she felt upon hitting the bottom, and screamed in pain. She realized she wasn't on the bottom of the ledge, but rather sitting in front of a bonfire. Oh, thank goodness. It had worked. Wait. The room was wrong. Instead of a dual-gated room with a statue and a cobble floor, she found herself in a bronze room, light by torches with a slick tile floor. There was a single, giant-sized doorway leading in a staircase upwards, and a woman in brass armor leaning against the wall.
"Well, this is unexpected. We do get arrivals on occasion, but there are always two bells rung first. I only heard one set of ringing. How did you manage to convince the giants to open Sen's Fortress?" The woman spoke in a droll monotone.
"Who what, now? No, the gargoyle from the Parish dropped me up here," Raven replied, "And for some reason I got diverted to this bonfire instead of the one in the Parish!" Raven's voice and pitch raised to a yell, expressing her frustration, and she slammed her Zweihander into the wall. It clanged loudly, knocking Raven off-balance and causing her to drop the Zweihander. She snatched it up again as the woman chuckled.
"The city is sealed. You can't leave except by the power of the Lordvessel," she said to Raven, who growled, raising her sword.
"No need to get so riled up! It's in the palace, guarded by dragon slayer Ornstein and executioner Smough. I'd imagine that you'd be eager to kill at least the latter, based on that thing," she droned, gesturing to Raven's Zweihander. Come to think about it, it would be rather satisfying to avenge her predecessor. A dragon slayer could be a useful ally, though. Setting her face, she climbed up the stairs and headed into the bulk of Anor Londo.
Oscar looked, frantically, after Raven. As much as he had tried to shut down her affection for him in the burg, he couldn't deny that he did have feelings for her. He watched, distantly, as the gargoyle suddenly burst into flames before disintegrating, and watched the speck that was Raven drop out of his view, falling on the other side of the mountain.
"She might manage to get back to the bonfire," Oscar said, "So, however strange this sounds, let's hope she didn't survive that. I'll ring the bell. Solaire, Havel, can you get to the bonfire to greet her?" The pair turned to head back to the bonfire, and Oscar hurried up the tower. Two excruciatingly long ladder climbs later, Oscar heaved a lever, and the bell swung back and forth, tolling loudly. Oscar hurried down the ladder to greet Raven, but instead was met in the main church by Solaire and Havel.
"What happened?" Oscar asked, and both of them shook their heads sadly.
"We saw a distortion, like what happens right before someone appears. We saw her, for a brief moment, but then she somehow seemed to get yanked away from us, pulled towards a different bonfire somewhere. I'm sorry," Solaire told him. Oscar growled in frustration.
"Wait... you have feelings for her, don't you?" Solaire said, seeing how desperate he was getting. Oscar nodded slightly, embarrassed.
"Nothing to be ashamed of," Havel told him, "everyone feels it at some point. For me, it was this one girl from Catarina..."
"That's enough talk of that," Solaire interjected, seemingly flustered, "So, what are we going to do to get her back?"
"She was flown off to the west, over the mountains. There's a few large buildings between here and there. The one should be tall enough to get a view over the mountains, and maybe there's a way to follow her over them. Let's not waste a second more," Oscar announced, rushing off across a bridge towards the first building in the complex. Havel broke off from the group, holding up the firekeeper soul and explaining that he was going to cash it in at firelink shrine before he caught up.
Raven swore extensively as she materialized at Anor Londo's bonfire for the ninth time, the failed suicide attempt notwithstanding. Her thick cloth armor was in tatters, having been slashed by gargoyles and painting guardians, impaled by lightning spear-wielding bat-wing demons, and, most recently, and frustratingly, skewered by massive arrows. Fortunately, she could request a set of new, and better, armor when she reached the giant blacksmith. She had a general idea of where she was going, and set off hustling across the bridge yet again. She had almost become methodical in how she approached the massive city of giants, and decapitated the bat-wing demons almost on autopilot, before rushing down the long strut, slashing two more bat-wing demons in half, and rushing towards the archers. She had tried killing them with her Zweihander, but had lost her balance on the narrow ledge they perched on, slipping and falling off. It was time to try something different. She summoned her pyromancy flame in her left hand, and blasted one archer, on more stable footing than the other, in the face. The conflagration flung it backwards, and sent it sailing off the cliff. Just below it was a corpse, glowing with light. Raven crouched by it, avoiding an arrow from the other archer sheerly by luck, before retrieving a soul, which, judging by the size belonged to a great hero. Raven turned, running along the narrow ledge and blowing the other archer clear. She carefully edged around a tower, before slipping and falling off the ledge.
Oh, come on! Raven thought during her brief moment of falling, before she realized that she had hit the ground, nearly unharmed. She was on a balcony with a single doorway leading into the palace, where the Lordvessel was waiting for her. Shimmering white mist covered it, and she stepped through, finding herself in long hallway with a few doors. She tried the one on the left first, and found that she was in room with a crackling bonfire. She crushed a humanity sprite before she sat down, feeling her exhaustion wash off of her as well as restoring her human body, before standing up and trying the opposite door. It led into a dark, gloomy room with very little furniture, and an empty mantle, seeming pretty suspicious as it didn't even have an indentation for a fireplace. She tapped the brick experimentally, and the walled off section tipped away, revealing a secret crawl hatch into an even darker room, with some chests lining the walls. Holding up her pyromancy flame for light, she walked towards the chest. She opened one, and found a dragon tooth, similar to the one Havel wielded. Opening a second chest, she found pieces of Havel's armor. She started getting hopeful as she dug through, and, sure enough, she found a small, stone-faced ring. She pulled off the Old Witch's Ring, a talisman that she had found upon being thrown into her cell in the asylum, and placed Havel's ring on her finger. Immediately, she felt lighter, as if she could jump and touch the ceiling. She realized that, with such light armor, the ring didn't much matter. When she met the giant blacksmith, it would. There was a third chest in the room, though, and her curiosity got the better of her. She flung the chest open, and immediately saw a tongue. The chest mimic jumped at her, latching onto her head and chest.
"Who might this be?" Oscar asked, examining the knight in front of them. His armor resembled an onion, and his snoring was quite loud.
"I have no idea, but I can only hope that he wishes to add to our jolly co-operation," Solaire replied, seeming quite jolly indeed. The attitude was a slap in Oscar's face, and he took a deep breath, trying very hard in that moment not to explode at his sunny-tempered friend.
"Not so jolly anymore, without the woman who brought us all together," Oscar replied, unable to keep all of his annoyance out of his voice. Solaire looked surprised, from what Oscar could see of him through his nearly full face mask.
"I thought that was your doing," Solaire commented, surprised.
"It would make sense, wouldn't it? No. I wouldn't have made it out of the undead asylum without her. I had been defeated by the first damned obstacle I faced, and I could feel my life slipping away, my sanity along with it. I thought I'd just take a swig of estus, stand up, and keep going, but in my weakness the flask slipped from my hand, and I couldn't muster the strength to retrieve it. Then a section of wall shattered, and Raven walked in. I had given her the key to her cell earlier on, but I wasn't expecting her to be more of a distraction to either demon. To be honest, in that moment I thought she was hollow. She had the look and all. But she forced the flask back to my lips, and restored both my physical strength and my strength of spirit. We left the asylum together. I felt things towards her, in those moments, that I had never felt before. I didn't realize it was a little thing called love until I realized her attitude towards me in the burg." Tears at Raven's memory filled his eyes as he told his grand story, and he choked. Solaire patted him on the back.
"We'll get her back, friend," Solaire encouraged him, "I'm sure of it." Just then, both of them fell silent, as they realized that the onion knight's snoring had ceased.
"Oh-ho!" the knight announced, "Forgive me. I must have fallen asleep. I am Siegmeyer of Catarina, and to be honest, I have run flat up against a wall. Or a gate, to be precise. The damned thing just won't budge, no matter how long I wait! And oh, have I waited. So here I sit, weighing my options, so to speak." Siegmeyer hung his head against his chest again, raising his hand to his chin in thought. Oscar, for his part, felt a cold hand grip his heart, panic rising within him. He looked up, and sure enough, the way forwards was barred by three massive iron gates.
"No!" he shouted in frustration, rushing forwards. He slammed his shield against the gate, which, true to Siegmeyer's word, didn't budge an inch. Oscar screamed in frustration and despair.
"Still closed... still closed... mmm," Siegmeyer commented as he saw Oscar's fruitless effort. Oscar, in his fury, rushed forwards, his patience having hit it's limit. Solaire frantically restrained him.
"What are you doing?" Oscar demanded of Solaire, slamming backwards and knocking the knight off-balance.
"What am I doing? I should ask what you are doing. I get that you care, friend, but this is no way to act," Solaire told him with in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Oscar's rage turned towards Solaire, and he raised his sword.
"You don't tell me what to do," he exclaimed, rushing at Solaire in anger. Solaire unslung his massive round shield from his back, and casually parried Oscar's blow before hopping away.
"What the hell is going on here?" a voice demanded, and the two looked up to see Havel, standing over them in quite an intimidating manner. Both Solaire and Oscar looked up.
"Think he's getting desperate in regards to the gate," Solaire commented, looking at Oscar.
"Well, that's easily solved." Havel walked up to the gate, and slammed his dragon tooth into it, making a large dent in a few of the bars. A second swipe deepened the dent further, and a third punched a hole through, large enough for a small person to climb through, but Oscar, with his armor on, didn't fit. He then realized that none of them would fit even without armor, as he was the lightest and smallest of his party.
"Go," Solaire told him, "We'll follow as soon as we figure out a way to get this gate open for real." Oscar quickly stripped off his armor plating, leaving only the gambeson beneath on, before wriggling through the hole. He grinned at the three behind him before running forwards. There were some strange lizard-people that raised swords to attack him, but he rushed past, using his newfound lightness without his armor to leave them behind. He headed up some stairs, and quickly came to a narrow bridge with axes swinging across it. Another man-serpent was hidden on the other side. He looked around the room for a better way up, and saw several places where the walls of the room had been chipped and cracked enough to provide handholds for climbing. He saw a landing after four bridges across the abyss, each higher than the last, which looked both reachable and safe. He slung his shield on his back, sheathed his sword, and started climbing.
The climb was tedious, and longer than he would have liked, but preferable to being slaughtered by the multitude of enemies and traps that were presented in going up the intended way. Oscar arrived at the top, and immediately saw stairs leading upwards towards a wall of shimmering, white fog. He stepped through it, and found himself on the roof of the massive fortress. Immediately, he heard a giant grunt, and a massive boulder sailed towards him. He sprinted out of the impact radius, noting that it exploded behind him. He made his way across a series of narrow bridges, bashing a balder crossbowman off the ledge and coming to a room with a massive, imposing fog gate. A man clad in full black iron armor came into the room from a staircase leading up.
"Whew," the man said, "That firebomber was a piece of work. Say, you're not hollow! Would you mind helping me with the guardian of this fortress, just yonder? Name's Tarkus, by the way, just in case you were wondering."
"Of course," Oscar said, "But I have a favor to ask in return. I have a group of friends who didn't manage to follow me in here. If you could manage to get the gate open and assist them through the fortress?" Oscar asked.
"What did you do to get in while the gate was closed? Squeeze through the gaps?" Tarkus asked.
"Something along those lines," Oscar responded, "But more of that later. Let's kill us a guardian." They stepped through the fog door together.
The guardian, as it turned out, was a massive giant clad in iron armor, wielding a massive greataxe with an empty left hand. The giant swung it's axe, and a blade of wind slammed into Oscar, knocking him backwards. Tarkus rushed forwards, slashing his greatsword at the armored titan's heels. It bounced off, but caused the giant to stumble slightly. Oscar got up, and tried the same thing, forcing at a heel with his shield. The giant stumbled further. They looked at each other, and nodded. Oscar took one heel, and Tarkus the other. Both shoved as hard as possible, and the giant toppled, falling off of the roof to it's demise far below.
"Well," Tarkus said, "That was easy. What are you going to do now?"
"It's onwards over the mountains for me," Oscar commented, "A friend of mine was carried over yonder by a gargoyle. I'm trying to make sure she's safe."
"I understand, friend. There's no greater motivator than love. I'll make sure your friends get up here safely. Good luck!" Tarkus sprinted away back down the fortress, while Oscar looked around. A tunnel that should have led under the mountains had a collapsed entrance, and was no help. However, there was a glowing golden orb floating in the air that he could have sworn wasn't there before. He reached out and tapped it, and immediately was snatched up by two bat-wing demons, and hefted into the air. As this happened, he caught his first glimpse of what was beyond the mountains. A glorious mass of golden bridges, buildings, and spires which could only belong to the great city of Anor Londo greeted him. He laughed in delight as the demons deposited him on a balcony overlooking the majority of the city.
Raven gasped in pain as the mimic spat her onto the floor. She hastily took a swig of estus before climbing to her feet, and she summoned her pyromancy flame, not caring to retrieve her Zweihander from where it had fallen just yet. She unleashed a massive stream of black flames at the chest-headed beast, and it stumbled backwards, before being blown over by the torrent. She laid her hand on it's chest, and continued to pour black flames through it. It didn't take long before the creature exploded, it's meaty chunks disintegrating into ash. From it's chest-like head, it left behind a large club which seemed to radiate evil. Raven left it where it was, having no desire to interact with such a thing. She climbed back up through the hidden fireplace hole, and continued on her way, the feeling of monotony wearing her down. It was as simple as climbing a staircase, killing a few silver knights, and descending another staircase. She crossed a bridge, and found herself in a large, open room with a silver knight archer and two giants. It felt ominous, but she decided to deal with it. The giants wouldn't be a problem, as they seemed more like statues than anything else. The silver knight was standing mid-way up a staircase on the far side of the room, too far away from herself for her black flames to be viable. If only she had Havel and his bow with her. If only she had anyone at all, it would be a huge help. Especially Oscar. She missed Oscar, despite his denial of any feelings towards her, and she couldn't turn off her attraction at will. She pushed the thought out of her mind, and began attempting to formulate a plan. As she did so, she heard a clamor outside, almost like someone banging on the door.
"Someone! Anyone! Open the door!" Wait. That was Oscar's voice. This was too good to be true. Raven rushed for the massive doors, and found a lever which seemed to control them. She pushed on it, hard, and the doors swung open. Sure enough, there was Oscar, standing alone, and completely unarmored, with a greatbow in his hands. He saw the silver knight, and immediately dropped it with an arrow to the head.
"Havel's?" Raven asked, and Oscar shook his head.
"Found it outside. Glad I didn't miss. That was my only arrow. Oh, Raven. Thank the gods. Your clothes look like they've seen better days, though." Oscar tossed the greatbow aside as Raven looked down at her clothing, and realized just how shredded it was. Massive tears meant that it revealed more skin than it covered. Raven flushed, embarrassed.
"Where's everyone else?" Raven asked, trying to deflect the conversation.
"Had to squeeze through a narrow opening. I was the only one that fit. Havel and Solaire are trying to widen it before they get through. Raven, I... I need to tell you something. Something I realized, after you got carried off..." Oscar trailed off. Then, before Raven realized what was happening, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her on the lips. She felt desire flood through her, and she kissed him back, and before long their clothes were in a pile on the ground.
"Let's not tell the others about this," Oscar commented, pulling his gambeson back on, "Speaking of which. There are two new additions to the party, last I checked. One Siegmeyer of Catarina, as well as a black iron knight named Tarkus." Raven didn't bother putting on anything of her tattered clothes besides her loincloth. She'd go talk to the giant blacksmith shortly. He was just a room away, if she remembered right.
"Shall we head back to meet them?" Oscar asked cheerily. Raven shook her head.
"Hm? You've got something to do here yet?" Oscar asked.
"That, and... we can't leave. Not without something called a Lordvessel, guarded by one of Gwyn's knights and... Executioner Smough, who killed my predecessor. He's mine. You can take the knight," Raven explained, heading towards the giant blacksmith. She heard a hammer pinging down below, and she raced down the stairs. The giant was hunched over a tiny anvil like usual, but looked up, checking her over.
"Raven?" he asked in his soft, strained voice, "Armor, I have. Here, take." The blacksmith turned, handing her a set of armor like the ones the statue-ized giants outside wore, but fit specifically to her. It was already made, and she put it on quickly. Gods, but it was heavy. If not for Havel's ring, she felt like she would be crushed under it's weight. She tried rolling experimentally, though, and found that she could still do it. There was no helmet, but the rest of the set was already a massive amount of protection. Oscar looked her over, nodding in appreciation.
"I believe that we have a fight ahead of us," Oscar said, heading back up the stairs. Raven followed. They returned to the large hall, still occupied with two mindless, unknowing giants, and moved forwards, towards a wall of white fog.
"This is it," Raven said, and they stepped through the fog together. Raven noted Smough, standing ready. He was standing so still that she wondered if he was a statue, as well, until she saw him shift his grip on his massive hammer. Dragonslayer Ornstein, the knight of Gwyn which they also had to face, jumped down from a balcony above, and raised his spear, charging forwards. Oscar deflected Ornstein's attention while Raven rushed Smough, who swung his hammer. Raven rolled inside his reach, before coming up and slashing, hacking halfway through one of Smough's legs. He dropped to one knee, and Raven jumped, stabbing through the middle of his chest and pulling Smough the rest of the way to the ground.
"Here's a reminder that the legend never dies!" Raven said, before ramming the Zweihander through Smough's armored face. It punched through his brass armor with ease, slamming through his head and digging into the ground. Smough dissolved into smoke and flame as the Zweihander's enchantment did it's work. Ornstein looked up, startled, taking his first good look at Raven.
"The legend never... what? Raven?" Ornstein lowered his spear, and Oscar hesitated, not attacking him.
"I was here for literally fifteen minutes, and everyone knows my name," Raven chuckled, setting the Zweihander back on her shoulder.
"Arthur was quite outspoken about his most curious legacy," Ornstein said, "Welcome back! I suppose you'll be wanting the Lordvessel, then? Oh, don't worry about Smough. You had a very valid reason for that, and I never much liked him anyways. I'll show you to Lady Gwynevere and the Lordvessel. Then... I think I'll come with you two. I've gotten rather bored of this cathedral, however grandiose it may be.
Raven and Oscar followed Ornstein up a lift, and he threw wide the massive doors, revealing Lady Gwynevere, lounging on a large, pillow-ridden couch, the rays of the sun shining bright behind her.
"Two? Never in my waitings had I ever expected such. Thou hast done well to reach me. I see that you hast spared one of my guards. No matter. Come hither, children." Ornstein remained behind and observed as Oscar and Raven moved towards Gwynevere, kneeling before her.
"I bequeath thee with the Lordvessel, and beseech thee: succeed Lord Gwyn, and link the first flame, so that this age of fire may be preserved. Go with my blessing, children." The Lordvessel, which turned out to be a massive bowl, appeared in a shimmering light in front of them. Raven picked it up, and it dissolved once again, being absorbed into her. She put a hand to her breast, feeling at the darksign which it had been absorbed into. There was a slight difference in feeling, a sort of ecstasy.
"So, the long trek back?" she asked Ornstein, who shook his head, gesturing to the bonfire just outside of Gwynevere's chamber.
"The Lordvessel is actually used for journeys. Specifically, it gives the power to move from one bonfire to any other in Lordran. Raven, since you have the Lordvessel's power, you're going to be the one directing the journey. Just reach out and touch the coiled sword, and the two of us will be drawn with you wherever you choose to go," Ornstein explained. Raven put her hand on the hilt of the coiled sword sticking up from the bonfire, and immediately felt a network of lit bonfires to choose from. She could feel one in firelink shrine, one in the undead parish, one in the burg, an additional one between the two, and the one at the other end of Anor Londo as well as this one. No others had been lit.
"Where were Solaire and Havel when you got separated?" Raven asked Oscar.
"The undead parish, right next to Sen's Fortress. The gate was what got us separated. I managed to squeeze through. They couldn't. So, head to that bonfire." Raven chose a fire, and immediately felt as if she were bathed in not just the restful warmth of a bonfire, but the heat of a more malicious flame. As soon as it began, it ended, however, and the three found themselves sitting at a bonfire in a completely new location. Raven stood up, looking around. Sure enough across a bridge, there was a crowd of people waiting at a gate, presumably for Oscar's return. Oscar and Raven jogged across the bridge, Ornstein in tow, and startled the party from behind.
"Oh-ho!" A man who could only be the Siegmeyer Oscar had mentioned, exclaimed. Solaire and Havel turned, and looked at the two in confusion.
"You went that way... but you came out over there, with Raven, and..." Solaire was utterly lost, trying to figure out how the three of them had come from the opposite direction.
"Lordvessel," Raven replied cryptically with a wink.
AN: All right! Now that I've gotten Anor Londo out of the way and managed to introduce the Lordvessel and Ornstein, we can finally start the bulk of the story. New, never-before seen areas including places that are actually OUTSIDE of Lordran are soon to come. Stay tuned for updates every Monday! (Hopefully). As always, leave a review of what you liked, didn't like, and any predictions or questions you might have about the story. Also, remember to refer back to this point for the eventual alternate ending, because this chapter is going to be the branch point for that.