On the other side was a room that looked like the inside of a broken down church. Some wooden seats were intact however most were just bits of sawdust on the floor. It was old enough that verdant foliage began growing inside. The stone bricks of the walls were heavily eroded and pieces were chipped off. A red carpet ran down the middle of the room. I looked behind me and found that the golden entrance was nowhere to be seen. I was alone in this eerie, creepy room.
To my dismay, there was a skeleton in the room, sitting up against the wall right of me. I shuddered looking at it. It still had its clothes.
Not wanting to be in that room any longer, I used all of my strength to force the large twin doors that led outside open. What I saw next blew me away.
There was a massive, bright, golden, glowing tree. I'm not sure if "massive" was capable of capturing its enormity. What should I say? Gargantuan? Mountainous? Planet-sized? That tree could occupy a full continent on its own. Wondrous rays of light were being emitted from the bark and leaves of the tree. The leaves themselves, altogether, looked like a great blaze, an inferno.
"Wow," I simply said. There was nothing I could do to translate its majesty, an angelic sight it was. This definitely was not my own world.
The place I was in was not as picturesque as the tree. Empty and dusty crates were left everywhere. There was an askew flagpole bearing an unidentifiable image. Didn't seem like any flag that I knew. I haven't seen any country with that kind of flag.
Left of me, there was a rickety hanging bridge, its ropes and support were decaying. Carefully, I tiptoed across to the other side.
In front of me, there was an archway that led to a bigger courtyard. I could see a large statue of a woman with her hands splayed out as if chained, bound.
The harsh wind brought dust up into my face; I wiped at my eyes making it feel even worse. Gah, how terrible!
Something about the courtyard felt sinister. Spears and halberds were stabbed into the ground next to large stone slabs on the ground, presumably graves. On them read "Chapel of Anticipation". So that was the name of this place.
Tiny rocks flew everywhere like the wrong end of a shotgun and struck me in the face. I felt my right cheek. Blood!
An amorphous blob with way too many humanoid legs had just fallen from the sky. It held two ornamental swords and a shield using its many hands. The arms appeared grafted as if crudely sutured on by a nervous physician. The wrists of the arms were stiff, inarticulate, yet capable of sudden, fast motions. The creature had a human face but that wasn't even the worst part. Its back was large and crab-like; it was covered in thick, furry cloth and for that I was thankful.
The swords were glowing with an aura. How were they doing that? Well, it didn't matter now! The chances of that thing being friendly were the chances of me getting a girlfriend!
Suffice to say, I ran!
I shot under the archway to my right and heard the shambling of that horrid creature pursuing me.
The monster leaped up into the air and thrust its swords dangerously close to me.
Why? Why was this happening to me!
It was getting closer.
There is no escaping it.
I'm going to die.
I might as well just curl up in a ball and wait for swift death. I don't wanna deal with this! I don't want to be here!
My stomach felt cold. I soon realized that it was the feeling of cold metal. The monstrosity gripped me with its hand and dragged me towards a cliff. I struggled helplessly.
"No! No!" I shouted, beating at the hand but it was no use.
I had a clear view of the long drop as I was being held over it. I got one last look at the creature's face. Then I was let go.
I couldn't move. All function in my body has shut down. However, I knew I was face-down in the mud.
The trotting of some sort of four legged animal came closer to me. Was this another hostile monster? Was I going to die for real? I heard it growl and felt its breath on my hand.
"Don't worry, Torrent, fortune is on his side." Oh, great! Help me! Help me, whoever that is! "We found him here, after all." The voice sounded aristocratic yet soft-spoken. A beautiful, feminine voice. Who was that? Help me up, please!
"One of his kind is sure to seek the Elden Ring." The Elden Ring? I've heard that name before. I tried moving; it was futile. On the inside, I was straining to even twitch a single muscle. Is this what it felt like to be dead?
"Even if it does violate the Golden Order, one of his kind will attain it," she said, "Although, there is something idiosyncratic about this particular one, Torrent."
I clenched my hands into a fist. I could move again! A new life was breathed into me as I felt myself burst with vitality. As if being woken from a nightmare, I shot up from the ground and looked to the darkened sky.
I checked my body for wounds. The gaping hole was gone from my stomach. I was back! Oh my goodness, this is… wow. I couldn't help but smile as I saw that I was not dead. I could feel, I could hear, and touch!
"Yes!" I shouted, "Yes!"
My first priority was to get out of here. But I've fallen into some sort of ravine. The only place to go was up stairs and through a scary-looking entrance with statues standing at both sides or down further into the ravine.
I tried the doors and they would not budge at all.
This means… I have to go down.
"Okay, I can do this," I whispered. Carefully, I leaped down the small rock ledges onto the ground below. There was an intricate cave system and it looks like people have been here before.
There were small glowing orbs that spun around a luminous, crystal-shaped light. It drew me to it. I oddly wanted to touch it. It felt as if it were calling to me.
I reached out to it and light erupted outward once I made contact with it. The feeling I got from its radiating light was one of comfort and restfulness as if it was part of me. I sat down next to it to get closer to its warmth.
Now that I wasn't being chased by some monstrous terror, I could finally take a breather.
Where was I? After I looked at the game called Elden Ring, my room was gone. Did I cross a dimensional rift? But that doesn't explain anything! I was in some terrifying fantasy land and the first thing I came across wanted to slaughter me.
And who was that voice? What was that all about? I tried thinking back to what she said. She said that one of my kind is sure to seek something called the Elden Ring. My kind? Does she mean humans? Of course a human would be the only one to find this so-called Elden Ring. Does she think an animal is gonna stumble upon it?!
That woman was also talking to someone. Torrent, I think his name was. But what was that trotting I heard? Sounded extremely similar to a horse. If only I could've looked up when I was "dead".
Wait, that's right! I died? From what I know, there's no second chance. So I must've somehow survived the stab wound and fall. But how was I healed when I got up?
I put my hands to my skull and let out a scream. "Why is this happening to me!" It was so complicated. Like a dream where you go along with everything but don't know what you're doing. I don't want to die again. I could still remember the feeling of harsh steel through my abdomen.
The worst part was that I was alone in this new world, sitting in a damp, unnerving cave. It's not that different from before. Except before, I didn't have to worry about dying.
There was no use in crying here. I had to get out of this accursed cave.
Then I could cry.
Imbued with newfound courage, I took steps deeper into the cave system. My newfound courage was thin, however. I was shaking with each step, my heart beating rapidly. My fingers were cold and I could guess that my face was pale.
It didn't take long before I ran into a problem. There was another person. Well, this person was not entirely normal. Skin was peeling off their neck and the bottom half of their jaw was exposed. His clothes were torn apart at the bottom like ribbons. The part I especially didn't like was that he held a sword.
Not having a weapon myself, I furtively snuck past him and into the other room.
There's more of them!
These lousy zombie-looking people were shambling around the other room. Me not being the sneakiest person in the world, it didn't take long for them to spot me. Once they did, I froze like a deer in headlights as they slowly lumbered over to me.
Oh, they're really slow.
They moved at a snail's pace so I just walked past them. However, the groans and occasional screeches they made unsettled me. I shuddered as I moved away from them.
Every step through this depressing and dreary cave was hard to take. It felt hopeless in a weird sense. It's as if this place made me feel as if there was no chance I would make it out.
This really is a condemned place, forsaken by hope. I really do not belong here. It feels as if I stay here too long, I will be consumed by the cave, never to make it out alive. Left to die. No one would know, no one would care.
The thought itself was enough to make me walk a little faster.
I arrived at a really shallow subterranean lake. The water barely reached up to my ankles. Large stalactites hung from the ceiling giving the impression that the cave had teeth.
"Hold there and die by my blade!" A man in full plate armor emerged from the darkness, charging at me with his sword in hand. My eyes widened and I fell over when I scuttered back.
The man slashed at me. I dodged to the side and grabbed the hilt of his sword before he could swing again.
"Who are you?!" I asked, "Why are you attacking me?! I've done nothing to you!"
We were both struggling to keep control of the blade; it remained motionless between us.
"Foolish Tarnished," he said, "How you ever expect to survive in these lands is beyond me. You're weaker than the others. This will be a swift victory. I am a mighty soldier of Godrick!"
He kicked me away with his metal boot. There's no chance I could fight him. So I did what I always did in a fight, run.
"Fleeing from my sword?!" he shouted at me, "If you cannot clash with me, you have no hope, Tarnished! In this world, your people are consumed."
What was he saying? Tarnished? A fitting name for me, I suppose. But it was odd the way he used "tarnished". Almost as if he were referring to a group of people.
I sped away from him, running faster than I ever have before.
I went further into the cave which I wish I didn't. It was dark and I was deathly afraid.
Eventually, I reached another stone entrance that had a golden, glowing tree next to it. It was a smaller tree than the one I saw before outside, the size of a tree you would see in a garden.
I went to the entrance and pushed the doors open which led me into a dark, wide hall. Another site with floating energy? Again, I touched it and it radiated the same feeling of warmth.
There was a circle in the middle of the room surrounded by pillars. I pressed my fingers against the pillars and a layer of dust coated my hand. That made me look down at the rest of me and realize that I was absolutely filthy.
I stepped into the center and felt a round tile compress into the ground. I felt the ground underneath me shake. It was an elevator.
Am I finally getting out of here?!
The elevator stopped after going up a long distance.
A closed door lay ahead of me. I pulled the door up.
Freedom.
My eyes were bombarded with the sight of the green and yellow of vibrant foliage. I saw a broken church building on the side of a hill in front of me. The sun, no, wait, the tree I saw before, was glowing bright. I was out of that gloomy, dim cave and in the light of the outside.
In front of me, there was another site with a golden crystal-shaped energy. Next to it stood a man wearing a white-faced mask resembling a Roman sculpture. His entire body was shrouded in dirty cloth and he had a pouch on his belt.
He wasn't interested in fighting me. I approached him and he just gave a friendly wave. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Tarnished, you are," he said, "However, different."
"I'm sorry," I said, "I've been called Tarnished and I still have no idea what it means. Are you trying to insult me?"
"No knowledge of your condition?" he asked, "How peculiar."
"My condition?"
"I can sense the absence of grace within you. Yet, you know not of it."
I squinted my eyes. "Yeah," I said, "What exactly is there to know?"
"Surely you've come for the Elden Ring," he said.
"The Elden Ring?"
"Absurd!" he cried, "Your understanding is that of a child!"
"I have no idea what you're saying. All of it is nonsense to me," I told him. Tarnished? Elden Ring? So, somehow, I'm in a different world, presumably the same one as in the game of Elden Ring. It was all so new to me. I just wanted to get away, not get away from my entire world.
"If only you had a maiden to guide you. Unfortunately, you are maidenless."
I guess some things never change.
"You are without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold. Already, you are at a severe disadvantage."
"I'm not looking for whatever this Elden Ring is," I said.
"Then why come to the Lands Between?" he asked, "Nothing awaits you here except death."
I don't know how or why I'm here. I never chose to come.
"I certainly wish you luck then," he said, "I hope you find your purpose here, whatever it may be."
"Do I have a chance here?"
"With someone of such knowledge as yours, I say your journey will be hard and grueling. There is a sliver of hope for you though. Are you familiar with grace, Tarnished? The golden light that gives you life?"
Is that what revived me?
"Well, I came across these places with yellow energy floating in the center."
"Those are Sites of Grace, Tarnished. They hold remnants of grace. It will be your guide, it beckons you to follow. It will lead you to the path you need to follow or to your grave."
That's promising.
I turned around to the Site of Grace and saw a curving light ray that pointed in the direction of the damaged building.
"I see you're staring at the Church of Elleh," the man said.
"Yeah, I see a golden flow leading me in that direction."
"That is grace," he told me, "Follow it; it will be your most certain guide in the absence of a maiden."
"Do you know where this grace wants me to ultimately go?" I asked, "I'm not familiar with this area."
He sighed, "I don't claim to possess knowledge of the intentions of grace. However, I have no doubt that it will lead you to Castle Stormveil on the cliff over there."
The castle looked beaten and old but not any less fortified. It was a large one, must've been larger than any other fortress I've seen back in my world.
"Why would it lead me there?" I asked.
"For it is owned by the decrepit demigod, Godrick the Grafted."
I didn't like the sound of that.
The man said, "Before you go off, I wish to offer you my name. I expect us to cross paths again. I am Varré."
"Thank you, Varré, for not trying to kill me," I said, "You're the first friendly face I've seen since I came here."
"Don't hope to see more," he told me, "Tarnished like you aren't greeted with courtesy around here."
"Yup, just my luck," I said solemnly, nodding my head.
"Welcome to Limgrave."
I walked over to the Church of Elleh, following the light of grace. The sky was black but the Erdtree, which apparently was its name, brightened the heavens as if day had never gone away.
The church was just a ruin. Its walls and roof were gone and all that was left were some cracked cobblestone pillars and the vines that hung down from what remained of the structure.
It even seems someone made their home here. There was a person sitting near a campfire wearing a balaclava and furry garments to keep warm.
"You are a Tarnished," he states. Why must everyone comment on that? I still have no clue what it's supposed to mean.
He says, "I can also see that you're not after my throat."
I nodded. "I have no intention of harming you. Honestly, even if I did, you would decimate me."
"You have a deceptively weak figure," he remarks.
It's not deceptive. It's just weak.
"I am Kalé, provider of exotic wares. If you have any spare change, it might be in your interest to spend it here."
My lip tightened into a line. I had no money.
"I can tell by your face that you are void of runes. Come back another time, Tarnished. And a friendly word of advice, get some armor and weapons. Your clothes are the strangest I've ever seen and I don't see an inch of steel on you."
Right, I was hopeless in this medieval world.
He then said, "I admit, I am intrigued by your avant-garde threads. If you're willing to trade them in, I could provide you with some more useful protection."
My answer was obvious.
He outfitted me with some chainmail armor from head to toe.
"I know it's light but it will serve you better than your previous clothes in combat," he told me. Light? This was heavy as crap!
"Go forth, Tarnished," he said, "I do hope you make it out alive. Every customer is of utmost value to me."
And there I was. Alone again. No one to help me through this world. I might as well have been a child. I was just a babe who had only opened its eyes, seeing a dark and scary world. Defenseless. No one to help. No one to be comforted by. No one will help me.
I dejectedly followed the light of grace, making sure not to encounter any wildlife. I was even wary of the sheep. Thank goodness they took no interest in me.
I just wanted to get away from the daily grind of life. I didn't want to be transported to a whole different world! I'm scared to be here. Every sound makes blood drain from my face. Every shadow makes adrenaline pump through my veins. I'm no warrior. Even a non-warrior would be better suited to this than I am.
I've always been a coward, a wimp. Back home, I was always afraid of the dark forests and my family would tease me about it. I didn't necessarily blame them, I was being a bit of a sissy.
My parents were always kind. They didn't want to hurt me but they knew I needed to get out of my comfort zone. To push myself. But after all they did, I still ended up like I did. Working an unstable job, living in a rundown apartment, no partner, obscure, not a prodigy in anything.
Hopefully this grace was leading me somewhere safe. Maybe back home? At least back home, I wasn't in danger of getting killed by some horrid terror.
At this point, I felt like I was being led around like a dog. Not knowing where I was going but being told to go anyway. It all felt hopeless. I was destined to die over and over and over again. This was my worst nightmare.
My legs were getting tired from walking so far. This is why I almost failed physical education class in high school. I wish I was still in high school. Sure, high school was probably the most awkward years of my life but it wasn't as depressing as where I am now. A new, more terrifying chapter has opened up for me. This chapter, I dread, might lead to my demise.
I saw another ruin that was repurposed to be a camp for knights that wore the same colors as the knight of Godrick back in the caves. No good would come out of me interacting with them. So I did the classic move of going around them and there was a road that led up the mountain to Stormveil.
Yeah, I'm not going.
Instead, I rested at the Site of Grace in front of the gargantuan portcullis that connected two cliffs and simply watched the soldiers of Godrick move around in a routine, each and every soldier having a specific path that they followed to keep watch for the camp. It was getting dark and some of the soldiers went to sleep in torn tents while others stayed awake.
I was also getting drowsy. Staring at the lazy golden hue that grace gave off, I was starting to tire. Before I closed my eyes, I saw a faint blue light next to me.
It was a ghostlike figure that materialized before my eyes. It wasn't a loud or flashy arrival but a modest, discrete emergence.
Why could I never get some peace? Why must people always come at the most inconvenient times?
I could tell that the figure underneath the black hood and robe was a woman by the exposed nether half of her face.
If I don't move… she might not see me.
"Greetings, traveler from beyond the Fog. " That voice! I heard that same voice when I was dead! That mellifluous and silvery voice. "I am Melina."
She knelt down next to me and moved her hands to pull her hood down. Her hands looked scarred as if burned. Melina revealed what was underneath her cowl. Her hair had a color I've never really seen before, a silvery-purple color. Her left eye was closed and had a mark over it that looked like talons. Her right eye was wide open and had a soft gold color. She stared right at me and I stared at her.
"I offer you an accord," she said.
"Sorry, I'm not in the mood to talk with anyone," I said, "I don't know if you know but I've been having a really hard time here."
She nodded and said, "What troubleth thee?"
"Oh, boy!" I say, "I don't know where to even start!"
Melina was silent.
"Sorry," I said, "I sort of just cut you off. That was rude of me. What were you going to say?"
"Have you ever heard of the Finger Maidens?" she asked. Finger Maidens? Well, that guy did tell me I was maidenless. I don't know if it was an insult or not but the fact is that that might've been what he was referring to.
"Tell me about them," I said.
"They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to Tarnished."
"The Two Fingers?"
She blinked rapidly as if shocked at my question. "Dost thou not possess knowledge of the Two Fingers?"
I shrugged. "No, I do not. It's a bit overwhelming to be transported to an entirely different world than your own and trying to figure out how to survive! Forgive me for not opening a history book!"
"I can sense thou art distressed," she said, "Art thou in the right state of mind?"
I sighed. "Perhaps not," I said, "Sorry for getting annoyed but I'm really just trying to rest."
"Forgive me for intruding," she said apologetically.
Great, now I feel bad!
"No, forgive me. I shouldn't treat a stranger like that even if I'm tired. Especially a stranger who hasn't tried to kill me."
"I have observed you to be different, Tarnished. Ever since I saw you, you were different. Not of this world. Is my perception correct?"
"You're right," I said, "I have no idea where I am right now but I'm from a planet called Earth. Heard of it?"
"That name escapes my knowledge."
"So I guess this is a different world," I said dejectedly, "I might as well just lay here to die."
"That would not be in your interest," Melina said with a concerned look on her face.
"No, I'm sorry, Melina, but you don't understand how ill-fit I am in this world. I died in my first few minutes here. There's no way I can remain."
"You will always come back after death, Tarnished," she said, "It is futile to wish for it." Of course it was.
"Then what shall I do?" I asked, "Is there a place for me here?"
"Tarnished, you were beckoned here, to the Lands Between, by the Greater Will to reunite the shards of the Elden Ring."
"Who is this Greater Will and what is this Elden Ring?" Elden Ring was the name of the game so I presume it's important.
"The Greater Will is the outer god of this world," Melina explained, "The Elden Ring is the most powerful entity in the Lands Between; it upholds the very concepts and logic of this kingdom and it is what created the Erdtree." I look over to the massive tree and its majestic presence. The ring gave rise to that?
"Okay, so what happened to this ring?"
"It was shattered by Queen Marika, the ruler of this land. Her children gathered up the shards in hope for its power. But no demigod ever got close to collecting them all."
"So the Greater Will wants me to get all the shards forcefully from demigods?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes," Melina said bluntly.
"Okay, but why do I have to do it? Can't I just wait for someone else to get this all over with?"
"I believe the Elden Ring to hold enough power for you to go back to your own realm."
My heart stopped. If that was true, I would really have no excuse not to go on some dangerous quest.
Melina continued, "And that is why I came to you. You have no maiden to guide you in the Lands Between. You knew not wherefore you were here. My accord is that I may act as your maiden, turning runes into strength and aiding you in your search for the Elden Ring. My only request is that you take me to the foot of the Erdtree."
I pondered her words. If I wanted to go home, I had to acquire this Elden Ring. So I was going to go on this suicide quest no matter what. To have someone next to me the entire time was only a blessing.
Melina looked at me, waiting for an answer.
"I just have to take you to the tree?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Then I guess you're stuck with me."
"It's settled then, Tarnished." She reached into her cloak and pulled out a ring. "I bequeath to you this ring. Use it to summon a spectral steed; his name is Torrent."
She placed it in my palm allowing me another good look at her hands. The marks almost looked like a great blaze.
"He has chosen you," she said.
"Why would he choose someone like me? He could've chosen a more worthy person."
"I do not know Torrent's intentions. I only know I trust his judgment."
"He better have some real good reason," I said, "Because I don't understand what he sees in me."
"Time will reveal all secrets," Melina said, "I'll leave you to rest now, Tarnished."
"You can call me Nathaniel. It is my name afterall."
"I see," she said, "Nathaniel, have a restful night."
And then she was gone.
