A Journey Begins In Flames
Chapter 2
Stepping through the muddy water, I looked around at my surroundings and noticed that other graves like my own were present, some displayed themselves
to be open. Like there were others before me that awoke to go out into the world to
discover a way out; maybe I'm not alone in this place. I kept a steady pace, making sure
to keep moving and not stop, I rounded the corner and my feet stopped in place. I see
someone ahead of me, just standing there lifeless, oblivious to the world around them. Cautiously, I took out my weapon minding the small distance that separated this figure and me from each other. Sweat began to run down my forehead, I was nervous, not knowing how and when to make a move, it started to make me anxious. I was not ready to lie back down into my grave, I need to think of something.
I finally gave in and started to move slowly towards this person, the closer I approached, the more detail came into perspective. It held a broken, yet still sharp straight sword grasped in his right hand. I griped mine more firmly in my hand, readying myself for a fight if it came to that. The figure slowly raised his head, I could almost see under his hood. A small gust of wind passed over us, and with that it uncovered the hood concealing his face; his skin was ghostly pale, wrinkled, and chunks of flesh missing from his face. He didn't even have eyes, just sockets where his eyes should've been. It glared at me with ferocity, and his mouth slowly cracked open, revealing barely any teeth and the ones it did have were darkly colored and rotten.
I could feel my heart began to pound and beat very quickly, I can't panic, I mustn't run away, "What in gods name are you?" I said aloud, then as if in response, the beast let out a blood-curling scream and began to run at me, weapon raised ready to kill me. I snapped back into focus, throwing up my shield to block his assault, as the attack connected, I noticed he appeared stronger then he looked, it wasn't just one but multiple. Each one sending a small shockwave through my arms and up into my body, I can't keep blocking or I'll exhaust all my stamina and be too weak to strike back. The beast was aggressive, but it appeared even he was starting to lose his speed, I saw an opening and pushed him back with my shield creating some distance between us. Nearly falling down, I took the chance and ran towards him to strike, I swung at his chest and it connected with his skin, sending black blood spraying out of him, coating the mud soaked ground with his fluids.
He screeched in pain, but wasn't fazed by it, as like it only made him angrier, seeing this I went for another swing this time at his head knowing it would kill him. I swung, but the beast was quicker this time and avoided it, leaving me exposed. He two handed his weapon aiming for my neck, in response I raised up my right arm to take the full hit. The weapon easily pierced my armor then into my skin, and I felt the rusted blade hit my upper arm, pain soon filled me and I let out a scream. Blood began to spill out from my arm, and rage then came over me, turning my shield the opposite way towards the tip, I slammed it against the monsters face sending him and myself falling to the ground, with me landing on top.
The beast looked up at me screaming, flailing his arms wildly attempting to get myself off of him, but I won't allow it. I head-butted his face, then I lifted my shield and begin bashing in his face, yelling and screaming at the same time, "Die, just die already you monster!" I continued until I saw that this creature was dead. Breathing heavily, as well as feeling tired, I sat atop of the beast's corpse, my bloodied shield lying on the ground. All that remained was a black pool of blood where his head should've been, I noticed I still had his sword lodged in my arm. It took me a couple of tries, but I pulled out the rusted blade, wheezing from the pain and threw it down beside the dead body. Blood began dripping from my wound and I needed something to cover it up with, glancing down at the corpse, the robe it wore looked shabby but it was better then not having anything, so I tore a small enough piece of cloth off of the monsters clothes and wrapped it around my arm. I gathered my equipment, and started moving forward once more.
Ahead of me was another one of those things sitting on the ground, clasping his hands over its head. Beside it looked to be a dead knight, resting by a ruined object of some sort. My entire arm hurt with pain from my last encounter, but I had to push it aside no one was going to help me; I am on my own. Sensing he didn't seem to be aware of my presence, I saw an opportunity to strike. One hit is all I needed; I will go for its head and end him quickly. Readying myself, I charged at him weapon raised, with just enough force I severed its head from the rest of his body. I watched as the monster went limp and slumped further to the ground, its head rolling off into a pool of murky water. Glancing down at the dead knight, inspecting him further I noticed above his tattered mantle, there was an insignia still visible. One I happened to recognize as the crest of the Knights of Astora. Memories suddenly came flooding back, but they were jumbled up, impossible to sift through and make sense of. I cut the emblem off of the knight's body and shoved it into my belt pouch.
Then, before leaving I noticed the knight's left hand was grasping something; I knelt down to take a closer look. Moving his fingers away revealed a green flask filled about halfway with a strange golden liquid. Was it something he drank when he was still alive? Flipping my visor on my helmet, I went in for a sip, the liquid was warm upon my lips and I chugged down a small amount. My body suddenly began to feel warm, and I no longer felt pain coming from my arm. I undid my wrapping and discovered it had completely healed, what was this substance? I ignored my own question and attached the flask to my belt, I felt strength and courage flow through me. "I thank you noble knight, whatever misfortune led you here, know that I will carry your legacy with me through my journey, rest easy now."
Looking in front of me was another creature, and to my right was another one with its back facing towards me. I need to be smart, I don't have to kill them all, maybe a stealthy approach was the right idea. I noticed a pathway off to the left and moved swiftly towards it, climbing up the steps, I rounded the corner and saw another one of the hideous men blocking the path. I have to fight, not only to move forward but to survive as well, with my sword drawn and my shield up I charged. As well as the monster, my shield connected with his frail body, sending him falling to the ground. Standing above him I plunged my sword into his chest, he let out a quiet moan before going still.
A few meters ahead were another beast, this one had a crossbow and it was knocked with an arrow, wasting no time I ran towards him. He aimed the arrow at me and shot, I threw up my shield just in time to have the arrow deflect off, as he was reloading I swung my sword at his neck slicing it. Black blood sprayed outwards coating my armor in its foul stench, I swung once more and took his head off and watched as it collapsed to the ground. I took a few deep breaths and stopped to rest for a moment, the path forward was clear and I could see a passageway that connected further outside. I walked forward to it, smelling the fresh air that sprouted in the distance; I removed my helmet to get a better look ahead. I approached a curve and saw that the ground had vanished beneath my feet and only a long fall downwards was what remained.
Looking upwards, I felt myself finally after what seemed like hours of torture and agony, finally seeing the one thing I thought I would never see again, the sun. Peeking out form the dense collection of clouds that lined the sky, I could feel its rays shine upon my face and body. In the distance were wide ranges of mountains with snow covering the peaks of all of them; they expanded for miles, further than I could've seen. To my right I saw the side of a massive castle that seemed to dwarf the mountains entirely. What is that place? How do I get there? Looking to my left, there was a connecting pathway that moved further up the cliff, I carefully shimmied my way up there, minding my possible death if I were to fall off the side. When I got to the top I was met with what seemed to be a bonfire that remained unlit, and further ahead was a tall structure in the distance, a medium sized building was at the center mass of it all and having two towers, one on the left and one on the right. I should head there next it seems like the best option there is right now.
I glanced back over at the bonfire and wondered why it was put there, it had an atmosphere around it that called to me. It wants me to touch it, so I walked over, and hovered my hand over the coiled sword that was plunged into the center of it. Fire then burst from the center sending hundreds of embers flying into the air, then a small flame resided in the middle. It was warm, and I felt tired all of a sudden, I sat down beside it and felt all of my worries disappear for a moment, and I just marveled at the flame. It reminded me of the one I saw in my dream before I woke up, I inspected my flask and noticed it was full again with the golden liquid that was barely there before. Maybe whenever I rest at a bonfire I feel rejuvenated and my flask refills so I can keep using it. I can't rest too long, I stood back up and gathered my equipment and began walking again, my next destination that mysterious structure.
Carefully, I maneuvered my way down; ahead I noticed three of those beasts stood ahead of me one on my left and two on my right. I readied myself for another fight, and rushed them quickly, running up to the nearest one and slicing at its chest, the second one attacked and I swiftly blocked it and kicked him back, the third distanced himself and was lining up a shot with his crossbow. The second one recovered from my kick and was preparing to strike, as the third released his arrow I rolled out of the way and the arrow struck the second in the head killing him instantly. The third was backing himself to reload not realizing that the edge of the cliff stood behind him, I saw this and ran towards him, hitting him square in the chest with my shield and sent him falling to his impending death at the bottom of the cliff. Inspecting the area, I noticed one of them dropped an item of some sort so I picked it up and examined it, it was a bomb of some sort it had a fuse and came with an ignition device, maybe it'll come in handy later so I stuck it into my belt pouch.
Before me now was an open pathway, two torches lit on each side and it lead into huge area that was covered in stone, with some water partially filled in some spots. In the center of all of it was a man kneeling downwards, next to him looked to be his weapon a big halberd by the looks of it. To my left, was a ginormous tree with a massive grave exposed from the trees roots, it was strange to me because it looked almost identical to mine, except I don't want to find out who emerged from that. Bloodstains cluttered the ground beside the man, I could feel my body began to get stiff, my nerves are starting to tighten more and more the closer I get. As I approached ever so closer, his left hand being motionless began to twitch, slowly moving his finger to point at his chest where a large sword was stuck in him. I also discovered that he had these strange black tendrils all across his back and they appeared to be moving, and it reeked with the smell of stale oil and blood. Who was this person and what happened to him?
Behind him was a tall door, I jogged over to it and attempted to push it open but wouldn't budge one bit, and then I noticed a slot in the middle of the door where a sword would fit. I glanced back over to the still statue of the man and a bad thought ran through my head, I've got no other options I have to pull that sword out to get past here. I put away my sword and shield, and grasped the sword in both of my hands and pulled as hard as I could. Blood began to spill from his wound as I removed it from his chest, but right as I pulled it out it disappeared into thin air. The man groaned, as he stood upright grabbing his weapon from the ground, he towered over me with his ginormous height and glared down at me, I could feel his eyes staring at me through his metal mask, his entire armor looked heavy on him but it didn't seem to faze him one bit. I began to back away, turning back to the way I came into and it was blocked off with a wall of fog, I couldn't go back.
The colossal warrior was winding up an attack to strike me when I turned back to face him, I quickly rolled away and armed myself with my shield and sword. He then ran up to me and struck me with a powerful thrust attack, sending me flying backwards onto the ground. I winced in pain, but stood back up taking a quick sip of my flask, I threw up my shield and ran towards him, he responded by jumping up into the air gliding over me and pointed his halberd downwards to strike me. I rolled away just in time before the tip struck me, I saw he was exposed and hit his chest with my sword sending blood flying from his body, it didn't seem to hurt him all too much though because he then ran around me and was about to hit me if I didn't roll out of the way. All I could do was be on the defensive, he was too powerful for me to handle, my attacks barely do anything to him, what can I do to attack? It was the wrong time to think, he began rain down an onslaught of attacks and all I could do was just block them.
I could hear my shield absorbing his hits, every muscle in my body ached, sweat dripped down my forehead onto my face, the contents of my flask were growing thin for I had probably two more sips left. He two-handed his weapon for a massive attack that would surely break my arm if I were to block this. I had to move and fast, as he let loose the attack I rolled away just in the nick of time, and quickly took another sip from my flask. This time he whiffed his attack and left himself open, I took that chance griped my sword tightly and stabbed his chest, blood spilled out from his open wound and I could hear him groan in pain as I pulled it out and stepped back from him. Maybe I have a chance to beat him, I felt confident that I could win, the man got back up quick and glared back at me, I took the offensive and ran to strike him. He saw this and dodged out of the way, and in response he ran up behind me and bashed me with his shoulder, sending me flying forwards. My body skipped like a stone across the water, as my back plate collided with the wall behind me with enough force to have my entire chest plate of armor break off from me, as well as having the wind knocked out of me. My helmet fell off my head and I spat blood out of my mouth, I am too weak to face him, I was wrong.
I searched for my flask and saw it submerged in the water, the rest of the contents mixed into the pale murkiness of the water and then dissipated into nothing, leaving me helpless. As the warrior approached me, knowing it would be the end, I tried to stand up one last time to fight, but his hand grabbed my neck lifting me up from the ground. I felt his halberd puncture my chest and he left me hanging atop of the tip of his weapon, I screamed from the immeasurable pain, and then he flung me off almost like swatting away a fly. My body fell to the ground and I felt the warmness of my blood rushing out from me, my sight began to go blurry, and my heart was slowing to a halt. Its strange, it feels like I've felt this way before but when? Then I remembered, it was that dream of mine, of how the darkness came for me as the flame quietly faded in sight. I was dying, and I couldn't escape it, not this time. I slowly shut my eyes, the sun escaping my view, and I was met with the same darkness once more.
"This is your fate warrior of ash," a voice carved its way into my mind, fire then sprouted from the ground and a silhouette of a person emerged from the flame, it spoke once more, "Chosen ash, thine fate is intertwined with the flame, it calls to you does it not? The life you once lived, you may not remember it, but you shall soon enough for the reigns of time hold no boundaries in this world, for it is convoluted." Their words held meaning, but I couldn't grasp what they were trying to tell me. "Am I dead?" I asked them, "You cannot die chosen ash, for you are branded with the dark sign, a curse set upon humans from the gods of the old world. If thou' art ash, seek the dying embers of this world, only then will you discover the answers you seek of yourself and your past." Then it was silent again, nothing but the flame in the center of the black void. "I will fight, for I've met death once before, and will not be swayed away from my duty or my life again." The fire climbed up my body, wrapping itself around me, "If death is all that awaits for me in the end, then I will survive by all means!" The flame cascaded away, bringing light back to the darkness. I could see him again, the warrior, standing above me about to deliver the final blow.
I felt air rush back into me again, my eyes opened and saw the incoming attack and I grabbed for my shield as his attack flew down towards me. Parrying the attack, I sent him falling down to his knees, determination filled my body, and embers sprouted in the air as they attached themselves to my skin. I grabbed my sword and charged at him, I two-handed it and drove my sword hard into his chest, using all my strength I had to get one good hit in. I yelled with ferocity, and pulled my blade out and began striking him repeatedly trying to keep the pressure on him. He swung his halberd horizontally, and I ducked under slicing at his arms in the process, he then jumped back and was preparing to retaliate with another attack. When suddenly, the black tendrils on his back began to overtake his entire body, then a huge explosion of black blood sprayed out and this ginormous black beast replaced him, his left arm growing massively huge, but still retaining his weapon in his right hand.
"Just what in the bloody hell are you?" I shouted readying myself one last time; his entire presence reeked in the smell of oil. Then, I remembered the bomb I picked up, I quickly reached into my belt pouch and pulled it out. It felt heavy in my hands but I hope it does the trick, I reached for the igniter and struck the fuse on it. The beast saw this and charged at me hoping to stop me in my tracks, but I saw it coming and rolled away and turned back towards him and threw the firebomb directly at its disgusting face. The bomb exploded in an array of metal and fire setting the creature ablaze, it screamed in what I imagined felt like agony dropping its halberd in the process and reeling back in pain. My weapon couldn't possibly cut the likes of that, so instead I attempted to pick up the halberd off of the ground to deliver the final blow. It was huge and heavy I could barely lift it up beyond my chest, but I angled it just enough to be able to drive the tip into his head. I ran as fast as I could towards him, feeling my entire body burn from wielding such a weapon, I drove the tip as hard as I could possibly handle into the monsters face.
"Come on, just die already! I want to be free from this place, from everything, from you!" I yelled and continued to drive in the halberd. The beast was on its last leg it couldn't possibly retaliate anymore, I retracted the weapon back and with all my strength I turned the blade vertically horizontal and ran it through the monsters head severing it from the original owners body. Everything went silent, and the man fell to the ground defeated, dead. "I did it, I won." I dropped the halberd and collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily I saw the persons body began to decompose and a bright flash of white light came out of nowhere blinding me. When the light cleared the man was gone, nothing remained but what looked like his soul on the ground, and a new bonfire was in the center of the arena now. I slowly stood back up and walked over to it, I collected the soul, and ignited the bonfire. The warm aura healed me and restored my armor to its original status, and my flask restored itself with the golden liquid.
I examined the soul that dropped from the man; it gave off a soft orange glow and was still warm in my hands. I brought it closer to the bonfire, and then the small flames absorbed the soul, and a voice emerged from inside the fire. "Are you the brave warrior who defeated me just now?" the man asked, "Yes I am, who are you?" "I don't have long, so I'll tell you this. My name is Gundyr, a warrior like yourself, except I am a scabbard for the chosen warrior of ash, as well as a judge to see if you are worthy to pass on to the shrine. The coiled sword is needed, not for passing forward but to be put into the bonfire at the Firelink Shrine. The maiden there shall tell you more, for I cannot be in existence for much longer." "Wait, what are you talking about? Where am I, what is this place?" His soul was slowly fading into the bonfire, "Do not fret chosen ash, one day we shall meet again and I will tell you the rest of my tale. You have courage, one I have not seen in millennia, you will face challenges on your journey. But I know you can overcome them and survive, head for the shrine at the top of this mountain, and ashen one, may the flames guide thee." And with that the voice was gone, his soul absorbed into the fire. His words played through my head over and over, now I needed new answers. The shrine, that is where he told me to go, I stood up and walked over to the door and pushed. The doors opening a new path forward, my eyes now met with the building at the top of the mountain, my heart still beating and Gundyr's words of courage were with me, I began walking towards the shrine, hoping to find the answers that I needed.