Bellena ran her hand along the pillar of the archway in front of her. Sound, study. Despite the age of the stone, it seemed strong enough to support the weight of the structure inside. Just what was inside, she couldn't be sure. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside, slowly making her way across the stone as she came to notice a massive throne. As she made it further inside, she realized that it was some kind of a shrine, with a wide, circular layout, and a high ceiling. Along the back of the shrine was a series of enormous thrones befitting of lord, five of them, to be exact. Each throne was empty, however, with the fine stone chipped away towards the top of them. Looking around, she came to notice an empty bonfire, without so much as an ember within it. However, this was not what drew her attention. Instead, she took notice of a slim woman in a fine black dress, with a a braid in her pale blonder hair that reached down to her mid back.

Looking to her left, Bellena noticed a stairwell, one that lead to the ground level of this strange shrine. Giving out a small breath, she slowly began to make her way down the steps. Each step reverberated against the closed in walls, leaving an audible resonance in her ears. Bellena paused momentarily, and looked back to the empty bonfire, towards the woman. She seemed to hear these steps, as her head was tilted towards the stairwell. Slowly, she turned her head to Bellena, revealing some sort of silver crown around her eyes. Was she blind? Just as she was about to call out to the woman, she noticed that she was smiling softly, and strangely, it seemed to grow as she faced Bellena. Somewhat unnerved by this, Bellena kept walking down the stone steps. She noted that even with the crown around the woman's eyes, she still seemed to follow her movements. As she finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, the woman turned to face her entirely, and walked towards Bellena.

"Welcome to the Bonfire, Unkindled One." The woman said, once she and Bellena were standing close to one another. Bellena was caught off guard and recoiled slightly at this. Unkindled? What did that mean? Certainly something similar to an Undead, that's the only reason she could have possibly had the darksign. But then... What was the difference? Was there one?

"I am a Fire Keeper. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee." The woman said, before she could respond. Coming back to her senses, Bellena nodded and placed her shield on her back.

"Hello. My name is..."

"Bellena Starvos, a humble knight of a far off land." The woman said, cutting Bellena off before she could finish her sentence. Backing away slightly, Bellena looked in bewilderment and shock at the woman before her.

"You... Know my name?" She asked. The Fire Keeper gave a polite nod of her head, keeping her pale hands folded in front of her.

"Of course. Thine name was given to me long ago. It was forseen that I would serve thee before I truly became a Fire Keeper." She said calmly. Bellena shook her head and rested her hand on her forehead, trying to take this in. This was some kind of preordained event? Rubbing her head, she placed her hand on her hip, pondering the events that had transpired. The darksign, what had she read about this? It was the sign of the Undead. The Undead were signs that the end of the Age of Fire was near, it was the duty of the Undead to link the First Flame, and thus reignite Age of Fire. But, she had just been called Unkindled. Surely, these couldn't be the same thing, could they? Looking back to the Fire Keeper, Bellena noticed that she was still smiling at her, and seemed to be waiting for Bellena to say something to her. Perhaps she could finally get some answers.

"Can you tell me why I've been... Resurrected?" She asked. The Fire Keeper calmly nodded.

"The lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them. To this end, I am at thy side." She said in a collected tone. Bellena once again found herself in awe. The lords? As in the Lords of Cinder? Was this some sort of a joke? Her, some lowly knight against god like beings that had linked the First Flame? As if she knew what Bellena was thinking, the Fire Keeper spoke again.

"Ashen One, to be Unkindled is to be a vessel for souls. Sovereignless souls will become thy strength. I will show the how." She said. Confused by this, Bellena looked down for a moment, then back to the Fire Keeper.

"How do I do this?" She asked.

"Ashen One, bring me souls plucked from their vessels. Does thou remember any foes thou hast slain?" She asked.

"Well, yes, but how can I have taken their souls? I didn't even know I could do that." Bellena responded. The Fire Keeper simply smiled and gave a small bow.

"You have already obtained them. Ashen one, touch the darkness within me. Take nourishment from these sovereignless souls." She calmly stated. Somewhat unsettled by this, Bellena watched as the Firekeeper slowly opened up her hands, revealing dried blood on her fingers. Blood? Why was there blood? Was she hurt?

"Your hands! Are you..?!" She began to say. But one look at the woman, with her smile still fully intact, answered the question for her, her calm demeanor and stance calming Bellena down slightly. Looking back down to her hands, Bellena sighed and knelt down, and extended her hand towards those of the Fire Keeper. Within seconds, she saw a gentle white light emanating from the Fire Keeper's hands. As this light grew in strength, Bellena could feel... Something moving within her. A strange sort of energy, darting all around her body at a viscous speed. Was it possible these were the souls the Fire Keeper described? Taking a deep breath, Bellena lowered her head and closed her eyes as the Fire Keeper began to recite what sounded like a strange prayer. As she spoke, Bellena felt the energy slow, almost stopping at the Fire Keeper's words.

Focusing, Bellena tried to focus on the energy, and tried to move it. As she focused on various aspects of her person, her strength, her vigor, her faith, she noticed that she began to feel stronger in each of these fields. The energy seemed to ebb and flow in and out of whatever she desired to increase. But what should she make stronger? This journey would surely be treacherous, how was she to know what was best to focus on? Think... Think... What did she need? Gundyr. She recalled Gundyr and remembered how much she struggled with him, her low vigor making it a difficult fight. If this journey would be like him, especially with the Lords of Cinder, she would need as much vigor as possible. Using all of her concentration, she willed all of the energy out of her other attributes and into her vigor. The energy flowed through to her desired trait, though she noticed a small amount of the energy was unable to enter. It must have been too little to increase it further. Regardless, she opened her eyes as she gently stood, the Fire Keeper retracting her hands as she did. As the light faded away from their hands, Bellena could no longer feel the energy within herself. It must have been tied to the ritual.

Looking to the empty firepit, Bellena recalled her path to this shrine, Firelink Shrine, she decided to call it. There didn't seem to be any branching paths to anywhere other than the Shrine itself. If she was supposed to track down the Lords of Cinder, there was no way she could do so from here. Unless... In the center of the fire pit were small embers that seemed persist even among the ash. Bellena recalled the coiled sword, which she had picked up after her battle with Gundyr. Strangely, the weapon had vanished at her touch, though she could feel something moving within her as it did. Looking to the Fire Keeper, she noticed her give a small nod, as if she were confirming what she was thinking. Her attention returned to the fire, as she held out her hand and focused on the coiled sword. As she did, she felt the weight of the sword in her hands, and watched as it formed there in a puff of wind. Surprised by this, she stepped back slightly before regaining her composure. Looking back to the fire pit, she slowly stepped forward, and placed the sword into the center of the embers. As she stuck the weapon further into the ash, the embers seemed to sputter and spark, seemingly invigorated by the sword.

Suddenly, the embers burst into a small fire, tiny flames dancing along the bottom of the blade. Bellena pulled her hand away slowly as the flame grew and came, once again, about a fourth of the way up the blade. She had heard stories of the undead using bonfires to travel to various realms and kingdoms, though they were believed to simply be legends and tall tales to scare children at night. For her sake, she hoped there was some credibility to these stories. But even if this were possible, where was she supposed to start? She didn't have the slightest clue of where to start. But perhaps...

"Where am I to go?" She asked aloud. Turning to the Fire Keeper, Bellena watched as she came beside her and stared at the bonfire, her smile never fading.

"To Lothric, where the homes of the Lords converge." She said in her calm tone. Lothric? She had heard stories of Lothric when she was young. Bellena's father had told her she that Lothric was a land of valiant, powerful knights, faithful worshipers of the gods, and genius scholars. Not only this, but a meeting ground for wyverns and drakes, and supposedly, knights capable of riding these beasts. For her sake, Bellena hoped her father was exaggerating. Taking a quick deep breath, and extended her hand to the bonfire. She pictured Lothric in her mind, with towering castles and massive bridges across the skyline. As she did, she felt a soft wind across her arms and back, as if transporting her to this world. She felt the temperature in the air change, along with the floor seeming to shift beneath her, all while the wind seemed to surround her. Just as she felt the ground stable out beneath her, she heard the Fire Keeper say one last thing before fading away;

"Farewell, Ashen One. May the flames guide thee."