Darkroot Forest
It was the middle of the night when he arrived in the dimly lit forest area. William pocketed the Crest of Artorias, reminding himself to thank Andre again for the purchase once this was over. Darkroot was oddly peaceful, even beautiful. There was lush foliage everywhere William looked, just like the garden in the distance. But he knew better than to let his guard down, not after dying so many times. William drew his sword and kept it half-raised while wandering through the trees. Even when stopping at a bonfire and warming himself, he did not let his guard down once.
When he heard a twig snap nearby, William pointed the weapon at the source of the noise and raised his shield. "Wait, don't…" The undead knight was already moving in for a killing blow but a familiar and colorful shield stopped the Astora sword. "It's me!" William snapped out of it and sighed in exasperation, "Oh, it's just you." He sheathed his sword and gestured to the bonfire. "You look terrible, Solaire." Sitting down, it was hard for William to hide his relief at seeing his friend here. But he wasn't joking, Solaire was in bad shape. His armor was smudged with dirt and bloodstains, and his armor was dented and scratched.
"What happened to you?" Solaire's armored head cocked and he looked down at himself. "Oh, my. I can explain, William. I was rather inspired by our little discovery at the Asylum, so I returned to the Altar of Sunlight and told our story to the covenant. Shortly afterwards, a group of Hollowed attacked us out of nowhere!" William was adjusting the worn straps on his armor but stopped when Solaire mentioned the attack. "Where did these Hollowed come from?" To this, Solaire simply shrugged. "I don't know. But afterwards, I followed you here to see if I can help you again." William smiled but shook his head. "I don't think I'll have much trouble here. Here in Darkroot, I have to pick up a ring that belonged to the knight named Artorias."
Even with his helm on it was obvious that Solaire was shocked. "The Artorias? The Abysswalker?" Nodding, William told his friend the story of his journey back in time and the battle against the Abyss. Solaire's reaction ranged from horrified, to heartbroken, and amazed when William mentioned his duels with Artorias and Manus. When the story was over Solaire asked, "What now?" Fortunately William had to answer to that question too. "I don't know if linking the First Flame is really the best choice I can make, but regardless I have to satiate the object called the Lordvessel. My first target is in the Abyss, and the only way for me to navigate that realm is by carrying the Covenant of Artorias." He pointed deeper into the garden.
"The ring is likely still buried with the knight who carried it." This appeared to encourage Solaire, but his voice was apprehensive as he asked, "And you're sure Sif will recognize you?" What was that supposed to mean? "Of course he will. I saved his life, and he even helped me fight Manus." Seemingly convinced Solaire helped William to his feet. "In that case, the wolf will be very glad to see you."
The two journeyed though the forest quietly, attacked by only two or three knights in stony armor. None proved much trouble, especially when Solaire suddenly produced an arc of lightning in the shape of a spear. "What the..." In a flash William's ally thrust his spell into the stone knight's chest, the towering warrior exploding on impact. Both undead knights shielded their faces from the shower of fragments, and William noticed that there was not blood. The knight itself had been a living statue. He lowered his shield and asked Solaire, "What was that?" His friend cheerfully held up his hand and summoned another bolt.
"The Lightning Spear! It is a miracle learned by every member of my covenant. I can teach it to you if you like!" It seemed like a nice trick, very handy. "Maybe later, Solaire. Right now we need to find the Covenant of Artorias." After another minute of searching, William and Solaire finally found a large gate. Having found the key while navigating Darkroot he inserted it. The key fit perfectly, and with an audible click the William turned the key and opened the gate.
The site in front of him and Solaire was a large grassy field. Some good fifty yards away was a mass of graves and swords planted in the ground. In the center was a larger grave than the rest, with a recognizable greatsword propped in front. "That has to be it." William motioned for Solaire to stay behind and approached the grave himself. As the knight came closer and closer to the sword, his heartbeat sped up to a frantic pace. It was hard to forget the several terrible scars William bore thanks to that terrible weapon. He reached the grave and looked around for any sign of the ring. The Covenant of Artorias has to be here somewhere. But how do I get it?
As he began to move past Artorias' greatsword to inspect the grave, a shadow suddenly fell over William. He looked up and almost cried out in alarm. Standing over the undead human was a wolf of gigantic size. It glared down at him and snarled, causing him to back off instinctively and reach for his sword. William regretted it immediately as the wolf leapt to the ground and pinned him with one massive paw. His sword fell off to the side, out of his reach. There was no way to escape. But as it bore down on him William's green eyes locked with the wolf's yellow ones. Then it dawned on him. William didn't know how this could have happened, how his companion changed so much, but it had to be him!
Despite the creature's snarl growing even louder William raised his hand. He lifted the knight helm off his head, showing his face to the wolf. It's features softened and the yellow eyes widened. An almost affectionate whine told William all he needed to know.
"Sif…
Author's Note: Yes, yes, that's a very frustrating place to leave off, just as our Chosen Undead meets Sif. And I know what you're thinking. I'm going to kill Sif off and it's going to be all depressing, right?
Maybe not. I may be following Dark Souls canon to a degree, but this story is very much its own. What happens with Sif might not be what you guys expect. Leave a review below, and see if anyone can guess what exactly is going to happen with the Undead and the Great Grey Wolf.
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Update as of 4/20/15 Hey guys. Sorry about the delay over the past couple weeks, I just want to let you guys know that 'Balance' will be put on hold for a while. My schedule is killing me, and it's hard to balance two stories at once between this and my Mass Effect story 'Two Against the Galaxy'. I'm probably going to have to finish up that before I can really crank out 'Balance' and finish it.
Just wanted to let you know. In the meantime, stay posted for more progress on the ongoing Mass Effect fanfiction!