To see a Darkened Sun
chapter 22
It was still for a moment, everything. But briefly, relief flooded him as he was finally able to drop his sword and bask in victory. Not for long however, as the rage that fueled him promptly faded, nothing kept him standing anymore, and his feet collapsed from under him.
He stumbled forward and fell straight on his visor, the sides of his helmet hitting his jaw as it collided with the stone, before getting knocked off by the impact.
The armor and the chainmail only made the fall more painful, but he was well past the point of caring, his eyes were barely even open. His helmet clunked across the floor, soon losing momentum and landing by Gwyndolin's crown, which looked about ready to fall off his head, a single closed eye showing under it.
Arias' eyes could see the figures of the Firekeeper and the blades in the distance, they looked so far away now. His eyes clumsily searched around, as his mind slowly ticked on. He wanted to see, was Gwyndolin okay?
Remembering that he bumped into him earlier, Arias concluded that he must be behind him. Painstakingly, he pulled his arms to his side and barely lifted himself to his elbows. He wasn't able to get to his knees, he'd already pushed well past his as is. But he wanted to see, was Gwyndolin okay?
Leaning on his pained elbows, he shuffled himself around in a circle. Halfway he misplaced his arm and collapsed again. He was so tired, he wanted to end it there, he could, he'd already done enough. But no, he needed to know, to see, was Gwyndolin alright?
Grunting, he lifted himself up again, now he could hear the cluttering of boots as the others ran over, he hoped they wouldn't grab him, he still had to see, was Gwyndolin okay? Shuffling over again, Arias was finally able to see him.
Gwyndolin was clutching onto his arm, Arias could barely see his closed eye from his position on the floor but from the rest of his facial expression he gathered that he was in a lot of pain. Looks like he didn't have much experience getting hurt in such a way.
"G-Gwyndolin..." Arias murmured, slowly reaching a hand out to his god. Though he couldn't hold it up for long, exhaustion finally taking hold and forcing him to the floor once more. He could no longer hold his eyes open anymore, no matter how hard he tried, trying desperately to just keep them from closing. His mind and body couldn't take anymore, his strength was long gone.
Despite the pain of his arm, Gwyndolin noticed Arias' murmuring, and finally looking over, he saw Arias fall face first into the floor, unresponsive. His arm was stretched out in front of him, his hand was held out, to him.
Realizing what this meant, Gwyndolin was quick to let go of his limb to reach out and take hold of Arias' hand, despite how much it hurt his arm to move.
Tightly he held onto Arias' hand, a tear running down his cheek. He knew Arias couldn't really die, and he wasn't yet close enough to fully hollowing. But it still hurt, seeing him in such a way.
The clattering of armor stopped as the blades reached the two, though it seemed like a long time to the two lovers, in reality it had been about a minute since Arias collapsed.
The blades gathered round the two, some assessed the situation while others just chattered among themselves.
"Are they dead?"
"Is the master okay?"
"Did he survive?"
"What, I didn't even see him get hit!? How can he be so hurt already?"
"Those swords are even heavier than they look, he probably overworked his muscles"
"What about the assassin?"
"No look, they're dead, nothing could survive that"
"Oh lord, it's making me sick"
"She's undead though isn't she?"
"Yeah, I saw her drinking from a flask"
"Won't she get back up soon?"
"No, with a death like that, it'll take time for it to all heal back. We'll have time to secure the body before then."
"What about the master?"
"It doesn't look like they were too badly injured. Though.. Looks like a dislocated elbow to me."
"Yeah that's a dislocated elbow alright, look how far back it's bending. Though from here... looks like the shoulder might be dislocated too."
"Fuck, that Darkwraith sure had a strong arm."
"What should we do?"
"I don't think an estus can help them"
"Hey wait, do you see that?"
"What?"
"Their hands, look, their hands!"
"Oh my"
"You don't suppose that was pure coincidence do you?"
"But that would be..."
"...Sacrilege."
"How could the knight do such a thing!?"
"Sacrilege of all things!"
"And after such a display of loyalty"
"What should we do?"
"Well it can't go unpunished can it? Such a sin"
The crowd was starting to devolve from amazement to fury. In their eyes it was betrayal. That Gwyndolin had given him so much, a title, a place in their ranks, and then he went and disgraced him by daring to lay his mortal hands upon him, a god.
"We'll lock him up too"
"agreed, even a man of his rank cannot go unpunished for such a thing"
"No we will not!"
The Firekeeper announced, stepping out from the crowd and standing between them and the two on the floor. She planted her feet firmly on the stone floor, clearly not intent on moving until things were resolved.
"What?"
"But can't you see?"
"Heresy! Clear as the sun, right there!"
They shouted, confused and upset that she'd stand up for the traitor.
"Were it heresy, would the master not have removed their hand from his? They're wounded not dead or incapable of movement" She said simply, hoping to diffuse the situation quickly.
"That's what you think"
"How would you, a mere mortal, know, or even comprehend what the master is feeling?"
"All the more, when did you get the right to speak for the master!?"
She was starting to understand how Arias felt a few hours ago, regretting that outburst of hers now as she's getting it fed right back at her.
"And who gave you the right? If it were heresy, that would be a sin the Dark Sun themself would declare. In case you have forgotten." She finished, speaking crystal clear as she hoped to put a stop to this quick so that they could get to work and tend to Gwyndolin's injuries.
The crowd went silent, unable to find any rebuttal much to the firekeeper's relief.
"Now, let's forget about this pointless argument and see to the wounded. We've a duty, don't forget" The firekeeper ordered them, remembering what Arias had told her.
'It's our duty to protect him don't you forget.'
She didn't know how, or even when she had forgotten. But she was thankful that he'd made her remember, her vows to serve as a loyal Blade of the Darkmoon, to protect Anor Londo and it's residents.
And most of all, she had a newfound admiration for him, despite suspecting that he did in fact hold many secrets from the world, he never forgot the vows he took, and stayed loyal to them even when everything was on the line. And along with his combat prowess, it was becoming clearer as to how he became the Knight of their covenant so quickly. Indeed he was on par with Gwyn's mighty knights.
The first thing to be done, was to disarm and put Lenovis in chains. After this, she'd be locked away in a secure cell to await the end of the world. There was no way they could just leave someone as dangerous as her outside the city and hope she just hollowed away.
Next the firekeeper tended to Arias as the others figured out what to do about Gwyndolin. As an undead any wound no matter how lethal was a simple fix. All he needed was a good helping of estus and he'd be on his feet again in no time. That's what she expected at least. Though it did heal his wounds, when Arias awoke, it felt forced, like his eyelids were being wrenched open and his mind was jumpstarted.
So tired, he was still so tired. His body had all the vigor and energy of a well rested undead, yet his head was still spinning, just so tired. Getting up from the floor, he didn't speak, only giving a thankful nod to the Firekeeper before looking over to Gwyndolin.
The blades were carefully sitting him up, two of them taking hold of his arm when they got him upright. Arias could see from their expressions that they were scared, mess this up and they'd likely be banished, imprisoned or maybe worse.
Looking at their hands and form, Arias could see that they had it all wrong, their hands were too close to the shoulder and too far from the elbow, it looked like they would try snapping the shoulder back in place, then the elbow. However that wouldn't end well, snapping the shoulder first would just cause more pain for the elbow.
Seeing as they were about to go ahead, Arias stepped in.
"You'll make it worse like that. Here let me fix it" He spoke, surprising them a bit. The two blades nodded nervously and let him take hold of Gwyndolin's arm. He couldn't blame really them, most undead just use an estus when they get such an injury and suddenly they're fine. But this required a lot more care.
Taking hold of his arm, Arias held the forearm in his left hand and wrapped his right arm around the upper arm. Positioning himself next to him, Arias told Gwyndolin to breathe deeply, who responded with a nod. Doing as told, breathed in, then out, then in, then out.
On third breath, Arias tightened his grip on his forearm and in one quick motion he pulled it up while pulling the upper arm down slightly. The sound of the bone snapping back into place was drowned out by a loud shriek from Gwyndolin. Whimpering, he tried to keep breathing steadily but it wasn't easy.
Seeing he was struggling, Arias placed a reassuring hand on his healthy shoulder while lifting up his arm in order to pop the unhealthy shoulder back into place. Gwyndolin slowed his breathing again and mentally prepared himself for another crack of his bones.
Holding up his arm, Arias straightened it with a gentle pull, then he gripped it with both hands, one on the lower arm and on the upper arm, before quickly yanking it forward, popping the shoulder back in place.
Gwyndolin yelped loudly, groaning and whimpering, he shuddered as the third bolt of intense pain of the day ran down his side. Seeing Arias stand, he held his head low, his crown sliding back down into place, hiding his tears from the Blades, though he suspected that Arias already knew he was crying.
"Alright everyone, the master's safe, and will be okay with some rest. It's best you all leave back to your posts, and make sure that Darkwraith stays in shackles and well away from any sort of weapon." He heard Arias ordering the Blades. Most of them just followed orders but a few stayed where they were.
"And what gives you the right to give orders in place of the master?"
"After such a sin you should be stripped of your rank!"
Arias went to respond to them but the Firekeeper held out a hand to stop him, signaling that she would deal with it. He nodded and kneeled back down next to Gwyndolin. The two heard the firekeeper shouting something to the others about loyalty but they weren't really paying attention to that, Arias for one was more focused on Gwyndolin's wellbeing.
"Is it feeling any better yet?" Arias asked, in reference to his arm. Gwyndolin nodded. Sighing, Arias patted Gwyndolin on the back.
"I'm so sorry, I was late this time, and it cost you." He muttered shamefully, holding back his own tears. Gwyndolin still didn't say a word, worrying Arias. Looking around, he guessed it might be due to all the blades in the room with them.
"Do you want me to take you back to your chambers, after the others have left?" He asked, turning his head back to face Gwyndolin, who nodded.
"Right." Arias responded, grabbing his helmet from next to Gwyndolin before dragging himself to his feet and going to get the rest of his equipment. Though he briefly checked his helmet before walking. Luckily it wasn't broken or badly damaged, but there was a small dent in the chin area, though it wasn't big enough to cause a problem.
Next he grabbed his swords, though they were strong, the battle had worn them down, even the brand new one. Cracks down the blades, smears of blood and blunt edges. Looked like they'd only last for another battle. Didn't matter though, there was only one battle left.
Sheathing the two swords, Arias turned around and saw most of the blades gone, there were only a few left, carrying the shackled corpse of Lenovis out of the room, and the Firekeeper, standing beside Gwyndolin in thought.
Sighing again, he walked over, the swords and armor clattering on his back as he walked.
"Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to talk them down so quickly." He said as he approached her. His words pulled her from her train of thought, bringing her focus back to reality.
"Ah, yes, well it was not a problem, I simply did what was needed of me, just as you have time and again. That reminds me, I apologize for acting as I did this morning, it, I was foolish." She apologized, slightly surprising Arias, though his tiredness largely numbed any effect of surprise.
"Oh.. Very well, I accept your apology, I suppose we can all be foolish sometimes can't we." He replied, thinking back on something. She nodded in response.
"Right, we should get back to our duties now. I've one last thing to do." Arias finished off.
"Yes I suppose we should. Good luck on your duty comrade, may the flames guide thee." The firekeeper nodded again, bidding him farewell before leaving the room.
Arias sighed once more, for the second, or maybe third time today? He'd lost track, his mind was hazy, similar to a state of hollowing. Maybe those dark miracles she'd used on him did more damage than he'd thought.
Kneeling over, he gently ran his hands under Gwyndolin and lifted him up off the floor. Briefly, Gwyndolin fumbled, before wrapping his arms around Arias' neck for stability, burying his face in his chest when he felt as though we wouldn't fall again.
Exhausted, Arias trudged out the door, and down the hallways, all the way back to Gwyndolin's bedroom.
A\N Okay, break over, well "break" in quotations, it's been a bit rough these past few weeks but I'm getting back to writing daily, so chapters should be back to regular speed, so around 2 or so weeks until the next. Hope this chapter wasn't that bad as getting back into writing felt a bit rocky.