A/N: So I may or may not have gotten Elden Ring for Christmas and I may or may not have spent basically all of my free time playing it for the past month in lieu of writing my other stories and I may or may not have fallen in love with the game and its lore and I may or may not have gotten the spontaneous desire to try my hand at writing an Elden Ring crossover fic... Uh... Yeah, that's basically it.
I don't really have any plans set in stone for this story, though I do have a few ideas and a general direction I'd like to go, If people end up liking this I'll try to keep the story going. That's all for now though, so, with that said, I hope you all enjoy!
...Or as a certain Demigod would say... FOREFATHERS, ONE AND ALL... BEAR WITNESS!
(Edit: WARNING! With several reviews complaining about it, I've decided to put this notice here, but because of how I've interpreted Ranni's character, and because of the circumstances of how I handled her reincarnation, I've currently written Ranni in a certain way, which while I believe makes sense, might make her seem out of character to some people. I've tried to explain this in chapters 4 and 5 via Ranni's thoughts, but If you believe this will end up bothering you regardless, then I apologize and I hope you can find a different Elden Ring fic to read. If it doesn't? Read on!)
Prologue: Reborn as a Sweeting, Fair and Fine
'Ah… Tis snowing once more…'
Her frail form shivered as the pellets of snow fell upon her pale skin, covered only by whatever articles of clothing she could get her hands on. Despite the cold, not to mention the hunger and fatigue, she couldn't help but crane her neck upwards and admire the waves of light that danced upon the stars, casting an ethereal glow on the city below.
A small, frail smile turned her lips at the sight. Though she had been long accustomed to the dark chill of the night and the elegant tapestry of stars that weaved itself across the sky when the sun fell below the horizon, the shattered moon even now filled her with a sense of wonder.
There were so many questions that flooded her mind. How had it happened? What had caused it? How long ago did it occur? If she had her way, she'd find out one day. Sadly, that day would not be a long time coming. She had more pressing concerns to deal with.
Her head swiveled left, then right as her eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for anyone that might be present to witness what she was about to do. A relieved sigh fell from her lips when she found not a single living soul anywhere nearby. With a satisfied glint in her eyes accompanied by anticipation, she raised her frail, freezing hands and brought them close.
It started out as nothing more than a spark. A little more effort had earned her a smoldering ember. One final push, and an orb of fire flickered to life, driving away the cold and leaving her filled with a blissful sense of warmth. She couldn't keep the pleased hum from escaping her lips as her body relaxed, before slumping against the wall behind her.
The aches of her body, either from the cold, hard ground she sat on, bereft of any cushions, or the icy air that threatened to freeze her throat with every breath, all evaporated into thin air. Unfortunately, it did little for the pangs of hunger that assaulted her, pleading for any semblance of nourishment she could find.
The soft grumble of her stomach, reminiscent of a once grand beast that now lay dying in the grass, only accentuated her need.
She was reluctant to move, but the growing pains won out and she forced herself to her feet. She shuffled towards the alleyway's entrance, then stopped. Her gaze flicked down to the small flame in her hand. With a forlorn sigh, she snuffed it out, casting her immediate surroundings into darkness.
She could already feel the cold seeping into her bones once more.
'Fret not…' she reassured herself. 'This shan't take long.'
And so, she walked. Along the sidewalks covered in frozen mud and freshly fallen snow, hugging her body as tightly as she could in a desperate attempt to keep hold of the fleeting warmth within her. The thought of succumbing to the cold pushed her forward and so she picked up the pace, moving as fast as she could. The only reason she wasn't running, aside from the ice that her feet threatened to slip on, was due to the frailty of her legs.
Though it took longer than she would have liked, eventually, the scent of a freshly cooked, warm meal wafted through the air. She followed it, quite literally lead by the nose, to find a small gathering of people in states similar to her own, all of which were stood in front of a stand serving simple, yet filling meals for those down on their luck.
Her mouth watered as she approached, but she made no move to rush forward. Already she could see several glares aimed at her, born from prejudice due to nothing more than the tone of her skin, shade of her hair and the color of her eyes.
It was something she was forced to get used to. She still wasn't sure if she had.
Nevertheless, nothing came of the tension in the air. Meals were served and people moved on. Eventually, she was able to reach the front of the line, coming face to face with a young woman. Flaming red hair fell down her back and purple eyes that shined like amethysts gazed into her own.
For a moment, that very same emotion that she so often found in those who looked upon her was present. Though, the woman seemed to have been able to restrain herself. Her eyes closed with what seemed to be a calming breath. When they next opened, she could see a hint of guilt in those purple orbs.
"Hey there, kid." the woman said softly with a half-genuine smile on her lips. The strain in the corners of her mouth made it apparent it was somewhat forced.
"Hello…" was her response, quiet and somewhat raspy.
A brief, yet awkward silence descended upon them both, though nothing more needed to be said. For what other reason would a frail, malnourished child have to appear before a serving stand in the slums of Mantle?
It didn't take long for a bowl of soup to be placed into her awaiting hands. The warm bowl was nearly scorching to the touch, but she didn't dare let go, lest she waste the meal that had been presented to her.
"Thank you…" she mumbled as she turned away so others could have their turn.
There was no response.
"What the hell?! Where's… Hey! Thief!"
She almost felt bad when the man was tackled to the ground for a crime he hadn't committed. Nevertheless, nothing would come of it. He'd be searched, the stolen possession wouldn't be found and he would be released once it was apparent that it had been nothing more than a misunderstanding.
Well… That would have been the case, had he been human.
Unfortunately, he was a faunus. It was clear as day with the two ears atop a mop of black hair. She noted that they resembled a cat of some kind, perhaps a lion, though it was hard to tell when he was being wrestled onto the ground.
Just because of the ears on his head, it was highly likely that he would receive some kind of punishment, though what that punishment would be, she could only guess. Perhaps a few days in jail, maybe a few weeks if he was particularly unlucky. Or perhaps he would only need to pay an outrageous fine he couldn't afford. Who could say?
She forced herself to turn away as her feet carried her into the alleyway behind her. She rounded the corner just as the spell that had been cast upon her wore off, revealing her previously Unseen Form to the world once more. As soon as it did, she felt a wave of exhaustion fall upon her, forcing her to lean against a nearby wall for support.
After a few minutes of catching her breath, she pressed her back to the wall and slid down its length, before she clutched her knees to her chest. She wasted no time in opening the stolen wallet in her hand, revealing several cards of Lien. Altogether, it wasn't a very large number, barely enough for a grocery run, but it was much better than nothing.
The temptation to go and spend the money reared its ugly head within her. Thoughts of warmth and comfort assaulted her mind. Suggestions to buy some new clothes, a meal that actually had some semblance of taste or to rent a room that could hold back the wind for a single night. All of it sounded so appealing…
But she couldn't… Not yet.
Instead of giving into temptation, she grasped her desires like one would a horse by the reigns and hauled it back to the depths of her mind. A loose stone in the wall, concealed with magic, was pulled out, revealing a hollow space within. Inside was all of the money she had collected. All of it, for one single purpose.
She wanted to leave.
Solitas, where the twin cities of Atlas and Mantle were built upon, was an icy, desolate land where one could seldom find comfort. If you were rich, you would only get richer. If you were poor, you would get poorer until you eventually lost everything in your possession. And once you did? Nothing more than death awaited you.
Far too many times had death nearly claimed her. It was only her tenacity, wit and magical skill that had kept her alive for the past several years, not to mention the rare kindness of a stranger, but those moments of generosity and selflessness were few and far between. To rely on them would be the height of foolishness.
She deposited the stolen cards of Lien within her makeshift storage, before she replaced the stone and cast a sorcery over it once more. A faint blue light shined briefly in her hands, before any evidence of tampering evaporated before her eyes. Only her reflection that was cast upon the ice that coated the wall's surface remained.
Her eyes couldn't help but narrow at the sight with a rare spark of bitterness welling up inside her.
Long, matted snow-white hair fell down her shoulders, reaching all the way to her lower back. It was dirty, greasy and held no semblance of order, perpetually in a state of chaos not unlike those who had just woken up. A bed head, she believed the term was called.
Her eyes were blue, a color reminiscent of the sky and though those of Atlesian descent were often naturally paler than any other, her own skin was even more so.
This was the third time her appearance had changed.
In a previous life, she was in possession of shining scarlet locks, accented only by her glowing golden eyes, with skin that, while fair, was nowhere near as pale as what she currently had. Admittedly, she had cast that body away for that of a doll, one molded after a dear mentor of hers.
Where her skin had previously been fair, it had then become a shade of pale blue. So too had her eyes and hair changed into differing shades of the same color. The most drastic change was the number of limbs she possessed, doubling the number of her arms. Even then, the doll's body had been imperfect, marred with scars reminiscent of cracked porcelain.
Once upon a time, she was called Lunar Princess Ranni, Daughter of Queen Rennala of the Full Moon and Lord Radagon of the Golden Order. Younger sister to General Radahn, the Conqueror of the Stars and the older sister to Praetor Rykard, the Lord of Mt. Gelmir.
Now, however, she had no name… Born to a mother and father she had never met, all she had ever known in this new life was that of a street rat. The grand halls of her home in Caria, replaced by dirty Atlesian alleyways and frozen streets. Of course, it wasn't hard to piece together who had birthed her, and evidently, it was just as obvious to the Mantlean citizens who scorned her with hateful glares and disgusted sneers.
None aside from the notorious Schnee family held looks such as hers. And yet, where the rest of her supposed family lived in comfort in the floating city, she was forced to dwell in the poorest parts of Mantle.
It was often a topic of contemplation, among a host of others. What was the reason for it all? That she was forced to live in poverty within a city that scorned her existence simply because she shared the appearance, if not the blood, of a family that had destroyed the lives of many for nothing more than profit.
She had already made peace with the fact that she may very well never know.
It wouldn't be too much longer now. Just a few more weeks and she'll have saved up enough Lien to buy passage out of Mantle.
She just had to hold on…
Sometimes, when sleep eluded her, either due to the biting cold or her own thoughts, she often lay on the ground staring up at the sky with nothing more than a magical flame to protect her from the elements.
Her thoughts would always wander, returning her to a question she'd never been able to answer… How had she ended up here?
Her memories of her previous life were foggy at best. She remembered important details, such as those of herself, her family and the ambitions she held, but anything considered even remotely mundane had eluded her, cast into the deepest reaches of her mind, forgotten during her infancy in this new life.
She wondered what had come of it all, her plot to overthrow the Greater Will. Had it succeeded? Or had all her efforts been for nothing? She would never know, she figured, and that didn't bother her nearly as much as she felt it should.
Her goal was always to break free of the Greater Will in order to usher in a new age, free from its tyranny, so the people of the Lands Between could live their lives free from its grasp. If she thought about it, she had technically succeeded.
Here she was, in a world that was quite literally godless, where both she and the people around her were free from its will, able to live their lives as they saw fit. Was this not what she wanted?
On occasion, her thoughts turned dark… longing… pleading to return to the life she once knew, to see the faces of her loved ones again.
Then her memories would surge forth, snuffing out her wishes as if one had poured water over a flame.
What was there to return to exactly?
Her mother had remained trapped within the Academy of Raya Lucaria, driven mad with heartbreak by her father's absence and her own death during the Night of Black Knives.
Her brothers, Radahn and Rykard both, had become wild beasts devoid of humanity, one because of the Scarlet Rot that had destroyed him from within, the other due to his greed and gluttony after allowing himself to merge with the God-Devouring Serpent.
It was more than likely that they had all perished…
Any theory she had regarding her current circumstances were incomplete at best. Was it by the will of an Outer God that she now reside in this new land? Had her mother sent her here somehow, using the power of Rebirth to grant her a new beginning? Had a magical failure the likes of which the world had never seen cast her into the void, only for it to reform into the world that she stood upon?
So many questions… yet not a single answer.
None of it mattered, she supposed. She was alive with her magic intact, if not with the power to cast it as she once had. This new body, young and frail as it was, was insufficient to prolonged or strenuous casting. That would change in time, once she'd managed to escape this foul land.
And yet, what then?
Her entire life had been spent preparing to rule the Lands Between should Queen Marika's reign had ever ended, as an Empyrean like her was expected to, and plotting to overthrow the Two Fingers and the Greater Will. The former was not an option and the latter had no presence here. She quite literally had her entire life ahead of her with countless options to choose from.
She pushed those thoughts to the side as the biting winds picked up, causing her form to shiver underneath the rag she called a blanket. A quick burst of magic had the flame keeping her warm surge with energy as it roared to life anew.
If she was lucky, it would keep her alive through the night.
If not? Well… she wouldn't be missed.
'Ah… How mine fate seemeth to turn so suddenly…'
She shouldn't have been surprised, she supposed. So giddy that she was, having finally saved up enough Lien to purchase passage from Mantle, that she failed to account for how tempting a target she had made herself while she carried all of it on her person as she made her way towards the docking bay.
As she lay sprawled over the icy ground with blood leaking from an admittedly minor wound to her head, she managed to angle her gaze up towards the sky, allowing the forms of her attackers to fill her blurry vision.
Somehow, it was fitting that they were all faunus.
She could see the looks in their eyes. The desperation, the misery, the suffering that hounded them day after day. She would have felt for them, had it not been for the blood-thirsty grins that split their faces in half as they gazed at her with righteous fury.
Still though, Ranni could understand. She supposed she might have done the same had she been in their shoes. It wasn't as if she was incapable of murdering her kin if the need arose. Godwyn's murder was evidence enough.
"I still can't believe it." one of her attackers, which she couldn't discern, breathed as he stared down at her. "To think the Schnees are so damn selfish they'd throw out one of their own."
"Are you honestly that surprised?" another barked, accompanied by a bitter laugh. "There's nothing Jacques wouldn't do if there was money waiting for him at the end of the day."
"It's a shame though…" A boot smashed into her ribs. She rolled across the ground until she crashed into a nearby wall, sputtering and gasping for breath. "What I wouldn't give to have that bastard's head on a pike. Instead we gotta settle for this brat."
"Don't be picky." another admonished as Ranni began to steady her breathing once more. A hand grabbed at her hair and pulled hard, earning a cry of pain from the young girl.
Her head was angled up, and though she couldn't make out precise details through the blurriness brought by her tears, she could still see the faint outline of a cruelly smiling visage.
"We might damn well not get a chance like this again." the one holding her up spoke. "If there's anything any of you want to get out of your systems, do it now. Think of it as fulfilling one of your revenge fantasies."
The hand released her and her head bounced against the ice as it hit the floor.
"Not to mention…" that same voice spoke up again. "We all get a little bonus at the end of the day."
When she heard someone tamper with her bag of Lien, her heart plummeted.
"N-No…"
There was a pause. It took Ranni a few seconds to realize she had spoke. It took a few more to register the feeling of Lien bundled with plastic in her hand.
The silence was broken by bemused laughter. "Sorry, must've misheard. What did you say again you damn Schnee brat?"
It took all of her strength to push herself up, angle her head and glare into the eyes of the man before her. "I… said… no…" she rasped.
"Tsk… That was the wrong answer, brat." A second later, a hand wrapped around her neck, hoisted her up and smashed her into a nearby wall. She was kept there, struggling to breathe as a man full of rage glared holes into her form.
"You damn Schnees couldn't get more arrogant if you tried. You all think you can just boss us around, huh? You think you're better than us?!" he roared as spittle flew from his mouth. "Oh, how I've waited for an opportunity like this! To give you a taste of your own medicine! To force you to live in our shoes for once!"
Her tiny fingers clawed at the hand that threatened to crush her throat, desperate for even the smallest breath of air. Her struggles were so weak that the man before her didn't even seem to notice.
"I'm not even sorry for you…" the man continued. "Sure, you might have been thrown out with the rest of the trash, just like us, but you would've become just like your dear old daddy had he decided you were worth keeping!"
'I… can't… breathe…' she thought as darkness began to creep into the edge of her vision. 'Prithee… air…'
Anything more the man said went unheard as the rest of her focus was turned towards escape. With the last of her strength, she tried to channel her magic in a final desperate attempt. A dark blue glow encased her hands, going unnoticed by her attackers.
It took an agonizingly long time for the spell to form, so long that she very nearly passed out from asphyxiation. For once, however, fortune seemed to favor her. Just before her consciousness left her, a shard of magic burst from a patch of mist at the end of the alley.
The Ambush Shard barreled forth, screaming through the air, before it pierced her attacker's neck.
The grip on her throat slacked, before it released her entirely. She fell to the floor, gasping and wheezing for breath as the one holding her collapsed, dead, with blood pouring from a wound in his neck.
"What the hell was that?!" one of the others screamed.
"Dust round! Someone saw us! Dammit, make a break for it!" another yelled.
She scarcely heard the thumping of boots that slowly grew quieter as they drew further away. Soon enough, she was alone, rubbing at her bruised neck as she coughed on the alley floor with blood pooling around a corpse.
At least she had managed to keep her Lien…
The technological advances of Remnant absolutely fascinated her.
For one, gone were the horse-drawn carriages she was once used to, replaced by various large machines the people called cars, trucks, trains and airships. It was one such airship she was a passenger on currently.
The name of it escaped her at the moment, unfortunately. In her haste to board, she had neglected to sate her curious side. Nevertheless, she still marveled at its size, and while it was a great deal smaller than the grand battleships of the Atlesian Military that she occasionally laid her eyes upon, it was more than capable of holding a fair amount of people.
As the airship began to lift off, she nearly lost her balance. Her unpreparedness combined with the frailty of her body very nearly sent her tumbling to the floor. She just barely managed to catch herself, before she firmly planted herself in her seat.
After a moment she turned her head and gazed out the window. She failed to stop the gasp of wonder that escaped her.
She had lived in Mantle for the entirety of this new life, but she had never seen it from such a height. It was almost beautiful in a way, the vast distance between her and the ground below had done wonders to hide the city's rotten core.
Her awe only increased when she saw Atlas in the distance. Though she had lived underneath it for the better part of a decade, the floating city was like nothing she had ever seen. She could only describe it as a vast metropolis that could rival even Leyndell in its sheer majesty.
So many questions threatened to spill forth. How long did it take to build? What method did the people use to allow it flight? Was there no possibility of the city crashing back into the ground?
She turned to voice her thoughts to anyone who would listen, only to realize there was no one to do so.
Though she did have sufficient funds to purchase passage, her lack of identification and official documents were a problem. Though the specifics eluded her still, she understood enough. Fortunately for her, instead of being turned away, she was offered a place in a secluded area of the airship, separated from the rest of the passengers.
A quiet sigh fell from her lips, but she wouldn't let herself be disheartened.
Soon, she would reach the City of Vale. Of course, there was the question of what to do once she arrived. Frankly, she wasn't exactly certain what the next obvious choice was but she supposed she could figure it out once she got there. Vale was warmer and its citizens shouldn't despise her simply for the color of her hair.
She was confident it would work itself out.
Later that night, Ranni was awakened by the crackle of gunfire, the screams of the passengers and the shrieks of monsters.
A/N: If I'm being honest, this fic is kind of weird.
I feel like the approach I've taken with Ranni is a bit of an unusual one. I've read (at least partially) all of the Elden Ring crossovers I feel are worth reading (there aren't that many crossovers in total sadly), but I've yet to see anyone take an Elden Ring character and have them reincarnate into a new body in a new world. NeonZangetsu has done something similar multiple times in his Naruto/Elden Ring crossovers (Go check them out if you haven't yet by the way, they're all extremely good and easy to enjoy even if you aren't a Naruto fan.) but those were the opposite of what I've done here. Frankly I'm kind of nervous about it. I have no idea how this'll come across.
If anyone is wondering about the timeline, It's pretty damn early all things considered. Yang, Weiss and Blake have either just been born or are about to be born, while Ruby doesn't exist yet. I wanted Ranni's new body to be a couple years older than Winter, not much, maybe two or three at the most, so she'd be in her early to mid twenties (assuming Winter is 21-23 in canon) when the shows timeline properly starts. The official RWBY timeline is pretty vague all things considered and since Willow Schnee seems really damn old in the show (Compared to the other RWBY moms at least) I decided to take some liberties. Hope thats okay with people.
Also, writing in old archaic English is kind of difficult to do properly. I'm not gonna stop writing Ranni's speech in it, at least not for a while and not completely since thats a part of her character in my opinion, but double checking that I've written everything correctly is gonna take a good chunk of time lol. If anyone has any knowledge on proper archaic English grammar, do let me know if I make a mistake.
I don't think I have anything else to say at the moment. Although, if you did enjoy the first chapter of this fic, I ask that you leave a favorite, a follow and/or a review, so I can be sure that I'm making content that people enjoy. That goes doubly so for any criticism that anyone has. If anyone has anything to say to me about this fanfic, whether good or bad, I would love to hear it. My PM's are also always open and I will respond to any messages I get. That being said, I'll see you all next time.