Today was probably the best day in her life.
Not only had she managed to foil a dust robbery and fight off… What was his name again? Oh right! the torchwick guy! She did kinda forget, but thanks to the wanted poster on her right, she now knows.
She even managed to impress Headmaster Ozpin enough to get her a full scholarship at Beacon Academy two years earlier. Although, Professor Glynda is scary when she's angry and what is it about her silver eyes?
Nevertheless, today was not probably the best day in her life but THE BEST day in her life.
… She didn't expect to get transported by a flash of blinding golden light in an unfamiliar land in the middle of dried and dead trees with a single ruined stone road and what looked like a large dark carriage in front of her — not even an hour later.
And not even a moment later, the first thing that came face to face with her… was a giant malnourished Dog that looked like a T-rex… staring at her hungryly.
And now she was being chased by said hungry T-rex dog.
If that wasn't enough she didn't even have Crescent Rose with her. She can't fight it without a weapon, and she knew that she was helpless without it. That's why her sweetheart was always with her.
Why would she need her fists for?
Yang would definitely want to argue though — and would fight it unarmed to prove a point.
At least she managed to outrun the Giant dog with her semblance. What kind of Grimm was that? She never saw something that looked like that before.
Could it be a Grimm native to these lands? Although now that she thought about it, where on Remnant is she right now.
The red hue in the cloudy sky looked ominous to her, mirrored by the red soil. The trees were dry and everything looked dead around her, save for the grass. The fungi looked strange too, were mushrooms supposed to bleed red?
Alright it's probably best to get out of here, but where should she go?
The GPS on her scroll wasn't working nor was she getting any signals. Her compass still worked though so that's good. There's also still this stone pathway which probably leads to a town or village.
Although she could just stay put and wait for help as it wouldn't take long for someone to notice she was missing… but would she really do that though? Nope. she was a Huntress-in-training after all, it was her duty to save people and become a hero and if she couldn't even save herself, then she would be incapable in saving others.
She didn't want to fail her dream after all, she wanted to show her mom how cool and awesome she was. Plus, she got the feeling that staying put would lead to bad things to happen… not that she was disturbed by the landscape. Yep totally not at all.
Sooooo without any other options, she decided the next best thing was following the stone path that headed east.
Humming an upbeat tune while hopefully avoiding any of those weird Grimm on the way. Even the Nevermores here looked strange — a big head did not fit a small body at all. It was the same with that dog Grimm. They looked eerie.
And did she mention they lacked bone plates? Because they didn't have any bone plates at all or even shared the same glowing red eyes. There was also the lack of hatred normally exuded by the Grimm she fought back home, instead it was replaced with hunger.
Do Grimm even need to eat? And was that an albino variant of the dog Grimm? It's getting weirder the longer she stays.
Well at least she's got an interesting story to tell back home.
Some time has passed, yet she still hasn't encountered any trace of civilization and any Human or Faunus yet. Her scroll still isn't getting any signals, no matter where she went or how high up she got.
Hmm maybe if she climbed that huge tree she'll get a signal… wait a minute.
Finally noticing something remarkably large.
Her jaw dropped to the floor and eyes wide as saucers. All of her good mood instantly vanished, and she concluded that today was in fact the worst day in her life.
As what she saw in front of her was arguably the most beautiful tree. A shining golden tree that pierced the sky. A tree that couldn't possibly exist yet there it was with all of its grandeur.
She wasn't on remnant anymore was she? Because there was no way that tree was gonna go unnoticed by everyone due to how large it was. Even from a far away distance she could still see it.
No…
No…
NO!
She must still be on Remnant, just in a very, VERY isolated area. This just must be thousands of miles away from Patch at best. This must just be all one bad dream.
She reasoned, reasoned with all the ideas she could come up with, denying the idea she wasn't transported in another land but in another world.
In a state of panic, she ran.
It didn't matter where she went she just ran in a blur, leaving behind scattered rose petals — a side effect of her semblance.
It didn't even matter how tired she was nor how her aura depleted the more she overused her semblance. Normally using it in short bursts, but now practically on overdrive.
Nor didn't it matter how she couldn't see things clearly as her speed caused her vision to blur. so she ran until she tripped, eliciting a yelp and a wet splash.
Groaning, she rubbed her head before recalling the thing that made her tripped and it felt like...
Something squishy. Hesitantly, she turned to look at it.
Oh no…
In front of her was a pile of dead carcasses.
… that looked vaguely human or whatever was left that resembled one.
The sight and stench of the half eaten corpses made a bile crept up her throat, retching her vomit to the ground. Her clothes felt damp from the puddle she fell down to that smelled of iron. She knew what it was but couldn't help but turn to look at it.
It was a pool of blood and her hands were drenched into it.
She felt dizzy, her heart was pounding hard and her body was quivering, not even realizing she was holding a breath until she turned purple. She shouldn't be here. She needed to get out of here. Away from this place. Anyplace but here.
Ruby stood up quickly and prepared to run.
Only to heavily cough and tremble as a sudden feeling of tiredness hit her like a wave.
She felt her eyes heavy, her body moreso. She took another step before falling to the ground as her consciousness faded, entering into the realm of sleep.
If she stayed awake just a little longer. Then she would have heard the sound of a horse galloping before stopping near her.
She was having a nice dream. A very nice, comfortable dream. One where she achieved her goal, her dream, to become a hero. A party thrown atop a hill, celebrating her success of being a legendary huntress.
Tons of people were there, whom she called her friends and could talk to them freely without any type of awkwardness. Not even finding her quirk of being a weapon nut strange.
Her family was also present. Dad and Yang were laughing and making puns, much to the annoyance of uncle Qrow whenever he overheard them. There was even an unfamiliar woman in the distance — bickering with her uncle Qrow — that looked fairly reminiscent of a figure in the photo Yang has.
But most important of all, her mom was there. Alive. Smiling at her.
She wished this was reality. But sadly a dream was still a dream. And such as all dreams would not be allowed to continue… no matter how much she strived for it, for it was the nature of dreaming, ever fleeting, ever out of reach.
She was awake, noticing a wetness in her eyes as if she were crying in her sleep. She wanted to go back, back to that dreamlike world.
Naturally no one could fault her fall for closing back her eyes. She started moving around the bed and pulling the blanket upwards.
It was then that she noticed, there were no blankets, nor was there even a bed, just the hard ground covered by a rugged cloth.
Suddenly it all came back to her, the blinding gold light, the great golden tree… and the corpses.
She opened her eyes and sat up on the worn old-fashioned bed roll. Ruby looked around and took note of where she was. She was still outside but in a different place and it was dark now. She looked at the night sky just in time to see the clouds part away revealing the stars and the… moon that was not shattered.
Ruby only saw it for a moment before being obscured again, but it was enough to confirm the grim thought she held — a small part of her hoped that she was still dreaming, no, a nightmare — that she was not on Remnant anymore.
She slumped down, leaning against the boulder in her back. Ruby sighed, hugging her knees together. This is all real isn't it? Pinching hard and long didn't help either as she winced from the pain.
She was stuck here in this new world, probably for her whole life. She can't go to Beacon anymore, she can't hold Crescent Rose anymore, She can't form a team with Yang at Beacon or see her, Dad, uncle Qrow and Zwei anymore.
She couldn't tell her mom that she became a hero, like the ones in the fairytales… just like her.
A morbid thought came across her mind, one where she kicked the bucket and felt it wouldn't be all that bad.
We'll mom looks like I'll meet you again sooner than expected. Sorry Yang, I can't come with you to beacon or make new friends like you wanted. Sorry Dad, you can't watch me grow up. Sorry uncle Qrow, your favorite niece is going ahead first.
Stop. Nothing good won't come from that line of thought. This isn't like her to go down this low, maybe once upon a time when she was a child she once experienced this feeling when her mom went missing.
"... sigh," Great, the negative thoughts are piling up, the Grimm could be here any minute now… although could Grimm even exist here though?
"I didn't even finish reading my magazines and comics and I just recently bought them too… hmm?"
Hold on, now that she thought about it. In one of the comics she bought, the plot was similar to what was happening to her right now, in which the protagonist gets sent into a fantasy world where he must find a way back. And if ruby remembered correctly, the protagonist succeeded by using magic to create a portal back home.
Then this must be a fantasy world judging from the fantasy comic she read, then magic must be present here and magic could do the impossible. Maybe there's a way back after all. If she got teleported here then that means there could be a vice versa, a way back home.
Does this mean she's the protagonist of this story then? Welp, no answer needed as it is kinda obvious to her.
Growing excited, she slapped her cheeks before standing up and pumping her fist towards the sky. Practically overflowing with hope and determination.
… Wait, wasn't there blood on her hands? And she just slapped her cheeks with it. "Grossgrossgorssgorssgro- huh?" she stopped rubbing her hands in her handkerchief midway before noticing the lack of blood on her hands illuminated by the campfire.
Who made the campfire anyway? Did someone clean her hands? There was no one here except herself and the strange looking suit of armor across the bonfire.
The sound of iron clinked by the armor suddenly alerted her and she realized that it wasn't an empty suit of armor and that she wasn't alone. How did she not notice someone was there sitting crossed legged beside the broken cart? How does she keep missing the obvious ones, that person is quite literally in front of her! Well, it didn't move an inch and talk earlier, soooo how was she supposed to know?
Hang on if she wasn't actually alone, then…. They just saw what she did didn't they?
… her face turned red in embarrassment. Promptly sitting down and covering her face with her hood. Ok since no one commented maybe they didn't see, yep let's go with that. Ruby shifted her hood to get a better look at the armor.
The person in front of her is an armored figure with a red cape draped over his shoulders. But the most prominent piece was the rusted iron briars coiled on every part of the figure's armor, from head to toe.
Twisting even the face of the helm a bit to the side — angling it 135 degrees to the left. How she thought it could see clearly was lost on her, but the image was uncanny.
She noticed the red strain on his chainmail and didn't know if it was painting or blood. She took a sniff and yep its blood.
But barring the blood, the face and if the briars were coiled rightly, then Ruby thought he looked like a knight. A knight that faintly resembled a rose.
None of them spoke for a while, just intently continuing the staring contest. Although, the silence and the staring was getting awkward for her. For her, she just didn't know what to say to start with. Should she start with her name or something else… The thought of having to talk fills her with anxiety.
At times like this, she wished she had her sister's natural affinity for people. Hmm, If she remembered correctly, she was in a different place before she lost consciousness. Someone had to have moved her, maybe it was him? I think I'll go with that.
"Um Hi! Did you carry me here? And… did you also clean my hands?" she blurted that last part a little too quickly.
The knight nodded, paused for a moment, then nodded again. Before she could ask another, he spoke first.
"What are you doing here," He inquired with a voice barely a hint of emotion.
Ruby hesitated before answering, this was the moment of truth. If he doesn't believe what she'll say, then there's a chance that magic might not exist after all… maybe 50-50.
"I- uh, actually don't know. All I remember is a flash of golden light, then I suddenly appeared here — well not exactly right here but somewhere around here."
To her relief, the knight didn't laugh nor did he try to deny what she said. Instead, he gave her a straight answer. "Seems like you got teleported here through magic or by other means."
And there it is.
"So magic is real!?" She exclaimed excitedly.
The knight stared at her with dead silence as if she just grew two heads, before slowly nodding his head.
Before she could fish for more information regarding magic, she became aware of the slowly smoldering ruined building — that reminded her a bit of the old churches she saw online once — behind him.
And the object that took her full interest.
Ruby gazed upwards, past the smoldering church. It was the same large golden tree she saw earlier. The same dreaded tree that raised her suspicion.
Yet no matter how horrid she thought of it. She can't find it anything but beautiful. The most beautiful, graceful thing.
Well obviously not as beautiful as her baby of course.
"Heheh," she chuckled.
Before gaping at the scenery as to what happened next.
The golden leaves that fell from the golden tree, all added to how beautiful the scenery was. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.
"By the way, what is that?" Ruby pointed at the golden tree.
"...You don't know?" Confusion lingered in his voice, the first emotion he showed.
"Nope," Ruby popped the p.
He tilted his head to the side before answering.
"That's the Erdtree."
"Cool, why is it golden though? Oh and what's that?" she pointed at another large tree albeit not as shiny and as large, it was closer though.
"... The minor Erdtree," things were getting more confusing for the knight now, how could she not know these terms?
"Minor Erdtree huh, so they're probably the younger version of it. Also, why is everything almost in gold?" she asked him, but was ignored.
"Um… hello?"
"Tell me… do you know what a 'Tarnished' is?"
"Of course I do, 'it's to ruin someone's reputation or image'," She was confused on why he was asking if she knew the verb.
"... You really aren't from around here,"
"Eh?"
Before she could ask what he meant, her belly growled. Right, she hadn't even eaten dinner yet before coming here.
He stared at her before procuring meat from his satchel. Impaling it on a stick before handing it out to her.
"Here, it's deer meat."
"Thank you," Ruby took it before hanging it on the campfire, a slight drool escaped her lips as the delicious aroma exuded from the meat entered her nostrils.
Day came, the deer meat was good, better than she expected as it didn't have any seasonings. He didn't eat with her though, maybe he already ate before her?
He also lent her his canteen that has the symbol of the Erdtree — after she coughed a lot when she woke up for some reason. She suspected that this canteen has magic in it as no matter how much she drank from it, it kept refilling itself.
It even energized her! And somehow tasted better too.
On the topic of him though, it only took her to figure out that he didn't like to talk that much. But, she did find his company comfortable, like a friend that didn't share any awkwardness. They even talked about weapons!
Well, it was mostly her talking though, but he didn't get irked or called her a weapon nut. Haha! See Yang, I am perfectly capable of making friends.
He even showed her his sword when she asked — somehow she got the feeling that if Yang were here, she would make a pun about that sword like the time in signal academy. What does sword have to do with guys — although she didn't get to see the one in blue sheath.
Anyway, his sword was a gladius! It had been a long time since she saw a gladius, even back on Remnant. At first, it was easy to mistake the blade to be rusted. But for a blacksmith such as her, she could tell it was infused with copper.
He explained it was a conduit to move it by his will alone like telekinesis! Except without a Semblance. Yep, she recently just found out that Aura and Semblances don't exist here. It still boggled her that even Aura doesn't exist here since Aura is the manifestation of the soul!
Maybe things like that worked differently here… at least her Aura and Semblance still worked. Guns also haven't been invented yet… That's a bummer.
Wait, she's getting off topic here. Back to the sword! When she asked what the name of the sword was, he told her he didn't remember just that it was the treasured sword of his homeland.
She also did try to ask about his armor, but was only met with a silent stare before shaking his head each time she asked… which was 5 times. She was just that curious.
Other than that, she also asked about magic… which didn't go well. He was really bad at explaining things… like the sending gates he mentioned which got her interested but disappointed when he couldn't how it works, only that it teleports you to a specific location.
Currently, her plan was to follow him as he was the only one she could rely on, and there was this feeling that she could somehow trust him. That and there was no one else present. People were scarce here for some reason.
They were still resting near the smoldering church and she hadn't told him about her plan yet…
The thought that he'll disagree with her plans filled her with anxiety and fear.
She didn't want to be left alone here…
Ruby mustered up the courage and was about to tell him, but he suddenly stood up and pointed his hand behind her.
"If you head west you'll reach Limgrave."
W-what?
"It is time we parted." he bid her farewell before turning to leave
Wait!
Ruby ran up to him, stopping at his side which caused him to pause in his tracks.
"What are you doing?"
"I just, uh… " Ruby took a breath, trying to find the right words. "I also happen to have to go the same way as you. Coincidence am I right?"
Ruby gave an awkward laugh whilst scratching the back of her head.
"Following me in these path isn't safe for little girls,"
"I'm not that little! and besides I'm a huntress-in-training, I know how to fight…. I just need a weapon that's all… preferably a scythe," she muttered the last part
She really hoped that he wouldn't leave her here.
"I only ask why?"
"Okay…" Ruby swayed on her feet, looking hesitant and unsure before gripping her left arm with her right.
"I, um… I really don't know where to go, and I don't know anyone here… I don't even know how this world works…" she suddenly found the ground interesting. " I want to go back home, but I don't know where to go or how to get back. So um… maybe we can help each other? Please?" her voice wavering on 'please'.
Ruby slowly looked up and the two shared a silent staring contest that lasted for sometime, eventually he relented.
"... Fine."
Her eye's instantly lit up. She could feel her lips tugging upwards, melting away the distress in an instant. Ruby was about to express her thanks, but was shortly interrupted.
"But know this, I am on a journey to restore these lands, this journey will be hard and perilous, yet do you still want to follow me?"
The next words Ruby spoke with conviction, words that she will never come to regret. Even after all the bloodshed and suffering in the future.
"I do."
"Very well," he grabbed his blue sheathed sword before handing it out to her.
She took hold of it without hesitation, before unsheathing it, marveled at the blade. A longsword with a regal blue handle,the handguard and pommel covered in gold. But what really caught her attention was the blue crystal gem at the base of the sword.
She felt power emitting from just holding this sword. A magic sword she thought.
"What's her name?"
"I never named it, it is a Carian knight sword, if you want to name it, then it is fine."
Ruby was almost taken aback, who wouldn't want to name such a beautiful sword but it wasn't the time right now, so she nodded before sheathing it back. She would need to think of a name sometime soon as weapons were people like her. Ruby paused at that thought, now that she thought about it.
"Oh right, I haven't told you my name yet. I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose," Ruby finally introduced herself, giving him a smile. "And you are?"
"Tarnished, it is what they call me." immediately replying.
"That again, you never did explain to me what it means," Ruby crossed her arms and pouted. "But I'm not calling you that, it sounds bad."
Ruby looked at him straight in the eye — or at least the eye of the helm as it was too dark to see through — which he sighed shortly after. That was the second emotion he showed, Tiredness.
"If you wish to call me something, then call me 'Ferri', it is the name of mine birthplace, from the lands of Eochaid." He declared.
Well, it's still better than calling him 'Tarnished'.
"Nice to meet you Ferri," She gave him a toothy smile. Holding out her right hand for a handshake at which Ferri only stared at it then to his thorned gauntlets.
Oh right, the briars.
"Don't worry my aura will protect me from any damages."
"..."
Ferri gripped her hand lightly and shook it, Ruby noticed that the briars in that arm only reached to his wrists. She noted that his hands felt warm, even through the gauntlet.
Ferri pulled back his hand and whistled, and a grey horned horse materialized out of thin air with him already mounted.
Hmm… The horse's horns look like a goat's horn… Yep, she's calling it Goathorse now.
"Get on."
He held out his hand to her. She suddenly realized she's gonna ride a Goathorse. A magical Goathorse. She should probably stop gawking now…
"What's the Goa- I mean Horse's name?"
"Torrent."
"The name sounds nice," right after she said that, Torrent neighed, agreeing. Oooohhh, Torrent can understand, just like Zwei!
Ruby mounted Torrent with Ferri's help, although she did want to ride in front.
"So where are we headed to?"
Ferri looked into the distance.
"Further into Caelid."
A/N.
It's been a while since I last wrote something. Sorry if the quality of my writing's dropped.
I wanted to write this fic since I first played Elden Ring on release date but lacked the lore to properly write it.
Anyway, this fic underwent many revisions. First it was a comedy tarnished centered fic. Second it was Ruby starting with the Tarnished in the beginning of the game. Third was similar to the premise but with the Tarnished's point of view. Fourth was also similar to the second but followed my character progression which broke the difficulty of the game… I went to Caelid and Moghwyn's Palace first before beating Rennala in my first playthrough.
That's it, thank you for reading this. Leave a review if you want.