A/N: Head still hurts from the fall. Comes with being old, I suppose.
Bed rest is far from fun, but its given me time to catch up on my Elden Ring stories.
We'll be changing the lineup again soon; July was always meant as a catch-up month of sorts.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
No questions this time; no time for them~!
Alright, I think I've kept you waiting more than long enough. With that said here we go.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes! They're merely tributes.
Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to legends far greater than I.
And finally, a warning. Spoilers. Goes without saying, I suppose.
"Its treason, then...
~?
They Rise
"What is this folly?!"
'Tis no folly at all." Ranni retorted. "There is a traitor amongst us."
Malenia slammed a fist down on the table. Goblets jumped at the sudden assault, wine sloshing treacherously within their gild depths. It took all that she had, every fiber of her being, not to leap over it and throttle those on the other side. It was tempting. So very tempting. They had insulted her honor, her core principles, all that she stood for, and done so with that same insufferable smile. It was maddening-no, it maddened her, utterly to no end.
Here they sat arrayed around a large circular table, her, Radahn, Rykard, and of course, Ranni. It was the latter who incensed her so.
"You speak of betrayal," she forced the words out through grit teeth, "Yet give me no names? Is this a game to you?"
"Peace, cousin." Radahn raised a large hand to stymie her. "I'm sure Ranni didn't mean to incense you so-
"She most certainly did!"
-but we are allies here, all of us." he remained the very picture of calm. "There is no need to shout."
Malenia wrestled down her temper and willed herself to be calm. Her right arm itched. She scratched at it restlessly. Infernal thing. What was the point of this meeting? She'd never been the patient sort, not for this sort of thing. That was Miquella's forte. He was the smart one. The schemer. The strategist. She just wanted to protect those she held dear and annihilate any who dared harm them. She found Radahn to be quite tolerable in that regard, if only because he shared her mindset. Rykard somewhat less so, but Ranni?
The two of them would never see eye to eye, even on the most trivial matters. They hadn't as children, and they wouldn't now.
Ranni looked fit to hold her tongue, but under her brother's gaze, however, the Lunar princess finally relented.
"Godwyn has been acting most strange of late, to say nothing of Mohg."
Malenia shivered a little. Mohg. That, at least, made sense. To this day she couldn't discern the Omen's motives, whether he was lusting after Miquella or Father. Neither was appealing. Mohg had a penchant for depraved rituals involving copious amounts of blood and other devices. She didn't want him near her family. Indeed, it was for his very nature that he had been kept at arms length this entire time, despite being a true-blooded son of Marika. She could see why he might be plotting.
Godwyn...she did't know.
They'd never interacted overmuch in the past; few times they had he'd seemed...sad, if somewhat insular and reclusive. What little she knew of Marika's Firstborn -and there was precious little indeed- came mostly from secondhand knowledge. Rumor had it he never went anywhere with his consort, Fia, nor Fortissax, his dearest friend. She'd thought that his nature; to surround himself with those he held dear, to keep his friends close, and his enemies at arms-length, always.
She'd seen him and Father argue once. Once. Voices had been raised, but she'd been too young to understand at the time.
Now she found herself wondering if she should have.
"We did not ask you here for nothing." Rykard spoke at last. "We had thought you might have some insight on their behavior, if not their movements"
She balked. "Why me?"
That serpentine gaze never left hers. "You frequent the Capital often. We do not."
"And?"
"And you are honest." Radahn smiled. "I have never known you to tell a lie, cousin."
Malenia felt her face burn. Oh, gods. Was it getting hot in here?
Why did she feel so warm?
"And what would you have me do?" she flung up an arm, resisting the urge to scratch it again -why was it so damnably itchy?!- and conceal her embarrassment in one fell swoop. "Slap them on the wrist? You know they won't listen to me. Or perhaps I should throw them in the Erdtree; see what it thinks of them, hmm?"
Radahn rumbled a laugh. Ranni rolled her eyes. Rykard did none of these things.
"Careful." he hissed. "To speak such is blasphemy."
Malenia scoffed. "You speak to me of blasphemy? I know of your...interest in that god-devouring serpent. Planning to feed yourself to it are we?"
Rykard sputtered. "I plan to harness its power-
-by letting it eat you?"
"I will survive-
"Rykard," Ranni heaved a sisterly sigh, "You're an idiot. Abandon thy foolish notions."
The younger demigod crossed both arms before his chest and sulked, eyes fixed upon the floor. "I would've devoured the very gods...any who dared threaten us...
"No!" his sister reached across the table and swatted his hand. "Bad Rykard! No more serpents for thee! Thine mind is twisted enough with contemplating such a preposterous plan!"
Radahn met Malenia's gave over their heads and offered a rueful shrug. "Putting our brother's fool notions of immortality aside we have reason to believe that our enemies will strike soon."
"Why tell me this? Why not Father or Miquella?"
Ranni tutted angrily. "Must I spell it out for you, churl?
"Call me a churl one more time and I'll show you how much I've improved with this sword."
"Oh, very well." Ranni must've realized she meant it too; because her anger quelled and she subsided with a scowl. "We mean to catch them in the act, you silly girl, and we cannot do that if they go to ground, which they most assuredly will the moment your father deploys his scorched earth tactics. We do not know how deep this plot runs, nor how deep the rabbit hole goes, so to speak."
And then the traitors are revealed?"
""It is my belief that Marika and Naruto will crush them." Ranni replied.
She could see the logic in that, but she liked it not; no, nay, not a jot. "You're taking a risk."
"It is a necessary one. Unless you think the king and queen are not equal to the task?"
"Do not toy with me, Ranni."
"I do not." her "sister" steepled her fingers and laid her chin to rest atop them. "There was a time when I had thought to collude with these assassins-
Rykard and Radahn rounded on her. "Ranni!"
"But I am content." she cut her brothers off with a raised hand. "Truly, I am. I would have cast aside mine Empyrean flesh and sought another path...were it not for your father. Now there is no need. He serves as a check against the depredations of the Greater Will. He will never let the fingers lay so much as a, pardon the pun, lay a finger on me." the rare ghost of a smile graced the corner of her mouth. "I dare say he means to rule with your mother forevermore.
Radahn shrugged a giant shoulder. "Well, its in the name."
Rykard harrumphed. "The Eternal King and Eternal Queen does have a rather nice ring to it...
"Quite so, my brothers." Ranni granted them a rare smile. "But the fact remains, an attack is coming, and we must be prepared." her eerie gaze swept back to Malenia, the intensity of such rooting her fellow redhead where she stood. "What I am about to tell thee cannot leave this room. A fragment of Destined Death has been stolen."
Fear, cold and icy, shot through Malenia. "How...?!"
Radahn told her the grim tale in his sister's stead. "Malekith was set upon by a great many assassins in the night. He survived, even managed to fend the intruders off, but his blade was broken and they several made off with fragments. We have recovered all but two. Ranni has one in her possession, which she and will return to the Queen's Shadow this very night. Only one remains free." Perhaps he saw the doubt in her eyes, because he looked to his little sibling. "Sister? If you would...?"
Ranni withdrew a sealed case from her sleeve and set upon the table.
From there, she opened it for all to see.
Malenia's mind curled inward. "...!"
A terrible keening noise fled from her teeth, yet she could bring herself to tear her eyes from it.
She shrank back into her chair at the sight of it. Rykard joined her, making a sign to ward off evil. "Heresy...
For once, she agreed with the inquisitive praetor.
Wrong. This...was wrong. Terribly horribly wrong, wrong, wrong. She looked upon the fragment, that sliver of baleful-black-bearing-red and lost all hope. Its very presence seemed to suck all light from the room. This was what Mother had plucked from the Elden Ring. Destined Death in its purest form. It was darkness and despair and DEMISE, an end to all things, ashes in her mouth. Here was an enemy no blade could best, no cold words could hope to sway. There would be no rebirth if that touched you, no reincarnation, no reconstitution. Not even the void. This...this was oblivion, the destruction of both body and soul.
A weapon imbued with that could very well kill the and their children.
Could her Father resist such a blade? Could Mother? They were strong, but could they defeat Death itself?
She didn't want to know. No more. She couldn't bear the sight of Destined Death any longer. It unnerved her more than any foe ever could.
"You mustn't touch it without the proper spells." Ranni instruction broke through the pall that had fallen over her. "Even a small cut could prove lethal. One of my attendants made the mistake of carrying it with their bare hands and dropped dead straight away." she tutted softly. "Poor girl."
Malenia shivered anew. One slip. One mistake. One cut, and that was it. You'd be dead.
"I shan't touch it." she pushed herself further back in her chair, scraping it against the floor to get away. "Please...take it away. Close the box." her voice rose in a warbling plea. "I do not wish to look upon it further."
Radahn's hand came down on her shoulder. "Ghastly thing, isn't it?"
"It is." she found herself leaning against him, eager for the warmth and comfort his presence provided.
"My apologies." Here at last, Ranni granted her a pitying look. "Destined Death is not for the faint of heart. We have reason to suspect Godwyn will take advantage of this missing fragment; or worse, that he plans to ally himself with these so-called Black Knives. A ritual is required to imbue weapons with Destined Death. Only a Demigod can perform such.
Her brow furrowed. "Why him and Not Mohg?"
"One wishes for change." Rykard shrugged a shoulder. "The other does not. That fool Mohg wants a dynasty and doubtlessly thinks he can get so long as he attaches himself to your family. Godwyn may well wish to upend the whole of it. After all, Lands Between cannot change so long as Naruto and Marika rule.
Malenia dared a nod.
Silence? To the hells with silence!
She must warn her family. They must be told.
(.0.0.0.)
Young Godrick had low expectations when he first encountered his cousins.
After all, he was weak, sickly, and so very pale beneath his dull green robes. What possible interest could they have in him? Perhaps that was his cynicism talking. Years of being beaten down, demeaned, treated as lesser, all of it had hardened him in a way no child should be. When you were weak as he, you had to learn to defend yourself, no matter the cost.
It was simply the way of the world.
Godrick didn't know what to make of them at first. They were certainly...odd so far as sisters went. They shared blood and a father, though not the same mother. Grandmother and Grandfather were larger than life to him and while he'd not met this "Renna" in quite some time, he expected some level of cynicism from the adults and vicious teasing from his fellow children.
Regardless, his fears availed him naught; if only because Reyna and Melina shattered his expectations immediately.
"Greetings." the shorter of the two intoned. "You must be Godrick."
The pale boy grimaced. He knew how this went; how it had gone with everyone he'd ever met. The mocking. The denigration. The veiled insults.
"I know. I'm weak." he grit his teeth, refusing to be riled. "I'm weak. Shame of Godwyn. Runt of the litter. You needn't rub it in."
Melina tilted her head, pale hair lofting over a blue eye. "Who cares about such a thing?
Just like that, Godrick's brain fizzled out spectacularly, leaving him to balk. "...ha?"
"There's nothing wrong with being weak." Reyna agreed. "We're weak."
"You two?!"
"Everyone's weak when compared to father and mother." This from, Melina who seemed so much wiser than her years. "We're children, silly. We're not mean to be strong."
Not meant to be strong?! These were the daughters of a man-made-god and a living goddess both, their blood far purer than his. How could they possibly be weak?! Was he dreaming?! Be this some frenzied fever haze from which he would wake?! Pinching his arm did nothing to dispel the illusion and only drew funny looks from the girls.
"What art thou doing?"
"Pinching myself." he muttered hoarsely.
Reyna tilted her head as well. "Whyever would you do that?"
"Because this is a dream." a broken, bitter laugh tumbled out of him as he ran a hand through his silver hair. "Its best that I wake up now, don't you think?"
The sister exchanged a long, lingering look between one another, some unspoken message passed between them.
Reyna tutted. "This is a problem. Wouldn't you agree, sister?"
Melina nodded. "Quite so. Something must be done."
"Then we are of one mind."
A nod. "Indeed we are."
"Shall we, then?"
"We shall."
They rounded on him.
Godrick blinked, not quite comprehending. "What-
"He's my friend!" Reyna seized his arm and drew him left.
"No, he's mine." Melina clung to his arm and dragged him to the right. "I saw him first."
"I spoke to him first!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
Most would have balked at being tugged to and fro like some deranged toy.
Protested, at the very least.
For little Godrick? This was paradise. Heaven on earth. Liberation from the living hell he'd been thrust into. No one had ever deigned to touch him before, not even his own father and mother. Whereas these two did not give a flying fig for such things. They practically embraced him in their haste to get at him, all the while babbling about who was better and why he should pick one over the other. He'd never had friends before and quite suddenly, he had two -TWO!- fighting for his attention. It touched him beyond words.
Was this what it felt like to be normal? A lone tear rolled down his cheek.
It felt...nice. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
Never.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto hid a smile behind his hand as he watched the scene unfold. "That poor boy. He has no idea what he's getting himself into."
"Poor?" Marika tutted softly as they watched Reyna and Melina play tug-of-war with young Godrick. "I dare say he's going to have those two chasing after him when he's older. Give him time. If he's anything like my son he'll have no shortage of suitors."
Maybe so. It still amused him.
Renna rolled her eye. "Should we help him?"
Marika thumbed her chin. "I think...we should commit this moment to memory." An impish smile plucked at the corner of her mouth, promising mischief. "And speaking of memory, dost thou recall the face you made last night when my consort-
Heat speared up back of Naruto's neck.
Renna beat him to it. "DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT IN PUBLIC!"
Marika grinned. "But where else would I speak of it? Shall I remind you of the time when I-
Renna made angry Renna noises and rounded on her with a squawk. Just like that, the two of them went haring off again, arguing amongst themselves like two she-cats. Well, Renna did the arguing. Marika merely goaded the witch along at subtle moments, reveling in the waving of her four hands and her furious face, her every sputter, every denunciation. She really was too easy to tease. Honestly if she didn't react that He let them go at it and held his tongue, unwilling to become a target of Marika's mischief himself.
He shifted his stance a little, keenly aware of the rings in his pocket. Maybe now wasn't the best time-
Something shifted in the shadows nearby behind them.
With it, he felt a sudden pang of ill intent.
Naruto craned his neck toward it.
His senses didn't let him down even after all these years; in no time at all, he glimpsed the source. A faint figure crouched in the shadows, hidden by a concealing veil. They stiffened under his gaze. He stared at them with intent, daring them to take another step forward. When they did, he nudged Marika with an elbow.
"Oh?" his wife-to-be pivoted the very moment he did. "Do we have a wayward spy among us?
The shadow stiffened, alarmed at having been caught out.
Naruto scowled. "So it would seem."
"Run along, whomever you are." She waved a hand at it. "And tell your master, whoever they may be, that we're not in the mood. Do so and we may let you live."
The air shimmered a moment more as the unseen figure dithered. Glanced toward the children, now.
"I wouldn't." Renna's voice rose in warning. "Touch them and you will die.
"Slowly." Marika simpered with a faux smile.
Common sense dictated they would do the smart thing, the sensible thing...not the stupid. Life was often disappointing.
They didn't lunge at the children. Smart.
They went for him instead.
Not so smart.
Blue eyes rolled. "For the love of...
They didn't make it so much as a foot before he caught them. Renna flung three rings of blue their way. Her spell struck true, fastening them in place to render any such assault moot. The assassin had a moment to balk, to struggle against their restraints, then it was over. Naruto's fist found their face a heartbeat later, knocking them silly. Marika's hammer slammed into their gut, folding them in half and all but wedging them into the earth. Indeed, the outcome was never in question.
"HAMMER DOWN!"
Renna heaved a sigh. "Must you exclaim such things when you attack?"
"Yes, we must." the Eternal Queen straightened up with a sigh and flicked a bead of blood from her black dress. "It befits our queenly demeanor."
"She just likes showing off...
A blond brow rose. "What was that my consort?"
The assassin gurgled wetly at their feet. "Not...fair...they didn't mention a witch...
"Oh, dear." Marika tittered . "I do believe our guest is dying. Someone get that concealing veil off him."
"Papa?" Dimly, he heard Melina and Reyna calling out to them in confusion. "What's going on? Why did mama hit that man with her hammer? Was he being bad?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Erm...yes. Aaaaand that is why you must never anger thy mother."
"Don't mind us, dears." Marika draped herself over him." We're just playing a game."
Reyna absolutely blanched. "A grownup game?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"Ewwww!"
It worked like a charm. The girls scarpered, dragging a dazed Godrick round the corner with them, deeper into the fortress of Stormveil.
"Good." Marika pivoted the moment they were gone. "We can work in peace. Now then," she crouched before their would be attacker. "Who are you and what do you want? Surely you weren't going to attack our children, were you? You'd have to be foolish indeed to do such a thing. Lets see who you are under that...
Their would-be-assassin slumped as she tore the invisibility talisman off him.
Renna saw them first and swore softly. "Oh, dear...
It was a man wrapped in...
.
..
...what was that?!
Was he wearing someone's skin?
Naruto gagged at sight of them, this bearded man clad in ghastly white robes made of godly flesh, even now leering up at them with bloody teeth.
Marika's humor dried up in an instant. "A Godskin. I thought I forbade you and your kind from setting foot in my city."
"Once, but no longer." He coughed and spat blood at her face. "Your words mean nothing. A new era is nigh."
"What is your purpose here?"
"I was to deliver a message." another bloody cough. "SHE is coming. Even now she awaits ye. At the place where it all began." Foam misted at the edge of his mouth, his gaze growing dim. "You have not been forgotten. Our great Gloam-Eyed Queen has been reborn."
Marika muttered something under her breath. It sounded like a curse.
But that dim gaze was no longer focused upon her. It roved past Renna, ignored her, and found him now, somehow.
"And you. Elden Lord. She knows of thee." the Godskin Apostle's smile stretched into a crazed grin, devoid of any sanity. "Oh, yes. She knows you very well. She is most eager to meet you. She has been patient, but her patience nears its end. Go to her. Seek her out." a trembling hand clawed at him and he shied back from it despite himself. "She has awoken. Reunite that which was broken. Fulfill the promise left unspoken."
Marika's gaze seared into his back.
Promise?! What promise? He didn't remember a promise!
Naruto considered healing the madman, if only to interrogate him further.
But the man was quivering in his death throes now, clearly beyond all semblance of aid.
"Her Majesty will rise again...She shall lead us to glory...She shall save us...She...shall give us...a new age...
The madman's eyes rolled back into his head. He coughed once. Twice, now.
She whispers to me, even now...I can see it...Her...Empire...
His right hand twitched.
"Get back!"
Marika seized him by the back of his shirt and yanked; well that she did; because the Godskins body burst into flames. Great tongues of black-on-white, the fire seared high into the air, immolating his corpse in an instant. They kept burning, tearing at the ground, devouring the dirt and air itself, scorching the very sky with their heat.
What kind of flame was that...?
"Don't touch it." Marika smacked his hand down when he made to smother it. "That fire will burn even you. It can only be muffled by magical means."
...I shall attend to it." Renna stepped past, refusing to look at either of them.
As she did, Naruto grabbed Marika's hand and gave her a grim look. "...do I even want to ask what that was about?"
"I could say the same of you!"
"Don't deflect. You clearly know her. I don't."
Marika pointedly looked away. "I...may have a sister."
Naruto exhaled in a long-suffering sigh. "Well, that's not ominous at all...
A/N: Aaaand scene.
Didn't see that coming, did you?
Not only do we have Black Knives to deal with, but now the resurgence of the Godskins.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. If folks don't enjoy it, the story will remain, but it won't be continued. And there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. Just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me.
I'm weary from work these days, but coming home after a long one to read feedback really make it worthwhile~!
So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas....Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews~!
I'm deliberately being coy with them this time around.
Some are far off. Others are closer than you think.
Once again, SPOILERS AHOY!
Seriously, ye be warned~!
Mostly the same here.
(Previews)
"Talk."
Marika squirmed under his gaze. 'Tis not a story I enjoy...
Miquella flung the book down with an exasperated hiss. "Blast it! Why is it so hard to find answers?! Has even this library been censured?!"
"The preparations have been made, Lord Godwyn."
"Then let us begin, Fia."
"A challenger at our gates? How quaint."
"He says he's a messenger...for someone called the Gloam-Eyed Queen."
Marika smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "Finally got too big for her britches, did she? Perhaps I should send Maliketh after her...
"Godwyn's been acting strange...
"I'll have a word with him.
Black knives gleamed in the moonlight. Their leader gave the signal. As one, the blackened blades descended.
A god died smiling.
EDIT: Hey, you made it! Thanks for reading! Hope you have great luck and a great day~!
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
R&R~!