A/N: Can anyone see this?
Slifer helped immeasurably with this, but...
...this darn site seems to be acting up for the umpteenth time yet again.
Email -aka desktop/web- notifications have been down since the TENTH of this month and they're still not fixed. Meanwhile it works in the app, but none of us have been getting email notifications via the web/desktop version. Don't get me started about the stats, those have been broken even longer.
I dearly hope the admins fix/address this soon. If this isn't fixed by the end of the month, I just might retire or migrate to Archive of our Own entirely. At least things work over there, and when they do go down, they get fixed pretty quickly. Getting real tired of putting up with these glitches over here.
I love it here, I really do, but in this year alone the site functionality has taken a nosedive.
Maybe if enough of us message the admins on the support email or their fiction press twitter, they'll get this fixed? Then again they've been silent for six day now, and not a word. Maybe they don't know what's going on. But if that's the case, why the silence? It doesn't make a like of sense. In all the fifteen years I've been here, its never been this bad.
Hopefully things are alright over there.
To make matter worse, depression's starting to hit real hard these days. Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. I can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head. I don't even know why! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. Its rather annoying; like I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes. Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. My doctor is of no help at all.
*siiiigh* Don't mind the rambling of this old geezer...
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough, methinks. Enough of this old man's rambling; you're here for a story.
Once more, I own nooooo references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. Nope.
They're simply tributes to legends far greater than I.
Hope you're ready for some surprises~!
"Beware thy wandering eye and thy blazing heart, for...
~?
All That Glitters is not Gold
Naruto pressed his lips into a thin line, his countenance in sharp juxtaposition to the homey atmosphere of the current local.
He found himself sitting atop an old but well-maintained and comfortable couch in one of the many sitting rooms that composed Rennala's personal apartments as headmistress of the academy. The light that streamed in through the strangely small windows was weak, the sun lethargically waking up into early morning. Most of the room's light was being thrown out by the roaring fire in the hearth that warmed the room despite the gloom in the air. He felt someone squeeze his hand and turned to see Rennala giving him a wan smile; one that grew a little warmer when he squeezed her hand in return.
He liked it when she smiled, it made him feel like he was immersing himself in a crisp and cool stream, washing away the lethargy of sleep and bad feelings.
While Naruto had been quick to get dressed, the Queen of Caria, 'and my fiance…' he mentally reminded himself, still wore her bedclothes. Her tall, regal form was wrapped in a dark blue silk dressing gown and her inky black hair in a simple ponytail that trailed down her chest.
Given the early hour, she was not the only sleepily attired person in the so-called 'family room'.
Ranni, Melina and Sellen sat on another couch looking annoyed, curious and fretting respectively, almost arranged in ascending height order. The last of their group was perched on an ornate ottoman between them, her gold eyes looking downcast as she moped sullenly.
"Milicent," Naruto chose his words carefully-yet-gently, drawing the little redhead's gaze before she looked away in what could be called shame. "You can talk to us; no one here is going to turn you away."
When the crimson cherub had arrived distraught in their bedroom last night, the odd couple had decided to have an early night, keeping her nestled between them as they had slept, curled into a tight ball as she muttered nonsensically to herself in and out of sleep and while their gentle ministrations had calmed her to sleep they had yet to make sense of any of it all. Sleep came fleetingly for Naruto, both out of concern for his young charge and consternation that what had started out as a private tryst between him and Rennala had quickly turned into a family sleepover.
Throughout the night, they were joined by the other trio of pseudo-siblings who had taken up childish vigil over their weeping number. Ever the magenta-haired harridan, Melina had crawled under the covers to spoon Milicent from behind and hug away her nightmares. Even as she had slept, Naruto couldn't help but find the determined look on her little sleeping face endearing.
'Bold as brass, that one, kinda like me but huggier…' he mused silently, seemingly ignoring the act that he was also hugging three separate people at the time.
Sellen had been next, caught between her weirdness at being so close to her 'parents' and concern for her apprentice she had curled up at the foot of the bed. As the newest addition, Ranni had settled on a pragmatic approach and slept on an armchair beside the bed.
But that was then, and this was now.
Naruto caught Ranni looking around, it seemed she was still getting used to having moisture in a flesh eye again for the first time in centuries, her pout radiating stubborn indignation. She looked again and again at the presence of a particular silver band sitting proudly on her mother's left ring finger. She knew that Naruto and her mother were courting, but objections were natural.
The spiky-haired young man watched in amusement as something cold and wet nudged one of Ranni's hands, Raddagon's Wolf fixing her with a knowing stare that told her to focus on the matter at hand.
The wolf was right even if it couldn't speak, this matter with Milicent required all of their focus.
"Last night, you told us that they were coming for you and that you remembered," he stated when he was sure Milicent was open to speaking.
"I don't want to remember." Milicent replied, balling her little fists but Naruto's searching look bore down on her like the ocean, "...I don't want to, Papa." she hiccuped.
"I know, Milicent, I know. But you can't let what you're afraid of rule you, and if the burden is too much to bear, then those around you will help you lift it." Naruto leaned forward in his seat, "So let us help and speak your mind, kiddo. Sage knows sometimes I talk too much, but I'm a good listener when push comes to shove."
She looked up into his whiskered face and he could see her every thought written on her face; doubtless she was wondering just what dimension did the Greater Will hail from to think that this warm and welcoming aura that sought not but to enrich the lives of those he cared for could ever be a 'Beast', Elden or otherwise.
She took a deep breath before speaking quietly, "Okay…"
And speak she did, airing her secrets like so much dirty laundry. She told them of her true identity as a 'daughter' of Malenia, who had been blighted by the rot that festered in the walls of her body. That it had driven her to such desperation, that she was in turn forced to make a Faustian bargain with the Greater Will in exchange for a body and mind that would not be gnawed on by the rot and leave her either a gibbering mess or repulsive sycophant of another Outer God that dwelled in the form of the long lost Blade of Miquella. On and on it went...
Naruto felt his nails dig into the palms of his hands until they slowly bled when she described how the followers of the Golden Order had derided and 'purified' her body to be consecrated by the Will, missing that Ranni had a similar reaction in balling all four of her fists.
"It blessed me then, reshaped my body into what you see now and sent me to Liurnia to see you, Papa." She said forlornly, her usually tinkling voice sounding sour on the air.
"What for?" the blonde asked, his voice level and sincere, giving the girl his undivided attention.
She shook her head, "To guide you, to put you on a path that would lead you to the Erdtree and rip the remnants of the Elden Ring from the Queen Eternal's form," Rennala's eyes turned flinty at that bit of info and the gold eyed girl shrank from the gaze, assuming it was aimed at her. "But I didn't!" She babbled quickly. "In the euphoria of a renewed body and mind, I… lost myself, my memories became fogged and clouded, and it was only when I helped Sellen scry-" the feathered-haired sorceress cringed, "that I remembered everything."
Rennala extended her arm and stroked her adopted daughter's cheek with the back of her hand. "Be at peace, Little Raptor," she soothed, having taken to referring to many of her new children to types of birds much as she did with Ranni. "Sellen's ill-fated tapping beyond her ken is not your sin, nor will you be punished for it." she sent a sideways glance at the barefooted sorceress, who knew that this wasn't over by a long shot.
Silence fell over the family room for a few moments as they digested the reveal about their resident redhead, Ranni eventually breaking the silence.
Steepling her four hands, Ranni mulled over the problem before positing, "It's likely that the Will did not fathom the change in cognizance that would accompany the form and the cognitive dissonance its herald. Thy mind blocked the recollections as a phalanx against reality. Returning to youth shrinks thy emotional thresholds."
Perking up at the talk of greater mysteries, Sellen answered, "Yet have we not also been rendered to childish flesh again? Why do our intellects remain mostly unimpeded?"
"A score of variables are at play here, Sellen. But if I were to make an educated guess, it would be due to our shared experience of living without physical bodies for so long. We are familiar with shifting the soul as if it were a body so the childish innocence we are currently blighted with," she grimaced, "while present, is not as much an issue."
Naruto filed that bit of information away for later; if anything, Sellen was the most enigmatic of the girls, and there were questions he would later get answers to.
The Full Moon Queen tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Something about all this rings bizarre, no? My beloved and betrothed woulds't never kowtow to the whims of that celestial quim, yet still it attempts to guide him to take the Elden Ring, creating new Greater Runes as well…" she said, working through the problem in her head and not seeing an immediate answer.
"I don't care what the Will wants, to hell with it and the boon it gave me, I refuse to give up Papam or Mother or any of you!" Sellen glowered, the words not sounding right coming out of a child.
"That's not what you're so afraid of, though, is it?" Naruto asked rhetorically, his eyes shadowed by the dancing light of the fire, twin glowing blue orbs amidst the gloom.
Shaking her head in negative, Millicent gripped one of her own arms and felt a full body shiver rip through her, every nerve in her physical form sparking in revelation. "When Sellen and I scried, I saw many things that make no sense, images and instances of past and potential futures, but there was one horror in the present. I… touched the minds of my sisters."
"You did? But I didn't feel anyone poking my brain, only momma does that when I'm asleep." Melina burbled in innocent curiosity, the reality of her words ignored by the others.
Milicent looked at the magenta-haired girl and grimaced, "Not you, Melina, my… biological siblings. I reached out and touched their minds half the world for the first time in nearly twenty years."
Melina's face lit up like a Christmas tree, "MORE SISTERS!? PAPA CAN WE-"
Her words were cut off when Milicent surged to her feet, hollering at the top of her lungs. "NO!"
Recoiling from the outburst, Melina looked at her sister in fear and confusion, upset by the angry rebuke.
"They are not in their right minds and never have been!" her voice piqued in distress, reaching a wild, almost shrill note. "They are children of the rot who vaunt their own wretchedness as a badge of honour. They care for nothing more than awakening our 'mother' and seeing her bloom, unleashing a tide of rot that will redden the sky and make what she did to General Radahn look like nothing more than a small fever! And now… now they come for me."
She whimpered, hot tears gathering in her eyes, "They will come and they will Rot me, stripping me of what makes me… me! They'll make me give up the secret of the Haligtree and make me coo in glee as I rot Papa and make his hair bleed red! I would rather die than give any of you up!"
And that, was his cue.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and Milicent's world became full of warmth, peace and life. She looked over her shoulder and saw Naruto's face looking into hers, an open invitation. She did not resist the feeling, letting her tears burst the dam and pour down her face, burying her face into his shoulder and making promises and asking for help with every shuddering breath. Her whimpers were akin to so many knives in his chest, each sound igniting so many emotions he couldn't quantify all them all.
Hopefully his words would suffice. "I won't let anyone hurt you, even if that person is you hurting yourself."
The damn broke and little Milicent wept, openly bawling as Naruto rubbed comforting circles into her back before the emotional exhaustion of the outburst finally caused her to slip into slumber. He picked her up gently and laid her beside Melina, Sellen protectively holding her sleeping hand. Naruto gave the scene one long look before turning and making his way to the door, lifting his twin blades and strapping them over his back. Was it just him or were his ears ringing...? No, it didn't matter his path was clear.
"Take care of her, would you?" he flicked a quick glance Sellen's way. "I'll be riiiiight back...
He set off at a brisk pace before anyone could think to ask what he intended, exiting the apartments of the headmistress and walking through the towering edifice of the Academy with his mind made up. With each step he barely restrained the urge to take to the air and smash right through the wards and fly over the Lands Between til it was but a blur beneath him. He felt Kurama roused by his building anger at the back of his mind but a curt 'stay out of it' was all he cave the great fox before preemptively cutting the link.
By the time he had descended the last line of steps and crossed the courtyard towards the academy gates, his hands were practically morphing into claws. He was angry, very, very angry. In fact, he didn't know why he was so full of rage right now, but his tempestuous fury was not a good thing to let out anywhere near civilization.
A glow of blue light at the large wooden gates brought him to a stop, and Naruto watched as a figure stepped out of the haze in a swirl of blue magical particles. Rennala stood before him, still wearing her blue silk dressing gown that rustled in the morning breeze. She fixed him with a stern look.
"Neat trick," he jested without mirth, though seeing her did take the edge off the building fury.
"Why thank you, a perk of the new wards that I doth emplaced after recovering from sparring with Ranni, it makes getting around the academy much easier, no?" she said the last bit rhetorically, her tone equally lacking in humour. "Far better than walking, I find."
He couldn't bring himself to respond.
They remained like this for a long time, seconds stretching out slowly like a nail drawn across a blackboard.
"Where art thou wandering to, Naruto?" Rennala said finally, stepping towards him.
"Out," he grunted stiffly.
She approached him until she stood before him at her full height, a head taller than him.
"For what reason?" she asked redundantly; clearly she knew the reason why, but wished to hear him say it.
Naruto closed his eyes, breathed in through his nose, and exhaled sharply, "Because I'm.. angry and would rather you not see the results."
Rennala nodded, then eyed the Moonlight Greatsword sheathed on his back, "I think not."
"What?" he questioned, confused. At this point, he was so used to Rennala's antiquated speech that the simple proclamation caught him flat-footed.
"I. think. Not." the queen punctuated each word for emphasis. "Thy engagement present's first action shan't be done in anger. It is to be used to defend our family, understand?"
"Oi," he growled, he made to walk past her but her arm barred his path and took hold of his chin with her fingers. "Let me pass, Rennala."
"No, I shan't." she stared back at him placidly. "Speak your mind betrothed, let your words wash over me."
Naruto tried to look away, but the Sorceress's hand was surprisingly strong. Letting out a huff, he began to speak. "I'm… angry. Someone I care for, who came to me for safety… my…" he looked at her mildly bemused face and huffed, "Our daughter is terrified that her siblings now hunt her and the great golden gallbladder in the sky tried to turn an innocent woman into a trap for me. It takes a lot to truly bring me to anger, Rennala, and right now, I'm. Fucking. Pissed."
Her face softened, "Our daughter, yes. So as thy betrothed, I am inclined to ask several questions, if you'll permit it." she said, taking his silence as permission to continue. "Do you know where these daughters of Rot are?"
He shook his head.
"And do you know the machinations of the Greater Will beyond the fact that it has the tailored to supplant Marika?"
"No," he answered truthfully.
She gently turned him so he looked back into the heart of Raya Lucaria. "And, can you truthfully say that you are not needed here?"
Naruto looked down, his shoulders slumping, "...I can't."
Rennala slowly drew him into her arms and rested her chin atop his head. No doubt she could feel the micro-movements against her breast, emotions thundering under the surface, but she held on, soft as gossamer, hard as steel. "Thy wrath does thee credit, my love. But hearken and heed my heart that beats for you. Hear its song."
Exasperated ad mildly embarrassed though he was, the blond reluctantly did as he was told and rested his head against Rennala's chest as she held him, starting to hear the strung but gentle thump of her heart in her chest. It was an even rhythm, one that served to douse his flames of anger, drawing her deeper into her embrace.
"I lost one family to the strings of gods, I shan't lose another." she lifted his face to look into her dark blue eyes, filled with fathomless pain and haunting beauty. "Oh Elden Beast who fell from the sky, star that courts the moon, we shall hold them all close and defend them till time itself ceases to tick. In that time, know that you are mine."
Moisture built at the corners of Naruto's eyes.
Rennala's face slowly lowered, "You may say it, if you wish."
Naruto gulped, a lump in his throat. Heat crept up the back of his neck.
"Say the words." she encouraged, not commanded him, merely urging him to speak his heart's desire.
"...I… I am yours."
And just as celestial bodies are drawn to one another by the invisible dance of gravity, Naruto and Rennala's lips met, capturing one another in a searing kiss that had both of their toes curl.
They held one another in the light of morning as Rennala gently guided Naruto's temper back into its proper place and then continued on for the sheer fun of it, making up for being interrupted the prior night. Their hands raked over one another, and Rennala was not subtle in her lip play, soon turning open mouth and wet. Naruto eventually ran out of air, but Rennala rang every last second and sensed out of their kiss before breaking away, both left panting.
Naruto breathed in, still in the taller woman's arms, "...whoa." he said dazedly, causing his fiance to chuckle.
Nuzzling her face against his, she whispered in his ear, "Hath beauty calmed the beast?"
He settled on an enthusiastic nod, not wanting to risk her deepen the public affection lest it rouse another beast entirely.
A tap then came at the gates, sounding small and desperate.
It seemed to Naruto that someone small was trying their hardest to pound on the oaken gates for attention, not as a means to break in. He and Rennala untangled from each other, and he blushed,
"We should probably get that, ahem," he coughed into a fist...
Rennala giggled before summoning her catalyst with a flick of her wrist and tapping it to the cobbled stone floor, releasing a sharp chime. The hinges of the great oak gates, each as thick as Naruto's torso, were highlighted in blue before the gates swung open to admit whoever was there.
"Hello!" called the enfeebled voice of a young woman. "Is anyone there? I can't see. Oh Lord, protect me, I really am lost." Due to the perpetual water of the lakes, it was common in Liurnia that the morning light was accompanied by a thick shroud of mist rising from their surface, and in this case, it served to shroud the speaker completely.
A shadow shambled through the mist before tripping over herself to reach the threshold, letting out a thankful bleat when Naruto caught her. She was a pretty woman of average height wearing one of the strangest attires he had ever seen; her platinum blonde hair worn in a ponytail alongside an amorphous long-sleeve dress that trailed to the ground, thoroughly soaked through.
Despite its red tinge, Naruto would've sworn it was made of burlap, held close to her waist by a simple yellow rope belt. He helped the young woman stand, noting she wore a pair of long leather riding gloves in supple black leather. The most obvious and striking thing about the pretty yet bedraggled woman was that she was blindfolded, a strip of yellowing medical gauze was wrapped over her eyes.
"Thank you, kind sir," the newcomer enthused. "I thought I would starve."
"Um...can you see me?" he waved a hand warily before her face, squinting in the mist. "Hello?"
"I cannot." the blindfolded woman wobbled on her feet. "Pray tell, who is there? I seem to be quite lost. Is this castle Mourne?"
Naruto and Rennala exchanged a baffled look between themselves, not entirely sure what to say to that effect.
The latter found her voice before the former. "It most certainly is not, dear girl. You are in Liurnia."
"Oh." Her voice warbled a little. It looked like she might cry. "I'm sorry. It seems I'm lost…"
"What happened to you?" Naruto asked after Rennala mouthed the words 'Weeping Peninsula' to him. "Er, that's about three hundred leagues between here and the Weeping Peninsula. And your name, lady...?"
"Oh, you're right, good sir, I'm Irina, daughter of Edgar, vassal to Lord Godrick." Naruto stifled a pained expression at the mention of the grafted as Irina gripped herself at the memories. "The servants, they rebelled. My father spirited me out of the castle, but my couterge was massacred on the Bridge of Sacrifice."
Slowly, Naruto looked down to the hem of the young woman's dress and saw that her feet were in bad shape, a rough black and blue and caked in dried blood from walking for so long.
"Do come in.
Naruto arched a brow.
"What?" Rennala hummed a little. "The little ones could stand to have a babysitter now and again."
Babysitter?! The poor girl could barely see, much less walk!
"You must be made of stern stuff to walk this far in a blindfold, Irina," he said, lifting the young woman onto his back to carry her over the threshold despite her weak objections.
She made a nonchalant gesture with her hand, unknowingly accidentally smacking him in the back of the head, "Oh no, I am quite the coward, I could not have gotten so far were I not saved by that Old Hunter."
"Old Hunter?" Naruto questioned, accepting Rennala's hand when she offered it.
"Yes, an old man." the young maiden tittered. "He said he was hunting the moon but he cut down the misbegotten like a thresher does wheat." she paused, "At least I think he did…it certainly sounded like it."
Naruto adjusted her on his back, making a good pace as the doors to the academy swung shut behind them.
Perhaps he should've listened to her rambling words...
(.0.0.0.)
Caelid.
The word was simple.
Uncomplicated. Brief, even. Brief was good.
Compared to the many other realms of the Lands Between, it seemed the odd one out in terms of its name, and once in the distant past, it might have been considered a novelty. Nothing about the Caelid of the here and now was novel, the word itself was tainted by the rot that squirmed through the land like a conceptual blight. Once a person said they had come from Caelid, most would recoil because it meant one of two things: either they carried with them the horrid Rot that the Shattering had spilt onto the world, or they were strong enough for the monsters that lived there to not harm, a beast all of their own.
"Beast… such a nostalgic term," muttered Gherman under his breath, enjoying the echo through the air. The First Hunter strode purposely through the red wastes of the province he had found himself in, each off step a hollow 'clack' from the galvanised tip of his peg-leg, its stump ached with every use.
He relished the feeling.
Sensing movement, the old man sidestepped, gracefully allowing a lunging Monstrous Crow to pass him by with a shriek, unclipping the long, curved length of his Burial Blade and sweeping up to cleave the head of the creature in a sole, clean arc. By the time the two pieces of decapitated poultry had hit the ground to splatter the red sands with their corrupted offal, Gherman had replaced the blade and continued his walk, not even breaking stride. Looking up at the sunless sky, full of angry red grain, he tipped the brim of his leather hat to shade his sharp eyes and spared a thought to his findings since he had come to the Lands Between.
After many epochs held prisoner in the Hunters Dream by the Moon Presence, another, decidedly more eloquent and infinitely more infuriating, Outer God had stepped forwards to offer him freedom in this new land. His task, the same as it had always been, was to hunt. He was not immune to the irony that he had been asked to hunt 'the moon.' It was an old tactic in hunting, war and politics alike, play on someone's existing grudges to ensure they do what you desire, and Gherman was hard-pressed to say he didn't want to save some poor sod from being trapped by the moon like he had, but…
A hunter was a hunter, even in a dream. And Gherman, The First Hunter, was no fool.
Certainly, he had been dispatched to hunt a 'Queen of the Moon', and he had already accepted his payment in the form of this freedom from his imprisonment, so he would see to it. But no one ran into an enemy animal's territory without first thoroughly learning everything they could.
Upon emerging on the Altus Plateau, he had been greeted by a company of priests who welcomed him, begging him as a servant of their god… he had blown their craniums open with quicksilver shot before they could finish their spiel, the stink of innocent blood rolling off them. He had then explored the land, learning its eccentricity and everything else he could about this new theater of the hunt. But his issue…was a combination of curiosity of being too curious and being, at his heart- no matter how old and jaded- a good man.
But by the blood he would MURDER whichever overly cantripping jackanape had invented illusory walls and teleportation chests!
"Twice now! I have been slingshotted across this continent by those Pthumerian damned arcane containers!" he grumbled aloud, used to talking to himself. After getting his bearings, he had thought it best to secure some local supplies and discovered a cavern hidden behind an illusory wall in a cave, and in his experience, interesting stuff was always stored there, so he had cracked open the nearest chest in hopes of unearthing something of use, only to be enveloped by a white fog that spat him out in the Weeping Peninsula.
After letting out several centuries worth of pent-up aggravation in a blue-tinged tirade that would make the Loathsome Dungeater blush, Gherman had calmed down and tried to do some could, even saved a young woman from some beasts that menaced her. Pretty thing, with her blonde hair and kind manners, he hoped she made it to safety.
His luck had not improved when finding a second such teleportation chest in the abandoned ruins of Storm Veil that had landed him in the far less pleasant deserts and bogs of Caelid. Filled to the brim with enough beasts, abominations, blood and blight that it made the old man feel nostalgic.
It was, in no simple terms, a pain in the ass even with his experience of Yarnam and the dream, but he relished every chance he was given to slice, hack, bludgeon and blast his many attackers into viscera. It had allowed him to get his eye back in as a hunter and knock off the old rust that near a century in the flesh and many centuries in the dream had dulled. Better yet, slicing down the monsters of this gods forsaken place caused his bones and muscles to ache in catharsis.
Now, his mind and body honed back to a wicked edge, the old hunter slowly trooped his way in the direction of the coast, seeking to book passage on a ship back to the mainland because there was no way he was turning the teleportation debacle into a hat-trick.
He paused in his trek and looked to a distant rise, the wind rustling his lank hair to tickle his ears. There was a strange scent in the air. He sniffed once and picked up something odd. There was a foulness on the wind that cut through the omnipresent scent of rot that clung to Caelid like flies to feces. It was a high and coppery smell that he knew, even if this strain of it was twisted in a new direction.
Blood.
Tattered cloak flowing in the wind behind him, Ghermen began to jog in the direction of the blood, advancing to a run, then a sprint when the smell grew more pungent, and the sound of clashing steel and screams reached his ears. He skidded to a stop atop the rise and looked down over the edge, taking in the wondrous horror before him.
On the plane near the sea sat a squat and grey castle, one built for function over needless frivolity, standing out against the red of Caelid forebodingly despite being the only true bastion of civilisation for miles around. A gaggle of figures thronged around the front, hollering their warning in steel and spellfire while several archers, ballistas and trebuchets unleashed missiles at random, a poor excuse for troop maneuvers.
But who was Gherman to say? He was more concerned with the four people advancing on the castle like crimson wraiths.
All four were women of similar appearance, separated by a few years of age. All wore the same off-white tunic and faded red breeches tucked into matching boots. Their hair was red, and their skin, where visible, bore a touch of discolouration that spoke of one touched by disease, but it did not diminish their beauty. The shortest of the four wielded a curving silver blade that dripped with rot, matched by her partner, who thrust the long, wide spear blade through the spine of one of the defenders. The other two had their own unique weapons; one wielded twin short swords while the last and apparent leader wildly flailed with the long shaft of a scythe, its blade a sickle crescent moon.
Watching the confrontation, Gherman observed the four sisters slowly push into the defending army of bedraggled footmen, knights and pikemen, opening stomachs and rot rising from where they walked. They cast foul incantations from their fingertips, spraying nets of sticky blight that caused those it ensnared to scream, burning through clothing and mail before liquifying flesh as if it were tallow. Some of the men and women were left like this while others had their fading lights defiled, ripped to shreds by the scarlet quartet.
Others… suffered a worse fate. One such man, a tall and broad knight armed in plate and wielding a hammer, was brought to his knees by the leader's Halo Scythe. He screamed at her as she approached, wrathful and angry, but it evaporated to base begging when she lifted her hand, a vermillion flower sprouting from it that released a glowing vapour.
The man began to spasm, his gleaming armour rusting to a pitted and sticky strata as his skin bubbled with pustules, eyes quite literally exploding out of his head. But he was not dead. He twitched, looking in the direction of the bloom as if it were the only thing he could see before lunging forward to eat it from the eldest sister's hand, letting out a mindless roar before getting to his feet and turning on his former ally, another vector of the rot.
That… Gherman could not stomach.
He could smell it, it was like the old blood from so long ago, the remnants of an Outer God, used to drive men mad, but there were no eyes of sight growing on the inside of these poor fools, just rot unending.
His mind made up, he leapt into action, seemingly taking flight into the ruddy sky above.
(.0.0.0.)
Castellan Jerren was having a bad day.
As the old knight twisted his greatsword to sever the spine of one of his blighted brothers in arms, he reflected that it was more accurate to say that he had a bad week.
It had started out well; a bumper crop of adventures, hedge knights, aspiring sorcerers and people with death wishes had been tricking into Redmane castle, and he had hoped that this year, maybe the Radahn Festival would finally succeed in putting his General to rest.
It had all changed when they came.
They being the Daughters of Rot. They had emerged from the Swamp of Aeonia like revenants from an old nightmare, shadows of Melania that spread the Rot with each breath. Initially, when they had been reported leaving their putrid home, Jerren had been cautiously optimistic. But when their path inevitably brought them to his door, he found himself forced to rally what remained of his retinue to meet them at the gates to ask their purpose for visiting.
Even now the memory was a foul one in his mind:
"We seek passage to the mainland. We are bound for the lakes." Mary, the blindfolded eldest sister, had said to the bearded Witch Hunter when he first barred their crossing.
"For what purpose?" he had queried, his old eyes and long beard peeking from under his red hood. "Liurnia is long from here, but you can still make it there on foot, it's hardly as if you grow tired." He had been disinclined to offer any aid to the 'daughters' of his General's lobotomiser.
The four had laughed at him then, a harsh and mocking noise that put them all on edge.
"We must insist, for you see, we are on a quest that must be fulfilled."
"Our sister, so weak and lost, has been found. She dwells in the halls of the Full Moon Queen," added Pollyanna, the youngest, her right eye covered by a bandage while her left was glowing a baleful gold. Jerren's hands clenched around his sword at the mention of that, his mood turning foul despite the others continuing.
"Silly Milicent, pretending she is not one of us, we will find her and see her fester, baptize those she cares for in the lake of rot and make them apostates to our mother, the true goddess who shall bloom thrice and usher in an age of rot."
Jerren had hocked back his mask and spat at the sister's feet with Maureen's words, dirtying her Tree spear. "Your 'Goddess' of a mother failed at killing my General, join the Radahn festival to finish the job, and I may consider your passage."
"...pftt, phahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Their peals of laughter had filled the wastes; indeed, they wound haunt him to his dying day.
"Silly old man, your general shall rot where he stands; he is a monument to our mother's greatness." spoke Amy, the third sister armed with her twin swords. "We shan't join your festival."
"Then I am afraid I must bar your passage, Scold Spawn, darken Redmane's door no longer." Jerren had proclaimed only for the laughter to intensify.
Mary tapped her Halo Scythe to the floor and grinned like an animal baring its fangs. "No, little man, we sisters may seek passage to Liurnia, but we, as the rot, seek passage into your bodies. Apostates of the true god yet, follow us to the lakes, ring the secret of our mother's location from our sister. Join us and rot!"
And with that manic, breathy and euphoric proclamation, the battle had begun.
The four daughters were mighty indeed, and despite outnumbering them a hundred to one, Jerren's force could not do more than drive them off for a time. While this was his castle, Caelid gave the sisters the home-field advantage, unleashing storms of scarlet rot that had whittled away his men and the potential festival participants that had joined the fray. He had seen men and women he fought with for centuries twisted into mockeries of life, cutting down boys no older than sixteen who had come in search of adventure.
They were coming for him, now. He could hear them.
Pushing himself to his feet, weary and tired, Jerren made ready to sprint at the daughters, sorceries spinning to life in his hand and determined to drive steel into their hearts.
If today was the day he died, then so be it! Better to die a man than a monster!
A black blur screamed down from on high and smashed into the ground before him at speed, kicking up a plume of dust and dirt.
With this sudden explosion lull of silence to fall over the field of battle, wondering what had just transpired.
The universe answered.
A hunched figure slowly straightened up and stepped out of the fog of red dust.
It was an old man, attired in leathers and tweed, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and some kind of staff on his back.
He looked around himself before settling on the daughters of rot who looked at the newcomer, their perpetual mania fading for the first time in days. Despite his less-than-threatening appearance, there was an aura to the man, a disquieting certainty to his movements that instantly set Jerren on edge.
"Hail, dregs of outer kin, your blood is a most foul thing upon the wind." he greeted the quartet tersely, slowly walking along the battle line. He did not give them the time to reply as he pulled a long, grey, curved blade from his waist and a blocky-looking contraption from his back. "Leave this place, run for the wastes, and I shan't feed you your own rotting blood."
The Sisters Four bridled. "Impudent old man, the daughters of rot move for no -"
"I SAID SCRAM!"
Had Jerren not been a seasoned warrior and a veteran of the Shattering himself, he wouldn't have seen the interloper move; even so, he nearly gasped at the speed. The newcomer launched himself forwards in a blur of movement, twisting in the air as he went and decapitated no less than twelve of his rotted former men before clashing against the shaft of Mary's Halo Scythe that she had only just been able to move to block. With an almost lazy flick of the wrist, Tte eldest of the sisters was sent skidding backwards by the sheer force the old man's momentum imparted.
Pollyanna and Maureen moved to their sister's defense, running in from either side of her attacker and raising their weapons to skewer him from two angles. His tattered cloak shifted, and his offhand locked around the blocky item on his back, pulling its silvered trigger. The strange weapon barked, spitting fire and punching a silver slug into Maureen while the recoil sent the butt of the weapon into Pollyanna's chin, sending both women staggering backwards.
The grey-haired man's head snapped around, the duel swords of Amy bore down on his back, so he turned into his own movement, shoving Mary with the edge of his blade while swinging chunky wood and a metal contraption to break the crisscrossing swords, all in a fraction of a second. With all four of the legacies of Melania sent reeling, he seemed to realise the opening he made was small and kept up his turn, dragging his peg leg along the floor.
In one smooth movement, he raised his crescent blade to the gnarled staff that peaked from his shoulder, locking into it and sweeping it into play as one foreboding scythe that he swung with a yell. The blade seemed to go wide, but it was not his intent to bifurcate them rather; he caught one of their waists on the scythe before spinning in place, snagging the other three in the embrace, all but throwing them away from him across the desert in a mighty swing.
The old man rested his sepulchral scythe on his shoulder, casting an imposing figure.
Roaring in anger at being denied, the four daughters exploded with blooms of rot before sprinting back at the newcomer, only to slam into some kind of barrier that rose from the floor. Jerren blinked, wondering if any of the remaining spellcasters that still defended Redmane had had time to conjure some kind of defence, yet despite the rot, the magic did not decay even as the four sisters raged and slammed their weapons against it, unleashing earthquakes from every hit.
"Name yourself, old man!" Mary raged, her skin rippling with rot.
"Oh dear, you are eager little girls, aren't you?" the madman laughed harshly, the rasp of an old warrior who'd recently clawed back some small semblance of his prime." Clamouring for glory against an old man for bruised pride because your little eldritch power trip has been repulsed." he sketched a shallow bow, heedless of their shrieks. "I am but an old hunter long used to preventing the egress of kin, and I'd gather you are the remnants of said kin."
Jerren's old eyes caught a glint of light at the Hunter's feet, lines scratched into the earth that glowed dully, they almost looked like some kind of rune.
'He carved it with his pegleg in that moment!' he thought, astonished.
"Leave this place," the old Hunter spat. "You aren't the quarry I hunt, and I shan't waste my time on little girls who aren't worth my steel."
The four sisters growled at him, looking mutinous, but when faced with his peerless prowess and unable to gain entry, they had no choice but to do as he bid. Slowly but surely they slunk away in the opposite direction of Redmane Castle; limping away, living to fight another day. By some miracle, the barrier maintained itself until they were long over the distant horizon.
Jerren stroked his beard as he approached his fellow old man who was even now disassembling his scythe. "Thank you, good hunter, your aid was most welcome."
"Gherman," the old man said, inclining his hat.
"Well met, Gherman." he drew himself up, wincing but a little at his wounds." I am Jerren, Castellan of Castle Redmane. Please, come inside, it's the least I can offer for saving us in our time of need."
...very well."
Welcoming their somewhat grumpy saviour into his castle, Jerren looked over at the remnants of his men and cursed inwardly.
It seemed the Redahn festival would be postponed this year.
"What do you know of a Witch Queen of the Moon?" Gherman asked over a canteen of water that the hooded knight had given him.
Jerren scowled, "Aye, I know of who you speak. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, traitor to her kin."
Gherman raised an eyebrow at the comment and gestured for him to continue.
"When the war of the shattering began, my lord General Radahn was rendered incumbent by the rot of his half-sister. And his mother, greatest sorceress in the land, did nothing."
"This sounds personal for you," Gherman observed, drawing a grunt from the old castellan.
Personal? Aye, it was.
"I… lived with the Carians for many years, saw that Queen Rennala was someone who loved her family beyond all measure, and yet when her sons both fell to their own madness… she did nothing. Lost in her insanity. And now… I hear foul things from Liurnia. How she has returned to her senses yet does not come to her son's aid." his hands balled into fists, "and now… now I hear she has taken a daughter of rot, a daughter of the very FIEND that rendered her son an invalid… into her home. Whatever she once was, surely what remains can hardly be called human."
"Then you are in luck." Gherman had listened to the words, realizing that there was much anger in them that obscured the truth, but there was some genuine reasoning there. Besides, it was the first real lead he had on his hunt. "I've been… sponsored to hunt this Full Moon Queen, if it pleases you, Castellan, I would like to book passage to the mainland to undertake it."
Jerren looked at the First Hunter; seeing his strength had undoubtedly been something, yet the Queen of Caria was a force to be reckoned with… however…
He looked out over the castle, what remained of the Radahn Festival combatants and his men shaving up defenses, they could not undertake the festival this year with so few… but…
An idea dawned.
Mad as it was, he embraced it.
"I can get you a ship," he looked at Gherman and hefted his sword onto his shoulder, "And all of Redmane Castle shall embark with you!"
(.0.0.0.)
"Four, three, six!"
The shimmering green expanse of the Moonlight Greatsword swished through the air in slow, deliberate strokes, its songlike chime adding a musical tinge to its passage, like something very large was moving elegantly. The movements were strange to Naruto, different from what little tutelage he had with blades before, but as always, he was a kinesthetic learner.
He learned by doing.
"One, five, eight!"
A basic overhead sent a gale away from him before spinning on his heel to bring the sword around in a horizontal slash that transitioned to a heavenward slice.
"One!"
He swung the sword in another straight along his centre line.
"Two!"
Naruto heeded the order, letting his building muscle memory execute a diagonal slash from the left.
"Three!"
And again from the right.
"And guard!"
Bringing the sword up against his body, he turned the flat of the blade out against any would-be attacker, with its widness providing some level of protection in the absence of a proper offhand shield or buckler. He held the guard, noting the curious corona of reflected light that came off his Rennala's gift to him.
Blaidd clapped twice in satisfaction, his lupine maw set in a pleased smile. "Not bad, friend. You're getting used to how she handles I see," he observed, having been Naruto's swordsmanship instructor for most of the day so far.
Returning the smile, the blonde broke his guard position and rested the greatsword on his shoulder. "Thanks, she handles way different from Kaimon, though not as clunky as I'd have thought given her size."
"The Carians are masters at their craft, be that glintstone artistry or sorcery. If it's anything like its Darkmoon kin, I don't doubt she's perfectly balanced from pommel to tip." Blaidd replied goodnaturedly, his own zweihander dug into the floor of the courtyard they had converted into a training field. The Man-wolf's lone eye narrowed in intrigue. "Why did you want my help again?"
Naruto chuckled a little at that.
Blaidd was a good boy, indeed, perhaps the goodest of boys, but he seemed to have a bad habit of acting before asking questions when someone needed his help; he could relate. "And here I thought you wanted to get some exercise in."
The Shadow of Ranni snorted at that, thumping a fist against the metal of his cuirass. "Oh, you've no idea, friend. Much as it was nice to get some rest, albeit under duress, I was getting real tired of that silk shirt. Give me plate and mail any day of the week!"
After Rennala had succeeded in calming Naruto's anger, they'd decided to take a few days to themselves in order to properly take stock of the situation at hand. But something that the Queen said had struck a chord with him, she did not want his first use of the Moonlight Greatsword to be in anger, righteous or not.
That got him thinking: did he actually know how to use it? Of course, on the most elementary level, the operations of any sword could be boiled down to 'stick em with the pointy end', but the blonde had never received formal instruction on how to properly utilize anything bigger than a chakra blade.
And so he had come to see Blaidd to ask if the tall wulven warrior would be up to taking on the teacher position. He had been most agreeable to the proposition and soon enough had the blonde running through drills and katas after explaining the first ten basic maneuvers when using a weapon so big.
Yet despite that, Naruto noticed that Blaidd looked at him with confusion from time to time and finally, his own curiosity boiled over. "Something wrong, Blaidd?" he asked, stopping from the shadow sparring he and the other man had been participating in.
Blaidd hummed, unsure of the right words to use before finally asking what had been on his mind. "I'm wondering what the point of this all is, you seemed quite adept with that odd black blade when you sent Godrick to meet his destined and long overdue end, so what's the need of having me teach what you can't just pick up by yourself."
"Well, how do I put this?" Naruto squinted, the whisker marks on his cheeks strongly evoking the look of the fox he contained. "While I can pick up most skills fast enough, I want to use this thing properly. And well… Kaimon is for killing, and this," he held the sword up in the light, "is to protect, so I best use it properly and for that, I need someone who can teach me without flying apart at the seams when I crank up the power."
Blaidd nodded slowly, accepting the answer, "Alright then, we'll take a short break before starting on Half-swording. While you're strong enough to twirl that thing faster than a Kriss, it's always important to learn how to use such a big sword with as much manoeuvrability as possible. You never know when it will score a lucky hit, friend."
The young man nodded and took a seat on the bench they were using to rest but noticed the lingering mirth resting at the edges of Blaidd's muzzle, practically bubbling with barely restrained laughter as he looked at the green sword. Naruto raised an eyebrow, prompting the Wolf to speak.
"Talk to her, did you?" he chuckled, gesturing to the engagement gift and the amusing implications that came with it.
"Shut up, Blaidd, you're still in the doghouse in Rennala's book." Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Is that the crack of a whip I hear?"
"Oi!"
(.0.0.0.)
Far above the courtyard, Rennala and Ranni found themselves sequestered on a balcony overlooking the area and sat on comfortable couches, enjoying the sun as they watched each of the men in their lives spar. Rennala had reverted to type and wore her headmistress' raiment sans crown, while Ranni wore a little white dress and white straw hat that her mother had gleefully pulled from storage for her youngest child to wear. Melina dozed quietly in her lap while Ranni read from a notebook quietly, occasionally looking over the pages to look between the sparring boys and her mother as she watched them, a pleased look on her face, her pale cheeks dusting with red when Naruto took off his shirt to reveal his well-muscled chest, caked in sweat that glistened in the light.
"Ew!" Ranni exclaimed aghast, realising that her mother was enjoying the show in an 'adult' way, causing the raven-haired queen to look at her princess. "Surely you aren't so craven, mother!"
Rennala's plucked brows knitted into a line before her eyes widened at what her daughter meant. Embarrassment made her blush deepen before she turned up her chin at her daughter. "Oh hush, Ranni! I am a woman in my prime, not some platonic form of a virgin that is prohibited from enjoying the show my betrothed puts on!"
"It's indecent!" Ranni protested, one hand pointing in accusation, a second covering her face in shock while the other pair balled around the fabric of her dress.
"I am perfectly entitled to my own flights of fancy and mental fantasies, thank you very much!" Rennala defended, taking wry amusement from the note of fluster in her Little Culver's voice, finally sounding her age, so to speak.
Ranni bristled and gestured at her small form. "I am but a child, I should be hearing not a jot of your… mental smut!" she tried to rationalise before seeing her mother smirk, realising she had erred. "Wait, no-"
"A child, are we? Then do not resist my motherly affections upon thee!" Ranni could only flail as her mother easily picked her up and placed her in her lap next to the sleeping Melina, beginning to ruthlessly tickle her.
"N-no ah, hahahahahahaha!" she strugle, to no avail. "Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Rennala, too, laughed, though hers was a far more genuine tenor, this was simultaneously nostalgic and a breath of fresh air for her, and she could feel in the way the blue-haired little girl squirmed that deep down she was enjoying it, too. A part of her did lower its head at Ranni's form, long gone from her youth's red hair and gold eyes, but her waking mind conceded it was better this way.
While Ranni's original body had been the perfect marriage of looks between her and Radagon, there were so many awful memories and painful feelings attached to its visage.
'Tis better this way, fresh, white and born anew, unsullied by the taint of the fingers. Empyrean no longer, a child of Caria once again.' the queen thought as she slowly stopped tickling her daughter and came to sit her on her lap, her hands going around her waist comfortingly.
Ranni pointed up at her with her one eye, her four hands tracing over her mother's hands. The queen thought it must be hard for her, getting used to true tactile sense after so long, though she saw Ranni's face break into a frown when her fingers brushed over the ring of betrothal on her left ring finger.
Ranni looked down at the brushed silver band with unclear emotions, lips thinning to a line.
"Doth it bother thee?" Rennala asked, aware that Ranni might think her relationship with Naruto was progressing too quickly.
Ranni winced at the question but sighed, shaking her head. "I promised that I would accept all that you are, mother, all that you hath been and will be, thy pain of past and… and even thy joys yet to come. Even if it means that you intend to take your consort as a husband."
A beat of silence passed between them before the mother spoke again, "Will you call him father when the time comes?"
"I…" Ranni frowned, squeezing her mother's hands. "I shall try, mother. But some habits are subtle traps, easy to walk into, almost impossible to break."
Rennala kissed the top of her daughter's head in acceptance; it pleased her greatly, even if a part of her wilted at the evident strain there was there. This was a wound that, while closing, only time would truly heal. "He gives good hugs," she added simply, something that Ranni found herself agreeing to.
"How is Miss Irina settling in?" Ranni questioned, the new arrival to the academy had not gone unnoticed by those others who lived there.
Rennala sighed sadly at the question. After bringing her inside a few days ago, they had drawn her a bath and let the young woman recover from the physical side of her ordeal, furnishing her with new clothes and a bedroom in which to sleep. Boggart had taken quite a shine to the young woman and had been on hand to give her three square meals every day whenever she asked for it. "Doing better. There was a letter amongst her scant effects intended for her father. I am having Moongrum run it down to Castle Morne, he should be back in a fortnight or so."
Irina was a strange girl, Rennala reflected. Sweet and timid beyond measure, yet with an underlying strength to do what she could despite her minor means, she was also very good with the other girls despite her lack of sight.
"Doth thou intend to maketh a maidservant of her?" Ranni asked, after all, Irina technically was the daughter of one of Godrick's bannermen, from the outside, it might look like the Carians were staking claim to what was left of the Grafted Lord's fief.
The Full Moon Queen shook her head at Ranni's question, "Nay, she is a guest in my house, but if she seeks to become a nanny to the rest of the children, I shan't object."
Ranni's eye returned to the ring of betrothal once again, and Rennala spoke again,
"Tis a pretty thing, is it not? Naruto asked for one to match."
"Truly? Isn't that a little effeminate?" Ranni said, as far as she knew, the tradition was that only a woman bore a ring. "Art thou sure thou have not secretly been bewitched by a woman in disguise?"
"Ha!" Rennala tittered, appreciating the wit, "Oh, most certainly not. Though were he a girl I wouldn't have objected, for it is his soul that gives me comfort and happiness, regardless of its container." she ran her fingers through Ranni's blue hair, feeling the little girl relax into her embrace, "If it amuses you so I could always glamour his form into a woman, I'm sure we'd all get mirth from seeing him in a corset."
"Until he breaks out of it!"
The duo laughed at the mental image, as absurd as it was, a pleasant relief from the talk of schemes and machinations in this great game of gods and monsters.
"A wedding is a pleasant thing to look forward to after so much darkness in the world," Ranni mused, trailing her gaze over the sleeping forms of Melina and Radagon's wolf, both curled up on one of the couches in the sun.
"A wedding and a coronation…" Rennala whispered.
"Hmm?" Ranni turned to look up at her mother, curious as to what she meant.
Shaking her head to banish the current subject, the headmistress turned her attention to Ranni's own projects. "What of your work? You've never rested on your laurels, it's how I raised you."
Preening a little at the comment, Ranni nodded. "I've sent word to my agents through the lands that the Academy is a safe haven, Iji says he shall make his way here as soon as he can."
Good, Rennala had long missed the wise words of the Carian Blacksmith.
"And on the more personal side, I've started a sorcery that I'm most proud of," Ranni said, voice turning haughty.
Intrigued at the prospect of any new variation in the arcane arts, Rennala sat up a little straighter and listened attentively. "Do go on, Little Culver."
She did not turn her head as she heard steps approaching before Naruto and Blaidd emerged onto the balcony, the blonde pecking his fiance on the cheek as he sat down beside her while the Shadow leaned against the doorframe. Naruto watched Ranni attentively as she began to explain her new sorcery.
"After the… incident with Milicent, I realised that the chances of connections to other entities and beings beyond our knowledge are present. Not likely, but not zero, given how the Will and the presence of so many Runes can shift causality along certain patterns," she explained, her hands beginning to go through a series of esoteric movements. A stream of dark blue magical residue followed each of the twenty fingertips, the movements slow and precise given that they were now flesh and unable to assume the impossible angles of her doll body.
"So I decided to work in a curiously complex cantrip, based upon the Astral Reconciliation mystery that you used against me to bring me here in the flesh, Mother," Ranni said, a note of playful challenge in her words that her mother met with a smirk, leave it to her daughter to try and one up her.
Naruto blinked owlishly to Rennala's side, almost all of what she said flying over her head, "Umm, translation for the rest of the audience, please." he requested, making Ranni roll her eye.
She huffed at him. "It means, father-"
Naruto clutched his chest. "Urk!"
"That upon casting, it will snag the metaphysical strands that connect us to entities that are not present yet closely tied. Giving us warning if we have to worry about unforeseen spiders feeling the vibrations on our strings of fate without alerting them." Ranni murmured, her focus on completing the spell, weaving the four score of magical threads between her fingers into a cat's cradle that bore a dark moon at its centre before finally clapping all four palms together. The magic circle was squashed between them, causing a light blue mist of sparks to expand out from Ranni and wash over all present like a light breeze that sent their clothes fluttering.
Other than that there was no physical change; all was well, or perhaps it wa-
A presence slammed down on all of their shoulders like an anvil, and Rennala felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Her catalyst appeared in her hands, and she lept to the other side of the balcony with Ranni safely held against her.
She was not alone, Radagon's wolf bounded to its feet and scrambled to the other side of the floor while Blaidd drew his Zweihander from his back, ears twitching wildly and lips pulling back in an animalistic snarl.
Naruto was now in front of Rennala, his hand on the hilt of the Moonlight Greatsword, his body tense, corded muscles ready to strike.
"What is that?" he demanded, his voice short and eyes starting to glow… no.
No, his eyes weren't glowing; the runes on his body were thumping with light that radiated through his clothes.
Radagon's Red Wolf stalked forward beside him, a growl rumbling from its throat, its wet snout pointing at the far couch where Melina still slept.
'I…I recognise this presence,' Rennala thought, her eyes widening in a combination of shock, horror and fury. 'It cannot be!'
They all watched, transfixed, as Melina slowly sat up from her rest, Naruto's jacket that she had been using as a blanket falling to the floor as she turned to look at them. Both of her eyes were still closed, and her face was at peace, but there was still movement upon her visage. The black inky seal on her left eye seemed to squirm and swirl in on itself before swimming across her forehead and appearing over her right eye. Slowly, her left eye opened, eyelids peeling back to reveal a light brown eye…
Except it was not light brown; it was glowing gold.
"I could never forget those eyes," Rennala uttered, her catalyst creaking under her hand from how hard she now gripped it.
Melina exhaled and looked around the balcony, coming to rest on the group that looked at her so warily. "Unforeseen, but not unwelcome," she said, still Melina's voice but a second voice, an older and more regal voice coming in over the top.
Naruto took a step forward, his face like thunder. "I don't know who you are, but I'm giving you to the count of ten to get the hell out of my daughter," he said, his voice full of the authority of a father.
'Melina' regarded the blonde, the light of his runes reflected in her eye. "Ah, Elden Beast… or shouldst I call thee, father in this guise?" she questioned before her lips broke into an indulgent smirk. "It matters not, for I am, as I shall always be for the Lands Between, your Queen Eternal."
She tilted her head to regard the lot of them.
"Might we converse?"
A/N: Marika makes her move.
I think we all know what's coming next.
Or do ye? You never know, Slifer and I might surprise you...
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"Come now, let us be reasonable about this." Marika raised Melina's arms. "I mean you no harm. This was the only way I could think to communicate with thee; indeed, it is a feat I'll not be able to repeat for sometime...
Naruto blew out an angry breath. "Talk...and then let her go. Be quick about it, or I'll rip you out of her."
"If only that were possible, Elden Beast. I am she. She is me...
Rennala was all smiles as only a mother could be. "Hush, little culver, you need not fear either of us. You are safe here.
The little girl warbled once, hiccuped, and broke. Then she rushed into her open arms with a wail.
Naruto sighed. "Well, we've got another one...I don't even know who she is...
Little arms reached for him. "Up!"
Talked to her, did you?"
"Shut up, Blaidd. You're still in the doghouse."
LET THERE BE WAR!"
They just keep comin' out the woodwork, don't they?
Exasperated, he raised a golden hand and pushed his chakra to it.
The sky darkened around Raya Lucaria for miles around.
And heaven answered.
Naruto flung up his arms in a huff, glaring at the enemies assembled before him. Right, that does it. Give you all a spanking.
He flung an arm forward and a golden tether of chakra snared the nearest knight.
Then he reeled them in like a fish. "GET OVER HERE!"
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
As ever, we're following the Ember's Rule here. That's no joke. Really, it isn't. If folks don't like this, if people don't enjoy...well, I won't continue it. What's the point in writing something no one likes? Every bit of feedback helps. Reviews are the fuel which keeps me writing in these crazy times. With my tight schedule -two jobs!- I simply don't have time to write a story folks don't like. Without them, my inspiration cannot take wing and I can't write a word. So by all means, speak up!
Looking forward to chatting with you all~!
R&R~!