Of Grace and Failure
"You ask a lot of us, little crow. And quite boldly so."
Nokron couldn't deny it. Were someone to have made a similar request to him but a few days ago, he was not sure that he would have accepted. But he had to ask all the same.
"I know that I do, chieftain," Nokron responded with an air befitting clergy. "But I also know that this may be our only opportunity to finally be free of the Golden Order, even if I do not live to see it."
"It has been eons since the pact between us and the Nox has even been uttered," the chieftain remarked, still atop the podium, while the other Ancestral Followers listened intently, even if they understood little. Godwyn had returned them all to life, as he had promised. Even returned a few years that he did not owe them. The chieftain had not adjusted well to the changes, intentionally trying to keep her voice hoarse and her movements stiff, as if she resented the youth that had been granted to her.
"I have not come here to call upon the old pact," Nokron declared. "I wish for the Nox to form a new pact with the Followers."
"The Nox are puppets of the Golden Order," the chieftain responded with derision. Bows were drawn merely at the tone of her voice. "Do you truly expect me to believe they will support you in standing against the crisis you have brought upon them? That the Nox won't cower on their knees as Godfrey and his soldiers haul you from this place? Your people are nothing."
The chieftain made to turn her sight away from Nokron, dismissing him without a word. But the Weeping Peninsula had taught Nokron much.
"The Nox were nothing," he called, demanding the chieftain's attention. "Less than nothing even. My people were content to be forgotten and become just another part of Marika's Golden Order. That is the past. I now come to demand a new vow between our people."
The chieftain only turned, an eyebrow raised. Nokron wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity.
"Grant me access to the dwelling grounds of your Ancestors. To the power of their eternal spirits. With that power we will expunge the Golden Order, ensuring that their accursed influence never reaches here again."
The chieftain's nostrils flared. "You wish to enter our most hallowed grounds and defile the remembrances of our most ancient?! For what!? A shaky promise from the very people who did not lift a finger to defend themselves from the Golden Order? I took you to be somewhat wise for the nightfolk, but it seems your time on the surface has rendered you mad."
All around the ruined temple, Followers chanted and stomped their feet. The chieftain's outburst had roused the same anger within them. Though they did not know his offense, they did not seem to care. They would kill him there on the spot.
But that did not frighten Nokron. Death never had. And now, he knew he could not fail his goal. For the Nox. For himself.
"Yes, chieftain. That is what I demand."
She now openly glared at him, and it seemed like she would drop from her pedestal at any moment and smash his head in with the skull in her hands.
But Nokron kept his gaze all the same. Like the Stormhawks, the Ancestral Followers valued strength, and though all his instincts told Nokron to simply accept what was to come, the inevitability of death right below the horizon, he stood his ground. He willed his features to the same malignant view Godwyn had held in their final battle and focused it on the chieftain.
At that moment, the chieftain scrunched her nose and took a step back. Nokron did not know yet what that meant, but it seemed to be a boon as she gestured to the other Followers that they lower their weapons. She turned once more to regard Nokron, before shaking her head and stepping down from the podium.
"You don't need to still look at me like that, little crow," she called out to him in amusement, extending a hand toward him. "Even if I did not have reason enough to disdain the Golden Order, the look in your eyes tells me you won't leave until I grant you your wish. We accept your terms, little crow."
Nokron was a bit shaken by the result of this confrontation, but he took the offered hand, sealing the contract in the simple way of the Ancestral Followers.
"Though your grip could use more resolve," the chieftain boomed with laughter, putting everyone else in the temple at ease. "You look surprised, little crow."
Nokron composed himself, cursing the slip of his stature. He had hoped they'd accept, but he didn't expect them to be this jovial about it. "Merely relieved. I recognize the sacrilege I ask of you."
"Make no mistake, I know full well what I'm accepting. Chieftains for eons to come will speak of my madness this day if you succeed. And if you fail… well I suppose if I never die, I'll make sure no one speaks of it." She turned towards the corpse of the Ancestral Spirit. "Have you wondered why we call you 'little crow'? The Nox are like pigeons, flocking around the Erdtree for scraps of bread. But you were a crow. You found yourself a little nest, hid, and schemed to no avail. So, if the cowardly crow our people knew for eons finally caws at us with no scheme to save him, then times are truly dire."
Nokron took the insult in silence. Whether they considered him cowardly or not, he did not want to test an alliance.
"So, are you ready to enter the ground of our Ancestors? It will not be easy. You'll find the souls of spirits amassed for generations there. Take care not to get overwhelmed by their strength."
Nokron exhaled deeply. "It will not be I who will inherit their power."
With the commotion settled, Ranni approached the temple with the beast in tow. They ascended the steps, as Nokron regarded the chieftain, her face aghast. With the vow sealed, he knew she would not turn back on her word, even if she thought the crow had deceived her.
But if all went as planned, the beast would grow strong enough to conquer the Erdtree itself even if he and all the Nox had been smashed to the ground. At least the chieftain would have her revenge for this, even if indirectly.
All they needed was time.
"Ah, how kind of you to finally join us," Radahn called to Ranni, as if she was a child in need of scolding. "Mother's little princess finally woke from her silks to grace the battlefield with her presence."
Ranni sighed at her brutish brother's comments. As long as the others assumed her absence from the battle had been a result of arrogance, she was willing to let it pass. Dressed now in the blue silks of Carian Royalty, she took her place among the head of Godfrey's army.
They stood atop the ravine, at the foot of the mountain that separated it from the Caelid Wastes. She had planned to hide for the remainder of the fight, only to arise when the beast claimed the power of the Ancestral Followers.
But as she overlooked the assault on the Nox, the soldiers she had expected to frustratingly destroy everything in their sight, had suddenly retreated. They had somehow either found the beast or a more terrible alternative. Neither option boded well for her or Nokron, so she risked joining the army's ranks.
To her relief, her father seemed absent from the army's ranks. Perhaps he never was there, and the Stormhawks had confused Radahn for him.
"I have no obligation to join thy campaigns, brother," Ranni responded coldly. "And despite thy best wishes, thou art Carian royalty thyself. As such thou hast much to explain to me and what has come to pass."
Radahn sighed. Despite his derision for the ways of his sister, he was ever a loyal soldier. He'd place service over his pride.
"Quite the contrary, Lady Ranni, it is you who has much to explain." Godfrey turned from his perch above the ravine and now stood with his arms crossed before Ranni. Serosh's snarl was unsettling enough, but it was the Elden Lord's eyes that gave the princess discomfort. The golden Grace in them glowed brightly, seemingly leading him to her. It was said that the Greater Will guided him to his next foe.
"Whatever do you mean, Lord?" If there was one person that Ranni could not stand over, it was the Elden Lord himself.
"Godwyn told us that you were meant to be in the Siofra Settlement this week. He was overcome with worry at your absence, fearing the heathen priest and the witch accompanying him had harmed you." The Elden Lord's voice was filled with nothing but concern. Serosh's growls gave a different impression.
"I was in my rise, absorbed in study." Ranni did her utmost to feign ignorance of the accusation and mustered all of her royal postures. "Only recently did I learn of what transpired. I came here to offer my aid as is befitting of a Carian princess and a servant of the Golden Order. Extend my apologies to Godwyn upon his rebirth. I did not mean to worry him unnecessarily."
Godfrey squinted his eyes. They still shone just as brightly. "Then I hate to bring you bad news so close to your arrival, but we've heard rumors that the witch possessed the power to summon spirits. Something that you only recently conjoined to the Golden Order."
The golden light in his eyes flashed for but a moment. "They are just rumors for now, but neither did Godwyn deny them before he fell. I do not mean to accuse you, my Lady, but we warriors must be prepared for everything. You wouldn't happen to be connected to this witch, would you?"
At that moment, Ranni felt as if the Elden Lord and Serosh were towering over her. The Grace in Godfrey's eyes threatened to unravel the web of lies she'd thought unsolvable. She willed her mind to form a response but none came to her.
Radahn looked at his sister, and seemingly realized something. Ranni cursed her fate. She'd made a mistake coming here.
"Lord Godfrey," Radahn said, clearing his throat. "In my experience, my sister's behavior tends to be bizarre, even for a scholarly woman. I can't tell you the number of times she's been caught in the company of less-than-savory types, all for the sake of her magic, which I require her help with now. No one can move a mountain as I can, but it doesn't hurt to have help. She can make use of all the time she spends burying her head in books."
"Certainly," Godfrey said, no trace of suspicion in his voice, even as Serosh glared at Ranni. "I shall entrust the task to the two of you. Fell the mountain, while I try to spot our prey."
Godfrey walked away, but Ranni still hadn't moved a muscle. "Thank the Greater Will while you can, sister." Radahn turned to face the mountain before them. "I don't know what you've involved yourself in, but I pray you'd know better than to betray the Golden Order. If you truly haven't lost all your wits, lend me your magical prowess so I might achieve this undertaking for Lord Godfrey."
Ranni only blew a breath in annoyance. If things didn't go as planned, it seemed Godfrey would ensure that she face a horrible fate indeed. Was this the punishment for betraying the Dark Moon?
"Tell me." Her voice was subdued now. "What didst thou mean by, 'move a mountain?'"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I will alter the mountain's weight with my magic, lift it up in its new state, and crash it inside the ravine, killing the beast and anyone that seeks to protect it. Not bad for your brutish brother's inane magic, eh?"
Ranni suppressed the urge to gasp. She had underestimated Radahn.
"Truly, brother?" She had to try to mock him out of the idea. Even though she hated to admit it, it would actually work. "Lifting a mountain? I thought thou had lost thy wits when thou wasted academy resources and spent years in study over obsolete magics. And all so thou could continue riding thy poor old Leonard despite thy bulking brutish size. But here I realize every piece of magic went into thy muscles, and thou never had wits, to begin with."
Radahn sighed in disappointment. "Just lend me your magic. While you may continue to be crass with me, I doubt Lord Godfrey will have much patience for your antics. Let us begin."
They were doomed. Ranni's hands balled into fists. She and Nokron had hoped that it would take the soldiers days to slay every denizen of the Siofra Settlement. Until then the beast would no doubt have absorbed innumerable spirits, and its power would have rivaled the Greater Will itself. The beast had begun absorbing the souls in the Ancestral Grounds only hours ago. Its true potential would never be reached.
She opened her palm. If they were all going to die, there was no point in her falling as well. If it would convince Godfrey, she would help her brother crush her fate.
The silence in the ravine made Nokron tense. The general's words worried him. Whatever they planned, if they somehow harmed the Ancestral Spirit, the beast would be stuck in its Dwelling Grounds for eternity. He wanted to run, tell the chieftain to let him go in the Dwelling Grounds, and take the beast out of there before it was too late. But if he did so, Leyndell soldiers would shoot him down from atop the ravine.
It was not a custom among the priests of the Rite to pray. After all, it was insulting to suggest that death could be abated or influenced by meager words. And yet, at that moment Nokron felt compelled to do so.
As foolish as it sounded, the beast's safety was paramount to him. With no other options left, everything depended on its survival. Despite being more terrifying than anything he could have imagined, Nokron still wanted it to survive at all costs. Whether because it could one day end the Golden Order, or for its own sake, Nokron did not know.
The ground beneath them rumbled and stone walls shook. Small rocks fell all around them.
"Run," Nokron whispered in the wind. "Run and carry our dreams of a night sky with you."
The priest felt foolish even after saying the words, but he only chuckled at himself. He'd grown so soft in a matter of days.
The ground beneath them shook violently, and it took all of Nokron's strength not to topple over. He'd doomed his people, betrayed the tenants of the Death Rite, and even made Ranni abandon her safety on the Mountaintops. And now everything hinged so critically on the beast, that he valued its safety above his.
This overwhelming feeling of failure… reminded Nokron of death. Fate had a taste for irony.
He had actually done it. Ranni never thought it possible, but here she was, lending her magic to her brother. The mountaintop stood in the air as if it was a weightless pebble. Radahn raised his hands, as if he was actually lifting the mountain. It reminded Ranni of the beast's power.
No, it was that exact same power. Purple crackles went through her brother's armor and hands. Ranni couldn't help but laugh to herself. To think the magic she saw as inane and useless, would be her hope in forging her own path. And that it would be that same magic that ended it.
Perhaps there was no need for her to take the lonely path. She could have acted against the Golden Order in Castle Morne, yet she didn't. Perhaps it was better for her to just accept what the Greater Will had planned for her. Her mother had done the same, and her fate remained a happy one.
Radahn roared as he continued to move the mountain. Or rather what remained of it. Now it was only a low plateau. The giant heap of stone that loomed above them, blocked the sun, even as the Erdtree shone behind them.
It was excessive. The ravine wasn't even half as big. It would not only destroy the Settlement, but a good part of the land around it as well.
That did not seem to concern Radahn. The stone now was directly above the ravine. He moved it far enough so that the impact wouldn't harm their army. Her brother gritted his teeth, pushing himself to hold the stone in place. He looked at Godfrey, awaiting his order.
"Do it." With those words, the Elden Lord condemned the Nox, Nokron, the beast, and her dreams to oblivion. The mountain fell down toward the ravine as the crushing weight of reality did upon her.
"What was that?" Radahn's question pulled Ranni from her thoughts. Then she heard it too. The beast's bellow.
She rushed to the edge of the ravine. It was too early for it to have left the Ancestors' dwelling grounds. For whatever reason, the beast had not waited. In the short time spent there, however, it had grown to the size of a dragon.
She had expected some growth, but the beast had been completely transformed. The cobbled spherical rocks that made up its chest glowed with a mix of swirling blue and violet. They were smooth as marble and resembled celestial bodies subdued and forced together. Two pairs of membranous wings extended from them, letting the beast fly without using its power. Its tail had grown bigger than its torso. Rings of light surrounded the base of the tail and the stinger now had smaller spikes along its length. The only thing that remained the same was its eerie skull, still chipped where the Stormhawk bolt had struck it.
It took a while for everyone to notice, but the mountain had stopped moving. The beast bellowed once more and spun around itself. There were gasps and chatter, but all were frozen.
"What are you waiting for?!" Godfrey shouted, snapping the soldiers out of their stupor. "Fire at it!"
Arrows flew towards the beast, but like the mountain, they were all held still in the sky. While the Golden Order fired a volley of great arrows after another, the beast only spun around itself faster. It weaved a void as large the moon in the night sky. A giant sphere of unending darkness.
A piece of the mountain tore. Then another. Chunks of stone and earth were pulled into the beast's void, filling it up beyond the space the void occupied. Ranni thought the mountain would be all but consumed by the beast, but its pull slowed. Rock no longer went inside the void but layered around it instead. The arrows were also arrested much closer to the beast now.
It hadn't grown strong enough. For whatever reason, the beast had ended its growth earlier than she and Nokron expected, and its metamorphosis was incomplete. The rock around the void pushed in on itself, unable to enter the darkness. The force and friction were so great that the sphere glowed from the heat as the stone melted.
Whether the beast had true intelligence Ranni could not say, but as an arrow managed to graze its stone carapace, it realized it was outmatched. Radahn was gritting his teeth again, trying to push down what remained of the mountain against the beast's force. Godfrey only watched impassively.
The beast bellowed with desperation. It retreated into the ravine, taking the flaming sphere with it. The mountain was falling once more.
"Good," Godfrey remarked, "Continue pushing it down, General Radahn. We must not allow the beast to elude us."
Radahn hissed and grunted. "I'm not… the one moving it."
"Then why-" was Godfrey's only response as the scene unraveled before them. The mountain was torn apart, but not into small chunks as before. These were large slabs of stone and earth. Ranni could only look on, as the beast's magic pulled them down.
The entire landscape changed in mere moments. One by one the stone slabs were laid atop the ravine. The ground shook against the force and Ranni struggled to keep herself steady. The beast bellowed wildly as it laid down piece after piece of the mountain. Until the glow of its sphere disappeared, and its bellow became little more than a low rumble below the earth.
The Settlement in the large ravine of an ancient river was replaced with a flat rocky field that had pushed the shoreline closer to them. It was as if the Nox had never existed. With time grass would grow on the new land and other life would follow, forgetting what had been before. Nokron and his people were safe under the earth. But also trapped.
Radahn was still straining with arms outstretched.
"Leave it be," Godfrey demanded.
"Lord Godfrey?" The fear in his voice almost made Ranni feel bad for her diligent brother.
"We've achieved our goal here. Our blessed Erdtree remains untouched by heathen forces. The Nox have chosen to exile themselves below ground, and we shall grant them that exile. That thing was no worthy opponent. Our battle ended in the Weeping Peninsula." He turned to Ranni, as Serosh loudly roared. "All that's left for us is to remove the wretches left behind."
Ranni looked at her brother, but it seemed this time she could expect no help.
"I, Godfrey, consort to Queen Marika and Elden Lord declare you…" The light in Godfrey's eyes flickered. "…I declare you…"
Godfrey stumbled, holding his head in pain. When he looked at Ranni there was no light in his eyes. The Elden Lord himself… robbed of Grace?
Just as the others noticed the change in Godfrey's eyes, the Erdtree flared brightly. Its light was blinding, and yet Ranni couldn't help but try and look at it. Through the blaze, she saw the shape of a woman. Marika's voice followed, as if she was there.
"My Lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy Grace. With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die."
The light waned and disappeared. Ranni turned to Godfrey, and saw the former Elden Lord in distress. No longer was he the imposing figure who threatened everything she knew. He was but a sad man, the pain of confusion and betrayal replacing whatever light shone in his eyes. It was his turn to look to Radahn now.
Even Radahn seemed conflicted. It was no secret that he held great respect for the former Elden Lord. But in the end, he was ever the diligent soldier. He looked away from Godfrey and called out to the army. "You all heard the words of Queen Marika. Places were her words are spoken are holy. Speak to your quartermasters. Some of you will return to Leyndell. The rest will assist in the building of the Third Church of Marika."
Godfrey's jaw dropped as a desperate gasp escaped him. Every soldier who had not been in his direct retinue, pretended the man was not there.
The ancient warrior still had some pride left in him. He inhaled deeply and grunted when righting himself. He turned to speak to the men that still answered to him and went to fulfill his exile.
Ranni wanted to believe that this was only just a fortuitous turn of fate. That Godfrey losing his Grace had been intended by the Dark Moon, writ in his destiny. But she had not followed its guidance. She shuddered at the thought that Marika knew she required saving and had acted for her, even if the idea was a far-fetched imagination.
So, she turned her attention to her brother instead. "What now, Radahn? Willst thou join Father in leading the golden host?"
"No." It wasn't the cold response that Radahn usually gave to Ranni's insults. This one burned with anger and drive. "That… thing. It came from the sky."
Though it did not sound like one, Ranni answered his question with a nod. "Then I will wage war against the very stars themselves. To ensure that no being will move again without the Golden Order willing it."
Ranni only watched as her brother walked away to his scrawny horse. It was for him that Radahn had learned the power to manipulate meteors. And it had allowed him to move mountains. For the first time, she feared what her brother might achieve.
All around the Settlement, Nox shed their mimic enchantment. They gasped and chattered as they looked up at the glowing orb above them. Nokron too gazed at it, spotting the beast circling it. It moved the orb below the stone ceiling, like a beetle rolling a ball of dung.
And just like one, the orb now had no glow. The beast's void no longer pulled on the stone, and the molten mass solidified into a sphere of obsidian so dark, it might as well have been the void.
The disappearing light had not plunged them into darkness, however. Smaller rocks and minerals hadn't joined the sphere and still kept their white glow, decorating the space above them like shining jewels. One passed within reach of Nokron. He felt the heat within it but also saw its metallic shine. These rocks had absorbed the silver tears in the mountains.
The Nox could only gaze as the beast bellowed above. None were compelled to pray. The Erdtree was far away from them and they had lost their sky. The only thing above them was a stone ceiling trapping them inside.
Nokron looked at the obsidian orb once more.
No, that wasn't true. The beast hadn't trapped them. It had saved them. Freed them. It had given them a new sky, free of the Erdtree. Their very own stars. Their very own Black Moon.
Their very own night
Author's Note: The fate of Nox has finally been revealed. I hope you enjoyed following Nokron to the climax of the story. I'll gladly hear your thoughts so far, but this book isn't over. There are still some questions left unanswered. I shall endeavor to deliver the epilogue of this story within a few days. Stay tuned for the end of Nokron's story.