AN: Hello again! I'm glad you're checking this out.I won't keep you long, so I'll save it for the end. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Of Golden Grace and Silver Scales
Chapter 1: The Stranded Graveyard
The sound of dripping water filled the cave as she watched over this new curiosity.
She had traveled the Lands Between for a long time now. A single goal imparted to her by her mother at the foot of the great Erdtree. But it was not a task that she was able to complete. Not on her own.
For that, she needed a Tarnished. One that had luck on their side.
Unfortunately, finding one such person was easier said than done.
She scoured the Lands Between and watched many Tarnished on their journeys, yet none had the qualities she sought.
It had been nearly an age since the last terrible battle of The Shattering, and she had begun to fear that she may never find the Tarnished blessed by luck.
But then the only companion who accompanied her on her long journey led her to the Fringefolk Hero's Grave at the southern tip of Limgrave.
And deep underground within the Stranded Graveyard, she found this lone creature laying amongst the open graves.
Was this creature perhaps Tarnished?
Maybe her search had finally come to an end?
This creature was of a strange sort, not only in appearance but also in nature. Never had there been a Tarnished who came to the Lands Between without a maiden to guide them.
Without a maiden, this creature had no means of transfiguring its runes into strength. Nor would it even know what its purpose was to be in these lands to begin with.
Yes, an opportunity like this will likely never come again.
Her solitary eye took in the unconscious creature lying before her. She noted just how different it was to anything else within the Lands Between.
It was safe to assume that it was a female since it was humanoid and had a rather womanly shape. Her figure was slender and feminine, certainly well endowed in the places many would consider attractive, but that belied a well toned physique she had just under the surface. Her musculature implied a life of training and battle. No doubt this creature had taken great care to look the way she did.
Her skin was dark, no blacker than pitch. A long tail grew from the base of her spine and was longer than her legs. Her hair was an odd silvery-white color and seemed to have an almost iridescent sheen in the dim light of the cave. But most striking of all were the horns that grew from the top of her head and the scales that covered much of her body.
The horns were primarily black in color, but it seemed that they were covered by innumerable specks of silver, making them glitter in the low light. They seemed to have sprouted from just behind the hairline above her forhead and swept back nearly halfway over the top of her skull before they curved upwards and outwards slightly at the tips. One other feature of the horns were that they had what looked to be rings fitted onto them. On the left horn was a silver band that depicted a dragon with a ruby eye holding a single diamond in its claws. The right horn, however, had a simple golden band enscribed with runes.
The scales that covered her form were uniqe as they looked as though they were cast from pure silver. The entirety of her back, along with her arms, her legs, her neck, her sides, and the entirety of her tail, were covered by these scales. They glimmered prettily under her gaze.
Her single eye then flicked towards the creature's hands, then her feet, and saw that they were tipped with claws in place of nails.
She suspected that this girl might be a hybrid creature of sorts. Perhaps she was the descendant of a dragon? But no dragon she ever saw had scales that looked like they were made from metal. Nor did they come in such a vibrant color like silver. Usually, their scales were a dull gray, or in the case of the Ancient Dragons, like stone.
Truly, this assumed Tarnished had piqued her interest.
And it seemed that her companion had taken a liking to her as well if the way he had his muzzle near her hand was any indication.
"Don't worry, Torrent, fortune is on her side." she said as she patted the side of his neck from her seat on the saddle. "We found her here, after all."
A groan from the Tarnished told her that time was running short. So she dismounted from Torrent's saddle and moved to kneel before the half-conscious girl.
"One of her kind is sure to seek the Elden Ring." she said as she looked into the creature's bleary pale eyes as she once more slipped into unconsciousness.
"...Even if it does violate the Golden Order..."
With her piece said, she then placed a Flask of Crimson Tears and a Flask of Cerulean Tears into the girl's hand and watched as they vanished into golden motes of light.
This small gift will help her down the line.
Consciousness slowly returned to the silver-scaled girl.
Her head pounded as she rose to her feet.
"..."
B groaned as she slowly regained her strength. Her entire body was sore, and she struggled to recall what happened.
After a minute or two, everything came back to her. From the moment she awoke in the chapel, to when she fought that monster.
It beat her, and that much was clear. So, how did she end up here?
"Wait... w-where even... am I?" she asked herself as she looked around at the dark and dreary cave. Her voice was rough and scratchy, as though she hadn't spoken in a very long time. Her throat burned from the sudden usage.
Strewn all around her were long abandoned headstones and open caskets. The bones of long dead people were scattered all over the ground.
Seeing that standing around wasn't going to get her any answers, B decided to start moving.
Not even a few steps out, she noticed a lone chair with the pale ghostly visage of a person sitting on it. Their head was cast down, staring at some hole in the ground.
Stricken by curiosity, the silver-scaled girl walked over to the phantom.
She came to a stop next to the specter and tilted her head, perplexed by what she saw.
Before she could even say anything, the phantom spoke.
"... Brave Tarnished. Take the plunge. Of learning and remembrance. Recall the arts of war. And your warrior's blood."
Without turning its head or moving its lips, the ghost said its piece.
"Take the plunge?" the girl asked before she turned her head to look down the hole.
She could see something below. There was a tunnel that seemed to lead deeper into the cave.
Something told her that going down the tunnel would be beneficial to her.
Before she made any decisions, she looked up to examine the cave.
Further out, there was a small golden tree that acted like a beacon in the darkness. And behind that, a set of stairs that led to a pair of doors.
"That has to be the exit." she said to herself as she looked at the doors in the distance.
B considered going straight to the doors, but the spirit had mentioned that going down the tunnel would help her remember. And since she couldn't really remember anything, that was something she heavily considered.
In the end, the young woman decided that getting her memories back was more important than leaving and looked back down the hole.
She thought about how to descend when she noticed an outcropping nearby that would make it safer to get down.
After a couple of jumps, she landed in a shallow pool of water and entered the tunnel. Right away, she saw a strange golden glow near the ground close by.
After trudging through the pool, she reached the source of the glow and saw a small, ethereal golden light. Smaller trails of light were flowing towards it, as if beckoning her to touch it.
B reached out, and the light burst to life. It flickered like a flame and filled her with warmth.
She sat down next to the little light and immediately felt rejuvenated. The lingering soreness she felt and the pounding in her head instantly vanished.
The girl sat there and stared at the small light for a while, simply basking in its warmth and letting herself rest. She marveled at how the glow reflected off of her silvery scales on her arms, making them shine with a myriad of different colors among the golden glow.
Then she noticed something else. She was naked… again.
"Huh?!" B cried as she covered herself.
'What? When and how did I lose my clothes?!' she shouted in her mind before she remembered exactly what happened.
That multi-limbed monstrosity had cut her a couple of times. Those attacks must have cut through the thin material she had covered herself with.
Which meant...
"Gah!" she cried out as she buried her face into her hands.
Not only had that monster beaten her, but it had left her in this humiliating position! She was thankful that no one could see her like this. She would likely die from embarrassment!
The girl looked around for any scrap of cloth to use in the hopes of making some form of coverage, but she saw nothing around her.
B let out a frustrated sigh and went back to stare at the small golden light again, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She even curled her tail around to cover her feet.
After a while, she remembered that she was supposed to travel through the tunnel to remember herself. While she was hesitant, she stood up and moved away from the light, traveling deeper into the cave.
B entered the first chamber of the cave and saw a strange, emaciated man garbed in what might have once been rather fancy looking clothing. The whole ensemble was worn down and caked with dirt and mud. In the man's hand was an equally worn down sword.
Seeing the weapon, the young woman was instantly on edge. The feeling was exacerbated when she remembered that not only was she completely bare, but she didn't even have a weapon on her either.
Before she could panic, she felt a sudden weight appear in her right hand and instantly tightened her grip around it.
She took a look at it and saw that it was the club she had picked up earlier.
The girl was amazed that this strange ability had even worked on her weapon as well.
She tried to call a new set of clothes onto her body and... nothing.
Confused, she glanced down at the ground and saw the ruined strips of fabric that passed for clothes and saw them strewn around her feet.
She huffed in frustration and bent down to pick up the fabric with her free hand. It quickly became clear from the small stip in her hand that the outfit was irreparable. So, with a sigh of disappointment, she dropped the thin piece of ruined fabric and chose to make due with her current lack of dress. She resolved herself to get through the cave as quickly as possible.
B then looked back up towards the man,who remained standing in place, and slowly walked up towards him.
As she approached, the zombie-like man noticed her and raised his sword up. Before he could bring it down, however, B swung her club and struck him first, causing him to stagger.
Another two swings put him down.
Once she was sure that the man wouldn't get back up, she considered taking his clothes and weapon for herself. She ultimately decided against it when she saw just how poor of a condition his clothes and sword were in.
The girl once more sighed in disappointment. She then heard something approaching her.
She looked to the side and saw another man in ragged clothes staggering towards her, sword raised to attack.
B quickly jumped back as the man clumsily swung at her. He staggered from the swing and let out a groan of confusion.
Before he could react, she struck him down with several swings from her club.
With the danger now over, the girl looked further into the cave and saw yet another one of these strange zombie-like men standing in the distance.
Seeing that she would likely have to fight her way through, she continued onward.
B ran at the man, and when she was a few feet away, began swinging her club repeatedly at him.
He was down before he could even react.
The girl took a moment to breathe as she regained her stamina. However, another man who had been in the same chamber staggered towards her and swung his sword.
She rolled to the side and struck the man down as he recovered from his swing.
With both threats dealt with, she continued on, jumping over some ledges to reach the next chamber.
It was much bigger than the others. With a large crack in the ceiling letting the sun's light in to illuminate the interior. There were even bushes and grass growing on the ground, along with a natural stone bridge above her.
Standing on said bridge was a man clad in armor.
As she stepped into the chamber, the man on the bridge pulled out a crossbow and shot a bolt at her.
Seeing the attack coming, B strafed to the side to avoid the attack. She then decided that it was best to run through the chamber as fast as possible.
She ran until she was directly under the stone bridge, where she paused to catch her breath.
The girl then noticed some red glowing berries on a small bush near her.
They looked quite appetizing, so she plucked a few of them from the bush and popped one into her mouth.
She was surprised by how sweet and juicy it tasted. She simply couldn't stop herself from moaning in delight.
She gathered a few more berries and decided to save the rest for later.
They vanished into golden sparkles.
With that done, she continued onward.
In the next chamber, the silver-scaled girl saw another man in armor, only this time he was holding a spear and a large shield.
Realizing that this opponent would be tougher than the others, she held her club with both hands.
The man charged at her, shield raised.
The girl swung her club, and it struck the soldier's shield.
He was pushed back slightly and then thrust his spear at the girl.
She rolled to the side and once again swung her club.
And again, it struck the shield.
He thrust his spear forward and was actually able to land a hit on the girl.
The tip of the spear struck B in the side of her abdomen, scraping against her scales and causing her to let out a gasp of pain.
The girl retaliated with her club, only to once more strike the shield.
The spear thrust out again, this time striking her left thigh. It struck the part of her inner thigh that was not covered by scales.
The girl cried out in pain and backed away.
She winced at the pain in her leg and felt her frustration mounting.
The soldier moved towards her again and brought up his shield.
Before the soldier could attack again, the girl began to swing her club relentlessly.
Her club repeatedly struck the shield, causing the man to be pushed back more and more with each hit.
B swung her club one final time, and it met the shield with enough force that it was finally knocked aside, and the soldier was thrown off balance.
Seeing her chance, the young woman stepped towards the man and landed a powerful blow to his stomach with her club.
He stood stunned by the blow, the wind driven from his lungs, allowing the girl to finish him off with another powerful blow to his head.
Blood sprayed from his mouth and nose and splattered onto the girl's weapon and body.
She panted tiredly as she stood over the soldier's limp form.
Soon, the adrenaline waned, and she began to calm down.
After a few moments, she blinked and looked down at her weapon. Both the club and her hands were covered in blood.
She looked back down at the body at her feet and felt her shoulders sag.
Without a word, she backed up until her back hit the cave wall. She leaned against it for support as she looked down at her blood-stained hands.
The silver-scaled girl inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She clenched her hands into fists, her grip so tight that her claw-like nails nearly broke the skin.
After a short while, she was able to calm herself down and release the breath she'd been holding.
B did not like how she felt at the moment. Even if it was against what were effectively walking corpses, killing did not sit right with her.
She resolved to herself that she would avoid it if she could, but B had a feeling that she would not be given much of a choice going forward.
The girl shook her head to clear her mind. There was no getting out of this cave if she just sat around feeling sorry for herself.
With that, she pushed herself off the wall and started to walk deeper into the cave.
Not even a step later, she winced in pain and remembered that the soldier had stabbed her leg with his spear.
B grasped her leg and looked down at the wound. It wasn't as bad as she had feared, but it was still bleeding, and it still hurt. She wished the pain could go away.
She then felt the weight in her right hand suddenly change and looked down at it to see that her club had been replaced with a small bottle filled with a red glowing liquid.
She brought the bottle up to her face to get a better look at it.
Strange, she didn't remember picking it up anywhere.
Although it was suspicious that she had this bottle with her without her knowledge, the silver-scaled girl had a feeling that it would help her in this situation.
So she popped the top open and brought the bottle to her lips.
The crimson liquid flowed into her mouth, and she was immediately taken by how sweet it tasted. She gulped it down, and it instantly alleviated the pain she felt and had instead replaced it with a pleasant warmth.
The warmth was especially potent in the part of her thigh where the spear had stabbed into her.
She glanced down, and much to her surprise, saw that the wound on her leg had vanished.
It had completely healed! The only proof that wound was ever there was the blood that had flowed out of it stuck to her leg.
After a moment, she shook herself out of her awe and looked at the bottle in her hand.
She had a feeling that it was going to be very useful to her in the future.
With that thought, the bottle vanished, and her club returned to her hand.
The silver-scaled girl spared one last glance towards the soldier and offered a silent prayer to him. She then turned towards the tunnel ahead and went deeper into the cave.
The next chamber was much like the others in the cave, littered with debris and a few torches.
And like the other chambers, more of those undead men in frayed noble clothing stood guard.
They were easy enough to deal with, a few hits, and they went down without much issue.
Before she could relax, however, an arrow sailed by her head, and she whipped around to see that the path ahead was blocked by another soldier with a crossbow in his arms.
She remembered the soldier who shot at her from the stone bridge earlier and realized that it was the same man.
The cave must have looped around to lead up to the stone bridge from the previous chamber.
B then saw that the soldier was loading another arrow into his crossbow and decided that taking him out quickly was a good idea.
She sprinted across the bridge towards the man right as he finished loading his crossbow and took aim.
With a raspy grunt, the soldier fired a bolt at the silver-scaled girl.
She saw the arrow coming and twisted her upper body enough that the shot harmlessly flew past her.
Before the soldier could load another bolt into his weapon, B had reached him.
With both hands wrapped around the handle, the young woman drove her club into the soldier's abdomen, leaving him breathless.
A second swing to the back of his right knee broke the soldier's balance and forced him to kneel before her.
And B finished it with one last swing that connected to the side of the armored man's head.
While the club had mostly struck the helmet, there was enough force behind it to send the soldier careening over the edge of the natural bridge.
After only a moment, there was a distinct crack… and then silence.
B breathed evenly as she looked down at the soldier's broken body. Thankfully, there wasn't a mess. But it still wasn't pretty.
She hoped that the end of the cave was close. She didn't want to have to kill everything in her path for much longer.
The silver-scaled girl then looked towards the end of the bridge and saw another zombified man standing there, staring aimlessly into space.
The girl let out a sigh and moved on.
After she dispatched what she assumed was the last of the enemies, B walked down a short tunnel until she came upon what looked to be a wall of thick fog.
She frowned. This was different, she mused.
Normally, some fog wouldn't be a cause for concern, but the girl had a distinct feeling that something was going to be waiting on the other side of the fog for her.
'And given my luck so far, whatever's in there is going to try to kill me… great.' B thought with a sigh.
Seeing no other way forward, B steeled her nerves and pressed her hand against the fog wall.
With one last breath to ready herself, the girl pushed herself through the fog.
B entered a small flooded chamber.
Thankfully, the water wasn't deep, coming up to a little past her ankles at most.
All throughout the room were dozens of open stone caskets and the bones of the dead strewn across the floor.
She had expected to come across some terrible beast or some form of creature within the chamber.
Instead, it was another one of those soldiers she had faced so far.
Only this one was a fair bit taller than the others with his armor in noticeably better condition.
Oh, and he also had a very large sword sheathed over his back.
B instantly wrapped both of her hands around the handle of her club and readied herself for a fight.
The soldier grunted at the sight, his ashen face set in a deep frown.
"Now ain't you an interesting thing." The soldier said in a rasp.
B was caught completely off guard by the response.
"Surprised?" the soldier asked with a smirk. "I'm not like the others. I still got some of my wits about me." he then shook his head and looked girl over.
The soldier leaned over slightly and tilted his head to get a better look.
"Never quite seen anything like you before. The Omen don't grow any scales from what I know. Could be some sorta wingless Misbegotten. But then again, that very womanly face and body of yours suggests otherwise." the man mused with a leer as he examined the strange young woman across from him. His hidden eyes lingered over the generous assets she had out in plain view.
B felt herself bristle under the soldier's gaze. Instead of moving to cover the parts of her that caught his eye, she shifted into a more defensive stance and glared at the man.
Her lips peeled back into a snarl, revealing that most of her teeth were sharp like a carnivorous predator's.
"Now, isn't that a scary look you have there." he said with a smirk. "You must not have a lot of brains behind that pretty little face of yours. Maybe you're actually just some twisted Demi-human?"
The soldier chuckled before he shrugged.
"Wha'ever's the case, I'm sure that Lord Godrick will reward me nicely if I bring him your corpse." he said with a wicked grin as he drew his sword.
B growled at the challenge.
"Got some fight, don't you? It doesn't matter much, but please make this easy and die quickly, please?" he asked with faux politeness as he approached the silver-scaled girl.
B didn't make any sudden movements as the man approached her. Even as he raised his sword up in preparation for an overhead swing, she stayed where she was.
The Soldier of Godrick swung his blade down with the intent to cut the girl in down in twain.
But as soon as she saw the blade begin its descent, B rolled out of the way.
Water coated her skin as she rolled across the ground.
The moment she stopped her role, she swung her club as she got back onto her feet.
The attack struck the soldier's side, causing him to grunt.
The man turned around and positioned his blade for a thrust, intending to impale her upon it.
B saw the attack coming and jumped to her right, allowing her to narrowly avoid the blade. She then backed up several paces to create some space.
The Soldier of Godrick closed the distance and swung his sword in a low horizontal arc, aiming to take the girl's legs.
He did not expect said girl to jump over his attack with her club pulled up over her head.
B took advantage of the opening and swung her club down as her body began to descend.
The large piece of lumber met the soldier's helmet with a mighty clang, leaving him dizzy with ringing ears.
The soldier staggered back with a groan as he tried to shake off his dizziness.
The silver-scaled girl refused to let the man regain his bearings. The moment her feet touched the ground beneath the shallow pool, she moved closer to him.
The young woman grabbed the front of the soldier's surcoat with her left hand and yanked him towards her so she could follow up with a one-handed horizontal swing from right to left across his face.
She then grabbed the club with both hands and did another horizontal swing from left to right across the other side of his face, causing him to spit out several teeth and a glob of blood.
The young woman then pulled her club back over her right shoulder and built up her strength for a heavy two-handed swing.
The blow connected with the soldier's chest, robbing him of breath and sent him crashing onto one knee.
Taking advantage of the opening, B struck the Soldier of Godrick with two mighty blows that left him sprawled onto his back in the shallow pool.
The girl panted from the exertion as she took several steps back, not once taking her eyes off the soldier.
After several moments, the man regained his bearings and climbed back onto his feet.
While she couldn't see his eyes, obscured as they were, she could tell that he was glaring at her.
The soldier's lips peeled back in an ugly snarl, revealing his broken and blood-stained teeth.
"You little bish…" He slurred. "I was going to make it quick. But now…" He grunted as he lifted his sword. "Now I'm going to make ye suffer!"
B did not respond. Instead, she clenched her jaw and held her club with both hands.
The man charged at the silver-scaled girl, poised to strike.
He went for a downward diagonal swing from his right to the left, prompting her to attempt to dodge the attack by rolling under the blade towards her left.
However, she didn't expect the soldier to stop his blade mid swing and jab his right elbow towards her as soon as she started to rise from her roll.
The blow connected with the bridge of her nose with a loud crack.
B flinched and fell backward, landing on her rear as she clutched at her now bleeding nose with her left hand.
She then heard the man grunt and looked up to see that he had raised his sword and had it poised to stab downward.
In a desperate moment, the silver-scaled girl scrambled backward in a clumsy crab walk and managed to get out of the way right as the blade stabbed into the ground.
The young woman took the chance to quickly scramble back up onto her feet. She gripped her club with both hands and moved in for a quick strike.
The Soldier of Godrick growled and pulled his sword out of the ground. He then shifted into a wide stance and dragged his blade along the ground for a powerful uppercut slash.
B let out a gasp and attempted to halt her advance, but reacted too late to avoid the attack.
The long blade cleaved a crimson trail along the length of the girl's front torso.
Unlike much of her body, the front of her torso was not covered by her silvery scales, as a result the blade easily parted her soft flesh and nearly sliced through her ribs as it cut her from hip to clavicle.
She had even been launched by the attack due to the sheer force behind the swing.
The soldier's sword continued its arc until the tip hit the ground behind him.
The young woman crashed back first into the ground several feet away, kicking up water and old bones.
B choked. Her body burned in a way that left her breathless and trembling.
Blood, her blood, poured from the new wound like a raging river, turning the water around her a murky red color.
A sharp metallic tang appeared on her tongue as she struggled to regain her breath. Every attempted breath, however, only caused more of that burning pain to flair.
Little spots began popping in and out of her vision as her periphery began to darken.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of agony, the girl forced her body to cooperate, and she was able to take a desperate gasp, filling her lungs with much needed air.
Once she overrode her body's attempt at shutting down, B grasped at her stomach in an attempt to stem the bleeding and keep vital organs where they belonged. The action only resulted in a lance of pain to shoot through her nerves, making her whimper.
She had to get back up.
She needed to get back up!
If she stayed down, then she was dead.
So, with a grunt, B forced herself to move.
She nearly managed to fully sit up before she felt a sudden force impact her chest.
In the time it had taken for her to begin her recovery, the Soldier of Godrick had closed the distance and kicked the girl in the chest.
The young woman let out a pained wheeze as she was forced to lay on her back.
Her vision had become blurred, and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear it quickly. Once it was clear enough to make out her surroundings, she saw that the man was now standing over.
The soldier grinned wickedly as he looked down at the helpless girl.
"Not so tough now, are ye?!" he said in a mixture of fury and sadistic glee as he stomped his foot down onto B's bleeding chest.
The force behind the stomp caused the silver-scaled girl to nearly empty her stomach's contents as she spluttered and coughed violently.
Not satisfied, the man began to press down with his boot and grind his heel into the wound he had inflicted onto her just moments prior. That had the effect he wanted to see.
The Soldier of Godrick grinned maliciously as the young woman began to scream in agony.
"That's what I want to hear." he hissed as he dug his heel further into the wound, causing the bleeding to intensify and her screams to grow louder.
The man showed her no mercy as he ground his foot into her. He just couldn't get enough of her screams. He wanted to make it last.
Whenever her screams and cries grew softer, he would lift his foot and stomp down on her again, driving the air from her lungs and causing her to cough up a mixture of blood and saliva. He would then allow her to regain her breath long enough to begin the process all over again.
The pain was too much!
B could barely think, barely breath. She had to find a way out of this, get him away from her!
She clutched at the man's foot in a vain effort to get him off.
This prompted him to grind down harder.
'I have to do something, think!' she thought as she grit her teeth.
Breath in…
She didn't know why that flashed through her mind, but she inhaled as best she could and held her breath on instinct. She closed her eyes and braced herself as best she could.
Almost instantly, the girl felt an odd warmth begin to bloom in her chest.
That warmth caused something to drift to the front of her mind.
Power comes from the breath. To utilize it, you must breathe in as much as you can and hold it.
It wasn't a memory as she could not place a face to the voice in her mind, but it was a recollection nonetheless.
And so B held her breath for as long as she could. Enduring the torture the soldier was inflicting on her, her chest growing all the warmer with each passing moment.
The Soldier of Godrick frowned as the creature under his foot stopped screaming and looked to be holding its breath.
He looked down at her with a scowl. He was about to say something when he noticed something strange.
The girl's chest was glowing. It was as if someone had lit her heart on fire, and it was slowly burning everything inside of her.
After several moments, the glow intensified to the point that it made her ribs visible and reached up to the base of her throat.
Once you're near your limit and your chest feels like it's about to burst into flames…
Disturbed by the sight, the man decided to end his fun and raised his sword to finish the fight.
...let go.
B let go of her breath, and the pressure that had built up within her was finally released.
As she exhaled, the heat that had built up within her flowed out through her throat and out her mouth, becoming a jet of azure flame as it passed through her lips.
The Soldier of Godrick only had enough time to squawk in surprise before his upper torso was enveloped by the flames.
The man then let loose an agonized wail as he staggered back and flailed about in an attempt to extinguish the inferno that ate away at his body.
But no matter how desperately he tried to smother the fire, it clung to him. Even rolling through the water would not douse it.
In fact, the fire seemed to only grow hotter the longer it burned. It grew to the point that his armor began to melt, fusing with his flesh as it too was eaten by the flames.
In a desperate gamble, the soldier began to tear the heated metal away, but it only resulted in his blackened flesh being torn away from his bones.
After several moments, the soldier collapsed and let out one last pitiful wheeze before his life finally came to an end.
B opened her eyes as she pushed herself up by her elbows and watched in muted horror as the burning body of the Soldier of Godrick dissolved into dust within moments of expiring.
She stared shell-shocked at where the man had been just moments prior.
The girl tried to process what she had done as she slowly pushed herself up into a seated position.
She winced in pain and brought a hand up to the wound on her chest. She pulled her hand away to see her palm stained with her own blood.
'That's not good…' the silver-scaled girl thought as her vision began to blur slightly.
The adrenaline that had been coursing through her body was beginning to wear off.
She had to act quickly.
If she lost consciousness, then she would end up bleeding out.
She needed to think of a way to stop the bleeding before she passed out.
B looked around for something that could help her, only to find old bones submerged in water.
"D-damn it…" she hissed as her vision spun.
She collapsed onto her back as she panted tiredly.
Water filled the girl's ears and muffled everything around her. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest. The sound of which gradually grew softer with every passing moment.
'I need healing… I…' her thoughts began to slow as consciousness slipped further and further away. 'Wait!' Just as she was about to slip into that inky black void, her mind jumped to the memory of that golden bottle that glowed with a reddish hue.
She remembered how the liquid within filled her with warmth and healed her wounds.
Her eyes snapped wide open, and she was filled with a sudden surge of energy as the will to live reignited beneath her breast.
With considerable effort, B forced herself to sit up.
She took several deep breaths to force down the pain and raised her right arm up.
The silver-scaled girl stared at her open palm for a moment before she concentrated on making the flask appear.
After a moment, the object appeared in her hand, and she instinctively tightened her hold on it.
Joy and relief flashed through her in an instant. She tried to laugh, but all that came out was a soft wheeze.
She winced in pain and took a breath to steady herself.
She then uncorked the cap and shakily brought it up to her lips.
Although her strength was quickly fading, B was able to raise the flask enough to down the liquid inside.
The very instant it touched her tongue, the healing liquid began to undo the damage she had sustained and leave a pleasant warmth in its place.
The girl drank until the flask was empty, which was much less than she thought there was.
Once she saw that there was nothing left, she pulled the flask away from her lips, where it vanished into golden flecks of light.
She looked down to see the wound across her torso, a wound that would have been fatal, quickly close, and leave no trace behind. Not even a scar!
B stared in awe as she ran a hand down where her injury had been.
She didn't think that the stuff that was in the flask would heal her that much.
The girl sighed in relief and flopped down onto her back.
The sudden action caused water to splash up onto her face, but it didn't bother her much.
She felt her eyes begin to grow heavy as everything she went through caught up to her, and exhaustion took hold.
Unlike the situation moments prior, she did not feel the primal need to keep herself awake. So, the silver-scaled girl allowed herself to fall into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
AN: I think this is where I'll stop it for now. I wanted to write more, believe me, but this chapter was already approaching 10k words, and that felt like a good place to stop.
So this story was inspired by, of course, Elden Ring, but also stories written by Neon Zangetsu (he makes good stories, so you should go check them out).
That said, this story is pretty experimental. While I have a rough outline of what I want to do, nothing is set in stone. So I'll be employing one of his strategies in that if this story doesn't get a lot of attention, then I'll discontinue it and move on.
So, if you want to see more, then leave reviews, add it to your favorites, and follow this story so that I can be inspired to keep it going.
For future notes, I'll try to refrain from making chapters too long. While I'll always try to fit in as much as I can, I'll make an effort to end them in good spots.
Now, before I go, I'll leave you all with a sneak peek of what might happen down the road.
Possible Spoilers Ahead
B inhaled sharply as she regained consciousness.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around to see that she was still in the cave.
"Oh… right." she said with a sigh as she sat up in the shallow pool of water.
Kale had not seen much business since he set up shop in the dilapidated remains of the church of Elleh.
It's not surprising really. Not a lot of people traveled the Lands Between since The Shattering.
It also didn't help that any would-be customers rarely made it past the Erdtree Sentinel that patrolled the grounds outside the Fringefolk Hero's Grave or even made it pass Godrick's soldiers further down the path.
It would be nice to get a repeat customer for once - why did he hear screaming?
Something crashed into the ground nearby.
"I've come to offer you an accord." The redhead said as her single golden eye looked her over.
The silver-scaled girl blinked owlishly at the woman.
"I can't in good conscience let you go into Stormveil Castle all alone now, can I?" the Vagabond said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh now, don't tell me you're still miffed about that whole misunderstanding." Patches said with a nervous smile as he held his hands up defensively.
"You left me with three Rune Bears. THREE!" the female Bandit shouted as she had her Great Knife pressed against the bald man's throat.
Margit regarded the strange hybrid girl before him.
"Hmph, thou art of passing skill." he admitted with the smallest inkling of begrudged respect.
However, that respect will not be enough to spare her.
In his free hand, the golden construct of a Giant Crusher manifested. He felt mild enjoyment at the look of shock, then horror that appeared on her face.
"Warrior blood must truly run through thy veins, Tarnished." he said with scathing sarcasm as he poised to strike.
Margit jumped up, then the hammer came down.
That's all for now, so please let me know what you think.