A/N: Would you look at that? Another weekly update.
Amazing what a bit of feedback can do, no? Remarkable, really,
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story...and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs with ever increasing hours so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.
Two jobs keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now for your questions, comments, and concerns. We'll keep it brief this time.
Q: More content! We demands it!
A: Don't worry, this chapter has a ton.
Q: Hand it over. That thing you have...your update schedule...for us.
A: I see that Gael quote. A bit of everything, really. Got RWBY, Arcane, Demon Slayer, Fate, and others to update monthly. Elden Ring has been moved to weekly by popular demand, due to the sheer among of requests flooding my inbox.
Gimme That Fire is next.
Q: Random question! Will there be Nihil in later chapters?
A: Alright, this amused me. Yes, there will be NIHIL later. Much Nihil. Mohg was one of three bosses who genuinely terrified me. I'll let you guess who the other two were.
Q: Pairing is set?
A: Open, actually. By all means, convince me. Apparently ancient and legendary dragons can shapeshift in this story, too. Who knew? Also the "Shaman" girls in Nokron are lovely singers...when they aren't trying to beat your head in. And the lore, ach! Vaatividya's gonna have a field day with this.
Q: DO NOT SPARE GODRICK.
A: Read to see his fate.
Q: Can't Naruto be reverse summoned to his world. I mean if he can summon the Toads.
A: All I can see is read and see. Wouldn't do to spoil things.
Q:...that Rune Ring belongs to SPOILER doesn't it? I can see that one determined to get their way...come hell or high water.
A: It does indeed belong to SPOILER. Morgott thinks he knows a fair bit, when in truth, he knows nothing. Not a thing. For you see, but SPOILER and SPOILER are such that none would ever expect SPOILER! Not to mention SPOILER! Such is the SPOILER that takes all other SPOILER by surprise! Mwahahaha! If you can't tell, I'm not saying jack. The story will tell all in good time. Not I.
Alright then, this old man has kept you long enough! I'll let you enjoy this sappy little story.
As ever, I own no quotes references, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one!
Now then, I'll not keep you. Get ready to smile~!
Minor verbatim for ingame dialogue.
"I believe in freedom. The freedom to change, to become a better person than you were.
...and the freedom to kick someone's ass to kingdom come if they won't.
I don't wanna be a Lord...but I won't let this world rot."
~?
Guided by Grace
So this was a Great Rune.
Naruto turned it end over end in his hands, regarding the ethereal construct with no small amount of confusion. Smaller than expected perhaps, but rather light all things considered. He supposed that made sense; after all, it was made of...well, light. Blasted thing had come flying out Godrick's chest after that last blow, practically landing right in his hands. All this chaos, all this death, over something so tiny. Had everyone really gone mad for these simple shards.
He wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.
Godrick's mangled corpse lay sprawled at his feet, body crumbling into dust. Or was it runes? He wasn't sure. How he should feel about this, any of it. He'd beaten the man to death in a fit of pique. He shouldn't have; he knew that. But he'd gone after Nepheli. There hadn't been any time for anything other than a lethal response. More than that, he was so very tired of EVERYTHING trying to kill him and his. Was it so wrong to fight back for once in his life...?
...to have been felled by a lowly Tarnished...!" a low rasp at his feet sparked his temper anew. "Such shame...I cannot bear...
Blue eyes snapped down. "You're still alive?!"
"You must be joking. How durable is this bastard?!"
Not very and not for long, judging by the way his body was falling apart. These were Godrick's last gasps.
...Ranni...Rykard...Radahn...!" a hand with too many fingers grasped at Naruto's ankle, drawing a shudder from the blond. Wild eyes glowered up at him, through him, gazing past to something he couldn't see. "Melania! Miquella! Godwyn!" those ugly bloodshot orbs fixed upon him, and yet for all that, they still didn't see him. "Greatest Godfrey! I only wanted to stand among your kin! To be like them! To be strong! Was that so wrong?!"
Here at last, pity hit the whiskered warrior's heart; he blinked, finding himself somewhat taken aback.
Who in blazes was Godfrey, and why did this lunatic think he was him? Was he truly that far gone? Still, it wasn't in him to disrespect the dying nor the dead. On a whim, he knelt down. A tan hand touched the demigod's dented forehead. Godrick's crown had long since fallen to the wayside in their battle, leaving a tangled mat of hair behind. Now that looked at him, he realized just how old the so-called "Lord" of Stormveil" truly was. Frail, even. With his grafts crumbling, he was already a shell of his former self; soon he wouldn't even be that.
It would be wise to kill him now. Safe, even. But he'd never been one for wisdom.
"Maybe not," he drawled, "Still the way you went about it was wrong." Plonking down beside him, he heaved a sigh. "If you wanted others to respect you, ya should've worked with them. Proved yourself to them. Not by sewing pieces of other people to yourself." his gaze swept past him, to the buckling stormy sky above. "If you crush everyone who disagrees with you, if you steal the lives of others rather than build your own...its a sad, lonely little world you'll live in. I knew a guy like that, once. Didn't end well for him."
Glassy eyes met his, already dimming over, still not truly seeing him in his final moments. "Such wisdom...even in the face of a fallen foe...thou truly art Great Godfrey...
"I'm really not." tutting softly, he closed his eyes. A hand rose behind his back. "May you find peace in the next life, whatever it may be." Firm fingers gripped a kunai, just in case. He wouldn't be caught unawares by a sneak attack. Not again. "Be reborn as a better person. I hope you have a proper family in your next life. One who doesn't mock you, hurt you, or torment you...
The Grafted made a pitiful noise. He never thought to hear the like from someone like him.
...thou are too kind." a low rasp cut into his words. "Far, far too kind...this world doesn't deserve someone like thee...
In the end there was no need to finish Godrick off; for he accepted his death willingly. His crumbling sagged with a rasp of a gasp, eyes rolling in his head as he slumped into the dirt.
"I am the lord...of all that is golden...!" he croaked out his final words as the clouds parted, fingers reaching for a single ray of sunlight in the sky. "And one day, we'll return together; all of us, to our home, bathed in rays of gold...!"
He expired with a low rattle and dissolved, leaving a bevy of runes behind. They hit Naruto and he staggered, falling to a knee, but only for a moment. Sense reasserted itself as he stumbled upright, eyes stinging. Every cell in his body bristled with power, strength added to his own. It was alarming. Intoxicating. Terrifying.
"So these are the runes everyone's been on about. Not bad. Think I can see the appeal...
...not now, Kurama.'
Silence swept over the ruined courtyard. Here and now, a small, shuddering sigh escaped Naruto at the last. He knelt and hung his head. He'd done the right thing, hadn't he? Willfully taking a life, made his heart feel heavy, even if it was necessary. Godrick had undoubtedly been evil, but he'd not always been this way. Something must've happened to him, to make him the twisted wreck of a man he'd fought. Yet he couldn't stop to mourn. Had to keep moving.
The faintest gleam of burnished metal caught his eye.
In hindsight, he wasn't sure why his eyes alighted upon Godrick's fallen ax, only that they did. On a whim, he reached down and grabbed it. Much to his surprise the towering armamanet shrank to fit his grasp. A cursory swing confirmed its weight and lacking a holster for it, he sealed it away in a scroll. Remembrance acquired.
He would remember the man Godrick should have been, not the monster he'd become.
"Forgive me." Melina shimmered into existence at his side, jolting him out of his reverie. "I've been...testing you. To see whether or not grace does truly guide thee." there was something more to her words now; a hint of respect perhaps, curiosity even, but he willfully ignored it to meet her gaze, "Whether you were fit to face the challenge that entails."
"And what do you think now?" he quirked a brow, not liking the look in her eyes. "Don't leave me in suspense."
...it seems my worries were unfounded." a faint smile bloomed on her grave face as she regarded. "Torrent had your measure from the start. Whereas I merely pretended for a time."
Naruto frowned. Was that a roundabout way of saying she believed in him now? Felt like a bit of a backhanded compliment, but he'd take it. Anything to put this awful place behind him once and for all. Surely the rest of the Lands Between couldn't be so twisted as this. Surely not. Right. Right?
"What do I do with this thing?" he hefted Godrick's rune her way.
"You need but take it to a Divine Tower to empower it."
"Sure, great." He mumbled, not relishing the idea of more wandering. "I'll get right on that." Naruto turned his gaze back to the rune shimmering in his palm. "Thought it felt weak. Are people really fighting over these?"
...alas, they are. The shards of the Elden Ring are not something to be trifled with lightly."
Naruto turned his gaze back to the Rune. It shone dully in his palms, alive, devoid of any benediction. He could sense it, feel it it pulsing in his hands like the beating of a heart. Almost as if it recognized him; as though it were aware. Perhaps some tiny fragment of its old owner lingered therein. People were fighting over these things. Dying for them.
Someone should take these runes. Keep them safe.
He could only think of one way to do that, mad though it was.
Kurama realized what was about to happen a heartbeat before he acted. "Don't you dare!"
Golden hands moved of their own accord to clench tight 'round Godrick's rune. Then he reared back and slammed it into his chest. Melina cried out in surprise; her cry went ignored. No sooner had she done so than the sigil flared to life, regaining its lost luster. His body bent double again, but with it came strength. Pain flared in his palms and he pushed through, refusing to lose his grip. As he grit his teeth the Great Rune carved itself into him, shimmering just above his flesh. Bright and vibrant it burned, brimming with the life it had lacked a moment ago.
"That's not possible." through ringing ears, he distantly became aware of Melina's hoarse whisper. "You didn't even take it to the Tower...
"Aaaaand?"
Naruto turned to find everyone balking at him.
He blinked. "...what? Why are ya looking at me like that?"
(.0.0.0.)
What was he?
Try though she might, Nepheli Loux didn't know what to make of this boy-no, this man before her. At first she'd taken him for a Tarnished like her, though him to be little more than a Warrior, but she'd never seen one of her kind perform half the feats she'd witnessed here today. Let alone that ghastly stunt just now.
Her second assumption had been to label him as a mage, but no, their kind were decidedly... squishy. They couldn't kick a demigod around as he had.
She had thought they would fight Godrick together.
Honor demanded
And yet she'd broken that code. Rushed in,
And such shame she felt.
As she looked on the Tree Sentinel woman barged forward and picked the blond up, hoisting him into the air as one might a child.
"Hey!" he failed his legs in the air, to no avail. "Whaddya think yer doing?! Put me down! That tickles!
Trish most certainly did not, instead she gave him a once over, craning her neck this way and that to get a better look at him. Realization dawned. She was searching for injuries. Nepheli couldn't much blame her; they'd all seen him walk through the fire, and though it was easy to ignore pain the in the head of battle, who knew what manner of wounds might lay beneath those singed clothes.
"I'm fine!" Naruto kicked out, wriggling loose to land lightly upon the floor. "He didn't touch me!"
It was too much.
"Yes, he did!" Incredulity burst forth from Nepheli in a stricken shout. "He set you ablaze! How are you not a lump of charcoal?!"
That got a baffled blink from the blond braggart. "...I heal awful fast?"
She grabbed him by the collar. "Not an excuse! Are you one of them, then? A demigod in disguise?!"
"Me?! No! I'm not!" His face darkened. "Oh, for the love of-I'm fine! I'll prove it!"
As she looked on aghast, Naruto broke her grip with ease, reached down to his chest, and seized a fistful of singed fabric there. Realization dawned like a coming storm, but it was too late. Surely he wouldn't...of course he would. With a triumphant cry, the blond tore it off, followed by the mesh wire shirt beneath.
Revealed was lean muscle beneath, not a hint of flame or scorched flesh to be seen.
'Well.' a distant part of her mused. 'Rather fit, this one.'
See?!" He bared his teeth at her in a smile fit for Hoarah Loux himself, "M'fine. And so are you. So don't. Worry. About it."
Nepheli opened her mouth to refute him.
"No, you don't!" Azure eyes narrowed, rooting her where she stood. "If the next words out of your mouth aren't "I" and "understand" I'm going to spank you."
Nepheli's face went white. He would, too, she knew. He was that done with Stormveil. The horrors of this place had clearly disturbed him more than he let on, and he was clearly keen to be done with the castle and move onto greener pastures. As was she. Godrick might be gone, but the winds were still tainted with his deeds here.
Still, to threaten to spank her? She'd not been threatened with such before.
...I shall return to my father and tell him of your success." she managed a stiff bow, not trusting herself to be anything less than perfectly polite in this moment. She was furious with him. Absolutely seething really, but to display that here would be a sign of weakness, and she was not weak. "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come.
"C'mon! Its fine." he tried to waved her down. "Nobody got hurt."
"Not it isn't." she stalked back the way she'd come, eyes stinging with her shame. "I must report to my father. May we meet again on the battlefield...
(.0.0.0.)
Such a strange girl.
Nepheli Loux. That one would bear watching.
Still, with the wild warrior gone, Melina felt her path was clear.
"There is but one other thing I can do to offer you guidance." the Maiden piped up to claim her Tarnished's attention, then paused, weighing her words. "I can take you to the Roundtable Hold. Gathering place of Tarnished champions, guided by Grace-
"No."
Her world shuddered to a halt. "No?"
He had to go to the Roundtable. He must, if things were to progress. An audience with the Two Fingers was needed to grant him direction, if not one with the All-Knowing...
"Not yet." her champion patted his pocket, and the prize therein. "I've got a promise to keep."
Ah. The girl.
An odd, sour taste welled up in her mouth. Yet more distractions. Would it never end?
"You wish to be Elden Lord, do you not?" when he didn't answer she bulled on, grasping his sleeve. "Leave these distractions behind. She could well be dead by now. You cannot hope to save everyone." her gaze strayed to where Godrick lay, the real Godrick, his mutilated corpse divested of all his once mighty grafts. "Some are too far gone to save."
"Its almost funny, ya now," the whiskered warrior growled at her. "Someone told me the same thing. I'll tell her what I told you."
His head butted against hers, giving her a glimpse of the resolve gleaming in those bright blue eyes.
"That sounds like a challenge.
His peace said, he made for the exit. The Tree Sentinel -Trish!- followed him, ever his silent shadow.
"C'mon, lets go see if that merchant came fashion me a holster for this ax...
Melina bridled. Fool of a Tarnished! She'd known his kind before. Bright and hopeful, optimistic. The Lands Between sometimes received such visitors from beyond the fog; those unwilling to harden their hearts for the fire ahead, determined to save everyone they came across. This world would swallow him whole, just as it had them.
But until such a day came, she had a duty to fulfill...now matter the cost.
Their paths aligned for the time being. Nothing more. Nothing less.
In the end, she followed him, just as before.
(.0.0.0.)
He returns triumphant.
In truth, Roderika thought he wouldn't; fear had festered in her heart like scarlet rot, tainting her every hope, her every dream, dashing any and all belief that he would return unharmed. Godrick was a Lord, after all, a demigod, no matter how diluted his bloody might be.
Surely a small party such as theirs wouldn't triumph against such a creature...?
Still, the blond's familiar had lived up to its promise; the once desolate yard outside the shack lnow ay spattered with the remains of those who would have done her harm. Monsters and wolves, soldiers of Godrick alike, none had survived the trampling delivered upon them by the toad. Her ward had held throughout, but against so many hands, it would have surely shattered.
And now there he was; that was undoubtedly her Tarnished coming up the road.
Wait, her? No, no, no. She mustn't think such things.
Surely he had no need of one as weak as she...
One look was all it took to recognize him. And yet for all that, he was different. There, jutting between his shoulders...that was new. He'd not had an ax before. His chest shone faintly with a Rune she did not recognize, a low light shining through the cloth best he wore. And wait...was that a dragon's corpse on his companion's steed?! It was! Lesser than its greater cousins perhaps, but a dragon was still very much a dragon! Did he intend to fashion a bit of armor out of it? There was nothing quite so sturdy as dragon hide.
The Tree Sentinel granted her a grave nod, and she flinched in the face of that stern helm.
"Hey, Gamakichi!" His voice drew her back to reality with a jolt. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Everything
"Killed a few idiots." the giant amphibian rumbled in return. "You thought about reverse summoning? Might be able to get you home."
Roderika felt her heart hitch. He...He was going to leave? After all this?
...nah." much to her relief, Naruto waved him off. "Don't think it'll work. You can try later, but I've got work to do here. Mind giving 'em a message for me?'
The toad rumbled an affirmative.
"Tell 'em...well," he looked away, scratching his cheek. "Tell them I'm fine. I've got a world to fix. I'll try to come back if I can. But I can't right now, ya know."
"Ma and Pa will be angry."
"Not much I can do about that." the blond shrugged. "I can't leave this place alone."
Both master and familiar shared a long, lingering look. Eventually, the latter nodded. The subsequent plume of smoke burst forth, heralding his departure. Roderika squinted into it, to no avail. All that remained was a faint indent in the ground. She didn't have time to ponder it for long; because Now the baffling blond was making right for her.
A tan hand stabbed forth. fishing into his pocket for something...
"Here." he knelt and pressed it into her hands before she could so much as think to blink. "I found this."
"What's this? A keepsake?" her fingers curled around it furtively, realized what it was and clenched down, almost afraid he'd take it away. "From my men? Oh, goodness me...I can't...
Sorrow welled up in her, threatening to drown her all over again. These were the last remnants of her men, her friends, all she had left of her homeland...reduced to this. It was too much. Her breath failed her. Her eyes began to sting. A faint warbling noise fled from her lips as the misery welled up again.
"They all believed in me." she doubled over, swallowing a sob. "They all thought I'd make something of myself. Me! Who can't do anything!"
And where did that belief get them? Gone and grafted by Godrick. Some of them had been strong. They could have done great things, wonderful things, if only they hadn't been shackled to her. And yet she was the one to live? Little useless Roderkia, her only gift a useless one. How was that fair? The gods were cruel!
Something shattered deep inside her.
"It would've been better if I died!" The words escaped her in a wail. "I should be dead! I should be-
Naruto moved.
She was only vaguely aware of it in her peripherals; one moment he knelt before her; in the next his arms were rapped tight around her back. His chin came down over her shoulder, even as he tucked her head into his chest; by Marika, he cradled her, like a child, like a brother would his sister.
Roderika sobbed in his arms, an awful, ugly sound she was sure he hated.
"I know it hurts." his voice was a low, soothing hum in her ear. "I know you wanna scream. But those men and women went for you knowing full well what might happen to them. Don't dishonor their sacrifice by throwing your life away." those arms were gentle bands around her now, rocking her to and fro as she wept. "Don't cry. Remember them. Let those memories give you the strength to take action."
Easy for him to say! He was strong! She was weak!
She tried to struggle, to no avail. His arms held tight. "I'm useless...what can I do?"
"Plenty of things." he didn't release her, not for a moment. "I'm sure there's something in this world that only you can do."
She wasn't sure how long he held her. Minutes? Hours? It felt like the former but it could well have been the latter for all she knew. Eventually her tears ran dry, as all things do. Once they did he nudged her faintly. Right. Mustn't despair. It wouldn't be fair to them. Or herself.
A tiny, tremulous resolve hardened in her heart.
"Then... I think I'll head to the roundtable hold. Perhaps I'll find my purpose there...
"Great!" He leaned back, holding her by the shoulders, smiling bright as ever. "That's where I'm headed next! We can go together!"
Roderika sniffled a little.
He truly was too kind. Much, much to kind to someone as frail as she.
A woman materialized beside him, looking most put out. Roderika squeaked, only to find herself summarily ignored as the one-eyed maiden rounded upon Naruto.
"Are you ready now?"
Her champion nodded, but once.
"Very well. Let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment...
(.0.0.0.)
There was much of note in the Roundtable.
Too much, one might say. An endless series of quests to be taken, and requests needed fulfilled, to say nothing of its more...eccentric guests.
In truth Naruto wasn't keen on any of it; from that wizened old crone to those giant "Two Fingers" for which she served as a mouthpiece. He cared even less for the other denizens; a blind man of faith who wouldn't stop talking about the Erdtree, a foppish knight who puffed himself up at the sight of him, and this All-Knowing fellow who refused to even meet with him. Busy, he said. No time for upstarts, he'd said. To hell with that one. If he wanted to talk, he could come back begging.
In the end, only three individuals truly stood out.
The first, was, of course, Roderika. She settled in nicely.
Then came the strange case of a man named Hewg and a woman known only as Fia...
(.0.0.0.)
Hewg looked up as a shadow fell over his forge.
"You're a new face." he squinted at the newcomer with bleary eyes, this sorry sort clad in singed rags, with nothing but a headband to his name. "No matter, its all the same to me. Lay out your arms." Hefting his hammer -and ignoring the spasm of pain it brought him- he set to himself to his dauntless task once more. "Lets get smithing."
But the blond Tarnished offered him no weapons, nor ashes of war. Nay, his eyes traveled elsewhere.
Didn't take much to guess what. Even a half-mad smith like him could tell.
"I see you've noticed the chains." His hammer fell anew, producing a hollow clank as it struck the sword set upon the anvil. "They're nothing special. I'm a prisoner, and these are my chains." The newcomer might've made a face at that, but he wasn't looking at him, so focused was he upon his task. "I'm trapped by the hold, undying, smithing for you fools. That's all there is to it.
...did you choose this?"
Hewg nearly missed a hammerstroke.
Still, a grim smile settled over his scarred face.
He'd thought this one mute. Seemed he could speak after all!
"Nah, don't read too much into it." Rise and fall. "I've no grudge against you." Rise and fall. "My being a prisoner is no fault of yours." To forge a weapon that would surpass them all. "Besides, I don't mind smithing." To craft a blade that would make gods fall. "Despite my differences, the weapons get stronger all the same."
Strong enough to finally bring an end to things.
"Given time," he grunted when he struck the wrong angle, then corrected himself, "Technique never fails. Besides, it helps me forget." even now, he still couldn't quite suppress the sudden surge of dread he felt when he relived that awful memory. "The sheer terror of her...
A blond brow quirked. "Forget who?"
..its nothing. Lets get smithing."
Credit where it was due, the boy knew when to let things be.
"I've got a dragon carcass with me. Any chance you could make armor out of that?"
Hewg paused. "Could be. I'll have to see firsthand to know."
"I'll have Trish bring it up."
They chatted for a time after that. Speaking of small things. The girl, Roderika, and the state of the Roundtable. Against all odds, the boy -he still didn't know his name, not that it mattered- actually managed to wring a promise out of him to look after the lass, to help nourish her gift, for what it was worth.
But in the end words dried up, as they often do, and they went their separate ways.
Hewg watched him go, shook his head, and returned. Hrmph. Just another Tarnished. He'd seen a few with fire like that; they all burned themselves out sooner or later. This one would be no different. He'd seen the rune in his chest. So what if he'd grappled with Godrick in all his grisly glory? Everyone knew that one was the runt of the litter. No, there were monsters out there, warriors and witches who made the Grafted seem a child by comparison.
Lunar Princess Ranni. Praetor Rykard. General Radahn.
The Twin Prodigies, Miquella and Melania.
To say nothing of Morgott and Mohg...
There were others out there, too, monsters even more dangerous than the Demigods. Abominations that would turn a man's stomach and render resolve such as theirs so much jelly. Weapons would be needed to fell such horrors.
And so he would smith them.
Until he fulfilled his promise...his curse.
Perhaps then, he would finally make an end of things.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto stumbled into her room by sheer happenstance.
He'd been touring the rooms, trying to find one for himself and Trish, when he found the open door.
"Oops!" he withdrew just as quickly when he saw the dark-robed woman within. "Sorry, didn't know anyone was in here! I'll just be going!"
"Wait." a soft, almost ethereal voice called to him. "Might I have a moment of your time?"
Reluctantly, he stepped back in.
"Greetings great champion called by Grace," the hooded woman inclined her head in a polite nod. "I am Fia." as he looked on she tugged down her hood, exposing a pale face and bright eyes, framed by a gentle curtain of flaxen gold hair. "A pleasure to meet thee."
"Same." he waved. "I'm guessing you live here, same as the others?"
"In a sense." She favored him with a rueful smile. "Circumstances have compelled my stay at the Roundtable hold."
He recalled the baleful look Melina had given him before she'd all but dragged him here. "Circumstances, right. I know that feeling...
"Great champion, would you allow me to hold you, but briefly?" when he didn't answer, she hastened to explain, perhaps fearing his wrath. "Perhaps you could share some of your lively vigor and stoutheartedness. Doing so will grant me the warmth of a champion, and you, I'm sure, will receive a Baldachin's blessing.
Confusion flared in him. Another word he didn't understand. "Balda-what now?"
"Do you think it vulgar, perhaps?" the maiden in black tilted her head. "Where I come from, it is a sacred act."
...let me be clear, here. You," he pointed to her, "Want to give me," to himself now, "A hug? Just like that?"
After all he'd been through since finding himself here, it sounded kinda nice actually.
...what the hell. Fine."
"My thanks, great champion."
A rare seed of anxiety bloomed in him. "So do I come to you, or?"
Fia opened her arms wide and somehow managed to beckon him with her expression alone. Flickering firelight sent shadows dancing across her face, even as his own burned in embarrassment. It was just a hug. Nothing to get excited about. After all, it wasn't as if they were doing...that or anything. Nope. Not a chance.
Warily, he crouched forward.
Gentle arms enfolded him tenderly, as a lover's might, and pulled him into her bosom.
Her breath was a thread in his ear. "You are...very warm."
Huh. Felt pretty nice, this.
"Is there anything you wish to unburden yourself of while I hold you?"
A rueful smile touched whiskered cheeks. "What are ya, a therapist or something?"
"I do not know what that word means." she didn't flinch at his tone. "I merely wish to see you comfortable."
He felt a faint tug on his chakra as she spoke. Barely perceptible. For him it was a drop in the ocean. In the same instant he heard Fia gasp. Something flickered in his chest, near the Great Rune he'd taken into himself. A faint feeling, a spark of fleeting strength, finite, yet waiting for him to call on at his leisure.
"Such strength!" she coughed once, then continued. "What you felt light up inside of you was a Baldachin's blessing. Though it is but a fleeting thing, I'm afraid. Come back to me, should you require another. I will take you in my arms as often as you need."
He stood quickly.
She smiled after him.
"Then good day to you, my dear."
Naruto beat a hasty retreat as only a shinobi could.
(.0.0.0.)
There was something about the table.
He saw it as he left Fia's room behind him.
That large shard of Grace hanging above its surface...it called to his eyes. His senses.
"Tarnished?" distantly, he heard Melina call out to him. Trish made a noise of confusion. He paid them no heed.
Without thought Naruto vaulted the edge, skirted the many weapons lying there and reached out for it. He wasn't sure what he was expecting; the moment his fingers brushed it, everything went awry. The ring on his hand pulsed; he couldn't think of any other word for it; his very fingers felt afire, as though it were burning from the inside out.
"Nay." a tiny, faint whisper hissed in the back of his head. "Not yet. Not here. There's work to be done."
He touched it, that little speck of light, and the world...shifted.
"Whoa!"
Naruto kicked back out of habit and realized too late where he'd landed.
Gone were the rolling green hills and giant golden tree; in its place he found naught but dead wastes, lashing wing, and...
...that is a big dragon."
Naruto looked up. The dragon looked down, rooted where it lay by strange growth seeping from the ground. Its great scaly snout somehow managed to convey surprise despite its great girth. It was trapped, just laying there in the rot. Absolutely massive too, large enough to give Kurama a run for his money.
Neither man nor beast moved, for fear of breaking the impasse.
Naruto sneezed and the tableau shattered with a roar.
"Aaargh! My ears!"
He clamped both hands over his head; as such, he had an awful moment to see the flames building in the back of the beast's throat; flames that guttered out with a dull whine as a rather put out Kurama reared up around him and stomped a golden paw upon its head. The moment of sheer realization made his brush with death all the more with it.
"Bad lizard! Calm down!" he pinned it with a hiss. "I ain't here to fight ya!"
It glowered at him, with eyes larger than his head.
Pity bloomed anew.
"I get it. You're stuck, ain'tcha?"
The Great Dragon made a discontented noise akin to a growl.
"Oi!" he swatted it on the snout with Kurama's arm, drawing an angry cry. "Stay put. Not that you have much choice in the matter-
It snarled and made to bite him.
"Kidding! I'm kidding! Sheesh, no one has a sense of humor here.
Withdrawing the cloak, he moved to regard one of the coral-like growth near the beast's claws and considered it. Whatever this foul gunk was, it had well and truly entrapped the dragon, then calcified over his beleaguered body. Poor beast probably got caught while it was sleeping; didn't look like it had moved in an age. How weak it must be. Still, that was no excuse to leave it here, trapped. It might even appreciate its freedom.
...were those smaller dragons in the distance? Lumbering his way, drawn by the dragon's scream? Best deal with this quickly then.
Clenched knuckles swung down and bounced off. His fist stung, leaving him to recoil with a hiss.
He swung down again. On the second strike, it cracked if only just.
The third shattered it completely, leaving his hand screaming.
...right, screw this. Using the clones!"
With a plume of smoke his one man army set to their task with a will. Fists swung. Jutsu flashed out. From there it was the work of several minutes to extricate the trapped wyrm. Even then he and his clones were forced to crawl all over its scales and chisel through some...less than pleasant places to free it fully, much to the beast's manifest displeasure.
"Tada!" he stepped back, arms spread wide. "You're free!'
The beast glared at him. Struggled to rise. Faltered.
...oh. You haven't moved for awhile, have ya? Guess you're pretty weak.
It shimmered into fog and light. Light that shrunk down, assuming a smaller form. Compact. Humanoid.
Wait, what? Human-what-now?!
As the light dimmed, he found himself gazing upon a woman. Couldn't be anything less. Stark silver eyes shone out of a scarred face framed by a curtain of grey hair gone-nearly white, through which two horns jutted. Yet for all that, this new form of hers appeared to be rather young; barely thirty at a stretch. Clad in little more than a tattered white shift, she swayed on her heels, yet when he went to her, she bared her teeth, human teeth at him, in a feral hiss.
"Mine body." quivering arms hugged closed to herself, and he glimpsed the shimmer of scales upon them. "Mine limbs." another shiver, not of weakness, but rage. "You touched all of it...
Heat his his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. But it was the only way to get you out. Ya got a name?"
She absolutely hissed a thim. "Mine name is Greyroll...you...you KNAVE!"
"Huh." he snickered. "So dragon girls are a thing here. Neat-ack?!
Clenched knuckles crashed into his chin at speed.
He was still laughing when he hit a tree.
Such was his introduction to Caelid.
A/N: Miliecent next chapter.
Well? Did you like this story? Yes? No? Maybe? Speak out! Make yourselves heard! Your voice matters~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs during the holidays so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
And have some previews.
Granted, some are quite off, but still...
(Previews)
Milicent shook her head.
She'd seen him, running about trying to help everyone. Its was admirable...and unbearably naive.
"You cannot help me."
"Who decided that? Hold still and let me fix your everything!"
Naruto swore softly as Radahn shuddered to a stop atop his tiny, aging mount.
A low growl seemed to rattle the dunes, no, the very air itself.
Radahn was still snarling when he leaped into the air.
"Wait, where did he-IS THAT A METEOR?!"
"Who comes into mine tower?"
"Hey! If it isn't Ranni! Didn't know you were up here!"
Ranni choked on her words. "You again...why dost thou want?
"How could you do such a thing...?"
Heh. Nothing beat flying on the back of a dragon.
She grabbed him by the face and kissed, hard enough to jarr his teeth.
Rya tilted her head. "You're a bit of an odd one, aren't you? Still, thank you, for your aid...
"Dung Eater, was it? I've got one word for you. Kurama!"
"Heed my words...
"No, you heed mine." Much to her annoyance, the young man actually had the gall to interrupt her. Again! "I ain't here to fight you." as she looked on he crossed both arms before his chest. "Hell, I didn't even know you were here. I'm tired of fighting. Lets just put the sword-arm down and talk, eh?"
Malenia didn't believe him. Rather, she could not. Where had belief led her? Here, her brother missing, her body rotted, her world in tatters. To trust the words of a stranger, a man she'd never met...nay. She could not. It would be the very height of folly. He was no different than all the rest.
...I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella." her blade swept out, rending the air before her. "And I have never known defeat."
His smile was strangely sad. "Everyone does, sooner or later."
She lunged at him without a word. He mirrored her.
Their world dissolved into wordless violence.
R&R~!