Six more chapters and we have Aerion's first meeting with Malenia.
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Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and all rights for characters, plots and settings belong to G.R.R. Martin and FromSoftware. I have no ownership.
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Champions would gather at the Roundtable Hold in days long past, when the Two Fingers were masters of oration, their flesh yet full of vigor.
Gideon gained true knowledge after his long exchange with the Two Fingers—discovering all had been broken long ago; that the trembling fingers, bent with age, and the Erdtree itself, were no exception.
The churches outside the Lands Between, dedicated to the teachings of the Two Fingers, send confessors out to follow the guidance of grace.
The confessors are loyal servants to the Two Fingers, ready to hunt down and quietly dispose of their enemies.
The mother of all Two Fingers and Fingercreepers was in turn a magnificently gleaming daughter of the Greater Will, and the first shooting star to fall upon the Lands Between.
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Roundtable Hold
973 year AS (After Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Aerion
He pushed the massive double wooden doors, which must have weighed several hundred kilograms, opening them effortlessly, accompanied by the grating of metal fittings on stone. A large, elongated chamber, shrouded in semi-darkness, revealed itself, but as if on cue, torches and lamps within burst into flames, revealing the macabre creature at its end.
It looked like a 5-6 meter tall hand with two fingers, covered with protruding single hairs. However, it was not the Two Fingers' appearance that was more important in this case, for the aura they exuded was powerful and alien, as if it did not belong to this world.
He couldn't quite describe it, but Two Fingers was vastly different from anything he'd encountered in the Lands Between, like not part of a body but a parasite feeding off its host. Looking at this creature, he knew he wouldn't find an ally in it. Overcoming his hesitation, he moved forward, his gaze steady.
Two Fingers, who, sensing his presence inside, became extremely alive, stretching to their full height. Seeing this, Aerion stepped closer, lowering his eyes from the being for a moment to look at the little old woman sitting on a high seat to the side. Finger Reader Crone.
"Are you the new Tarnished? You've done well. I am Enia, the Finger Reader. I interpret the words of the Fingers, envoys to the Greater Will. Look there. The Fingers tremble. To welcome you, shardbearer. Let their wisdom wash over you."
Aerion remained silent, however, his gaze falling back on Two Fingers before him, emanating a kind of wrongness he couldn't describe. Meanwhile, the Crone, oblivious to his behavior, continued. Now, however, she spoke in an unnatural, booming voice, as if possessed by someone or something. Her words came from her mouth, but they belonged to the being before him.
"Great Elden Ring, root of the Golden Order. Anchor of all lands, giver of grave, wellspring of all joy. Until it was shattered. The tragic corruption of the Order has taken its toll. Across the realm, life lies in ruin. Fallen to pieces. Foul curses and misery spread, unabating. But the Greater Will has not abandoned the realm, nor the life that inhabits it. So it is that the Tarnished are guided by grace. Called to act. Brave Tarnished, your Great Rune is a handsome shard of the Elden Ring. Seek another of its kind. To become Elden Lord, and restore the Golden Order"
Aerion felt invisible mental tendrils trying to reach into his mind. But before anything more could happen, his left eye flared with light that fell on Two Fingers, and the mental tendrils recoiled as if burned.
A convulsion ran through the creature's body, and then it began to tremble as if something were shaking it violently. Two fingers flexed and straightened alternately, and even the place itself began to shake, as if an earthquake had struck.
But everything stopped as quickly as it had begun. The being before him curled its fingers completely, forming a somewhat comical-looking fist, freezing in that position as if dead.
He stepped closer, standing right in front of Two Fingers, and kicked them with the toe of his boot. They remained still, however, unresponsive, unresponsive to an attack that would have killed a normal human.
Satisfied, he turned to Enia, who was staring at him with wide, terror-filled eyes.
"What... What did you just... what did you just do?" she asked, trembling slightly. Whether from fear or the suddenly severed bond with Two Fingers, he had no idea. Frankly, he didn't care.
"I must correct you. I didn't do it. Greater Will simply deemed them unnecessary in the long run. The time of the old Order has come to an end, just like Two Fingers's and Marika's," he said, approaching her, but calmly, without any aggression.
"It would be foolish to mend the Elden Ring, only to repeat the same mistakes. No... I will take Marika's place, as well as Two Fingers'. Aerion of the Radiant Order. Aerion the Eternal. What do you think, Crone? What do those titles sound like to you?"
The little old woman swallowed deeply, looking at him, or rather, at his eye, which illuminated the chamber with the glow of the Elden Ring fragment.
"If it is the will of the Greater Will, so it shall be," Enia replied, casting a sideways glance at Two Fingers' corpse. "My skills are useless now. However, whatever you ask of me, I will fulfill it to the best of my ability."
Aerion nodded contentedly. "Good. With that attitude, you will find a place in my Order of Radiant Dawn."
He then summoned from his inventory the Remembrance of Grafted, a rune as large as a plate, engraved with the image of Godrick in exquisite detail. "Your first task is to teach me how to use Remembrance. You can use the remaining energy in Two Fingers' corpse for this purpose."
"As you command, my lord," the Crone replied, perking up a bit, knowing she could still be useful to her god. Aerion didn't know what plans Greater Will herself had, but he could just as easily use her actions to advance his own.
The old woman extended her hand to him, and he handed her the Rememberance of the Grafted. Then she aimed the bell-topped staff in her other hand at Two Fingers, from which, after a moment, flecks of golden Grace began to emit.
These flecks spiraled around the staff's tip and then flew into Godrick's Rememberance, which glowed with a blinding light for a second or two.
When the light faded, two objects lay on the ground in front of the Crone: Godrick's axe and a dragon's head on some kind of built-in handle. Both were much smaller than he remembered the pathetic demigod using them.
Aerion bent down and picked up both objects, then examined them through his left eye.
Axe of Godrick
Greataxe wielded by Godrick the Grafted.
This golden battleaxe is emblazoned with the figure of a beast, representing the strength of Godfrey, First Elden Lord and patriarch of the golden lineage.
"I command thee kneel! For I am the lord of all that is golden!"
Grafted Dragon
The embodiment of the power that still remained in the dragon's head that was grafted to Godrick's left arm.
The wielder's arm will take the form of a small dragon, sprouting sharp dragon fangs at the fist.
He ignored the other item, which was useless to him now that he had Agheel's Flame Incantation. The axe, however... the axe was impressive. Aerion ran his fingers over the axe's head, tracing the delicate carvings in the metal.
The weapon was ancient... and powerful. It had the same kind of presence as the Grafted Blade Greatsword, confirming in him the belief that it must have belonged to Godrick's ancestors.
He casually swung the weapon once, then twice. It was incredibly heavy. Heavier than anything its size had any right to be, raising questions in his mind about what material the axe was made of.
Looking at Enia, he nodded. "Thank you. It's time for this audience to end. After all, I have a difficult conversation ahead of me, and that with a snake dressed in a sage's robes ahead of me."
The Crone nodded, not moving from her seat. "I will remain here, then, waiting for you to return with more Rememberance. I'm sure I won't have to wait long, my Lord."
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Roundtable Hold
973 year AS (After Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing
Ever since Nepheli returned with news of Godrick's defeat, Gideon had sensed that things would only get more complicated. For the first time, the Demigod had been slayed, and his rune had fallen into the hands of the Tarnished. It was an event with unforeseen consequences.
In the past, Vyke had, of course, acquired two Great Runes, but they didn't belong to the demigods; they were held by two powerful factions in Altus Platau, descended from the Golden Lineage like Godrick.
Vyke managed to acquire them by escaping Altus Platau, only losing pursuit from Morgott in Liurnia. He could have blamed the fool for squandering this opportunity and falling into the clutches of the Frenzy Flame, but he couldn't.
For even Vyke, with all his strength, wasn't ready to defeat The Last of All Kings. There was, however, one thing Gideon had still not forgiven the eternally damned Tarnished. The loss of the two Great Runes he had in his possession to the flames of Chaos.
Without them, they were lost, for to even gain access to Leyndell from Two Fingers, they needed at least two Great Runes.
They had a chance to obtain one by defeating Godrick, who was significantly weaker than the other demigods. But the rest... the rest were beyond reach.
Defeating Radahn or Rykard was bordering on impossible, and to reach Renalla, they would have to penetrate the very core of the magic-sealed Raya Lucaria, filled with hundreds of arrogant but powerful sorcerers.
Morgoth was beyond reach, for he was in the capital. Moreover, he was as powerful as Radahn or Rykard, and Gideon would even say more powerful than the other two, for unlike them, he remained sane.
Malenia... Hmh. Even if they knew her location, neither of them would risk trying to obtain her Great Rune, not after what she had done in Caelid.
What happened to Miquella and Ranni's Runes, or where they themselves were, is unknown. Gideon also found traces of Mogh, but he felt that attempting to obtain the latter's Great Rune would be a suicidal endeavor.
Thus, they ended up in a stalemate that has lasted over six centuries... or at least to this day. For while his first reaction to the news from his adoptive daughter was joy and a newly awakened sense of purpose, he couldn't help but feel a seed of uncertainty.
For centuries, he had built his position as leader of the Roundtable Hold and leader of all the Tarnished in the Lands Between. Or at least of those who still held the Guidance of Grace.
Now, however, when someone strong enough to, according to Nepheli, easily defeat not only Godrick but also the slay Margit, whose true identity Gideon knew well, appeared, it was not difficult to predict who the victorious Tarnished would pursue.
Nepheli also mentioned that this Tarnished, Aerion, possessed another Great Rune, but Gideon immediately dismissed this possibility. In Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, where the Tarnished had resided until then, there were no other Great Runes, except Godrick's. He was certain of it.
He therefore took his daughter's talk as a sign of ignorance. He tried to question Bernahl, who had arrived at the Hold a bit later, but the veteran Tarnished disliked Gideon and answered only cursorily, providing him with no new information.
Thus, until the Shardbearer arrived, Gideon remained in the dark, certain, however, that he had to assert his position in this place. The last thing he wanted was for the other to try to challenge his position.
However, all his plans flew out the window when the new Tarnished finally arrived. Not only had their meeting not gone as he'd hoped, but he felt himself partially lose face in the eyes of the Inner Circle members present.
Not to mention what he'd learned from that brief encounter. It turned out that Nepheli was right, and this Tarnished had another Great Rune. And not just any rune, but the most important one, the very foundation of the Elden Ring.
The Great Rune of Life, which should have been in Marika's possession in the capital, inside Erdtree. Furthermore, this upstart had somehow connected both Great Runes, partially mending the Elden Ring, which was located within his body, in his eye socket.
This could only be the Greater Will's doing. There was no other possibility. However, a question arose in his mind. What was it trying to achieve? Had the Outer God written Marika off and decided to find a new vessel?
He didn't know. And that was the worst part. For there was nothing he hated more than not knowing. Hundreds of years of planning and delving into the secrets of the Lands Between, only to have most of them thrown out the window.
He had to tread especially carefully now. Who knew what the Shardbearer could have done with this fragment of the Elden Ring? It shouldn't have happened.
Shardbearers should only be able to use the power of one Great Rune at a time and only be able to unite them after delivering them to the Erdtree and into Marika's hands.
Now he waited, impatient as ever, for the outcome of this new shardbearer's meeting with Two Fingers. What would it tell him? How would they react? Would they allow him to go to the capital now that he had two Great Runes?
Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door, and a moment later, Diallos burst in without invitation. "Lord Gideon, something has happened to Two Fingers... they seem dead."
Gideon leaped to his feet. "That's impossible!" he exclaimed angrily, hastily leaving the chamber and following Diallos, who was practically running.
When he entered the chamber where the Roundtable was located, he noticed almost everyone present in Hold Tarnished gathered inside, either discussing heatedly or silently watching the happenings in the chamber where Two Fingers resided.
Gideon approached the wide-open door in time to see a man emerge from inside, a massive axe slung over his shoulder. Behind him, he saw the messenger of Greater Will lying on the ground, two massive fingers curled inward.
Gideon stared at the sight in horror, then glared furiously at the fool who had caused it.
"Do you know what you've done, you fool!? How did you even manage to do it!?"
This Aerion approached him without a moment's hesitation, and before Gideon could even blink, he felt a rush of air pass his face, followed by a loud thud at his feet. He glanced in surprise at the massive axe the man had been carrying a moment ago, embedded in the stone floor beside his left foot.
His eyes then drifted to Tarnished, who was staring coldly at him.
"Firstly, I didn't kill that wretched creature. Their master did, deciding they were no longer useful. And secondly..." he paused, pulling his axe from the ground.
"Secondly, I respect your care for this place, but I suggest you watch your tone, Gideon Ofnir the All-Knowing, for I may consider you a threat to the New Order I am building at the will of the Greater Will." The other's words sounded harsh and provocative.
However, Gideon hadn't lived long enough to fail to recognize when to retreat. Moreover, the other's words only reinforced his belief that the Greater Will had plans for this Tarnished, and he didn't want to anger the Outer God, whose hands reached far into the Lands Between.
He bowed his head low. "Forgive me, my lord. I was worried and let my temper get the better of me," he replied in a calm, apologetic tone, though he was internally grinding his teeth.
"If it is Greater Will's will, then we, the Tarnished, must obey," he added a little louder, considering the implications of what he had just learned.
If Greater Will deemed Two Fingers unnecessary, that left two possibilities. Either she decided that the new vessel Aerion would be sufficient to exert control over these lands. Or she planned to send, or perhaps had already sent, more of her messengers.
After all, the Fingers were no longer in the best of health, and since the Shattering, their condition had only worsened, with many of them dying. It was logical for the Outer God, in replacing his vessel, to replace the messengers as well.
This would fit with what he knew of Greater Will, whose plans were intricate and elaborate and whose patience was likely running out.
"I have a task for you, Gideon," Tarnished's voice interrupted his thoughts. "If you are so willing to help me?"
He nodded. "Of course. The Roundtable Hold will do everything in our power to aid you in your mission. What do you expect from us?"
The man smiled faintly, gesturing to the table and chairs around it. "Let's sit down first. My plans are not something I can explain in a few words."
Gideon looked at him with growing concern. Would everything he had built and achieved survive the storm coming with this new Tarnished?
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Consecrated Snowfield
973 year AS (After Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Malenia
"My lady, I believe we have company," came Loretta's voice from her left. Malenia only nodded, having sensed the enemy's presence minutes earlier.
"Night Cavalry," she said after a moment, "wretched servants of my elder brother."
She thought back to the last time she had seen them. During the Shattering, though she had never been fortunate enough to face them. Apparently, the moment had finally come.
For since her awakening, an inner frustration had been building within her, one she needed to vent. Not only had Miquella's kidnapping weighed heavily on her, but above all, the Scarlet Rot had spread through her body to the point that the pain was slowly becoming unbearable.
How she longed for a time when her body wasn't one large wound, when she could feel the hilt of her blade in her true hand. When she could feel the grass beneath her feet or see the clouds rolling across the blue sky in the glow of Erdtree.
She sighed slightly, realizing she didn't have much time before the Rot consumed her entire body. Without Miquella's Needle, it was inevitable, for she owed her longevity to her brother alone.
Her parents and everyone else had long ago given up, convinced they couldn't stop the Scarlet Rot. Only her dear brother hadn't given up trying to save her.
She had to find him at all costs. Let it be the last thing she did. The Lands Between needed him. It would be her penance for what she had done in Caelid.
She tilted her head slightly, listening, then turned her head to where the sound of galloping horses came from. She also opened her inner senses, allowing her to sense the energy permeating everything around her, something her master had taught her long ago.
In that way, she saw the red silhouettes of two massive riders, standing out in the bluish glow, only thirty or forty meters away.
She sensed Loretta preparing for battle and raised her hand. "Let me handle this. I've long wanted to cross blades with Morgotth's elite unit."
She held her right arm, or rather, her prosthetic blade, out to her side, waiting. She wasn't about to use Waterfowl Dance, of course. They hadn't proven themselves worthy of a taste of her most powerful technique.
The Black Cavalrymen didn't slow down for a moment. She had to admit, upon seeing her, they either didn't recognize her or were arrogant enough to believe they could slay a demigod. And one of her caliber. Fools.
When they were just a few meters ahead, as graceful as a flowing stream, she slipped between them, decapitating them with two swings of her blade.
Their mounts rode for a short distance before two headless bodies fell to the ground. Malenia sighed inwardly, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Are there no worthy opponents left in these lands? I expected more," she said to Loretta, who laughed lightly.
"My lady, you are simply too strong. I would have trouble with those two at once," the knight said without a hint of shame or embarrassment. "However, I am certain that he will eventually find a worthy opponent who will not be a member of your family."
"Family?" Malenia whispered quietly, feeling a pang in her heart. "That word lost its meaning when one of the family members killed another in the most vile way possible. And probably the best of us all."
The memories of seeing her eldest brother's body haunted Malenia for years, slowly fading away those of Godwyn carrying her and Miquella on his shoulders, taking them for rides on Fortissax, or telling them bedtime stories.
Suddenly, a new thought blossomed in Malenia's mind. When she finally finds Miquella and her body allows it, she swears she will find the wretched witch and disembowel her.
She approached one of the steeds left by their opponents and jumped onto its back, soothing it with her touch.
Then she rode up to Loretta, who was already mounted on Oath, her faithful steed, a breed bred exclusively for Carian Knights.
"Are you ready?" she asked, her scarred eyes, hidden beneath her helmet, fixed southward, where the Grand Lift of Rold lay. From there, they had a journey to the capital, where Morgott would know the location of his wretched twin better if he knew what was best for him.
"I doubt Omen knows Lord Miquella's location. The only things on his mind are the Golden Order and the safety of Leyndell," Loretta said, as if reading her mind.
Malenia smiled sadly. "Probably. That's the only lead we have at the moment," she replied, urging the black steed forward.