Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A mountain of charred corpses lined the withered and cracked walls of the once bustling city… His city now reduced to nothing but a pile of ruins. All corridors leading to a central hall… His hall. A giant, intricately carved throne… His throne, sat at one end with a wide view of the central chamber. Melted bodies of people were strewn about… His people. Their hands raised towards the throne as if asking for help from their liege… From him. He had failed to protect them, just like he had failed her… perhaps their doubts were correct after all.

*Drip*… *Drip*…

Yhorm sat on his throne, his great machete in hand, uttering not a word. Basking in the silence which seemed everlasting, interrupted only by the occasional soft dripping of water. Yhorm’s eyes wandered about, first towards the ceiling and then turning towards the floor which had been covered by a thick layer of dark, murky water. Finally, his eyes laid upon the distorted corpse closest to his throne. The poor soul clutching what used to be his greatest gift to his subjects… A Stormruler.

A sword, imbued with the power of storms. The only weapon capable of bringing a giant to its knees… A giant like him. One of a pair that he used to carry. The other he had given to his most trusted friend, along with a promise that should he ever run from his duty, he should be the one to cut him down. And what was he doing now? Sitting here, instead of on his throne as a Lord of Cinder, ready to sacrifice his life to keep the Age of Fire going as he had the first time. In hindsight, it was foolish of him to think that he was special, that somehow his sacrifice would be different from the sacrifices of his forbearers and put an end to the cycle. Why would he go and throw away the second chance at life that he had been so graciously given if the end result would be the same? The Age of Fire wasn’t something to die over and preserving it wasn’t his responsibility.

Liar…

But deep down he knew that he was just a coward. How long he had spent on that throne? He knew the answer not himself, for it had seemed like an eternity, as if time itself had stopped flowing. Yet, he still sat there without any aim or purpose, as if him sitting there would make his regrets fade away. A shiver ran down his spine.

Shaking the negative thoughts away, Yhorm closed his eyes, the blissful call to sleep tugging at his conscious. And for once, Yhorm gave in, allowing his mind to wander his memories seeking comfort. Upon opening his eyes again, Yhorm was still in the throne room, but something was different. This wasn’t the run down throne room of the present, not even moderately close. Fresh silk banners were lining the walls, the ceiling didn’t have any cracks and most importantly, the floor was finally dry for once. A knock on the throne room door halted his internal musings and his eyes shot up, just in time to see Siegward waltzing in through the door.

Almost panting, Siegward with all the curtness he could muster gave Yhorm a slight bow and dropped like a rag next to the closest pillar he could find.

“M’lord you ought to…*huff* reduce the number of stairs …*huff* leading to the throne room…*Huff* for I fear I may no longer be able to climb them to enjoy your company.”

Ahh, he is siegward all right… Saying such mundane things in a formal tone, was so like him but this particular interaction he did not remember. Nonetheless, the sight of his old friend even in a dream, made a smile tug at his face as the fond memories flooded his mind. Realizing that the silence was beginning to hang in the air, Yhorm replied to his friend’s complaints.

“Please Siegward, I have told you to forget the honorifics when talking with me. We are good friends not a servant and his liege.”

“Oh well thank goodness, At this point even talking is making me tired, give me a few minutes to rest up, won’t you?”

“Take as many as you like friend, and well, maybe if you finally decided to wear a practical set of armor instead of that oversized onion suit, you wouldn’t get tired so easily.”

“ Wha- How dare you!”

The tired knight sprang up, as if all of his fatigue had instantly vanished, and holding his hand up to his chest proudly declared:

“This is no mere onion suit. This is my pride and a symbol that I, Siegward, am a proud knight of Catarina.”

“If you don’t have the money, I can ask the royal blacksmith to make a full armor set for you. Free of cost.”

“That’s not the point! Again with this insolence, even if you are a friend, I siegward shall not tolerate such disrespect to my homeland!”

Siegward continued giving his justification for wearing the armor and Yhorm silently listened, just glad to hear his friend’s voice again. He closed his eyes and thought about all the good times before he linked the flame, perhaps his greatest folly in life. His friend’s voice steadily reducing to just a whisper in the background, Yhorm wholeheartedly wished for this to be the reality, but even in this state of desperation Yhorm knew that this was nothing but a dream so, he would make the most of it.

“hey! HEY! YHORM!”

The avid calling of his friend snapped Yhorm’s eyes open. His relatively short-statured friend now standing before him, with his Storm ruler pointed towards him in a challenging manner.

“Now that I have given my justification, I can finally get to why I came here. I siegward, having defeated the stairs in front of the throne room, now challenge you to a duel.”

“Oh! So you want to spar?”

“Wha-Yes… Yes, I want to spar. Way to ruin the mood you dingus.”

Yhorm let out a hearty laugh. it had been so long since he had laughed like that. Yhorm stood up from his throne and lowered himself to be on eye level with his friend.

“A duel it is, but don’t think I will go easy on you, just because you are a friend.”

“Great! I wasn’t counting on you to go easy anyway.”

Yhorm unsheathed his machete and trying to take his usual stance noticed the lack of a left notch. Oh, this must be before that… No matter, paying it no mind, Yhorm looked around trying to find his shield and upon finding it resting against his throne, he picked it up, equipping it in his left hand. Taking his old stance, Yhorm found it feeling familiar and yet, unfamiliar at the same time. It had been quite some time since he had fought like this. And for his part, Siegward had also taken his stance, charging up his Storm ruler. Yhorm smiled, it was moments like these that made him feel truly at ease.

“Ready Siegward?”

“Born ready.”

Neither moved for a few seconds, until suddenly Yhorm wound up a swing of his machete and Siegward raised his Storm ruler high, but as soon as Yhorm was about to swing his machete and Siegward bring his Storm ruler down with roaring power, a woman burst through the throne room doors.

“Stop you two! You’re going to destroy the capital.”

It was her… It was Eleonora. The one he had sworn to protect and the one that he couldn’t protect when he most needed to. He had never thought that he would ever see her again, yet here she was standing before him, with all her immaculate beauty. Her mulberry hair softly shining in the sunlight of the early morning hours and her fair skin color complementing her creamy white dress. Oh, how cruel dreams were, to show you what you most desired but couldn’t have or to show you a future, you know to be impossible. Yhorm’s heart broke into tiny pieces, the grief almost showing on his face, he no longer wanted to remain in this dream. He wanted to scream and weep and yet, laugh all together. He didn’t know what to feel, whether to be sad at his loss or happy to see her again, either choice felt wrong and disingenuous to the other. Perhaps he could show a mixture of the two or show nothing at all, but in the end all he could do was stare at her, as she walked towards them.

“Honestly! you two are more trouble than you are worth. M’lord this is no way for a king to act, you are supposed to set an example for your subjects. What would they make of this? That our liege doesn’t know how to control his childish behavior.”

“I understand”

Siegward slowly slid to the side, even he knew that it was best to stay quiet and pass the storm when Eleonora was angry like this, but the poor knight’s efforts were for nothing as the oracle priestess snapped her head around to directly face the Onion knight trying to slither away.

“And you! Where do you think you are going?!”

The Onion knight stopped dead in his tracks and was too keenly aware of what was to come. Siegward braced for the impact as Eleonora stomped towards him flipping of his helmet and grabbing him by the ear like a little child.

“How many times have I told you not to sneak into the throne room without my permission?”

“Many times ma’am.”

“And how many times have you listened?”

“Not once ma’am.”

“Exactly! Now don’t think you will get away without any penalties this time.”

Eleonora dragged the poor knight by the ear and out of the throne room . All the while Siegward pleaded with Yhorm to help him.

“Yhorm! Please! Hel-Ow! Please help me! AHHHH-”

The door of the throne room closed with a heavy thud as Yhorm slightly chuckled.

“Oh Siegward, my dear friend, your sacrifice will never be forgotten. You will live on in my memories forever.”

Now that Yhorm was all alone, he could clearly hear the ringing of the bell, signaling that his time in the dream was over. Looking around for the final time he bid the past farewell and closed his eyes. Upon opening them again, Yhorm was back in the present, but this time he was much more at ease with his doubts having been dealt with. A warm feeling nestled its way into Yhorm’s heart and a smile appeared on his face. For the first time in what felt like forever, Yhorm broke the silence in his now decrepit throne room and spoke.

“He will come. I know he will. A knight always keeps his promises and I will be ready to give him the duel that he had so wanted.”

Yhorm’s voice reverberated through the empty hall, holding every ounce of power that it used to during his youth but it had a significant toll on Yhorm’s unused vocal chords. Gosh! He could really use a siegbrau right about now. Perhaps he would ask seigward to make him one when he came to make sure that he fulfilled his duty. Yhorm smiled again. He had been doing that a lot recently and whether that was a good thing, he wasn’t so sure himself.

“Come to me Seigward! Let us enjoy this final dance of fate.”

Yhorm’s words hung in the air, met only with silence… or so he thought. Lowering his head Yhorm felt stupid, to think that just calling Seigward’s name would make him appear out of thin air. He scoffed mockingly… as if that was possible. However, deep down he knew Seigward would come.

*Clink*…*Clank*

The familiar sounds of metal plates sliding against each other made Yhorm Look up, just in time to see a knight clad in iron approaching him, but that wasn’t what interested Yhorm, it was the ever familiar onion shaped helmet peeking out from the knight’s shoulder that truly caught his attention. His heart raced at just the possibility. Could it be… No, it must be…

The smile on Yhorm’s face grew wider and wider as the knight came into full view but what made  all of his doubts disappear was when the Onion knight overtook his companion and held out the very same Storm ruler that he had given his friend in a challenging manner just like Seigward used to do. Yhorm’s heart burst with joy and the smile on his face had turned into a grin but what proved to be the final nail in his coffin of happiness was when the Onion knight finally spoke.

“Yhorm… Old friend… I, Siegward of the knights of Catarina, have come to uphold my promise.”

Of course… Of course, you have, my dear friend… I expected nothing less.

Yhorm stood up from his throne, tightly clutching his great machete, every inch of his body protesting at the movement, but he couldn’t back down now, he knew full well that his friend wouldn’t have either  if he was in his position. Yhorm steeled his resolve and Seigward took his stance.

“Let the sun shine upon this Lord of Cinder! HEYAAH!”

Yhorm rushed towards Seigward, who having charged his Storm ruler brought it down with the power of storms behind it cutting through the air and connecting with his left shoulder, Yhorm faltered and was brought down to one knee and at the same time, the other knight swiftly slid directly beneath Yhorm and channeling the power of flames released a great chaos fireball... A foolish decision.

“Be careful, he’s immune to fire!”

Seigward tried to warn the young knight but it was too late, Yhorm picked up his great machete and with both hands brought it down with enough force to split the floor in half, the young knight barely managed to get away. Immediately switching to one hand Yhorm swung his machete in a wide arc, catching the young knight off balance and sending him flying into one of the pillars.

One down…

Yhorm then turned his attention towards Seigward, gathering his energy and jumping towards him.

“Come at me, you buffoon!”

Seigward rolled out of the way of the impact, barely avoiding Yhorm’s fist which was implanted into the ground. Seigward rushed under Yhorm and swung at his heels trying to get him off balance but the attack proved ineffective. Yhorm jumped away and after regaining his balance swung his great machete vertically towards Seigward who side stepped it.

Meanwhile, the young knight laid limp against the pillar he was smashed into. His breastplate horribly bent and blood all over. The knight took some time to regain his sense of awareness and slowly healed himself using Estus flasks. With the corner of his eye, the young knight spotted a corpse clutching what to him looked like the sword that Siegward was using. In his state of desperation and out of options the knight hobbled over to the sword freeing it from the corpse which had been clutching it. Taking a deep breath the knight assumed the same stance as Seigward and started charging the sword.

Yhorm swung his machete in a wide arc and Seigward ducked under it which Yhorm then followed by swinging his left hand catching Seigward off guard and smashing him into a wall. The force of the impact knocked the air out of Siegward’s lungs and made him cough up blood. Hurting his friend brought Yhorm no satisfaction but if his friend was to fail so close to his goal then maybe that was his fate.

No, you’re wrong! ... He won’t give up!

Slowly Yhorm approached Seigward, preparing to deal the final blow. Standing in front of his friend Yhorm raised his machete ready to bring it down and at the apex of his swing Yhorm… faltered.

Get up! … Get up! … Is this really how you’re going to let your tale end? … So close to your goal? … please prove me wrong! Get up! … Trespass into the domain of Lords and cut me down! Do it Seigward I know you can!

Silence…

Show me something… anything…

But what he saw was nothing. With great remorse Yhorm brought down his machete on his most trusted friend yet perhaps in another twist of fate, just before the swing could connect, an exceptionally strong storm wave seared through his flesh, bringing Yhorm for the second time of the day on his knees, almost on the same level where a battered Seigward stood charging his Storm ruler.

“I know I am no match for you dear friend, which is why I did not come alone. This ends here.”

Before Yhorm could regain his posture, Seigward brought down his Storm ruler, unleashing a storm wave at point blank range, knocking the giant back. Yhorm roared with pain, the only thing holding him up from crumpling on the floor was his machete. Everything went numb and his vision blurred, and in this state of desperation the profaned flame, the destroyer of his home finally called upon him, urging him to use it and fight for his survival. And despite his better judgment, Yhorm gave in.

As if snapping back to reality, Yhorm regained full control over his senses, seeing and hearing more clearly than ever before. His body lit itself on flames, yet he didn’t burn, smashing his machete into the ground Yhorm released an outburst of fire. As if signaling the birth of a new god. Seeing Yhorm control the flames as if they were a part of him his friend couldn’t help but smile.

“Yhorm, old friend, you continue to find new ways to surprise this old knight but this… This I had known would happen sooner or later. And now the gap between us continues to widen. Well, I better catch up.”

The jolly look on Seigward’s face disappeared and a steeled resolve settled in its place. The young knight charged another storm wave which crashed into Yhorm’s left shoulder, making his left arm all but useless. Yhorm rushed at the knight and started wildly swinging his machete. The young knight ducked under the first, rolled towards the side of the second and was about to be cut down by the third, when another storm wave, this time from Siegward crashed into Yhorm, shattering the bones of his right thigh.

“I’m here too, y’know”

The power of the flame waned and Yhorm with all of his remaining strength swung his machete for the final time at seigward, who prepared himself with a wide smile on his face. As soon as the machete was about to make contact, Seigward cast his final and strongest miracle.

“The wrath of Gods!!”

The machete was completely repelled and flew out of Yhorm’s hands and into a nearby wall. The power of the flame dissipated and Yhorm now keenly aware of the extent of the damage to his body collapsed onto the floor, his face facing upwards towards the ceiling. Blood poured out from every body part and a streak of tears began to roll down Yhorm’s face. He just felt so… proud.

Exhausted from the battle Siegward also sat down next to Yhorm followed by the young knight and upon seeing Yhorm’s tears began to laugh, perplexing Yhorm greatly.

“My dear friend, losing one spar of a thousand is no reason to cry.”

Even now, that oaf had no tact… It was almost comforting… A smile tugged at Yhorm’s face and he allowed it to be seen.

“Come now, I know you are in there, talk to me… I want to hear your voice one last time.”

What Siegward heard was not the voice of a lord but rather the voice of a child seeking comfort.

“Thank..you… Tha-nk..you so… very much… Old friend.”

Broken, distorted and weak, there was not a single ounce of the brutish strength that defined his friend in his voice anymore.

“Of course… It was my promise, a promise I would’ve kept even if it cost me my life.”

“Of cou-rse, I know you… wou-would. I only wish… that I coul-d’ve done more.”

“Believe me friend; you have done more than enough. Now, rest… You deserve it.”

“Goo-d…bye… friend.”

“Good bye Yhorm. Long may the sun shine. Hahahahahaha!”

Siegward laughed on the outside and weeped on the inside, Yhorm was no friend, he was closer to family. Siegward saw Yhorm close his eyes for the last time and soon after also breathe his last breath and all he could do was laugh as streaks of tears rolled down his face under his helmet, under this wall that he had so carefully built. The young Knight was also there not speaking a word, giving Siegward the space he needed and Yhorm respected him for that.

Eventually everything around Yhorm faded to black and his body was transported into an infinite void, where it laid floating. How long Yhorm spent there? The answer was all but unknown but one thing was certain, that something called him one… day? And that it kept getting louder and louder, until one day Yhorm finally heard what it said…

“Arise now, ye Tarnished”

“The call of long lost grace speaks to us all”

*****

Chapter Text

Nothing… Then fire… Then light… Blinding Light…Then nothing again…

Or so Yhorm thought as his body jolted awake, taking in ragged breaths, each easier than the last, straining his unused lungs. But in actuality, what Yhorm was seeing wasn’t nothing… it was darkness. And on top of that, not just any darkness… a specific breed of darkness. One which Yhorm had come to personally know. It was the darkness one comes across inside a coffin… His coffin. Letting out the last of his ragged breathes, Yhorm decided to make the executive decision to leave his coffin. Shocking, he knew…

Shifting his arms about, Yhorm noticed two objects on either side of him, one was most definitely a weapon which Yhorm discerned to be his machete, but the other, he wasn’t quite sure about. Apart from those though, Yhorm found his coffin to be quite… empty, which much to his own surprise made him feel just slightly disappointed. I mean after all, it isn’t natural to have anything in your coffin except… well, you, but still, Yhorm would have definitely appreciated just a tad bit more decoration… and a light source, because right now, he might as well just be blind…

Yhorm laid still for a few moments, debating whether to get out at all, before reluctantly pressing his hands against the roof of his coffin, easily lifting it up and pushing it off. Doing it as if it was a morning routine, and not something that wasn’t meant to happen even once, much less twice. Now completely open, Yhorm sat up in his coffin, shielding his gaze as the first rays of soft light penetrated his eyes, causing him to let out a soft grunt of discomfort.

Still shielding his eyes, Yhorm jumped out of his coffin and slowly stood up, his body protesting at every movement. Every joint felt sore and despite having rested for Gods know how long, he still felt tired. Slowly Yhorm’s vision adjusted to the brightness and when he finally regained his ability to see and think clearly, he felt perplexed.

Thoughts that Yhorm’s brain had subconsciously suppressed due to more pressing matters, all surged up at the same time in Yhorm’s mind.

Why was he alive again in the first place? Had the First Flame began to fade again? If so, than shouldn’t the Lord of Cinder after him have been revived instead?

Questions… that was all Yhorm had, with fewer answers to accompany them than he would have liked. Realizing however, that just thinking was getting him nowhere, Yhorm closed his eyes in frustration and let out an exacerbated sigh.

“Well, I doubt just standing here will magically answer my questions so, it’s about time I get moving.”

Speaking of here. Where was he? The question struck him like an arrow, Yhorm’s eyes immediately shooting up, and observing his surroundings. Ahh, he was in a… Cave?... No, a tomb?... or maybe something in between? Eventually though, Yhorm settled on calling it a cave-tomb, but regardless, it didn’t tell him much about his location. Now turning his attention back towards his coffin, Yhorm’s eyes fell upon the two other things in his coffin. A slight smile appeared on his face as he grabbed the ever familiar hilt of his great machete, but this happiness would be short-lived however, as Yhorm’s attention fell towards the second object.

It was… his shield…

Then maybe this was the past? Another dream perhaps? But this notion was just as quickly squashed, as Yhorm’s attention fell back on his machete and he noticed the presence of that ever accursed left notch. Reaching for his machete’s left notch, Yhorm carefully caressed it with his left hand. Fond memories flooding his mind as Yhorm thought of his friends.

Ok. So, definitely not the past, maybe the future then? Perhaps… But then why was his shield there? More questions and zero answers. Yhorm was getting tired of them at this point but regardless, he had to get a move on, sheathing his machete on his back and reluctantly taking his shield with him Yhorm turned around to face, what at least he thought to be the entrance. Before he could take the first step however, his attention was promptly diverted, as Yhorm noticed the small golden lights dancing in the air, urging him forward.

Initially, Yhorm was hesitant to follow the lights, but upon realizing that he really didn’t have any other choice, eventually gave in, approaching the doors of what he thought to be the main chamber. Pushing the doors open, Yhorm made his way forward, noting the presence of a golden tree sapling and an archway blocked by some sort of barrier while on his way. Eventually Yhorm reached an elevator and took it up, all the while, noting something…

Was it just him…or had he shrunk in size? He was still large sure… But nowhere near what he should be… Perhaps everything else had gotten larger? Unlikely…

Opening the final door in his path, Yhorm stepped out into the sunlight and took a breath of fresh air. Stretching his arms and legs, Yhorm looked at the sky, expecting to see some clouds, and maybe a flock of birds or two, but what he saw instead made his jaw drop…

He… wasn’t in Lordran… was he?

Well, if the massive, golden tree in front of him was an indicator, than no, he probably wasn’t. The sight made Yhorm feel speechless, as he just stood there admiring the tree, struggling to process what exactly he was seeing. To Yhorm it seemed like the tree’s radiant light had blotted out the sun itself, even though he knew it was most definitely there, probably just hidden out of view.

But before Yhorm could waste much more time looking at the tree however, a slight, deliberate cough interrupted his internal musings. Looking up to determine its source, Yhorm spotted a man, wearing a porcelain mask, covered in blood, both fresh and dried up, signaling him with his hand to come closer.

Honestly… couldn’t he come across something normal for once!

And mind you, Yhorm’s sense of normal wasn’t as plain as the next person’s either, but this… This was too much, even for him. Yhorm stood still for a few moments, but eventually, despite his better judgment, approached the man. Now standing just in front of the man, Yhorm realized that his worst fears had come true. He had... shrunk. He was still twice as tall as the man in front of him, no doubt about it, but nowhere near his old height.

No manner of resurrection explains shrinking… The body remains the same… He knew that… but still, than what could explain his current state?

“Oh, yes… Tarnished are we?”

The question seemingly surprised Yhorm and unsure of how to answer, the giant simply nodded. Not a lie, but not the complete truth either, he was closer to ash than anything else and during his time as the lord of the capital, he hadn’t kept his hands clean either, so if anything ‘Tarnished’ was one of the nicer things that he could be called.

Seemingly satisfied with his answer the man continued, “Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmm?”

Yhorm had a bad feeling, whatever this ‘Elden Ring’ was, he’d rather not get involved with it, last time his curiosity had gotten the best of him, he was burned as kindling to the First Flame, and despite his burning being voluntary, it was far from being painless. Just thinking about it made him shiver. A slight cough pulled Yhorm back to reality as the man standing in front of him began to speak once again.

 “Oh come now,” the man said in an admonishing tone, “There's no shame in it!”

Yhorm let out a slight sigh but before he could reply, the man continued, “Unfortunately for you, however, you are Maidenless.”

The comment made Yhorm slightly furrow his eyebrows. Was the man talking about Yhorm’s lack of romantic interactions or perhaps, the comment held some deeper meaning? Yhorm admitted that he wasn’t quite well-versed in ways of ‘flirting’, but he did think that he had a face quite fair, and that opinion wasn’t only his. In his time as Lord, many a woman had tried to court the giant king, despite them… y’know being well, tiny in comparision. Yhorm’s frustration however, went unnoticed as the man continued, “Without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold— you are fated, it seems, to die in obscurity.

Scoffing, Yhorm replied to the man, “Death is a fickle thing, yet somehow I am unable to find it.”

The comment seemed to punch the air out of the man’s lungs and resulted in a bewildered, “What?” but Yhorm refused to reply, instead simply signaling the man to keep going.

“Luckily for you however, there is one shining ray of hope even for the Maidenless— me. Varré… Are you familiar with Grace? The Golden light that gives life to you Tarnished. You may also its golden rays pointing in a particular direction at times. That is the guidance of grace. The path that you Tarnished must travel.”

Looking at the air around his body, Yhorm suggested, “You mean the golden motifs in the air?”

“Mmm… Indeed, Grace’s guidance holds the answers. It will lead you to the path you’re meant to follow, even if it leads you to you grave… It’s time I think you set off, to Castle Stormveil, over on the cliff, home of the decrepit demigod, Godrick the grafted…if you seek the Elden Ring, Maidenless as you are.”

He was right, the light was indeed pushing Yhorm towards the North-West, towards the castle, but forget that a ‘Demigod’! Just what had Yhorm gotten himself into?! Sighing inwardly, Yhorm decided to put that off until later. He would cross that bridge when the time came and besides, it wasn’t like he could walk all the way, he would need to get himself sorted first, probably get a ride and maybe some food to last him the way. Thanking the man, Yhorm turned around and walked away, watching as the man said nothing and only waved him off. He was kind…too kind. Yhorm could tell there was something terribly wrong with the man, because for one, the blood on the man, it seemed too plentiful and varied to have been from a beast and second, he didn’t seem to be in control, as if almost…charmed.

Walking down the cliff, Yhorm finally took a hard look at his surroundings, trying to decide his first move. Eventually landing on walking to the church that he saw in the distance. A wide smile made its way onto Yhorm’s face. Stretching his arms, Yhorm took a deep breath.

Oh, it had been so long since Yhorm had felt this familiar feeling of adventure and he would capitalize on it as much as he could.

Or so he would have if he didn’t get attacked by a knight fully clad in golden armor, too ornamental to provide any actual movement riding atop a horse, equally clad in armor, two minutes into his journey. Trying to reason, Yhorm held up his hands and stated, “I don’t want to fight you, if you have any terms I’d be glad to hear them.”

But the knight didn’t reply, simply raising his halberd and bringing it down on Yhorm who dodged to the left.

“All right, I guess I have to do this the hard way.”

Unsheathing his machete, Yhorm backed away from the knight, securing some distance between them. But the knight was fast and pressed his advantage, quickly closing the distance between them and swinging his halberd once more, only for this time to be parried instead of dodged. Yhorm knew that if he wanted to have any chance of winning he would have to reduce the knight’s movement first and that meant attacking the horse, as much as it pained him to do so. So, the next time the knight tried charging at Yhorm, he dodged to the right, rolling under the knight’s horse and slashing at its neck, cleaving straight through bone and flesh. The poor beast galloped for a few steps more before collapsing onto the ground, leaking crimson everywhere.

Good. He got a clean hit. That should’ve reduced the poor thing’s suffering as much as possible…

But the fight wasn’t over as the knight pushing his horse off, got up, his shield held close and halberd just behind ready to strike. Looking at the knight Yhorm too equipped his shield in his left hand as the two circled each other. Each observing the other, but doing nothing as both knew that one misstep could spell the end of them. Eventually though, the knight gave in, charging Yhorm, striking his shield with his halberd and peeling to the side. Yhorm stumbled backwards leaving him wide open to another attack. The knight, seemingly eager to finish the fight pressed his advantage and took another swing, only to hesitate midway upon  spotting the smile on Yhorm’s face. Alas, before he could do anything though, Yhorm’s machete came slicing through the air, making contact with the knight’s helmet, and cleaving his head straight off.

A fountain of blood shot up, soaking Yhorm almost completely in crimson. Great…just great…he was covered in blood… tired… and lost! It actually couldn’t get any worse!… At least you’re alive. Something inside Yhorm told him and for once, he agreed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yhorm got up just in time to see small coin-like objects appear around the dead knight and make their way into one of the pouches he used to carry for medicine on his belt, paying it no mind, as this was the least crazy thing he had seen all day Yhorm tried to get as much of the blood off him as he could, doing a pretty good job of it for all intents and purposes. Trying to get his bearings, Yhorm’s eyes fell on the recently-decapitated knight’s halberd.

No! He shouldn’t…Buut, the knight doesn’t need it anymore… No,no,no! He wasn’t going to disrespect a corpse by stealing its belongings… Althoouugh, he could use a faster weapon, like umm…a halberd perchance? NO! He had his morals. He would not take it… Yes! And that was final!

Yhorm ended up taking the halberd.

With the recently stole—ah, ‘acquired’ halberd in hand, Yhorm looked around trying to spot the church where he had initially wanted to go, and upon finding out its location, resuming his journey, taking about ten or so minutes to cover the distance. Walking into the church, Yhorm spotted a man clad in red, sitting around a burnt-out campfire, seemingly unaware of his presence. Next to the man, there was a little spindle of the light that had been guiding him, ‘Grace’ as Varré had called it.

Yhorm entered the church, stomping his boots on the floor, just a little louder than normal, trying to announce his presence to the man who perked up at the sound.

“Sorry, if I startled you, I had hoped announcing my presence would make me appear as less of a threat.”

“Ah, no it’s…fine.”

Yhorm walked closer to the man and gesturing to the opposite side of the campfire, asked, “May I?”

The man slowly nodded and Yhorm sat down, taking off his weapons and placing them to the side.

“You’re a Tarnished. I can see it.”

Surprised by the question Yhorm’s shoulders tensed up, before slowly relaxing as Yhorm answered, “So I have been called, yes.”

At Yhorm’s reply the man’s posture relaxed, “And I can also see that you’re not after my throat… Then why not purchase a little something? I am Kalé, purveyor of fine goods.”

“Yhorm, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. But unfortunately, I haven’t got any gold on me.”

“Gold?” the merchant seemed perplexed at Yhorm’s comment, “In the Lands Between we use Runes, not gold, the only use that useless gold has is to make jewelry for overly-pompous nobles.”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle, “Ah, forgive me, I only just arrived and am…rather lost, but perhaps do you mean these.”

Yhorm pulled out the pouch from his belt in which the small floating coin-like things had gone into and showed it to Kalé. The merchant raising an eyebrow once he finally spotted the sheer number of them.

“Yes, Those. Exactly those. Forgive me uh-Yhorm… but where are you from?”

Giving Kalé a somber smile, Yhorm answered, “It’s a long story really.”

Upon hearing Yhorm’s answer Kalé dropped the subject, he knew that every man had some skeletons in his closet and he wasn’t one to talk. A solemn silence settled between the pair, before eventually the merchant spoke up, quietly offering, “Well, since you have been such a kind chap. Why don’t I fill you in on a little bit.”

Yhorm’s ears perked up slightly at the offer as he gladly obliged, “Please do.”

So Kalé told Yhorm of Queen Marika and the Elden Ring, her offspring, the shattering and the subsequent wars and finally the revival of the Tarnished. Yhorm silently listened to it all, carefully paying attention, the giant’s enthusiasm making the merchant smile underneath his crimson cowl.

“Now that I’ve told you the basics, I think you owe me some business.”

A smirk appeared on Yhorm’s face as he answered, “Of course, it’s the least I can do.”

Yhorm spent the next Thirty or so minutes bartering back and forth with Kalé, before eventually settling on buying a crafting kit, a telescope, a basic metal holder for his halberd and a few cook books. After completing the purchase, Yhorm stood up, tucking them in the many satchels on his armor and attaching the metal holder on the back of his breastplate. Turning back towards the spindle of grace Yhorm hunched over near it, the light seeming to jump excitedly just at his proximity. Yhorm slowly reached for the spindle and gently touched it, making it give off an even brighter glow. Its warm light enveloping him and everything else in his surroundings. The light felt…nice, refreshing even, as it slowly chopped away at Yhorm’s exhaustion. Slowly getting up, Yhorm turned around looking out of the church and towards the direction that Grace was pulling him.

“So, where are you headed next?” Kalé asked. The question met with silence as Yhorm contemplated.

“I don’t know…But for now, wherever this ‘Grace’ is taking me.”

Kalé slowly nodded as Yhorm prepared to leave but just before he could step outside the church Kalé called out to him, “wait…if…if you come across more of my kin…Do treat them kindly, won’t you? We are a nomadic people, always on the move, so the Shattering really didn’t affect us much…but I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”

Yhorm understood, he knew this feeling of helplessness that one feels as your race suffers and you’re unable to do anything…perhaps too well. Yhorm nodded and reaffirmed, “I’ll be kind.”

Kalé nodded back, “good bye then…and oh, do be safe, I’d hate to lose a valued customer.”

Yhorm offered a smile coupled with a little wave as a reply and stepped out of the church. Checking the direction in which the ‘Grace’ pointed. A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he followed after the guiding light into a nearby woods.

“Demigods and all, here I come.”

Yhorm spent much more time than he thought he would take trying to navigate the woods, even with the help of Grace, he was still quite lost and the occasional ambush wasn’t making it any easier. It was almost night when he arrived at the next Site of Grace, this one sandwiched between an enemy camp and a fortified entrance. But alas, it would have to do, because even though the radiant light from that giant tree had reduced the dark night to a gentle shade, he was not going to risk it. Gosh…He really should’ve asked for a map…

But there was nothing he could do about it now. He would spent the night here and go back in the morning, as much as traversing that damned forest again irked him, he really had no choice. Ah, but he also needed some food, so he’d probably hunt one of those deer he saw tomorrow, but with his size that’d be close to impossible. A bow… That’s what he needed a bow…and a map, definitely a map. His internal musings were soon interrupted however, as a blue mist appeared in front of him, clutching his machete, Yhorm waited, ready to cut down anything that attacked him out of the mist, but what appeared instead was the slender figure of a young woman draped in a dark green cloak.

“Greetings, traveler from beyond the fog,” a young, delicate voice murmured, smooth and gentle hands lifting to push back her hood, “I offer you an accord.”

*****

Chapter Text

Yhorm watched as mulberry hair came into view replacing the dark green cloak as it slid down to the young girl’s shoulders. The girl’s face finally coming into view Yhorm’s eyes widened.

It couldn’t be… She was dead! He saw it with his own eyes. Yet, here she was… Is this some kind of sick joke… Does the First Flame want to torture him yet still?

The girl gracefully settled next to him by the grace and not giving Yhorm a chance to say anything continued, “I am…”

“-Eleonora…” Yhorm butted in without thinking. And once the words had escaped his mouth, Yhorm was already regretting them.

The comment made the girl’s eyebrows rise in surprise, but soon a sympathetic look settled in its place as the girl softly corrected, “…Melina”.

“Sorry…” Yhorm apologized, “It’s just that you share quite a keen resemblance with someone I once knew”. A faint smile snuck onto Yhorm’s face. It was foolish of him to think that this girl was Eleonora. He wasn’t in Lordran anyway and now that he could finally see her face clearly, illuminated by the golden light, Yhorm noticed the presence of a mark on her left eye, almost resembling a crow talon.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement and continued, “Have you heard of the Finger Maidens?”

“I’ve got an idea, yes.”

The girl’s fa-Melina’s face seemingly lit up at that as she enthusiastically continued, “They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid to the Tarnished… But you, I am afraid… Are maidenless.”

The comment struck Yhorm like an arrow and all sense of joy vanished from his face as he visibly deflated. The more he looked at it; the comment really did seem like a personal attack. It wasn’t like women didn’t find him appealing, in fact it was quite the opposite, it was just that he wasn’t interested. Seemingly, sensing his distress, Melina hastily continued, “I can play the role of Maiden. Turning runes into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring and becoming Elden Lord.”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle, “I seek no such thing, miss.”

The comment seemed to punch the wind out of the girl’s sails as her eyebrows slightly furrowed and she continued, “You…aren’t?”

Yhorm sighed, shaking his head, the last time he had sought lordship, it had ended with his burning, “I have no use for such a thing, for what use is power if you are tied to it.”

Melina’s eyes grew somber and her voice fragile as she stated, “I…was born at the foot of the Erdtree. Where mother gave me my purpose. Though, now…everything is lost to me. I…have to ascertain for myself. The reason for which I yet live…burnt and bodiless.”

The comment made Yhorm frown as he questioned, “Burnt and bodiless? You seem plenty un-burnt to me.”

The remark made Melina smile slightly, “Only here is that the case, near this grace, for I can’t move freely much further from here. Should I leave this site I will be once more reduced to a specter… You need only take me with you…To the foot of the Erdtree. So, that I can find find my purpose.”

Yhorm sighed, as much as she was trying to sound strong, Yhorm could still hear a slight amount of pleading in her voice. Yhorm had wanted to not get involved with this Elden Ring, but it seemed that fate had other plans and honestly, he didn’t have any other choice it’s not like he could say no, “All right…I’ll take you there.”

“Then it’s settled.” Melina declared, but Yhorm could see the relief in her eye. Poor thing, considering her situation she must have felt helpless, unable to do anything about her circumstances.

“Oh, and one more thing” Melina reached into a pocket of her dress, pulling out something resembling a whistle, “I bequeath to you this ring…Use it to summon the spectral steed torrent and traverse great distances…Torrent has chosen you. Treat him with respect.”

Yhorm nodded, “Of course.” setting his machete aside, Yhorm got on one knee and reached for Melina’s hand to grab the whistle. It was burning… Her hand was burning hot. Grabbing her hand Yhorm yanked her towards himself, earning an indignant yelp from the girl. Still holding her hand with one of his, Yhorm held up his other hand and pressed it against her forehead. He was right…she was burning up. Slowly, Yhorm’s hand slid down from her forehead to her cheek, leaving Melina flustered as she lowered her head, but Yhorm seemingly unaware of her, slid his hand to her chin, slowly lifting up her face to meet his, with his eyebrows furrowed, almost studying her.

Melina unaware of what to do broke the silence, “Ahh, Mister-”

“-You’re hot Melina… Extremely hot.”

Melina’s face turned red as a blush swept across her face, “Uh-wha-what?”

“You’re burning up…” Yhorm said as he finally let go of Melina’s face and took the ring out of her hand, “But I guess that’s due to the whole burnt and bodiless part, right?”

Finally free from his grasp, Melina let out a few deep breaths that she didn’t know she had been holding, trying to calm herself down as she affirmed, “Yes…”

“But ah, forgive me. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Yhorm…Yhorm the gia-…Just Yhorm.”

“A pleasure to make thee acquaintance, Yhorm.” Melina stated, her pleasant demeanor already back in its place.

“Much the same, Miss Melina”

“Melina…Just Melina is fine…”

“As you wish, Melina.” Yhorm stated while observing the ring given to him.

At his seemingly, inability to figure out how to use the darn thing…Melina shuffled closer to Yhorm, and instructed him on how to hold the ring.

“Good. Now blow…”

At her instruction Yhorm happily obliged, resulting in a clear and sharp note ringing out, accompanied by a horned pony trotting into existence. At the sight of the beast, Yhorm’s eyes lit up and he slowly got up approaching the beast, which huffed happily as he got closer. Patting its back Yhorm chuckled, “There..There…”

A slight, deliberate cough interrupted Yhorm as he turned around to look at Melina, “If you need me, call me at a site of grace. I will always answer.”

Yhorm nodded and seemingly content with that, Melina got up and gave a slight, curt bow before she disappeared accompanied by the same mist that had been present when she had first appeared. Now completely alone Yhorm sat back down next to the grace, meanwhile Torrent also trotted out of existence.

“Well, I better get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle, as something within him told him that tomorrow was going to be only one of a series of long days. If only he knew how right he was going to be. Letting out a yawn, Yhorm slipped his eyes closed as the call to sleep tugged at him, finally letting his conscious drift out into the sea of sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well…Hello there. Didn’t expect you to come back so soon.” Kalé quipped as Yhorm walked into the church, rubbing his back with one hand and using his recently stole-acquired halberd as a walking stick.

“And in such bad shape either.” Kalé added, making Yhorm slightly chuckle as he reaffirmed, “Trust me. Neither did I.”

Turned out, riding a horse was harder than he had thought. Not that he’d know, since what he had done to get back to the church could be barely classified as even riding, more just falling with extra steps. What was even worse was that Torrent was fast…not just fast-fast…but demon fast and being jostled up and down for thirty or so minutes hadn’t helped his already sore back.

Torrent, huh…The name suited the speedy bugger. He was like a torrent of water all right, zipping past the landscape…

But the not-so-little demon’s speed was far from a curse…No; it was more a blessing than anything, because despite his less than adequate attempts of riding the darn horse, Torrent had still managed to cover what had taken him the entire day in less than an hour or so. Yhorm chuckled slightly…He will have to give the pony some fruits soon, if not for his speed than for his patience at dealing with him.

It was almost evening by the time Yhorm had arrived back at Kalé’s place, the main reason being Yhorm’s stubbornness as he refused to go back through the woods he had taken on his first day, instead opting to go the long way and circle around the lake in the middle of…Limgrave? Was that what Kalé had called this place? He couldn’t quite remember…but regardless, it proved to be a good decision in the end as Yhorm was able to get the lay of the land, and iron out his horse riding. He had also kindled several pieces of grace along the way, because if anything it would allow Melina to move about just a little bit more freely and that was something he would even go out of his way to do…no one deserves to be chained up…not even monsters…

“So, what happened if I may ask” Kalé asked ripping Yhorm out of his internal musings as the currently disheveled giant stumbled towards him, finally sitting down next to him, letting out a myriad of pained grunts and groans. The question made Yhorm smile. It was nice…having someone to talk to…

“So, I got a steed…and as it would turn out riding… isn’t really my forte.”

“Ahh, that explains the sore back…doesn’t it” Kalé quipped and Yhorm swore that he could almost see a playful grin forming on the merchant’s face under his crimson cowl.

“That it does indeed, my friend. But enough about that, I’m here to ask some questions. I’ve got an errand to run to the Capital and I can’t quite say that I’m familiar with how to get there.”

“That so, huh?” Kalé hummed as he thought, “Well first You’d have to go through Stormveil and Godrick and then through Liurnia, but of course you’d have to find the two halves of the Dectus medallion first, in order to operate the elevator to get to Altus plateau and then, and only then can you reach the capital.”

Yhorm visibly deflated at Kalé’s rambling as he was afraid at how much of that he understood but even more afraid that there was nearly the same amount that he didn’t. Just what had he gotten himself into? Yhorm let a deep sigh escape him.

“Well, one step at a time, right? And right now the first step is acquiring a map and speaking of maps you wouldn’t happen to deal in maps, would you?

 Kalé shook his head, “No, can’t say I do…but whatever it’s worth there is a pillar towards the north where you can get a surprisingly detailed rubbing of the area. There are many a such pillars scattered all about the Lands Between, all designed to fit together.”

Yhorm’s face lit up at the revelation as seemingly, having forgot his exhaustion Yhorm got up and started shaking Kalé’s hands, all the while thanking him profusely, startling the merchant. Yhorm took a few minutes before eventually settling back down, “Also I need a bow… my machete’s no use while hunting and lord knows, when I might need to fight a foe at range..”

Kalé hummed, rubbing his hand along his chin as he looked Yhorm up and down. Seemingly sensing Kalé’s gaze of scrutiny, Yhorm tried to justify himself, “I used to be a marksman once, so I can handle pretty much any bow, you don’t have to worry about me hurting myself-”

“-It’s not that” Kalé stated firmly, “It’s not that a bow wouldn’t suit you, it’s that I don’t have one your size. Every bow I have would be too small, even a longbow would be like a plaything for you…hmm, what to do?” Kalé massaged his temple with both hands as he thought until finally he spoke up, “I’ve got it! A great bow would do. It’d be your size and with your muscle you could seriously pull some power out of the thing.”

“Great! Then it’s settled. How many runes for a great bow?” Yhorm asked, already reaching for his pouch when suddenly, he stopped midway upon hearing Kalé’s response, “Oh no, I don’t have one. Those things are too large for me to carry around.”

The comment made Yhorm frown, but seemingly sensing his companion’s distress Kalé added, “Buut, I’m willing to bet a good amount of runes that you could find one in the Stormveil castle. Godrick has always had a knack of collecting whatever caught his eye and who’s to say that a great bow might not be one of the many things in that decrepit demigod’s vast collection.”

Yhorm let out a sigh. The more he had been looking around the more everything had started to point towards him going to Stormveil castle and if the name served as anything of an indicator, he wasn’t going to be able to get through without a scratch.

“I guess that means that I’ve got to take a trip to the castle then sometime soon, but for now I guess I could use some rest, lord knows my back sure does.”

Kalé chuckled slightly, “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like, just try to prepare your own food.”

Yhorm too let out a chuckle, “Of course, I wouldn’t want to be a burden now, would I?”

Setting his machete aside, Yhorm took off his weapons; halberd and shield included and made himself comfortable next to a pillar. All the meanwhile, Kalé picked up his instrument and started to play a tune on what resembled a rebab but sounded like a violin. Whatever it was though, didn’t matter to Yhorm as it only took five minutes for the tune to lull the giant to sleep. He liked it… Maybe he’d ask Kalé to teach him how to play…yes, he’ll do that tomorrow.

But fate had decided not to give Yhorm a full night of sleep, as even in the middle of a deep exhausted slumber, Yhorm’s instincts screamed at him to wake up. They knew he was in danger, and he was inclined to believe them. Forcefully snapping his eyes open Yhorm clenched his machete and hastily got up, observing his surroundings. Kalé was still there, sound asleep, his instrument still in hand and the fire of his campfire still crackling. Good…

Yhorm’s shoulders relaxed, maybe he had just been paranoid but just before he could let his guard down, a gentle, yet firm voice put him on edge again, “This way, Tarnished… May I have a word?”

Yhorm snapped his head around, trying to locate the owner of the voice, expecting all manner of abominations, but what he saw instead was the figure of a young girl, dressed in a pale, blue dress. Steadying himself Yhorm warily approached the girl just standing outside of arm’s reach.

“A pleasure to meet thee, Tarnished. I am the witch Renna.”

Yhorm nodded replying to the witch, “Yhorm.”

“I’d heard tell of a Tarnished hurtling about atop a spectral steed… And upon looking into the matter the talk, I surmise is of thee… Thou’rt possessed of the power, no? To call forth the spectral steed named Torrent.”

Yhorm was surprised by the question but decided to tell the truth anyway, whoever this Renna was, didn’t seem much of a threat, “I possess the power, yes.”

“Ah, as I had hoped.” Reaching into her robes the witch pulled out a bell and a little ornate box and held it before Yhorm, “ I was entrusted these, for thee…By Torrent’s former master.”

Yhorm hesitated but despite his better judgment chose to grab the bell and box.

“Tis a bell for calling forth spirits. Summon them with it, from ash unreturned to the Erdtree. The spirits will obey thine command but briefly, as they recall battles past…Now it’s thine. To do with as thou wishest.”

Yhorm nodded in acknowledgement, but something about summoning things from their ashes didn’t sit right with him, it felt wrong to disturb their peace, so he doubted that he would use it anytime soon.

“Forgive mine intrusion, Tarnished…I doubt we shall again meet. But all the same, learn well the Lands Between.”

“I will” Yhorm replied, the answer seemingly satisfying the girl as she nodded and softly spoke almost to herself, “How long will it be, I wonder…Before the Tarnished tire of obeisance to the two fingers?”

Before Yhorm could reply however, the girl slowly dissipated into blue mist, much in the same way that Melina did, but something was off with the girl Yhorm swore that he could see two faces on the girl, one more visible and the other barely a glowing outline, but whatever it was it wouldn’t do any good thinking about it now and gosh was he sleepy.

Yawning Yhorm walked back to his pillar, settling down on the ground and shutting his eyes closed for the second time in the same night. Whoever or whatever she was, he would ask Melina in the morning.

*****

Chapter Text

*Chirp* *Chirp*

Yhorm’s eyes lazily opened, his hand almost reflexively raising to shield his eyes from the intruding light of the Erdtree. Still feeling groggy, Yhorm got up from his half-laying position and fully sat up, letting out a massive yawn and stretching his arms, trying to loosen his stiff shoulders. It wasn’t the best sleep Yhorm had gotten, but he could barely complain, he was lucky to have any safe place at all to sleep, and right now Yhorm was really counting his blessings.

Morning already, eh…

His vision finally returning to him, Yhorm looked around, his eyes locking onto the familiar face of Melina sitting next to him. Recoiling with surprise, Yhorm just stared at the girl, the words not forming in his mouth.

Noticing that the silence was beginning to hang in the air, Melina broke the silence first, “Good morning…Did you sleep well?”

Her voice was as sweet and gentle as always and just hearing her made all sense of weariness escape Yhorm’s body as he replied with all of his usual boisterousness, “Felt like I was sleeping on a porcupine…but I’ll manage, was better than sleeping on some rock anyway.”

The comment made the girl let out a little giggle, “Then I guess not well~”

“You could most definitely say that.” Yhorm too let out a slight chuckle and now that his attention was fully on Melina, he could finally see what he already knew to be true.

She was…beautiful…Yhorm shook his head, scolding himself inwardly and chased the thought away as soon as it had arisen in his mind.

 No…he had lost the ability to feel such things long ago…when her blood had marked his hands as she had bled in front of him and he could do nothing…as her smiling face had slowly turned lifeless…as he had wept and wept…That day a part of him had died and so with it had his love for the world…But even now his heart ached, waned and longed…longed to feel…longed to…love…

Seemingly sensing Yhorm’s uneasiness, Melina slightly tilted her head to the side and with a slightly worried look on her face questioned, “Something on your mind?”

The question pulled Yhorm out of his internal musings as he looked up at her face now directly in front of his. He wanted to reach out…To grab at any sense of closure he could get…But he was afraid…Afraid that she would shatter at his slightest touch, like a glass painting he was fated to view only from afar. In the end, Yhorm chose neither to pull her close nor to chase her away, but rather he chose to run away himself.

“Nothing of value…But…You wouldn’t happen have a time limit by when you have to get to the Erdtree, would you?”

Melina sat back down, raising her hand to her chin, “I…don’t think so…No, because if there had been one, it’d have been triggered long ago…”

Something about what Melina said didn’t sit right with Yhorm. Just how long had the girl been trapped like this? Well, one thing was sure, that it wouldn’t be much longer if he had any say in it.

“Phew…Well that’s good.”

The girl tilted her head to the side, another habit of hers that Yhorm adored and with slightly furrowed eyebrows questioned, “Pardon?”

“Ah, sorry…I had forgotten to tell you the first time we had met but, I’m not really…familiar with this land…so I was hoping that you might give me a few days to learn the lay of the land before continuing towards the Capital?”

Melina pondered the request for a few moments and Yhorm unsure of what to do began to ramble, “Or we co-could head straight to the capital! That’s also fine an-”

“-No, I think it’s quite fine…You may take as long as you like, and as long as you uphold your end of the accord, I have no qualms about what you do.”

“Really!?” Yhorm released a sigh of relief. Well, that was one less thing to worry about and just when he thought that he had discussed everything, the thought crossed his mind…

“Melina…You wouldn’t happen to know a witch by the name of Renna would you? Blue dress…Big hat…And four arms?”

Melina brought her hand up to her chin and after a few moments of thinking, finally spoke, “No…Can’t say I do. Why’d you ask?”

Yhorm got up, fully standing now and put on his gear, a serious look settling on his face, “No particular reason…Just curiosity.” Yhorm could feel the gaze of scrutiny of Melina bearing down his back, but thankfully she didn’t question him, instead simply getting up and giving a curt bow, “Then I shall get going now, for it seems you are about to do the same.”

Yhorm nodded in reply and simply watched as the girl disappeared into blue mist, now turning towards the still sleeping Kalé, Yhorm walked towards the merchant. If was well into the morning already, so why was Kalé still asleep, he had no idea, or so that was the case until he reached the merchant. Something was off…

Yhorm could smell the distinct odor of something not quite normal wafting through the air, There was most definitely some foul play going on but how, and most importantly when?

Yhorm scrounged through his mind when suddenly the realization hit him like an arrow. The witch! She had drugged him!

Yhorm’s movements hastened as he quickly crouched next to the merchant and placed his index and middle fingers on the merchant’s wrist. Good…He still had a pulse…

Acting quickly Yhorm laid the man on his side and started gently shaking him. After a moment or two, Kalé gasped awake and Yhorm released the man as the merchant lazily got up, holding his head in one hand, “What happened?”

“You were drugged.” Yhorm replied with a hint of worry seeping through his voice and reached out to help steady the merchant. Kalé’s eyebrows rose at the comment as he lowered his cowl and sniffed the air, but just then a grin appeared on the merchant’s face and he enthusiastically corrected, “Not drugged…but rather sedated…”

“What do you mean?”

“Saint Trina lilies…Make a potion with even moderate concentration, and it’ll be enough to knock out a Rune bear for a week, but get it a little too concentrated and it can easily kill…Perfumery…A delicate craft indeed…But who would have the expertise to create such a thing?”

Oh I have an idea or two…Yhorm whispered to himself.

“But all’s well that ends well…So what can I do for you…I doubt you woke me up just to say goodbye.”

Yhorm opened his mouth trying to reply, but whatever it was that he wanted to say, he couldn’t get the words out, instead simply opting to look at the ground instead.

“Aah, I should have expected as such much you…My apologies.”

Yhorm nodded and with his voice barely a whisper replied, “I’m glad…glad that you’re safe. For I have lost many a good friends to this cruel world.”

Kalé’s eyes grew somber as he replied, “So have I…so have I…” A long silence settled between the two before finally Kalé spoke out, “So where will you be heading?”

Yhorm’s eyes perked at the question as he willfully replied, trying to find any way to change the topic, “Well, first of all I’ll be venturing back to the encampment by the colossal stone gateway to get my map, and then I’ll spend a few days roaming around Limgrave, trying to get the lay of the land, before I finally trek onwards to Castle Stormveil.”

Kalé nodded and replied, “Well, then I guess you best be on your way. It’ll be a long journey and I’d hate to slow you down any further.”

Yhorm said nothing in reply, simply giving the merchant a nod and getting up, but before he could leave however Yhorm heard Kalé call out to him, “And if you are ever…tired, and need a break…You’re welcome to come whenever you like.”

A soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he addressed the merchant, “I will.”

“Take care then, goodbye…”

Yhorm offered a slight wave in return and blew Torrent’s whistle, getting on top of the beast and galloping out of the church, the sounds of hooves growing more distant and distant before disappearing all together.

---------------------------------------------------

“Oi! You there! Could you help us out, cully?”

Torrent halted to a stop, the momentum nearly carrying Yhorm over the beast. Yhorm hadn’t been riding long; in fact it had only been ten minutes or so since he had left the church, and in that time all he had done was get the rubbing of the area from a pretty obviously placed pillar, how he had missed it the first time he hardly knew, but alas he had gotten it now, and good thing too for it had pointed him in the direction of the next one too. Afterwards he had followed the road from the encampment which was leading him south west, when he had heard a voice just before a bridge calling out to him.

Yhorm got off Torrent and warily unsheathed his machete, whether this sound was friend or foe, he didn’t know and he’d much rather be prepared in case it happened to be the latter.

“You.”

“Who, me?”

“Yeah, you there! Stop pretending you can’t see me!”

Yhorm looked around, trying to locate the owner of the voice but his efforts fell short as their truly was no one around him, “Can’t say I can…Keep talking…I’ll find out where you are.”

“Why won’t anyone look me in the eye? I-I’m not that ugly, am I.”

“Can’t say…I’ll have to have proper look at you first…And speaking of looks…”

Yhorm walked towards a pile of bushes and pushed them to the side, “There you…are?”

Yhorm expected to see all manner of living things behind those bushes but one thing which he most definitely didn’t expect to see was a very awkwardly placed shrub. Ah, he  must’ve gotten the wrong place. There was no way that the voice was coming from the shrub right? Surely…

“What? Something on my face?”

As it would turn out however, the voice was indeed coming from the shrub, “You’re…a tree?” Yhorm questioned.

“Hm? Oh, yes…I remember now…Some clod turned me into a tree…I’m terribly sorry for shouting, I didn’t mean it…”

“No worries lad, no harm done…Now, what can I do about all…this?”

“Oh, give me a good nudge…That should be enough to break the spell…These types are quite…fragile…you see.”

“If you say so…” Yhorm reached for the trunk of the shrub, gently shaking it. A puff of smoke appeared and for a second, Yhorm thought that it was an ambush but his worries were soon put to rest as the figure of a little beast appeared out of the smoke.

“Thank you…Thank you really. The name’s Boc. Boc the seamster.”

“A pleasure to meet you Boc. I’m Yhorm”

The little seamster tipped his hat before continuing, “I was pushed out of the cave…My home…Told not to come back…not ever. When they kicked me out…They took everything I owned and so I’m afraid I only have this to express my thanks. I’m lucky you came along, really…I hope you can forgive me…”

Boc held out his arm with a bunch of mushrooms clutched in his hand and offered them to Yhorm. The giant’s eyes softened and he lowered himself to the ground, still being more than twice the height of the beast, “Please, I need no such thing.” Keeping his voice as gentle as he could, Yhorm continued, “In fact, how about you accompany me instead…as payment, and we can see about getting you your belongings back too?”

The beast’s eyes grew wide and misty, “Oh, you mean it! You’re truly so kind Master Yhorm, but I-uh…wouldn’t want to be a burden to you.”

“Hardly a burden, if I’m the one who suggested it now, are you?”

“Oh, Thank you! Thank you so very much, master Yhorm!”

“Just Yhorm is fine.” Yhorm softly corrected as Torrent trotted closer to the pair, “Now then…Let’s get going and on our way, tell me about the location of this cave would you?”

It took some time for Boc to get used to sitting on Torrent, Lord knows it sure took him some time but before long, they were back to galloping across the landscape, this time with a demi-human clinging onto Yhorm’s back.

-------------------------------------------------

Yhorm had spent the next hour or so galloping around Limgrave kindling several pieces of grace before he eventually arrived at a shack. But something was most definitely off. The shack felt…newly abandoned and if a fresh painting sitting there untouched and still wet was any indicator than rather recently too.

“What happened here?” Yhorm let the question float in the air before surprisingly, Boc answered, “A struggle…Someone was attacked here.”

Oh, no…

“Boc, can you trace the smell?”

“It’s not the smell of a person…but rather of blood…An-and it leads down that ravine.” Boc pointed towards his left.

Blowing his whistle, Yhorm hastily got up on Torrent, signaling Boc to also get on, “C,mon then, we better find a way to get down.”

Yhorm rode for some length along the ravine before finally he spotted his ticket down, “There! A spiritspring, that ought to soften our landing! You think you can do it Torrent?”

The pony neighed in response, speeding up its gallop, before finally leaping into the ravine. Yhorm let out a yelp of surprise and Boc all but fainted upon finally seeing the true depth of the drop.

“We’re going to die!”

“Wooah! You know what! I think you’re right Boc!” Yhorm exclaimed as they started to fall faster and faster, but just before they could hit the ground, Torrent jumped once more, seemingly off of air, canceling the effect of the fall.

The pair riding atop Torrent let out more than a few gasps of relief.

“I thought I was a goner.”

“Me too buddy. Me too.” Yhorm could swear that the pony had been laughing at them on their way down but maybe that was just his imagination. Yeah…probably…but something within him told him that it wasn’t and the speedy bugger had really been all along, but alas he would never know for sure.

Turning his attention towards the task at hand Yhorm looked around. He was in the ravine all right but something was amiss, it was quiet…deathly quiet, there was no chirping of birds, no sounds of…any life for that matter. And now that he was here, even his untrained nose could sense the smell of blood.

“Uhh, Master Yhorm.” Boc squeaked out to which Yhorm replied, “Not now Boc!”

“You might wanna see this!”

“What is it Bo-”

Yhorm turned around, just in time to see a man hooded head to toe, bathed in blood both fresh and dried up, much like Varré actually, walk up to him all the while laughing maniacally.

“Boc, get on Torrent and get away! I’ll find you after I’m done here.”

“But, bu-”

“Now!”

The beast obliged, quickly getting on Torrent, and pled to Yhorm, “Promise you’ll come back safe!”

“I promise…Now shoo!”

Torrent let out a loud neigh and galloped towards the exit of the ravine and Yhorm soon turned his entire attention towards the man

“Oh! Hahaha! What do we have here!” The man tilted his head to the side, turning it almost vertical in an unnatural way making Yhorm almost puke of disgust, “A little lamb! Are you lost little…little one? Oh, but you’re so young, so filled with youth…I wonder how your blood will taste! Hehehe! The last one soured my taste…And you..Hehe...will be the replacement.”

Disgusting…disgusting…absolutely disgusting…Everything about the man just rubbed Yhorm the wrong way

The man lunged towards Yhorm, his daggers in hand, swinging at Yhorm’s stomach which the giant sidestepped and while doing so, he unsheathed his machete. The man didn’t stay docile for long though, quickly turning around and trying to take a jab at Yhorm’s side.

Yhorm grabbed the man’s wrist, and flung him across the ravine, before slowly marching towards the man who was still sprawled across the floor. Hastily getting up to his feet, the man darted to the side, but before he could create much distance, Yhorm grabbed his halberd and threw it like a javelin which the man barely avoided. The golden object slamming into the stones behind him, splitting rock and Earth. The madman dashed at Yhorm closing the distance between them, prompting Yhorm to swing at the man, which he nimbly dodged and sunk his dagger into Yhorm’s side, causing him to drop his machete because of the pain

Blood…Blood everywhere…

But Yhorm didn’t care, grabbing the man with one hand and bashing his face in with his shield with the other. The man stumbled backwards, still laughing maniacally, pulling his dagger out of Yhorm’s side. Yhorm too picked up his machete and they both began to circle each other, both somewhat aware of the other’s strength.

Yhorm’s mind began to race…Who was this man? Were there others of his covenant? If so, what was their goal?

The man backed away from Yhorm and pulled out a crimson bottle, trying to take a swing, and Yhorm had little doubt that it was probably meant to heal the man, but there was no way he could stop him, for he was too far away. Yhorm rushed towards the man when suddenly a loud voice sounded through the ravine, declaring, “If it isn't Nejirus, the Bloody Finger. The end is nigh, for you and your cessblood.”

The man laughed as he put the bottle to his lips, taking a few good gulps before, Yhorm was able swing his machete at him sending him sprawling across the floor

Yhorm was willing to bet that whatever the man had accomplished by drinking that potion had been more than undone by his swing as the man flopped in agony in the shallow water of the ravine. Taking advantage of the brief moment of respite, Yhorm looked over to see the man whose voice he had heard earlier. Splashing through the river, a long, slender blade in hand, Yhorm saw someone wearing…quite a peculiar helmet, but thankfully, it seemed as if the newcomer had no interest in fighting him instead, opting to tag team with Yhorm.

Both Yhorm and the newcomer took turns wailing on the scum of a man in front of them, when one was put on the back foot the other would jump in, slashing away. It wasn’t long before, the blood maniac collapsed face-down into the water, chunks from his body strewn about the ravine, the clear water of the ravine turning red.

However, Yhorm still wasn’t in the clear, as he didn’t know the intentions of the newcomer. The two of them stood silently across from each other for a long, tense moment. Waiting to make sure the fight truly was over. Before finally Yhorm spoke up, “Thank you for the help. I doubt I would have escaped with only a few wounds, if you weren’t here.”

Yhorm was given a nod in reply, as the man sheathed his long blade, “Just joining the fray, Tarnished?”

“You could say that.” Yhorm grimaced as he clutched his recently stabbed side.

   “Well, you fought Nejirus and survived. That alone deserves commendation,” the stranger declared before announcing himself, “I am Yura. Hunter of Bloody Fingers.”

“Yhorm.” The giant replied before asking, “Mind elaborating what a ‘Bloody Finger’ is?”

 Yura's grip tightened on his sword's hilt and his shoulders tensed, voice tinged with disgust as he scowled, “Tarnished held in the thrall of cessblood. Zealots…who stalk their own.”

So Yhorm had been right, then. It likely wasn't a coincidence that Varré and this Neijrus both had an infatuation with blood. They likely belonged to the same blood craven covenant.

“If you stay the path,” Yura warned, “You are certain to face more of them. Just remember— no kinship with their ilk remains. Their madness precludes it. Don't let emotions sway your blade.”

Yhorm nodded, he’d rather die, before showing mercy to scum like these.

“Good…And one last word of warning…Stay clear of Agheel Lake. A great dragon roosts there, and it's as fearsome as it is majestic. So unless you're mad, or wish to be burned alive, stay clear of the lake.”

Yhorm couldn’t help hide his excitement as he enthusiastically repeated, “A dragon?! Actually?”

Yura sighed before sternly warning, “Stay clear of the lake.” Each syllable growing louder than the previous, accompanied by a jab from his finger.

Yhorm held up his hands in surrender, “I understand…”

   Giving a sharp nod, Yura declared, “All right then…Be on your way. Perhaps we will meet again, if fate permits.” before turning around and walking away, giving Yhorm brisk wave as farewell.

Yhorm too turned around and walked towards the ravines mouth, where he ended up finding Boc, who latched onto him immediately upon spotting him.

“You’re all right!”

“Of course, I promised…"

“But you’re bleeding…” The little beast pointed towards Yhorm’s side, with a concerned look in his eyes.

“I’ll manage…I’ve survived worse” Yhorm gave Boc a good rub on the head before continuing, “Now, Let’s get going, how about we stop over at Kalé’s before moving onwards to that cave of yours to retrieve your belongings now. Sound good?”

Boc looked uncertain, but his words didn’t match his emotions, that much even Yhorm could ascertain, “Sure! Whatever you say master Yhorm, but who’s this Kalé?”

Yhorm smiled slightly, “you’ll just have to meet him.”

It was almost night by the time that they had arrived at Kalé’s place, and the entire party had all but collapsed into the church, all huddling around Kalé’s campfire, exchanging introductions when suddenly a familiar voice called out to him. It was Melina…

“A moment, Yhorm…”

Yhorm happily obliged, getting up from the group who seemed to not mind him doing so, and walked to the nearby grace, “So, what did you want to discuss?” Yhorm asked curtly.

“I have no qualms about Boc, in fact I find the little ball of energy adorable, but most would not think to extend such kindness to a demi-human and I must warn you— the Golden Order, whose path you are certain to cross, will not share your ideals. At best, they will see him as your slave or worse a lesser version of human.”

Yhorm frowned and with all the curtness left in him replied, “Why? He thinks…He feels…He has ideals, goals and regrets…He may not be human, but he most certainly is a person…an individual, and in fact more than some humans.”

Melina smiled, “You are most noble indeed, and have a kind heart… along with something the Lands Between has lacked for some time…Empathy, but that will not stop them from branding you a heretic.”

“Then so be it, I’ll be there to fight them when the time comes…”

Both Melina and Yhorm looked up at the night sky and Melina softly added, “A beautiful night today…isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

The fire from Kalé’s campfire dimmed and eventually died out as everyone slipped their eyes closed. All…except for one…

Unbeknownst to everyone, a tiny beast slipped out of the church

“Forgive me Master Yhorm…but I must not be a burden to you. My belongings are mine alone to get back.”

*****

Chapter Text

Where was he…

Yhorm stood on a formless plain, with nothing as far as his eye could see. Darkness encompassed everything around Yhorm, but yet he was able to see with complete clarity. How had he gotten there? He knew the answer not himself. Unsure of what to do Yhorm took a step forward, finding his feet to be unusually heavy, each of his steps forming void black ripples in the ground. Yhorm tried to call out to anyone who could hear him, but the words didn’t come out of his mouth. He tried speaking…then calling…then screaming, but not a word left his throat. Yhorm lifted his hand to his throat, trying desperately to get any semblance of words to come out of his mouth, but all his efforts proved to be futile.

Before he could waste much more time however, the sounds of soft footsteps halted his internal musings, as his eyes shot up, just in time to see a feminine figure in a white dress approaching him, carrying a flower crown, identical to the one on her head.

As the woman walked closer and closer, Yhorm finally realized who it was, her characteristic mulberry hair slightly waving in the…air? Yhorm’s eyes softened just at the sight of her as his eyes finally confirmed…

It was Eleonora…

Yhorm’s tried to take a step forward but it was almost as if his feet had been frozen in their place, all he could do was only watch as Eleonora’s delicate figure approached him. Upon finally reaching him, the girl looked up and softly smiled, holding out her hands, seemingly offering Yhorm the flower crown that she had been holding. Yhorm’s figure relaxed and he couldn’t help but smile at her gesture. It was so like her…to be so unforgivingly kind…

Yhorm held out his hand and tried to accept the girl’s gift but just as his hands were about to touch the petals of the crown, she pulled it back and seemingly pouting, gestured Yhorm to get down on one knee, to which Yhorm happily obliged. Now, on the same eye level as the girl, Eleonora raised her hands and gently placed the flower crown on his head, before walking a couple of steps back and letting out a little giggle. Yhorm too smiled, but there was a somber look in his eyes, as he was aware that this wasn’t reality, but oh how he wished that it was. Yhorm lowered his head towards the ground, and tried to shield his face from Eleonora, as he didn’t want her to see the pained look that had appeared on his face. But she was always two steps ahead, as just before he could completely shield himself from her, her hands reached out and cupped his face, raising it to meet her eyes. Eleonora slightly tilted her head to the side, much in the same way that Melina did and softly questioned, her voice barely a whisper, “Has something been troubling you, M’lord?”

Hearing her voice served as the final nail in the coffin as the dam finally broke and Yhorm pulled her close in a tight embrace, finally allowing himself to shed the tears that he had been holding back for so long. Eleonora was surprised at first but just as quickly she regained her composure and slowly started drawing circles in the back of Yhorm’s head.

“So, are you going to tell me? Or do I need to hold you for an hour or so more?”

So unforgivingly kind…The question seemingly broke the chains that were tied around his throat and Yhorm finally managed to squeak out, “I’m tired Eleonora…I’m tired…I want to rest…To achieve what I have sought for almost all my life…peace…I-I just really miss you.”

Eleonora slowly hummed as Yhorm spoke, before calmly stating, “Do not weep for me M’lord…For I’m not dead…I live on yet, through you and your memories…but for now…” Eleonora pulled Yhorm close and gave him a full embrace, “Rest…”

Yhorm closed his eyes as Eleonora softly hummed, all the while slowly rubbing circles on the back of Yhorm’s head. How long Yhorm had stayed like that, he didn’t know, but when he opened his eyes again he was back in the church.

Getting up, Yhorm raised his hand to his face, softly wiping away the still wet trail of tears lining his cheeks. Composing himself, Yhorm looked around only to find that there was no one in the church.

Strange…Something’s off…

Sensing the presence of someone nearby, Yhorm quickly got up, clutching the hilt of his machete and defensively made his way to the entrance of the church, just in time to see the figure of a man approaching. Yhorm raised his machete, ready to strike down whatever appeared in front of him, but just before he could swing his machete a familiar voice rang through the air.

“Hmm? Oh, thank goodness! You’re finally awake! And…Uh-What are you doing?”

It was Kalé. Yhorm lowered his machete and sheathed it all the while calmly replying, “Nothing of importance…but where is Boc? When I woke up no one was in the church.”

“Yeaah…About that…The little beast is gone.”

“Gone?! Where?”

“Don’t know.” Kalé shrugged, “He was gone when I woke up, probably slipped out in the middle of the night. Who knows where he might be right now.”

The thought struck Yhorm like an arrow. The cave…

“Oh I have a pretty good idea of where, just not sure why.”

Yhorm turned around, quickly pulling out Torrent’s whistle and giving it a good blow. The pony gracefully trotted into existence and Yhorm quickly got on the beast, but just when he was about to take off, Kalé called out to him.

“Wait! Take this!” Kalé threw Yhorm a satchel, which Yhorm easily caught, “It contains herbs…heard from Boc you had been stabbed. This ought to help with that…and if y’know the little bugger gets hurt, it’ll be of help to him too.”

A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he thanked him, giving a brisk wave as a farewell before turning around and giving Torrent’s reigns a shake, prompting the beast to begin galloping across the landscape.

“Stay safe.” Kalé commented as the pair slowly disappeared over the horizon.

Yhorm spent the next thirty or so minutes, jumping over rocks, weaving in between groups of trolls –not giants as Boc had corrected him and running as fast as he could. Finally reaching the shores, Yhorm pulled out his map, tracing the path to the cave with his finger. He was lucky to have asked Boc for its location before, because if he didn’t, Lord knows what he would have done.

“Straight ahead from here, huh…” A serious look settled on Yhorm’s face as he grimly remarked, “Just be alive…Please…”

Riding forward Yhorm eventually reached the entrance to the cave, quickly dismounting Torrent, unsheathing his machete and hastily making his way into the cave.

“Please…please…please…”

At this point Yhorm was practically running through the winding tunnels of the cave, not caring if the jagged rocks of the tunnel sliced and thrashed at his chainmail, for he did not care about the pain. Yhorm spent the better half of a minute or two almost sprinting, when from out of the corner of his eye, he caught the familiar soft glow of a Site of Grace. But that wasn’t what mattered, it was the voice which he heard not soon after.

“Ow…It…hurts…Ooh.” Boc’s pained grunts rung through the tunnel and as much as it made Yhorm happy to hear his friend again, his heart also pained just as much upon hearing the amount of pain the little beast was in.

Yhorm all but ran into a fairly open chamber in the cave, all the while gasping for air when he finally spotted Boc lying on the ground next to a Site of Grace.

“Boc!” Yhorm called out, his voice a mix of concern and relief.

Upon hearing Yhorm call out his name, Boc looked towards the entrance of the chamber, just in time to see Yhorm burst in and begin running towards Boc.

“Oh, what are you doing here, M’lord?”

Yhorm didn’t reply at first, simply pulling Boc close and giving him a gentle embrace, causing the little beast to let out a few grunts and groans of pain, before eventually answering Boc’s question, “To take you home.”

“No…no…no. You must leave this place at once master Yhorm! They’ll rush in and beat you to a pulp. You’ll end up hurt! Just because of me! I do –don’t wish to be a burden any longer!”

“Hush… You’re no burden, but a friend…And I won’t be able to look at myself, if I don’t help a friend in need and especially one as dear as you…”

“Bu –But.”

“No buts…or ifs or any other complaint from you…Just rest…It’d bring me a lot of joy if you do…”

 Yhorm sat next to the Site of Grace, cradling the little beast in his lap, all the while rubbing his hand up and down the beast’s spine. It didn’t take long before Boc slipped his eyes closed and allowed himself to rest. Yhorm sat there for quite some time, observing Boc. The little beast didn’t seem too hurt, just a few cuts and bruises were lining his fur. Good…But even that felt almost too much for Yhorm. Who could be so cruel as to rob and push out one of their own kind from their home, especially in a world where they weren’t wanted in the first place? Just thinking about the individual made Yhorm sick to his stomach.

Slowly setting Boc to the side with as much care as he could muster, Yhorm got up and called out to Melina, “Melina…”

 As Yhorm’s voice rang through the tunnels, the girl soon appeared out of the blue mist that always seemed to accompany her and softly asked, “Yes, Yhorm?”

“Take care of Boc, will you?”

The girl nodded, “Of course, Yhorm.”

A faint smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he thanked the girl, “Thank you Melina…Truly…I’ve left some herbs next to the little bugger, so please use them if necessary.”

The girl nodded again, before asking, “And may I ask where are you going?”

Yhorm scoffed before scruffily replying, “To get back what’s ours…” and then proceeded to begin walking further inwards through the cave, not waiting for Melina’s answer.

All the while, the girl softly remarked, “May the Erdtree protect you…” her voice but a fleeting whisper easily lost in the wind as Yhorm’s figure slowly disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

Yhorm walked for a couple of minutes before he arrived in the next chamber, this one full of demi-humans, who all readied their weapons just upon the sight of him but something was off…

They were frail…Weak…Malnourished even…

The sight greatly puzzled Yhorm before the realization finally dawned on him. This clan didn’t have a chief, but rather a tyrant, and oh, how he hated tyrants. Yhorm’s blood boiled and he clutched the hilt of his machete so hard that his hand began to bleed. He was absolutely livid…

Yhorm smashed his machete into the ground with as much force as he could and snappily demanded, “Take me to your chief! Lest you all wished to be killed in his stead!”

Yhorm didn’t want to threaten the demi-humans, his quarrel was with the tyrant of their clan, not the poor people who were forced to adhere to his twisted ideals, but honestly what else could he have done. He doubted that they would have taken him to their chief peacefully if he had just asked. Lord knows he wouldn’t have… If for nothing than the fear of being killed.

And right now he had just invoked that card with just as much credibility. All of the demi-humans cowered with fear, and not one dared to approach him, when suddenly the smallest of the group walked up to him and tugged at his leggings, pointing towards the way forwards with his other hand. Yhorm couldn’t help but smile at the little beast’s bravery, before taking out a little piece of meat from his pouch and giving it to the beast, who began devouring it instantly. Poor things…How long had they not eaten?

The thought made Yhorm frown as he gave the beast a little pat before continuing forwards. Yhorm walked through the cave for a few more minutes, all the while noticing countless little beasts staring at him from the corner of his eye, none daring to approach. The next time Yhorm entered a chamber he knew he was at the right place. Yhorm tapped his machete on the ground in a rhythmic pattern as if to announce his presence and almost instantly a group of demi-humans surrounded him. Yhorm was almost ready to fight when suddenly the demi-humans stepped to the side revealing two larger demi-humans approaching him. Two chiefs?

But something was weird, one of them was bigger, healthier and stronger, while the other was malnourished just like the rest. So…This must be the tyrant then, eh…

“Greetings…I’m Yhorm, and I’ve come to take back my friend Boc the seamster’s belongings…”

The bigger of the two chiefs began to cackle and walked closer to Yhorm mockingly and when the other chief tried to stop him, he clawed at his face, causing the smaller of the two to whimper and retreat. Yhorm could feel the sour taste rising in the back of his throat, and his hatred for the tyrant in front of him was growing by the second. It was then that Yhorm decided what he had to do and menacingly declared, “Give them back, or else…I’ll kill you.” Yhorm reinforced his point by unsheathing his machete and grinding it against his shield in such a way that it produced a horrifying scream.

But the chief wasn’t intimidated and instead turned around, ordering the other demi-humans, who readily obliged and began banging their weapons together rhythmically, creating a primitive war-drum. The chief then turned back around towards Yhorm and pulled out two daggers, looking at Yhorm in a challenging glare. The two circled one another for some time before the chief finally lunged at Yhorm.

Big mistake…

Throwing his shield on the ground, Yhorm rushed forwards and grabbed the chief by the neck mid-lunge and raised him off the ground, all the while the chief clawed and sliced at his arm but Yhorm didn’t care. The other demi-humans began to howl and cry out as if begging for mercy for their chief, but Yhorm could see the hatred in their eyes. Turning his attention back to the chief, Yhorm looked him dead in the eye and declared, “You shall haunt them no longer.” Before tightening his grip on the chief’s neck and…

*Crunch*

Just like that it was over, Yhorm released the now lifeless body of the chief which fell to the ground limply, before turning around and addressing the other chief of the clan.

“I hope that you’ll be able to protect them…But…If you need any help…go to the church northeast of here…I’ll be there…But for now, this should do.”

Yhorm threw out all the meat that he had on him, and although initially hesitant, demi-humans began to flock to it, eating as much as they could. The sight made Yhorm smile as unbeknownst to him the other chief walked up and sat next to him pulling out a bag of tailoring tools from his shaggy robe and handing it to Yhorm.

“Thank you so much…Raga was a fool…but, here…I think this belongs to someone you know.”

Yhorm recoiled with surprise upon hearing the chief’s voice, but his eyes soon softened as he hesitantly accepted and questioned, “You all speak? Like Boc?”

“Not all…but some...And speaking of Boc, how’s the bugger doing anyway?”

“I’d say pretty good…Marched all the way here even after I told him we’d go together.”

The chief let out a laugh, “Still foolishly brave is he? That’s so like him…”

“Indeed…”

The pair sat in silence for some time before the chief got up and began to walk towards the rest of the demi-humans, “I better get something to eat as well, wouldn’t want this gift to be wasted now, would I?”

Yhorm chuckled before nodding as the chief continued, “Oh and if you wouldn’t mind passing on a message, tell Boc he can come back whenever he wants, say that Fern said so.”

Yhorm nodded, “I will.”

“Thank you…And if it’s of any value take that tunnel there.” The chief pointed to the side, “Think of it as repayment…It’s all we can really do.”

Yhorm nodded and sheathed his machete, trying to maintain his composure, because in reality he was bubbling with excitement as to what the chief was leading him to. Yhorm didn’t care whether it was an ambush or not, just the possibility of exploring something secret made Yhorm excited. Throwing caution into the wind, Yhorm decided to listen to the chief and instead of returning straight back to Melina and Boc, decided to take a little detour. As Yhorm walked closer and closer to the tunnel the grin on his face grew wider and wider.

“Here we go.”

Yhorm took the first step into the tunnel and then another and another, and before soon his form disappeared into the tunnel. Yhorm walked for five or so minutes before eventually he reached the exit and took his first step back on the surface. He was on an island, that much even he could see, but the real surprise was when he turned around and saw a church but that wasn’t the part that excited him, it was The giant scaled wings that Yhorm could see just barely peeking out from the church.

No way…

Yhorm could feel his steps quicken as he almost sprinted into the church, his eyes locking with the giant figure of a dragon. Yhorm’s jaw fell open as he approached the corpse of the magnificent creature, in awe of everything about it.

 “So this is a dragon, eh…Absolutely beautiful…”

Even if it was just a corpse, Yhorm was still very happy as it was well worth the trip, to see one from so close, but it would turn out to be so much more than just a corpse. Now standing in front of the magnificent beast Yhorm hesitantly held out his hand and allowed it to rest on the dragon’s maw but as soon as his fingers made contact with the dragon’s scaly flesh, an immense pressure began acting on Yhorm, dropping the giant to his knees and knocking the air out of his lungs. Yhorm tried to resist with all his might, trying desperately to move but to no avail, at this point Yhorm’s vision was also beginning to fade and realizing that his efforts were futile, Yhorm gave in, allowing everything around him to fade to black.

Opening his eyes again, he was back there…on the formless plain, but this time something was off…

He could still feel the pressure and it was mounting and mounting until finally it came to its climax and Yhorm could finally feel the approaching storm.

A pair of lightning yellow eyes appeared out of the storm and bore down his back, and then another and then another, and another and another until finally ten eyes were observing him, calculating, sensing and interpreting…

 The violent winds of the storm bore down on Yhorm, prompting him to call out and the storm to reply,

“ Oi rakas seuraaja, mikä sinun nimesi on?”

Yhorm didn’t know what the storm wanted, nor did he have the time to find out, because when he blinked next, he was back in the church, his hand still on the dragon and him still sitting on one knee, but one thing was sure, he had most definitely been in the presence of a lord. Yhorm wanted to go back, to learn and understand, what he had really seen...and for that he was going to go on a hunt.

Perhaps, that was what the voice had wanted…But of course Yhorm didn’t know any better…

Getting back up, Yhorm turned around and began going back the way that he had come, first through the tunnel back to the mainland and then to Melina and Boc, thanking Herb on his way back.

Stepping into the chamber with Melina and Boc, Yhorm observed as the girl softly hummed to the beast, much in the same way that Eleonora used to do…A somber smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he approached the pair as silently as he could not wishing to ruin the moment, but being the fairly large fellow that he was, his efforts failed spectacularly and Melina looked up at him, happily chirping, “You’re back. How did everything go?”

“Surprisingly well!” Yhorm happily remarked as it truly did go better than he had thought. Even in his best case scenario, he’d thought that he’d have to do a lot more fighting, “But enough about me…How’s Boc doing?” Yhorm set his machete to the side and crouched next to the little beast.

“He’ll be fine, all his cuts and bruises have healed, and little ball of energy should be waking up anytime now.” And as it would turn out, Melina was right as not even a minute later, the little beast groggily got up.

“Uh –ow…What happen –Master Yhorm! You didn’t leave?!” The little beast sprang up and grabbed Yhorm by the finger, trying to pull him out of the cave, “You must go now, or else the –ow or else they’ll come!”

Yhorm gently freed himself from the little beast and calmly reassured him, “Easy there Boc. It’s ok…It’s over now.” Before pulling out the satchel that Fern had given him and handing it to Boc, “Here.”

“Wait, is that what I think it is?” Boc’s voice trembled and his eyes grew misty as he added, “You got it back for me? My sewing needle!”

The first tears began to fall from Boc’s cheeks, “What made you go and do a thing like that…”

“I had promised…If not to you than to myself…”

Boc wiped away his tears and hesitantly began, “My mum was a seamstress you see…” waiting for Yhorm’s reaction before continuing, “And that sewing kit was all I had to remember her by. I always wanted to be like sweet old Mum…So –so thank you, I’m very grateful master Yhorm.”

“Oh, please…none of that Master stuff now, it’s hardly the right thing to call a friend.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare…Master…That is what you are…My kind master.” The beast declared before latching onto Yhorm’s leg, prompting him to let out a defeated sigh. A soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he rubbed his hand along the beast’s back.

 Guess somethings never change huh…

But the moment didn’t last long as a slight deliberate cough interrupted the pair, prompting Yhorm to look over and see Melina standing next to them with an expectant look.

“Oh! Almost forgot! Boc meet Melina!” Yhorm stepped to the side pushing the beast towards the girl.

“Uh, hellos miss! I’m Boc the seamster! At your service.” The beast gave a little crooked bow, causing Melina to let out a little laugh as she lowered herself and gave the beast a good scratch, “Nice to meet you Boc! I’m Melina.”

“It’s my pleasure Miss Melina.”

“Same here…”

Yhorm couldn’t help hiding the massive smile that appeared on his face, as he looked on at this sweet interaction before finally he began to speak once more, “Great! Now that that’s over, let’s get going shall we?”

“Of course Master Yhorm, but where are we going next?” The little beast questioned, and Yhorm with a wide smile on his face replied.

“To kill a dragon…”

…

“A WHAT!”

*****

Chapter Text

*Ba- Da- Dum* *Ba- Da- Dum*

“We’re almost there, Master Yhorm!”

“That we are…”

The pair had been riding for almost half an hour now, galloping across the landscape. It had been difficult to explain to Boc why Melina couldn’t come with them, but seemingly, the promise that they could always meet her at the next Site of Grace had satisfied the little beast, but as it would turn out however, that was only one of the many things that ended up slowing Yhorm down. For one, when Yhorm had tried to turn around and begin his journey back to the church, Melina had caught him by the ear, sternly demanding him to allow her and Boc to tend to his bloodied and battered arm. That was when Yhorm had finally looked down and saw the truly sorry state the limb was in, with chunks of flesh missing and blood dripping out, forming a pool at his feet, and as much as he wanted to protest that he was fine, he really couldn’t. The limb was then promptly covered from finger to shoulder with bandages, the herbs he had brought for Boc, used on him instead. Secondly, when Yhorm had delivered Fern’s message to Boc, the little beast had broken down in tears, but when asked whether he wanted to stay, Boc had vehemently declined, claiming that his place was at Yhorm’s side, but also meekly declaring that maybe visiting once in a while wouldn’t be a bad idea.

A faint smile flirted with Yhorm’s face as he recalled the exchange, but that smile soon turned into a pained expression as his bandaged hand went down to his waist to massage his stabbed side.

Good lord…

The wound hadn’t healed much, just one good strenuous exercise away from opening again and he knew that all this riding hadn’t been doing him much good. Seemingly sensing his companion’s pain, Boc turned around, and upon seeing Yhorm massage his side, Boc began scolding the poor giant, “Honestly, Master Yhorm! You don’t care about yourself enough, I told you to have some rest, and I mean you have been stabbed for Marika’s sake!”

Yhorm grumbled and he could already feel the gaze of scrutiny from Melina, as if questioning why he hadn’t shared this with her, but he decided that he would face that storm when the time would come.

“I told you Boc, I’m fine…The sooner we get our priority tasks done, the sooner I can get that rest, that everyone wants me to have…”

Boc seemed unsure, but whatever it was that he wanted to say, didn’t leave his mouth as he instead simply nodded, before excitedly declaring, “There it is! The church! We made it!”

Yhorm let out a sigh of relief, before tiredly affirming, “That we did…”

Pulling on Torrent’s reigns, Yhorm signaled to the beast to slow down, the pony’s gallop slowly shortening into a trot. Getting off the beast, Yhorm gave torrent a few pats, all the while feeding the beast a few Rowa berries, before allowing the beast to fade out of existence. Stepping into the church, Yhorm heard the familiar noise of Kalé’s instrument, the pleasant tune prompting Yhorm to relax his shoulders. As soon as the pair entered the run-down church however, Kalé’s eyes shot up, just in time to see the little beast waddle in behind Yhorm’s legs, “You’re back! And I see not alone…”

“Not for long though, just wanted to stop here to tell you that I found Boc.”

“Thought so. But Boc, where did you go and especially in the middle of the night?” The merchant questioned and Boc let out a nervous laugh before Yhorm replied in his stead, “To retrieve what was his…”

Kalé didn’t seem to fully understand, but much to Yhorm’s thankfulness he didn’t question further, instead opting to take the conversation forward, “Ah, I see… And where are you headed next?”

“To Agheel Lake…”

“Agheel Lake?” The merchant raised a finger to his chin, seemingly lost in thought before softly questioning, “Pardon me Yhorm, but I can’t think of any reason to visit. The place is decrepit and whatever reward you could get is most definitely not worth the risk. Last I heard, there is a dr-”

“-The risk is precisely why I want to visit…To slay a dragon.”

“A WHAT?!”

“That’s what I said.” Boc replied to the still dazed merchant, with a look on his face that just screamed ‘I told you so’, prompting Yhorm to roll his eyes.

Kalé allowed the words to sink in, before heaving out a tired sigh, all the while recomposing himself and continuing, “I do hope you know what you are doing. Dragon slaying in no mere task, and I do hope that you also have a good reason to justify this, because I’m dying to hear it.”

“No reason…Just feels right.”

...

The silence that followed Yhorm’s statement was so thick that it could almost be cut with a knife, and Yhorm almost thought that he had said something insulting, before finally Kalé burst out in laughter, and declared, “No reason? You have no tact my friend, and it is so endearing.”

“Ah- what? I- uh, I actually do have a reason- hey. Hey! Would you listen to me?”

Yhorm continued to ramble on but the merchant wasn’t having any of it, instead just continuing to laugh, before eventually Yhorm too chose to stop talking, a soft smile making its way to his face, as he recalled his fond memories.

Guess Siegward was finally starting to rub off on him…Oh how he missed him...

Finally Kalé’s laughter began to die down, as he composed himself, “I haven’t had a good laugh like that in ages.”

“Well, then I guess you’re welcome.”

“But in all seriousness, if you truly are going to fight a dragon then perhaps this will help…Agheel likes to fly, and once he leaves the ground you’re chance of victory becomes reduced from slim to zero. If you want to not just survive but also beat the giant lizard, then try to ground him…And now you know…Do what you will with that information.”

Yhorm got up, his armor clinking and clanking before replying, “Thank you… Kalé…You’ve done more than I could ask…”

Kalé nodded in acknowledgement before replying, “Then I bid you farewell…And pray that you may return safely, with whatever you need in tow…”

Yhorm nodded, finally realizing the gravity of the situation; at how this could be the last time he meets Kalé. Pfft…yeah right, like he would actually let himself die…

I still have many promises to keep…And miles to go before I sleep…

“C’mon Boc, let’s get going…”

Yhorm gave Torrent’s whistle a blow and as always the beast trotted into existence. Yhorm quickly got on, with Boc just behind him, giving Torrent’s reigns a shake, prompting the beast to begin thundering across the landscape.

-----------------------------------------

It only took the pair about ten minutes to reach the northern shores of the lake, Yhorm looked around surveying the entire lake but he couldn’t see a tooth or scale of this so called dragon that had been roosting here. Perhaps, it had already left, but something within Yhorm told him otherwise, urging him to move onwards, as if it knew that the dragon would be there and despite his better judgment, Yhorm was inclined to believe it.

“Boc stay here.”

“But-but Master Yhorm, What if you get hurt?”

A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he slowly bent down to get on one knee, to be at eye-level the little beast, “I’ll be all right, after all, I haven’t even given my dear seamster anything to sew yet. It would be a waste to die here.”

“You promise?”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle, before patting Boc and replying, “Of course…”

Yhorm slowly got up and turned around, before calling out to Melina, “Melina…”

“Yes Yhorm?” The girl replied as she ever so gracefully appeared out of the signature blue mist that always used to accompany her.

“Stay here with Boc, won’t you?”

The girl nodded before replying, “As you wish.”

Yhorm smiled, “And Boc, don’t cause too much trouble while I’m gone, Ok?”

The beast let out a little nervous laugh before declaring, “Oh, I wouldn’t dare master Yhorm.”

“Good.” Yhorm stretched his arms, letting out a few grunts, “Well, let’s get this done, shall we.” Before remounting Torrent and riding down the cliff sides of the lake, entering into the lake proper, but just as he entered the lake, he could immediately feel that something was off. The air was prickly, and he could smell ash, but that wasn’t important, it was the gaze of a predator that Yhorm could feel that truly excited him.

Oh he’s here all right…

But before Yhorm could spend much more time dilly dallying around, trying to find the lizard, it found him instead. A giant shadow flew over Yhorm, completely covering him in darkness, prompting Yhorm to look up just in time to see Agheel flying towards him, burning hot fire already glowing in his maw.

Yhorm had barely anytime to react at all, barely avoiding the dragon’s path as it burned everything with its hellfire.

Strange…This dragon wasn’t like the one he had encountered at the church, it only had one pair of wings, unlike the two pairs that the one at the church had and it also lacked a pair of frontal limbs…He would have to ask Kalé later…

 Yhorm quickly dismounted Torrent, and equipped his Shield in one hand and machete in the other. All the while Agheel turned around to face Yhorm once again, and Yhorm couldn’t help hiding the massive grin that had appeared on his face. This time though, instead of hurling fire at the giant, Agheel simply dove towards Yhorm, aiming to crush the giant under its feet, but Yhorm didn’t falter, instead raising his shield to meet the attack head on.

Agheel crashed like lightning onto Yhorm, one of his feet landing straight on Yhorm’s shield, trying to crush him, causing Yhorm to fall down onto one knee, but he didn’t buckle, instead swinging his machete over his shield and towards the dragon’s feet, the slash cutting deep through flesh and scale. Agheel let out a roar of pain and instead of letting go, picked Yhorm up by his shield and took flight, flying straight up and then diving, throwing Yhorm towards the ground, causing him to grind across the lake floor and smash his back into the nearby Cliffside.

Yhorm got stars in his vision, and the air was knocked out of his lungs, causing him to grimace in pain and spit out blood. Yet weirdly enough, he began to chuckle, “Yep…that’s a few broken ribs all right…So this is the power of a dragon, eh… Kalé was right, I have to do something about those wings.” Yhorm tried to get to get up, using his machete as a crutch, but a sharp pain made him fall back down, the wound on his side had opened and he could see the crimson red liquid seeping out of his breast plate.

“Well, then I better end this quick…And I have just the idea.”

Yhorm took off his shield, equipping his halberd in favor of it. Trying his best to endure the pain, Yhorm got up, his entire body protesting at the movement. Getting up, Yhorm limped toward the middle of the lake, just in time to see Agheel circling up in the sky.

Now or never…

Smashing his machete into the ground to serve as a support, Yhorm raised his halberd, taking in a deep breath, trying to steady his body. He only had one chance to ground Agheel and this was it. Yhorm knew he had to wait for the right moment, he was using no great bow, but his halberd would serve as well as any arrow would. Yhorm arched his back ready to throw his halberd and observed as the dragon continued to circle him.

Not yet…Not yet…Not yet…

At the edge of death, his heart raced. But he felt so alive… Finally the dragon made its move exiting its circle and beginning a dive towards Yhorm, but just before it could turn fully, Yhorm finally saw his widow of opportunity.

There…

Mustering up all the strength that he could, Yhorm threw the halberd, and in that moment of concentration, it didn’t matter where he was throwing, for he could have even thrown the thing through the eye of a needle. The halberd cut through the air, making a whistling noise as if talking to the very wind itself before finally…

*Shlunck*

The halberd sliced through the dragon’s wing and penetrated into the dragon’s flesh, snapping its wing closed, and halting its glide, causing it to fall out of the sky and straight towards the lake floor. Yhorm let out a sigh of relief and immediately after, coughed up blood. He knew that it wasn’t over…

Ripping his machete out of the ground, Yhorm lunged towards the falling dragon like a rabid animal, not caring as his legs bled and pained from the sprint, the arm that he had used to throw the halberd, hung limply by his side as he approached the dragon which by now had recovered after its fall. Opening its maw the giant dragon lunged at Yhorm trying to crush him with its jagged teeth.

Battered, bruised and bleeding, Yhorm with all the strength left in him, tried to sidestep Agheel, but he couldn’t…

Catching Yhorm’s limp arm in in its mouth, the dragon tried to crush the limb but just before it could do so, perhaps in a moment of desperation, Yhorm’s machete came thundering, slicing straight through Agheel’s neck, almost beheading the flying lizard. The dragon released Yhorm’s arm and blood began spewing out of the dragon’s neck, covering Yhorm almost entirely from head to toe in the red fluid. The dragon jerked in the lake water for a few moments more, its pained screeches ringing throughout the lake, before finally the giant body of the beast went limp.

It took Yhorm some time to process what had happened, but when he finally realized that he had won, he let out a giant scream of relief, not caring as his vocal cords pained and protested at the improper use. Yhorm just stood there, basking in the glory, but he couldn’t enjoy the glory much longer as not soon after, he heard…

*Clap* *Clap*

…Clapping?

Tensing his shoulders, Yhorm turned around; trying to locate the owner of the applause, but when his eyes finally fell upon its owner, his shoulders immediately relaxed…It was Yura.

Yura was slowly walking towards him, all the while clapping, when finally Yura broke the silence, praising him, “Beautiful work…Felling that Dragon…I am most impressed.”

Yhorm tried to take a step forward towards the man, if for nothing then only to greet him, But he couldn’t, as the state of his body finally started to catch up with his mind and the adrenaline rush that had kept him going started to fade. First, he felt the pain that his body was in, and then he felt the exhaustion his body had accumulated which ultimately proved to be too much for him. Yhorm’s vision began to fade and whatever it was that Yhorm had wanted to say to Yura, never ended up leaving his mouth, his legs began to buckle and he began to fall face first on the lake floor, but just before his face could physically greet the ground, Yura caught him mid fall, slowly lowering his body to the ground.

“Easy there…Thought that this might happen…It’s not every day a single man slays a dragon on his own.”

Yhorm could swear that he saw a smile appear on the swordsman’s face, just before his vision finally faded to black.

----------------------------------

Warmth…Yhorm could feel warmth, not a burning one like a fire, but a gentle one…

Yhorm forced his eyes to open, and what he saw was the sight of a sleeping Boc cuddled by his side and a sleeping Melina, resting her face on his chest. The sight made Yhorm smile, and he slowly raised his newly re-bandaged hand to rub it down Boc’s side.

Not alone…You are not alone…

Loved…Needed…Wanted…

If not for you than for them…Endure…

Something within Yhorm screamed…I will… But before he could spend much more time enjoying his current predicament, Yura’s voice rang quietly through the church, “Awake now, are we?”

Yhorm’s head snapped to the side, just in time to see Yura leaning against a pillar next to him.

“I guess that’s a yes then.” Yura crossed his arms before continuing, “That girl…I heard from the little beast that her situation’s complex, and I didn’t press any further, but I want to tell you one thing, she cares for you deeply, damn near spent the entire night tending to your wounds, removing bloodied bandages, applying fresh ones and casting incantations…And that’s not to say that the beast or that merchant were any less…Point is that these people care for you, so don’t go throwing your life away again.”

Yhorm’s eyes turned back to the still-sleeping Melina and with the help of his un-bandaged hand, he gently moved the locks of hair in front of her face to the side. She looked absolutely stunning and just looking at her made Yhorm’s heart skip a beat, seemingly noticing his infatuated state Yura chimed in, “Thankfully, it seems that you do too.” causing Yhorm to stop in his tracks and turn to look towards the man with a flustered look on his face, prompting Yura to slightly chuckle.

“Also you should have this…You slayed it not me, so you have earned it.” Yura placed something covered with a bloodied cloth next to him before removing the cloth and allowing Yhorm to take a look at the stony organ, “This you see…is a dragon heart. A prized possession for many, and something that is used in Dragon Communion...If you should ever yearn for its strength then seek the decrepit church on the little island off the western coast, and devour this heart there…But I suppose that’s why you went hunting in the first place…isn’t it?”

Yhorm nodded, before finally speaking, his voice a lot more fragile than he remembered it being, “My path ahead is arduous…I’m no demi-god, so if I wish to surpass them then I need every bit of strength I can get, if not for myself then for them…”

Yura scoffed, “I expected nothing less…But remember all those who partake in Dragon Communion will one day shed their humanity…For good or for worse…It’s no surprise that Dragon Communion is ruinous…but I hardly suppose that will stop you…” Yura cracked his neck before continuing, “Very well…Get some rest now, I will accompany you in the morning.”

Yhorm nodded, and Yura soon left. Where he went Yhorm didn’t know but to him it didn’t really matter, as he was home…Finally at home, a place where he belonged, where he was loved…And right now he only wanted to enjoy that fact. Closing his eyes again, Yhorm held one of Melina’s hands in his, the other still patting Boc and allowed himself to sleep…

When his eyes opened next, it was morning, the ever radiant Erdtree was shining brightly in tandem with the Sun. Yhorm raised his hands to shield his eyes from the light and groggily got up, but when his vision finally returned to him the first thing that he saw was the figure of Boc all but jumping on him, giving him a tight embrace, which Yhorm wholly returned. This was then followed up by Melina too giving him an embrace with an expression full of relief and eyes beginning to grow misty, “Never scare me like that…Ok?”

A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he hesitantly returned her embrace and just as gently as her replied, “Ok. I promise…I won’t.”

“Good.” Melina stated and pulled away, giving Yhorm a slight smile, “Because if you do, I won’t forgive you, you hear?”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle before affirming, “Loud and clear…”

A slight, deliberate cough interrupted the trio as a familiar voice spoke up, “If your touching reunion is over. Then let’s get going now shall we?” It was Yura, standing next to him, still leaning against the same pillar that he was when they had spoken at night.

But before Yhorm could reply however, Boc spoke up in his stead, “Oi! What you gonna go if we don’t…Master Yhorm’s too kind for his own good, but I’m not trusting you.”

Boc eyed Yura, prompting the swordsman to chuckle, “Ooh, A feisty one aren’t ya.”

“At ease Boc. He’s a friend.” Yhorm slowly got up, Melina aiding him as he did, “And for one he’s right…Let’s get going…The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back on track.”

“Get what done?” Melina questioned to which Yhorm replied, “Dragon Communion…And for that we have to make our way back to Boc’s cave. I forgot to mention this but when I touched the dragon corpse in the church, I had seen a sort of vision, in which I saw a storm approach me and ten eyes peer at me out of it. I don’t know what I saw but one thing is sure, that it was some form of divinity.”

“Ten eyes…Five heads…The Dragonlord…” Melina declared almost subconsciously prompting Yhorm to question, “The Dragonlord? Who do you mean?”

“I-I don’t…remember.”

Yhorm visibly deflated at Melina’s response, and let a sigh escape him, prompting her to apologize, “I’m truly sorry Yhorm…But my memory appears to be hazy…I’m sorry that I can’t help.”

“It’s all right; I know it’s not your fault.”

Noticing the tension in the air Yura too chimed in, “I mean if the Dragonlord himself came to give you a visit then I doubt that it could be a negative, right?”

Yhorm let out a slight chuckle, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Good! Now for the tenth time Let’s get going shall we?”

“Indeed but not before I do a little something.” Yhorm walked toward the back of the church and sat down next to Kalé, “Don’t think you can slip to the side, because I’ll always see you.”

The merchant grumbled before Yhorm continued, “Thank you…From the bottom of my heart. You have helped me so much, so as a little thanks.” Yhorm pulled out a pouch containing a handsome amount of runes and handed them to Kalé’, “Take this.”

“What are y- woah…You know I can’t take this. I’m an honest businessman. I haven’t given you anything in return!”

“Oh, I think your time has been well worth the runes, besides not like I have any use for them.”

Yhorm handed the pouch to the merchant and quickly got up, not listening to any of his protests, instead walking towards Yura who pleaded in an annoyed voice, “Now can we get going?!”

“Yes…Yes we can.”

“Great.” Yura declared as the pair exited the church, prompting Yhorm to let out a chuckle.

*****

Chapter Text

“Soo…How come you know of this place?” Yhorm questioned as he continued walking with Yura through the tunnel. The pair had been walking for quite some time, having already dropped off Boc with Fern, and taken their leave. Even though, it had only been a few days since Yhorm had last visited, the tribe seemed to be doing better, if only a little.

Good…

“I should be the one asking that. It's not every day you come across someone who knows the location of the church of Dragon communion”

“Well…It’s a long story…”

“And I’ve got time to kill. Besides, I doubt that this tunnel will end anytime soon…”

Yhorm let out a deep sigh, as much as he liked Yura, the hunter could really be stubborn sometimes, but weirdly enough, that was also one of the things he liked about the guy, “Well, if you insist… When I awoke in the lands between, I came across a weirdly placed bush, which in fact, turned out to be not a bush, but rather a little guy named Boc, who told me that his belongings had been taken by some demi-human back at this cave, so off I went all the way here… And after helping out the demi-humans that lived here, I was told the church’s location as a reward. There! That satisfy you?”

Yura nodded, before declaring, “So that’s what happened, eh? Just a coincidence?”

Yhorm nodded back in acknowledgement, “More or less.” Granted Yhorm hadn’t told Yura what had happened entirely, but to him the small details such as killing a demi-human chief in cold blood probably didn’t matter. Right? Yeah…Probably…

“Now it’s your turn.”

Yura stopped in his tracks, turning to meet Yhorm looking at him with an expectant look, “No…”

A few moments passed as Yhorm processed the words before he finally managed to blurt out, “What?! But I told you!”

“Yeah…And?”

“And it’s common courtesy to return the favor! So tell me!”

Yura looked away from Yhorm, choosing to run away from his request, and instead steering the conversation in a new direction by pointing his finger forwards, “We don’t have the time…Look, there is the exit…”

Yhorm traced the path of Yura’s finger and fair enough he wasn’t lying, but Yhorm wasn’t going to let him escape without so much as a warning, “Don’t try to change the subject…I’ll get it out of you…one of these days…If not today than some other day, but I will…” Yhorm declared proudly, and stomped out of the tunnel, with Yura just behind him. Now standing in front of the church, Yhorm finally realized just how big the dragon corpse in the church was.

“Hey Yura…Why does this dragon have four wings? The other only had two…”

“That’s because this is no ordinary dragon, Tis an ancient dragon, the stuff of legends. The one you fought was a mere lesser drake…”

Yhorm’s jaw fell to the ground. THAT…was a lesser drake? It had taken him all his strength just to take it down, so just how much more powerful were these other dragons? A grin began to manifest on Yhorm’s face, as his body buzzed with excitement at just the prospect of fighting one, but before he could waste much more time fantasizing about ancient dragons Yura brought him back down to the Lands Between, “I hate to burst your bubble, but it has been years since an ancient dragon has been spotted in Limgrave and I doubt that even if you found one, you’d be anything more than a light snack…So, can we do what we came here for?”

Yhorm nodded in approval, shaking his internal thoughts away, prompting Yura to take out the dragon’s stony organ that Yhorm’s hard work had acquired and hand it to the giant, “Here…Once you step into the church, walk up to  the Dragon corpse and devour this heart…That should bless you with its primal power.”

Yhorm nodded, before questioning, “But aren’t you going to accompany me?”

Yura let out a little laugh before answering, “No…No, I’m not. Dragon Communion is a private thing, not a spectacle some kind, so it’s best I leave you alone…Besides it’s not like I have any desire to in the first place…”

Yhorm shrugged, “OK then, don’t say I didn’t ask…” before turning around and walking into the church, all the while unbeknownst to him, Yura smiled under his odd helm. Walking up to the dragon corpse, Yhorm could again feel the pressure bearing down his back, but this time time the pressure was oddly distant, as if observing him like a predator, but it didn’t matter to Yhorm. He had come here in search for power, to protect his friends, to protect her…

Yhorm raised the stony dragon heart to his face, the organ was a lot smaller than he had thought that the heart of a dragon would be, but by no means was the organ normal-sized. Yhorm opened his mouth, ready to take a bite, he had come this far already, and at this point he’d rather eat that thing twice than go back empty handed, so Yhorm threw caution in the wind and despite his best judgement chomped down on the organ, tearing away bits and pieces of its flesh, before ingesting them. More than once, Yhorm had to stop midway just so that he could prevent himself from puking out what flesh he had managed to eat. Dried blood from the organ was splattered everywhere as Yhorm stood there still chomping down on the organ. Gargling sounds accompanied every movement of his jaw as he almost mindlessly devoured the heart, not even bothering to breathe as he wished for the ordeal to be over.

Five or so minutes later, Yhorm had finished devouring the organ, prompting him to then and only then stop, and take a breath. Letting out a few good gasps, Yhorm tried to stabilize his breathing, when finally his tongue registered the organ’s taste, causing the giant to retch and let out a twisted laugh mixed with a little bit of disgust.

Yhorm spent the next few minutes allowing his body to adjust to his recent lunch, just thinking about it made Yhorm want to puke all over again, but something was off… Yhorm had done exactly as Yura had told him, but he didn’t feel any different…Had he done something wrong? No, he couldn’t have.

Yhorm could feel his stomach being tied into a knot as the feeling of existential dread began to overtake his body, but before he could begin screaming his lungs out, a sharp pain began to wrack his stomach, the intensity of it making Yhorm clutch his abdomen with both of his hands. Yhorm fell to the ground and began to curl in on himself, his vision already blurring and before he could do much, Yhorm began to faint form the pain.

Once he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t where he thought he would be, instead of on the formless plain that Yhorm had become so accustomed to, he was standing on solid air, with ancient ruins scattered all around him, forming a particular pattern, as if urging him forward in a particular direction, and Yhorm wasn’t in the mood to argue with them, instead choosing to follow their directions. Yhorm spent the next few minutes just silently walking, observing the colossal ruins that were scattered all around him, when finally Yhorm arrived at his destination. A storm…Just like the one he had encountered the first time, with the only difference being that this one seemed a lot…weaker. Perhaps weaker wasn’t the right word as maybe the winds of this storm weren’t weaker just a lot gentler, or maybe they were a mixture of both…

Yhorm warily approached the storm, his hands held up defensively, but as soon as he approached, five pairs of eyes appeared, staring down Yhorm once again. But something was off, three of the five pairs were fuzzy, not clear, as if they were just an illusion or perhaps a memory of the past but the other two were clear and strong, and once again Yhorm could feel that he was in the presence of a Lord. But before he could do anything rash, the storm began to speak

“ Kasva vahvaksi Empyrean, lohikäärmeiden kohtalo on sinun käsissäsi.”

Yhorm still couldn’t understand what the storm was saying, but it was almost as if the meaning was flowing directly into his mind, not that it helped him much anyway as it just gave rise to more questions than answers. Yhorm head began to hurt as he tried to make sense of what was happening, but before he could question the entity in the storm, the winds around him began to pick up.

“Wait…wait.wait! I have questions! I can’t go back yet!”

Yhorm yelled into the wind, but the storm didn’t hear any of his pleas, or perhaps it did and just didn’t care or maybe it just couldn’t do anything, but whatever it was didn’t matter, as not soon after Yhorm was back in the church, lying on his back, his head facing the sky. Yhorm lazily got up, his body protesting at his every movement, still stiff and wounded from his battle with Agheel, but he could feel that something was different.

Now fully standing up, Yhorm looked down at his body, using his arms to feel his trained muscles, next he fully flexed his arms, opening and closing his palms. Strange… He didn’t look any different, and as far as he could tell it didn’t look like he had gotten any stronger either…

Oh no…He had done something wrong! Hadn’t he?

Yhorm began to just slightly hyperventilate as he just thought about the possibility. No! There’s no way…He had done everything as Yura had told him…Right?

Still shaking Yhorm made his way out of the church, and spotted Yura leaning against the church wall with his hands crossed and helm tipped low. Yhorm thought that the hunter might be sleeping at first but his suspicion would soon turn out to be incorrect as Yura upon finally spotting Yhorm waved him over and questioned, “Then I suppose that it’s done?”

Yhorm nodded, prompting Yura to continue, “Good then…Let’s get going, shall we? After all, no reason to stick here longer than necessary.”

“Uhh, that’s quite all right Yura, but I’m afraid that I might have done something wrong…I ate the heart as you said, but it doesn’t seem to have done anything.”

Yura raised a hand to his chin, thinking for a few long moments before finally speaking, “I doubt that you did anything wrong, because frankly there wasn’t much you could do wrong even if you tried…Hmm…Try closing your left palm. You won’t find it unless you look for it, but there should be something there.”

Yhorm was skeptical of what Yura was telling him to do, but frankly what choice did he have, it wasn’t like he had any better of an idea and much to his own surprise, when Yhorm closed his left palm there was something there, but before he could do or say anything, a dragon arm appeared out of nowhere, taking the place of his arm.

“Whaaat. Is. THIS?!”

Yura let out a chuckle before answering, “This, my friend is your very first dragon incantation, ‘Dragonclaw’ I believe it’s called.”

“Uhh, that’s all quite ok, but can you now tell me how to umm I don’t know, turn it off!”

“Hmm…Try swinging your arm around.”

“Like this…” Yhorm tried to move his dragon arm, which much to his surprise moved exactly like his normal arm did, although to be fair it was much larger, “I don’t see how this is helping though…”

The absurd sight of a tiny Yhorm swinging around a dragon arm twice the size of his body made Yura burst out in full blown laughter as he reaffirmed, “It isn’t meant to.”

“What do you mean?! I need you to help me here!”

“Fine. Fine…Try focusing on your left palm again, that should undo the incantation.”

Following his advice, Yhorm closed his left palm again, and as soon as he did, the dragon arm began to dissipate, prompting Yhorm to let out a sigh of relief.

“Also that something you feel when you close your palm…It’s a seal, the Dragon Communion Seal to be exact…But anyway…Let’s get going now shall we? I bet Boc is probably waiting for us.”

“That he probably is.” Yhorm declared all the while rolling his arm, already walking towards the tunnel back to the mainland, with Yura just behind him. The pair spent the next five or so minutes, picking up Boc form the demi-human chief, saying their goodbyes to the other demi-humans and exiting the cave, before once again, they were off, galloping through the Lands Between.

Thirty or so minutes later, they were back at Kalé’s church, the merchant walking outside to greet them as they arrived, signaling them to hurry on inside. Boc waved enthusiastically as Torrent trotted closer, causing Yhorm to smile at the little beasts antics. Yhorm got off Torrent, with Yura not soon after and gave the beast a few pats and scratches as a reward, before following Kalé’s lead and making his way into the church. As soon as Yhorm set one foot inside the church, he could immediately smell the delicious aroma of smoked fish, as Kalé quickly gestured him to sit down around his campfire, quickly bringing out a tray stacked with all kinds of smoked fish.

“Woah. What’s with the fish?”

“Oh, It’s nothing really…Just a little celebration, for your successful dragon hunt that is…”

A smile began to appear on Yhorm face and a warm, fuzzy feeling began to nestle its way into Yhorm’s heart at his friend’s thoughtfulness. Yhorm’s eyes began to grow misty as he managed to choke out, “You didn’t have to…”

“You’re right…I didn’t have to…But I wanted to…So if you’re not going to eat up, then me and Boc will.”

The little beast’s ears perked up at the merchant’s comment as he questioned, “We will?”

Yura let out a little laugh as he stood behind Yhorm, slowly walking up to the giant and putting one of his hands on the giants shoulder, “Come on… Let’s sit down now…It doesn’t hurt to enjoy yourself every once in a while…”

Yhorm nodded, quickly sitting down and taking a fish from the merchant’s tray, with Yura doing the same not soon after. Yura watched as Yhorm took a bite, tears of happiness welling in his eyes, causing Yura to smile, “So…Where are you headed next?”

Yhorm took another bite of his fish, using his arm to wipe away his tears, before answering, “ East… To the giant woods…And after that probably to Stormveil.”

Yura nodded, prompting Yhorm to ask, “And what about you?”

“Gonna hang about in Limgrave for a little longer, the bloody fingers still seem to be active here…”

“Then I guess this is where our path splits.”

“So it seems…”

The pair sat in silence for the next few moments, neither wishing to be the first to utter a word, until suddenly Boc spoke up, “If we’re going to the Mistwoods, then I can most certainly guide you there…I’ve been a few times…with my mum you see…s-so I know how to get around.”

A soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as Boc’s little offer provided him with the distraction that he so wanted. Yhorm raised his hand to rub it down Boc’s back, choosing to thank the beast instead of worrying about the future, “Well of course Boc…I’d be most thankful…”

The little beast looked downwards with a bashful gaze as he answered, “It’s nothing much Master Yhorm…It’s the least I could do…”

“But thank you regardless…”

The group sat around the campfire, exchanging stories, laughs and memories, for a good bit of the day, almost until it was late afternoon, when finally both Yhorm and Yura began to take their leave. Standing in front of each other outside the church, the pair simply stared at each other before finally Yhorm spoke, “So then I guess…This is goodbye…”

Yura nodded, “I guess it is...But let’s meet again if fate permits…”

Yhorm smiled, before agreeing, “ Of course…But for now…Farewell…” and turned around, blowing Torrent’s whistle and quickly getting himself and Boc on the beast. Thanking Kalé, Yhorm took a deep breath before giving Torrent’s reigns a shake, and began to gallop across the landscape.

Yura too had turned around and began his journey to wherever his hunt for the bloody fingers would lead him and unbeknownst to everyone a wide smile was plastered on the hunter’s face as he muttered under his odd helm, “Dragon eyes, eh…Quite the achievement for only eating a single heart…He truly is like you isn’t he?”

-----------------------------------------------------------

“Those are the Mistwoods then?” Yhorm questioned.

“Yep. Oh, and look there’s the Minor Erdtree.” Boc answered.

“That. Is a Minor Erdtree.” Yhorm pointed towards the giant golden lamp stick in the background to which Boc nonchalantly replied, “Yep…The real thing is more than twice the size…Supposedly you can find all sorts of goodies at its foot”

Yhorm let out a defeated sigh. He could see that the actual Erdtree was pretty large, but oh no, no, no…This was just stupid large. How does it even stay upright? From what he could tell the thing was slightly tilted. And there was a city at it foot! Absolute madness… Even Lordran didn’t have anything as remotely as large as this and not to say that Loradran was all normal either. Honestly! He had the worst luck in getting involved with these things.

“Well, let’s go and have a look shall we?”

“Really Master Yhorm!”

Yhorm chuckled at the little beast’s enthusiasm before continuing, “Yes…really. C’mon now let’s get going…”

The pair remounted Torrent and began riding down the hill, kindling a piece or two of Grace on the way as well when suddenly, a loud yet still regal call for help stopped them in their tracks

“Woah…You hear that Boc?” Yhorm asked

“Yes Master Yhorm…I think it’s coming from up those ruins, there…” The little beast replied, before pointing off in the direction of some distant ruins.

“Amazing…You can see that far!”

“It’s nothing really, just a part of my demi-human instincts, but anyway, I think that they may be in trouble! So let’s get going!”

“Aye aye captain…” Yhorm declared playfully before giving Torrent’s reigns a shake. About five or so minutes later the pair had almost reached the man, his shouting becoming clearer as they approached, “Hello! Is anybody there? Someone who might be interested in rescuing the great Kenneth Haight? Servant to the true Order, and celebrated repudiator of the false!” As they reached closer, the man followed up his speech with a much quieter, “O Erdtree! Grant me succor!” proving to Yhorm that the man had been up there for quite some time.

Now within arm’s length of the man Yhorm called out, “Hey! Everything all right?”

To which the man enthusiastically replied, “Ah, you've come to lend me your aid, have you?”

“Depends entirely on what you’re going to tell me next.” Yhorm replied in a neutral tone, getting off Torrent as the beast trotted closer, with Boc just behind him.

Upon seeing the giant walk up to him, the man visibly deflated, probably intimidated by the giant’s size but before long the man jumped back up with double the enthusiasm upon spotting Boc, “ My golly! Is that a demi-human? I didn’t think such progress had been made in the ranks of you tarnished! But, least to say I am quite happy! My good sir, you fill me with immense pride!”

Yhorm didn’t fully understand what the deal was with the man, but if the man’s approval of Boc was any of an indicator, then he and Yhorm were going to get along fine, “I am flattered! But please, can you tell me what is it that you need help with?”

“Hm? Oh! Yes! Young Tarnished, I would have a boon of you!” The man raised his hand to his chest before continuing, “I want you to take back my fort. It lies to the south, beyond Mistwood. A knight commander from Stormveil took it. A fool, and plumb mad to boot! Simply obsessed with blood!”

Yhorm ears perked up at the comment as he slowly repeated, “Blood?”

“Indeed! The fool arrived from Godrick’s castle a mere week or two ago, and as soon as he had arrived, I knew something was horribly wrong with the man.”

Yhorm nodded, this had just gotten serious before answering, “Right! I’ll see what I can do…”

The man let out a sigh of relief, “Then I thank you…But fear not! The celebrations will be lavish indeed, upon my fort’s retrieval!”

Yhorm chuckled a little at the man’s boisterousness as he continued to ramble, before the giant decided to ask, “Well, do you have any place to stay in the meantime?”

The man stopped in his tracks not uttering a word, his usual enthusiasm replaced with a calm panic, that Yhorm could just barely sense, “O-of course! I-I’m the rightful heir of Limgrave! I-I have plenty of places to stay-”

“Do you now?” Yhorm crossed his arms and began tapping his foot on the ground.

The man Kenneth Haight as he was called averted his gaze from the demi-human and giant pair, mumbling under his breath before finally, he let out a defeated sigh and nodded a negative.

Yhorm let out a disappointed sigh, before turning around to face Torrent, giving the pony a little pat on the back and declaring, “Right…Can you carry three again for some time?” earning a neigh and foot stomp from the pony.

“Thank you…I’ll be sure to treat you to some berries later.” Turning back around, Yhorm continued speaking, “Right! Let’s get going! And try not to fall…”

“Pardon?”

“You know what I said…”

*****

Chapter Text

“Are you sure it was a good idea to leave him there master Yhorm? What if he gets attacked?” Boc questioned as the pair approached the mouth of the woods.

“Oh, please. I know what I’m doing…Most of the time.” Yhorm answered, trying to sooth the little beast’s nerves. The latter half of his statement being noticeably quieter than the rest, only making Boc’s worries grow, before continuing, “I doubt that the commander will just hand over the fort if we politely ask, so things will most definitely get hairy, and having an untrained noble in the middle of it is just going to be a hassle.”

Boc let out a slight groan of discontentment, making his disapproval quite evident, and honestly…Yhorm felt like a proud dad. It had only been a few days since he had picked up Boc, but even in such a short time the little bundle of joy had grown so much, from the nervous mess he was when they had first met, to the confident companion that he had now become, not afraid to show his emotions. A soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face, as he lowered one of his hands to ruffle the seamster’s fur.

“Oi! What was that for?”

“To calm you down. Kenneth will be alright, he said it so himself.”

Boc let out a sigh before affirming, “I hope so…”

“Besides! We can’t have him going through the Mistwoods now, can we? You know the woods with the giant man-eating bears, the ones you told me about.”

Boc let out a deeper groan; this one more pronounced than the last, before answering, “Yes…I remember. Can we get going now?”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before answering, “Of course we can.”

Now practically in front of the woods, Torrent’s gallop slowed to a trot, the pony letting out a neigh and snickering uncomfortably, as if seemingly sensing the danger. Upon seeing Torrent’s hesitation, Yhorm bent down, patting the pony’s neck all the while encouraging, “It’s all right. We’ll be okay.”

Torrent let out another neigh, this one more confident than the last before finally, trotting further into the woods. Slowly, the group’s figure vanished into the forest, leaving behind not a trace, of them entering in the first place.

“Woah, I guess this is why they call this the Mistwoods then, huh? The fog’s so thick, I can barely see more than a few meters ahead.”

Boc nodded in affirmation before adding, “This is why I had wanted you to not come here at all! You’re still hurt, have plenty of broken bones, wounds that are just itching to reopen, and not enough selfishness to put yourself first!”

Yhorm let out a gasp, looking at Boc as if he had just been insulted, “Mind you! I don’t have broken bones, it’s only the ribs. I’m not that fragile.” Yhorm declared with a just tad bit too much enthusiasm.

“THAT is what you wanted to correct?! Honestly, what is wro-” A loud growl cut through the pair’s conversation, promptly shutting up Boc, not allowing whatever it was that he was about to say leave his mouth.

“What. Was. That.” Yhorm questioned, to which Boc shakily replied, “A Runebear, and one that seems to be in a really bad mood. Let’s hope we don’t cross paths with one.”

Yhorm shuddered, all the while agreeing with Boc before quickly giving Torrent’s reign’s a shake, prompting the pony to move just a little bit faster. However, it would seem that luck was not on their side, as not even two minutes later, Yhorm stumbled upon the source of growling, which much to his shock wasn’t even growling. It was just snoring, albeit very loud snoring. Yhorm cursed under his breath, because much to his dismay this particular Runebear was curled around the map obelisk, which was the main reason Yhorm had even decided to come to the woods in the first place.

“All right. No turning back now.” Slowly, Yhorm got off Torrent, allowing the pony to trot out of existence, and began to make his way towards the map obelisk as quietly as possible, with Boc just behind. Carefully, Yhorm stepped over the bear’s paws, trying his best to not make a sound. Now, standing in front of the obelisk, Yhorm pulled out his parchment and began to take a rubbing of area which surprisingly, fit quite neatly with his preexisting one, all the while praying to whatever gods that existed, that the bear didn’t wake up.

Yhorm spent the next five or so agonizing minutes standing there, meticulously etching each detail into his own map. For once, Yhorm was thankful that Eleonora had made him go through royal training, because if he didn’t know how to sketch, draw or paint. He would be in a lot of trouble right now. Finally completing his copy, Yhorm looked down at the parchment and realized that this obelisk was pointing towards three further directions, one to the east, another to the south and a last one towards the north east. Yhorm raised his eyebrows in surprise, guess the Lands Between were larger than he thought, huh. Oh, if only he knew…

But that didn’t matter, what did though was getting out in one piece, so Yhorm began retracing his steps and only when had he created some space between him and the bear did Yhorm allow himself to let out a sigh of relief. Big mistake…because unbeknownst to him, he had just stepped on a branch, one which produced a sound far too loud for its size. Yhorm and Boc froze, neither moving; only slowly turning around to see a very much awake bear staring them down.

“Don’t move…” Yhorm whispered to Boc and the beast obliged, the pair practically turning into statues. The bear stared at them for a few moments, before letting out a massive roar, slathering them with saliva. Boc almost fainted, and Yhorm with as much composure as could muster declared, “Okay, Time to move…”

Yhorm hastily grabbed Boc and threw himself backwards, just in time so that instead of them, the bear ended up clawing the dirt where they had been standing. Quickly getting back up, Yhorm pulled out Torrent’s whistle giving it a blow, before indignantly yelping, “Torrent, could really use you right now buddy!”

As soon as the words escaped Yhorm’s mouth, the steed galloped into existence beneath him, picking him up and hightailing it in the opposite direction of the bear. If you had asked Yhorm what happened in the next five or so minutes he couldn’t tell you, just that there was a lot of running and quite a peculiar howl somewhere in between, but what he could tell you was that when he stopped next to take a breather, he caught the glimpse of a campfire, out of the corner of his eye. His adrenaline finally calming down, Yhorm got off Torrent and put Boc down who was still in his hands, before finally making his way towards the campfire.

As he walked closer, Yhorm spotted a man sitting next to the fire, one of Kalé’s kin, but something was off, the man seemed horribly malnourished, and his mule seemed sickly. Yhorm lengthened his stride, approaching the man, who upon spotting him called out in a raspy, dehydrated voice, “Aah, welcome…dear customer…yes, right this way…right this way…”

A frown appeared on Yhorm’s face as he knelt down next to the man, who continued, “Welcome, valued customer…to our wandering emporium…please, buy something…anything. I'm hungry… I've been hungry so long… please…”

“I plan to…Here…” Yhorm pulled out his water skin and handed it to the merchant, “Take some sips, you need them.”

“Ah…Thank you, thank you so very much…You’re too kind.”

Yhorm nodded, “so I’ve been told.” Before pulling out some of the smoked fish that Kalé had given him, “Here…”

“Again…I thank you, a-ah mister…”

“Yhorm. Just Yhorm”

“You have my thanks Yhorm, bu-but why? Why would you help…one such as I?”

Yhorm shook his head, “Why wouldn’t I? Besides I made a promise to a certain Kalé, that I’d treat you folks right.”

“That Kalé? So…the runt’s still alive then, is he? I’m glad…But…I have to repay you.”

Yhorm smiled, all the while, coaxing the merchant to eat and take sips of water, “Then how about you tell me, where the exit of the forest is? I entered from the north and right now, am rather lost.”

“Really? Is that all?” Yhorm nodded to which the merchant replied, his eyes already growing misty, “Yo-you’re truly too kind Yhorm…fine then…south, straight south from here.”

Yhorm thanked the merchant and got up, preparing to leave, but not before making sure that the merchant had enough to eat. Yhorm gave the man more of his fish and filled the merchant’s canteen with some water, before turning around and getting atop Torrent who had chosen not to disappear this time. As Yhorm mounted his steed, the merchant quietly added, “Stay safe…And come back whenever you need something, you’ll always be welcome here.”

Yhorm smiled and gave the merchant a nod as acknowledgement, before once again; he was back galloping across the landscape. It took Yhorm ten minutes to exit the woods and another twenty to reach the fort. By the time Yhorm had arrived, it was well into the afternoon, and he was keenly aware that he had to do this quick, lest he be left wandering the night without so much as light source. Hopping off Torrent, Boc and Yhorm crouched behind a nearby bush.

“What do you see Boc?”

“Uh, some crossbowmen on the roof, a dozen swordsmen and ooh, a mad pumpkin head.”

“Care to elaborate what a ‘mad pumpkin head’ is?”

“Former gladiators gone mad forced to wear pumpkin shaped helmets to keep them calm. Easily agitated, and unable to distinguish friend from foe…and that I believe makes them the perfect ticket into the castle.”

Yhorm listened to Boc thoughtfully before genuinely asking, “Hmm. How come you know this stuff Boc?”

“Well, I had always wanted to be an adventurer when I was young you see, so I read up on whatever I could find. That dream was quickly shattered though…when I stopped growing, but I’m glad to know it didn’t go to waste.”

There was something somber in Boc’s comment that just rubbed Yhorm the wrong way, so he gently elbowed the beast in the side, before declaring, “It’s never too late to chase your dreams Boc. Come now, let’s get closer.”

Getting closer to the fort, Yhorm too could see the mad pumpkin head and immediately he knew what to do. Picking up a fairly large rock, Yhorm threw it at the warrior’s helmet upon Boc’s instructions, hitting the helmet square where the temple of the warrior would have been. A loud rattling sound began to ring out from the warrior’s helmet, startling the gladiator into picking up his ugly flail and wildly swinging it about, knocking out a few soldiers within the close vicinity. Within a minute or two, almost the entire fort was out in the yard, trying to calm the behemoth down. Unbeknownst to everyone, Yhorm had taken this time to slip in.

But as soon as Yhorm had entered the fort, his blood began to boil, as he looked at the scattered bodies of dead demi-humans scattered all about the courtyard. The smell of blood and death was wafting through the air, its odor so pungent that even Yhorm’s untrained nose could pick up the smell. It was a massacre. But oh, it was only going to get worse. Boc pulled at Yhorm’s fingers, and once the giant finally looked down, the beast pointed forwards towards a large mass slumped in the corner, all the while having a terrified look plastered all over his face, “Uh, Master Yhorm, that’s a queen…”

That was the last straw. As far as Yhorm was concerned, someone was going to have his breathing privileges taken, preferably the one that was responsible for this. Yhorm couldn’t help his face twisting into a scowl, as he unsheathed his machete and halberd, “Come Boc, We’re going hunting. Hunting for scum.”

Yhorm stepped back outside, and luckily, the soldiers were still busy trying to corral the behemoth. Providing him with all the time he needed, to clean up. It was swift, as he jumped from one soldier to the next, cleaving through four, impaling three with his halberd, and when both weapons became bloody and dull, using his dragon arm to crush another two. He remembered more than one soldier begging for mercy, and mercy he had given, a swift death, for that was all they deserved. Bathed in blood from head to toe, Yhorm let out a few ragged breaths, as Boc who had watched this all unfold from behind some bushes walked up to him and called out, “Master Yhorm?”

“I’m sorry Boc…If…If I had gotten here earlier then maybe, maybe this could have been prevented. But I was too late. I’m always too late.” Yhorm managed to choke out as he tried his best make sure that the sadness, anger and frustration he was feeling didn’t reach his face. Yhorm thought that Boc might be disappointed in him, or even resent him, but what he didn’t expect was the beast to hug his legs from behind, for that was as high as he could reach, “Thank you…Master Yhorm. I’m so happy that you care so much about us…about me. Come now, we have a queen to avenge.”

The memory of him resting in the church flashed through Yhorm’s mind and that same word came up again…Endure…If not for you then for them…Yhorm turned around, ruffling Boc’s hair with one hand and pulling out his halberd from a corpse with the other, “You’re right. Let’s go…”

Yhorm began to make his way up the fort once again, picking up his machete on the way and encountering minimal resistance while doing so. Once at the top, Yhorm finally came face to face with his original target. A knight wearing ornate armour and wielding a sword and shield, slowly walking towards him. Yhorm turned towards Boc, asking him to watch from the side before returning his attention to the man.

“So…You’re the one who felled Nejirus, huh?”

“And what if I am?”  Yhorm questioned as they both circled each other.

“Then I’m going to enjoy this.” That was all the warning that Yhorm got before the man lunged at him, his sword pointed towards the giant. Yhorm easily side-stepped the man and unsheathed his machete, calmly walking towards him and swinging in a wide arc. The man just barely managed to raise his shield in time and tried to parry the blow, but the force of Yhorm’s swing proved to be too much, embedding his machete into the shield. The man tried to swing his sword at Yhorm, which the giant easily deflected using the pole of his halberd. Yhorm pulled hard on his machete, yanking away the man’s shield with it as well. Having lost his shield, and being off-balance, the man could do nothing, as Yhorm brought down his halberd, embedding it deep in to the man’s shoulder, earning an indignant scream of pain from the bloody finger and causing the knight to collapse onto his knees. Wrenching his halberd loose, Yhorm raised it again, ready to bring it down, but before he did, he had to ask, “Who is it you serve? And why do you chase bloodshed?”

The man let out a twisted laugh that quickly transformed into coughing as he answered, “Like hell I’d tell you! But know this, they’ll keep coming and they will find you. And when they do, they’ll flay you and that mutt of yours alive!”

Speaking ill of him, that would have been bearable, but to bring Boc in to this, that was just crossing the line, “I see. Then I wonder how many of you I’ll have to kill before you run out of men.”

“Piss off!”

Yhorm was about to bring his halberd down, when from out of the corner of his eye, he caught the faint glimpse of arcane glowing at the edges of the man’s sword. Shit! He had miscalculated! Before Yhorm could do anything, a blood art sprang forth into existence, slicing straight through his chainmail, and gouging a deep slash across his chest, hurtling him back onto the ground.

“Master Yhorm!” Boc yelled out, but before he could do anything, Yhorm got up clutching his chest with one hand, and holding his halberd with the other, “Stay back! I’m fine.” He was actually very much not fine. Whatever blood art the man had used, was making his wound bleed unaturally. He was now on borrowed time and if he wanted to have any chance of surviving then he had to end this quick. Furthermore, he was on the edge of the second floor, any slight push would make him fall to death. Any slight push would make him fall to his death…The thought repeated in his mind, as the realization dawned on him.

Yhorm pointed his halberd towards the man, and taunted the bloody finger to attack him head on if he was truly a man. Much to Yhorm’s delight, the bloody finger ended up taking the bait and lunged at Yhorm. As the sword approached Yhorm, He sidestepped it at just the last second, and upon realizing what Yhorm was trying to do, the knight tried to slow himself down, being able to do just enough for him to teeter off the edge but not fall. Yhorm could hear the man audibly sigh, but his relief would be short-lived as not soon after he turned around to see a grinning Yhorm standing there, slowly nodding.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Turns out, Yhorm would, as a classic Lordran kick was all it took to send the man falling to his death.

“Say hello to Nejirus for me bastard!”

It was only after the audible thud did Yhorm’s shoulder relax, as Boc called out to him, “Master Yhorm! Look there!”

Yhorm turned around to see Boc pointing off in the distance, and only when he walked closer did he realize what it was.

“Woah…That’s a whole new continent…”

“That one’s the weeping peninsula if I remember correctly. I honestly don’t know much of it. My expertise is primarily Liurnia and Limgrave.”

“Well we’ll just have to see, when we get there, won’t we?”

Boc turned around letting out a gasp, and started jumping up and down excitedly, “We’re going to the Weeping peninsula?!”

Yhorm let out a chuckle and was about to reply, when suddenly his legs felt weak. Guess the blood loss was finally catching up to him. Yhorm fell straight down on his back, his skin deathly pale and breathing shallow as his vision began to fade, “Sorry Boc, I’ll be taking a nap.”

The last thing Yhorm saw was Melina appearing in his vision with a worried look on her face and Boc looking for helpful things nearby, before he finally lost consciousness. Unbeknownst to him, the little beast in his search for medicine had also stashed the half of a certain medallion in one of his satchels.

----------------------------------------------

Yhorm opened his eyes groggily, raising one of his hands to rub them, as his vision finally returned to him. Letting out a yawn, Yhorm sat up, and that was when he realized that it was in fact morning. Last he remembered, it was almost dusk, so he must have slept for more than half a day. Looking around himself, the first thing Yhorm saw was the sight of a worried Melina, who had waited for Yhorm to spot her, before tackling the giant to the ground in a tight hug.

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before greeting the girl, “Ow, ow. Good morning to you as well Melina.”

The girl ignored the greeting, opting to scold Yhorm instead, her voice mixed with equal parts worry and relief, “Please, please, please! Worry more about yourself! I thought I had lost you there!”

Yhorm unsure of how to reply just returned her embrace in full before apologizing, “I’m sorry...It’s all I can say.”

“Then say it again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Again.”

“I’m sorry.”

This continued for the next five or so minutes, as both of them just laid there, Melina’s teary face buried in the nook of Yhorm’s neck. And honestly, he didn’t mind. In fact if anything, it just reminded Yhorm how much he wanted her, how much he craved her touch, how much he loved her breath against his skin. But, as soon as his heart would begin to wander places, his mind would pull him reeling back, reminding him just how unlovable he was. Why would she fall for someone like him in the first place, the broken man that he was?

Slowly peeling herself away, Melina gave Yhorm a soft smile, and for a moment their gazes locked with each other. Yhorm could swear that he saw something there, a spark almost, just before he realized that Melina was currently sitting atop him, “Ah, Melina…would you mind getting off me?”

Oh how he wished that she refused…

A tell-tale blush appeared on Melina’s face as she quickly nodded and got off.

“Well…I guess I ought to be more careful in the future as well then don’t I?”

“Oh, speaking of that, here…” Melina handed some flasks to Yhorm, which he gladly accepted, “‘Crimson tear flasks’ containing Erdtree sap, possessing great healing abilities. But they shorten your lifespan, using the drinker’s life force to restore one’s body. Immensely powerful, but dangerous…And that’s why…” Melina took the flasks out of Yhorm’s hand, “I can’t trust you not to burn your life away. I’ll give them to you when you need them, and only then.”

Yhorm recognized the flasks as the same one’s which Nejirus had used, and it reminded him much of the Estus flasks of his home, Lordran. He remembered how Seigward didn’t like them personally, preferring his very own seigbrau over the flasks. A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he recalled his memories. He wondered how seigward was doing right about now. Probably still fooling around if he had to bet. Turning his attention back to Melina Yhorm declared, “Okay fine, I yield. You may keep the flasks.

Instantly Melina’s face relaxed as she slowly got up, gave a curt nod and disappeared, which Yhorm returned in full. Not long after Boc also woke up, and Yhorm had to deal with a healthy amount of scolding and sobbing from him as well. But, it wasn’t long before Yhorm had gotten something in his stomach and they were back on the move. This time back towards Kenneth.

But not before looking at the bloody finger’s corpse, who much to Yhorm’s horror had used his own blood to spell out a message on the ground. A name, as Boc had told him, one that read…

Mohg…

*****

Chapter Text

“Master Yhorm?”

“Hm? Something on your mind?” The pair were already well into their journey back to the church where they had left Kenneth, their return being much more swift than they had anticipated, probably because by now, Yhorm had gotten a pretty good idea of the Mistwoods, so it wasn’t nearly as hard as it was the first time. On their way back, the pair had also stopped by the Minor Erdtree’s foot, where Boc had collected all manner of flowers, herbs and surprisingly fruits, offering a lengthy explanation of each.

“I had meant to ask this earlier, but Master Yhorm…are you by any chance…”

“Go on.”

“…Illiterate?”

The comment struck Yhorm like an arrow and he visibly deflated. Yhorm could swear that he saw Torrent laughing at him, but maybe that was just his imagination.

“What! Of course not! I can read and write plenty well. Just not this script!”

Boc let out a little giggle, before asking, “You do know that is what it means to be illiterate right?”

Yhorm let out a gasp, “Oh, The audacity! Hey! Quit laughing! This is not funny!” but honestly, Boc wasn’t wrong, with so much of the spoken tongue being practically the same, Yhorm had thought that the written script would have also been similar, but oh that was most definitely not the case, just thinking about the looping letters made Yhorm’s head spin.

“Well then maybe, I could teach you sometime? How about that?”

Yhorm’s eyes lit up at the offer as he quickly nodded, “Please do! But for now, let’s complete the task at hand first.”

As Yhorm approached the church, he immediately spotted Kenneth pacing back and forth in front of the entrance of the run-down building, who upon spotting him, hastily waved him over.

“Righteous Tarnished!” Kenneth greeted, before continuing, “You’re back! Then I suppose you bring good news?”

“Well…” Yhorm got off Torrent, also helping Boc to dismount before continuing, “The knight commander is dead, along with most if not all of his compatriots.”

“Excellent! Just wonderful! The fort is reclaimed, and the knight’s dead to boot! Well done my friend! I knew I was right to trust you!” Kenneth let out a hearty laugh before continuing, “Right then. I’ve much to do. First I’ll have to reestablish contact with the demi-humans!”

The smile on Yhorm’s face instantly dropped, and Boc shifted uncomfortably on his feet, prompting the noble to question, “What’s with that look? You don’t believe me?”

Yhorm looked down at the ground, as Boc hesitantly began, “Sir Haight, You wouldn’t happen to have a demi-human queen at your fort would you?”

“Hm? Marissa, what about her?”

Boc let out a whimper, unsure of how to break the news. Yhorm could see Kenneth’s smile waver a bit, as the realization began to dawn on him, before finally Yhorm offered, “I’m sorry for your loss…”

Kenneth almost immediately stumbled backwards, as if he had been struck, before finally he began to speak, his voice mixed with equal amounts of rage and grief, “Ho-how could they?! Those. Those absolute scoundrels!”

At this point Kenneth all but broke down into tears, his soft sobs drowning out any other sound near them.

“She was already dead when we arrived. There was nothing we could do…”

“I-I know. The fault lies with me…I should have done something! Anything! But instead, I sat here twiddling my thumbs. And look where that has gotten me? I have to go back! The tribe must be tended to, for they must be experiencing the worst of this loss.”

Yhorm was about to say something but before even a single word could leave his mouth, Boc chimed in, “If I may Sir Haight, I don’t believe it to be wise to visit the tribe right now, while losing a queen maybe devastating, it is not detrimental, and I believe that by now a chief will most definitely have been chosen.”

The man sniffled a bit, before affirming, “No, no, Boc is right. I’ve lost their trust and I doubt that they will be as welcoming as the first time. So, I…I’m sorry, but as things stand, I can’t properly thank you.”

Yhorm’s eyes softened, he was right about Kenneth, the man was honest, trustworthy and an absolute delight to be around, “No need…Think nothing of it.”

“But oh there is! Who knows what those sorry fools would have done if you hadn’t stopped them. That is a deed worth appraise and I have just the reward in mind, but it will have to wait till a new lord of Limgrave is found.”

Yhorm raised his eyebrows in surprise before questioning, “Pardon?”

“It is with great sadness that I must say this, but I…believe myself to be unfit, and it would be quite a foul fate, to leave this land without a ruler…Thus one must be found, with haste. And not that awful Godrick! But a true and stalwart ruler, of proper lineage to reign over Limgrave.”

Yhorm raised an eyebrow at Kenneth’s comment, whenever he had spoken with someone they had almost always spoken poorly of Godrick and he didn’t have the slightest clue as to why, “Forgive me Kenneth, but I’m not from these lands, so I’m not quite aware what Godrick has done to get this reputation.”

A smirk appeared on Kenneth’s face, “You might want to sit down for this one…”

Five or so minutes later, Yhorm was sure that he too hated the man and that if he had ever met him, demi-god or not, Yhorm would have gutted the ‘big girl’s blouse’ as Kenneth had called him. Somewhere in between Kenneth’s spiel, the topic of the Weeping peninsula had also arisen, and how that was Yhorm’s next destination. Surprisingly, it was Kenneth who had offered to accompany them, justifying how it would help him ease his mind, to which the pair had readily obliged.

So once again, the pair was off, galloping across the landscape, this time with a pompous yet kind noble also in tow.

--------------------------------------------------

The ride down south went by relatively quickly and without any major hitches, when before long they were already at the colossal bridge linking the two continents together, but something was off, it was quiet…deathly quiet.

“Hello! Is anybody there?”

Yhorm called out, his question only met with the never-ending whistling of the wind. The bridge almost seemed…deserted. The weapons and defenses were still pointing outward, but there was not a single sign of an assault or siege. So, must’ve been an attack from behind, almost as if there was-

“-A rebellion.” Sir Kenneth cut in, as if seemingly saying Yhorm’s thoughts out loud, earning a response from the giant, “Care to elaborate?”

“Sir Edgar is the current head of house Morne and subsequently, the duke of the Weeping peninsula. The man is terribly sadistic, a no-good violent barbarian, and someone in terrible need of a power check. Last I heard, his castle is run by misbegotten, who much like the demi-humans are shunned by the Golden Order. This he uses as a pretext, to keep the poor things in chains! Whips them bloody for the slightest misstep!”

Kenneth couldn’t help his face twisting into a scowl as he added, “If I had my way, the man and his lot would have been in chains long ago! But of course, deposing him would have meant losing the support of house Morne, and that was something the court couldn’t let me do as it would mean opening Limgrave up for any invading force in need for an easy conquest. If you ask me, the man had it coming for him!”

Yhorm had a sneaking suspicion that Kenneth didn’t like the man, and if what he had told Yhorm was the truth than he didn’t either. A soft pull tugged at Yhorm’s collar, and only then did he notice the faint guidance of grace, urging him to move further south towards the grandiose castle in the distance. A grin crept its way onto Yhorm’s face as the familiar feeling of adventure began to tingle down his spine.

“Let’s go further inland.”

Yhorm gave Torrent’s reigns a shake, prompting the pony to gallop across the bridge and onto the other side. On the other side, the party rather quickly found a Site of Grace, where they decided to stop for a little while, eating lunch and allowing Torrent to rest for a little bit. By now, it was well into the afternoon, and Yhorm knew that they had to go quick if they wanted to have any hope of reaching the castle by sun-down, but as always the goddess of luck would once again throw a wrench into Yhorm’s plans as only mere minutes after resuming their journey, they found themselves stopping once again.

“Hello? Is somebody there?”

Torrent halted to a stop, almost flipping Yhorm off the speedy bugger, earning a collective yelp from the party.

“Torrent what are you-”

Yhorm was about to seriously question his steed, when suddenly the tender voice of a young girl called out, “Oh thank goodness! Might I lend your ear for a moment, please?”

Yhorm flicked his eyes about trying to find the owner of the voice, when finally his eyes laid upon the delicate figure of a girl sitting on the corner of the path. But something was wrong, the girl looked…disheveled. Her clothes were muddy, hair messy and worst of all she was alone. Yhorm dismounted Torrent, Boc and Kenneth just behind him and approached the girl who continued to speak, “I’m-”

“Irina! Edgar’s daughter?! What are you doing here?” Kenneth cut in, his voice full of bewilderment.

“Ah, I’m sorry but have we met?”

“Personally no, but I’m sure you’ve heard of me. The great Kenneth Haight of Limgrave at your service.”

“Oh! Lord Haight!” The girl quickly got up, trying to remove as much muck as she could from her dress, before giving an elegant bow, “I’m sorry we couldn’t meet under better circumstances, but can you please help me?”

“Oh…Uh, I-I’ve actually step-” Yhorm hands clasped around the noble’s mouth with such speed, that he even surprised himself. If Kenneth started his spiel of how he had stepped down now, Yhorm doubted that it would do the girl’s mental health any favor.

“How can we be of service, young miss?”

 “The servants of Castle Morne…have rebelled. I-I can't be sure what it is…my eyesight's been poor since birth, see…But I swear I heard frightful howling from all over. My good father secreted me out of the castle, but…”

“Decided to stay back himself, did he? For something foolish as well like honor.” Kenneth scoffed.

The girl nodded, “He says it’s his duty, I-I fear for my father’s life. Please…I just want him to be safe.”

Yhorm looked at the girl, then to Kenneth and then back to the girl, before letting out a sigh and pulling out Torrent’s whistle, “Boc.”

“Hm? Oh, yes Master Yhorm?”

Yhorm handed the whistle to Boc, before ordering, “Take Kenneth and Miss Morne here back to Kalé's place with Torrent. I’ll meet up with you after searching for her father. If I find him, I’ll bring him back.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so very much! Here…” Irina pulled out a letter and handed it to Yhorm, “Take this, and make sure you give it to him.”

Yhorm nodded, before helping Irina up onto Torrent’s back, who had conveniently not chosen to disappear this time around. Boc too got on Torrent, followed by Kenneth, but as soon as Yhorm tried to turn around, Kenneth caught his arm, “Are you sure that you want to do this? I doubt that Edgar would have survived so long in a castle full of misbegotten out for his head specifically. If I was in your stead I wouldn’t be able to break the news, should the worst actually happen.”

“Every child deserves their parents, and I’ll be damned if I don’t try my best to make sure that Irina gets to see her father, even if I have to drag him out of the castle by his legs.”

Kenneth although unsure, nodded and released Yhorm’s arm, “Then I pray for your safe return.”

Yhorm nodded before turning around, this time not letting anyone else get in his way as he hastily continued towards the castle. Without Torrent, The journey was much more slow-going, to the point that it was night by the time Yhorm reached the next Site of Grace. If Yhorm had thought that the night in Limgrave was terrifying then the night in the Weeping peninsula was a different beast, literally and metaphorically. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone as not even stone-throw away from the Site of Grace; Yhorm spotted the familiar campfire of one of Kalé's kin. Slowly approaching, Yhorm sat across the campfire from the merchant, who without skipping a beat asked, “Buying or selling?”

“How much to stay the night?”

“Twenty…” The merchant answered, before warning, “But I won’t protect ya. If they come huntin’ for ya, then you’re on ya own. They let me wander freely, ‘cuz we’re in the same boat, but the same can’t be said for you.”

Yhorm nodded, before pulling out the runes from his pouch and handing them to the merchant, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Now that Yhorm had finally taken care of his urgent needs, he too could hear the ‘frightful howling’ that Irina had mentioned. Pained growls and screams filled with anger and hatred continuously bellowed through the night. As the night continued to grow darker, the growls and screams didn’t end, but instead they just continued to grow louder and closer. It wasn’t long before the first misbegotten stepped into the campfire light. In contrast to the demi-humans natural complexion, the misbegotten almost seemed like a mismatch amalgamation of human, reptile and bird. Three different creatures chained together, trying to peel away from each other. Yhorm shuddered lightly, to him the misbegotten didn’t seem well, Yhorm could swear that he saw several scars and freshly closed wounds on the beast’s body. So, Kenneth was telling the truth then, was he? At the sight of Yhorm, the misbegotten gave a wide toothy grin, “Oi, merchant. Who’s this you got stashed away?”

“A customer. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

Sensing his opportunity Yhorm jumped in, “Greetings. I’m Yhorm. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“You’re not Edgar’s lot are you?”

“Quite the opposite. Heard the man was quite the shit-show of a person. I reckon he had it coming for him.”

The misbegotten turned his head sideways, before complimenting? Yhorm, “You’re a real piece’a work aren’cha.”

Yhorm only nodded, to which the misbegotten let out chuckle, before turning around and howling into the night.

The merchant raised his hands to shield his ears before snarling, “Can you not?! Especially at this hour?”

The misbegotten just gave the merchant a grin before answering, “I think that Leo’d like to see this one.”

It wasn’t long before more misbegotten came to check out what was happening, but Yhorm could tell that not a single one them was this ‘Leo’, partially because when Leo did arrive, the entire lot fell silent, moving aside to clear the pathway as a giant hulking mass of muscle walked towards Yhorm, dragging a giant ugly greatsword behind him. Leo turned to the misbegotten first, rather curtly asking, “This the one?”

The misbegotten in question simply nodded and Leo now turned towards Yhorm who was still sitting by the campfire, walking upto him and rather weirdly, taking a sniff at him, “Tarnished. Which order do ya serve? It ain’t that golden whore’s, I don’t see that hatred in yer eyes, you also got a beast smell on ya, but it ain’t quite the crucible, more…” Leo took another sniff, “Scaly…Dragonborn then?”

Yhorm’s shoulders tensed and that was all that Leo needed to confirm his suspicion, “So…we got another heretic on our hands now do we?” Leo crouched next to Yhorm before adding, “So how can we fuckin’ help ya?”

“I’ve got a letter to deliver.”

“A letter? To Edgar’s sorry ass I suppose?”

Yhorm nodded, “It’s from his daughter.” Leo let out a deep threatening groan, which Yhorm promptly ignored, before continuing, “The poor girl’s practically blind, wasn’t even aware you lot weren’t human, and has been escorted off the peninsula.”

Leo began slowly, the anger in his voice barely restrained, “I doubt…that ya came all the way ‘ere, just to deliver a letter to say goodbye. You’re ‘ere to escort that bastard outta the castle, aren’t ya?”

“Aye…” Leo smashed his sword deep into the ground next to Yhorm before warning, “Then what made ya believe that we’d fuckin’ let ya?”

“An obligation doesn’t mean I love the man…And that’s why I got a proposition.”

Leo looked at Yhorm with a level gaze, “Choose…Ya next words carefully, Tarnished.”

“I propose a game of good’ol hide ‘n seek. Tomorrow morning, if I find him first and escort him out of the castle, I get to take him off the island, but if y’all find him then y’all can do as you want.”

“And what if we refuse?”

Yhorm stood up, unsheathing his machete and fixing Leo with a challenging gaze, “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

Leo and Yhorm stared each other down for a few moments before Leo broke into laughter, “Oh, I fuckin’ like you…Tell ya what. Me an’ you, right now, straight hands. If I win, you stay ‘ere with us, and we do your hunt. If you win, then ya promise to come visit us and we still do your hunt. And by the way no ain’t a fuckin’ answer.”

A smirk appeared on Yhorm’s face as he replied with a slight chuckle, “Oh, you are so on.”

Leo threw his ugly sword onto the ground which Yhorm followed by sheathing his machete, and cracking his knuckles. The pair began to circle each other as Leo questioned, “Ever done this before?”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “Too many times.”

“Good.” That was all the warning Yhorm got, before Leo lunged at his legs trying to go for a takedown, which Yhorm easily evaded by stepping to his left, countering with a left hook, catching the misbegotten clean on the chin. Leo stumbled backwards, and Yhorm pressed his advantage, throwing a right hook which barely missed as Leo ducked under it. In response, Leo threw his very own uppercut, which connected with Yhorm’s chin, throwing stars in his vision. Leo lunged at Yhorm tackling him to the ground and an all-out struggle soon began between the pair. Leo trying to overpower Yhorm, and the giant trying to roll the misbegotten over. Yhorm spent a few moments just trying to hold the misbegotten off before soon enough, he spotted his opening. A slight slip in footing was all that it took for Yhorm to reverse the tables, getting behind the misbegotten, and catching him in a rear naked choke. Ten to twenty seconds of struggling was all it took for Leo to croak out, “I-I…yield.”

Yhorm released Leo and promptly fell on the ground gasping for air, with Leo collapsing next to him not long after. Gosh, he hadn’t done that in quite a long time. It felt almost nostalgic, reminding him of his youth.

“Well…I’ll be fuckin’ damned! That’s my first loss in quite a long time.”

“I’ll take that…*Huff*…As a compliment.”

“Well…We’d better get you to the castle. We can’t have you going hunting in that shape. It’d just be unfair.”

“What do you mean ‘the castle’?” Yhorm questioned, still half delirious from exhaustion and sleep, and he would soon get his answer as almost instantly after, Leo slung Yhorm over his shoulder and proceeded to practically carry him all the way to the castle, the other demi-humans just behind him. By the time Yhorm arrived, he was disheveled, terrified and regretting his life-choices. Yhorm was sure that he had re-broken at least two or more of his ribs that had barely begun to heal, but maybe he was just over exaggerating.

The misbegotten quickly ushered Yhorm into one of the untouched guest rooms, telling him to prepare for the big day tomorrow, and as soon as the door behind him closed, Yhorm all but collapsed into his bed. His consciousness quickly fading, Yhorm let out an exacerbated sigh, before finally closing his eyes and allowing his mind to wander the realm of dreams.

*****

Chapter Text

Cold…He felt cold…All around him. But in that cold, there was warmth, and a familiar one at that, which put Yhorm’s mind at ease. So much so that his senses could barely register that he was being held, no he was being…Carried? But why? And where? Yhorm didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care either. Yhorm tried to open his eyes, and much to his surprise his vision was blurry. But he could still make out the figure of a woman, ash blonde of hair, her face too blurry to make out, running while holding him close. She looked…panicked. Why was she so worried? Again more questions, Yhorm was getting irritated now. That’s when he realized that it was snowing. Ah, that explains the cold, but who was this woman?

Yhorm called out, and much to his horror, all he managed to croak out was a soft coo.

“Hush little babe, we’ll get some rest soon…I promise you.”

A little babe? Was she talking to him? And if so, who was this woman? Did Yhorm know her? Or was he supposed to know her? They were slowing down now, the woman softly patting Yhorm on his back. They had reached some sort of…settlement? But before Yhorm could think much more of it, he was softly lifted away from the woman and placed in a crate, filled with hay. It was soft sure, but Yhorm really missed his warmth, and almost impulsively decided to raise both his hands towards the woman, letting out another round of soft coos, as if asking her to take him back.

“Hush. Hush…it’s okay. Mom will come back as soon as she can. So you have to be a brave boy, and stay here alone for a while.”

That’s right…He remembered now…She was his mother, how could he forget? But why was she leaving him? Yhorm didn’t want her to leave him, he was her son after all, wasn’t he? But no matter how many soft coos he let out, she didn’t turn around, already beginning to walk away.

No. No. No! Come back! Don’t leave me mom! I don’t want to be alone! At this point Yhorm began wailing and sobbing, his hands still outstretched towards his mother, who just before turning around a corner, softly whispered, “I…Love…You.” and gave Yhorm a somber smile, that just as quickly transformed into a frown, as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

And then she was gone, like a snowflake in the blizzard. Yhorm’s world began crumbling around him as all he could hear was the sound of his own wailing when suddenly, he was back in the castle.

His face facing the ceiling, and his left hand still outstretched, as if trying to grab at any sense of closure that he could. He was crying he realized, as he softly sat up, bringing his outstretched arm close to wipe away the streaks of tears running down his face.

“A dream. It was all a terrible dream.” He softly whispered to himself, trying to calm his nerves, even though he knew that it was a lie. He had seen the same thing far too many times to think it a figment of his imagination. Yhorm let out an exacerbated sigh. He had just woken up, but he felt so tired. Swinging his legs off the bed, Yhorm grabbed his breastplate, trying to wriggle his body into the darn thing. Apart from his helmet, it had been the only other thing that he had taken off before going to bed last night. Choosing to sleep in his greaves, as his fatigue got the better of him. Yhorm grabbed his helmet, but just as he was about to put it on, his eyes fell upon the pristine mirror sitting in one corner of the room.

Instantly, his face transformed into a frown. He never liked mirrors. They would never lie, always showing you all of your faults, without hiding a single thing. Pushing the uncomfortable truth on you, even if you didn’t ask. And right now, that truth was his exceedingly rare ash blonde hair. Yhorm snuck his hand under his breastplate to grab at the silver pendant around his neck.

“Mother.” The word felt foreign in his mouth. He had never been so naïve as to believe that he would ever have a family. No, some people just didn’t deserve that. Especially not him, not after all his failures…

But before he could spend much more time loathing himself, the door of his room was smashed wide open, as a far too muscular misbegotten stepped in and with a toothy grin on his face loudly declared, “Rise and shine princess! You have a real’ big fuckin’ day ahead of ya.”

Promptly startling Yhorm to drop his helmet, which clattered on the ground with a loud sound, and earning a frustrated response from the giant, “Good morning to you as well, Leo.”

“Oh, you’re awake! Well, good mornin’ to your beautiful ass as well! Try to be out in ten, It’s almost time!”

“Oh yeah? I can hardly wait.” Yhorm replied in a monotonous voice.

“Quit bein’ an ass about it! Just get out ‘ere already. It’s gonna be so much fun!” The misbegotten proudly declared before jumping down the hallway like a child.

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before shaking his head and declaring, “I can tell.” There was just no being angry with the misbegotten and honestly, that was exactly what Yhorm needed, especially after his terrible morning. Quickly picking up his helmet from the ground, Yhorm put it on, before grabbing his machete and shield, sheathing the former and bearing the latter.

Yhorm quickly made his way to the door of his room, before swinging it open and making his way down the hallway and into the courtyard. As soon as Yhorm stepped into the courtyard, he felt impressed. The castle looked relatively clean, for someplace where a bloody rebellion had recently been hoisted. Sure there were blood splatters here and there, but those were going to take time to remove, and for the most part Yhorm believed that the misbegotten had done a relatively good job of fixing up the place.

Yhorm’s internal musings however were soon stopped as Leo appeared atop the castle wall facing the courtyard, his appearance promptly shutting up the whole crowd of misbegotten as he enthusiastically began, with a wide grin plastered across his face, “Ladies, gentlemen or whateva’ the fuck ya wanna call yourselves, welcome! To the first annual castle Morne huntin’ festival!”

The misbegotten crowd began cheering wildly, as Yhorm looked around with a worried look on his face as he questioned, “Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean annual?!” his voice drowned out by the sheer number of misbegotten.

Leo waited for the crowd to settle before continuing, “Now, without wastin’ much more time. Here are the contestants! On one side, we have…Yhorm! And on the other side we have…” Leo’s voice became a lot more menacing as he slowly added, “All of us…”

Picking up a wine glass, Leo raised it high, “Are yous ready? Cuz’ I don’t care if ya aren’t!” before smashing it on the ground, shattering it into tiny pieces, as he added, “Scatter!”

That was all Yhorm needed to hear, as he bolted across the courtyard and began to climb the first ladder he could find, which was promptly followed by each of the misbegotten running in a different direction. The hunt…was on.

Climbing up the ladder Yhorm practically threw himself forward, busting through the first door that he saw, then the next and so on. Yhorm remembered wrestling his way through a misbegotten or two, just so that he could be the first one to open a door, only to then find it empty. And through it all, much to his own surprise, he was smiling. Half an hour later, Yhorm had struck gold, or more like the gold had struck him, as currently, there was a halberd pointed at his neck.

“Don’t move, tarnished. Who do you serve? Yours is a face I haven’t seen around here before.”

Yhorm held up both of his hands as he softly answered, “Easy there! I’ve got a letter. See?” Yhorm waved the little envelope in the air.

Edgar slowly lowered his halberd, before questioning, “A letter? For me?”

Yhorm nodded, “It’s from Irina.” before handing the envelope over.

Edgar hastily opened the thing and gave it a quick read, smiling softly as he did before thanking Yhorm, “Thank you. I’m in your debt. But I can’t leave yet. Even if the castle should fall, as commander, I must remain.”

Yhorm furrowed his eyebrows and he questioned, “Why? Surely there is nothing here worth more than your daughter.”

Edgar scoffed, “But oh there is. As you can see, the menials here have all rebelled. They gave me good service, but it seems it was all an act. Foul creatures as it’s said. And true enough they’re foul inside and out. I have to ensure that the treasured sword of Morne does not fall into the hands of such despicable beasts.”

Yhorm’s mind went blank as he softly muttered, “What about the chains?”

“Pardon?”

This time Yhorm answered louder, his voice beginning to show a twinge of anger, “I said what about the chains? The whips? The wounds and the scars on their bodies? They wouldn’t have rebelled, should you have treated them better.”

“Oh, please. Don’t tell me you seriously feel sympathy for these beasts do you? Their lucky I let them live, and its only because I find their screams mildly amusing. It makes life in this castle less boring. No matter how well you dress up a chimp, it won’t become a human, or so they say. Hahaha!”

Laughing? The bastard was laughing?

“And what of the sword? You’d rather choose a sword, over you’re your daughter, your very own flesh and blood?!”

“Yes?...” Edgar replied flatly.

“You think that this is some joke? The companions you sent out with her were killed on the way, and she was completely alone and vulnerable till I found her. The poor girl is partially blind and she could’ve died just because daddy didn’t want to leave his duty, and for what…A damn sword!”

Edgar scoffed at Yhorm, “Of course, I wouldn’t expect a lowly tarnished like you to understand.”

“You’re right…I don’t understand. I don’t think anyone would understand. People give everything for their families and here you are, throwing it away for a lifeless hunk of metal!”

“Then why are you still here? You did your job. Now, go tell Irina that you delivered the letter, and don’t tell another man how to live his life, foul tarnished.”

Yhorm turned around and looked at the sky before softly whispering, “I’m sorry Irina. It seems the father that you once knew is already gone.”

Taking in a deep breath Yhorm called out to Leo, earning a bewildered reply from Edgar, “What…what are you doing?”

Not even a minute later, Leo had already arrived, silently observing the pair before questioning, “Oi, Yhorm. The deal was to get ‘im outta the castle.”

“I am aware.”

“Then, why-”

Leo was about to say something but Yhorm cut in, “-I’m handing him over to you lot. Your welcome.”

In the midst of all this Edgar spoke up, “You bastard! You’re in cahoots with them? I should have never trusted a tarni-”

That was all Edgar managed to say, before he was rushed down by more misbegotten than Yhorm could count, his voice drowned out by the howls and hisses of far too many angry misbegotten. Leo just stood there watching the carnage, with Yhorm standing next to him. About a minute or two later, it was done, or more accurately, Edgar had finally gotten what he deserved…Death. If Yhorm said that he had made the decision to let Edgar die without any personal emotions getting in the way than that would’ve been a lie, and he knew that.

Yhorm turned on his heel, making his way to the castle exit, but before he could a large clawed hand caught his shoulder.

“Wait. Yous never gave me a chance to thank ya.”

Yhorm sighed, all the while rubbing his temple with one hand, “Don’t thank me. He was already a dead man walking…or at least he became one when he chose a sword over his daughter. I just helped him get there faster.”

Leo let out a chuckle, “You’re a fuckin’ weird one. But speakin’ of Edgar…You won the muthafuckin’ bet!”

“Hm? Oh yeah, I did.”

“And ya know what that means.”

Yhorm let out a deep sigh, “Yes I do…I’ll come visit when I can.”

“Great…” Leo declared, before picking Yhorm up like a child and continuing, “But we can’t have yous leavin’ without a feast now, can we? Especially when, we’ve just gotten our freedom. And you’ll stay right? Cuz’ no ain’t a fuckin’ answer.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “Do as you please.”

“Great!” The large misbegotten declared before turning around and addressing the crowd of misbegotten peering curiously at the pair, “Boys! We are having a feast tonight! So, Lets..Get..Hunting!”

The entire courtyard erupted into thunderous cheers and shouts as once again, the castle was filled with activity. And for some reason, Yhorm couldn’t help smiling, as for once he felt like he had made the right choice.

The preparations for the festival went on late into the evening. A group of misbegotten had gone out hunting with Leo, while another group had tagged along with Yhorm to collect wood for the fires. Apparently, Leo liked grilled meat, said that it was his favorite, and Yhorm had to admit that it had been a hot minute since he had tasted some as well, so the pair had readily agreed on the menu. It was almost sundown by the time that the preparations had been completed, and the meat set to grill, but this was when the real party started.

A massive bonfire, plenty to eat and drink, and a huge host of misbegotten, each with their own stories to tell, Yhorm could tell that the misbegotten knew how to have fun. Not that Yhorm didn’t participate in the friendly banter either, throwing in a few teasing remarks and stories from his homeland of his own. It was almost midnight by the time that the activity around the castle began to die down, the misbegotten slowly retreating back into their nests, and Yhorm too deciding to finally hit the hay.

Leo accompanied Yhorm to his room, questioning along the way, “So…You’ll be settin’ out tomorrow, will you?”

Yhorm nodded, “Indeed…As much as I enjoyed my time here, I’ve got friends awaiting my arrival…I’d hate to make them worry, especially because everyone around me thinks that I can’t be trusted with my life…”

“Speakin’ of that, you all right? Yous didn’t mention it, but I know that you’ve got at least a couple of broken bones. The smell of blood and wounds on ya is just too strong to ignore.”

“Really? You’ve got a pretty strong nose if you can smell that.”

“Ya ain’t answering ma’ question.”

Yhorm let out a deep sigh, “Trust me, it’s nothing serious.”

Leo shook his head, “If ya say so. So, where are ya headed next?”

The soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he answered, “The capital. I’ve got a girl, Melina, who wants me to accompany her there. She’s done…too much for me, so I at least want to repay her favor.”

“A girl?” A smug smile appeared on Leo’s face as he asked, “You like her?”

Yhorm stopped in his tracks, the red already rising up his cheeks. That’s it; the misbegotten had just earned an elbow to the side, and Yhorm wasn’t going to hold back. Two seconds later Leo was on the floor, and clutching his side.

“And there is your answer.”

Much to Yhorm’s sadness, that didn’t shut up the misbegotten, as instead of teasing remarks, now he had to deal with Leo jumping up and down, while continuously replaying, “Yhorm is in love~”

Honestly, the door to Yhorm’s room couldn’t have come any sooner, because as soon as they arrived at his room, Yhorm yanked open the door and smashed it closed behind, not wishing to listen to the misbegotten for a second more. Yhorm all but ran to his bed, throwing himself on it and immediately burying his face in the pillow, not even bothering to take off his armor. Much to his own surprise, he felt happy? Or was it embarrassment? Maybe even a mixture of both. Whatever it was, Yhorm didn’t care, instead opting to close his eyes, and try his very best to escape from reality. Feelings were never really his forte and he would confront them when the time came…Hopefully not in the next few years… Unbeknownst to him however, a certain maiden was currently lost deep in thought, trying her best to figure out what Yhorm truly meant.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, Yhorm couldn’t get a wink of sleep, and much to his dismay when Leo spotted his clearly sleep deprived state, the misbegotten began to cackle, which made Yhorm’s blood absolutely boil. But alas, there was nothing he could do, as anything Yhorm could try to shut up the misbegotten would probably only motivate him. Yhorm spent an hour or so getting ready for his journey back to Kalé’s place, before he was finally ready to bid farewell to the castle. Standing at the castle’s exit, Yhorm turned around to look at the whole host of misbegotten waving him off, each smiling and requesting him to come back sometime soon. Yhorm couldn’t help but smile, as Leo walked up to the giant and put a hand on his shoulder, warmly declaring, “Welp…Seems like this is goodbye…But don’t be a stranger, aye?”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before replying, “I won’t be.”

“Good, cuz’ if you don’t come back, I might have to drag you all the way here myself.”

This time Yhorm let out a hearty laugh, before replying, “It’s a promise then…”

Leo gave Yhorm a toothy grin, “Next time, bring this Melina as well...”

“Oh, please! Can you stop!”

Leo let out a hearty laugh before continuing, “Oh, and don’t forget to bring Edgar’s brat.”

“Irina? But why? Aren’t you like…?”

“We’re misbegotten, not monsters…Never blame the offspring for the sins of the forefather. That’s our principle.”

A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he agreed, “As it should be for everyone…Well Leo it’s been a pleasure to meet you…” and extended his hand, prompting Leo to take it and reply, “Believe me, the pleasure is all fuckin’ mine.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle as Leo released his arm, before declaring, “Well, I’ll get going now, I’ve a long journey ahead of me.”

“Take care…Don't go dying now...”

Yhorm gave Leo a smile before replying, “You too…”

Yhorm stepped out the castle, turning around to give the misbegotten a final wave, before once again Yhorm was off, journeying across the landscape.

*****

Chapter Text

The journey back was…painful to say the least. It had been two whole days and nights of constant walking, and Yhorm had barely made it out of the Weeping peninsula. Worse still, if his estimates were right, he still had one more day to go. Yhorm let out an exacerbated sigh. Oh, how he missed Torrent. The speedy bugger was a handful sure, but the darned pony definitely was helpful. He’d have to make sure to spoil the speedy bugger next time they met, and hopefully soon, because Yhorm’s back was killing him. Perhaps his body was finally catching up to his mind, because even though he had a body full of vigor, every joint of his hurt. Maybe the whole dying and getting revived, not once but twice was finally taking its toll.

It was already quite late by the time he arrived at the next Site of Grace, just across the colossal bridge connecting the two land masses together. Yhorm all but collapsed next to the golden spindle, its golden hue enveloping his body. Letting out a deep sigh, Yhorm cursed under his breath. If he hadn’t been a wandering sellsword for half his life, he didn’t think he would have even been able to come this far. Bringing his hand towards his face, Yhorm tried to wipe away any sweat that he could. All the while Melina coalesced into existence and softly settled next to him.

Yhorm’s eyes flicked to the girl as he grumpily greeted, “Hello Melina. How can I help you?”

The girl let out a little laugh as she teasingly remarked, “I don’t think you can. At least not in that state.”

Yhorm let out a groan, “And now she also has jokes…Just great…”

This time Melina’s laughter was a bit louder, souring Yhorm’s mood even further as she questioned, “So…How does your journey fare? You seem quite tired.”

Yhorm sat up, the frustration quite evident in his voice as he started to rant, “How does it fare?...I’m tired! Sweaty! And worst of all, I have a dear companion with me, who’s also a professional at riling me up!”

Melina burst into full-blown laughter, as she replied, “Is that so?...*Pfft*…I feel so bad for you.”

“Hey! This is not funny! Why are you here anyway?”

Melina slowly settled down, her face growing more serious, before asking, “So…What are you gonna tell Irina? You can’t tell her that you practically had her father murdered now, can you?”

Yhorm sighed, for some reason he had found himself doing that a lot recently, before replying, his voice a lot quieter than he had anticipated, “I’ll tell her I tried…That he was already dead when I arrived…”

Guilt…That dropping feeling in his stomach, Yhorm had come to recognize it as guilt. No matter how he tried to sugarcoat it, he killed Edgar, he robbed a girl of her father. He had destroyed a family. Why was he so angry back then? He was sure that at least half of that anger wasn’t his own.

“A wise decision. Edgar was a depraved man, even I could tell that much.”

Yhorm nodded in agreement, before suddenly, his whole world stopped, “Melina…How come you know all this?”

“Hm? Oh, I can see and hear everything you that you can. We are linked together, at least until the fulfillment of our acc-”

Two firm hands grabbed at Melina’s shoulders earning an indignant yelp from the girl, as Yhorm questioned, the absolute terror bleeding from his voice, “Melina…How. Much. Did. You. Hear?”

“I-I’m afraid, I don’t know what you mean.”

Yhorm’s hands grew firmer, as he stated, “You know exactly what I mean!”

Melina grew bright red, as she adverted her gaze, before answering, “U-uh, Everything?”

Yhorm’s heart dropped. Embarrassment. In every sense of the word, Yhorm felt embarrassed. If there was a hole in Yhorm’s nearby vicinity, he would have probably crawled into it and dug his way to whatever lied in the deepest depths of the Lands Between. Yhorm let go of Melina, and crashed to the ground.

“D-do you wanna…ta-”

“No Melina. I don’t wanna talk about it…”

An awkward silence settled between the pair, as neither spoke a single word. The seconds, turning into minutes, and the minutes turning into hours. Somewhere in the middle of the night, Melina decided to excuse herself, which helped Yhorm somewhat relax, but safe to say he didn’t get any sleep that night.

Sadly, time waits for no man as soon enough, it was morning and a very sleep-deprived Yhorm was back on his way to the church of Elleh. It was evening by the time Yhorm stepped foot into the church. Only to be greeted by Boc standing on a crate, with a giant bonfire behind him, telling all kinds of tales, as the rest of his compatriots listened thoughtfully.

“What…is happening here?”

Yhorm’s voice echoed throughout the run-down church as everyone turned their heads to the giant standing in the archway. As soon as Boc spotted him, the beast all but ran to the giant, tackling him in a hug as he proudly declared, “Master Yhorm! You’re finally back! Oh, how I missed you!”

Yhorm let out a chuckle as he patted the beast’s back, before replying, “Easy there Boc. Trust me, so did I.”

Next it was Sir Kenneth who greeted Yhorm, “Ah, sir Yhorm! It seems you are in good health.”

Yhorm turned his attention towards the former lord, slowly pulling away from Boc, before replying, “So it seems.”

Kenneth smiled before walking towards Yhorm, giving him a firm handshake and declaring, “It’s good to have you back…Come join us. A little relaxing would only do you good after your journey.”

“I appreciate the offer, but trust me; right now all I need is some peaceful sleep.”

Kenneth shrugged, “If that is what you think better, then suit yourself, just don’t say that the great Kenneth Haight didn’t ask.”

Yhorm chuckled, before replying, “Trust me. I won’t.”

Yhorm turned his attention towards the rest of the church when suddenly; he spotted Yura standing in one corner.

“Yura?! What are you doing here?”

“Nice of you to finally realize that I’m also here.” Yura declared before pushing off of the wall that he had been resting against and making his way towards the giant, “But it’s good to see you.”

Yhorm gave the katana-wielding hunter a soft smile, before agreeing, “Same here.”

Yura simply nodded in return, before continuing, “As for what I’m doing here, it’s nothing to wo-”

Yura was about to say something but before he could Boc cut in, “Oh, we found Sir Yura here, while on our way back to the church of Elleh. He seemed to be investigating something, related to blood, if I remember correctly.”

“Blood?” Yhorm questioned before turning towards Yura, “Is this true.”

Yura let out a discontented grumble before affirming, “It’s as Boc says. I came across what I believe to have been the hideout an unknown bloody finger…The bastard was already gone when I arrived, but there was blood splattered all about. I have suspicion to believe that the bastard was trying to find new recruits.”

“Varré…” The word came out almost instinctively, surprising not only Yura but Yhorm as well.

“You…are you familiar with the man?”

Yhorm raised his hands up in defense, “No, I wouldn’t say familiar, but when I first came to this land, he was the first man to offer me any semblance of guidance. At the time, I wasn’t aware of the bloody fingers, but now…now I can definitely see the connection.”

Yura let out a sigh, “Well, can’t do much now can we? If you happen to come across the man again, please do tell me.”

“Oh, on that note, I also dispatched a bloody finger at Sir Kenneth’s fort; the fiend was using some sort of arcane based blood incantation. Thing sure did a number on me.” Yhorm declared, all the while tracing a line across his chainmail, where the recently closed gash was.

In the midst of all this Boc spoke up, “Yep and that’s exactly why we should tie you down and make sure you get your rest, because at this rate, you will work yourself to death before any demigod even manages to touch you.”

“Please! I’m not a child!”

A quiet chuckle from Yura prompted the group to turn their attention towards the man, as the hunter declared, “Do you even know the true scale of what you have done?”

“N-no?”

“A blood-art isn’t the work of any low ranking bloody finger; you’ve just killed a high ranking official.”

“I-I have?”

“Indeed, and that also makes you a fellow hunter.” Yura declared before extending his arm, “So it’s a pleasure to be working with you rookie.”

Yhorm was about to say something, but instead he just decided give Yura a smile, before taking his hand and declaring, “The pleasure’s all mine.”

The moment lasted for all of two seconds, before Kalé who up to this point had been silent spoke up, “Aw that’s sweet. Now do you want me to take both of y’alls vows or can we finally finish what Yhorm went to the Weeping peninsula to do in the first place. For Radagon’s sake, if even one more of y’all shows up at my church, I will go ballistic.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, as Yura just shrugged, all the while declaring, “Doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea. Just saying…”

“Speaking of the matter…Sir Yhorm. What of Irina’s father?” Sir Kenneth piped up with Irina sitting next to him.

Yhorm didn’t reply, simply lowering his head to the ground, and just like that, in an instant, the entire atmosphere inside the church grew dark and gloomy despite the fire still crackling behind the group.

Sir Kenneth visibly deflated, settling down next to Irina, holding her hands in his. Irina took in a shuddering breath, as Boc shifted uncomfortably nearby and Yura decided to go out for some fresh air, before declaring, “I had suspected as much. So tell me…Is he truly?...”

“Yes…It seemed he had passed not long after you left.”

Irina buried her face in both of her hands, wrenching them free from Sir Kenneth’s, her voice wavering and the first sign of tears appearing on her face, “Wh-why? What di-did the ser-servants have to gain, from kill-killing him?”

“They weren’t human…They were misbegotten, and seemed to have been terribly wronged as well.”

“Misbegotten? Oh, I sho-should have known as much, so tell me…did he at least leave with his ho-honor intact?”

“You are his honor, so I guess you could say he most definitely succeeded. In his last moments, you were most definitely his last thought…his last triumph.”

A lie…Yhorm knew, one that clawed at his insides. How could he say that? How could his tongue say such a blissful lie…

That’s when the dam broke, as Irina curled in on herself, and began sobbing. Kenneth and Boc moving to comfort the girl and Kalé choosing to give the girl some space. Yhorm couldn’t look at the girl any longer, instead choosing to exit the church. As soon as the giant stepped outside, Yura confronted him, “You lied…”

“So you knew huh?”

“Why?”

“Thing is when I arrived Irina’s father was still alive, but when I pleaded with him to leave he declined, claiming how some sword was more important than his daughter.”

“So you killed him?”

“No, I didn’t. I couldn’t, it wasn’t me who was wronged, but rather the misbegotten, all I did was give them the choice to choose…”

Yura scoffed, “Remember rookie…It always starts small, bloodying up a few bandits, watching a man die knowing you could have saved him. All these things only lead you further down the hole of cessblood. I’ve seen many a good hunter fall to the same thing they vowed to destroy…Do not let yourself be one of them…”

Yhorm didn’t reply, just offering Yura a nod, but just as the hunter was about to head back inside, the giant spoke up, “Mohg…”

“What?”

“A name I got from the bloody finger, Mohg…Don’t know what or who it’s referring to, but thought it wise to tell you either way.”

Yura nodded, before replying, “I’ll keep that in mind.” And heading back into the church, leaving Yhorm all by his lonesome.

Yhorm let out a sigh, before looking up at the night sky.

“Today’s a dark and cold night, isn’t it Melina?”

A burning sensation appeared on Yhorm left shoulder, and he thought of it as affirmation. Tonight would be a night of grieving…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just like that, it was already morning. Yhorm raised his hand to shield his eyes from the Erdtree’s light, it hadn’t even been a month since Yhorm had arrived in the Lands Between and he had already grown tired of the eternal lamp that was the Erdtree. By the time he woke up, it was well into the morning with the rest of the party having already woken up.

Yhorm got up, groggily walking and sitting next to the rest of the group, huddled around Kalé’s campfire, with only Irina being absent. Apparently, the girl had gone out for some fresh air, and wasn’t feeling hungry. A round of greetings was exchanged as Yhorm settled in between Yura and Kenneth.

“So where are you headed next?” Kenneth asked, all the while handing Yhorm a bowl with some stew.

“Well…The next immediate stop would be Stormveil, but my ultimate destination is Leyndell. I’ve got an errand to run, but after that I should be free…”

Kenneth raised eyebrow, as he questioned, “Ah, Stormveil. Then I suppose you’ll be fighting with Godrick, I take it?”

“Perhaps, I’ve no desire for Lordship, but if Godrick stands in my way, then I have no choice but to fight him. Demigod or not, he is still human.”

“And a depraved one at that…” Yura cut in, the venom dripping from his words.

“Say, if…if you were to defeat him, then would you be willing to do me a great service?”

Yhorm turned his attention back towards Kenneth, before replying, “That wholly depends upon what you are about to tell me.”

“I suspected as much…So as you know, I am on the hunt for a new lord of Limgrave, and I was wondering if you would be willing to help me in the matter.”

Yhorm furrowed his eyebrows as he questioned, “What do you mean?”

Kenneth gave Yhorm a smile before pulling out a scroll from behind him and handing it to Yhorm, “I mean this…Should you find someone you believe to be suitable as the lord of Stormveil, hand them this scroll, and send them my way. I will wholeheartedly accept your choice.”

Yhorm looked at the scroll, then back at Kenneth, “I can’t take this…The responsibility is far too much for a mere tarnished like me.”

Kenneth scoffed, “And that’s where you are wrong, my friend. A tarnished who believes demi-humans to be our equals would be worthy of lordship himself, but since I know that you would most definitely decline. I want you to at least pick someone you believe to be worthy, and besides, it’s not like I will stop my own search either, should I find someone suitable before you, I will make that person lord instead and notify you of their appointment.”

“What if I choose wrong?”

“Nonsense, I trust your judgment of character more than my very own eyes!” The noble declared cheerily, before continuing, “And if you do judge wrong, then well, you’ll just have to get rid of them like Godrick.”

A smile appeared on Yhorm face, as he grabbed the scroll, stuffing it into one of his satchels, “Then I have a favor to ask in return.”

“Very well then, ask away.”

“If…or when I depose Godrick, I want you to act as regent until a proper lord is chosen. It would be quite cruel to leave Limgrave without any semblance of leadership, especially after the destruction it has been through.”

“Quite a shrewd man you are…Fine then, consider it a promise.”

“Oh and one more thing. Take care of Duchess Irina Morne of the Weeping peninsula. The denizens of Castle Morne harbor no hate towards her; I wanted at least you to know. I believe that she will be a valuable ally in the future.”

Kenneth gave Yhorm a Soft smile, before affirming, “Of course.”

An optimistic silence settled in the church, as everyone chowed down on their own bowl of stew, at least until Irina came back, Kenneth and Boc immediately striking up a conversation with the girl as soon as she stepped into the church. She seemed better…if only a little bit, the red having started to return to her cheeks, prompting Yhorm to truly smile.

An hour or two later, Yhorm was already getting ready to leave, with Boc just behind him. Yhorm blew Torrent’s whistle, prompting the pony to trot into existence. Just as Yhorm was about to mount the speedy bugger, Kenneth walked out of the church with quite literally everyone behind him.

“Going so soon?” The noble questioned, earning a reply from Yhorm, “I have to…I’ve a long journey ahead of me and the faster I get it done, the better.”

This time it was Kalé that spoke up, “Then at least give us a proper goodbye. Honestly, you have no tact I tell you…no tact.”

“Well…I Suppose I can at least do that.” Yhorm declared before casting Dragonclaw and giving everyone…yes, even yura a tight hug. There were more than a few Yelps of surprise as Yhorm scooped up everyone, which soon after transformed into laughter. With his goodbyes said and done, and him being a drake warrior explained to a very interested Kenneth, Yhorm was ready to resume his journey. Luckily, Torrent had decided not to disappear this time around, saving Yhorm the hassle of summoning the pony again. Getting atop Torrent, Yhorm also helped Boc to mount the speedy bugger, before offering the rest of the group a farewell wave as he re-embarked on his journey, galloping across the Lands Between.

*****

Chapter Text

“Stay still.” Boc ordered Yhorm, as the pair sat at the Site of Grace just before the massive stone archway guarding the path leading towards the castle. The Little beast’s sewing needle working with trained precision to close the massive gash on Yhorm’s chest, which he had sustained back at Fort Haight. The wound hadn’t been given any time to heal, and barely an hour or two into their journey; it had split wide open, leaking crimson everywhere.

“All right…all right. Just don’t eat me.”

An annoyed growl was all the response that Yhorm managed to get, as the seamster continued to work on the gash. Only when the deed was finally done did Boc speak up, all the while wiping away the sweat from his forehead, “Honestly master Yhorm, how many times do I have to tell you, you should take care of yourself. The amount of fighting you have done in the past week or two is more than what some tarnished do in their lifetimes!”

Much to Boc’s annoyance, Yhorm actually agreed, “I know right! If you didn’t know me, you’d think that I was some battle-hungry maniac!”

“That’s because you are! You wouldn’t have gotten into even half of these messes if you didn’t want to.”

Yhorm got up, picking up his breastplate and trying to wrangle the thing on, before replying, “Come on Boc, you know that it wasn’t really my choice. For one, Nejirus attacked me first, and second, it’s not like I could have actually said no to Lady Irina.”

“Oh really! Then what of the dragon?”

Yhorm blew Torrent’s whistle and got atop the pony, before holding out a hand to Boc and replying, “Come on Boc, let’s not look at the small things, shall we?”

Boc let out a little sigh, before grabbing Yhorm’s hand, prompting the giant to heave the demi-human onto Torrent’s back, before continuing, “Besides! We have a demigod to slay!”

Boc planted his face in his hand, “This! This is exactly what I mean!” prompting Yhorm to let out a chuckle, but Yhorm didn’t reply, instead choosing to give Torrent’s reins a shake, prompting the pony to dart down the stone gateway, earning a yelp of surprise from Boc.

“Hold on tight now.” Yhorm advised, as the pony ran full speed towards the first wooden barrier, gracefully jumping over it, much to the surprise of more than a dozen soldiers guarding the entrance.

Even from where Yhorm had been sitting he could see that the gateway was far from undefended. In fact, in his opinion, the place looked more fortified than Castle Morne, which was probably one of the deciding factors of why Yhorm chose to just run straight through the path, not stopping to fight anything.

At one point, Yhorm even heard a massive crash behind him, as if something huge had fallen to chase after him, the things footsteps sounding with loud thuds, but he didn’t care, instead choosing to jump over any and every obstacle that appeared in his path. Near the end of the path, Yhorm also heard several loud explosions behind him, with an alarm horn mixed in between. About five or so minutes later Yhorm exited the pathway and entered into ‘Stormhill’ as Kenneth had told him, and instantly…yep, Yhorm could tell why the place was called that. Strong winds were raging constantly, their speed and direction flickering faster than a candle about to run out.

“Are you okay, Boc?...Boc?”

Yhorm turned around to look at the beast plastered to his back, his face deathly white, as he tried to reply, “Tha-that..wa-was ab..solute-ly terrifying!”

“Goodness! What happened to you?”

A worried expression appeared on Yhorm’s face as the giant quickly dismounted Torrent, peeling Boc off his back and cradling the beast.

Boc took some time to compose himself, before replying, “I think…I think I don’t want to do that ever again!” and hugging Yhorm tightly, surprising the giant.

Yhorm hesitantly hugged Boc back before affirming, “Yep. Let’s find a place to take a breather.”

The little beast nodded in reply as Yhorm remounted Torrent, and continued on his way still cradling Boc. An hour or two was all it took Yhorm find a ruined shack just along the path, with much to Yhorm’s relief a Site of Grace. Yhorm tugged on Torrent’s reins, signaling the pony to veer off course and towards the shack.

Torrent’s gallop slowed to a trot, before eventually, the pony stopped completely in front of the Site of Grace. Yhorm dismounted Torrent, before kindling the golden spindle, and setting Boc down softly next to it.

“There…Feel better?…”

The beast nodded in reply, prompting a soft smile to appear on Yhorm’s face. The moment was cut short however, as Yhorm realized that he could hear soft weeping coming from within the ruined walls of the shack. Hushing his voice almost instinctively, Yhorm asked, “Boc, you hear that?”

The little beast’s ears perked up at the comment, as the seamster hesitantly confirmed, “Yes, I can…It sounds like…crying?”

Yhorm nodded, before replying, “Stay here…I’ll go investigate.”

Boc was about to say something, but instead chose to remain quiet, offering Yhorm an unsure nod as the giant turned around and began to make his way towards the shack. Holding his machete in one hand, Yhorm tip-toed into the shack, only to spot a…girl? Sitting in one corner, wearing a crimson cowl. Upon hearing his footsteps, the girl looked up at Yhorm. From her clothes it was quite evident that the girl was no mere peasant, and if her face served as any of an indicator, then she had been crying for some time.

“Has the spider sent you to kill me too, then?”

“No…I don’t know who or what this spider is, but I assure you I mean no harm.”

The girl let out a shuddering sigh, as she crumpled in on herself, before continuing, “Everyone's… been grafted. Everyone who came with me. They crossed the sea for me. They fought, for me. Heh… only to have their arms taken. Their legs, taken… even their heads… taken… taken and stuck to the spider…”

Yhorm cautiously knelt down and sat beside the girl, prompting her to continue, “Did you know? If you're grafted by the spider, you become a chrysalid. It's quite the lark, when you think about it.”

“Aye, that it is…” Yhorm didn’t like how she was using both spider and grafted together, because as far he was aware, there was but one craven man who was known to graft things on his body, and the realization that those things were most definitely the limbs of other people was something that Yhorm would have been better off without knowing.

“You’re all on your own, are you?” the girl asked, all the while wiping away the tears from her face.

A smirk appeared on Yhorm’s face, as he replied, “Not really…” before looking out the shack and continuing, “Boc, you do know that I can see you right?”

The little beast shot up from behind a bush, “I-I’m sorry master Yhorm. I ju-”

“That’s all right, just come here and introduce yourself, will you?”

“Oh, right!” The little bundle of joy trotted over, giving the girl a curt bow and extending his arm, “Greetings Miss. I’m Boc! Boc the seamster, at your service.”

The girl’s eyebrows raised slightly upon spotting Boc, before settling back down, as the girl returned the greeting, taking Boc’s arm and giving it a shake, “Well hello Boc…I’m…Roderika. A pleasure to meet you…”

A soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face, as he looked at the pair, despite what Melina had told him, Yhorm had somehow managed to only come across the scant few people who weren’t so keen about the demi-humans being nothing but animals, excluding Edgar of course.

As Boc backed off, the girl, Roderika as she was called turned her attention back towards Yhorm meekly asking, “Are you…heading to Stormveil Castle? To become one with the spider? Just as the man in the white mask advised, then?... Because if so, then that makes us two peas in a pod…but I don’t have your courage see, haven’t really got a hang of the whole ‘pain’ thing yet.”

Yhorm’s face transformed into a frown, “Can’t say that I am…My real destination is the capital…Stormveil is just in the way.”

So it seems that Yura was right after all, and it likely wasn’t just a coincidence that he just so happened to meet Varré as soon as he arrived in the Lands Between. Yhorm bit his lip; he should have known better, should have dealt with the man when he had the chance, but now the man was free to roam the Lands Between. But right now, that wasn’t what mattered. Yhorm wrapped his arms around the girl, picking her up and plopping her next to the Site of Grace, with Boc just behind him, all the while rubbing small circles on the girl’s back.

Instantly, the girl leaned into Yhorm’s touch, as the giant continued, “If I heard you right…Then you had some great men, they fought to make sure that you survive… So, it would be a great disservice to them to throw away the life…your life, which they tried so hard to preserve.”

Roderika’s lips wobbled slightly as fresh tears began to appear at the corners of her eyes. It was by no means instant, but the dam definitely broke, and the flood wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Roderika buried her face into Yhorm’s side and began to sob.

“O-Oh goodness me…*sniffle*….I-I ca-n’t…*sniffle*… The-they all..believed in me…*sniffle*… They all thought I’d make something of myself. Me! W-who can’t do anything…”

A long silence settled between the pair. For how long they sat there like this, with Roderika’s face buried in Yhorm’s side, he didn’t know and nor did he care. But eventually, the girl’s crying slowly transitioned into exhausted sniffling. How long had the girl been out here? From what Yhorm could tell she was freezing cold, which was partially also the reason why Yhorm chose to plop her next to the Site of Grace with its natural warmth, because even if she couldn’t see it, it didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“So…very warm…” That was all the girl said, as she drifted on the edges of sleep, prompting Yhorm to let out a sigh of relief and begin rambling, “Oh really? Thank goodness! I chose this spot because it has a Site of Grace, so I thought that it might also keep yo-”

“-I wasn’t talking about the grace, dummy.”

Yhorm turned to look at the girl, but when he did she was already fast asleep. Yhorm’s face relaxed, and a soft expression appeared on his face. Well, it was getting late either way, and besides, it wasn’t like he could actually wake her up, so might as well make most of the situation. Using his free hand, Yhorm called over Boc, who up till this point had been silently observing the pair.

As the beast approached, Yhorm patted his lap, and instantly, Boc understood what he meant. Without skipping a beat Boc all but jumped on Yhorm, making himself comfortable, earning an amused chuckle from the giant.

Five minutes was all it took before Boc too was fast asleep, leaving just Yhorm to mull over his thoughts. Why was Varré sending people to Godrick? If he was searching for new recruits, wouldn’t setting them on the path of Grace be counterproductive? And how did Mohg tie into this? Answers…He needed answers…

Yhorm let out a yawn. Well…thinking won’t get him anywhere, and right now he could use a good night’s sleep. Yea, that was what he needed to cool down, a good sleep. So, that’s exactly what Yhorm did, shutting his eyes closed, and throwing his conscience into the realms of dreams, only that this time he didn’t dream…

------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wake up sleepy head! It’s morning!”

Yhorm raised his hands to shield his eyes from the intruding light of the Erdtree, just in time to see a much happier Roderika hovering over him.

“Good morning to you too Roderika. You seem in a good mood.”

“Um hm…I’ve decided to live my life to the absolute fullest! If not for myself then for my companions. I will not let their sacrifice be wasted…”

Yhorm sat up, with Boc still sound asleep in his lap, before continuing, “Well, what are you going to do next then?”

“Well, first of all, I’m going to head to the Roundtable Hold. Try and find my calling there, but if that fails then I’ll just see where the tide takes me.”

“A solid plan, if I may say so, definitely no oversights.”

“Why thank you!”

Yhorm began to audibly laugh, which actually managed to stir Boc who groggily got up, asking what was going on.

“Did I say something funny?” The poor girl obliviously asked.

“You do know I was being sarcastic…right?”

“Shush! I don’t want to hear it!”

You know what, this wasn’t exactly what Yhorm wanted, but it most definitely was what he needed to take his mind off of the mystery of Varré and the bloody fingers.

“Um. Hey mister, I don’t believe I got your name.”

“Oh, pardon me. I’m Yhorm. Just..Yhorm.”

“Well, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Yhorm!”

In the midst of this, it was actually Boc that spoke up, “Master Yhorm, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we shouldn’t waste much more time.”

“Come on Boc. A litt-“

Whatever Yhorm wanted to say, it never left his mouth as Roderika cut in, “Um…Didn’t you say you were off to the capital?”

Yhorm tilted his head sideways, before answering, “Yes, that’s right…”

“Then…Can you take this little one along with you?”

Roderika reached behind her and pulled an ornate box, not much different from the one that Renna had given him. Say, he never did get around to using the darn thing. Maybe this time he would…

“The poor thing deserves someone braver than myself… And the spirits look rather fondly upon you. It’ll be glad of your company, I think, the little’un.”

Yhorm rather hesitantly grabbed the box from Roderika, the spirit in the box nudging itself against Yhorm’s arm leaving a chill wherever it touched, or so at least Yhorm thought. Almost instinctively, a soft smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he looked up and promised, “I’ll treasure it…”

“I’ll see you in the future then… If fate permits…”

“And you’ll be all right on your own?”

“Tsk. Tsk. I may not look it but I used to be a swordstress of some renown back in my homeland. So  yes, I’ll be fine…”

“All right then…” Yhorm pulled out Torrent’s whistle and gave it a blow, allowing Torrent to coalesce into existence and him to mount the pony, all the while also helping Boc to clamber on, before continuing, “It was a pleasure to meet you Roderika.”

“Trust me… The pleasure was all mine…Thank you for your kindness though, and you too little seamster…”

Boc gave the girl a wide smile and Yhorm offered her a farewell wave before as always, they were back galloping across the landscape…

…Turns out Castle Stormveil wasn’t actually that much further from where they met Roderika. About Thirty or so minutes of riding was all it took for Yhorm to reach the entrance. Well, not really the entrance, but more so a tunnel, that could possibly an entrance. Dismounting Torrent, Yhorm walked towards the tunnel, weaving through the long abandoned fortifications guarding the way forward. The whole place seemed dead and decaying, as if being eaten from the inside.

The tunnel itself was nothing special, with the odd barrel lying here or there, but the smell… The whole thing reeked of miasma, the smell feeling intoxicating. Boc more than once raised a hand to cover his nose. And before either of them had realized it, both Boc and Yhorm were practically jogging through the tunnel.

The pair could already see light coming from the other side by the time they realized that they were, in fact, not alone. Yhorm barely managed to stop himself from crashing into the stranger as a giant hat appeared in Yhorm’s view.

“Woah, sorry for that!”

“No worries! If anything I’m glad to see you, rather than some guard.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “Same here…”

“Ah, nice to meet you by the way. Rogier’s the name. A sorcerer, as you might have guessed.” The stranger quipped, the latter half of his statement accompanied by a flick of the frill of his hat.

Yhorm let out a chuckle, he most definitely liked this one, before declaring, “The pleasure’s all mine, Rogier. I’m Yhorm. Just Yhorm.”

Rogier gave Yhorm a nod before turning his attention towards Boc, who was currently plastered to the side of Yhorm’s leg, “And what about you little one?”

“Boc the seamster…”

“Well, hello to you too Boc. Quite an odd pair, you two are…So what bring you to Castle Stormveil.”

“We’re on our way to Leyndell…”

“Leyndell, huh? You can see it then, I take it? The guidance of Grace…Well, enjoy it while you can. I’m Tarnished, like you. But unlike you, I have seen neither hide nor hair of this guidance for the longest time…”

So it seems what Kenneth had told him was true after all. Grace was only seen by a particular few. His internal musings were cut short however as Boc spoke up, “And what about you? Why are you here?”

Rogier let out a little laugh as the trio continued walking ahead, exiting the tunnel and entering a fairly open area, leading to the castle proper.

“Well you see, I’m searching for a little someth-”

A rough, hoarse voice cut through the air, scowling, “Fowl Tarnished.”

The trio stopped dead in their tracks, simultaneously looking up just in time to see a hulking figure coalesce into existence from a swirl of golden lights, on one of the castle towers. Much to Yhorm’s surprise, the man didn’t appear to be human. Even from here Yhorm could tell that there were horns growing out from the man’s body, which quite accurately matched the description of an omen, at least from what he had been told by Boc and Kenneth.

The man looked down at the trio, before continuing, the disgusted tone still evident in his voice, “In search of the Elden Ring…Emboldened by the flame of ambition…”

Yhorm could swear that he heard Rogier curse under his breath, as the man jumped up and off the castle tower and landed infront of the trio. The impact of his body sending loose stone and dirt flying everywhere. Yhorm unsheathed his machete, equipping his shield in his other hand. This man was strong, that much even Yhorm could tell.

“Someone,” the omen growled as Rogier took out his staff and rapier, “Must extinguish thy flame… Let it be Margit the Fell!”

Without wasting a single moment, Margit lunged at Yhorm, barely giving Yhorm enough time to block, the force of the attack still sending him crashing into the wall. Rogier took the opportunity to try and slash at the omen, which Margit easily sidestepped. Thankfully, He ignored the terrified Boc standing at his feet, too scared to even move. Yhorm quickly got up, rushing towards Margit and taking a wide swing which Margit easily parried.

“Too slow.” The omen hissed as a dagger made of pure golden light appeared in his arms, which he subsequently used to try and slice Rogier up. The sorcerer barely avoiding the strike by jumping back. Once again, Yhorm tried to swing at Margit, which the omen swatted aside barely breaking a sweat.

“How many times is it going to take for you to figure out that, that doesn’t work.”

Yhorm honestly should’ve listened to the omen’s advice, because when he tried the same thing a third time, he was punished. Using his long cane, Margit smashed down on Yhorm’s shoulder, sending him hurtling back, and throwing stars in his vision. Yhorm tried to walk towards the omen, but that’s when he realized that his shield arm had gone limp. Shit! And there goes any chance that Yhorm had of beating the bloody guy.

A lightly bruised Rogier circled back around to Yhorm, with a terrified Boc on his back.

“Any plan to beat this guy?...Because right now, I’m all ears amigo…”

Yhorm spat out some blood, well since beating him was now out of the question, it was time to change strategies. Margit was currently between them and the way out of the castle, so a quick escape wasn’t an option. Although, the way further into the castle was open, but that was gamble at best, but…oh, screw it!

“Rogier! I’ve got a plan! When I say we…RUN!”

Yhorm grabbed Rogier with his good arm and began to dart further into the castle. For a brief second, Margit stood still, as if hypnotized. But then the omen scowled, and began to chase after the trio. Thankfully, that moment of hesitation was all that Yhorm needed, to build enough distance between them. As the trio approached the castle gate, Rogier declared, the fear quite evident in his voice, “The gate’s closed! What do we do now!”

“There!” Yhorm pointed towards the side, to a room. Almost at once, the trio rushed in, quickly moving through the room to a hole in the wall, with Margit hot on their trail.

“Turn around and fight me, Tarnished! Have you no shame!”

Yhorm didn’t reply, instead, jumping through the hole and making his way forward. Eventually, the trio found themselves on a wooden staircase leading them up to the castle ramparts. Now he had his chance, Yhorm cast Dragonclaw on his limp arm and began to drag it behind him, tearing up the wooden structure, which soon began to collapse, but before the trio could plummet down with it, Yhorm made one last jump, grabbing Rogier by the scruff, barely managing to land on solid ground, as the staircase fell plummeting down behind them, stranding Margit on the other side.

Rogier turned around to look at Margit glaring at them, his form slowly unraveling into the same swirl of golden lights that had signaled his arrival the first time. His voice lingered long after his form vanished, promising, “I shall remember thee, Tarnished. Smould’ring with thy meager flame. Cower in fear. Of the night… The hands of the Fell Omen shall brook thee no quarter.”

Only when Margit went silent did Rogier jump up with joy, “Holy Marika! I can’t believe we survived the Fell fucking Omen. Hey Yhorm, you’re an absolute madman, y’hear? Yhorm?...”

Rogier turned around to look at an extremely exhausted Yhorm, lying against the wall, his breathing shallow. His vision was fading Yhorm realized, well, he guessed that was bound to happen, especially after all the effort that he had just expended. He was going to sleep for some time, not that he could do much about it, but at least he had made sure that Boc and Rogier were safe. As Yhorm’s conscious began to fade, there was only one thought going through Yhorm’s mind…he had been defeated, denied, deconstructed, demolished even…He was still…

…Weak.

Chapter Text

Roof…Floor…Grace. He was awake, he realized. Not lying on some ornate bed, but rather the floor. Yhorm groggily sat up. Where was he? Last he remembered, he had just managed to…Escape from Margit, Rogier and Boc jumping up with joy once they were finally safe. Yeah, that sounded…right. And speaking of them, where were they? As far as he could tell, he was all alone in the room, and terribly unarmed and unprotected at that. Yhorm eyes flicked around trying to spot his weapons, but much to his horror, they were nowhere to be found. Not good…

Not only did Yhorm not know where he was, he didn’t have his weapons either. Yhorm let out a heavy sigh, before dragging his hand down his face. Only when he did so, did he realize that his limp arm was fully restored. Huh…

Yhorm looked down at the appendage, before flexing his fingers. They appeared to move how Yhorm wanted them to at least, so it was unlikely that it was an illusion, but that paved the way to an even bigger question. Who had healed him? Last he remembered, Rogier was a sorcerer, so maybe....Melina?

Just as the thought arose in the back of Yhorm’s mind, he quickly squashed it. No…not her. He doubted that she would forgive him so easily, not after he had committed such a sin, well a sin to him anyway. Thinking back on it, why did he refuse to talk, even when it was Melina and not him who suggested the idea? Because you’re a coward…

Something screamed at Yhorm from within, as a shiver ran through his body and as the self-depreciative piece of shit that he was, he was inclined to agree. Yhorm’s face transformed into a frown as he quickly tried to shake the thought away, and then perhaps to test the waters or merely out of morbid curiosity, Yhorm called out, “Melina?...”

A gentle warmth enveloped his body as much to Yhorm’s surprise, she actually replied, her form still not quite there, “Are you ready to talk?...”

“I-Uh…not really?”

“Then good day to you…”

“Wha-Wait! Uh-Okay! Okay. I’m ready to talk.”

“Great!” The girl declared, as she elegantly sat in front of Yhorm, accompanied by her signature blue mist. A moment of silence passed between the pair as Melina looked up at Yhorm with an expectant gaze.

“So…What did you want to talk about?”

Melina let out a long sigh, “I really hope you haven’t forgotten already.”

“I remember…Just what specifically.”

Melina raised a finger to her chin as she thought for a moment, before she hesitantly began, “Then…Why?”

Yhorm furrowed his eyebrows, as he softly questioned, “Pardon?...”

Melina all but jumped up from where she had been sitting, her face uncomfortably close to Yhorm’s as she continued, “Why did you punch Leo when he asked whether you liked me or not?...Do you truly hate me that much?!...”

It took a few moments for the question to truly register in Yhorm’s mind, as he slowly grabbed Melina’s shoulders and settled her down in front of him, all the while taking a deep breath in, because right now, he was at peace…

She hadn’t realized...

Yhorm didn’t know what he had done to earn such a second chance, but he was most definitely not going to complain. He wanted to jump up with joy, but in the interest of not wanting to blow his cover or worse, create an even bigger misunderstanding decided not to. Before he could spend much more time thanking whatever gods that existed however, his internal musings were stopped short by the deliberate cough of a now pouting Melina sitting in front of him.

Yhorm thought for a few moments, trying his best to craft the perfect response, before blurting out, “Uh, no?...”

The words hadn’t even left Yhorm’s mouth, and yet here he was, regretting them all the same.

“No?...Is that all?...So you truly do hate me then, don’t you?” Melina pouted, tears already forming at the edges of her eyes.

“Wai-what?! No, of course not! I could never hate you!”

“Then why were you so angry when Leo was teasing you?!”

“Angry?”

“I’ve never seen you become redder before…”

“That wasn’t anger!...”

“Oh yeah! Then what was it?” Melina all but yelled with teary eyes.

Yhorm could feel the tension mounting up in the room, and not so surprisingly, he was the first one to crack as he almost impulsively blurted out, “It was love okay! I love you!”

“Yeah! Well, then prove it!”

…

A long, cold silence settled between the pair, as neither dared to be the first one to speak. Eventually though, it was Melina that decided to break the silence first, “I should go…”

Just before Melina could stand up and walk away however, Yhorm caught her by the arm, prompting her to look back at him as he clumsily got up, “You told me to prove it right?...Well, here it is. So dodge, if you aren’t ready.”

Yhorm pulled Melina close giving her a warm embrace, before using one of his arms to lift her chin just enough, so that her eyes could meet his own. She was…ethereal he realized, not that he didn’t know, he had always known. But now, he could truly feel just how delicate she was, with Yhorm being able to practically feel her soft skin against his, even through the many layers of cloth and steel in between them.

Yhorm looked down at Melina, as the girl slowly closed her eyes, and got on the tip of her toes, slightly parting her lips. Yhorm bent down, his face practically next to hers and his heart banging in his chest, but even now, even with the love of his life waiting with anticipation, Yhorm was the one to chicken out, as instead he chose to give her a soft kiss on the forehead, softly murmuring, “This will have to do…at least for now…”

Melina opened her eyes, the slight disappointment evident on her face as she slowly pulled away from Yhorm, yet despite that slight disappointment, she was…happy? Melina raised one hand to her chest, confirming that her heart was currently trying to break free from her body. She slowly looked back up at Yhorm, just to see the giant also looking back at her with a soft smile on his face. Oh, how he was a devilishly handsome creature. His charm ensnaring her quite wholly. The pair would have entangled with each other all over again, if only it hadn’t been for…

*Clank*

The door of the room was smashed wide open as the tiny figure of Boc stepped through, the little beast immediately jumping up with joy, upon spotting Yhorm, “Master Yhorm! You’re finally awake!”

Yhorm gave Boc a soft smile, before confirming, “So it seems.”

The little beast all but ran towards Yhorm, only to stop midway and take a sniff at the air, prompting Yhorm to raise his eyebrow as he questioned, “Something the matter, Boc?”

“I’m not sure Master Yhorm, but I think that something happened here. I can smell…*sniff*…your scent, and…*sniff*…is that Miss Melina’s scent? And…*sniff*…a third scent which I can’t quite identify. Has Miss Melina been here Master Yhorm?”

“Uh-Ah! She must have healed my arm while you all were gone! Look, it’s completely fine now. But forget that, Boc you wouldn’t happen to know where my weapons are would you?”

“Oh yes! Sir Rogier has them. He should be coming back sometime soon. I’ll go check just to be sure.”

As soon as Boc exited the room, Yhorm let out a long sigh of relief, before calling out, “He’s gone Melina…”

The girl stepped out from behind Yhorm’s back, patted down her ruffled hair, and pulled up her cowl, before declaring, “You do know that I wasn’t the one who healed you right?”

“You weren’t?!”

Melina shook her head, before further adding, “I think that it might have something to do with your pseudo-dragon physiology. Yura did say that all those who participate in dragon communion will one day shed their humanity.”

“Really.” Yhorm looked down at his newly-healed arm and flexed his fingers.

“Besides, if that means you’ll use the tears even less, then…” Melina wrapped her hands around Yhorm’s neck, pulling him down, before continuing, “That just means I’ll have you to myself just that little bit longer.”

“Pardon?”

Melina let out a little chuckle, “Too strong?”

Yhorm too let out a chuckle in return, “Definitely…”

Melina slowly let go of Yhorm giving him a farewell wave, as she slowly disappeared into the same blue mist that had always signaled her arrival, the only difference being that this time it actually hurt Yhorm quite a little bit to say goodbye.

Five or so minutes later, Boc was back and this time with Rogier in tow. Yhorm almost jumped up with joy when he spotted his trusty machete and halberd on Rogier’s back. The sorcerer quickly taking them off and gladly presenting them back to their rightful owner, all the while quipping about how he would have taken his shield too, if it weren’t so heavy.

“Why did you take anything at all?”

It was the logical question to ask, and subsequently, Yhorm was given a very logical reply.

“Well, I don’t think you should trust an unconscious man, who has been asleep for a whole day with anything, much less weapons.”

“A whole day! I have been asleep for that long!”

“Well, I mean you fought, and might I add quite bravely, against the Fell Omen and survived to tell the tale! All the while, only having to sleep for a day. Heck, I’d say you got off quite easy. Some, no most people end up sleeping forever, if you know what I mean.”

“Is that so? Pray tell, who is this Margit after all?”

Rogier began to cackle as he mockingly questioned, “Nice joke. You’re not being serious are you?”

Yhorm rolled his eyes, before eyeing Rogier with a blank look, “You tell me.”

Rogier looked at Yhorm and almost instantly, the smile vanished from the sorceror’s face as he slowly began, “Holy Marika…You’re being serious. You just unknowingly survived the Veiled Monarch of Leyndell’s right hand, Margit the Tarnished Hunter.”

“The Tarnished Hunter?”

Rogier slowly nodded, “He’s sort of a legend around these parts. No one’s seen him and lived to tell the tale, as I’m sure is implied by the epithet, but everyone knows that he exists. ”

“Please…What’s next? You tell me that he’s beaten multiple demigods?”

All sense of joy vanished from Yhorm’s voice as he looked at the smug face of Rogier staring at him, “Well then it might seem crazy what I’m about to say…”

Yhorm let out a groan of discontentment, all the while dragging his hand down his face. Well, shit…Last he remembered, the guy had also vowed to remember him and told him to cower in fear of the night. Great…That was just what he needed, a murder hobo on his tail that would attack him on sight. An exacerbated sigh escaped from Yhorm’s mouth as he quickly got up and declared, “Well, sitting around won’t do much, so let’s get going…”

Hearing this made Boc’s ears perk up as he enthusiastically replied, “Oh right, about that! Sir Rogier over here has something to show us.”

“Aye, that’s right! I almost forgot. Think of it as a little thank you for saving my hide back at Margit. I’ve already gone out and cleared the path, so we should be good to go!”

Honestly, Yhorm didn’t have the time, and he really had no reason to either, but that sense of adventure in his heart was practically begging him to, so despite his better judgment, Yhorm decided to take Rogier up on that offer, following as the sorcerer led them up and around some castle rubble to the backside of the castle, and down some cliff sides. The way was surprisingly longer than Yhorm had anticipated, and they further the got the stronger the smell became. It was almost as if they were back in the castle tunnel, the same putrid and foul smell wafting through the air, invading Yhorm’s nostrils. Yhorm’s stomach churned uncomfortably, trying its darned hardest to throw its contents back up.

 Eventually though, they had all but reached their destination, as Rogier pointed off in the distance towards…something, slumped against one of the castle walls. As the trio approached closer, Yhorm could finally make out what it was.

The thing looked like a squid?...no, more of an octopus, and were those thorns coming out from where its supposed mouth would have been? Yhorm’s internal thoughts however, were soon stopped as Rogier spoke up, “Looks like an octopus, doesn’t it?”

Yhorm only nodded in reply, prompting Rogier to continue, “I’m sure by now you too must have noticed the oddities with this castle. The smell…The massive holes…The decay and miasma…And now this. It’s almost like a corpse that’s been dead for ages, isn’t it?”

Yhorm’s eyes widened, as the realization began to dawn on him, “The castle is being eaten from the inside.”

“Bingo…”

“And you believe this to be the source?” This time it was actually Boc who asked, attentively listening to the conversation.

“Precisely. This is why I’m here, not for Godrick, but for this… What use is a Great Rune when I can’t even see Grace. I’d rather carve my own path, and besides, isn’t this a lot more fun?”

Yhorm gave Rogier an excited nod, before replying, “You’ve got my vote on that. But do you even know what this is?”

Rogier bent down next to the…carcass?, before continuing, “Well, I’ve got a few working theories. I believe this to be a side effect of the shattering, but more than that a side effect of the ‘death’ of Godwyn. Are you familiar with those who live in death?”

“Can’t say I am.”

“Well, when Godwyn was murdered, his body was buried at the roots of the Erdtree, and only after that did this anomaly begin to spread, resurrecting the dead, and allowing them to yet live. So, I believe that perhaps Godwyn didn’t really get a ‘true death’, thus spreading this half death, half life thing throughout the Lands Between, after all no one truly knows who it was that staged the Night of the Black Knives, and what they wanted in the first place. Perhaps this is what they were after…But why?”

Yhorm folded his hands over his chest, “I see…But how would one prevent someone from getting a ‘true death’.”

Rogier just shrugged in reply, “I don’t know, which is why I’m here.”

Rogier raised his hands and softly caressed the carcass, with Yhorm watching astutely behind him, and thank Marika that he was because as soon as Rogier’s hand made contact with the carcass, large black thorns shot up towards the unsuspecting sorcerer. Yhorm rushed towards Rogier, barely managing to push Rogier aside as the thorns struck the dirt where he would have been.

“What is that?” Yhorm called out.

“Destined Death…” Rogier declared almost instinctively, before continuing, his voice a lot louder this time, “Listen to me Yhorm! You can’t let any of those thorns touch you, they will kill you instantly! We have to get out of here now!”

That was all Yhorm needed to hear as he beg

an to hightail it to Boc, picking the little beast up, and turning to look back at Rogier just behind him pointing to a ladder in the distance. Yhorm all but leapt at the ladder getting ahold of it with his free arm and started to climb like there was no tomorrow. Three or so minutes of anxiety filled climbing later, they were back in the castle proper, but more importantly they were safe.

Yhorm and Rogier almost immediately collapsed to the floor taking in ragged breaths. It actually took Yhorm a few minutes to realize that both of them were currently laughing. Why? He didn’t know, and nor did he care, because he had missed this. Exploring, adventuring and tinkering had always been a guilty pleasure of his. More than once, he had snuck into the cathedral housing the Profaned Flame, if for nothing than to just marvel at its ever-burning nature. However, he had also managed set the cathedral on fire a good amount of times as well, so much so that he had managed to earn a night watch keeping tabs on him.

“Well, that was a fruitful misadventure, wasn’t it?”

“Well, then I suppose you got what you wanted from it? Well then, let’s hear it.”

Rogier slowly sat up, before continuing, “Say Yhorm, do you know of Maliketh, and the Night of the Black Knives.”

“As much as the next Tarnished does.”

“Well, that should suffice for my purposes. Say didn’t I tell you that those thorns were imbued with Destined Death, but Marika has long removed death from the Lands Between, so how could this be? Think about it?”

Yhorm raised a finger to his chin spending a few minutes lost in thought, when finally the realization dawned on him, “A piece of death was stolen from Maliketh and used to half-kill Godwyn, Godwyn was buried at the roots of the Erdtree, the…destined death from his corpse was twisted and spread all over…the Lands Between…leading to the birth of those who live in death… It’s all connected, isn’t it?”

“Exactly…And now my goal is to find the one responsible for the night of the Black Knives. But before that…Thank you…for saving my life, I mean…again.”

Yhorm slowly got up, extending an arm out to a still sitting Rogier, all the while giving him a soft smile, “Don’t mention it.”

Rogier looked back up at Yhorm and let out an amused chuckle, before taking the giant’s hands. It wasn’t long before the party was back on the move. Somewhere in between Rogier also apparently decided to help Yhorm slay Godrick, since according to him, it was only fair that he helped Yhorm obtain what he had come to the castle for, as the giant had done for him.

Five to Ten minutes of hiding and silently dealing with guards later, the trio was almost to the throne room, with only a few more minutes of hiding and assassinating left. Their journey however, was abruptly stopped as when they decided to duck in a side room and hide from an approaching patrol, they ended up coming across a familiar face, at least one familiar to Rogier.

“Ah Nepheli! Fancy seeing you here!”

“hm? Oh, Rogier. I thought I might see you around here.”

“Yeah, well I managed to run in while the doorman wasn’t looking but I’m here now.”

The woman, who was quite…well-built to say the least, folded her arms as she cheerily replied, “Well, you’re here now. That’s what counts.” before turning her attention towards Yhorm and Boc, “And what about the both of you?”

“I’m-”

“He’s Yhorm, and the little one there is Boc. They’ve saved my life twice, so I’d like it if you were nice to them.”

Nepheli let out a hearty laugh, “Twice? Pray tell, what trouble did you get yourself in this time.”

“Oh, enough about me, what about you? What brings you here?”

“I’m here by decree of my father. To get rid of Godrick and his ‘grafting’ nonsense. They have tainted the very wind itself.”

Rogier turned towards Yhorm giving him a wide grin, before turning his attention back to Nepheli, “What a coincidence! Yhorm here is also going to challenge Godrick. So why don’t we team up?”

“Very well then. I, Nepheli Loux, hereby vow to aid you in your fight against Godrick the Grafted.”

“Great then! Let’s get going on our way, shall we? Last I remember the throne room is this way isn’t it?”

Only that Godrick wasn’t in the throne room, instead occupying the large front yard leading up the large throne carved into the castle itself. The decrepit demigod was ogling the dead body of…was that a dragon? A lesser one sure, but felling any dragon was a feat in of itself. This one was smaller than Agheel sure, but he had barely survived that battle, and if Godrick had felled this one, then maybe he was truly out of his depth.

Only when Yhorm heard the demigod’s voice did he realize that he was speaking, not to them of course, but to the corpse of the dragon, “Mighty dragon, thou’rt a trueborn heir. Lend me thy strength, o kindred. Deliver me unto greater heights.”

The poor bastard had only spoken a few words and Yhorm already disliked the man’s voice. It was sickly, and far too raspy, to come out of the rotund, yet hulking figure standing in the distance. It took some time for the man to notice their presence, turning to face them, before continuing, “Well…A lowly Tarnished.”

The makeshift cape on the man’s back began to shift and twist, before eventually falling off to reveal a writhing mass of limbs attached to the man’s back. It made Yhorm sick. It made him want to gouge out his eyeballs. How could one man be so depraved? Sadly, Godrick didn’t get to hear all the slurs that Yhorm threw at the man, as he continued, dragging his greataxe in front of him and raising it up, “Playing as a lord.” before bringing it smashing down,

“I command thee, kneel!”

*****

Chapter Text

A moment…A moment was all it took for Godrick to close the distance between them. The man’s hulking body moving far too nimbly for someone of his stature. Yhorm had barely managed to ready himself in time for the oncoming blow, before Godrick’s giant greataxe came crashing down, sending him hurtling backwards, and into a wall. A sick crunch emanated from Yhorm’s side as he coughed up blood.

Yep…There goes a rib. Yhorm grimly remarked, as he raised a hand to clean the stream of blood running down the side of his mouth. The action leaving a mess of blood and saliva slathered on the side of his face, and causing his body to cough up even more blood. Maybe a few ribs…

If anything Yhorm had been lucky…Lucky that he didn’t have Boc with him and lucky that he hadn’t chosen to fight Godrick all on his lonesome, because right now, if Nepheli and Rogier weren’t here to keep the big man busy and Boc safe while Yhorm recuperated, then he would have been dead or worse, gotten someone else killed…again. A shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought.

Letting out a long, cough-filled sigh, Yhorm got up, every fiber in his body paining at the effort. Yhorm reached for the satchel behind him, pulling out and uncorking one of the two flasks that Melina had reluctantly given him, at his constant requests of course, when they had last ‘talked’.

Slamming the flask to his mouth, Yhorm quickly swallowed its contents. It was…surprisingly syrupy, and slightly sweet, almost a bit like honey, but that mattered not, what mattered was that it worked. Feeling his senses heighten, and a burst of energy course through his body, Yhorm clenched his machete and ran towards Godrick, parrying a blow meant for Nepheli, and swinging at the demigod with one of his own, the blow while not cleaving straight through the demigod’s leg, peeling away a good amount of flesh.

The pair had done surprisingly well to keep Godrick at bay, the demigod not being able to get a decisive blow on either, but the pressure had definitely been mounting. As Yhorm pulled back from Godrick, evading a swipe of his left hand, Rogier circled back around to meet him all the while quipping, “It’s good to have you back buddy. You took a pretty nasty hit. You alright?”

Yhorm nodded, before replying, “Coughed up some blood, so had to take some crimson tears, but apart from that I’m alright.”

Boc’s ears perked up upon hearing that, as the little beast peeked out from behind Rogier’s back and asked, “Crimson tears? Master Yhorm, didn’t Miss Melina tell you not to use those? I really hope you didn’t steal them.”

“What? Of course I didn’t! Who do you take me for?”

Boc opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Nepheli jumped in, “If you’ve had your touching reunion, I could use your help, you know!”

“Oh right! Sorry!” Rogier declared, quickly casting a spell, and sending five swords made purely of mana whistling towards Godrick, before continuing, “Well, let’s continue this later, if we’re alive to that is…”

Yhorm merely nodded in reply, before charging towards Godrick, the demigod laughing maniacally, as he broke out into a flurry of blows, each of the man’s stolen appendages wielding a weapon of their own. Much to Yhorm’s own surprise, he managed to parry or evade most of them, managing to get away with only minor cuts and bruises, while also fitting in a few of his own, striking true on many, and adequate on the rest.

Only when the intensity became too much, did Yhorm back up, Nepheli quite cleanly taking his place, jumping up and slamming her twin axes into the demigod’s back, as Rogier continued to pepper Godrick with spells from the sidelines. Only when Yhorm had backed off, could he see how ill trained the demigod truly was, wildly swinging his axes in different directions trying to catch anyone who was so unlucky as to be just a tad bit too close. It made sense now why the axe was the primary choice of weapon of the bastard, it didn’t require any skill, just brute strength. Not that Yhorm could say that he was much better, because although he was trained in basic combat with all classes of weapons barring whips, with it being the only one he couldn’t quite master, his weapon of choice was a machete, which although more civilized than an axe was quite crude as well.

Compared to Godrick, if anything, Margit looked like more of a demigod, with the man being far more disciplined and frankly, just plain stronger than whatever was standing in front of him…

It took a few moments for Yhorm’s mind to truly process what he had just thought, before logically, he asked himself…Was Margit a demigod? Last he remembered, Omens were shunned in the Lands Between, so why?...Why would the Veiled Monarch have an Omen as his right hand? Unless…

Yhorm’s internal musings were soon stopped however as Godrick raised his greataxe and began swinging it around, creating a violent whirlwind and sending the party hurtling backwards, before bringing it crashing down…on himself?

A pained, guttural scream escaped the demigod’s mouth, as the man continued to press down on his own arm, cleaving through flesh and bone before finally, with a horrible noise the appendage was torn away from his body, a stream of fresh blood taking its place. The sight made Rogier retch as the poor sorcerer fell to his knees, bringing Boc down with him, all the while holding a hand to his mouth trying his best to prevent his stomach from throwing up its contents.

Nepheli averted her gaze, choosing not to look at the whole ordeal, but in spite of that, she remained steadfast, not flinching in the slightest, leaving only Yhorm looking at the demigod, not with disgust but with morbid curiosity.

Why?...Why would he cut off his own hand, especially when he was already at a disadvantage? The answer to that question soon became clear however; as the depraved man turned his attention away from them and towards the dragon corpse he had been ogling when they had first met the bastard. Godrick raised his stump hand and reached for the corpse’s neck…

“Ahh, truest of dragons…Lend me thy strength…”

It took a few moments for Yhorm’s mind to connect the dots, and begin running towards the man, as he frantically declared, “No! Stop him! He’s trying to graft the dragon to his arm!”

“What!?” That was all Nepheli said, before she too began to bolt towards the demigod. Yhorm had made his way halfway across the courtyard, before the realization finally dawned on him…He wasn’t going to make it.

His arm still outstretched towards Godrick and vision starting to become blurry, guess he had been hurt worse than he thought, Yhorm cursed under his breath when suddenly…

“ P ysäytä hänet!”

It was that voice again…The only difference being that he could understand what it was saying now. Stop him…Not like he wasn’t trying but thanks for the advice anyway random eldritch being. But that wasn’t all, Yhorm felt…angry, like really angry, and an anger which was not entirely his own.

Almost subconsciously, Yhorm raised his hand towards the sky, casting Dragonclaw, but weirder still, he didn’t use it to attack Godrick, instead he just held it there, palm wide open, when suddenly a bolt of red tinged gold lightning, frayed into two at one end and uniform at the other, appeared in his palm.

Yhorm let out a pained gasp as the heat from the bolt seared the flesh of his arm. Yhorm knew that he could feel whatever his dragon arm was feeling, but pain? Oh, he did not know that pain, of all things could also be transferred both ways. Gathering all of the strength that still remained in his battered body, Yhorm hurled the bolt towards Godrick. The latter being caught woefully off guard, with Godrick barely being able to raise his golden axe to shield himself all the while chanting every slur known to man, but Yhorm knew that it would not be enough. In the few moments the bolt had been in his hand, its heat had managed to warp the metal of his bracers.

The bolt whistled through the air, before crashing into demigod’s axe, easily managing to melt and mangle it way through the weapon, before moving on to the demigod’s body. It was quick to say the least, as the bolt pierced through Godrick’s chest, his flesh sizzling and cooking as the bolt made its way forward, eventually tearing clean through and smashing into the ground behind the man leaving a sizable crater where it struck.

Godrick’s massive body stood still for a few moments, before jerking and slumping on the ground, the man spitting up blood, and taking in ragged breaths. Yhorm collapsed to his knees, holding his freshly singed arm with his other, as Nepheli caught up to him and offered him support. It was only when Godrick spoke did Yhorm realize that the man was not dead.

“…I am the Lord of all that is Golden…And one day, we’ll re-return together…To our home, bathed in rays of gold.”

Godrick didn’t get to hear Yhorm’s reply, as the man’s golden eyes slowly turned gray and lifeless, and the heart keeping the body alive died.

“Master Yhorm!” Boc called out as Rogier and Boc ran towards Yhorm, the latter almost instantly tackling Yhorm in a hug, and the former offering him congratulations. Yhorm let out a chuckle, before giving Boc a pat on the back and replying, “Easy there, Boc. I’m injured, remember?”

“Oh, right!” The beast declared, before quickly getting off the giant.

“Thank you.” That was all Yhorm offered in reply, before signaling Nepheli to help him up, the warrior happily obliging. Yhorm got up and slowly staggered to Godrick’s now-dead body, stopping just in front of it. Before, he could do much of anything though, the demigod’s dead body began to glow with a radiant golden hue, causing Yhorm to shield his eyes. Only when the light subsided did Yhorm reopen his eyes, only to spot a brilliant golden rune, made up of a circle and three arcs, forming an intricate pattern, floating in front of him. Yhorm had thought that the rune would be…let’s say a lot more physical, than whatever was currently floating in front of him, but he tried to pay it no mind.

“So, who’s going to take the rune?” A logical question, but one whose reply Yhorm was most definitely not ready to hear.

“What rune?”

All sense of joy vanished from Yhorm’s face, as the question echoed through his mind. No…It couldn’t be…

“That rune.” Yhorm declared impatiently, pointing in front of him, “The one glowing right atop Godrick’s dead body.”

“Are you joking with me? I don’t see a rune. What about you Nepheli?”

“Me neither. Are you sure Sir Yhorm? I mean you have spent a lot of effort, perhaps it could be a mere-”

“Hallucination? Nope! That is very much real, and I am not a big fan of what this is indicating!”

Yhorm had come to Castle Stormveil not to claim a Great Rune for himself, no, for Lordship truly was the last thing he desired. He had just wanted to get to the capital, with Stormveil merely being in the way. Before Yhorm could spend much more time cursing his fate however, the rune rushed towards him, slamming into his chest and throwing stars in his vision. Yhorm crumpled on the ground, the others gathering around him as he struggled to gasp for air, his vision growing blurrier by the second, before eventually everything faded to black.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Roof…Floor…Bed...He was awake, he realized. Only that this time, he wasn’t laying on the hard wooden floor, no, this time was on a bed, and one that was rather comfortable at that. Yhorm let a yawn escape his mouth. It had been more than half a month since Yhorm had come or more accurately, been brought to The Lands Between and this was only the second time that he had been able to sleep on a proper bed. Honestly, Yhorm would have gone right back to sleep as well, if only it hadn’t been for the currently small school of people gathered around his bed. There were many faces that Yhorm recognized at first glance, Rogier, Boc, Nepheli and surprisingly Roderika numbering among them, and yet there were more that he didn’t.

“Good morni-” That was all Yhorm managed to get out, before being bombarded by hugs from Roderika and Boc. The latter practically throwing himself at Yhorm.

“O-ow! Good to meet you to Boc.” Yhorm declared with a smile on his face, before continuing, “And you too Roderika.”

Roderika nodded in reply, before slowly pulling away and giving Yhorm a soft smile, “You gave us a good scare there. I’m just glad you’re all right.”

Boc on the other hand, started crying with joy, all the while refusing to let go, declaring how he would never leave Yhorm’s side ever again. Yhorm merely agreed in reply, all the while running his hand down the little beast’ back. By now, the room had largely began to empty, leaving only a handful of people in the somewhat cramped, yet largely empty room.

Rogier was the next person to greet him. The sorcerer quietly approaching Yhorm, and giving him a punch in the side.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For almost dying on us. I told you I would repay your favor, by helping you get whatever you wanted out of Castle Stormveil! So you had no right to try and die right at the finish line!”

A hearty laugh sounded through the room as Nepheli approached Yhorm, “I think he’s trying to say that it’s good to have you back.”

Yhorm wanted to say something snarky to try and shut up the sorcerer, but honestly, he couldn’t, instead choosing to give him a wide smile, before replying, “Yeah…It’s good to be back.”

The moment lasted for all of two seconds though, as a deliberate cough sounded through the room, Rogier and Nepheli instantly looking back and making way, as a frail yet, confident man, dressed in gaudy, silver armor walked towards the bed, his sharp eyes, peering out from beneath his helm, fixed on Yhorm who by now, had stood up and off the bed.

“Well, this is a rare occasion. I can’t remember the last time a new Tarnished made their way to the Roundtable, and one who bears a great rune at that. Very well, then I Sir Gideon Ofnir, as your senior, bid you welcome.”

Yhorm had no reason to distrust the man, but every fiber in his body was screaming at him, to run away, to squash this threat before it became something he couldn’t handle. But Yhorm couldn’t, not because he didn’t trust his instincts, but because he wasn’t someone who liked to murder old people whenever they looked at him weird.

Seemingly sensing his discomfort, the man, Gideon as he called himself, further added, “It is safe here. You may let down your guard.”

Honestly, Yhorm was inclined to believe the man, not like he had much of a choice in the matter because, fighting someone with overwhelming strength was one thing, but fighting someone who had enough brains to appropriately use that strength was something else, and much to Yhorm’s dismay this man was a prime example of the latter category. So, that’s what he did, relax his shoulders, which as far as he knew weren’t even tensed in the first place.

Gideon apparently satisfied with that proceeded forward, curiously asking, “And you are?”

“Oh, forigve me. I’m Yhorm…Just Yhorm.”

“Very well Yhorm, Your weapons and bracers have been given to the smith for repairs; Nepheli will guide you there, won’t you dear?”

“Of course, father.”

“Excellent. I will be in my study. Should you have any questions to ask, you can find me there. But first, you should get dressed, and have an audience with the two fingers. It has been some time since those dusty doors have been opened, and I suppose the others will also want a look at you, but do try to be quick.”

Yhorm merely nodded in reply, prompting the man to take his leave. Only, when the door closed behind the man did Yhorm take a breath he didn’t know that he had been holding. Thankfully, it was Rogier who broke the silence, “Terrifying, isn’t he?”

Yhorm vehemently nodded in agreement, before questioning, “Nepheli, You called him father. But you-”

“-Don’t resemble him?” Yhorm nodded, prompting the warrior to continue, “My mother died during child birth, and my father was killed not long after. That’s when I met Sir Ofnir…He took me in, fed me and cared for me, so yes, for me, he’ll always be my dad.”

“I’m- I’m sorry for your loss.” The pain of losing loved ones, it was something Yhorm had come to intimately know. For Yhorm too, had no parents, no home to call his own, no, not even a last name.

“Don’t be…I’m proud of him…Of what he has made me…But anyways we should get going.”

Yhorm readily agreed, all the while nodding vehemently, as Nepheli led them out of the room. The roundtable was anything but small, and it didn’t help that Yhorm was as curious as a cat, poking and prodding anything or anyone that he could find, asking questions and trying to delve into the tiniest details. More than once Rogier and Boc had to physically bring Yhorm back on track. He was almost like a little child in a candy shop. But perhaps that was for the best, as it helped him be perceived as less of a threat, because as curious as Yhom was, he wasn’t a fool, he knew that he was not welcomed. Wary eyes were always looking at him with distrust, viewing him as competition, and one that had gotten far too ahead too quickly. Well, the joke would be on them of course, since Yhorm wasn’t even a participant in the race they wanted to stop him from winning. He wasn’t lying when he said that he wasn’t planning on becoming Elden Lord, and it would do some good for everyone to start believing him.

And worse still, having Boc with him was doing him no favors, because although Gideon himself didn’t mind, the same was not true for the rest. Despite this though, Yhorm still ended up striking a conversation with a man named Diallos, Rogier introduced them of course, but even if he didn’t, Yhorm would have probably introduced himself. Apparently, the man was looking for a servant named Lanya, claiming how she was such a tomboy and would get lost easily, and upon some friendly teasing sheepishly confessing that he did indeed fancy her, and quite a lot at that.

It took quite a lot more time to reach the smith then intended, mostly due to Yhorm getting sidetracked every five minutes, but when they did, it was a truly a breath of fresh air, as Yhorm realized that the smith was in fact, not human, but rather misbegotten. Yhorm’s smile though, lasted for all of two seconds as the pair conversed, when he finally noticed the chains on the misbegotten’s ankles.

“You’re a prisoner Hewg?” Yhorm asked, the frown on his face quite evident, as he tried wearing the newly repaired bracer, to see how it fit on his arm. Apparently, the smith had also fixed his chainmail, the darned thing had broken while at Fort Haight, and Yhorm hadn’t bothered to even get it fixed or replaced.

“Don’t read too much in to it. It’s none of your fault. Besides, I like smithing for you fools. If anything, it helps me forget. The sheer terror of her.”

The latter half of Hewg’s statement was noticeably quieter than the rest, so much so, that Yhorm completely missed it, instead asking, “Have you tried breaking them?”

Hewg let out a sigh, picking up his hammer and bringing it smashing down on the chains, “See. Nothing. Believe me; I’ve tried everything in the book.”

Yhorm raised a finger to his chin, all the while sheathing his machete, and equipping his shield, “There has to be something…Hmm…”

Hewg let out a sigh, “There isn’t. Now, scram. I’ve got others things to fix, and now, thanks to you an apprentice to teach.

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “You were the one to tell me that she had a gift.”

“Yeah, well maybe I shouldn’t have.”

About five or so minutes earlier, Yhorm had been told that Roderika had a talent for spirit-tuning, he had then promptly taken one look at Roderika, then at Hewg, and now, she was his apprentice. She should have felt lost, confused even, but no, she felt happy, ecstatic even, that now, she had finally found her purpose. Walking up to Yhorm, Roderika unclipped her red hood and handed it to a very puzzled Yhorm with teary eyes, “Since you are likely unaware. Red is the color of exile…But I’m not in exile anymore, thanks to you, I’ve found it…My home.”

Yhorm was about to say something, but didn’t, instead choosing to give Roderika a wide smile, before tucking the hood in one of his satchels, “I’ll keep it safe.”

“Great! Now that that’s done. Can we get going now? Father is going to kill me if we are any later.”

Yhorm only let out a chuckle in reply as Nepheli grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the inner sanctum. Standing in front of the huge double doors, Yhorm could tell why Gideon had called them dusty, even with his untrained eyes Yhorm could still see a thick layer of grime on them. Placing his hands of the doors, Yhorm pushed with all his might. It was time… to meet the Two Fingers.

*****

Chapter Text

When Yhorm had first heard of ‘The Two Fingers’, he hadn’t expected them to be…well, exactly that…a pair of decrepit, old fingers, constantly twitching ever in the slightest. The sight was…unnerving to say the least, as Yhorm was left wholly stunned, his feet unwilling to move forward even when he wanted them to. Boc, Nepheli and Rogier were also there, standing just outside as if not to disturb the moment. Despite all the things that Yhorm had gotten the fortune or misfortune of seeing, this was definitely among some of the weirder ones, and that was not to say that the rest of the lands were normal, no, if anything this was just a mild upgrade from the amount of weird he had already seen.

It seemed crazy to think that it hadn’t even been a month since Yhorm’s arrival in The Lands Between, and yet, his life in Lordran seemed like such a distant thing, as if just a blurry memory, even though he could recall all of his days clearly. However, before Yhorm could spend much more time reminiscing, a posh, yet stern cough rang out through the large chamber, promptly drawing Yhorm’s attention away from the fingers and down to the side of the room where a… how should he put it lightly— an old woman, yes, that seemed alright, sat, swaddled in more layers of cloth than Yhorm could count.

Only when Yhorm’s attention was fully on the woman did she start to speak, her voice gentle, yet raspy, “Are you that new Tarnished? You’ve done well. I am, Enia, the Finger Reader. I interpret the words of the Fingers, envoys to the Greater Will.”

Although Yhorm had a hundred questions bubbling in his mind, he was also a man of etiquette, instead choosing to slip one leg behind the other, and giving Enia a proper Capitol bow, all the while greeting, “Yhorm. A pleasure to meet thee, madame.”

The woman let out a chuckle, “Madame, he says. It seems young Gideon has stumbled upon a most courteous companion. But aah, look there.” Enia declared, before turning her attention towards the fingers, closing her eyes and continuing, “The fingers tremble. To welcome you, shardbearer. Let their wisdom wash over you…”

Although hesitant, Yhorm nodded, approaching the fingers and standing just in front of them. It was then that the woman’s voice deepened, and became more resolute as she declared, “Great Elden Ring, root of the Golden Order. Anchor of all lands, giver of Grace, 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…” Enia seemed to stop in her tracks, as she mulled over what she was about to say, before eventually continuing, “Empyrean, your Great Rune is a handsome shard of the Elden Ring. Seek another of its kind, to succeed Marika, and restore the Golden Order.”

Honestly, Yhorm was tired, too tired to give a damn about the Elden Ring and just because he had gotten a great rune thrust upon him, didn’t mean that he fancied Lordship all of a sudden. He had no desire to burn or freeze or whatever lordship would have him do this time. But despite all this bubbling in his mind, not a single word ended up leaving his mouth, as instead he softly questioned, “Is that all?”

Enia slowly opened her eyes, turning back to face Yhorm again, before answering, “So it may seem, empyrean. Well, go now…Let the words of the fingers guide you. I fear…you may be our last hope.”

Empyrean? Yhorm had been called that a few times, once by the Dragonlord and twice more right now, but he didn’t pay it much mind, chalking it up to be the Lands Between term for foreigner, after all what else could it possibly mean? If only he knew…

Yhorm gave Enia a farewell bow, before turning around and walking out of the sanctum, just in time to see Rogier and Nepheli looking at him, wide-eyed and jaws practically on the floor. Yhorm was about to say something but before he could Nepheli’s hand shot out grabbing Yhorm, and tugging him behind her as she began to dart through the hold, “We need to get you to father, and quick!” all the while Rogier and Boc struggled to keep up with the pair.

In less than five or so minutes, Yhorm was in the library, standing before a very annoyed Gideon, staring up from his messy table, with squinted eyes, covered with obscure notes and ancient reports, , the door of the chamber promptly locked behind him.

“I-”

“You’ve received the wisdom of the Two Fingers, have you not?”

Yhorm merely nodded in reply, prompting Gideon to continue, “Then I suppose you are aware that they called you an empyrean?”

“I-I don’t see how that’s important, but yes…”

Gideon raised his hand to massage his temple through the opening in his realm, before letting out an exacerbated sigh and declaring, “Of course you don’t…Well, then let me divulge some knowledge. All progeny of Marika and any of her consorts are demigods…and among those demigods, are a select few, three well four to be exact, called empyreans, demigods with the ability to succeed queen Marika and bring about their own age. The Lunar Witch Ranni, Kindly Miquella and his twin, Malenia the Valkyrie, the most secretive of all, the Gloam Eyed Queen and now you, the fifth. I presume you understand where this is going?”

Yhorm held his head in his hands, his breathing quickening ever so slightly as he questioned, “But…I’m not a demigod. I…I remember my mother and she looked nothing like what I’ve heard of Marika. Could-could the fingers have made a mistake?”

“Who knows?” Gideon shrugged, prompting Yhorm to look up at him, as he continued, “I have lost faith in those decrepit things since long ago, which is why I continue to gather knowledge, to become all-knowing, so I’m never told what to think…Not again…But regardless, your secret is safe with me, and I hope the same can also be said for everyone else in this room.”

Yhorm turned around to look at Nepheli, Rogier and Boc staring at him, the sorcerer declaring, “Don’t worry pal, we believe you.” accompanied by the vehement nods of Boc.

Gideon took in a deep breath, “Good, and I hope that it stays that way. But now, if that’s all, I’ll be going to search the archives for any mention of another empyrean.”

Just as Gideon was about to walk away however, Nepheli spoke up, “If I may father, Yhorm here, can also wield ancient Lightning, and if it’s of any use, he is also a drake warrior.”

Gideon’s steely gaze slowly turned towards Nepheli, as he questioned, “And you didn’t think it important to tell me earlier?”

Nepheli audibly gulped, before answering, “I-”

“No matter, better late than never, I suppose.” Gideon dragged a stool over by his table, before gesturing towards Yhorm and commanding, “Sit here, and take off your helm and your breastplate.”

Yhorm happily obliged, taking off his armor, all the while completely disregarding the great rune glowing in his abdomen, as Gideon rummaged through some tools, before finally pulling out a monocle. Taking off his helm Gideon put the thing to his eye, before grabbing a hold of Yhorm’s face and pulling his eyes wide open. This was actually the first time Yhorm had seen the man’s face, with long gray hair, and a pale complexion that went particularly well with the man’s slim and sharp features.

Gideon examined Yhorm’s eyes for some time before pulling away, softly questioning, “How many hearts have you devoured Yhorm?”

“Only one. Why?”

“Remarkable…Turn around for me, will you please?”

Yhorm happily obliged, turning around until his back was facing Gideon. The scholar’s eyes immediately going wide once he spotted what he was searching for…The Dragonlord’s brand. Five horns split at one end, and combining to form the head of a dragon at the other.

“Aha…And there is our culprit…”

“What do you mean?”

“You were right…You are not the forgotten son of Marika, as much as that accursed hair color would suggest, but in fact his heir, as evident from the mark on your back. Though an empyrean? That is news to me as well. The heir has never been mentioned as such... but perhaps there is a gap in my knowledge, after all, I thought you a mere myth, and yet, here you are. Say Yhorm, are you aware of the dragonlord?”

“Aware? Yes, I am aware, or well, more so, I’ve met him. In some sort of vision or something like that. I don’t fully understand it myself, but it was him. Even I could tell that.”

Gideon let out a dry chuckle, when he had read that the heir would use red lightning, he had defaulted to the heir being a dragon, after all even Godwyn had only been able to ever summon gold lightning despite the fact that his beloved had been an ancient dragon herself. It seemed foolish in hindsight, after all, how could he forget that Drake Warriors were quite literally dragons themselves? A grin appeared on Gideon’s face as he declared, “That is…a good sign. There are many in the Hold who feel betrayed by Marika, and I doubt that they would hesitate to exact revenge on her kin. So, it is good that you are not a demigod, regardless though, I will still keep this a secret, it would do you no good to have everyone know of your true status, if anything it will just make the target on your back larger… But anyways, now that this mystery has been solved, do you have any other questions for me or am I allowed to go back to my studies?”

“Actually I do.” Yhorm’s tone became a lot more serious, as he wrangled his armor on, before pulling out the same scroll Kenneth had given him from his satchel, and questioning the man, all the while staring at him with a level gaze, “You read this, didn’t you?”

Gideon’s eyebrows rose slightly at the accusation, before settling down as the man coolly replied, “And what proof do you have that I did?”

Yhorm’s voice rose, as the anger in it became more evident, “The wax seal that Kenneth had used bore a pair of storm hawks, not a lotus, and looking at all the freshly sealed letters on your desk, they all bear a lotus. This time, I presume you know where this is going?”

A wry smile appeared on Gideon’s face as he confessed, “It seems you are brighter than you let on…Fine then, I confess. It was me who read your letter. But you can hardly blame me for taking caution, after all you were asleep for the better half of a week, and could’ve been an enemy of the roundtable.”

Asleep for more than half a week! Just how much time had Yhorm spent, sleeping away on that damn bed? But Yhorm didn’t care about that, at least not right now, instead standing up and walking towards Gideon, stopping just in front of him, “Who says, I’m not?”

Gideon let out a bitter laugh, as he questioned, “Look in to my eyes, and tell me… are you?”

A long silence settled between the pair, the tension in between them so thick, that it could be cut with a knife. Before eventually, Yhorm broke the silence, coldly warning, “Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Yhorm turned around, walking towards the library door, and calmly unlocking it before declaring, “Come on Boc. We’re going.”

Just before he could actually leave however, Gideon called out, “Wait… You’ll still be after more Great Runes, won’t you?”

Yhorm scoffed, “Great Runes? Lordship? I care sod all for that, so you can bloody keep them if ya want. If anything I’m after an experienced warrior, and one willing to teach, preferably. So, now if you’ll excuse us.”

Yhorm stepped outside the library, Nepheli, Rogier and Boc just behind him, but before he could leave, Gideon called out, “Head east from Stormveil till you see some woods and then head north to the Limgrave coliseum. That old man should still be around there… if he’s still kicking that is.”

Yhorm turned around to give Gideon a farewell nod before making his way to main room of the hold. Only when the quartet was fairly far from the library did Rogier speak up, “Phew! I didn’t know you had that in you! Staring down and intimidating the All-knowing! That’s a feat in of itself.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “Oh, please. If anything that was just childish, I gain nothing from making him an enemy.”

“No, Rogier’s right. Father’s hand was hovering right over his staff. He gambled, and luckily, he came out without a scratch. I’ve never seen someone intimidate him so.”

Yhorm shook his head, “All right, enough with the flattering. Now, can anyone tell me how to get out of here? Last I checked, there’s no door.”

Nepheli let out a chuckle at that before answering, “Honestly Yhorm, it’s a miracle that you have survived thus far in the Lands Between, without even knowing that you can travel to places you’ve visited before through grace.”

“Really?” Yhorm questioned with wide eyes, because even though it wouldn’t have shortened his journey by much, it would have saved him a lot more trouble having to go back and forth to Castle Morne. Just thinking about the three days of walking that he had to do made his legs ache.

This time it was Rogier who spoke up, “You do know that the Roundtable doesn’t really exist in the real world, and is rather accessed through grace, right?”

“Believe me, Rogier, If I had known about any of this, I’d have visited this place long before either of us met. I had been riding around Limgrave with a broken set of chainmail and weapons that were in dire need of repair, just hoping to come across a blacksmith. If anything I’m glad to have gotten here at all.”

By now, the party had reached the large table in the common room. Yhorm had mostly ignored the thing the first time around, thinking nothing more of it than a mere decoration. In hindsight, that was quite naïve of him, taking into account the massive spindle of Grace  that was hovering over it, but well, better late than never.

“So…How do we use this thing?”

Nepheli let out an amused chuckle, as she answered, “Just hold your hand out, and close your eyes. Think of the place you want to go, and once you open your eyes again, you should be there.”

“Great!” Yhorm replied enthusiastically, signaling Boc to come hold his arm, before continuing, “Then I guess this is goodbye, huh?”

Rogier flicked the frill of his hat, before replying, “Oh, trust me. Only for now, because I have something big planned and I’m gonna need your help pulling it off. So don’t go and get yourself killed or something. Or I won’t be able to repay your debt.”

Yhorm was about to say something, but stopped himself last second, choosing to instead give Nepheli and Rogier a toothy smile as he closed his eyes and thought of the church of Elleh.

As it would turn out however, Grace worked less like teleportation and more like the bonfires of Lordran, allowing you to teleport from one site to the other with the help of the Lordvessel, at least according to what he had heard from Siegward.

When Yhorm finally opened his eyes he was there. Standing right outside the church, and almost instantly, he could hear the voice of Kenneth, probably giving a speech on his life as Limgrave’s heir, if Yhorm was willing to bet, but even this made him smile as he walked into the church, Boc announcing their arrival, “We’re back! Did you miss us?”

Almost everyone was doing their own thing, Kalé preparing some sort of stew, Kenneth and Irina having a conversation with each other, and surprisingly, Yura sitting in one corner carving a little wooden figurine. It didn’t take long for everyone to look up and then promptly, drop whatever they were doing, before swarming Yhorm and Boc.

Kenneth was the first to greet Yhorm, as Irina picked up Boc and gave him a tight hug, the little beast practically melting at her touch, “My goodness! It’s Sir Yhorm and little Boc. It’s so good to see you both.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “Trust me Kenneth, The feeling could not be more mutual.”

Next it was Yura who chimed in, “Well, well, well…The rookie’s back, and in one piece at that. Then I trust you come bearing good news?”

Kenneth almost jumped up at that, before asking, “Oh yes, I almost forgot! Sir Yhorm, what of Godrick? Is he?...”

“You may rest at ease Kenneth. Godrick is no more…I made sure of that.”

“Oh excellent news! Marvelous even! Come! Come have a seat! The stew should almost be ready. Today is a day of celebration!” Kenneth declared joyfully before backing away from the group and helping Kalé to prepare the bowls. The merchant had been the only one who hadn’t gotten up to greet him, instead offering him a nod of acknowledgement, which Yhorm replied to with one of his own.

“So I suppose you must’ve gotten your first Great Rune then, eh?” Yura quipped, standing in front of Yhorm with his hands folded.

“Aye.” Yhorm declared, pulling up his breastplate to show the rune glowing in his abdomen, “But it’s not like I wanted it in the first place. It was almost as if it chose me. I don’t desire Lordship, I truly don’t.”

“Then, have you thought of a way to get rid of it?”

Yhorm planted his hand to his face, as he cringed inwardly, of all the things that he had chosen to ask Gideon, why hadn’t he asked for a method to rid himself of these runes. Later… He would do it later.

“Not yet…But enough about me, why are you still here?”

“Uh, me?” Yura’s tone became more bashful as he shyly confessed, “Well, I thought it would be better that I stayed until you came back, because what if the church was attacked by bandits or something else of the sort, besides, I was out of leads, leading me to Bloody Fingers in Limgrave. So, I wanted to tell you that I was moving on to Liurnia.”

“Liurnia, huh? I’ve only a few things left over here, so I should be joining you soon.”

Yura put a hand on Yhorm’s shoulder, before continuing, “Then I’ll see you on the other side, rookie. Come now, let’s go eat.”

Yhorm was about to follow Yura, but his attention was soon diverted by Boc screaming for help, all the while being squeezed to death by Irina, “Master Yhorm, please help me!”

Yhorm let out a chuckle as he approached Irina, softly requesting, “Lady Irina, it would be most unbecoming of a noblewoman to squeeze a demi-human to death. So, could you please release my companion?”

Irina let out laugh, letting Boc go, before turning to face Yhorm. The girl moved with so much grace and precision, that if Yhorm didn’t know any better, he’d assume that the girl had perfect eyesight, “Oh please, none of that Lady business now, after all, it would be most unbecoming of me to treat my savior as a servant instead.”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before declaring, “Oh my! How well you have blossomed, my lady.”

Irina let out a chuckle, before continuing, “Oh, knock it off, will you?”

“All right. All right. You have my word…So how have you been faring?”

“Better than I could hope actually.”

“Good, because you might want to prepare for what I’m about to tell you…”

Irina crossed her arms, before declaring, “Well, what is it then? I’m all ears.”

“The servants at Castle Morne, they weren’t…”

“—Human? Believe me, I too had my doubts, I may have poor eyesight, but I’m not completely blind yet. And if are wondering how I know this, well, let’s just say I ‘inquired’ about it from Sir Kenneth.”

“Then what about your—”

“—The innocence of my father isn’t something that matters. He was a kind man to me, and it’s all I want to remember him being. Enough bridges have been burned, and I don’t want to harbor any hate towards the misbegotten, especially when, they don’t harbor any hate towards me either.”

Yhorm was about to say something, but honestly, he couldn’t. A soft smile appeared on his face, as he replied, “One day… I’d like you to go back… Take your place as duchess. But for now, let’s eat; I’ve had a long day.”

Yhorm and Irina walked over to the rest of the group, settling down in their respective spots, Kenneth running around and passing everyone bowls full of stew. Yhorm took a spoonful of broth, as Kenneth finally settled down beside them, “So, where will you be headed next? Liurnia is the obvious answer, but I suppose you wouldn’t have stopped here if that were the case.”

“Honestly, that was the plan…But I’ve decided to go to the Limgrave coliseum first, apparently, I can find a teacher there.”

“A teacher, but why?”

“On my travels, I came across Margit—”

This time it was Yura that cut in, “—The Tarnished hunter?”

“Aye. He absolutely dismantled me, and not only that, Godrick gave me a run for my runes, as well. So I believe that it’s time for a breather, to recoup and relearn.”

“And where will you be settling down during this retreat?”

“Probably Castle Morne, Stormveil is too battered, Fort Haight as well.”

“Ah, I see. Well, we’ll be heading to Castle Stormveil, to reestablish order. But you probably knew that, didn’t you?”

“It would be the logical next step, yes, but will you be safe?”

“Nonsense, Yura here has agreed to accompany us, and if push comes to shove, I can fight too y’know.” Kenneth declared cheerily, before pulling out a dagger from his, now quite faded, cloak.

Yhorm let out a chuckle, before asking, “Ah, that reminds me! Yura, you wouldn’t happen to know a Dragon Communion incantion which allows one to conjure a bolt of lightning, would you? I managed to cast it once during my fight with Godrick, but haven’t been able to since.”

Yura raised a finger to his chin as if lost in thought, before answering, “Can’t say I do. You’d have to ask an incantation specialist. I merely know the basics.”

This time it was Kenneth who spoke up, “An incantation specialist, hm? Well, I’ll have to find where Godrick locked him away, but I might have just the right person. Sir Yhorm how long will you be staying at Morne?”

“A week, perhaps more?”

“That’s perfect, I’ll send an envoy to Morne as soon as I’m able, now come.” Kenneth declared before raising his glass of water up in the sky, “It’s not wine, but it’ll do…Here’s to a brighter future.”

Yhorm smiled, before raising his very own glass in the sky as well, followed by Yura, then Irina and Boc, and finally a very reluctant Kalé, “To a brighter future."

*****

Chapter Text

“Well this is just great!” Yhorm practically yelled out in frustration, clenching his fists, and unceremoniously snapping the two twigs he had been holding. Yhorm had been trying for the past hour to get a campfire started, but it seemed no matter how hard he tried rubbing those two sticks together, all it did was make his frustration grow. How had Yura made it seem so easy, he didn’t know, but what he did know was that at this point, he might have had a better shot at using his head to start the fire instead of his hands, because he was absolutely fuming!

Yhorm let out an exacerbated sigh. He was three days deep into his journey to the coliseum, and if his estimates were correct then tomorrow would be his last. Why had it taken him so long, you might ask? Well, it was because in his hot-headed dumbness, he had decided to accompany Kenneth and Irina all the way to Stormveil, because well, he had to go halfway to Stormveil himself either way and, at that time he had thought it fun to travel with company, which would turn out however, to not be quite true. Yhorm hadn’t managed to get even one night of good sleep, and that was by no means anyone’s fault but his paranoid self.

He had been lucky, if anything actually, with Yura having made his journey considerably easier, by… ‘acquiring’ a pair of horses from a few Kaiden Sellswords that had wandered just a tad bit too close to the church. He had said goodbye to the trio by now, of course, in fact it had been a whole day since he had, his journey taking him to the woods that Gideon had aforementioned, where Yhorm, much to the request of Boc, had set up camp for the night in a ruined shack.

“Now, now Master Yhorm. Fire-starting is quite a difficult craft, and in The Lands Between, where pyromancies are far too common, it is an especially endangered art. Here, allow me…”

Yhorm looked at the little beast and then back at the snapped twigs still in his hands, before letting out another sigh, this one of defeat, and handing them to Boc. The demi-human happily accepting them and then proceeding to start a brilliant fire within five minutes, all the while staring dead straight at Yhorm with the most shit-eating grin on his face.

If Yhorm hadn’t been fuming before, he was most definitely now. Yhorm could swear that he heard Melina laughing hysterically at him, and if the girl’s signature warmth, that was currently enveloping him served as any of an indicator than she probably was, but worse still, the gremlin started to pretend as if the task had been of no major difficulty, all the while trying his darned hardest to suppress a laugh and miserably failing.

“Hm. That was easier than I expected. Surely, this wasn’t what you were struggling on, was it Master Yhorm?”

Yhorm opened his mouth to give Boc a rebuttal but honestly, he couldn’t, to think that the same Boc that was not so long ago, terrified of literally any semblance of danger was now so confidently teasing him, was something that brought a smile to his face.

Yhorm turned around and laid down in front the fire, all the while declaring, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, why don’t you?”

“Well then… *Pfft*… don’t mind me.” That was all Boc managed to get out, before the little beast began to cackle hysterically, kicking his feet and everything.

The moment would only last for two minutes however, as the ever familiar arcane scent of Melina’s mist began to creep up Yhorm’s nostrils. Letting out a grunt Yhorm sat up, just great; even Melina had come to laugh at him personally. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending upon who you ask, the arcane sent wasn’t of Melina’s mist at all, as Yhorm spotted a red mist instead, appearing from within the ruined shack.

Yhorm would have probably spent more time trying to figure out what was happening, only if the first thing that had appeared out of the mist hadn’t been a glowing red sword hurtling towards him at the speed of sound.

Yhorm threw himself backwards as the sword barely missed him, drilling into the ground where he had been laying instead. Only when the sword stopped, did Yhorm take the time to unsheathe his machete, all the while helping Boc to clamber on his back and yelling out, “What…the HELL was that?”

His question would be soon answered however, as not even a minute later, the sword began to glow again, this time heading back the way it came, and into the hands of a man stepping out from the mist, fully clad in plate armor with… are those briars wrapping all around him?

Yhorm’s question would remain unanswered however, as the man charged up his blade and threw it at Yhorm once more. Cursing under his breath, Yhorm pulled out his shield and hunkered down, bracing for impact as the sword ricocheted off of his shield and into the campfire, quite effectively dousing the flame.

“Hey! We— well, at least I, spent a lot of time trying to light that fire! So, I hope you know what you just did!”

He in fact, did not care, as instead of calling his sword back, this time the man proceeded to run towards Yhorm picking his sword up on the way and bringing it slamming down on him, the giant quite effectively parrying the blow, leaving the two foes practically face to face with each other.

Taking advantage of the opening, Yhorm began to practically wrestle with the man, using his larger size to push the man down and get on top of him, all the while declaring, “Who sent you and what do you want?”

Yhorm waited for the man to speak, all the while holding him down with the hilt of his machete, expecting all manner of reply, but what he didn’t expect was not to get a reply at all, as the man said not a single word, only letting out a twisted cacophony of gargled snarls.

“I said speak!” Yhorm declared, all the while pressing his machete against the man’s neck, just hard enough to draw blood, but instead of blood all that appeared was red mist. What Yhorm had failed to notice however, was the familiar red glow that had appeared in the man’s palm.

Almost at once, it felt as if Yhorm was being squeezed in the hand of a giant, as he began to float up from the man, before being flung away and into a nearby tree, Boc barely managing to avoid being squished, by jumping off of Yhorm’s back at the last second.

“Velka, grant me patience, telekinesis? Seriously? This might be harder than I thought. ” Yhorm grimly remarked, as the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth, all the while letting out a ragged and pained breath. No wonder the bastard didn’t care about what happened to him, this whole thing was just a projection, a body double.

He was fighting no assassin, no; he was fighting a damned coward. Slowly getting up, Yhorm wiped away the stream of blood running down the side of his mouth, before checking on Boc, “Boc, you okay?”

“I—I’m all right Master Yhorm. But I think I’m gonna sit this one out.”

Good… That was one less thing he had to worry about. Picking up his machete, Yhorm rushed at the man, exchanging a flurry of blows. Neither would manage to get a decisive one however, as Yhorm backed off, making some space to readjust.

The two circled each other for some time, before finally the man decided to strike first. His sword starting to glow red, Yhorm saw his opportunity, rushing in and knocking the sword away with his machete. The man tried to back off, but before he could, Yhorm grabbed the man’s breastplate, and proceeded to bash the man’s skull with his shield repeatedly, until the battle was, well, and truly, over…

Picking up the man’s battered face, Yhorm brought it close, before menacingly declaring, “I know what kind of man you are… Hide behind these illusions all you will, but I will find you, and when I do I’ll kill you.”

The man didn’t reply, instead raising his glowing red hand towards Yhorm and bring it back in.

“That little trick of yours won’t work again.” Yhorm declared, waiting as the man’s sword whistled towards Yhorm. The giant getting up and sidestepping the blade at the very last second, watching as the man got skewered with his very own blade.

His form beginning to dissolve back into red mist, the bastard finally decided to talk, letting out a maniacal laugh, before declaring, “I’ve takin’ a liking to you. So don’t worry, I’ll be back… You’ll be seein’ a lot more of me.”

Yhorm face transformed into a frown as he angrily snapped, “I’ll be waiting, bastard!”

“Oh, I know you will…” The man declared, as the final remnants of his body faded away, leaving a very sweaty and tired Yhorm and a ruined campfire all to show for it.

“What was that?” Boc declared, as the little beast warily walked closer to an extremely exhausted Yhorm.

“I don’t know Boc…” Yhorm declared, as he walked to nearest tree, and all but collapsed next to it, all the while, letting out a yawn and adding, “Although what I do know is that we shouldn’t let down our guard, who knows when he might attack again.”

The words had barely left Yhorm’s mouth when right on cue, Yhorm could once again smell that same arcane scent. Picking up his machete, Yhorm hastily got up, ready to swing, only for his shoulders to immediately relax upon spotting that it was Melina.

“Oh thank god it’s just you Melina. I thought that the bastard had come ba—” Yhorm grimaced in pain, clutching his side with his free arm, as Melina rushed over, helping him to sit down against the tree.

“Easy there… I knew something like this might happen. After all, you haven’t slept in three days, even with the blessing of the Great Rune, you’re pushing yourself far too much.”

Yhorm let out a pained cough, “I can’t… not tonight.”

“You can… I— I’ll keep watch, and I’ll have Boc with me. I’ll wake you up first sign of trouble.” Melina declared, Boc nodding vehemently in agreement.

“No. I— I can’t put you— either of you at risk.”

“But—”

“No buts… or ifs, or anything else, you might say.”

The girl visibly deflated at that, looking at Yhorm with teary eyes and a pout on her face that made her look downright adorable, “Please?”

One word. That was all Melina had said, and yet, here Yhorm was completely at her mercy. A red blush began to creep up Yhorm’s cheeks, as he looked away bashfully from the girl, before eventually giving in, “All right.”

Melina practically jumped up with joy at that, picking up Boc and spinning him around happily. Yhorm let out an uneven breath, as he raised a hand to his chest to confirm that his heart was indeed beating wildly. Yhorm looked up to see Melina spinning Boc around, as a soft smile nestled its way  onto Yhorm’s face.

“Sorry to rain on your parade, but when I said all right, I didn’t mean tonight. I’ll rest when we reach Castle Morne.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Yhorm let out a chuckle in reply, watching as the pair approached him full of determination, and for once, he felt happy… truly happy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning had come quicker than Yhorm had first anticipated, the night not posing as big of a danger as Yhorm had initially thought. Not that he was complaining though, in fact if anything he was happy, happy that half the night during which Melina had decided to keep watch, no one had dared attack them.

Why half you may ask? Well, let’s just say that both of them were too stubborn for their own good, and as a result a compromise had to be brokered by Boc. The little beast providing quite a good deal to both parties for all intents and purposes.

“We’re almost there Boc.” Yhorm declared, all the while riding towards the giant coliseum, now much more visible, in the distance. It was actually getting quite late by now, the majority of the day having been taken up by navigating the woods on the way.

As Yhorm got closer and closer to the giant structure, Torrent’s gallop slowed to a trot, the pony coming to a complete halt under a colossal bridge running overhead. As the last remnants of sunlight began to disappear, paving the way for the night, Yhorm decided to set up camp , this time only having to spend a grand total of thirty minutes, trying to light a fire and succeeding in doing so, which in Yhorm’s books was a win. Gosh, how he missed being a Lord of Cinder, which was a sentence that Yhorm thought that he would never say, and yet, here he was. Honestly, it had never really occurred to him just how difficult lighting a flame truly was. After all, the Capitol had the profaned flame, and he was a Lord of Cinder. Fire and storm, those were two things that were in his very nature. Archery too, but that mostly due to blood, not his environment.

Taking out whatever leftover rabbit meat that he currently had on him, Yhorm threw it on the campfire, watching as the meat sizzled, before taking it off and eating it for dinner. It was by no means a lavish feast, but that wasn’t really what Yhorm was after, all he needed was something to bide him over till he finally reached Castle Morne.

Letting out an exacerbated sigh, Yhorm relaxed his shoulders. The campfire was beginning to dim now, Boc already fast asleep just in front of him, and Yhorm’s exhaustion finally catching up with him. Closing his eyes, Yhorm let out a loud yawn, but before he could doze off however, the cold touch of steel resting against his neck jolted him awake.

A raspy, yet refined voice called out, warning, “Don’t. Move. Answer my questions and you may get to live.”

Yhorm merely nodded, raising his hands in the air, prompting the voice to continue, “Good… Now, who sent you?”

“I was told by a man named Gideon Ofnir that I could a wizened Tarnished willing to teach, here, right at this coliseum.

“I see… So Gideon sent you then, ey? That old fool is alive then, is he?”

Yhorm nodded in reply, before asking a question of his own, “Then I suppose you are the one I was looking for?”

The man’s giant curved greatsword pressed against Yhorm’s skin just a little bit harder, “I think I told you to answer questions not ask them, didn’t I.”

Yhorm nodded, prompting the voice to continue, “Why are you after a teacher? I don’t go around teaching anyone who comes knocking, or well, anyone at that.”

“I’ve got something dear to me… something or well, someone I wish to protect. I beat Godrick you see, not on my own, no, but it is true that I did fell him—”

“Wait… so you’re the chump that beat Godrick?”

Yhorm nodded, “Only by the barest of margins, and that too due to a power given to me, and one which I can’t even control in the first place. I want—no, need to get stronger, and if you won’t teach me then I’ll find someone else…”

A smirk appeared on the knight’s face, as he lifted his curved greatsword off of Yhorm’s shoulder and declared, “Get up Tarnished, and unsheathe that machete of yours.”

“I don’t want to fight you…”

“You want me to teach you, don’t you?”

Yhorm nodded, getting up and unsheathing his machete, before turning around to face the man, prompting him to continue, “Good… Now here’s the deal, if you manage to land even a single strike on me, I’ll be your teacher, and if you don’t then you’ll just have to find someone else. Come now, don’t be shy.”

Yhorm raised an eyebrow at the man’s offer, before perplexedly questioning, “You… want me to hit you?”

The man let out a chuckle, sheathing his great sword in favor of picking up a random stick from the ground, “No, you misunderstand… I want you to try.”

A smile appeared on Yhorm’s face as he readied himself, before charging at the man. His machete held high, Yhorm raced towards the man, bringing it crashing down, only for the man to sidestep the blow just enough for it to miss him entirely, “You have power that much is true. But you lack technique.”

“Yeah I know.” Yhorm declared, heaving his machete up and out of the ground and taking a wide swing at the man. Which much to Yhorm dismay would not meet its mark, as the man ducked under the swing and sent Yhorm tumbling with the slightest poke of his stick, “Power is no use when it can be used against you. Don’t overcommit, lest you want to give the opponent the upper hand.”

Yhorm let out a grumble, swiveling around and taking a swing at the man’s legs which he easily jumped over, giving Yhorm’s helmet a good smack using his stick, “Oh, I almost forgot, I’m Istvan. Care to share your name?”

 Yhorm didn’t reply, pulling out his halberd and slamming it into the ground, before using it as a pivot to fling himself forward at an unguarded Istvan, and taking a controlled strike, “And I’m Yhorm. Just Yhorm.”

The instant movement surprised Istvan, forcing him to unsheathe his machete and parry the blow, before instantly, backing off and declaring, “All right. I’ve seen enough.”

“Wait what? But I haven’t landed a blow on you yet.”

Istvan let out a little chuckle, “Don’t be so modest, shardbearer. You made me unsheathe my greatsword. That alone is a commendable feat…”

“So does that mean?...”

“Yes, you have passed. I’ll be your teacher… So do try not to disappoint me, will you?”

Yhorm practically jumped up with joy upon hearing that, punching the sky and all, prompting Istvan to add, “Careful now, you wouldn’t want to awaken you little companion now, would you?”

“Oh, right.” Yhorm declared, shushing his voice as he quietly added, “So, we’ll be heading to Castle Morne after this, where we’ll begin my training, so if you have some unfinished business here, now would be the time to finish it.”

“Castle Morne? Last I heard the place had been overrun with misbegotten. Going there would be suicide!”

“Yeah, about that… It’s just that those misbegotten, just so happen to be our friends.”

Istvan let out a chuckle, “You Yhorm, are a real specimen. No wonder why that oaf Gideon sent you to me. Very well then, we’ll ride at dawn.”

“Oh yes, about that as well, there is really no need to, I can see Grace, so we can really shorten our journey, by finding the nearest spindle.”

Istvan shook his head, “Bah! I’d rather die than use that golden bitch’s, so called ‘Grace’, we’ll ride to the Castle, the good’ol fashioned way.”

“I really don’t think that’s necessa—”

“—You’ve a spirit beast, have you not? Then use it!”

Yhorm let out an exacerbated sigh, as Istvan stomped off towards Yhorm’s campfire, settling next to Boc. Just great...

Only when he had finally decided to save himself some trouble, by using this ‘Grace’ did someone have to come around to make sure that he didn’t get his rest. Planting his hand to his face Yhorm let out another exacerbated sigh, before making his way to the campfire and settling down. Later… He would rest later… Lest he wanted to get punished by Melina, which honestly, didn’t sound bad, and at least to him sounded like a good deal.

*****

Chapter Text

“Ah, the Weeping peninsula… How long has it been, Master Yhorm?”

Boc asked a very much sleep-deprived Yhorm, managing to earn naught but a groan, as Yhorm sat atop Torrent, his eyes barely open and head slowly nodding. It was the third quarter of the night of the fourth day, and Yhorm had just barely entered the peninsula, Torrent’s hooves clattering noisily against the colossal stone bridge connecting the two continents together, as Yhorm took in a deep breath, finding some solace in the fact that it would soon be over.

Gwyn’s sunlight, he really should have listened to Melina… But was it really his fault? After all, how would he have known that the man Gideon had recommended to him would be an absolute nutcase. Well, in hindsight, it was Gideon after all, that recommended the man, so he was bound to have at least some screws loose. Yhorm let out a sigh, it had taken him four days to reach the peninsula, divided into the completely ‘normal’ sets of two days of constant riding separated by only a three hour break to ensure that Yhorm didn’t break down completely… yet, with a major emphasis on ‘yet’, because at this point he was getting close.

As Torrent made his way further into the peninsula, Istvan, who till this point had been relatively quiet spoke up, “Something’s off… It’s quiet… far too quiet.”

Yhorm raised an eyebrow at the man’s comment before replying, “The place is a lot more untamed than Limgrave, so the nights do feel a little erie at first. Although, I assure you it is of no danger.”

“No… It’s not that. I’m almost sure… We’re being stalked…tell Torrent to slow down.”

Yhorm gave Torrent’s reigns a tug, prompting the pony to slow down, as the party slowly got off, Istvan calmly declaring, “We’ll continue on foot… It too dangerous to ride on Torrent, lest we want to attract more attention towards ourselves than we already have.”

The remaining journey went a lot slower than what Yhorm anticipated, the night posing a bigger difficulty than Yhorm had first thought. It was just the beginning of the last quarter by the time Yhorm reached the peninsula map obelisk. The site serving as both a waypoint and a measure of how close they were.

Just before Yhorm could relax however, Istvan rushed towards him joining up their backs, and anxiously warning, “Ready yourself!” Yhorm didn’t argue pulling out his machete, and helping Boc to clamber onto Sir Istvan’s back. The knight calling out, “You said you were friends with the misbegotten right?! Well, it about to be put to the test!”

Before Yhorm could ask any questions however, a giant maroon blur shot out from the darkness, and lunged towards Yhorm, it’s giant weapon clanging noisily against Yhorm’s machete as the giant parried the blow, the force still sending Yhorm skidding back as Istvan was thrown away. But the attacker didn’t give up that easy, turning around and taking a swing at Yhorm.

The attacker’s blade interlocked with Yhorm’s machete as the blur began to push down on Yhorm, jus before Yhorm could buckle however, his eyes fell upon the attacker’s blade.

Wait… I know that Blade!

“Stop! It’s me, Yhorm!”

The force behind the blade ceased immediately, as Leo reared his giant red mane into view before perplexedly questioning, “Yhorm? What are you doin’ ‘ere?”

The giant only gave a crooked smile in reply, before offering, “Surprise?”

It took a few good minutes to get everything settled down, his current situation explained, and everyone introduced to each other, before finally Yhorm started, “Okay. Now what, in Gwynevere’s name, are you doing here… especially at this hour?!”

The large misbegotten let out a scoff, “I should be askin’ you that. You’re lucky I recognized ya voice, otherwise I woulda’ killed ya.”

“Yes, that. Exactly, that… why?”

The misbegotten raised an eyebrow at that, “So ya really don’t know?” Yhorm shook his head prompting, the misbegotten to let out a sigh, before continuing, “You’ve been walkin’ ‘round, emittin’ the exact same scent as that grafting obsessed fool. Y’know for a second I thought that the bastard had come to visit me himself, would’a saved me the trouble of going there and killin’ him. But now that I think ‘bout it though, your scent still got that scaly hint to it, in fact if anything, it’s gotten stronger.”

Yhorm let out a laugh, right, even though, no one at the hold had been able to sense it, it only made sense for him to give off Godrick’s scent, after all, it was his great rune that was currently, glowing weakly in his abdomen. And why hadn’t Boc pointed that out to him, well, probably because he had just gotten used to it, “You don’t have to worry about him coming anytime soon, Leo…”

The misbegotten raised an eyebrow at that, “What makes ya say so?”

A grin appeared on Yhorm’s face, “The fact that I killed him.”

Leo’s eyes went wide, as the misbegotten slowly asked, “Wait. Then does this mean?”

“Yep.” Yhorm declared patting his belly softly with both hands, before continuing, “I’m a shard-bearer now.”

The words had barely left Yhorm’s mouth when the entire party began hysterically laughing, Istvan too chuckling slightly, prompting Yhorm to ask, “What? It is something on my face?”

Boc would answer his question however, slowly collecting himself, before declaring in between chuckles, “Master Yhorm, please don’t say that! It is far too suggestive, even though you something completely different instead.”

“What? What does it mean?” Yhorm declared, honestly curious, but his question wouldn’t get an answer as Boc burst into laughter once more, prompting Yhorm to let out a grumble, before storming off ahead of the party, “Fine! Don’t tell me… I didn’t want to know anyway.”

The remaining journey proceeded as normal, the party reaching the castle with little trouble. It was well into the morning by the time Yhorm reached the castle, Leo announcing their arrival, prompting a whole bag of misbegotten to come and take a look at him, waving and smiling incessantly. The moment would last only two moments however, as Leo with a far too devious grin on his face, swung his hand around Yhorm’s neck, before declaring, “Listen up ya little shits! Yhorm ‘ere has just killed that big ugly bastard Godrick, so you know what that means, it’s party time!”

Leo released Yhorm, leading Istvan and Boc in, while ushering the misbegotten to make preparations. Leaving a currently hyperventilating Yhorm standing in the gateway. What he had done to go through such misery, he didn’t know, but what he did know was that if he didn’t get some sleep soon, he would have some blood on his hands.

Lazily, making his way into the castle, Yhorm found the pillar nearest to him, and collapsed next to it. Looking around, Yhorm could see that the misbegotten had really cleaned up the place, everything from the elevators, to the rooms and walls, they all looked newly refurbished. And surprisingly, it made Yhorm frown, how could the Golden order consider the misbegotten any less than human? Was this not a textbook example of a society, in fact according to him it served as a better example of individuality than Stormveil. At least here, everyone could do what they wanted. Yhorm turned his head to see Boc talking happily with a few misbegotten, and Istvan walking with Leo while laughing. A soft smile pursed Yhorm’s lips as the giant thought inwardly, one more day. For them, he could most definitely spare one more day.

Before Yhorm could doze off though, the familiar arcane scent of Melina invaded Yhorm’s nostrils, as the girl appeared in front of him, before settling next to him and asking, “You said you would rest once you finally got to Castle Morne.”

Yhorm let out a sigh, “Yeah, I know… But look at them, they’re so happy. I don’t think I have it in me to break their heart.”

Melina let out a chuckle, before affirming, “I know you don’t, so…” Melina raised her hand to rest Yhorm’s head against hers, “Just let me enjoy this little moment of respite. For once let me act as your maiden. Your thoughts, goals, ambitions, share them with me…”

It didn’t take long at all for Yhorm to fall asleep, the giant’s mouth just slightly parted, making his face at least to Melina seem downright adorable. Slowly turning towards Yhorm, while making sure that no one was currently looking, Melina declared, “When this is all over, I’ll have you all to me… But for now this’ll do, and just so you know this one doesn’t count…”

Melina leaned in close, using one of her hands to tuck her hair behind her ear and the other to hold herself, before pressing her lips softly against his. It was short, sweet and yet, the passion was undeniably there. Melina slowly pulled away, savoring every moment, before slowly and carefully getting up, giving Yhorm a farewell smile, and taking her leave, almost as if she hadn’t even been there. Now she was sure, he may have fallen first, but she had fallen harder… So much harder.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He..y Yh..orm. Hey Yhorm. HEY! I’m speakin’ to ya’ere! Wake up ya fucker!”

Yhorm raised a hand to rub his eyes, before groggily opening them to see Leo currently standing over him, “Honestly! I let ya outta my sight for two seconds, an’ you go on ahead to bed.”

Yhorm let out a yawn, “What time is it?”

“Hm? It’s the afternoon. Why’d you ask?”

Yhorm slowly dusted himself off, before continuing, “It’s just that the sky looks quite dark, I guess it might rain soon.”

Leo turned around and looked up at the sky, “Yea, you’re probably right… which is why I came to wake you up. You think I didn’t catch you snorin’ outta the corner of my eye, while we were preparin’ for the celebration?”

Leo turned around to look at Yhorm, “What’s with the smug face?”

“Hm? Oh, It just feels like I just had the sweetest dream, and yet for some reason, I can’t recall.” Yhorm declared, before licking his lips, “What was it?”

“Well anyways, come inside now, will you? Eveyone’s waitin’ for ya.” Leo declared, before extending out a clawed arm out to Yhorm.

Yhorm gave the misbegotten a warm smile before taking his hand, “Yeah… Let’s.”

The rest of the day would go as normal, Yhorm, Boc and Istvan enjoying the feast and as much as Yhorm had expected it to, it actually didn’t end up raining.

“Yhorm didn’t I tell you to bring Edgar’s brat with ya, next time ya came to visit? Does she still…”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, as Leo accompanied him to his room, “Relax Leo, the girl doesn’t harbor any hate. I’ve told her to visit y’all when she’s ready, but right now, she’s with Kenneth at Stormveil. The girl has just lost her father and no offence; you all are a rowdy bunch. I think right now, what she needs most is peace.”

Leo threw his hands behind his back, “Well I’ll take your word for it.” His tone growing more playful as he asked, “And what about the ‘other person’ I asked to see?”

A grin appeared on Yhorm’s face as he approached the Site of Grace next to the door of his room, “Actually, I’ve planned that too.”

Almost on cue, Melina appeared next to Yhorm, giving the misbegotten a curt bow, “Greetings. I am Melina. Yhorm’s oath sworn maiden…”

A grin appeared on Leo’s face as the misbegotten lowered himself to give the girl a crooked bow, before declaring, “And I am Leo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You mispronounced lover by the way.”

Yhorm raised a hand to cover his eyes, he should have known that Leo would try something; it was in his nature after all. To be the biggest nuisance one has ever encountered. But before Yhorm could say anything to placate Melina however, the girl raised her fist and clocked the misbegotten square in the side, sending him tumbling down, and squirming on the floor.

“Phew… I know why you hit him now, Yhorm. It just feels so satisfying.”

Yhorm’s jaw fell wide open, but before he could say anything though, Melina quickly strutted towards Yhorm’s room, opening the door, before quickly ushering Yhorm in and declaring, “If that’ll be all, then good night to you.” Before smashing the door closed.

Melina let out a sigh, “He sure is a handful, isn’t he?”

Yhorm let out a chuckle, “That’s why I like him. Always keeps me on my toes.”

Melina too let out a giggle, “Well, It’s getting late, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Hm? All right, I still have some stuff to do so you go on ahead.” Yhorm declared already walking towards the room door. Before he could open it however, Melina rushed in between him and the handle, “Yhorm you seem to be forgetting something… like you know the promise you made earlier?”

Yhorm let out a nervous chuckle, as he looked at Melina’s face the suppressed anger clearly visible, “What promise would that be, do tell?”

“You said you would rest when we got to castle Morne. Right?”

Yhorm looked down at a visibly angry Melina standing in front of him, and honestly, the mere sight of her made his heart melt, “All right. Whatever you say.” Yhorm declared before turning around, but Melina wouldn’t let him escape, getting in front of him, and slowly backing him against the door. Melina grabbed Yhorm by the collar, before pulling him down, “Do try not to break our promise… because I will find you, and this time the consequences will be… less lenient.”

“Yes ma’am.” Yhorm managed to choke out as Melina released him, before this time actually taking her leave. Yhorm walked towards his bed, and all but collapsed on it. Gosh, how madly he loved her…

And yet, he couldn’t dare let himself show it. Oh, how he was a craven man, but that wasn’t even the worst part, the worst part was that she loved him back. How could she? No, How dare she love someone as broken as him? And oh how he wished to love her back…

Yhorm let out a sigh; all of this thinking was making his head spin. Later… He would deal with it later. Taking off his breastplate and helm, Yhorm shut his eyes, practically hurling his consciousness into the realm of dreams in the process.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Yhorm’s days at the castle would go as planned of course, the giant waking up, eating breakfast, going out to train with Istvan, declaring how surely today it would rain, his prediction turning out to be wrong, taking some writing classes with Boc, dinner and then repeating the whole thing again tomorrow. In fact, by the fifth day Yhorm had settled into a sort of routine, going about his day almost subconsciously, but only when it had begun to cement itself did something have to come up and upturn the whole thing, in the form of the long-awaited delegation from Stormveil.

Leo had told him that a delegation from the castle had crossed over from Limgrave, and would be arriving within a day or two, but Yhorm hadn’t expected them to be here the very next day. And thus, here he was standing outside the castle walls waiting to greet, whomever Kenneth had decided to send over to Yhorm.

An incantation expert, eh? Then probably a mage, maybe even a priest. But what Yhorm didn’t expect Kenneth to send, were two knights clad in bronze armor, each carrying a peculiar shield with a curving horn growing out of it, and a sword, riding atop horses equally clad in armor. They almost reminded him of the first enemy that Yhorm had ever come across in the Lands Between. Apart from them, there were also two more knights, the flag-bearers probably.

As the company drew closer, the knight in the lead stopped, dismounting his horse, followed by the rest, before making his way towards Yhorm. Standing just before Yhorm the man knelt down, his voice far more refined and grander than Yhorm had expected, “Greetings, Lord Yhorm, I am Atticus, commander of the Stormveil army, and this right here, is my right hand man, vice-commander Archon.”

“It’s an honor to meet you my lord.” The second knight declared.

“Please! Raise your head, I’m no lord… I’m merely a wandering warrior.”

The men slowly rose, the senior of the two knights speaking up first, “Then at least let me call you Sir. You have earned as much for getting rid of that bastard named Godrick. Oh how big of a whore his mother must have been to give birth to such a big bastard such as him. I would have gutted him myself if the little bitch hadn’t locked me in some evergaol.”

Leo smirked at that, “Oh, I like him.”

“Master Atticus, I do believe that you shouldn’t use such foul tongue in front of Sir Yhorm. It is most unbecoming of you.”

“Oh, shut your trap, Archon! It’s only true.”

The younger of the two man, Archon as he was called, let out a sigh before looking at Yhorm, “He’s a bit eccentric, but do bear with him, when he teaches, he really does.”

Yhorm merely nodded in reply, turning his attention towards Atticus, “Why don’t we take this inside. Let’s not stand and talk on the roadside. After all, who knows when it might rain?”

“Hm, you are right. Very well, then lead the way.”

It wouldn’t even take five minutes for Atticus to become distracted again, the man immediately recognizing Istvan, and chatting up a storm. It was almost midday by the time he finally got arounf to teaching Yhorm. The man sitting on a wooden chair, with Archon standing next to him and Yhorm in front.

“So in your battle with Godrick, you managed to cast a red lightning bolt, and haven’t been able to do it since. Is that right?”

The giant nodded, prompting the man to continue, “And you’re a dragon-warrior as well?”

Yhorm nodded again, “Well, then it might just be a case of not having eaten enough hearts, but that seems unlikely, after all, I’ve heard of no such incantation, ever used by a mortal.”

“So is there no possible way?”

Atticus let out a low chuckle, “Nothing is really impossible when it comes to incantations, faith has no boundaries of course.”

“Pardon?”

“Incantations are based on faith. The more faith you have, whether in an object or concept, the stronger the incantation. For example, we are crucible knights, we have faith in our link to the holy crucible of life, the horn on our shield serves as proof of that faith, allowing us to manifest it’s aspects. Likewise, zealots of the Golden Order believe in Marika, and a mere idol can serve as proof of that faith.” Atticus declared, before signaling to Archon, the man summoning a pair of golden bronze wings, and floating above the ground, leaving Yhorm staring up in awe.

“But you… are different. Dragon warriors don’t believe in something else, they believe in themselves being dragons. The heart you eat merely serves to strengthen that faith. Why is it often times needed? Because no man born of human flesh would ever believe themselves to truly be dragons, but by devouring a heart, well now you have a reason.”

“But what do you mean?”

“What I mean my dumb-witted pupil, is that all you need to summon that lightning bolt again is for you to believe that you can. And only after you have managed to produce even a single uniform bolt, will I let you learn the aspects of wings, which you have been ogling for the past five minutes.”

“I—uh, I won’t let you down.” Yhorm declared, quikly looking back down at Atticus, before turning around and walking to the middle of the courtyard.

Atticus let out a chuckle, “Do try not to disappoint me.” His sentence accompanied by the loud band of thunder, as the first drops of rain began to fall down.

Archon, slowly descended down, his wings dissipating, “Do you think it’s possible, Master Atticus? Red lightning has only ever been wielded by dragons.”

“Well, that’s up to him to decide.” Atticus declared, getting up and heading inside, “Only time can tell, whether this storm will break him or turn him into erdsteel.”

The entirety of the remaining day would be spent like this, Yhorm trying and failing over and over to summon a lightning bolt, all the while being drenched in the freezing cold rain, his body burning up with a fever. More than once, Yhorm would stumble onto one knee due to the exhaustion, but he wouldn’t give up, and then, finally…

Yhorm raised his hand into the sky and this time, a brilliant gold lightning bolt flashed into existence in Yhorm’s palm, prompting him to scream into the sky, “Did you see that Atticus! You beautiful bastard!” before collapsing onto the ground.

Surprisingly, the old general did, the man signaling Archon and Leo to bring him inside, all the while smiling under his bronze helm. Leo would help Yhorm stumble all the way to his room, the misbegotten going as far as helping a very distressed Melina, take off the man’s armor, wipe him down and nestle him into bed, before taking his leave.

“Honestly Yhorm, you are going to be the death of me.” Melina declared, while putting a blanket over Yhorm. The girl sitting on the bedside, before continuing, “Please take more care of yourself. I demand it from you. After all, I—I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Melina let out a sigh, getting up to take her leave, but before she could , Yhorm’s hands shot out grabbing her wrist, before pleading, “Please… Please don—‘t go. I’m so… very cold.”

“I know Yhorm, it’s the fever, don’t worry you’ll be fine.” Melina declared, before trying to pull away.

Only for a very delirious Yhorm to grip her wrist even tighter, “No… No… you’ll lea..ve me in this cra—crate and I’ll never see you again! Don’t go… Don’t leave… You love me… ri..ght?... Don’t you?”

Melina turned around, “All right…” She didn’t know what exactly Yhorm was seeing right now, but she knew, she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to, making space for herself, Melina laid down next to Yhorm, nestling the giant’s head against her chest. Yhorm was clutching her protectively she realized, as if she would escape and he would lose her forever. Melina looked down at Yhorm’s bare chest, tracing around the edges of the many scars and healed wounds lining it. In hindsight, she knew so little about him, what this man had been through, what demons he had been fighting, and yet she felt more at ease with him than anyone else. Is this what love did to people?

No, Yhorm had always been like this, picking up her problems and treating them as his very own, and yet, not telling her a word of his past. Yet still, she felt the urge, no need to protect this man, to hide him away from the world, and not share him with anyone else. Right now, sleeping soundly next to her was someone she treasured, and all Melina could hope was that Yhorm thought the same…

*****