Chapter 7: The Kindling Maiden

Get out of there!

I rush out of my room, nearly colliding with my doorway as I run for my life.

The monster: that grotesque behemoth I know all too well, comes crashing into my upstairs bedroom, nearly breaking down into the first floor. In the dust of pulverized drywall and shredded insulation, the Grafted Scion lets out a bone chilling roar, one mixed up with the screams of a thousand souls. The noise assaults my ears, makes me flinch hard enough to trip. Ornamental straight swords slash eight times in half a second into the dividing wall between my bedroom and the upstairs catwalk, before the creature itself rams through it.

I spare a peek; my face contorts into horror.

It's hideous.

It drips fluids like a soaked bundle of cloth. Walking on four legs and two arms, two swords and a shield stuck on the end of spindly limbs. Back covered in gilded fabric, erratic arms sticking out everywhere, twitching like dying insects. A human face stares at me amongst the boils and rot, and two eyes that glow like embers pierce mine.

I make a decision, without any thought of hesitation or planning. I jump, vault over the catwalk and fall into the living room below. Like a rat escaping a snake, I'd rather break my legs than be caught by that thing. Something pops in my right ankle when I land, but I ignore it.

I make a beeline for the front door; the scion takes a much more destructive path down. I don't hear what happens, I don't think I want to know. Splinters spin by, a cacophony of tearing wood and falling debris echoes about me. A deep and constant grunt comes from the scion like a guttural engine, the noise of blades zip about mere inches from my fleeing form. It's forcing its bulk through my family's house, chasing me with an unending lust to take my head. The tv sparks when it's crushed, plates I didn't put away shatter on the nearby kitchen countertop. My family's clock is obliterated, lights and ornaments shatter as they crash onto the rubble covered carpet. It sounds like the whole house is coming down, I nearly black out when a chunk of drywall breaks against my cranium.

I reach the front door; I thank my lazy self for not bothering to lock it. The door swings open, and I-

A blade erupts from my chest.

"I-."

I stand dumbstruck for a moment.

The breeze returns, Melina's locks wave in it like drapes of silk. She considers me for a moment, before she lowers to kneel on the ground. Feeling awkward, I sit down, never really losing the expression of a deer in headlights. The ground is damp, but in a soothing way. Nothing like the diseased place that was my cell; it helps calm my nerves a little. In the light of the golden fire, Melina watches me with a patient expression, like she's waiting for me to say something.

"I-." I try again.

When words fail me, I can only speak my mind.

"What was that?"

The massive tree looms overhead, as if it were eavesdropping in on our little conversation. Besides that, there's not a sign of anything else. It's like we're in our own little universe.

"That…" Melina considers her words. "…That was the roots of the Erdtree, a realm where only a select few can enter."

She leans forward, the golden flame gravitates toward her fingertips when she reaches out for it.

"I have used them for travel, and they are how I was able to retrieve you."

I find myself staring down at the golden flame, which spouts from what looks to be a mess of breached wood, that comes to the surface like the roots of a tree. The flames wavers back and forth, like it were affected by the wind as well.

"Thank you." I say.

Melina's small smile returns.

"Your gratitude is appreciated, Tarnished, but it is not needed."

She looks skyward, trailing one of the glowing petals the titan she called the Erdtree sheds. Her voice is slow and articulate, motions peaceful and calculated. While she does smile, it can barely be considered one.

"It has been many years, since I have spoken to another, I have forgotten how soothing it can be."

"Lance." I say.

Melina looks back at me, I raise my eyes to meet Her's.

"My name is Lance."

I tense up a little. That came out wrong.

"Sorry! I didn't mean anything by it. It's just; everyone keeps calling me Tarnished, but I have a name too." I perk up a little. "Oh. And since you told me your name, I thought… it might… be… polite."

I trail off, averting my gaze. I'm embarrassed. This is the first person I've met whose eyes don't bleed hostility; I might have gotten too comfortable a little too quickly. Against the thoughts that started swirling in my head, Melina snickers.

"Very well, I shall call you Lance. You are kinder than most, I am glad I was able to save you."

A flash overtakes my mind, breaking in and overthrowing my thoughts. A blade in his gut, blood on my hands. Face in agony, pupils dilated, eyes dead. I get a shiver.

"I'm not kind. You're wrong."

I need to shut up, but either through conviction or desire, I continue.

"I killed a man, murdered him with my own hands."

Melina watches me examine my hands like they're aliens, my face slagged of emotion.

"I have committed a crime, I have sinned. So please don't call me kind."

Melina sighs.

"I am aware, I was there."

My eyes go wide.

"What?"

She considers the golden flame between us.

"…I must have you know Lance, that I am not considered alive."

I fall silent.

The flame reflects in her pupil, her face devoid of any smile or laugh.

"What I think was my body burned long ago, razed until nothing but ash remained. I am but a remnant of myself, unable to exist without the light of the Erdtree. This breach and others like it are the only places I can become apart of this world again. I cannot leave the realm of its light, or I will cease to exist."

She looks at me.

"You are an anomaly, unlike any Tarnished I have ever seen. You carry the light of the Erdtree, more powerful than Grace that called the other Tarnished to the Lands Between. When you first approached this hill, I merely ran into you by chance, and I noticed your anomaly not a moment later."

The Ertree feels like it grows larger every second she speaks, like it draws closer. That, or my world is shifting. It makes me feel off balance.

"I was able to join you as you entered that forest, I was able to leave the realm of this breach's light and travel like I was corporeal again."

I start.

"Wait. If you were with me, then…"

The voice, which guided me to safety. It's been her; it's always been her. The one who gave warnings, their voices surely match. Things make sense, but my mind goes down a darker path. The torture, my screams, my cries for mercy. The prayers I mumbled to myself, the tears I wept when I was alone.

"You, you watched me…"

I trail off as the path grows darker. I nearly stand up; I bite down on my cheek instead. You could have warned me, you could have saved me sooner. You watched me suffer, seen me at my worst. Saw me as a sniveling child crying for deliverance. And you did nothing!? I feel a quivering rage, one I thought died off when I plunged that sword in. Melina stood there and watched me and didn't bother to save me. You. You, I-

I'm sorry.

I flinch.

Melina didn't open her mouth, yet her voice spoke in my mind. With it, Melina's face grows pained, she fails to meet my hostile gaze.

"I am sorry, Lance." She says. "I did not know what to do."

I bolt up, taking a step back. I need to run; this is all too much for me. First this world, now this magic, and now… this? I want to leave, to close my eyes and wake up in my bed.

"I-… you… You can read my thoughts!?" I spit out.

She nods, her face still stricken with guilt.

"I did not know what to do, Lance. There is not much I can do. I had to watch you suffer, and there was nothing I could do to help."

She takes a deep breath.

"I did what I could. I tried to sing you to sleep when you began to stir, tried to comfort you when you were cold. The brutality of the soldiers of Godrick is something no Tarnished or Albinauric can withstand, I will not mock you."

I take another step back. This is messed up. That sense I get when I recognize things here returns, but it twists, makes me wince from the strain. Like it knows something's wrong.

"Then what changed?" I inquire, my voice faltering.

She finally meets my gaze.

"I had hoped to help you when the caravan came to retrieve you, but your guard grew chafe of your presence. When you fought back, and killed him, I knew I need to act fast."

I furrow my brow.

"You were the one who burned the wagon, you made them think they were being attacked."

She nods. "One of my few spells, though it is only strong enough to ignite kindling. I nearly disappeared, being that far away from the light of the Erdtree for that long. But it was all I could think of, I knew no other way."

I stand in silence for nearly a minute. Taking in a deep breath, I stalk back to the site of the golden fire. I take a seat, waiting to talk until my heartbeat slows.

"Why me?" I say after some time.

Melina dips her head a little.

"Like, why risk yourself for me?" I reiterate. "I'm not even a real adult yet, and my fighting experience is next to nothing. Why stick around with a 19-year-old wimp, who can't even stop himself from stumbling from one bit of trouble to the next?"

"Because I believe you can help me." She answers.

I cross my arms, falling into a stubborn silence.

Great, so you intend to use me?

I know she can hear my thoughts, so I don't even bother to speak. Melina seems to catch my intent, she sighs.

"I know your kindness does not extend to those who extort you, that is good. My request will sound selfish, so I hope I can make this a mutual accord."

The breeze dies down a little, letting her hair shift back to a formal appearance.

"Have you heard of the finger maidens?"

No. I answer, my mouth never moves from its frown.

Melina continues.

"They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to the Tarnished. But you, I am afraid, are maidenless."

I remember the Varre saying something similar. He wondered where my "guiding maiden" was. It was towards the end of our conversation, and I was fed up with him by then, so I gave it little thought. Just what are these maidens?

"Despite your unique semblance, you arrived in the Lands Between alone, this would make you an anomaly yet again. Without a guiding maiden, I fear it will be impossible for you to face the challenges required to claim the Elden Ring."

"Just what is the Elden Ring?" I blurt out.

Melina raises an eyebrow. She seems to read my thoughts.

"You really do not know, do you."

I shake my head.

"Very well. It is a rune, one that holds power untold. It is the reason the Lands Between has become shattered, and why Tarnished have flocked to its shores. The one who claims the shards of the Elden Ring, will become Elden Lord, one who rules over the Lands Between, and be granted audience with the Greater Will. Every being wishes to claim it, by collecting the shards that have been scattered."

She grows contempt.

"If you hope to claim the Elden Ring, you must defeat Demigods and Empyreans alike, and I am afraid to say you will not be able to overcome these trials."

Power untold, could that I mean I would have the power to go home?

Melina nods her head.

"If that is your will, I will oppose nothing concerning it."

"So, just what can maidens do?" I ask.

Melina plays with a thought.

"I can play the role of maiden. Turning runes into strength. When your captor was slain, you stole his runes, took his residual amount of Grace that dwelled within him. I can sense that same Grace now dwelling within you. With it, I can ask blessings from the Erdtree, ones that will strengthen you to be capable of facing your trials in the future, to aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you, to the foot of the Erdtree."

"You can't go yourself?"

I try to watch my tone for the first time in a while. She shakes her head.

"A barrier has been cast around the capital that rests about the Erdtree, its walls are encompassing. I cannot break through in its roots, so I have been an outcast for some time. I am cut off from my home, and I lost hope long ago... That is, until I met you."

I mull over her words in my head. How else am I getting home? I don't have a boat to test the seas, don't have a map, not a single coin to my name. I'm not even sure I'm on Earth anymore. I have a chance sitting right in front of me, what other option is there? I'm getting a growing fear in my mind, one fueled by my experience these past few days. Fighting Demigods? Trials? I'm about to throw myself into danger like a moth flying into a flame, that much I can tell. The dissent grows, so before it can truly dawn on what I'm getting myself into, I make my decision.

"Fine." I say amongst the silence. "I'll help, so tell me, how am I breaking through this barrier?"

Melina seems almost relieved.

"Then it's settled."

She stands, circling the golden flame until she's nearly next to me. I shuffle back on reflex but dare not go further in fear of offending her. It doesn't register to me that this is the closest a girl has ever gotten to me before.

"I shall join you on your travels, and shall we ever find a breach like this one, I can take your runes, and turn them into strength."

She extends a hand, in a similar fashion a noble would.

"We can start now, so you may be able to grow to meet these trials I speak of. Please, let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment."

Reluctantly, I extend my hand.

Our fingers brush against one another, and that's when the dormant knowledge of this world came crashing back down on me.