Chapter 11 - Old Enemies

How did he find me? The Pursuer floated towards me, he raised his ultra-great sword and brought it down towards me, trying to cut me in two.

I rolled to the right, dodging the blow. The Pursuer's sword destroyed the ground below. Right after, I swung my sword towards the Pursuer, but he blocked it with his shield, the Pursuer then pulled his sword back and plunged it into the opening on the side of his shield. I jumped back and the Pursuer's sword just pierced the air.

"Who is this guy?" Godwyn asked.

"The Pursuer, a being responsible for hunting the undead." I replied.

"So he hunts those who live in death?"

"No! He hunts a specific type of undead."

"What type?"

"Cursed undead, like me."

The pursuer's sword glowed blue, and swinging it, a wave of blue energy came towards me. I rolled to the left, dodging it, but the pursuer didn't stop there, blow after blow, several waves of energy came towards me. 

I ran around the courtyard of the castle and jumped behind some tombstones, the pursuer kept firing, taking pieces of the tombstone in the process.

"You've fought this guy before, haven't you? How do we finish him off, and with we, I mean you." Godwyn said, taking cover behind the tombstones. 

Which didn't help much as his body was much larger than a normal human was.

"First of all, there are several pursuers, but the one with the quiver full of weapons on his back is their leader, the smaller ones don't carry the quiver. Second, if I remember correctly, the Pursuer is resistant against darkness, so my abyss magic won't do much against him."

"What is he weak against exactly?" Godwyn asked.

"He's weak to lightning, can be poisoned, and has low resistance to soul sorcery and pyromancy."

"Do you have any soul or lightning spells?"

"Yes, but my staff and chime aren't the best for that kind of sorcery."

"Better than nothing."

"I agree."

I equipped my Ring of Knowledge and Lingering Dragon Crest Ring, jumped from behind the tombstone, and cast Crystal Soul Spear. The rings on my staff spun with magic, and then a large projectile made of crystallized souls flew towards the pursuer, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Then I cast Crystal Souls Mass. Five orbs of crystallized souls appeared above me. I ran towards the Pursuer. While running, I dragged my staff on blade of my sword and cast Crystal Magic Weapon. My sword was enveloped by magic and sharp crystals covered its blade.

As I approached the Pursuer, I slashed him across the chest, the Crystal Masses shot out and hit the Pursuer in the face, but the Pursuer recovered from my barrage of attacks and hit me in the side of my head with his shield, then he hit me in the face with the front of his shield, throwing me away.

I collided with my back on a tombstone, recovering from the blow; I saw the Pursued floating towards me at great speed, his sword pulled back and his shield protecting his body. 

When the pursuer approached, I rolled to the right, and the pursuer's sword pierced the tombstone. As I walked away, I cast Sunlight Spear, hitting the pursuer on the side of his body.

With a sign of strength, the pursuer ripped the sword from the tombstone, swinging it towards me; I jumped back, dodging the debris. The red glow on the pursuer's helm intensified, and the pursuer charged once more. 

I cast Heavenly Thunder, lightning fell from the sky and struck the courtyard, but the Pursuer dodged the lightning floating around them.

When the Pursuer approached, he tried to cut me with his sword, I dodged the blow, and then the Pursuer tried to crush me with his shield, I also managed to dodge it. 

However, I could not dodge the third blow, with a spinning attack, the Pursuer managed to cut me in my chest.

"Are you okay?!?" Godwyn asked.

"Yes! Don't worry, this is nothing, I've already fought the Pursuer several times."

I walked away from the Pursuer and used the bell to summon the Jellyfish's Ashes. I expected it to act as the ones in the cemetery, and the jellyfish did just that, it spit poison at the Pursuer.

I drank from the flask of cerulean tears to restore my spells and cast Sacred Oath, then cast Sunlight Spear again, and threw it at the pursuer. The pursuer managed to block the miracle with his shield, but the jellyfish poison hit him.

The Pursuer then placed his shield in front of his body and the tip of his sword in the opening of his shield, and then floated towards me. 

As he approached the pursuer tried to pierce me several times, but jumping back, I dodged the blow. The Pursuer was then surrounded by a green mist, a sign that he had been poisoned.

Let's get it over with. I drank from my flask of wondrous physique and cast Sunlight Blade, surrounding my sword with lightning, and then used its ash of war. 

I held the sword in front of my face and enveloping it with a white aura. So I ran towards the Pursuer.

The Pursuer seeing this swung his sword, releasing a wave of energy, I rolled left, and he sent another one. I rolled right, dodging it; the Pursuer then pulled his sword back, the blue glow getting stronger. 

I knew what he intended to do, if that blow hits me I'll be cursed and the Pursuer will get stronger, I can't let that happen.

As I ran, I aimed my chime at the Pursuer and cast Emit Force; the Pursuer thrust his sword forward when I got close enough. However, the projectile released by the miracle hit the Pursuer first, breaking his balance and throwing his sword back.

Which eventually gave me time to swing my sword and pierce the Pursuer's chest, where I assumed his heart should be.

The pursuer grabbed the blade of my sword with both hands, trying to remove it; I pushed the sword deeper, black smoke gushed from his wound like a geyser. I stared at the Pursuer helmet; the red light staring back at me.

Suddenly a shrill whistle came from the pursuer's helm and echoed through Stormveil. I heard a flap of wings, and a great shadow passed over us, as I looked up I saw the great hawk that carried the pursuer coming towards us with its claws outstretched. 

Seeing this, I ripped my sword from the Pursuer's chest and leaped away, the hawk's talons encircled the pursuer and carried him away.

I took out my staff and ran after the hawk while casting several spells, but they were already too far away. I stood in front of the cliff of Stormveil's courtyard, watching the hawk take the Pursuer away.

"He is dead?" Godwyn asked appearing beside me.

"No, it's never that easy to take out the Pursuer. He'll return."

Godwyn and I walked toward Stormveil's throne room.

"So how did you two meet?"

"The Pursuer and I have met several times around Drangleic, his job is to hunt cursed undead for all eternity so he can atone for his sins." I said to Godwyn.

"And what is a cursed undead?" Godwyn asked.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but I'd rather not talk about it."

"I see no problem at all, just let me know when you feel ready." Godwyn, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks." I said with a smile.

We arrived at the throne room; upon entering, we heard a voice.

"He already left?" 

It was Gostoc; he was hiding behind the throne.

"Yes. I made him run away." I said to Gostoc.

"Thank heavens, that damn dark knight has been prowling the castle for hours, he seems to be looking for something." Gostoc said relieved as he stepped out from behind the throne.

"Better watch out, I managed to fend off the Pursuer, but he's not dead."

Gostoc gulped.

"Thanks for the warning; if you'll excuse me, I have my duties at the castle to take care of. So many corpses lying around." Gostoc said, walking out of the throne room.

"Who was he?" Godwyn asked.

"Gostoc, he helped me get into the castle undetected, without his help, it would have been harder to get to Godrick."

"So Godrick is dead? A pity, but I think it's for the best, it's sad to see how low a direct descendant of the Golden Lineage has fallen."

-XXXXXX-

We left Stormveil and arrived at an area with a large lake full of ruins surrounded by cliffs.

"So this is Liurnia?" I asked Godwyn.

"Yes, but unlike how I remember it, this place is slowly sinking. There seems to be no one ruling these lands."

"Is Rennala who rules these lands?"

"If my memory serves me, then yes."

"I've to gather the great runes, and according to the information given to me, Rennala is at Raya Lucaria's academy and she has a great rune, if we go there we can solve two problems at once."

"Hm… I agree with your plan, but if we find Rennala, I ask you not to harm her, I have met her in person a few times, and she is a reasonable and kind woman."

"I will try, but I can't promise anything if she tries to attack me."

"Hm… I don't like it, but I can't disagree, the situation in the Lands Between is serious, if everything could be solved with diplomacy, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"It's never that easy, is it?"

"If it was easy, then it wouldn't be fun." Godwyn chuckled.

We approached a site of grace on the edge of a cliff overlooking Liurnia; I touched it, and found someone familiar, Boc.

"Hey Boc!" I waved.

"Good is good to see you again! Do you remember me? Boc, the demi-human. You helped me earlier and got my sewing needle back. Please master. Allow me to serve you as your tailor. I can't do anything from scratch, but… I'm happy to make adjustments to your clothes." Boc said, approaching me.

Adjust my clothes? I looked down at my robes, ripped and burned in certain places; I hadn't stopped to tend to my gear.

"Of course Boc, I see no problem with that."

"Master, I was wondering… Have you ever… adjusted your vestments? I, well, I'd rather you let me do the work when possible, please. I don't ask for anything in return, you know, and, well... I'm your tailor after all!" Boc said, studying my robes.

"Well, if that's what you want to do." I removed my robes and handed them to Boc.

"Thank you, master, I promise I won't let you down!" Boc said, walking away, grabbing his sewing kit, and working on my robes.

I sat down, removed my imp helm, and felt the cold air touch my face, I stared out over the landscape with Godwyn at my side.

"The resemblance is disturbing." Godwyn said, glaring at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You look a lot like Radagon, a little younger and with short hair."

"I've been told that before. Hm… Radagon, tell me, what was he like?"

"Tough question, I rarely met him in person; he was only in the capital to speak with my mother and father about the progress of the war in Liurnia. But from the little I know, he was a man of few words, but there was gentleness behind his seriousness, by the looks of it, he was a great father and husband to his family."

"I find it strange that I look like him, it's like I'm living on someone's reputation."

"Don't worry about it, I believe Radagon wouldn't mind."

"I hope. And where is Radagon now?"

"No one knows. He disappeared the same day my mother shattered the Elden Ring."

"Strange, but this isn't the first time I've heard of monarchs mysteriously disappearing. What else can you tell about him?"

"Well, not much to say, he had long red hair, yellow eyes, and defined muscles. You have too much muscle for a sorcerer, you know?" Godwyn said, looking me up and down.

"I wasn't always like this, when I arrived in Drangleic I was skinny as a stick, this is the result of getting stronger during my journey."

"If you walked around shirtless and showing off your muscles like Radagon, you'll have a lot of maidens falling at your feet." Godwyn chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.

"What do you mean by that?"

"HAHAHA! Funny story, one of the things Radagon was known for was his habit of going shirtless everywhere, no matter the weather or temperature, whether it was the heat of Mount Gelmir or the cold of the Mountain Tops, he was always shirtless showing off his muscles. This attracted several maidens, which ended up making Rennala furious. According to the Queen of the Full Moon, only she could admire and touch those muscles; she tried to force Radagon to wear a shirt, but never succeeded."

"Great, I look like an exhibitionist."

"HAHAHA!" Godwyn laughed.

Boc then came towards me. 

"Here master, your robes are like new."

"Thanks Boc." 

I put on my robes and helmet soon after.

"If you allow me, I will retire, please call me if you need further adjustments to your robes." Boc bowed.

"Okay Boc, you did a good job."

"This servant is happy with your kind words, master." Boc said, walking away.

"Congratulations, you have your first follower." Godwyn said as he watched Boc walk away.

"Hm… I feel weird about it; no one has ever called me master before."

"It's better to get used to it, the more achievements you acquire. The more people will follow you."

"I hope not, I'm not that impressive." I said, calling Torrent, I stroked Torrent's head.

"Good to see you again, Torrent." 

Torrent neighed in response; I mounted Torrent and rode towards the lakes.

"You underestimate yourself too much." Godwyn sighed.

-XXXXXX-

Further, ahead I found another ruined church; I entered it to see if I could find something useful. Inside, I found a man was sitting on a wooden bench, when I approached I got his attention.

"You're tarnished, aren't you? So maybe you can part with some runes. Unbelievably, I studied glintstone sorcery at Raya Lucaria's Academy. For a small donation, I would be happy to share my knowledge."

Hm… I'll not pass up the chance to acquire new spells. 

"Here you go." I handed the man some runes.

"Well, bless you, bless you. You are a true saint. My name is Thops. Assuming you're interested, I can teach you sorceries, as promised. Only none of them are particularly great…" Thops said sadly.

"Don't worry about it. Thops, it doesn't matter if the spell is big or small, they are all useful in some way. By the way, my name is Alden."

"Thank you, good sir." Thops said with a bit of glee in his voice.

I looked at the spells Thops had at his disposal, none of them were something that interested me, and some of these spells were either something I already knew how to do, or had learned from Sellen.

"I'm sorry, friend. I fear my meager sorceries are no match for your generosity. Oh, right. I can tell you what I know about this place. That should help a little. Did you see that structure to the north, towering over the water?"

"Yes."

"This is Raya Lucaria's Academy, where we study glintstone sorceries. It's just that their doors have been closed for some time, after they declared that they would not interfere with the Shattering, the academy placed repellent seals on the east gate leading to the Capital and the south gate leading here. As you might have guessed, the seals are still active, making entry to the academy impossible without a glinstone key. Therefore, I'm stuck here. An inexperienced sorcerer with little chance of acquiring a key. When they released the seals, I had just left and now I have been uprooted from my place of learning."

Thops said, looking down.

"Thanks for the information Thops, but now I'll have to figure out how to get into Raya Lucaria, I have business there."

"Why don't you find a glintstone key? Without one, you can't get through the academy and you'll never make it to the Capital. In addition, if you find an extra glintstone key, maybe… After tying up all your loose ends, would you consider donating it to me? I know that. I don't have an iota of talent for sorcery. But still, my place is in academia…"

"I thank you for everything Thops, I'll look for the key and if I find it, I'll give it to you when I finish everything I have to do."

"Seriously, thank you, sir, bless you."

"And Thops…"

"Yes?"

"Don't say you're talentless, we'll have something we're good at or not, but if you want to continue studying sorcery, a good teacher might help. There is a woman named Sellen in Limgrave, perhaps she can teach you."

This seemed to surprise Thops, as he rose from his hunched position and looked.

"Did you learn from Sellen? Well, that's something. Sellen was well known. The most promising sorceress in the history of the academy. I followed her to school, but there might as well have been an ocean between us. However, Sellen was expelled from the academy. Accused of unthinkable treatment by certain sorcerers, under the name of Graven Witch. I still don't believe the accusations. The illustrious Sellen would never accomplish such things…"

"Hey Thops, you said you didn't have a talent for Glinstone sorceries, didn't you? How about learning a new kind of sorcery?"

"A new kind? What kind of sorcery?" Thops asked curiously.

"A type of sorcery never seen before, sorceries of the soul." I said, taking some papers out of my bag. 

On those papers there were instructions teaching how to cast some spells. Various types of Soul Arrow.

"Here it is." I said handed the papers to Thops.

Thops read what was written on the papers. 

"This… This is…"

I didn't let Thops finish, I smiled, took the Sacred Tear that was in the church, called Torrent, and rode away. As I rode, I heard Thops scream.

"THANKS! THANKS! I PROMISE I WON'T LET YOU DOWN TEACHER ALDEN!"

Looking back, I saw Thops waving at me through the church door.

"You did something good today, I'm proud of you." Godwyn said floating beside me.

"I've done nothing."

"You promised to help him, and you even helped him regain some of his resolves, I believe that can't be called nothing." Godwyn smiled.

"I just gave him something new to learn, he might have some talent with soul sorceries."

"You know that you are now responsible for making sure that his talent flourishes, don't you? After all, Thops now considers you his teacher."

"Wait! What?!?"

"True, now that you've given Thops a taste of a new kind of sorcery, he'll want to learn more. Better not let him down."

What have I done? Me? A teacher? All I wanted was to cheer Thops up a bit, now I have to face the consequence. Leaving these thoughts behind, I rode towards the lake. Let's see if we can find the key.

-XXXXXX-

While riding, I got another scroll of spells, this time it was near a tombstone in a cemetery next to the church. I touched the grace that was on the shore of the lake, and further ahead, I found another tombstone with bright letters and a piece of map stuck on it. I took the piece of the map and joined it to my current map with a quick cast of Repair.

"What happened to Liurnia?" Godwyn asked.

"Is this place different from how you remembered?"

"Yes, a lot."

I looked around, this place was full of ruins and trees sinking into the lake, blue crystals came out from under the earth, fireflies glowed around us, a light mist covered the lake, and an occasional creature tried to attack me, but Torrent was too fast for them.

This place has certainly seen better days, but it's not that bad compared to what I've seen.

Suddenly Godwyn put a hand on my shoulder. 

"Stop!"

"What's it?!?"

"Ahead lies one of the most dangerous creatures in the Lands Between, a powerful, merciless creature with an insatiable bloodlust." Godwyn said, pointing forward.

"What creature?" I asked, prepared my staff and sword.

"The crayfish!" Godwyn said seriously.

"What?"

Godwyn then grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to shake me, but it didn't work.

"The crayfish Alden! A creature whose attack possesses inhuman range and accuracy, several mighty warriors have lost their lives to these things."

I looked further ahead and saw a giant lobster over there, it didn't look that bad.

"Come on, it's just a giant lobster, I've had worse." I said, approaching it.

"Alden, no!" Godwyn screamed.

"HA!" I shook Torrent's reins and rode towards the crayfish.

However, I didn't get far since I was hit by a powerful jet of water that took me off Torrent and made me fly away. I fell backward on the ground, when I lifted my head, I saw that the crayfish had turned to me and shot again. 

I rolled to the right dodging the shot, the water shot opened a hole in the place where I was previously.

"I warned you!" Godwyn screamed.

"Not now Godwyn!"

Let's see, the crayfish is in the water, which means that lightning is the best option now. I cast Great Lightning Spear and shot the crayfish, the creature wasn't fast and was hit by the miracle, and lightning ran across the surface of the water, electrocuting the monster.

I readied myself, the creature was going to shoot again, the jet of water came, and this time I rolled to the left and cast another Great Lightning Spear, once again the crayfish was hit.

As a final miracle, I cast Fragmented Lightning Spear, and threw it above the crayfish, the lightning exploded creating a sacred sigil and then it rained lightning on top of the crayfish. Soon the creature was dead.

When I finished, I saw Godwyn smiling at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Say it." Godwyn answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Say it."

"Fine! I should have listened to you!"

"See. Was it that hard?"

"Whatever."

I called Torrent and rode away.

-XXXXXX-

Hi! Its a little cold in here, isn't it? My mistress sent me on an errand… However, I was accosted by a bandit, and now I'm in trouble. May I ask you to lend a hand perhaps? That bandit got away with a precious necklace. I need someone to retrieve it. Just… He's also tarnished. If you have any qualms about confronting your own, I'll find another..."

The girl in front of me spoke; she young, blonde, wore a green dress.

I looked at Godwyn beside me; he was staring at the girl as he walked around her.

"Of course, I see no problem with that." I said to the girl.

"Oops, thanks, honey. What a blessing to have found each other like this. The bandit must be resting in an abandoned house on the way… Please, I need the necklace back." The girl smiled.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to retrieve your necklace." I said, walking away from the girl.

"I wish you the best of luck, brave Tarnished."

I called Torrent, and as I rode, I noticed that Godwyn was strangely silent.

"Is there a problem Godwyn?"

"That girl. I don't know why, but I get a sense of familiarity when I see her."

"A relative of yours perhaps?"

"Hm… Perhaps…" Godwyn said with a distant look.

Our conversation was interrupted by a flutter of wings. When we looked up, we saw a monstrous bird coming towards us. 

I pulled Torrent's reins to the right, dodging the bird. I turned Torrent around and faced the creature.

It was a skeletal creature, with humanoid hands and feet, its head was a mixture of a human and bird skull, wings protruded from its back and in one of its hands, it carried a fire poker.

"Do you know what this thing is?"

"A death bird, one of the beings who administered death in the Lands Between before the Erdtree came into being. They are servants of an outer god of unknown name."

"Next time we have a moment to rest, I'll want a history lesson about the Lands Between, its creatures, and those Outer Gods."

"Considering it will get harder as we go on this journey, I think it's a good idea."

"I'm glad you agree."

"KKKYYYAAAHHH!" The bird let out a screeching sound and flew towards me.

"Any advice on how to fight this thing?"

"They are weak to holy attacks."

I need an efficient way to deal holy damage from a distance; I can't rely on Ornate Swords' ash of war. Maybe Corhyn can teach me some. I equipped the Golden Halberd and used Golden Vow.

"HA!" 

I shook Torrent's reins and rode towards the death bird.

The bird made a long gliding leap to close the distance then swung his poker. I pulled Torrent to the left, dodging the blow and slicing the bird across the right side of its body. 

The bird raised its left fist and slammed it against the ground, creating a shock wave. It wasn't enough to knock me off Torrent, but it did some damage.

Tried out some of the new sorceries I acquired, I charged magic into my staff, and the rings spun with blue energy. Therefore, I cast Glinstone Stars; three large glintstone projectiles came out of my staff and flew towards the bird, hitting it on the right side of its body.

The bird then turned to me and pulled its poker back, assuming a fencing stance, the bird threw its poker forward, seeing that, I cast Shockwave with my staff, and a transparent sphere flew towards the death bird.

Upon being hit by the spell, a shock wave was released and caused the bird to be pushed back; it did no damage but left the bird open for an attack.

"HA!" 

Torrent darted forward and I aimed the halberd towards the death bird's chest, piercing its body.

"KKKYYYAAAHHH!"

With a pained cry, the death bird grabbed its poker with its left hand, leaped to its feet, and slammed it down on the ground, causing a shock wave.

This time the blow knocked me off Torrent, and then the death bird pulled its head back and tried to pierce me with its beak, I rolled to the left, letting the bird hit the ground.

Before he recovered, I cast the Soul Greatsword. A gigantic blade made of souls appeared on my staff. I approached the bird and slashed it from left to right.

The death bird, upon receiving these wounds, took a deep breath and let out a deafening cry.

"KKKYYYAAAHHH!"

My ears hurt with that infernal noise, I felt something wrong in my body, that scream was doing something to me.

"Alden, he's trying to infect you with Death Blight! Finish him off!" Godwyn screamed.

I don't know what Death Blight is, but if Godwyn is worried then so should I be. I pointed my staff at the death bird and charged a spell. Magic accumulated in my staff, so I cast Crystal Soul Spear. 

The charged spear flew towards the death bird and hit it on its head, with a burst of magic; the death bird's head was blown off. I received runes and souls, in the place where the bird was, there was a talisman.

I picked it up and hung it on my robes; it was a talisman with a red feather.

"That was close; it would have been a problem if the death blight had taken effect." Godwyn said, approaching me, wiping the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

"What is death blight?"

"As the name says, it is blight, if you are affected by it you die instantly. The higher your vitality, the greater your resistance against the blight, you got a talisman that increases your resistance against the blight in the cave where you found me."

"That thing stinks!"

"Hey! That talisman is part of me! Are you saying I stink?"

"Maybe I am." I smiled, called Torrent and rode.

"Come back here and say that one more time!" Godwyn yelled, chasing me.

-XXXXXX-

We rode until we reached an old hut; I touched the grace that was close. In front of the hut, I saw a man was wearing a metal mask; he was cooking prawns in a pan.

"What are you looking at? Are you trying to start something, man?" The man said to see me.

"I'm here looking for a necklace." I said as I approached.

"Oh, that necklace you're looking for, isn't it? Hmm, well… Show me what you're worth and I'll consider parting ways with it. I'm not in love with it or anything." The man said, stirring the prawns in the pan.

I sighed. 

"How much do you want for the necklace?"

"You are perceptive, boss. First, you give me the runes. And don't try anything, either."

I approached and handed the runes to the man, then he handed me the necklace.

"You've met the girl, have you? All right, well, forget the details of the matter, but it's not my fault that she's stupid enough to be lied to, is it? Anyway, she's not right in the head. Lucky she didn't die on the damn side of the road, I guess." The man then went back to stirring the prawns.

I watched with curiosity, I've never seen anyone cook before.

"Oh, holy shit, what is it now? Oh, I see. Do you want some prawns? It's yours if you can pay me. I might be persuaded to sell some if you have the runes."

I think it doesn't hurt. Maybe I can taste the prawn.

"Here it is." I handed over the runes, the man then handed me a boiled prawn.

I ate the prawn; I was disappointed to not taste it.

"Marika tits, you must be hungry."

"Not much." I said between bites.

"You're tarnished too, aren't you? Can you see them? The guidance of grace, I mean. I can't see anymore. It makes no sense anyway, why some nameless idiot like me should be called to the Lands Between. Cruel and bloody joke, you ask me. Maybe something went wrong with that. Maybe... It's been broken for a long time. The Erdtree, I'm telling you."

"Yes, I can see Grace, but I don't care much about it, I only saw it recently. I can't say it was bad meeting you, but I must leave."

"Hey! The feeling is mutual. I've never met anyone with a taste for prawns that I couldn't trust. We would make good friends, I think. I'll be seeing you later."

I called Torrent and rode back to the girl.

"I wanted some prawn." Godwyn said sadly.

"Can't you create some, as you did before in the evergaol?"

"It's not the same thing, the food I create tastes like how I remember it, not how it is."

"At least you can taste it."

-XXXXXX-

We returned to the pavilion where the girl was, she gave a small smile upon seeing me.

"Hi! Did you manage to get my necklace back?" She asked me.

"Yes. Here it is." I handed over the necklace.

"Thank you, I am in your debt. Did I forget to announce myself? I am Rya, in service to Lady Tanith of Volcano Manor." Rya introduced herself.

"Hello, Rya! My name is Alden."

"Nice to meet you, Alden. I'm looking for a robust tarnished that can join our household. You are also very brave, not just a firm hand, but a firm heart, merciless even to your kind. Such strength is precisely what my mistress seeks. Please take this." Rya said, handing me a paper envelope.

I broke the red wax seal and read the contents of the letter, Godwyn was also reading over my shoulder.

"Brave Tarnished; seek Altus Plateau in the Erdtree Realm. Prove yourself by taking this journey, and Volcano Mansion will fully extend your invitation. To fight, among a family of champions."

"So does that mean I'm invited to Volcano Manor, but to be welcomed I need to cross the Altus Plateau as a test?" I asked Rya, tucking the invitation into my bag.

"Yes. Brave Tarnished; seek out Altus Plateau, the realm of the Erdtree. Most Tarnished are doomed to wander the outskirts of the Lands Between, gazing wistfully at the towering Erdtree... Nevertheless, you are no ordinary Tarnished. Moreover, once this is proven, Volcano Mansion will fully extend your invitation. To fight, among a family of champions." Rya answered me.

I shrugged, something to see later, I still have a lot to do in Liurnia, I was about to leave but was interrupted by Rya.

"Ohh, and… One more thing, just for you… This land of Liurnia is connected to the Altus Plateau by the Dectus Great Lift, beyond the High Road. However, the elevator has been out of use for a long time, meaning there is no simple means of passage. Instead, you should look for the ancient ruins on the cliff. At the base of the valley, near the Grand Elevator, is an ancient tunnel. It was excavated at both ends, linking Liurnia to the Altus Plateau. I have faith in you, a champion. I hope we can meet again." Rya said.

"Thanks for the information Rya; I'll visit the manor as soon as possible."

"I wish you a safe journey Alden." Rya said, waving at me.

I called Torrent and rode across the lakes again.

"We can reach the Altus Plateau through the tunnel, but it's not a good idea." Godwyn said beside me.

"And why is that?"

"That place is full of monsters; it's also where Makar decided to make his nest. I recommend going through the tunnel only if you want to collect resources or are in a hurry, if not, I recommend finding the other half of the medallion."

"And who is Makar?"

"A human who allowed himself to be consumed by the hunger of dragon hearts, he is now an incomplete dragon doomed to drag his belly along the ground for eternity."

"I'm not going to turn into an incomplete dragon, am I?"

"Only if you let yourself be consumed by the hunger for dragon hearts."

The thought disturbs me, but technically I can already transform into an incomplete dragon thanks to my dragon stone, what bothers me is whether I can return to my original form.

"Changing the subject, why didn't you make any comments about Rya?" I asked Godwyn.

"What do you mean?"

"Every woman we meet, you make some comment about her appearance, that I should compliment her or something. Why not this time?"

"Rya doesn't have that maidenly air; she looks more like a little sister."

"I will never understand you Godwyn. What's the difference between a normal woman and a maiden?"

"GASPH! You still have a lot to learn." Godwyn said with a horrified sigh.

Godwyn then went into a long speech on how to tell the difference between a normal woman and a maiden. I blocked out Godwyn's litanies until they became background noise.

I'll focus on something more important. How to find the key to Raya Lucaria.

"Hey! Are you listening to what I'm saying?" Godwyn asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"Then repeat what I just said!"

"HA!" I shook Torrent's reins and rode away.

"You should know by now that trick doesn't work! I'm stuck with you!" Godwyn said, chasing me.

-XXXXXX-

The Pursuer recovered from his defeat, he was in a different land, with different creatures, different spells, and different weapons. Most importantly, the Undead he had chased through Drangleic was no longer the same.

After several fights, the Undead had strengthened himself; he was no longer the same as when they faced each other for the first time. Strong to the point that a fight against the Pursuer was no longer considered something almost impossible.

This infuriated the Pursuer, he was no longer a challenge for his target, seeing this, and The Pursuer changed his way of fighting. This land possessed strange abilities to put in a weapon, and the Pursuer had a quiver full of them.

With a whistle, the Pursuer ordered his hawk to release him. The Pursuer fell in front of a bridge and on that bridge, was a man wearing black armor and mounted on a horse.

"Stop!" The man ordered, but the Pursuer ignored him.

Shooting at ludicrous speeds the pursuer pierced the man in his chest with his sword, yanking him from his horse. Then the pursuer threw the man upwards, splitting him in two as he fell. 

The pursuer's armor was painted red with the man's blood, suddenly; a new face appeared on the Pursuer's armor, indicating that he had claimed yet another victim.

The Pursuer kept his victim's halberd in his quiver, in the place where the man had died, there was some kind of ash, taking the ash, and the pursuer took a rapier from his quiver and poured the ash on it.

Floating, the Pursuer darted forward, spinning his body, and then unleashing a flurry of jabs with the rapier.

The Pursuer then sank to the ground in a cloud of darkness, searching for more ash to add to his vast collection of weapons.

END OF CHAPTER