Chapter 9 - Golden Accord

I stared at Godwin's hand, looking back at him; I saw anticipation in his gaze, so I accepted the handshake.

"A pleasure meet you Godwyn, my name is Alden." I said calmly and respectfully.

"Well nice to meet you, Alden. Sorry for the lack of courtesy, you are the first visitor I received in a while; unfortunately, due to my condition I couldn't order a feast to be prepared for us!" Godwyn said, smiling at me.

"I'm sorry if I'm being rude, Godwyn. But why am I here?" I asked, stopping our handshake.

"Right, straight to the point. But before that, would you like a drink?" Godwyn said.

Suddenly, two golden goblets appeared in Godwyn's left hand and a big wine bottle appeared in his right hand. E filled the goblets and offered one to me.

"Yes please." I accepted out of politeness, due to me being an undead, I can't taste anything.

Godwyn sipped from his goblet; I did the same with mine. Moreover, as I thought, I didn't taste anything. We sat on the floor again and returned to our conversation.

"Let's put it this way, I'd like to make an accord with you." Godwyn said.

Not again.

"What kind of accord?" I asked suspiciously.

"I would like your help to solve the problem with those who live in death." Godwyn said, sipping from his goblet again.

"I've heard this name before, but I don't know what it means. Could you clarify for me?"

"Right, but I'll need to give you a little history lesson." Godwyn said, getting up and walking around me as he drank from his goblet.

"Long ago all the inhabitants of the Lands Between who possessed the Grace of Erdtree were immortal, their bodies could perish but their souls would continue to exist and would be absorbed by the Erdtree to be reincarnated, this is due to my mother Queen Marika removing the rune of death of the Elden Ring and giving it to her half-brother Malekith."

"It doesn't look that bad." I said, drinking from my goblet and placing my hand on the cursemark. Being reincarnated seems better than living cursed.

"Believe me, it was a wonder, but it didn't last forever, let's just say that my death changed the reincarnation a little bit." Godwyn said, looking at me and bringing his index finger closer to his thumb.

"Your death? So that night…"

"Yes, but that's not all, to know the reason for my death, I'll have to explain a certain family problem. My father Godfrey is a warrior with an insatiable bloodlust, to the point that Serosh had to be grafted into his back as some sort of limiter, but that doesn't matter now. My mom desired to spread the influence of the Greater Will and the Erdtree in the Lands Between, and for this, my parents launched a military campaign that lasted centuries."

"I take that Godfrey led these campaigns."

"Yes, there was also another man named Radagon, but we'll talk about him later. My mother proclaimed herself ruler but this came into conflict with Dragon Lord Placidusax who was the current ruler of the Lands Between, Placidusax then sent Gransax to the capital. That was the first and only time the capital's walls fell, but the forces of the capital, my mother, father and I managed to kill Gransax. Oh! I forgot, there was also a mysterious warrior helping in the battle. He gave me a spear that pierced Gransax scales quite easily. Are you two related in any way?"

Godwyn asked, giving me an amused smile.

"No, I'm a newcomer to these lands, I've never heard of the mysterious warrior before." I said, pretending not to know what Godwyn was talking about. 

I drank the wine from my goblet while keeping my best impassive face.

"What a pity. The mysterious warrior wore peculiar equipment, did you know? A black armor with gold trim, and a long red cape bearing the symbol of some unknown kingdom, he also carried a spear that released lightning that was effective in ripping off dragon scales, which he gave to me as I mentioned before. He also shared a disturbing resemblance to Radagon. Are you sure you're not related?" 

Godwyn asked once more.

"Yes." I held the automatic instinct of drawing my sword, showing no reaction when I felt Godwyn's hand on my shoulder.

"No need to be so serious! It was just an innocent question, wasn't it?" Godwyn said, smiling again.

"Of course… Just an innocent question… It's not like our conversation is an interrogation in disguise…" I said, picking up the wine bottle and refilled my goblet.

"Oh! You noticed. Could you fill mine too?" Godwyn said, offering me his goblet.

"Of course, you're not exactly being discreet in your questions or actions. You act polite and kind, but you try to pressure me for answers." I said calmly as I filled Godwyn goblet.

"Thanks." Godwyn said, drinking again.

"You're welcome!" I said politely and returning to my previous position.

"Where was I again?" Godwyn asked me.

 "You were talking about Gransax's attack on the capital." I said sipping my goblet.

"Oh! Of course! Gransax's attack on the capital! Continuing, after Gransax was defeated, the war against the dragons began."

There was a war against dragons in this land? History truly repeats itself. I remembered my travel to the war against the dragons using the memories of the dead dragon in Tseldora.

"During the war, I met my best friend, a dragon named Fortissax; we became friends after I beat him in combat, after my death he ended up in…"

Godwyn didn't finish, he stared at the ground with half-closed eyes, and he bent down and touched the ground with his hand.

"Let's say at the moment he's in a deep place. After years of war, with neither side advancing, it was determined that the worship of dragons did not go against the principles of Erdtree, so peace was achieved and the Dragon Cult of came into being. The conflict with the dragons was over, but there were still many enemies to face." Godwyn said, stopping in front of me.

"And that's where Radagon enters the story. He was responsible for conquering Liurnia, a land ruled by Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, head of the Carian royal family, and leader of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. She was a master of sorcery, with her scholars and Cuckoo knights, they managed to resist Radagon's advances. Eventually Radagon and Rennala met on the battlefield, but instead of fighting to the death, they fell in love and ended up marrying and having three children. Radhan, Rykard, and Ranni."

I couldn't help but notice the anger in Godwyn's voice when he mentioned the last name.

"So there was only one more enemy to face, the fire giants and their Outer God, the Fell God or One-Eyed God. Call it what you want. The flame from the giants' forge was powerful enough to burn the Erdtree. My father and his knights along with the troll knights slaughtered the giants, leaving only one, cursed to protect the forge from anyone who tries to wield the power of flame."

Did this place also have a war against the giants? The similarities only increase.

"When the last enemy was defeated, my father lost his Grace as all worthy opponents were defeated, and he became the first Tarnished, my mother seeing this, banished my father and his men. She called Radagon to the capital to become her consort, making Radhan, Rykard, and Ranni part of our family and elevating them to a demigod status. In addition, Rennala… Well… The queen went mad due to her broken heart."

"It doesn't end there, does it?" I asked.

"No, it just gets worse."

"Ranni, enraged by what happened to her mother, decided to take revenge on my mother in the most painful way possible."

"Killing you." I guessed.

"Exactly, Ranni hired the black knife assassins and infused their knives with shards of the rune of death. Don't ask me how they managed to get past Malekith, because I have no idea. And then on a night that became known as the Night of the Black Knives, I was killed, or at least my soul was."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My soul was destroyed but my body lived, at the same time of my death, Ranni killed her body but her soul lived inside a doll, another reason for Ranni to kill me was to escape the influence of the two fingers. However, this is another history lesson that I don't have the patience to explain now. Due to my death, my mother doubted the Greater Will and Erdtree, so she shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon tried to repair it. I believe you already know the rest, the war between demigods and the return of the Tarnished."

Godwyn then sat in from me again.

"Right, but what does that have to do with me and those who live in death?"

"Well, let's say there were other consequences to my death besides the Elden Ring being torn apart. My body was buried in the roots of the Erdtree, in the vain hope that my soul would be absorbed and reincarnated, but that didn't happen. What happened was that my body corrupted the roots of the Erdtree, creating the Death Root, and Those Who Live in Death, souls that can neither truly die nor be absorbed back into Erdtree. These beings are usually ghosts, skeletons, and zombies that keep causing trouble in the Lands Between."

Godwyn then drank all the wine from his goblet, and so did I.

"That's where you come in, I would like your help to solve this problem, that woman Fia, wants that too, but she can't do it alone, I would like you to help her, I want you to help her get to my body. So what do you tell me? Do we have an accord?" Godwyn said as holding out his hand.

So this land also has problems with undead? I've seen what can happen if the undead get out of control, but I don't agree with the methods used in Drangleic. If there's a way to solve this without having to imprison and torture the undead, then I'll try to help.

"I accept it." I said, shaking Godwyn's hand.

"Great, I knew you were a reasonable fellow, my friend who lives in death!" Godwyn said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Wait! Do you know?!?" I asked surprised.

"Yes! I could feel that mark on the back of your neck the moment you set foot in the cave. You are an interesting person, a being who lives in death, unlike the others. If you don't mind, could you tell me how you ended up like that?"

"Curse." I answered seriously.

"I see… It's a sensitive subject, I hope you can tell me when you're ready."

Godwyn then threw me a medallion with a string attached to it, the medallion was the same as the face I found in the cave.

"What is it?"

"A gift for you, it will allow me to accompany you on your travels."

"Are you going with me?" I asked as I hung the medallion around my neck.

"Of course! Do you know how long I've been here without being able to do anything? It's been a long time since my death; I'd like to see how the world has changed. You and I will explore ancient ruins, and face powerful enemies, and along the way, we'll get you some maidens!"

Godwyn said, standing up, walking behind me, placing one hand on my shoulder, and pointing at the cavern ceiling with the other hand.

"I already have a Finger Maiden." I answered as I got up.

"That's not what I meant." Godwyn replied with a smile.

I don't understand. If I already have a maiden, why would I need another?

"Well, looks like it's time to go." Godwyn said to me.

I looked at my hand and saw it disappear.

"Wait, I still have questions to ask. What is the Greater Will? What are the Outer Gods? If your soul has died, then who am I talking to?" I asked Godwyn.

"Don't worry, everything will be answered in due time. See you in the world of the living!" Godwyn said, waving me goodbye.

Therefore, I disappeared

When I came out of the memory, I saw that I was lying on the floor of the cave, the giant face was still there. I felt a weight on my neck, looking down, I saw the medallion Godwyn gave me. However, there was no sign of Godwyn. I'll worry about it later, I had a difficult day. I'll return to the Roundtable.

-XXXXXX-

Transporting myself by grace, I appeared at the Round Table and walked through the halls until I reached Fia's room.

"Hello, great champion, what brings you here?" Fia asked as she stood up and smiled at me.

I didn't answer; I just approached Fia and hugged her. She jumped a little in surprise, but I felt her hug me back.

"Great Champion, that was unexpected."

"Let me stay here a little longer, I've had a rough day."

"Looks like I won't have to work hard to get you some maidens."

I heard a familiar voice beside me, looking in the direction of the voice, I saw Godwyn smiling at me.

END OF CHAPTER