《Dark Souls》 Opening Sequence In the Age of Ancients the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, Archtrees and Everlasting Dragons. But then there was fire, and with fire, came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course, light and dark. Then from the dark, They came, and found the Souls of Lords within the flame. Nito, the First of the Dead, The Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos, Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights. And the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten. With the strength of Lords, they challenged the Dragons. Gwyn''s mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales. The Witches weaved great firestorms. Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease. And Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own, and the Dragons were no more.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Thus began the Age of Fire. But soon the flames will fade and only Dark will remain. Even now there are only embers, and man sees not light, but only endless nights. And amongst the living are seen, carriers of the accursed Darksign. Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This is your fate. Only, in the ancient legends it is stated, that one day an undead shall be chosen to leave the undead asylum, in pilgrimage, to the land of ancient lords, Lordran. Chapter 1: The North Undead Asylum Part 1 I awoke to a bright light shining down. Disoriented, I opened my eyes to see something drop next to me. It was a dead body, its skin red and shriveled. A sign of an undead. I looked up to see where it had fallen from. Above me was a man donned in knight¡¯s armor, looking down. We made brief eye contact before he stood up and walked away. I continued gazing at the sky. I never noticed how...beautiful it was. Something as seemingly ordinary as the sky, I felt like it had been ages since I had last seen it. This was when I noticed my surroundings. I was in a dark cobblestone room with a gated door. Dozens of roaches crawled on the floor alongside broken shackles. I don¡¯t remember how I got here;in fact, there¡¯s a lot of things I don¡¯t remember. I tried looking back at the last thing that had happened. It took a moment to gather my thoughts. The last thing I remember, is being stabbed in the stomach. The pain had been unbearable, but I was in so much shock I couldn¡¯t even scream. I just fell to the ground, my body growing colder each second as it slowly bled out. But if I had died, that means...oh god. I looked down at my hands. They were red and shriveled. It looks like I had become an undead. I sighed. I suppose it was inevitable. Every day people fought for what scarce resources were left. They killed each other, as the plague swept through cities, reanimating the dead. I remember watching cities razed to the ground. The world had gone mad. Based on my surroundings, my guess is that I was thrown into the North Undead Asylum after becoming an undead. I stood up and walked over the the gate to see if it was unlocked for some reason. It wasn¡¯t. I looked down to see what resources I had. Looking at my cloak, I assume I was a sorcerer before I died. It seems the guards weren¡¯t kind enough to give me my staff as well. I do have a broken sword though, however useful that will be. I also have a parchment with a spell called soul arrow, with thirty uses left. This further proved my theory that I was once a sorcerer. It looks like I should prioritize getting my hands on a staff. The last item I had was a key. I know that it¡¯s called a master key. I tried using it on the cell door, to no avail. Perhaps it will be useful in the future. I walked over to the corpse and inspected its body. There was one item inside its worn down rags: a key. I tried it on the cell door and it opened. I looked back at the corpse. Perhaps he had been a guard of this asylum, until he became the same as the monsters he watched over. I wonder if anyone mourned his death. I wonder if anyone mourned mine. I left the cell and entered a long hallway lit by a few torches. Thump. There were more cells similar to mine along the hallway. I started walking forwards. I looked to my right. Inside a cell, there was an undead down on his knees, praying. Pointless. If there is such a thing as a god, they abandoned this world a long time ago. I continued on. Thump. It seems some parts of the hallway are damaged. Perhaps there was a fight. Next to part of a broken wall was an undead that had gotten out of its cell. I was wary at first, but it seems to be another hollow. It stood with its head down, hands covering its face. Thump. It was crying. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. That reminds me of the past, when the plague first hit. There used to be a lot of crying back then. But after a while, we were all too tired to cry. No one knew how you got sick, they only knew when. If you were affected, a black circle would appear somewhere on your skin. We called it the darksign. That meant after you died, you would be reborn as an undead. Undead can¡¯t be killed no matter what. They¡¯ll just come back to life. But rebirth comes with a price. When one first becomes an undead, they¡¯ll still retain their sanity;however, with each death their mind degenerates. They lose their will. They lose their humanity. Until they become a mere shell of what they used to be: a hollow. Thump. Loud noises coming from my right brought me back to the present. I looked to see what was making those noises. I took a step back in shock. Past a row of bars, there was an enormous room. And in this enormous room, was an enormous demon. It looked like a slug walking on its hind legs, its thick tail whipping behind it. It had bony wings on its back but I couldn¡¯t imagine such a large creature being able to fly. In its hands was a large axe. The room it was in was just as shocking. There were mountains of bones gathered in multiple corners throughout the room. The demon made so much noise as it walked only because it was crushing so many bones beneath its feet. It had probably killed thousands of people in that room. And the only thing separating me from it was a row of thin bars. I decided it was time to leave this hallway. I quickly moved forwards, passing a hollow that was facing the wall. I reached the end of the hallway, walking up the stairs into another corridor. Chapter 2: The North Undead Asylum Part 2 The first thing I noticed was the rancid smell. Though I didn¡¯t want to, I had no choice but to continue moving forward. The stench assaulted my nose in waves as I approached the next room. So that¡¯s where the smell was coming from. The room was connected to the sewers, which had overflown. In a corner of the room was another hollow. He sat down staring at a wall, paying no attention to the sewer water that came to his neck. I burned this image into my head. This could be me in the future. I exited the room and climbed up a ladder, entering a large courtyard. I looked up. There it is again, the sky. The gray clouds block the sun, giving off a sense a dreariness, but I like it. It¡¯s a fitting atmosphere for this broken world. There¡¯s a sword stuck in a dead bonfire in the middle of the courtyard. I approached the bonfire attempting to pull the sword out, but as soon as my hand neared the hilt, the bonfire lit, giving off a warm aura. I sat down at the bonfire and a sense of vigor washed over me. The aura is rejuvenating. There is fire but I don¡¯t feel heat. This bonfire doesn¡¯t fill you with warmth, it fills you with hope. But sometimes those two things are the same in this cold world. I stood up. This bonfire had given me enough energy to move on. I decided not to try to remove the sword. With the properties of the bonfire, it¡¯s most likely a magic weapon, and I don¡¯t know if there would be repercussions if I attempted to remove it. I walked up the steps to large double doors. They were made of a combination of wood and iron, making it difficult to open. I stood in the doorway, assessing the room before entering. Astuteness is an important trait to have if one wants to stay alive, or in my case, sane. It was a large room, comparable to the size of the courtyard. The middle of the room was empty, but the sides were filled with urns. The empty portion was also extremely uneven, and I noticed that some of the floor was cracked. A lot of pressure must have been exerted on it. I spotted two exits. There was one exit on the left surrounded by torches that seemed to lead even deeper in the asylum. There was another set of large double doors straight across from me. The ceiling was broken, letting lig- What the hell. On the broken roof, was a giant demon looking down at me. It was the same demon that I had seen earlier. Wait, no. There are slight differences, such as this one holding a club instead of an axe. And I would probably have felt something if that giant monster had gotten from the basement to the top of the roof. It simply stood on the ceiling looking down at me, like a predator marking its prey. It dared me to draw near, but I didn¡¯t like my chances. I backed up slowly into the courtyard, keeping my eyes on the demon. It didn¡¯t look like it was going anywhere soon. I walked around the courtyard, seeing if there were any other paths. Good. There was a gate to the right of the double doors. I walked over to the gate and tried to open it. No luck. The gate seemed to open from the other side. I sighed. Looks like there¡¯s only one way forward. I went back to the doorway and started coming up with a plan. I¡¯ll run towards the black double doors since they have a higher possibility of leading outside. Hopefully I can run fast enough. Hopefully I can open the doors before it kills me. Hopefully the doors aren¡¯t locked. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.¡­.. At least I can¡¯t die. I entered the room and started running as fast I can towards the other side. Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over the floor in front of me. Damn. The demon jumped off quickly, as if it knew what I was thinking. It crashed into the floor, sending pieces of broken tile everywhere. I was momentarily stunned by the size of it. It was hard to tell how large it really was until getting close to it. Too close. I immediately abandoned the first plan and ran for the side exit. I saw the demon swing its massive club towards me out the corner of my eye. I dodge rolled, the giant weapon whistling over my head. I got through the exit, the gate closing behind me. The demon destroyed a pillar, howling in frustration. It looks like I get to keep my sanity for another day. I went down a flight of stairs and came across small room with another bonfire. I lit it and moved on. The room was connected to the sewer which had overflown here as well. The water flowed out the doorway and into the next hallway. The ground was littered with bricks from parts of the destroyed hallway. The roof was practically missing. There was a corpse in the entrance to another room. I went over to it, and got hit in the shoulder with an arrow. That¡¯s when I noticed the hollow with a bow at the other end of the hallway. So much for my astuteness. I dodge rolled into the room and pulled out the arrow. Interesting. I didn¡¯t feel much pain. Is that a blessing or a curse? Since the corpse was in the doorway, I could scavenge it without going back into the hallway and getting shot. I reached over and grabbed the only item it had: a small leather shield. Perfect. I fastened the shield to my left arm and re entered the hallway. The hollow shot another arrow which pierced into the shield, leaving me unharmed. I ran towards the hollow, blocking another arrow with my shield. The hollow became scared as I drew closer and it ran away through a passage on the left. I stopped before chasing after it. There was another corpse. I put my broken sword away, reaching down and picking up a dagger. I finally have an actual weapon. I turned into the passage and walked up stairs, my shield raised and dagger ready. I entered a small corridor. The hollow stood at the end in front of a wall of mist, as if guarding it. It loaded another arrow, drawing back the bowstring. I ran forwards, circled around it and stabbed it in the back. Blood erupted from its chest, its fragile body dying almost instantly. I put my foot on its back and removed my dagger. Its body crumpled to the ground, awaiting rebirth. I took in a small breath. It felt like some essence of the hollow had left its body and entered mine. I looked down at my body, making sure nothing was wrong. I turned around and looked at the wall of mist. It looked suspicious, but there was only one way forwards. I entered the doorway, the wall of mist dissipating behind me. Chapter 3: The North Undead Asylum Part 3 I saw my savior in front of me. The man who had dropped the corpse with the key was lying on rubble behind a cell door. The door was broken, jammed in the doorway. I wasn¡¯t sure how he got in the cell in the first place. I grabbed the bars and opened my mouth, trying to communicate with him, trying to get his attention. No words came out. I could not talk no matter how hard I tried. I took my dagger and struck the metal door; perhaps that would get his attention. However, he just laid there, staring at the ceiling. I kept on hitting the door. I didn¡¯t want to give up. I didn¡¯t want to believe that he was most likely dead. He was one of the first traces of humanity I had seen in this god forsaken world, and I didn¡¯t know if I would find any other. Tired and exhausted, I gave up. Maybe he¡¯ll keep his sanity when he¡¯s reborn. I turned away from the cell and walked up to the edge. I hadn¡¯t even realized that I was on the second level around the courtyard. I walked over to the left. There was a broken staircase with a corpse just barely out of reach. Maybe there¡¯s an entrance leading to the other side of the stairs. I headed over to the right side. There were two more staircases:one leading up, one leading down. I went down since I could already guess where it would lead to. I was right. I went to the bottom and reached the door leading to the courtyard that had previously been closed. I opened it and walked back up the stairs. I hadn¡¯t seen any paths, so the way forward must be on this final staircase. I started walking up the stairs, when I noticed something coming towards me. I rolled over to the right, falling off the stairs and barely dodging a huge iron ball that was barrelling towards me. The object crashed through a wall, revealing a room behind it. I walked through the new entrance the ball had created. It was the cell the knight had been in. From this angle I could see that there was a hole in the ceiling. Perhaps he had fallen through? I quickly ran over to him. He looked up at me. He looked up at me! He wasn¡¯t dead! ¡°Oh, you¡­ You''re no Hollow, eh? Thank goodness¡­I''m done for, I''m afraid¡­I''ll die soon, then lose my sanity¡­I wish to ask something of you¡­You and I, we''re both Undead¡­ Hear me out, will you?¡± I nodded my head, my hopes somewhat crushed. After he dies, he will become a hollow. A body with no soul. A monster that can¡¯t be reasoned with. I had imagined journeying together, learning what had changed in these lands since I died. But fate would not have it so, it seems. ¡°Regrettably, I have failed in my mission¡­But perhaps you can keep the torch lit¡­There is an old saying in my family¡­ ¡®Thou who art Undead, art chosen¡­In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords¡­When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know¡¯. Well, now you know¡­ And I can die with hope in my heart¡­Oh, one more thing¡­Here, take this. An Estus Flask, an Undead favourite. Oh, and this¡­Now I must bid farewell¡­I would hate to harm you after death¡­So, go now¡­¡± I took the two items he gave me. The Estus Flask was a flask filled with golden liquid. It felt similar to the bonfires. It most likely has regenerative properties. I was about to give it back to him so he could heal his injuries, but I stopped myself. He knew he was one death away from hollowing. Perhaps he would rather get it over with, than live with that constant threat looming over his head. The other item was a key. I didn¡¯t know what it was to, but I¡¯m sure I will find out soon enough. I wanted to stay with him, listen to him talk about the outside world till he died, but I also wanted to respect his final wishes. I turned my back on him and left the room. I heard the sound of a sword piercing through stomach, and a body slumping to the ground¡­ As I walked up the stairs, I had the feeling of something invisible entering my body again, but this time it was much stronger. There was another hollow at the top of the stairs. It must have pushed the iron ball down. This one came towards me with a rusty chipped sword. I easily parried with my shield and riposted, killing the hollow. I pushed the dead body off my dagger with my foot. There it is again, that feeling. I continued forwards and walked up to a gate that led to an outside portion of the asylum. I pulled out the key the knight had given me and used it on the gate. It opened. I walked to the end of the hallway and onto a terrace. This part of the asylum looked as if it had been abandoned for centuries. Piles of bricks littered the ground, broken off of walls. In some areas the floor had broken away. There was a corpse sitting against battlements on the right. I walked over to it. Finally. I reached down and picked up a sorcerer¡¯s catalyst, examining it. It was about a meter long, made of wood. It was a pretty standard tool for most sorcerers but it was better than nothing. Now I can finally use soul arrow. I continued on, shield up and catalyst ready. I peeked around a corner to my left. There were three hollows in front of stairs leading up to another wall of mist. I stepped forwards, baiting the hollow closest to me. I caught its attention and started backing away from the other two. It snarled and ran at me with its sword raised. I lowered my shield and lifted my catalyst, channeling mana through it. It took less than a second. A ball of mana emerged and shot towards the hollow, leaving behind a streak of blue light. It locked onto the hollow¡¯s chest, exploding on impact. The hollow died instantly. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I was somewhat impressed. These hollows are by no means strong, but for a spell to kill one in a single hit, and to have thirty uses...I felt much safer now. I repeated the same process, baiting another hollow around the corner and killing it with a soul arrow. The last hollow was an archer. I walked around the corner with my shield raised. It loaded an arrow and shot at me, hitting my shield. I lifted my catalyst and fired a soul arrow. The hollow moved to the side at a futile attempt to dodge. The arrow followed the hollow¡¯s movements, moving to the side and hitting it in its chest. I stood at the top of the stairs, facing the wall of mist. I knew what was behind it. I could hear the roars of the huge demon behind it. Based on my surroundings, I¡¯m guessing that I¡¯ll be above the demon after passing through the mist. I looked over the edge of the terrace. It overlooked a cliff. If I jumped off I would not survive. There¡¯s only one path forwards, and that¡¯s the double doors behind the demon. I went back to the stairs, preparing myself. I have a shield, a knife, and a catalyst. Maybe I can catch it off guard and jump down with my knife, stabbing it in the head. After that, my best bet would be to stay at range and kill it with magic. I nodded, trying to assure myself that my plan would work. I took a deep breath and ran through the wall of mist. I jumped off a small platform on the other side and plummeted through the air, above the huge demon. The sheer size of the monster still amazed me. I had my knife gripped firmly in the right hand. I fell onto the demon, plunging my knife as hard as I could into its head. It roared in pain. I pulled my knife out and jumped off the demon, rolling onto the ground and springing back to my feet, my shield already raised. The demon thrashed around for a moment, shaking the entire room. I was afraid the ceiling might collapse, or at least what¡¯s left of it. The demon calmed down enough for it to spot me. The delight in its eyes were gone, replaced by pure hatred. This was no longer a game of cat and mouse. This was a fight to the death. I stepped back and lifted my catalyst, bombarding it with soul arrows. I could tell it was doing a large amount of damage. The demon slowly lessened the distance as arrow after arrow exploded across its body. In my joy of having the upper hand, I made a fatal error. I misjudged the reach the demon had. It swung its huge club, catching me on the side. I flew through the air, crashing into a wall. I sat against the wall, body partially destroyed and demon lumbering towards me in delight. Luckily, I had enough energy to pull out the estus flask. I took a swig, the sweet ambrosia entering my body, healing it. I got back up to my feet. The demon was clearly angry, but I had another problem. I was backed into a corner with no way out. I could maybe cast one more arrow before the demon reached me. I raised my catalyst, channeling mana through it once more. I fired the last soul arrow at it. The arrow exploded on its stomach and the demon screamed. It fell to the ground and its body turned to white specks, fading away. A large black key dropped in its place. I gripped my catalyst, still in shock over what had just happened. I defeated that monster. I killed it. I picked up the key. This is it. This is my way out. I don¡¯t know how, but I just know. I slowly walked up to the doors and used the key on the it. It worked. I put my hands on the giant metal doors, and after struggling for a moment, pushed them open. Outside the doors was a stone path that led up a hill. I walked along the path, passing through a graveyard in the ruins of destroyed buildings. There were a few people that weren¡¯t affected by the plague. This must be for them. The graves were poorly made. Gravestones were placed lopsided, and some graves didn¡¯t even have gravestones, just whatever was at hand. I continued along the path, reaching a clearing. And it was there that the path ended. No. It wasn¡¯t supposed to end here. It was supposed to take me far away from the cursed asylum, far enough so that I could find any undead that had still kept their sanity. But it didn¡¯t. I walked to the end of the clearing, wondering if I should just abandon my journey here. Did I think I was the ¡®chosen undead¡¯ in the fairytale that knight had told me? That¡¯s all it is: a fairytale. There is no such thing as the ¡®chosen undead¡¯. There is no hope for humanity. I peered off the edge of the cliff, only to be taken by the claws of a giant bird. It flew away from the North Undead Asylum. Thoughts/Ideas So at first I wasn¡¯t going to start posting until I had around 10 chapters, but I thought I¡¯d ask you guys on your thoughts about some topics and talk about the future. As you could tell by the first few chapters, I want this story to feel more like an adventure than someone playing a video game, and this leads to some problems since it¡¯s based on a video game. Wanting this feeling of the story being an adventure is also why I want to use the least amount of tables as I can. So what are your guys¡¯s thoughts on using tables for distributing souls at bonfires(if you don¡¯t play Dark Souls you¡¯ll see what I mean in the next chapter or so) and more importantly, when the mc acquires items. I hadn¡¯t planned on using tables when he gets items since it feels so much like a video game, but the more I think about it the more I might use them. Using tables for those situations can lead to giving more information about the object, like
Estus Flask
The Undead treasure these dull green flasks. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.Fill with Estus at bonfire. Fills HP. The Estus Flasks are linked to the Fire Keepers. The Dark Tales also make reference: An emerald flask, from the Keeper''s soul. She lives to protect the flame, And dies to protect it further
So again, what are your thoughts on this? Also, it might be a while since I post. I only have around 70 hours in the game so I still don¡¯t know much about it. But there¡¯s just so many paths to take, so many npcs to meet, I¡¯ll need to do a bit more research before continuing. I also plan to change a few things like adding an extra character and other smaller things. Side Story: The Sorcerer I placed my wooden catalyst on the ashy pavement and sat down, resting my back on battlements. I was huddled around the fire with four other men. They talked and laughed with each other, while I gazed up at the stars illuminating the night sky. One of the men faced towards me; I think his name is Gregory. ¡°So, how did an exalted sorcerer such as yourself end up in a desolate place like this?¡± He gestured to our surroundings. I arrived today at the North Undead Asylum. One of the other men stopped a twirling a key around his finger. It fell down his index finger and he grasped it in his hand, looking up. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve also been wondering why someone from a noble family would come here. Don¡¯t you have better things to do? Like hide in your mansions with your fancy food and women, while the rest of the people suffer as the world goes to shit!?¡± He slammed his fist on the floor, sneering at me. His disdain for nobles was quite obvious. Gregory put his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Calm down, Alden.¡± Alden shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Alden and I stared at each other, the only sound coming from the crackling of the flames. The flames burned brightly through the night, causing the shadows to recede. This place was our sanctuary in the midst of darkness. I was the first to break eye contact. ¡°I can tell you if you want to know; however, it¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°We have time.¡± I sighed. ¡°Alright. Then I suppose I¡¯ll start from the beginning.¡± ¡°I was born on a farm outside of a small village.¡± Alder interrupted me. ¡°Wait, you weren¡¯t born in a noble family?¡± I glared at him. ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± ¡°As I was saying, I was born on a farm outside of a small village. I lived with my mother and father, who were both farmers. I began working in the fields when I was just three, helping my mother pick crops. As I grew older I was taught how to plough the fields as well. Not a very noble life.¡± Gregory spoke up. ¡°That explains them.¡± I raised my eyebrow. ¡°Your hands, those aren¡¯t the hands of a noble, those are the hands of a commoner. Those are the hands of someone who has worked hard to survive.¡± I looked at my hands. They were coarse and rugged from years of working in the fields. I remember working until blisters formed on my hands and blood dripped down the hoe. I remember wanting to stop but continuing, because if I didn¡¯t work, I didn¡¯t eat. I put my hands down, going back to the story. ¡°Everything changed one day after I turned sixteen. It was the day I went to the annual sorcerer ceremony.¡± The other men nodded. They had gone through the ceremony as well to see if they had the potential to become a sorcerer. ¡°I remember that I was excited since it meant I could take a break from working, but my father was unhappy since he thought it was just a waste of time. Long story short, I passed the test.¡± ¡°What!?¡± The other men¡¯s jaws dropped, eyes widening. Alden couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°You actually passed? I¡¯ve never heard of a commoner with the potential to become a sorcerer. I thought only nobles could since the lineage of sorcerers is only passed down through the noble families.¡± Gregory nodded his head. ¡°I thought the sorcerer ceremony was just another way to oppress the commoners and show them why they¡¯re inferior to the nobles.¡± I nodded my head as well. ¡°I had the same opinion as all of you, but I guess the ceremony isn¡¯t as rigged as we all thought. At first I didn¡¯t want to go, but my parents convinced me that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and that it was a chance for me to help our family be more than simple peasants. I reluctantly agreed and followed the proctor to the Vinheim Dragon School, the largest school for sorcerers. The school was magnificent. Large buildings made of pure marble, walkways with lights powered by mana, students practicing spells together in huge open fields. When I arrived, I suddenly had dreams of becoming one of the greatest sorcerers of all time, someone who was on par with Seath the Scaleless himself.¡± I sighed. ¡°But my dreams were quickly crushed. Who was I? A nobody. I had no money, I had no influence, I had no power. In the eyes of the other students I was just a maggot that had somehow managed to crawl its way into one of the most prestigious schools in the kingdom. And they made sure to remind me every day.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.I laughed dryly. ¡°A group of students, around ten or so, would often take me into the fields to practice magic. I was excited the first time they asked me if I wanted to come, but then I realized that they brought me along to practice magic on me. You see, they had always wondered what their spells would actually do to a human being, but using magic on each other was strictly forbidden. And then I came along, someone who was considered to be less than human. For hours, they would use soul arrows on me and laugh as I writhed in pain. They would always go for my legs first so I couldn¡¯t run away. When I was close to dying, they would have someone heal me through miracles and start over. They say Gods grant miracles to mortals so they can protect themselves from evil. What a joke.¡± ¡°But out of all that, there¡¯s one day I¡¯ll never forget. It was towards the end of one of these ¡®practice sessions¡¯. I was sprawled across the ground, my body bruised and battered. There was blood all over my hands and I couldn¡¯t even feel my legs. I just wanted to die. And here comes a teacher. I called out to the teacher, pleading him to help me. I was so weak I was afraid he wouldn¡¯t even hear my voice. But he heard. He stopped and looked over at me. We made eye contact. And then he looked at the group of students standing over me, laughing. One of them even kicked me in the stomach right there. And do you know what that teacher did? He turned away and left. He just left me there. And that was when I truly realized how broken this world is. Later that night I left the school. For the past three years I had stayed there, hoping that they would eventually get tired of tormenting me, hoping that if I persevered long enough, something would eventually change. But it never did. I left and went back to my home, or at least, what was left of it. When I arrived there were only the charred remains of the home I grew up in. Even the fields I had spent so long working in were burned down. I rushed over to the nearby village and asked the people there what had happened, but no one was willing to talk. Only after threatening to destroy the village with magic did they tell me what had happened. Some noble had heard that a family of commoners had produced a sorcerer, and was disgusted by it. He sent a group of men from the village to kill my parents and burn down the farm, to wipe out our bloodline. Apparently I was on the list to be killed as well. The villagers started weeping as they told me the story. They apologized over and over for what they had done. They told me to run away before the noble¡¯s men caught me, and so I did. And while on the run, I found a notice for help at the North Undead Asylum. I decided to come here because no one wants to go to a place where the undead are gathered. And here I am.¡± There was a long silence. Alden stood up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my outburst earlier. I never would have guessed what you¡¯ve gone through. Listening to your story, I don¡¯t think anyone has any complaints when I say that you¡¯re one of us now.¡± The others nodded their heads. Gregory spoke up as well. ¡°Everyone here has lost someone or something. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here. To try to escape our previous lives and start anew¡­¡±
Here''s a little side story. I ended up redoing it a few times but it still didn''t come out the way I wanted it to. I had to take out a lot of details because I didn''t want it to end up being too long, but I think that made it feel rushed. Anyways, while I was writing this, I really wanted to write a whole ln on this character. Something along the lines of they arrive at their home and finds out what happened, releasing all the pent up hatred and driving them to insanity. This leads to them rediscovering abyss magic(which is a thing in dark souls) and leading a rebellion against the upper class in the midst of the plague.
Dark Orb
Abyss sorcery discovered by an Oolacile sorcerer on the brink of madness. Fire giant Dark Orb. In contrast to standard soul sorceries, Abyss sorceries are weighty and inflict physical damage. Perhaps human souls, because of their humanity, produce sorceries with a more tangible presence.
I plan on doing a few more side stories because I want to delve into the other characters in dark souls(though this one will be different than the others). Hopefully I''ll get better the more I practice. Chapter 4: Firelink Shrine(with tables) The raven soared through the cloudy sky, leaving the desolate mountains of the north. It flew for what seemed like hours until we finally reach it. The land of Lordran. The dark clouds parted, sunlight breaking through and shining down on the ancient kingdom. It was majestic. The raven swooped down and dropped me on the ground before taking off again. I stood up, a bit nauseous from the sudden halt. I looked at my surrounding. The raven had dropped me off in a circular clearing surrounded by ruins. There was a blazing bonfire in the middle of the clearing. Blazing. The previous two bonfires in the asylum hadn¡¯t been smoldering like this one. This bonfire was different. I drew close to it, like an insect attracted to light. Suddenly, the fire started to move, as if it were alive. Tendrils of flame gathered together, forming a humanoid figure that hovered above the bonfire. ¡°Hello young chosen one. I have been awaiting your arrival for quite some time now.¡± The being raised its arms. ¡°Welcome to the last vestige of humanity, Firelink Shrine.¡± I looked around. This was the last vestige of humanity? There was only one more person here. I fell to my knees. No. This can¡¯t be. I had hoped there would be at least a few dozen undead who had still retained their sanity. I need human interaction. I need to remember what I¡¯ve lost, so I can continue to fight for it. But those were just hopes. And again, this cruel world reminds me that the only purpose hope has is to be destroyed. I looked over at the man residing on a broken pillar. He was sitting, just staring into the flames. He hadn¡¯t even acknowledged my presence. His eyes were cloudy and devoid of emotion. His face was expressionless. A broken world creates broken men, and this one was beyond repair. ¡°You seem disappointed. Do not worry, just because there aren¡¯t many people at Firelink Shrine does not mean there are none outside of this place. Throughout your travels you will meet those who will become your allies. You can try to bring these people back to Firelink Shrine, to unite those who are for your cause. But be warned. Everyone who has retained their sanity till now has without a doubt done heinous things to survive. Do not let their cruelty corrupt you.¡± I stood up, eyes filled with ambition. The being nodded at my newfound resolve. ¡°Good. Now we can begin. My name is Ikiw, essence of the flame, and I am here to help you along your pilgrimage. Come here.¡± I approached the bonfire. ¡°There are elements of being the chosen undead that you have yet to discover. Sit down near the bonfire and meditate.¡± I followed Ikiw¡¯s instructions, sitting down and closing my eyes. At first there was nothing. Just darkness, as one would expect. But then something appeared in my mind. It was a screen, with little boxes with numbers.
The Chosen UndeadHP:531
Covenent:NoneStamina:88
Level:3Equip Load:9.0/48.0
Souls:2288Physical Defense:68(16)
Vitality:8Magic Defense:84(15)
Attunement:15Flame Defense:49(15)
Endurance:8Lightning Defense:61(18)
Strength:9Poise:0
Dexterity:11Bleed Resist:73
Intelligence:16Poison Resist:57
Faith:8Curse Resist:30
Humanity:0Item Discovery:100
¡°That is your status. It shows your level of mastery in certain areas, along with some other attributes. You can increase your mastery in these areas by sacrificing souls acquired from enemies you have slain, a process called leveling up.¡± So that¡¯s what that essence I had felt after killing hollows had been. I had 2288 souls. Enough to level up three times. I looked through my status, unsure of what to advance. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You seem to be a sorcerer, seeing that you carry a catalyst. If you want to make your spells stronger, I recommend you increase your intelligence. Raising vitality will give you more health. Attunement allows you to equip more spells. Endurance lets you wear heavier armor, run longer distances, and block stronger blows. Strength increases the power of your physical attacks. Dexterity allows you to use unwieldy weapons, and at higher levels it can decrease the cast time of pyromancy spells, if you decide to pursue that branch of magic. Faith increases the power of miracles, again, if you decide to pursue that branch of magic.¡± I laughed dryly at that last one. How could it be so simple to increase one¡¯s faith. It¡¯s much more easier to lose faith than to gain it. Still, I suppose I was wrong for looking down on the hollow that was praying inside its cell in the Undead Asylum. If miracles still have power, then that would mean gods have yet to leave this world. But that¡¯s even worse. That means they did nothing as their followers were slaughtered and turned into abominations. Not because they were powerless to protect them, but because they simply didn¡¯t care. They did not leave this world, but they still abandoned it. I weighed my options before making a final decision. Ikiw nodded in approval at the advances I chose. ¡°Good, two in strength and one in intelligence. Even if you are a sorcerer, it isn¡¯t wise to advance intelligence by itself. No matter how strong your spells are, it doesn¡¯t matter once you run out of them. Especially at lower levels of attunement, where you can¡¯t equip many spells.¡± I agreed with what he said. That had been the same logic I had used while making my decision. ¡°Meditating in front of the bonfire was a ritual to summon your status. Now that you have seen it, you will be able to view it whenever you wish to; however, you can only advance your masteries at bonfires.¡± I nodded. ¡°On to the next subject. Look behind you. Do you see that corpse?¡± I turned around. There was a corpse laid across a well. There was a strange glow coming off of its body. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed the glow by now. That is another perk of being a chosen undead. When there is a corpse with something of use to you, it will glow.¡± I walked to the well and peered over the edge. It had dried up a long time ago, the bottom so far down it seemed to lead to the underworld. I might have imagined it, but I thought I heard the wails of something down there. I reached over to the corpse and touched the glow with my hand. The soft light disappeared, leaving me with three humanity.
Humanity
Rare tiny black sprite found on corpses. Use to gain 1 humanity and restore a large amount of HP. This black sprite is called humanity, but little is known about its true nature. If the soul is the source of all life, then what distinguishes the humanity we hold within ourselves?
¡°Now come back here and offer a humanity to the bonfire.¡± I¡¯m not sure how, but I knew what to do. I raised a humanity in my hand and crushed it. It exploded, turning into thousands of particles that entered my body. I walked to the bonfire and kneeled in front of it. Bowing my head, I raised my right hand to the flames and pulled my left hand towards my chest. I felt the humanity inside me surging through my body. It was excited. My body began to change. The wrinkles faded, my skin turned back to the color it was before I died. I could feel the muscles around my bones regrowing, my figure becoming less of a corpse and more of a human. My eyesight became sharper. My hair grew out as well. I blinked. The whole world seemed different...it seemed more alive. So this is what it was like to be human. This is what I am fighting for.
So here''s a version with tables, go check out the other version without them, I added more comments there Chapter 4: Firelink Shrine(without tables) The raven soared through the cloudy sky, leaving the desolate mountains of the north. It flew for what seemed like hours until we finally reach it. The land of Lordran. The dark clouds parted, sunlight breaking through and shining down on the ancient kingdom. It was majestic. The raven swooped down and dropped me on the ground before taking off again. I stood up, a bit nauseous from the sudden halt. I looked at my surrounding. The raven had dropped me off in a circular clearing surrounded by ruins. There was a blazing bonfire in the middle of the clearing. Blazing. The previous two bonfires in the asylum hadn¡¯t been smoldering like this one. This bonfire was different. I drew close to it, like an insect attracted to light. Suddenly, the fire started to move, as if it were alive. Tendrils of flame gathered together, forming a humanoid figure that hovered above the bonfire. ¡°Hello young chosen one. I have been awaiting your arrival for quite some time now.¡± The being raised its arms. ¡°Welcome to the last vestige of humanity, Firelink Shrine.¡± I looked around. This was the last vestige of humanity? There was only one more person here. I fell to my knees. No. This can¡¯t be. I had hoped there would be at least a few dozen undead who had still retained their sanity. I need human interaction. I need to remember what I¡¯ve lost, so I can continue to fight for it. But those were just hopes. And again, this cruel world reminds me that the only purpose hope has is to be destroyed. I looked over at the man residing on a broken pillar. He was sitting, just staring into the flames. He hadn¡¯t even acknowledged my presence. His eyes were cloudy and devoid of emotion. His face was expressionless. A broken world creates broken men, and this one was beyond repair. ¡°You seem disappointed. Do not worry, just because there aren¡¯t many people at Firelink Shrine does not mean there are none outside of this place. Throughout your travels you will meet those who will become your allies. You can try to bring these people back to Firelink Shrine, to unite those who are for your cause. But be warned. Everyone who has retained their sanity till now has without a doubt done heinous things to survive. Do not let their cruelty corrupt you.¡± I stood up, eyes filled with ambition. The being nodded at my newfound resolve. ¡°Good. Now we can begin. My name is Ikiw, essence of the flame, and I am here to help you along your pilgrimage. Come here.¡± I approached the bonfire. ¡°There are elements of being the chosen undead that you have yet to discover.¡± Ikiw placed its hand on my head. Its touch was strangely cool for a being made of fire. ¡°Have you felt something enter you after you kill an enemy?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°What was entering you, was the souls of your enemy. The stronger an enemy is, the more souls they will have. Intelligence, Vitality, Attunement, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Faith. These are the seven areas inside the human body one can improve in. You can increase your mastery in these areas by sacrificing souls acquired from the enemies you have slain, a process called leveling up.¡± You currently have 2288 souls. Enough to level up three times.¡± ¡°You seem to be a sorcerer, seeing that you carry a catalyst. If you want to make your spells stronger, I recommend you increase your intelligence. Raising vitality will give you more health. Attunement allows you to equip more spells. Endurance lets you wear heavier armor, run longer distances, and block stronger blows. Strength increases the power of your physical attacks. Dexterity allows you to use unwieldy weapons, and at higher levels it can decrease the cast time of pyromancy spells, if you decide to pursue that branch of magic. Faith increases the power of miracles, again, if you decide to pursue that branch of magic.¡± I laughed dryly at that last one. How could it be so simple to increase one¡¯s faith. It¡¯s much more easier to lose faith than to gain it. Still, I suppose I was wrong for looking down on the hollow that was praying inside its cell in the Undead Asylum. If miracles still have power, then that would mean gods have yet to leave this world. But that¡¯s even worse. That means they did nothing as their followers were slaughtered and turned into abominations. Not because they were powerless to protect them, but because they simply didn¡¯t care. They did not leave this world, but they still abandoned it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I weighed my options before making a final decision. Ikiw nodded in approval at the advances I chose. ¡°Good, two in strength and one in intelligence. Even if you are a sorcerer, it isn¡¯t wise to advance intelligence by itself. No matter how strong your spells are, it doesn¡¯t matter once you run out of them. Especially at lower levels of attunement, where you can¡¯t equip many spells.¡± The souls I had acquired till now coalesced in my body, and Ikiw absorbed them through his hand. Three strands of golden light then emerged from his fingertips and entered my body, traveling to my arms and head. I moved my arms around. I had expected something more. ¡°You most likely will not be able to tell the difference after improving your strength and intelligence by such a small amount, but I assure you, it worked.¡± I nodded. I would take its word for it. ¡°On to the next subject. Look behind you. Do you see that corpse?¡± I turned around. There was a corpse laid across a well. There were wisps black smoke emanating from its body. I walked to the well and peered over the edge. It had dried up a long time ago, the bottom so far down it seemed to lead to the underworld. I might have imagined it, but I thought I heard the wails of something down there. I reached over to the corpse and pulled it off the well. The black smoke was coming from its hand. No, something it was holding in its hand. I reached down and tried to take the object but its hand was like a vise, refusing to let go. I pried its fingers open and took the object. I looked back at the corpse. For it to cling to this so hard even after death, it must have been precious to it. I observed what was in my hand. There were actually three objects. They looked like three globs of mist. Black mist concentrated so highly it became tangible. I walked back to the bonfire. ¡°The black sprites you hold in your hand are humanity. Now, offer one to the bonfire.¡± I¡¯m not sure how, but I knew what to do. I raised a humanity in my hand and crushed it. It exploded, turning into thousands of particles that entered my body. I walked to the bonfire and kneeled in front of it. Bowing my head, I raised my right hand to the flames and pulled my left hand towards my chest. I felt the humanity inside me surging through my body. It was excited. My body began to change. The wrinkles faded, my skin turned back to the color it was before I died. I could feel the muscles around my bones regrowing, my figure becoming less of a corpse and more of a human. My eyesight became sharper. My hair grew out as well. I blinked. The whole world seemed different...it seemed more alive. So this is what it was like to be human. This is what I am fighting for.
First of all, Ikiw is not in the game. He is the character I mentioned before that I would add in the story. I put him in the story for progression, because without guidance, it would be a much longer journey. And then there''s the mechanics with Ikiw I used to replace the tables(btw I didn''t name him that because I''m lazy, but because I like having fun with names). So what do you guys think between the two chapters?
I admit, I''ve been completely awful at responding to comments, which is something I''m going to work on from here on. I haven''t responded to any of them, but I have been reading all the comments, and I''m really happy about the positive feedback, especially on the side story. A lot of you guys have been asking about implementing multiplayer features such as phantoms and messages. My plans can always change, but for now, I''m going to write the story from the viewpoint of someone playing Dark Souls singleplayer. I''ll still add npc phantoms such as Kirk and Leeroy. But again, my plans can change, and I''ve been thinking of a way to tie in invaders to the story. Chapter 5: Exploring Firelink Shrine Ikiw called me over. ¡°I have one last thing to tell you before you begin your journey. As you become stronger, it will cost more and more souls to advance, to the point where it can reach hundreds of thousands of souls. The early levels will be the easiest to earn, do not squander them.¡± I nodded my head. ¡°Be careful, chosen one, we will see each other again once you approach the next bonfire.¡± Ikiw receded back into the bonfire and the surroundings grew dim. I sighed. Looking around Firelink Shrine once more, I wondered what had happened to bring this place to ruins. Curious, I approached the man sitting on the broken pillar. He looked up, finally acknowledging my presence. ¡°Well, what do we have here? You must be a new arrival.¡± His voice was soft and weary, he sounded like someone who had already given up on life. ¡°Let me guess. Fate of the Undead, right? Well, you''re not the first. But there''s no salvation here. You''d have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum¡­ But, too late now. Well, since you''re here¡­ Let me help you out. There are actually two Bells of Awakening. One''s up above, in the Undead Church. The other is far, far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown. Ring them both, and something happens¡­ Brilliant, right? Not much to go on, but I have a feeling that won''t stop you. So, off you go. It is why you came, isn''t it? To this accursed land of the Undead? Hah hah hah hah¡­¡± I was surprised by what he said. I wasn¡¯t the first one to escape the asylum? What does it mean to be ¡®the chosen one¡¯ if you are not the only ¡®chosen one¡¯? I stood there, ruminating on what I had just heard. In the end, I decided to trust Ikiw and continue with my pilgrimage;however, a seed of doubt had already been placed inside my heart. The man mistook my silence as wanting more information. ¡°Hm? What, you want to hear more? Oh, that''s all we need. Another inquisitive soul. Well, listen carefully, then¡­ One of the bells is up above in the Undead Church, but the lift is broken. You''ll have to climb the stairs up the ruins, and access the Undead Burg through the waterway. The other bell is back down below the Undead Burg, within the plague-infested Blighttown. But I''d die again before I step foot in that cesspool!Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Hah hah hah hah¡­¡± I noticed the man ended all of his dialogues with a laugh, as if something were funny. Maybe this is all just a joke to him. Or maybe it was funny to see another undead try to lift the curse, when so many had failed before. It showed how futile he believed my efforts were. Seeing as he was done talking, I walked down the flight of stairs to his left. It led to a smaller level under firelink shrine. There seemed to be nothing down there, until I took a few steps forward. It came into view on my left. There was a woman in brown robes trapped in a small cave blocked by iron bars. I quickly ran over to the bars to see if I could pull them apart and create a gap. No luck. I struck the bars with my dagger to try to get her attention, but she made no reaction. I ran back up the stairs to ask the man about her. The man saw me approaching. ¡°Oh, have you seen that terribly morose lass?¡­ The Fire Keeper. She''s stuck keeping that bonfire lit.¡± He sighed. ¡°Sad, really. She''s mute and bound to this forsaken place. They probably cut her tongue out back in her village, so that she''d never say any god''s name in vain. How do these martyrs keep chugging along? I''d peter out in an instant. Hah hah hah hah¡­¡± My face twisted as I listened to him. She had her tongue cut off and then was imprisoned in a cave under Firelink Shrine? Disgusting. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten about the dark nature of humans. I closed my eyes, another memory returning to me. It had been a month since the plague had struck, and the kingdom was on the brink of destruction. The head of the church went to the King, and they both announced that they had a plan to break the curse. The people rejoiced, and there was a brief moment of jubilation. But I didn¡¯t believe it. Not a single word. Sensing that it was just the calm before the storm, I drew to the shadows, and watched what would happen next. The following day, the King released a decree, calling for the imprisonment of a thousand people. Entire families were ripped from the streets and dragged away by soldiers. Men, women, children, anyone and everyone. I watched impassively as they screamed, not knowing what was going on. They were loaded into cages on wagons and wheeled off. I followed furtively as the soldiers led the people through the streets, passing the charred ruins of the city they once called their home. Eventually the stream of prisoners flowed into a giant pavilion, where the King and head of the church stood, waiting. The King glanced nervously at the cleric. ¡°A-Are you sure this will work?¡± He looked back at the King, smiling. ¡°Do not worry, your majesty. I am positive this will work¡± The last wagon entered the pavilion and the cleric stepped forwards. ¡°You all might be wondering why you were gathered here today, and I tell you, do not be afraid, for it is for a just cause. The Gods have spoken to me, they have told me about the nature of this plague. This plague was released upon humanity because we have waned in our worship to the Gods.¡± With each word his voice grew louder, his eyes grew wild, and his arms raised into the air, shaking profusely. This was a man driven mad by religious fervor. ¡°But once again the Gods spoke to me, and they enlightened me on how to release us of this curse! They told me that to break the curse, we would have to show that we have not forgotten them, and that we love and worship them. And what better way to show our passion, than to sacrifice our own brethren!?¡± The children were too young to comprehend, but the eyes of the men and women trapped in the cages grew wide in shock and disbelief. ¡°Yes! You all have the honor of becoming martyrs for the noblest of causes! Rejoice! For you will die to show our love for the Gods, and to save the rest of humanity!¡± The prisoners shook the bars trying to escape, but it was futile. The soldiers lit a bonfire in the center of the pavilion, and began to open the cages. One by one, they dragged a person out of the cage, slit their throat, and threw them into the fire. Men yelled, women screamed, and children cried. It was a cacophony of terror and despair. I turned away from the atrocity and left. There was no need to stay behind and watch a thousand people die for no reason. I heard a few days later, that the leader of the church was executed for lying to the King. I opened my eyes, returning to the present. That had been the second flashback so far. Perhaps as I continue throughout my journey, fragments of my memories will return to me. After seeing the flashback I had the sudden urge to leave Firelink Shrine, afraid of what else I might find; however, I had one last thing to do. I walked down the staircase once again, coming face to face with the imprisoned maiden. Though I could not tell her my thoughts as I lost the ability to speak, I clutched the iron bars with my hand, vowing to gain the strength to free her one day. I returned to the surface of Firelink Shrine and walked up the stairs along the cliffside, reaching a ledge guarded by a few hollows. I quickly dispatched them using soul arrows and stepped into the waterways, leaving Firelink Shrine and entering the Undead Burg. Chapter 6: Entering the Undead Burg I walked through the entrance, stepping into ankle deep sewage. The murky waters permeated foulness that assaulted my sense of smell with every step I took. The waterways was just one straight tunnel, illuminated only by a few torches on the mossy cobblestone wall. A squeaking noise came from my left. I turned to see an undead rat chewing on the remains of a corpse. The animal had been mutated by the plague. It was over a meter long, its height reached the level of my waist. Parts of its fur had fallen off to reveal rotten flesh underneath. Its right ear hung by the side of its head, held on by a few tendons. It was an abomination. I put my catalyst away and raised my dagger. I would eventually need to practice my swordsmanship, and this rat seemed like a good place to start. I raised my shield and slowly advanced towards the monster. Hearing my footsteps splash through the murky waters, it turned around to face me. It lunged in an instant, crashing into my shield and knocking me back a few steps. It could gather quite a bit of momentum in that short distance. But something felt wrong after that brief moment of contact. It was very faint, but I could feel my body growing weaker. I was poisoned. I didn¡¯t take into consideration how an undead rat eating corpses in sewers would be infested with blight. It was a moving cesspool of disease. All it needed to do was come in contact with me, directly or indirectly, to contaminate me. I raised my shield and walked towards it once more with this information in mind. The fight ended quickly. I had no choice but to let it attack my shield and cause the poison to build up inside of me, but I took advantage of its brief moment of vulnerability after attacking, using that interval to quickly stab it in the side with my knife. After a few attacks, the rat fell to the ground, dead for good. I rested for a moment to let the poison dispel from my body. I absorbed the souls from the dead rat and the body it had been chewing on, and walked off to the other end of the waterway. After about a minute, I reached a gate in the waterways. I tried to open it but it was locked. I turned around and headed through a doorway I had passed. Past the doorway were stairs that brought me out of the waterways and into the Undead Burg: the first part of my pilgrimage. I looked at my surroundings, amazed. I entered the Burg through the waterways, arriving in the upper levels of the Burg. I could see houses and buildings far below me, and the city streets that were infested with undead dogs. Huge walls towered over the entire city, blocking out the sun. I looked over to my left and saw two hollow soldiers creeping towards me. One of them lunged forwards with his flimsy sword and I easily parried it, returning a riposte and killing the hollow instantly. I quickly rolled to the side, crashing into a stack of barrels and barely dodging a swing from the second hollow¡¯s battleaxe. Luckily the barrels had become brittle over the passing of time and there wasn¡¯t much of an impact. I got up and brushed the wood chippings off me. This time, I engaged first. The battleaxe dealt more damage than a standard sword, but it made the hollow move slower as well. I easily got behind it and stabbed it in the back with my knife. I twisted the knife and pushed the hollow off of it with my foot. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Sensing danger, I raised my shield just in time for a firebomb to crash into it. The force of the explosion knocked me back a few steps and I took some damage from it. I looked around to see where it had come from and I spotted a third hollow a few meters away, standing in front of another wall of mist. I had missed it while fighting the other two because it had been hiding under the shade of a building. I rolled forwards, dodging another firebomb and sprung to my feet, attacking it with my knife. It took a few slashes for the hollow to die. Regular attacks aren¡¯t as effective as ripostes and backstabs. As the hollow died I felt a sharp pain across my back. I turned around and raised my shield, blocking another attack. The hollow had probably been hiding in one of the buildings, and had crept up behind me after I walked past it. The hollow swung its sword once more, and I made giant blunder. I tried to parry the attack as I had done so many times before, but I misjudged the timing and the blade just grazed my shield and tore through my chest. At this point, I didn¡¯t want to take anymore chances. I backed away from the hollow and pulled out my catalyst, channeling a soul arrow. An orb of mana gathered at the tip of the catalyst and shot towards the hollow, killing it. I grabbed my Estus Flask and took a sip. The ambrosia seeped down my throat and throughout my body, healing my wounds and dispelling my exhaustion. I took a moment to regain my calm as well. Perhaps that hollow was a fortuitous encounter. It was a stark reminder that danger lurked everywhere in this world, and that if I want to hold onto my sanity, I must always be vigilant. I took a deep breath and passed through the wall of mist. I entered a building with a staircase leading up to an opening on the second floor. I followed a glowing light behind the staircase. The glow came from the souls of a corpse sitting against the stairs. I took its souls and walked up the staircase. Remembering the mess with the hollow, I raised my shield and proceeded through the doorway with caution. Out of nowhere, a red dragon crashed into a terrace in front of me, sending pieces of rock and debris everywhere. It then flew away, gone as quickly as it arrived. So on top hollows, I also have to watch out for dragons. Wonderful.
Few things to say. It looks like I''m back? Even though I haven''t posted in a while I''ve still been writing Dark Souls here and there. I was going to wait until I had around 10 chapters saved until I started posting again, but I just felt like uploading some chapters. Also, forgot to mention that I didn''t list the resistance attribute in chapter 4. Resistance is an attribute in the actual game, but no one ever invests souls into it because it increases automatically when you level up other attributes. Lastly, I''ve known for a while that my summary kind of sucks. Should I write a new summary, or should I get rid of the prologue and just use it as the summary? Chapter 7: Phantom I walked up the stone path leading to the terrace the dragon had landed in. I did a quick observation of my surroundings. There was one hollow soldier to my right and a hollow archer shooting arrows from the top of a small tower at the end of the terrace. Perhaps ¡®tower¡¯ isn¡¯t the best description. It was more like a raised platform. The hollow soldier slowly creeped towards me as the archer fired arrows every few seconds. I decided to go after the archer first. The arrows themselves were quite slow, and it was easy to dodge them; however, I would be distracted while fighting the soldier and could end up being shot in the back. That constant threat had to be eliminated first. I waited for an arrow to lodge itself in my shield, and then started running towards the raised platform. I easily ran past the hollow and proceeded to the platform. Out of nowhere, two hollows crashed through wooden barricades on the sides of the terrace, attacking me from the left and right. I rolled through their slashes and ran up the stairs to the platform. My plan wouldn¡¯t change: I would still kill the archer first. I approached the same level the archer was on and it nocked an arrow back, shooting it at me. I veered to the left and avoided it, then maneuvered behind the archer while it tried to load another arrow, and killed it with a quick knife to the back. I left the platform to deal with the remaining three hollows. Luckily, the stairs leading up to the platform were only wide enough for the hollows to walk up them one at a time. The hollow closest to me leaped forwards to try to attack, and in the brief moment where it dropped its shield I kicked it off the side of the stairs. Its arms flailed through the air as it fell to its death(remember this is all happening on the level above the town). A few meters away from me, was a building with a bonfire I spotted earlier while climbing up the stairs. I pulled out my catalyst because I wanted to end this quickly. I channeled a soul arrow and it crashed through the hollow¡¯s wooden buckler, killing it instantly. The hollow crumpled to the ground, allowing me to shoot another soul arrow at the one behind it. I turned around from the stairs and began to walk towards the building. But then, a wall of mist of mist shot up from the ground, closing off the entrance to the building. A small, black vortex appeared on the ground. I raised my shield and backed away slowly, towards the stairs. A red hand shot out of the vortex and used the floor to hoist the rest of its body out of the vortex. The figure stood up and the black vortex closed below it. It wasn¡¯t that its hand was red, but rather, its whole body looked like it was made of blood. From its armor, to the gigantic zweihander on its back, everything looked like it was made of blood, and exuded a red glow. The being looked at me. I could feel it sizing me up. Using both hands, it grabbed the handle to the zweihander on its back, and lifted it into the air. I was amazed at its size. It was probably around six feet, and weighed god knows how much. I quickly snapped out of my astonishment and rolled backwards. The edge of the zweihander crashed into the spot where I just was, sending pieces of debris everywhere. I rolled down the stairs and got back up in the pavilion, cold sweat dripping down my body. That was too close. A hit from that behemoth would either kill me, or leave on the brink of death. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The red phantom swung the zweihander over its shoulder and ran down the stairs. I raised my catalyst and fired a soul arrow at it. The phantom simply rolled forwards and the orb of mana passed over it, crashing into the wall behind it. At this point, we stood facing each other at different ends of the pavilion. I fired another soul arrow and it took a few steps to the side. That was the problem with soul arrow. It moved slowly, and even though it has a certain degree of homing, once the target changed its position a few meters, the spell wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. And if I tried using the spell at a closer distance, I would quickly be inside the range of phantom¡¯s zweihander. It¡¯s still somewhat unfair to complain though, as soul arrow is the most basic spell for sorcerers. For now, I should be glad it still works on hollows. The phantom ran towards me. As a sorcerer, close range would naturally be my area of weakness. I put away my catalyst and swapped in my knife. I didn¡¯t have much confidence, but perhaps I could take advantage of my superior speed. The phantom jumped and delivered another overhand swing. I rolled away to the side and dodged it. I sprung to my feet and tried attacking it, but it took too long to dodge its attack. By the time I attacked it, it raised its zweihander again and effortlessly blocked my attack. I backed away and gained a little more distance between us. The phantom used another overhand attack and this time, I tried something different. Instead of dodging to the left or right, I moved closer. Maybe if I could block the attack and get within distance, I could attack him while he recovers. I was wrong. The blade crashed into my shield with unimaginable force. Even with my feet firmly planted on the ground, I was pushed back a meter and it took all that I had to not topple over. The hand I used to hold my shield went partially numb. Trying to block a full frontal attack was out of the question. I lowered my shield and ran to its side, trying to find an angle for a backstab. Sensing what I was trying to do, the phantom swung its weapon in a large horizontal arc. I rolled backwards and the blade whistled through the air, barely missing me. At this point, the only option I had was to parry it. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on my shield. I pretended to try the previous tactic once more and ran towards its side. The phantom delivered another horizontal swing, as expected. It felt like an eternity went by as I anticipated the perfect timing. Just as the blade reached me, I angled my shield and deflected its attack. It was a successful parry. The zweihander veered off to the side and the phantom lost its balance. I took advantage of this opportunity and closed in, planting my knife into the chest of the phantom and completing the riposte. The phantom fell to its knees and I put my foot on its chest, pulling my knife out of its ¡®body¡¯. Surprisingly, that didn¡¯t kill the phantom. However, I was prepared, and wouldn¡¯t miss another perfect opportunity. As the phantom tried to stand up, I pulled out my catalyst. I wouldn¡¯t miss at this distance, and it couldn¡¯t counterattack either. Mana gathered at the tip of the catalyst and shot towards the phantom, exploding on its wounded chest. The phantom screamed as it fell to the ground, finally dead.
Might be a bit before I upload another chapter. I''m on the cusp in so many classes where I have to get an A on the final to keep my grade, and I''m also trying to write a little mini-arc. Also, never thought I''d be doing so much research for Dark Souls, especially for this mini-arc. I''m trying to stay as true to the video game as possible, but the lore is all over the place, with random facts and peoples'' theories blending together.