Candle Seeketh Ashes

by TheSafePlace

Summary:

As fire begins to fade, and nameless dead scramble and die before titans of myth, one peculiar unkindled comes, bearing not a glittering sword, nor unparalleled sorcery, nor even divine flames. Rather they bore a fragile branch, a waning candle, and a small child.

What else could fair better to face the end of the world with?

Chapter 1

Gray was the first thing they saw upon opening their eyes. Coarse dust- No, ash, was the first thing they felt when they held themselves up to stand on shaky feet. Where in gods’ blazes were they? What happened? The last thing they remembered was… red… warm… but fleeting. They remembered, feeling rather cold despite it though. How heavy everything seemed, and how soft the stone-slabbed floors had seemed.

Did they die? From what? And why were they here? They recalled resting atop a towering fortress lording above the clouds, not a graveyard pilling with ashes…

Oh.

Perhaps… They did more than die back there. Undead still died true, but they always came back as alive as, well, as undead could ever be at the least. Perhaps… they had hollowed.

And now here they were, paying price for their hollowing in their journey. Unkindled, and buried in the fabled Cemetery of Ash. A place for the failed and nameless forgotten. Left to molder until such a time when those who still remain are even more incapable than those who were reduced to ash, unfit to bear any heat.

A grand fate for the unworthy nameless, they suppose.

Speaking of, what was their name again? One would think it laughable for one to forget their own name. Inconceivable even. But here they were, drawing blanks. How infuriating.

Name… Name… Name…

hmm… hmmm… hmm…

hmm… hm… hmm…

Agh, this incessant humming wasn’t helping!

Wait. Humming?

Someone else was here. They may have forgotten their name, but they haven’t forgotten their rules. In this life, anything can kill you. They readied their blade- or… branch? And their… plank? Curses. Where are their weapons?! How were they to defend themselves with-! Bah. No use fretting over this. The humming grows louder, and they needed a plan. Fast.

They survey the area. Nothing else better suited for killing, and the cliffsides are too smooth to climb. They’ll have to fight. They dashed quickly behind one of the coffins, crouching silently, and listened to the humming.

hmm… hmmm… hmm...

hmm… hm… hmm…

Already soundless footsteps were muffled out more by the ashen ground. Undetectable, had they not been humming. Either the encroacher was small, or they were very light on their feet, perhaps floating even. That would be troublesome. A floating foe meant one that could fly out of reach, and if they were truly unlucky, one that could strike from a distance.

They had to act fast. If the encroacher can fly, they need to reach them before the encroacher can react. If the encroacher had wings, they’ll have to break them. If that doesn’t work, they’ll have to grab on, and bludgeon them. Hopefully, they die before they take off. Otherwise, they’ll have to manage walking out of here with a lot of broken bones.

Carefully, they crouched up to their feet, one hand firm upon the cold stone, ready to leap at the foe, the other tight upon their branch. They steadied their breaths.

One.

Two.

Three.

The unkindled leapt from the coffin; branch held high to crush any bone they would strike. It didn’t matter though, for as soon as they made themselves known, they were thrown back by a powerful force, slamming them back to the coffin, knocking the wind out of them, and quite possibly breaking every bone in their body, every sense in him overwhelmed by an incessant, stinging ringing. Curses. They’d just woken up, and now they’ll have to go back to sleep all too soon. They didn’t even see what their killer was, and with death’s grip quickly clouding their vision in darkness, all that could be made out was a fast-fading warmth of light.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Warmth seeped back into their hollowed veins, as their bones had finally popped back into place. Their senses slowly awoke, and the first thing they sense was a familiar tune.

hmm… hmmm… hmm…

hmm… hm… hmm…

And all too soon, they realized their killer had not left, and was watching over their still recovering body. They tried to move their limbs, but not everything was working yet, and all they managed was a twitch of a finger.

Unfortunately, their killer seemed to have taken notice, as the humming had stopped. The warmth they had felt suddenly flooded them then, seizing their body with so much life, it started to hurt. The deprived unkindled flailed their arms as they jolted up from the ground, ceasing the searing surge of life. They took hurried breaths, trying to steady the pain away, before finally laying eyes upon their mysterious killer.

However, what stared back wasn’t at all a monster. Not even the face of a man in fact, but a child huddled as far away as they could from them. They rubbed their eyes, just to be sure this wasn’t some trick of the light, and lo still a child. They brought their knees closer to their chest, and hid their face. Gods, the child was probably terrified right now.

“Come now. I won’t bite.” They spoke as gently as their hoarse voice could. The child perked up at that, peeking more from their corner, and in doing so, revealed three peculiarities about them. One: Their hair was whiter than pale snow. Two: They wore a simple yet ornate mask. Three: They had eyes that glowed brighter than sunlight.

“Wuh…?!” They gawked. The child shrunk back into themselves, once again caging their face between their knees.

“H-hey! It’s alright! No need to be ashamed of it,” The unkindled dumbly supplied, “Just… never seen a kid with glowing eyes before.”

They peeked out once again, though only keeping one eye out this time. “Must be nifty to have those.” The unkindled smiled, “Never lose anything in the dark, I bet.”

The child shrugged, as a bird’s chirp suddenly lilted. The unkindled looked about, wondering if they heard that right. Did the child just chirp?

The child chirped again.

The child did chirp.

“Are you? Making that sound?”

They tilted their head at the unkindled as another melody of chirps responded.

“You are!” The child stared at them, eyes glowing brighter at the sudden shout.

“Sorry! I’m not normally this excitable, I swear.”

They hummed once, sort of like a disappointed laugh even. The unkindled grunted back and shrugged, “Anyway, can you talk? I mean, I know you can speak but, can you talk… like me?” They finished dumbly.

A low hum, and a shake of their head was their answer.

“Mhm. Right then. What’s a child like you doing in a sad place like this anyhow?”

At that, their eyes dimmed, light contorting into a scowl.

No. Surely, they weren’t. They slapped the back of their head, “Ah… It’s fine. Doesn’t really matter, anyway.” It most certainly did, but the child needn’t relive such trauma. Gods know how awful being undead is at their age, how could this one become one so soon?

They stood up, and looked to the horizon, listening carefully for the distant toll of a bell. “C’mon now. Best we leave this place before something else finds us. Keep close then.” The child stood up, running away to a nearby bush. They watched them curiously as they picked up what seemed to be an old staff, and a little red candle. They hung the staff on their back, and cradled the candle carefully in their hands as they walked back to them. Gingerly, they lifted the candle up to them, its faint glow filling their dead skin with warmth.

“You want me to carry this?” The child shook their head, then guided the unkindled’s hand to the tiny flame, until their fingers were gently caressing it. Slowly, the flame grew upon their hand, spreading warmth but not pain across him. The flame spread quicker soon, until it had embraced their body whole, then seeped into their very being. The child’s tiny candle had embered them, and it steeped them with new strength and knowledge. Not much, but more than what they started with. Along with it however, a particular word seemed to reverberate.

“Saami?” The unkindled echoed.

The child bounced on their feet, a ribbon of merry chirping bouncing into the air. “Haha, what’s that mean?” They chuckled though still confused. The child kept bouncing however, but now they were also pointing at themselves.

“Is that your name?” The child nodded enthusiastically.

“Ha. Well then, pleasure to meet you, Saami. My name is…” They trailed off, suddenly remembering that they had forgotten their name. Saami beamed at them, patiently awaiting their answer. The unkindled tried to remember once again, but such memories avert them still. Their name. What was their name? Something so simple, so mundane, and given so little thought, yet it so intrinsically theirs alone; to be suddenly bereft of it is… is a feeling so profoundly silent that words fail to even conceive it as a feeling. Yet it is so. A unique sort of emptiness that they cannot help but grasp at.

Tiny hands made to pull upon what little tatters clung to the unkindled’s body, pulling them out of their hollowness. Saami’s eyes had dimmed significantly. Much less cheery than when they had introduced themselves. They patted their snowy hair, softly ruffling it, “Sorry, kid. Seems I’ve lost more than I thought.”

Saami placed a hand on their arm, a gentle weight. Though they wore a mask, their eyes did little to hide the smile underneath it.

“Thank you.”

Saami smiled wider, or at least it looked like it, if having their eyes closed meant that they smiled wide enough that there wasn’t enough space for open eyes. Pulled them back to the coffin from which they had emerged. They knelt down in front of their headstone, completely covered in ash. With their cape, Saami dusted the ash off, revealing underneath a name.

“Laurie,” They whispered. Saami continued to dust off the rest of the headstone, though all other inscriptions had eroded too much to be legible.

“Well then,” They stood up, “Laurie it is then.”

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

It didn’t take long for the two to find their first aggressors. Hollows. Mindless husks cursed to wander for eternity, lest the fire be linked. Under normal circumstances, they’d be a mere breeze to push through, but with only a branch to fight with and a child to watch out for, every battle would be stacked against them.

To their surprise however, Saami was not so helpless. Oh no, the child hadn’t the martial prowess to fend off even a rat. They could however, do something even better.

“You can fly?!”

Saami stood on their feet, and turned to show off their cape. Pure white fabric that was fraying along the edges, with single star drawn at the top. With a flap of their cape, Saami flew into the air, before slowly and harmlessly floating back down.

Was that why they couldn’t hear Saami’s approach? That could explain it, but not how Saami knocked them over. Eh. Something to find out once they safe, Laurie supposes.

Saami chirped, head at a tilt, and finger on their chin. Were they asking a question?

“What?”

Saami chirped again with the same tones, flapping their arms as they did, and then pointing at Laurie.

“Are you asking if I can fly?”

Saami nodded with a chirp.

Laurie chuckled a bit, “Afraid not, lad. Humans don’t tend to fly.”

Wait. How can Saami fly? Are they even human? WERE they even human?

More things to ask them later. Anyway, back to the danger at hand.

“Think you can distract ‘em?” Laurie nodded towards the hollow. Saami made a single flat honk as they tilted their head and scowled at Laurie.

“Okay, here me out! You stay here and keep hidden, while I make my way to the other side.”

Saami chirped harshly.

“I’m not finished! Once I’m there, you’re going to have to distract the hollow, and once you’ve caught its attention, I’ll… uuhh…”

Saami looked at them with a confused look. Gods, were they really going to make a child an accomplice to murder? Have they really sunk this low?

“…knock them out.” It wasn’t a complete lie. You can’t really kill a hollow. Not permanently at least. So, in a way, they’re just… knocking them out! Yes. They’re not making a child an accomplice to murder. Just…

It’s not murder.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

The plan went off without a hitch. In fact, it went so smoothly that they pretty much did the same thing with the other hollow. And the next one! And the one after that! Pretty soon they cleared out the whole grave with that single tactic alone!

No, that’s a lie. They didn’t do it again. In fact, they only did it once, and didn’t try again. Oh no, the plan worked out. They got into position like they talked about, and Saami did distract them. However, once the hollow started running at Saami, wailing and swinging its sword madly, Saami had become frozen on the spot, so petrified by terror that they couldn’t even squeak a single note of fear. Had Laurie been any slower, the hollow would have most likely cut the child into pieces. No, Laurie was not going to take that chance again.

Once they were sure the hollow wouldn’t come back to unlife anytime soon, Laurie ran to Saami and locked them in a tight hug, “Hey! You’re alright! You’re okay! I’m here! I’m here.” Saami was trembling so fiercely. Gods dammit, Laurie was stupid beyond belief, thinking a child could manage this.

“I’m sorry, lad. I’m sorry. Promise, you won’t have to do that again.” Laurie continued to soothe and rock them, until Saami stopped trembling enough to actually cry. Then they soothed and rocked them until the crying petered out into sniffles.

“There. All good, yeah?”

Saami didn’t reply. Just buried themselves into their chest. Laurie sighed.

This is going to be a long journey…

Notes:

This has always been in my thoughts for awhile, and I just really wanted to write story about these two franchises. And since both their lore are VERY speculative at best, I can play a little fast and loose with this one :D

Chapter 2

Notes:

well, this took a while ehe~*

The Cemetery of Ash is not a large place by any means. It’s quite small even by graveyard standards really. By that logic, getting to the Shrine at the end of the cemetery should have been quick.

Well, anyone who said that never had a child in mind for such a scenario. As it turns out, having a child around in a graveyard full of mindless, violent, walking corpses, significantly limits the areas one can go through. Mind you, death isn’t a problem for someone who is deathless, just inconvenient mostly. But… Neither Laurie or Saami is sure if Saami is even undead, and neither one is eager to find out soon. Besides, even if Saami was undead, hell if Laurie’s going to let a child get killed on their watch. Laurie dying for a moment is also out of the question, since that would mean leaving Saami defenseless.

So, they’ve been very careful. They avoided any sort of confrontations, took detours whenever possible, and when they had no choice, Laurie would quietly approach a foe and kill them, before they ever even noticed. All else fails, Laurie would send Saami to fly to an out of reach perch, until the fight was over.

Luckily for them, graves, even poor ones, tend to have a few useful things inside them. Useful things such as weapons and armor in particular. A little rusted and torn for Laurie’s liking, but it was something at the very least.

Saami hummed quietly to themselves for the most part. One hand held their staff close to their chest, while the other clung to Laurie’s shirt. Saami walked closely to Laurie, leaving barely an inch of space between them. Poor lad must still be scared. Hopefully, getting them out of the cemetery would ease Saami out of their tension.

“Hey, we’ll be out of here soon. Don’t worry!” Laurie assured them with a smile. Saami replied with a brief and soft hum, eyes trained to the ground however.

Laurie sighed, then patted Saami softly on their head, “See those big archways over there.” They pointed towards the crumbling ruins of a wall a short distance away. “The entrance to the cemetery is right past that. Once we go through, we’ll be out!”

Saami couldn’t really see it past the huge headstones everywhere, so they chirped and raised their arms up to Laurie. They carried them up on to their shoulders, easily lifting them up like they weighed nothing at all. Saami couldn’t help but giggle a little melody at the sudden jostling.

Up high on Laurie, they could see the dilapidated remains of crumbling archways and leafless trees scattered along the horizon. Farther beyond that, they could see the full height of the huge structure that’s been looming over the headstones.

“That large building is called the Firelink Shrine.” Laurie explained, “As far as anyone’s concerned, it’s the safest place in all of Lothric. That’s where we’re headed.”

Saami chirped a lilting tune. Seems like someone’s gotten excited again. Laurie places Saami back on the ground, and walks them along in hand. Hopefully, the road ahead doesn’t have any more hollows to deal with.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Luck was on their side this time with the walk to the ruins being rather uneventful. There were a few hollows shambling about aimlessly, but none paid them any heed to pose a threat. Most of them just stared blankly into space or at wall, and the more animated ones seemed rather… unstable.

Laurie shivers at the sight of them. To think that they’d hollowed in their own journey back then is unthinkable, yet what other explanation could there be for them to end up in this dreg. Hopefully, they don’t end up hollowing again this time around. Unable they may be to reverse their unkindled nature, they can at least die a more human death by linking the flame, rather than stagnating and withering away in such a miserable state.

They walked up into the ruins, passing under a large archway, with rows upon rows of graves lining the walls. Most of them have been worn down by age, or explicitly defaced. One side of the ruins was missing, as though the entire half of it had fallen into the chasm below, leaving it open for a view of the great expansive sky. Crows perched themselves upon the broken walls, and littered about the floor pecking and scratching for food. They didn’t pay them much head, unless they stepped too close, in which case they would fly a short distance away from them, cawing harshly at them as they did. At the very center of it all, stood, or rather knelt, a lone statue of large man, adorned in beautifully ornate armor from head to toe, and wielding an equally large and ornately patterned bardiche; at its chest however, was a rusted sword that pierced through his chest.

Laurie whistled, “That’s… something. Probably best not to touch it.” They went past the statue, and came upon the large gate. Unfortunately, they quickly found out that it was…

“Locked.” Laurie grumbled, “Well, where there’s a lock, there’s a key. How about we split up and have look around, yeah?”

Saami nodded with a chirp, and wandered away from them.

“Don’t go where I can’t see you though!” Laurie quickly shouted at them, to which they replied with a loud lilting tune, and a thumbs up.

While Laurie busied themselves with the gate, Saami ran around the ruins, looking around everywhere, but unsure exactly as to what. The crows observed them curiously, bobbing their heads about to the little one that was lifting up pebbles to check underneath them, before pocketing them away. Saami notices their staring, and chirps at them. The crows stiffened, before one of them cawed back. Saami chirped again in response, and, quite quickly, they were having a full conversation. A few of the crows dispersed then, some of them flying behind the gate, and the rest flocking about here and there, occasionally cawing, to which Saami would chirp back.

Saami meanwhile, opted to check the headstones. Withered shambles of what could have been flowers and cold wax lay upon the cold stone floors, having been left there for what might as well be forever, what with no one tending to the graves.

They wondered idly about the circumstances that led to the graves being left in such an unloved state. Although cemeteries were not inherently a very cheery place, love could still be seen in its freshly cut grass, in the melted candles that were still warm despite having no more flame, and in it’s the spotless surface despite the weathering of time.

Here there was so little of that left. They knelt in front of one, wiping away the dust, and pulling away the vines that have grown over them, taking great care as to not crumble the ancient thing any further than it already has. They lit the candles one by one, shielding each flickering flame with their tiny hands, as they tried to feel for a growing warmth from them. Warmth that could survive the soft breeze, even for just a moment. Just long enough a moment for them to feel even a little bit of warmth again.

hmm… hmmm… hmm…

hmm… hm… hmm…

hmm… hmmm… hmm…

hmm… hm… hmm…

Saami hummed their gentle tune. It was a simple lullaby. A slow floating hum that dove down, and then flew in three flaps up, before slowly descending down into a gentle quietness. Then it starts again, in the same notes, but instead of ending with the gentle descent, a little nod to the sun is released, and it lingers on until the blue sky fades from view. A simple, gentle tune, that goes up and down, and up and down, until Saami tires and gives one last rising hum to the sun.

They walked across the ruins, paying each grave the same respects, until they had lit all the candles, and they had echoed the final note to their lullaby.

Laurie had been watching them that whole time. Starting from when they began to hum the first notes of their lullaby, up until they had lit the last candle. For a bunch of wax puddles, every candle still managed to remain alight. Alone, a single puddle’s flame didn’t amount to anything more than a flicker, but together, it almost makes the cemetery feel… warm.

Laurie smiled as they approached Saami, who was still standing by the last headstone they stopped by. Unbeknownst to the little one, the crows had been gathering around them, perching close by to observe them, as they cawed softly amongst themselves, as though they were gossiping, but had the smallest bit of decency at attempting not to be heard. Most however, flew away when Laurie approached. They whistled to Saami, and gave them a gentle pat on their shoulder, before bowing their head to the headstone, “May the First Flame grace them a true death.” They hushed. They lingered there, praying silently for the dead, as the quiet settled back in.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

A rumbling had interrupted their solemnity. Laurie turned quickly, hand at their blade, while Saami curiously watched what caught their attention. They saw behind them that the sword that was impaled on the statue had begun to seethe with heat, as flames coiled out into the air. Saami took exactly one step forward, before Laurie blocked them with their arm. “Don’t.”

Saami stared at it wide-eyed, very much curious with what’s going on with the sword, but they weren’t about to disobey Laurie, so they stayed put. Laurie, however, approached the statue cautiously, sword now drawn and trained to slash at the first hint of movement.

As they got closer, they started to hear hissing, no doubt coming from the blade itself, and a foul odor that smelt oddly of rotted burning flesh. Was this thing alive? Was the statue actually a corpse? Yet there was something else odd to this. It was quite obvious that this thing was burning intensely. So much so that it was hot enough to burn flesh and crack stone; and yet, the only heat they felt amounted not even to a furnace, but more like a hearth. Warm, and strangely cozy. They were just about touch the blade, when a cacophony of piercing caws and chirps suddenly erupted.

They turned around and saw the horde of hollows making their way towards the ruins. Two or three is already troublesome, but a horde would be suicide, and in an enclosed space like this; Death is all but certain. “Damn it!” Laurie cursed under their breathe. They ran toward Saami and scooped them up, before running back towards the gate. Laurie dug their feet in and slammed full force on to the gate; again; and again; and again. The iron gate however, did not budge.

Laurie frantically looked for another way out. The walls were too steep and too high to climb, the cliff too high to survive a fall, and whatever stairs their once was had long since been crushed by time. The horde’s howling slowly grew louder and louder. Their cries pounding heavily upon their ears, made worse by the heat of that damned sword, and the agitated cawing of panicked crows flying away from the…

Laurie knelt down beside Saami. They grabbed for their tiny hands, and placed their sword on to them. Saami stared down at it, confusion glazed over their eyes, as they looked up at Laurie. They held Saami firmly on their shoulders. “Listen closely lad. Fly out of here. Get to the shrine. You’ll be safe there.” Laurie patted them on their shoulder once, pushing the sword close to Saami’s chest. Saami stared, still trying to process what was happening, while Laurie rose to their feet and went to the statue. They pulled upon the seething blade, easily dislodging it from the stone corpse. “Go!” They shouted, voice brooking no arguments. Saami stood frozen, fear nailing their feet to the ground, as they watched Laurie run to the gate, and awaited to face the incoming horde head on, “C’mon, you worthless piles of dust! I’ve seen butterflies more menacing than you!”

The horde paid them no heed, walking still their measured pace. Laurie huffed anxiously, forcing the trembling of their arms to still. They gritted their teeth, shaking their head, and muttering under their breathe, “Fuck, I better not go hollow from this!”

One last look to the horde; to their inevitable death. They raised their blade high, and heaved a heavy breath, filling their lungs ‘til it felt like bursting, before they shouted a mighty battle cry, loud and furious!

An unholy bellow came then, sending the ground trembling under their feet. Laurie tried to catch their footing, as they looked back only to be choked with fear by what they saw. Standing tall and towering over the horizon was the statue, wielding its gigantic bardiche in hand, eyes aglow a fearsome red, like fresh blood splattered from a kill. It growled in a low voice, akin to the rumbling of thunder, as it stretched its hand towards…
“SAAMI!” Laurie screamed, bolting straight for the hulking giant. The giant turned; mad eyes leveled at theirs, as Laurie swung their sword at them full force, only to be stopped dead in their tracks by the iron grip of the giant’s hand. They tried to wiggle the sword loose, but it wouldn’t budge. The giant lifted them up by the sword, growling low like a beast eyeing its prey, until they were at eye level. The sheer strength and bloodlust of this thing sent shivers down their spine.

Suddenly, a crow flitted between them and the giant, cawing and pecking angrily at it, as the giant lazily swatted at the crow. From below, Laurie heard Saami squeal, as they slammed their blunt sword uselessly at the giant’s legs, “SAAMI! RUN!” The giant however, had turned its ire at the little one, prompting Laurie to kick it hard in its face, landing a good hit right in its eye. It dropped Laurie on their ass, as it stumbled and howled in pain. It swung its bardiche wildly, swatting at air as it clutched its face.

Saami ran to Laurie’s side, who was groaning from their fall, and helped them up on their feet. “Fuck. Are you alright, lad?” Laurie asked despite themselves. The only answer they would receive was a piercing caw and squeal, right before their entire world began to spin, all sensation but pain lost to them, ending with the ugly sound of shattering bone upon stone as they limply fell to the ground.

Their first instinct was to curl in on themselves, but they winced in pain as they tried to move whatever limbs were still intact enough. Distantly, they could hear Saami’s panicked squeaking, and an equally distraught crow’s cawing, as they gradually came into view. They tried to move them, making Laurie scream. Saami squealed, quickly pulling their hands away. Laurie was trembling, each erratic breath felt like coals being forced in and out of them, making them cough pathetically, each time blood would be mixed with their spit.

Saami gently placed their shaky hands on them, willing warmth to flow into Laurie, but their magic was unsteady; erratic. Laurie would take sharp gasps when they felt the magic suddenly burning them, before quickly fizzling out into cold cinders.

Meanwhile, the danger that they had completely forgotten slowly made its approach, huge footfalls crashing down like hammers upon stone columns. Laurie couldn’t do anything but gasp and stare at their impending doom. Their limbs were still broken, and Saami was a squeaking mess, too panicked about Laurie to notice anything else. Desperately, they tried to call out to the child, words unsteady, whimpering, and broken by gasps, while the crow tried to pull them back, pecking and cawing madly at the child. Saami didn’t notice however. They didn’t notice any of panicked gasps and caws. They didn’t notice the shadow of the giant looming over them. They didn’t notice the massive bardiche raised high to cleave them in two. They didn’t notice until the giant roared, and swung their weapon down at them.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

There was a moment, however brief, when they heard the bardiche’s blade whistle as it cut through the air. A moment when they could hear the sounds of flapping wings, and terrified caws. A moment when Saami turned to face the sharp edge between their eyes. A moment when Laurie suddenly found enough air in them to scream. A moment when they, Saami, screamed a cry so loud and sharp, that it pierced them to their core, freezing over whatever little embers they had been given by this little one.

Then everything went white.

When they opened their eyes, the giant was gone. Laurie gawked at the empty scene, trying to tilt their head every which way, but the giant was nowhere in sight. No corpse nor ash. Not even a soul, or at least one they could perceive. Saami meanwhile, was still turned away from them, hands hanging down their sides, and eyes staring out into the gray skies above, where a single crow was circling above.

“Saami?” They choked out. Saami didn’t seem to notice, so they called again, “Saami? Are you okay?”

A twitch then, subtle, almost like they didn’t. Then a weight was suddenly on them. Laurie groaned when Saami collapsed on them, before the panic quickly took over, “Saami?! Saami!”

The crow then landed on the child and pecked at them, before they sat on their chest, slowly rising and falling with Saami’s breathing. Laurie sighed, relieved that the child was alive and breathing.

Now that the danger was gone, and that they know that Saami was, relatively speaking, okay, Laurie could feel all the adrenaline drain from them, and tiredness begin to sink in. What with most of their bones still being broken, they might as well sleep until they recovered. Compounded with Saami emitting a cozy warmth like a hearth on a winter’s eve, did very little to dissuade them from the idea.

Then, they heard the footsteps. The crow turned to the sound, and stood up, cawing angrily. The hollows from outside. With the giant now gone, they were free to enter the ruins. The hollows looked around, empty eyes staring everywhere, until they landed on them. Laurie tensed. They tried to get up, but their limbs were still broken, so they wiggled about, “Saami. Saami, wake up. Wake up, lad! Wake up!”

The hollows approached them slowly. “Stay BACK!” Laurie shouted fiercely, making the hollows stiffen. “Not one more step, or I swear I’ll… I’ll…!”

Laurie didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t anything for them do. Still, they snarled and roared at the hollows, face unlike that of a rabid dog. The hollows looked amongst themselves, groaning and moaning quietly. Most of them went away, but a few still decided to move to them. Laurie kept shouting empty threats at them, until they were right in front of them.

The hollows just stood there, looking at them with their blank eyes.

Can they even see from those things?

Frankly, it unnerved Laurie. One of them tried to reach for Saami, but that quickly proved to be a bad idea, as they were quickly pecked away by the crow still standing boldly on Saami’s chest. Once again, the hollows looked amongst themselves, groaning and moaning as though conversing.

A thought then crossed Laurie. They looked around the ruins, observing the rest of the hollows that were scattered about. Many of them of were kneeling in front of the graves, hands either outstretched to the gentle glow of the candles, or clasped in prayer. Some of them were in groups, sitting or standing closely together, some even hugging, or had their heads resting on others’ shoulders.

They’re not hollows.

“Let them.” Laurie spoke. The crow cawed indignantly, to which they answered with a glare, so the crow jumped down with a soft yet annoyed warble. The not-hollows stared at Laurie for a moment, before one of them picked up Saami, and rocked them softly in their arms, the child instinctively cuddling into the not-hollow’s chest. Laurie softened at the sight, before tensing up again at another not-hollow that reached out to them. “What are you doing?”

The not-hollow pointed at their broken limbs, groaning sounds that Laurie couldn’t understand. After a moment’s thought however, they sighed, “Just do whatever…”

The not-hollow set about carefully setting their limbs into their proper place. They groaned at the others, who handed them things for this not-hollow to use. Pieces of torn fabric, wood, one even offered an Estus Flask, which would have been useful, had it not been the blue kind.

After doing what they could, the not-hollows dispersed, bowing and nodding at Laurie, leaving them alone with the crow, and the one not-hollow that was rocking Saami.

Laurie sighed. They don’t have the energy to think about this right now. They don’t have the energy to think period. After everything, they just want to rest now. No more surprises of any sort for the rest of the day. Hell, the whole week, please.

Fate, however, wasn’t done just yet. Another loud sound came then, startling the gathered crowd. The massive gates then groaned as it slowly opened outwards. A cloud of black feathers came screeching out, filling the once quiet ruins with hundreds of caws. Right in the middle of it all, stood a waifish woman, clad in black, carefully taking steps forward as crows that gripped upon her sleeved guided her.

The crow beside Laurie cawed, calling the rest towards Laurie’s spot. They guided the woman towards them, the crowd clearing away from her path, until she stood before Laurie. The crows then left her side, perching themselves everywhere but near them. All except for the crow that had been with Laurie this whole time.

The woman made an unsure sound, twiddling her thumbs and lips thinning into a line. The crow cawed from below, making her angle her head down towards the sound. The crow pecked at Laurie, “Ow!”

“Oh!” The woman spoke softly, “So the crows did lead me somewhere. At first, I thought they just wanted to play again, but they seemed too panicked for that.” Laurie raised their eyebrows at her, their mind refusing to process anything anymore.

Gently, she sat upon the ground, “So, tell me, good person, why do the crows wish me to see you?”

Notes:

Originally, I was gonna end this at the part where Laurie's vision goes white, but then I thought, nah, too early for that kind of tension.

So we'll leave the killing for future chapters I guess. Anyway, I hope I did Ms. Fire Keeper justice with her introduction.

Chapter 3

Notes:

I'm alive, bitches!

enjoy my incoherent word vomit.

Although the Shrine was intact, Laurie can’t say that it really did fare better than the rest of the cemetery. Water was dripping from the ceiling, the pavement was cracked and missing tiles here and there, the walls were broken by roots growing through them, and the columns that were supposed to hold the entire place up were threatening to crumble at the slightest touch, huge chunks missing in places that made them think perhaps sleeping outside in the biting cold wind wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Before they had arrived here, the shrine housed a total of four people. Five, if you count the other unkindled that refuses to perform his duties, not that Laurie can blame him really. They’d rather be six feet under than breaking limbs fighting monsters again and again and again. They’ve had enough of that in their last life.

Aside from him, there was an ancient woman, acting as the shrine’s handmaid, though Laurie doubts they can manage to do much in her old age, undead or otherwise. Then there was the blacksmith, Andre, an old man that still manages to hold a gentle smile in these depressing times. Then there was Ludleth of Courland, one of the Lords of Cinders himself, still sitting upon his throne, though Laurie guesses it’s more to do because of his current lack of legs, than any other reason really. Lastly, there was the blind young maiden in black herself. A Fire Keeper, she addresses herself. She has been tending to the pair ever since they were brought in, making their recovery that much quicker under her vigilant watch, ironically enough.

Though, such long periods of recovery prove to be detrimental to one’s combat prowess. Laurie feels their limbs moving slower, their blows hitting weaker, their reactions growing sluggish, and their strength waning faster. Laurie huffs and tries to kick their leg high again, but ends up losing their balance and falling flat on their ass.

“Fuck!” Laurie tries kicking the dirt, before they jerked in pain instead. They massage pulled muscles, trying to soothe the pain away. So much for recovering.

“Ashen one, art thou there?” Laurie turns to the Fire Keeper who was slowly making her way towards them, the cacophony of crows not far behind her.

Laurie huffed, slightly miffed at being found again, “Stay where you are, miss. I’ll come to you.” They tried picking themselves up, but instead swore loudly again from their pulled leg.
“Ashen one!” the Fire keeper bunched up her dress, and hurried to them as fast as their blind steps allowed.
“I’m fine! Nothing serious happened.” They groaned, though it did nothing to deter her.

Once she found them, they quickly glided their fingers all over, trying to discern any abnormalities on them, “Where does it hurt?”
“Just pulled my leg is all.” Her hands quickly ran to their legs and gently squeezed them, making Laurie groan.
“Apologies, ashen one, but I shall need to move thee. I cannot treat you properly out here. Can you walk?”
“Yes.” She moved quickly, wrapping her arms around them, and placing Laurie’s arm around her head. “Lean on me, and try not use thine injured leg too much.”

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Back in the shrine, Laurie was made to sit still as the maiden fussed about for something cold to press on their leg. To ensure that they did as was told, Hawkwood, the other unkindled that was residing in the shrine, was made to keep an eye on them.

“Told you it was bad idea.” Hawkwood started.
Laurie rolled their eyes, “Oh, don’t start with me, you lily-livered wanker!”
“What? I’m right, ain’t I?” He gestured at their leg, still too sore to really move around.
“It’s just a pulled muscle, it ain’t nothing serious!”
“And yet the Fire keeper had to drag you here like some sodden drunk that’s taken one too many trips down the cliffs.” He smirked.
“Why you little-!”
“Hush, you two!” Sir Ludleth called from atop his throne. “I’ll not have you sullying the peace of the shrine with your bickering.”

Laurie continued to stew in frustration, while Hawkwood hummed softly to himself. Silently, they watched the proceedings going around in the shrine. Unholloweds milled about the shrine, setting up clean cots and tents provided by the old handmaid seemingly out of nowhere. Some of them had taken to cleaning the space up a bit, using makeshift brooms and rags in an attempt to at least make the place not damp and dusty, if not presentable anyway. A few of them though, chose to gather around the large bowl at the heart of the shrine, as they made yet another attempt to start a fire. The bowl that would have been the bonfire of the shrine, giving light and warmth for any human, undead, hollowed, or ashen one indiscriminately.

Yet no flame stirred when Laurie had plunged the blade upon its pile of ash and bone. Not even a single ember to speak of. Thus, led to their current predicament of trusting in their ashen curse to ‘naturally heal them’.

Laurie huffed.

They looked towards a particularly cozy part of the shrine. One they couldn’t really see from where they were sitting, but stared on all the same. They wondered how Saami was doing now.

Eventually, the fire keeper returned, carrying a small clump of ice wrapped in cloth, and carefully pushed against Laurie’s pulled leg. They drew a sharp breath, the sudden cold surprising him a bit.

“Where’d you even get this?” They asked the keeper.
“Andre knows a bit of magic.” She spoke, before softly adding, “He would sometimes give me ice to enjoy with my juice when we had the occasional fresh fruit.”
Laurie grunted, as they mused with the thought. A glass of fresh juice did sound nice to have right about now. Maybe they could offer some to Saami, if the lad ever…

“How’s the lad doing?”
The fire keeper made an uncomfortable hum, before she shook her head, “Still breathing, but only that still…”

Silence fell. It’s been almost two weeks now, and Saami still showed no signs of recovery. They were alive, of that Laurie had to be certain. When the fire keeper first tended to them, she was surprised to find that the child had no physical injuries to speak off, and they still held sovereignty over their soul, of that, she was certain. She tried performing miracles to see if it would help, but what few miracles she knew off were meager and hardly did anything to change their state.

And so, they waited, day in and day out, for anything to change.

A hand wandered forward to Laurie, as lithe fingers glided over their arm, sliding down until they found Laurie’s hands.
“Thine hands are trembling, ashen one.” She said softly.
“You told me I needed to stretch my limbs if I wanted to recover properly. Well, I’m doing just that.” They grumbled, staring right at where her eyes would be if they weren’t hidden behind her mask.
“I did not think that thou wouldst take that to mean martial training.” She folded their hands together, before retracting her hands to herself, thumbs twiddling. “I only meant for walks and simple exercises. Not…” She trailed off, head lolling down, as though she was afraid to look them in their eyes despite her lack of her own.
They sighed, “Apologies, I did not mean to sound abrasive.”
“I understand.” She nodded, as she went to sit beside them. They stared quietly at the unholloweds who were now slowly dispersing away from the bowl, coiled sword left to dangle lamely.

“I simply cannot understand it.” The keeper spoke, “When the ashen one plunges the sword into ash and bone, the embers shall be reignited, and the bonfire renewed. Yet here we are, and the ashes remain cold and unemberred.”
“Maybe they weren’t the ashen one to plunge it then?” Hawkwood muttered, “Who knows with these damn magicky things.”
“No, that’s not it.” The three looked to old Ludleth, “The gates can only open once the sword is claimed, and the old judge is defeated, and you were the one that fell the old Iudex in combat.” He looked to Laurie, who kept silent to their exchange.
Hawkwood shrugged, “Maybe the magic’s just being an ass about it then.”

They went quiet again, staring blankly at the glorified twig, as though looking at it long enough would make it erupt in flames.

Then a thought caught to Laurie, “I didn’t beat him though.”

They all stared back at him, Hawkwood questioning first, “Wha’ d’ you mean?”
Laurie sighed, “When I was fighting that thing, it threw me to a wall and broke every single bone in my body. I could not move, let alone lift the sword. All I remember was that thing stalking towards us, ready to hack us in two, but then there was a bright flash, and next thing I knew, it was gone.”

A moment of silence passed, before the keeper asked, “Then it wasn’t you that defeated Iudex Gundyr?” She shook her head, “Even so, you were the one who began that fight, even if someone else finished it, you were still a part of that fight.”

Laurie shrugged. The keeper carried on with her thoughts, trying to divine an answer to this conundrum, with old Ludleth providing the occasional answer. Laurie however, had had enough of this particular topic, and rose to leave, “I’m going to bed.”

They bid Laurie good dreams and continued on with their conversation.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

The little crow had spotted them almost immediately as soon as Laurie came to the little corner they’d claimed as theirs and Saami’s spot in the Shrine. It quietly observed them from where it sat atop the child’s chest, who still laid asleep, unmoving save for the rise and fall of their chest.

“Still nothing, huh?”

The crow rubbed its head upon the child as it made soft caws at them, but they remained silent. Laurie sat down next to Saami’s cot, watching them idly, as the crow hopped to perch on Laurie’s shoulder instead, “Gwynevere’s balls, lad, how long are you going to sleep?”

They stayed there for the rest of the night, wordlessly observing the lad for any signs of movement, until the sounds of the unholloweds were all but faded, and only the slow trickle of drop-droop-drop and drop-drip-drop could be heard echoing in their ears.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

A cool draft of wind stirs Laurie awake. They rise from the comfort of their cot, trying to remember exactly when they’d moved there. Perhaps the fire keeper had come in to check on them, saw the sorry state Laurie was in, and saw fit to move them, their tiredness preventing them from being woken. Maybe they’d ask her about it later. Blinking yester night’s drowsiness away, Laurie turned to see their hopefully conscious charge up from their bed, but to their non-surprise, the child was still not there.

Laurie stretched up, finally yawning the rest of his tiredness away, and went out to…

Laurie looked back at Saami.

Saami was not there.

Saami was not on their bed.

Saami was…

Laurie ran down to the throne room, almost tripping twice in their rush, as they incessantly shouted for Saami, Hawkwood, or the keeper. Once they were there however, the room was completely empty, with only darkness to greet them. No sign of the keeper, or Hawkwood, or any of the other people who had taken shelter within. Even Andre’s ever constant hammering, or the gentle glow of the candles that were dutifully kept alight by the fire keeper were eerily absent.

“Miss? Hawkwood?” Laurie shouted again, their call echoing across the darkened halls until it reached back into their ears, “What in the bloody abyss is going on here?” Laurie approached the bowl at the center of the throne room, taking careful steps as to not trip in the darkness, and attempted to pull the coiled sword out, only for it to break and crumble into dust, leaving only a small fragment barely fit enough for stabbing. Laurie sighed, “Wonderful.” Broken blade in hand, Laurie walks towards the exit, keeping an ear out for any sound. Hopefully someone else would be here, someone amicable if they were lucky, and if not, well, they’re not above beating the information out of them.

For once, though, they were lucky. There, still sitting in her own corner of the Shrine, snoring softly in her slumber, was the ancient Handmaid herself.

“Madam?” Laurie prodded her gently, rousing her from her sleep.
“Oh… Hm? Well, fancy that...” She yawned lazily, the cold air freezing her breath. Huh, Laurie didn’t realize how cold it was here. “A lost lamb wandereth in, with nary a peep from the bell.”
Laurie nodded, “What happened here? Where is everyone?”
She shrugged, “None hath been here but I, as one can so clearly see.” She chuckled, before gesturing at the darkness around her that seemed to envelope everything, “Or rather not see.”
“What do you mean? Just yesterday this place was filled with people all making a nest for themselves.”
She raised a brow at them, “Were there now? Perhaps, old age has finally caught up to me then.” The woman chuckled as she gathered beside her piles of ash in her hands. Clumping her fingers closed, she let trickles of the ash slip loose from her bony grasp, slowly trickling down her dress until her hand was empty of it all.

Laurie gave a small shake of their head at her, “Well, have you at least seen the lad? The one I was with? About yea big, glows a bit? Pretty hard to miss, even for a senile woman, I’d bet.”
She looked at them with a thinned gaze, before she smiled wryly and spoke, “I’ve never seen thee in my life.”
Laurie was just about to turn and leave the fickle woman to her own devices however, when she adds, “Though thine companion does sing a familiar tune to this decrepit woman.”
“Where are they?” Laurie almost shouted.
She shrugged, “I do not know. Though perhaps that light at the atrium may provide an answer?” She nodded her head towards the empty halls that bled away into the infinite darkness. “What in the bloody abyss are you going on about, woman?”
She raised a brow at them, “Child, hast thou parents not thought thee of any manners?”
Laurie rolled their eyes then, “Could you kindly please clarify then, madam?”
“Well now, thou art merely acting like a sycophant.”
“GWYN’S HOWLING TITS-!”
“Oh, please, canst thou not take a mere jest?”
Laurie glared at the old bag as she chuckled at them. She gestured for them to come closer, as she leaned forward to whisper in their ears, “Just head straight for the ruined atrium where the old champion stands. Thou wilt see then.”

Laurie leaned back, unsure of the wily woman's words, but with no other clues to follow, they left. She watched them slowly disappear into the darkened halls, the shadows slowly embracing them until they were naught but echoes in the darkness. She hmphed, mildly unimpressed of her peculiar guest, yet…

“How does one with such a fragile soul, lift a blade forged of the first flame.” She wondered aloud, inspecting the fragment of the coiled sword she had lifted from the curious unkindled.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

The walk to the ruins is not a long one by any means, but this blasted darkness made it impossible to see even one’s own footsteps. Familiar as the path maybe, Laurie had enough sense of mind not to run careening of a cliff. It’s a good thing the ruins weren’t hard to find, what with the huge pillar of light just cleaving the infinite darkness in two.

“Gwynevere’s ballsacks, what even is happening in here?” Laurie sighed, as they ran a hand through the ancient gate’s rusted walls, slivers of light seeping through its tiny cracks and holes, the warmth palpable on its surface. Laurie gulped, “You better be in there, lad; or I swear I’m gonna regret this.” Laurie pushed at the gate, making it rumble and groan against the earth, as light came flooding out and bathing them in all its fondness.

Slowly, they peaked through the blinding glow, willing their eyes to see, until they could finally accept it. Lo and behold, there standing before the great pillar of light was the child, humming softly their delicate tones, as they faced against the hulking beast that was the Iudex.

“Saami!” Laurie shouted, running quickly towards the child. The child, surprised however, paused their singing and faced the terrified ashen. They sang a chirper tune as they waved, and bounced merrily towards them. When Saami reached them, they were quickly pulled into their arm, as Laurie frantically rifled for the broken sword.

The Iudex however, merely stood by the great pillar, menacing eyes staring them down. Laurie stared back, despite their fear completely choking them. Saami, though, was far less scared. Quite the opposite, as they seemed to string a fierce clamor of angry honks, wiggling about in their numbing arm like a fish out of water. “Wha-?! Stay still you crazy kid, I’m trying to protect you!”

The Iudex stalked forward, each step rumbling like thunder. Laurie tried to walk back, to run away, but it felt like the earth had swallowed their feet. When the Iudex was close enough, however, he knelt before them, and offered before Laurie a lit candle.

Thoroughly confused, Saami finally managed to wiggle out of Laurie’s arm and quickly jumped on to the Iudex’s open hand, as they indignantly warbled an entire aria at them, wildly waving their arms around, before plopping down on the Iudex’s hand, and hiding behind their cloak. Laurie tried to defend themselves, but they didn’t really know what to say to a bunch of high-pitched angry chirps, except for, “Sorry. I was just worried about you is all. But…” Laurie looked up at the Iudex, whose red eyes still fill Laurie with dread, but seemed empty of any malice as the Iudex looked upon the child in his hand. Laurie sighed, rubbing their cold arm. “If you’re good then, I’m good.”

Saami peaked back out at them, before quickly jumping up and giving them a hug. Laurie hissed at the sudden freezing embrace, but hugged them back all the same, though only briefly. When they pushed away however, both Laurie and Saami visibly startled.

Saami had no eyes.

Laurie keeled over, whether from the fear, or the sudden cold that seemed to bite into their skin, they didn’t know.

Their vision was clouding, sensations becoming numb. Saami became a blur of movement before them. The last thing they hear was the sudden gust from above.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

A cool draft of wind jolts Laurie awake. They rise with a crick in their neck, trying to make sense of what exactly they had just dreamed of. Laurie turned to see their hopefully sleeping charge still in their bed, but to their horror, the child was still not there. They quickly ran out of the room, screaming for Saami like a bat out of hell, scaring every person they ran pass.

At the throne room, there sitting beside the fire keeper was the little one singing a soft chipper tune with her, looking as if they hadn’t just gone through a coma for the last weeks or so.

Laurie tapped her shoulders, surprising them both, “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Oh, Ashen One! Thou art awake!” The keeper hummed, as Saami flew up and hugged Laurie, gripping them tight and warming away last slumber’s numbness.
“I had planned to wake thee when the child came to this morning, but thou seemed so tired that I had opted to let thee rest more.”
“Yes, well, thank you for that. I think I’ve had enough of sleeping for a while.” Laurie patted Saami as they gently tried to pry them off, “And I see that you’re feeling lighter than air, lad.” Saami didn’t reply to that, and merely snuggled tighter, refusing to budge, “Heh, and I thought I was going to get clingy when you woke up.” Laurie gave up trying to pry them off, and rocked them in their arms instead, as they hummed a soft tune.

Notes:

I wasn't exactly sure how to end this y'all, and the pacing seems really weird cause I kept coming back to this after a REALLY long time, but I really wanted to add a chapter to this so here y'all!

Chapter 4

Notes:

So...

Life, amirite?

Anyway, shoutout to shleyis22 for commenting on this reminding me I had this little thing here!

“Thou’st should know ‘tis rude to stare, little one.” The Handmaid echoed her thoughts aloud at a certain floating child, who had thought themselves quite the sneaky owl for hiding above the rafters. Alas, even the most silent owl would find it hard to sneak around when they glowed brighter than sunlight. “Come down then. Goodness knows how stable those beams are.”

Saami floated down with a sad warble at having been caught. The old woman looked at them with some amusement, what with how adorably flustered Saami looked, swaying around on their tippy toes with their hands behind their back.

“I’d ask why thou wert following me, but I doubt I could understand thee so…” Saami perked up then, and began running around the room; looking for something. A thought to reprimand them came to the elder, though seeing what exactly the little one was after seemed for more entertaining. Thus, she sat down on her cot, watched the child riffle through her things for about a minute, and to come back to her with several bits of torn and wrinkled paper. Crumpling them all up together into a ball, they plopped it down in front of her, and; with a lit candle Saami had seeming conjured out of nowhere; set the paper ball aflame.

“Ah.” The old woman spoke with some concern, but decided not to interrupt them. Once the ball had been reduced to ashes, Saami gathered as much of it as their teeny hands could hold, and held them out to the old woman with a lilting chirp.

She stared at the clump of ash with an intrigued glint in her eyes, before looking back up at the little one, who now held an excited glow in their eyes. She smirked, “Dost thou wish to learn of mine secret art of conjuring shinies?”

At that, Saami nodded and chirped excitedly, and even began floating a few inches off the floor. The handmaid chuckled, and patted the little one on their head, “I’m afraid not just any ash will do for this sort of magic, little one.”

Saami seemed to have shrunk a few inches shorter then, warbling a long, disappointed note. The handmaid sighed, “If I may, what exactly dost thou wish to do with this art?”
Saami thought with a hum for a moment, then began tracing on the ground with the soot, creating the image of a stick.

She looked at them askance, “Thou knowst we can just grab one from off the courtyard, no?” Saami shook their head, waving both hands in front of them, and chirping high and quick. They briefly went quiet, and soon conjured their staff into their hands. Placing one end near their lips, they started tapping their fingers on it in time with their whistled melody. The old observed the cute display, as the answer easily settled in, “A flute? Is that what thou want?”

They dismissed their staff with a twirl of light, and gleefully nodded with a chirp. Adorable, the woman thought, as she fluffed their snowy hair. A single strand of hair was plucked then, eliciting a scratching yelp from them. She apologized quickly, smoothing their hair down, before setting the strand aflame. It burned on her palm, scorching some sensation into her numb hand, ‘til it was naught but ash. Clasping it deep into her palms, she felt memories of fun and curiosity dance into her mind; droplets of mild pain pattered down by downpours of laughter; such earnest wonder pulls even at her own old, cynic heart.

Alas, such things are better suited for the young and able. She delved further inward until she found one memory that sung to her of serene winds, the chorus of songbirds, and a whistle of a single reed. Deeming it a suitable memory, she pulled it forward, and willed the ashes manifest the memory solid, shaping them into an ornate blue flute with diamond patterns running along the length of its body.

Both the handmaid and Saami stared at the lustrous instrument. The handmaid in surprise for the sheer artistry the bubbly child’s memory manifested into, and the child in sheer joy at the pretty new flute that they couldn’t wait to play their songs with!

After a moment, the handmaid reluctantly handed the instrument to the child, “Now, thou art be careful with it now! It’s not every day one can make such majesty from mere ashes.” The child carefully held it in both hands, bowing more than once at the old woman, before quickly running off, cape flapping away as a giggling melody echoed along the damp halls.

The handmaid had wanted to call them back, but decided to let them be. She looked down at the mess Saami left on her floor; the lit candle left to melt, and worthless soot scattered and stained upon the floor. She sighed as she took out a handkerchief and began to wipe them off her floors to little avail as the soot stubbornly stuck to the floor. Perhaps she’ll just ask that lousy legionaire to clean her floors later. She stared at the offending thing, and found herself scowling less and less as she observed the fine ash under the faint glow of the candlelight. “Curious…”

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Her blindfolded gaze was affixed on the embers, “It has been weeks and still the bonfire remains as cold as death. ‘tis becoming worrisome.”
“I’m telling you, ma’am. It's the magic! Better luck blowing a hole through the mountainside than using this bloody thing to get anywhere.” Hawkwood chewed on his jerky, blank stare idle upon the floor with thoughts keen to remain empty, until the keeper’s silent stint started getting to him. Sparing a glance up at her, he saw the woman in deep thought.

“Yes… perhaps through the mountain is…”
Hawkwood gagged on his jerky, “No-! I didn’t mean that!”
“But it is the only possible one at the moment.”
Hawkwood desperately tried to dissuade the keeper, failing to argue his way through her increasingly complicating plan of action. Up on the ledge, Laurie observed them on their lonesome, themself deep in thought. The dream they had that night still troubled them. The darkness, the shattered sword, the pillar of light, the Iudex.

Saami…

“Ho-ho! Where’s the fire?” Andrei walked in; no doubt drawn in by all the commotion the two were making. Laurie smiled, “Still not here, I’m afraid.”
He hummed, “Quite the hubbub this one’s making, eh? Never known of a bonfire that preferred to stay cold. Each one always perked up whenever a weary soul came to visit it, and we’ve got them by the dozens here!”
Laurie tapped their foot away, trying to discern an answer, “Maybe Hawkwood was right. Maybe I’m not the one who beat the Iudex.”
Andrie shrugged, “Well as far as we know, yer the one the little miss found there; not ol’ Gundyr. Even got the embers to prove it.” He patted their shoulder, and gave them a jolly good shake, though it did little to improve Laurie’s mood.

It’s the same answer no matter how you look at it. Whether they did the deciding blow or not, they won. They claimed victory, and the spoils belong to them, yet still, the sword refuses to acknowledge them. It just doesn’t make sense.

“Eh, cheer up, lad!” Andrei patted them hard on the back. Hard enough to almost throw them off the ledge, had they not caught themselves. “If that rusty toothpick ain’t gonna take us anywhere, then the little miss’s plan just might!”
“Plan? What plan?” The old man didn’t answer them though, having sauntered over to the sudden crowd that had popped out of nowhere. He clapped his hands “So! How many bombs we talking here!”
“50. Mayhap more.” The keeper quickly answered. Laurie watched them discuss their casual plan of blowing up an entire mountainside, completely ignoring the increasingly loudening Hawkwood who bemoaned every word the Keeper uttered. They couldn't help but cringe at the frankly dangerous plan, though they suppose it wouldn't really hurt anyone here on account of them being, well, undead.

…ish.

A light little tune played then from the halls, before little Saami came fluttering down on Laurie's shoulders, piping away on a beautiful flute as blue as the bygone blue sky.

“Hm! Now where on earth did you find that lovely little thing?”

Plopping off of Laurie's shoulders, Saami showed off their flute to them, eyes sparkling a bright glow. And by the gods, was it something to behold indeed. The instrument had a porcelain shine to it that reflected Saami's own light upon its delicate surface, like the moon reflecting the sun's light.

Saami continued their tune, prancing and quite literally flying about the throne room, the gathered crowd fully entranced to their song. The crows flew down from their perches, and twirled around the glowing child, lifting them up and dancing together upon the air, as the child's golden light reflected upon the crows' shimmering black feathers. Someone started clapping to their tune, then another began to hum it, and then another stepped forward and danced along, and soon, the shrine's heart was brightened with the warm laughter and raucous merriment of everyone.

Laurie found themselves jiving along, fully enraptured by the ditty.

“Quite the festive occasion thou all art having, hm?” Teased the ancient handmaid, pulling Laurie away from the merriment.

They shrugged, "Lad's a little maestro. Can't blame us if people are aching for some fun in this depressing hole."

She nodded and hummed, "And what better excuse for a revelry than having lit the bonfire anew, no?"

Laurie looked at her askance, questioning for a moment if her aging eyes mistook Saami for the bonfire. When they turned back however, lo and behold, the bonfire had indeed been set ablaze, taller and brighter than any bonfire they've ever stumbled upon in their lifetime.

A gentle nudge had them cease their gawking, as they turned back to face the handmaid. "I suppose that hollering lout can finally cease their bellyaching. Gwynevere knows I'd rather be deaf than suffer any more of his pathetic cries."

Laurie shrugged. The two watched the people sing and dance to Saami's song, as the little one circled the flame, who seemed to glow brighter with each kiss the flame showered upon them, and the flame in turn grew mightier with each lilt of the song.

“Hmm, now then, with the bonfire lit, I have a favor to ask.” The handmaid ambled through the crowd, making her way slowly out of the atrium. Laurie scowled but followed along, “ ‘fraid anymore promises of grandeur will be lost on me. That prize has soured within my last lifetime.”
“Ha! Only fools ever chase such nonsense! But no, I’ll not be forcing thee to participate in any more of the gods’ little plays.”
“Odd coming from a handmaid of the shrine.”
“Says one judged to be worthy of the Iudex’s Embers.” She chuckled as they made their way out of the shrine, and continued to walk until they reached steps leading towards the belltower.

“See that old codger up there?” Laurie follows her nod and spots a disheveled man sitting by the doorway to the belltower. The man seemed to be in deep meditation. “Yeah? What about ‘im?”
Out of nowhere, she hands Laurie a Halberd, “I need thee to sodomize him with this.”

...?

“Oh please, as if thou haven't committed a bit of manslaughter before.”
“But why though?”
“Just get up there!” With that, she shoves Laurie forward, causing the man upstairs to take heed of their prescense.

“Ah, er… Sorry to bother you, mister, but, ah, could I-ummm… ”
Without preamble, the man lunged at them. Laurie barely managed to raise their halberd to deflect their attack, “No time for small talk then, eh!?”

The two fought upon the crumbling cliffside, the sword master deftly delivering blow after blow, as Laurie floundered to match their speed, nearly falling off to his death more than once. Attempts to put some distance in between them were made, but with each step they took back, the man would quickly take three forward, keeping Laurie within a hair’s breadth away from spilling their guts on the pavement. Had it not been for the sturdiness of their halberd, Laurie would have surely been cut in half no sooner than the sword master had met their steel.

That is until their opponent had gotten tired of the farce, and decided to bash their lunch in with a crushing kick, sending them flying off their feet. Their opponent lunged straight for their head, but Laurie managed to roll out of the way just as the blade shattered the stone pavement to pieces.

“GWYN’S TITS!” Laurie shouted, a shiver running through their spine at seeing what will be his skull at this rate. As the sword master was to strike the decisive blow, he stumbled, finding his sword now stuck deep in the dirt.

Laurie took this chance to lunge at the man, knocking him on his back, and pounding his face into the pavement until the man kicked them off him, and sent Laurie flying again. The two scrambled up to their feet, before noticing that the blade had been dislodged from the ground.

…

The two lunged for it; with both grabbing hold; leading to hands tangling with eyes and mouths, and fingers and hairs; until Laurie bashed their head on to the old man’s massive forehead, that both ended up bleeding and dizzy from the impact.

Once the world somewhat settled in, Laurie found the blade flimsily held in his grasp. They swung the blade right at his throat, only for the blade to miss just short of their chin as the sword master dodged and sent a kick aimed for their head.

Laurie’s arm managed to block the powerful blow, as it sent them tumbling terrifyingly close to the cliff. Before they could catch their footing, a fearsome fist came flying right at them, forcing them back another step just to avoid the fatal blow to his heart.

They did not, however, avoid the fatal step of attempting to stand on air.

Laurie screamed as they tumbled down head first into the abyss. Fortunately, their head had collided with the ground much sooner than expected, thanks to someone having caught them by their foot.

“Piss-poor champion you’ve got here, Miriam. This really supposed to be the one lopping off all those sodders’ heads?” Laurie looked up to see that the sword master had been the one to catch them. He pulled them back up the cliffside, helping them regain their footing before slapping them on the back. “Ol’ Gundyr must have gotten rusty if wankers like this one can beat him.”
“Then thank the flames they’re not.”
“Eh?”
“I merely wanted them to get rid of thee, so that mine evenings be finally free of decrepit wretches spoiling it.”
“Cold, Miriam.” He said with a smile, though his twitching brow says otherwise.
“Spare me thine folderol, Takemaru. Clearly, thou art fine. More than fine if thine faculties are finally capable of spouting nonsense once again!”

The two continued to bicker, paying no more heed of Laurie's presence. They began to walk back down, nursing the back of their head, before the old crone pulled them back by their collar, “And where dost thou think thou art going?”
Laurie sighed, and slowly turned back, “Seemed like I was done here.”
“Done? Ha! Dost this man’s arse seem shanked to thee?”
“Doesn’t seem like they need any more of that.”
“Not that you could ever, brat.” The old man laughed.

Laurie simply rolled their eyes, “Anyway, are we done here?”
“Not in the slightest.” She quickly answered, “Since thou failed to fulfill mine request-”
“I can still fix that…”
“I have decided to give thee a different one instead. One much easier this time, I believe.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a request?”
“And it still is! I only needeth thee to bring me umbral ash. With it, I may yet fashion such fine wares for the poor folks that now shelters upon our shrine.“
“And where the hell am I supposed to find those then?”
She laughs under her breath, “Why, as it so happens, thou art in possession of them now! After all, ashes beget only ashes.”
Laurie narrows their eyes at her, but she continues, “Ah! But one needn’t bother about such appalling things. In our world’s time of dying, such rare materials are bound to be in abundance.” The woman crouched down to swipe their hands upon the pavement, as bits of blackened ash stick to her fingers. She smudges it between her hands, and lo, begins to shape a shield into being. Carefully, she hands it away to Laurie, who weighs steadily in their grasp, “It’ll do.”
She laughs, “Remember, bring me umbral ash. And I shall fashion thee wares that may yet prove better suited to thine tastes.”
“I didn’t say I’ll do it.”
“Yet thou hast taken mine gift.”
No words are spoken as they walk back down the stairs, the willy woman’s soft laughter echoing upon the high cliffs.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Laurie was checking their bag, once, twice, for everything that they might need while out over god-knows-where. They didn’t have much when they woke up, and most of the things they had were given only through the generosity of the folks that had nursed them as they were recovering. Given that they were all corpses just some weeks ago, these weren’t much either.

“I don't know whether to call you a saint, or an idiot for doing this.” Hawkwood squawked from some dark corner of Laurie’s dark corner of a room. He had graciously volunteered to give them some of his own arsenal, and help pack for their trip, but not to actually travel alongside them, “Going back out there, in that godforsaken demonhole, just wandering lost until some ungodly thing decides to make you their next meal.”
Laurie sighed, “Well, someone has to do it. Or would you like to switch places with me, since you're clearly bemoaning my seemingly inevitable death?”
“Ha. No thanks. Just be careful, alright? You got someone depending on you here.” Hawkwood nodded behind them, where Saami and the crow were filling their little bag full of trinkets, chirping happily away with each other.

Laurie sighed. Guess there's no avoiding it then. Hawkwood stuffed one last thing into Laurie’s bag, and nodded before leaving the room.
“Saami, I need to talk to you.”
Saami hummed, packing the rest of their things into their bag, slinging the bag on, and bounced up to them. Excitement was clear in the child’s eyes. They crouched down, to look Saami in their eyes, “Look lad, I know you want to come, but I can’t take you with me. It’s too dangerous.”
Saami’s eyes dim as a small hum escapes them. “I’ll be back soon. Promise, but you need to stay here where you’ll be safe, alright?”
Saami protested a small dissonance, stringing together sharp notes, before Laurie cut them short, “This isn’t up for discussion, lad.”
Laurie smoothed out their snowy hair then stood up and left.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

Saami quietly followed behind Laurie as they entered the throne room. The fire keeper was knelt down by the flame in prayer it seemed to Saami. An old man Saami didn’t recognize stood next to the young miss, who greeted the two of them as they approached. Stirring from her prayers, the young miss greeted Laurie, “Ashen one! Just in time. There is a problem.”

As the grown-ups discussed their grown-up matters, Saami went to play with the fire. The newly awakened flame greeted them with a cheer, tickling the child with its sparks. Once more, they took out their flute, and played their merry little tune prancing about the swinging fire.

Laurie let them be, focusing instead on the matter at hand, “What do you mean unresponsive?”
“It is just as I said. The bonfire refuses to heed my prayers, let alone others. It is silent.”
“Well, that’s quite a setback.” hummed the old man, “Do you think it’ll be chatty anytime soon, little miss?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Sad.” Takemaru wrapped an arm around Laurie’s shoulders, “So lad! How confident are you on your finger grips?”
“What are you-?“
“Little One!”

At once, all heads snapped behind to a Saami-less bonfire.

“Lad?!” Laurie stalked forward turning in every direction for any out-of-place glow. The keeper turned to the throne above, “What happened, my Lord?”
“The flame-! It- it took them?! The child touched the bonfire and disappeared in a glow!”

Laurie grabbed at the sword in the bonfire, but was unexpectedly burned, “Sodding abyss!” The keeper set about to heal the wound with her magic, “I don’t understand. This shouldn’t be possible!”
“Saami! Sodding flame, give them back!” They lunged at it again, this time ignoring the flesh melting off their hands, “Where are they? Answer me, damn it!”
No response came.

“Gods damn it, how does this keep happening!” Laurie continued to shake and disparage the bonfire, the pleas of the keeper and Takemaru ignored as the flame continued to now melt their bones, fusing Laurie onto its sword. The pain was beyond unimaginable, but it was too late to let go. The flame consumed their every sense, drowning all other noises, until only a humming could be heard.

“Saami?!”

The humming grew louder; more piercing than their own screams; ‘til it became a deafening sound so loud and solid it felt as if a razor thin lance had skewered them from ear to ear, rattling their insides until they could no longer discern their insides from their outsides.

☿ 🜂 🝢 🝗 🝤 〇 🜂 ◦◦◦ 〇 🜂 🝣 🜂 🝞 ☉ ☿

The first thing they noticed was that they were still holding on to the blade, when they came to to themselves after gods know how long. The pain echoed still in the edges of every sensation, but it was nothing more than a pinprick now. They let go of the bonfire, taking deep heavy breaths of the fiery, ashy air. Familiar scenes of unwitnessed landscapes formed the place they were in, melding together and churning apart all at once, as the black sun burned overhead.

Far beyond them, an all-consuming presence slowly stalked forward, locking them in place. Its aura lingered all around them, yet all its ire were aimed at them, gripping their heart in an iron hold.

They tried to shout, but no sound dared escape; To stand, but their knees refused to unbend.

Gods, it was impossible, but they knew they would die here. Permanently, and wholly.

Please, someone, save me!

And by the whistling of the wind, the burning sky became stone ceilings; and the iron death grip became a small warm hand on their chest.

A single long note carried over the stale air, pulling forth a single thought to embrace them.

Safe.

And Laurie collapsed on Saami, taking lungfuls of the usual ashy air they were used to.

Notes:

Gotta be real, I lost all motivation for this when I lost the original file with all the little notes I had for it. It wasn't that big, or finished, but it bummed me out so much that I kinda of just procrastinated retyping all the things I lost, and then just kinda... forgor. I got back some of my ideas from re-reading it, and I still do remember like my big idea that sparked this thought bubble of mine, but who knows how this goes anymore. I'll probably just write with the flow, and try not to get too hung up on the details as I go this time around.

Anyways, hopefully it doesn't take me another 2 something years to update this again :P m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶:̶P̶