~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and all rights for characters, plots and settings belong to G.R.R. Martin and FromSoftware. I have no ownership.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roundtable Hold. The bustling hub area that exists outside of the Lands Between. A place to mingle with other adventurerers, craftsmen, resupply and discover a trove of blessings and rooms of secrets.
"I can take you to the Roundtable Hold... Gathering place of Tarnished champions, guided by Grace... Very well. Let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment."
Melina
"Isn't this place impressive? The Roundtable Hold, covert quarters of the Two Fingers, and gathering place of champions who vie to become Elden Lord."
Roderika
"The Roundtable Hold served to put a Tarnished upon the throne of Elden Lord. And if the Erdtree needed to burn for that to happen, then the Roundtable must go, as well."
Gideon Ofnir
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Limgrave, Stormveil Castle
973 year AS (after Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Aerion
He stared with considerable disappointment as the demigod's body disintegrated into golden particles, which then flew like a vortex into his left eye, absorbed by his Great Rune.
DEMIGOD FELLED
You received 160 000 runes.
You received Remembrance of the Grafted
You received Godrick's Great Rune of Grafting
Remembrance of the Grafted
Remembrance of Godrick, the Grafted, hewn into the Erdtree.
The power of its namesake can be unlocked by the Finger Reader.Alternatively, it can be used to gain a great bounty of runes.
A feeble man sought power through the grotesque act of grafting. "One day we'll return together, to our home, bathed in rays of gold."
Godrick's Great Rune of Grafting
A Great Rune of the shardbearer Godrick.Its blessing raises all attributes and allows to graft different beings together.
This Great Rune is known as the anchor ring, found in the center of the Elden Ring.The first demigods were The Elden Lord Godfrey and his offspring, the golden lineage.
He held out his open right palm, from which a moment later appeared Godrick's Great Rune of Grafting, which floated gently toward her.
Carefully reading the description of this powerful relic in his hand, he pondered what he should do after cleansing it in the Divine Tower. He knew he would decide to set out in search of the next Shardbearer; first, he would have to restore order to Limgrave.
To do this, he would need people to help him. Especially if he wanted this continent to become both his domain and his base of operations. All of this required three things above all: people, resources, and time.
Hearing the sound of something hitting the ground, he glanced back to see Bernahl rising irritably, brushing the dirt off his cloak. Nepheli then landed gracefully beside him, knees slightly bent.
"Old man, you need to practice your landing," she said to the knight in a serious tone, though Aerion was sure he saw the corner of her mouth curl up ever so slightly.
Bernahl scowled at her. "Everything would have been fine if you hadn't pushed me."
The woman now smiled brightly. "If you hadn't been so hesitant to jump down, I wouldn't have had to."
The man snorted, "Kid, you're not smart enough to be spouting such nonsense. If you're interested, I once jumped from the Carian Study Hall into the bay below. Over three hundred meters."
Aerion raised a slight eyebrow at this and asked, genuinely curious, "What could have possibly motivated you to do this?"
To his surprise, Bernahl became a bit flustered, rubbing his neck nervously. "I wasn't sober at the time... And I lost a bet to my friend Vyke. No point in dwelling on it."
Aerion looked at him, slightly surprised. Indeed, the elder Tarnished had already mentioned that he knew Vyke the Dragonspear, the closest thing to becoming an Elden Lord, before he vanished.
Nepheli, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow slightly, then looked at Aerion, and he saw recognition and respect in her eyes. "After what I've seen here, I must admit you're a great warrior. More powerful than I could have imagined. Godrick had no chance against you."
He shook his head slightly, "You rate me too highly, Nepheli. The truth is, Godrick was weak and should never have been called a demigod. Frankly, Fell Omen was a much more challenging opponent."
"That doesn't change the fact that neither of us would have stood a chance against him," Bernahl interjected with a sigh. Then he asked. "What now? Will we go to the Divine Tower?"
Aerion nodded, "I will indeed go to the Divine Tower now to absorb the Great Rune. However, I have another task for you, if only you agree."
Bernahl looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "If it's not something unreasonable," he replied, slinging his zweihander over his shoulder.
Aerion, looking at the awesome sword, said, "Well, first of all, you would get me such a blade. And secondly, I would ask you to go to Castle Morne on the Weeping Peninsula and take it under my control."
Bernahl rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I've heard rumors that there was some kind of misbegotten rebellion there."
"Indeed, but I've already taken care of that. I wiped out all those creatures in the castle itself and the surrounding area. However, that was around a moon ago. I don't know what's going on there now." Aerion explained, sincerely hoping the castle hadn't fallen into another's hands.
"Hmm. Castle Morne is a powerful fortress and the key to control of the entire continent, which, while small, nevertheless had some of the richest mines in the Land Between. But for what purp…"
Bernahl suddenly stopped and looked at him in surprise. "Wait a moment. Do you want to take control of Limgrave?"
Aerion nodded. "Of course. Now, with Godrick dead, there will be a void that someone must inevitably fill. It makes sense for me to clean up this place before charging after more Great Runes."
"I thought your goal was the Great Runes?" Bernahl looked at him in surprise.
"Aye, but not only that. My goal is to make the Lands Between a slightly better place, and reforging the Elden Ring is inevitable to that end," he admitted calmly, but a moment later, emotion crept into his voice.
"But what good is it to me to take the Elden Ring when there's nothing left to repair and no one left to save? What good is it to me to become an Elden Lord, or even a God, when all I have left to rule is a shattered and desolate land?"
Both the knight and Nepheli looked at him with unreadable expressions, as if what they had heard had turned their perception of the world upside down.
And this was the problem not only for them but for all the inhabitants of the Lands Between. These lands were so broken, and the goal of reforging the Elden Ring so utterly unattainable in itself, that none of you asked yourselves, 'What next?'
"None of you have asked yourselves the crucial questions, without which there is no point in pressing forward. What will happen after all the Demigods are defeated? What will happen to the inhabitants of these lands? What will happen to those who have died? What will happen to those who cannot die, or those whose minds have been shattered? How can this be repaired? What can be changed and what cannot be changed? How can this place be made livable?"
He saw that he had overwhelmed them somewhat, but also that his words had broken some kind of block in their thinking. He was reassured when Bernahl began to laugh.
It wasn't a mocking or malicious laugh, but a liberating one, one that brought a sense of relief.
"You mad child. Aye, I see it now," the elder Tarnished said, shaking his head slightly. "It seems I misjudged you, simply taking you for an exceptionally powerful one of our kind. You are significantly different from the rest of us... You have something we lack... vision."
~~~~
Standing atop the Divine Tower and gazing out at the landscapes stretching before him in every direction, he reflected, not for the first time, that although these lands had been shattered and their inhabitants broken, they still held an incredible amount of beauty. Not to mention the gigantic Erdtree, which he could see more clearly than ever, bathed in a golden glow.
Moments like these fueled him, for the Lands Between held so much potential that simply needed to be unearthed... or reclaimed. Defeating Godrick and absorbing his Great Rune was only the first, albeit an extremely significant step, proving that he had a real chance to make a difference.
With a lighter heart, he turned to the spot in the center where the body of the infamous Two Fingers had been when he arrived at the top of the tower.
Now, only ash remained, as his own Great Rune reacted with unusual aggression at the sight of it. His eye burned with a pain that, even despite his superior endurance, brought him to his knees. In an instant, the monstrous body of the being ignited in a golden fire that consumed it with incredible speed.
Aerion felt a moment of despair, fearing he wouldn't be able to absorb the Great Rune of Grafting. As it turned out, however, his worries were unnecessary.
Great Rune of Grafting cleansed
You received Great Rune of Unification
Your Great Runes are merging.
You receive the Shattered Elden Ring
Find the remaining Great Runes to reforge it.
You have received a new title: Demigod.
Wasting no time, he opened his status window and immediately recognized the changes that had taken place.
Name: Aerion Targaryen
Title: Demigod
Level: 148
Runes : 37 569
Runes required to level up: 74 466
Lineage: Song of Ice & Fire – You were born with magic flowing through your veins and under the watchful eye of the Outer Gods.
You have an extraordinary facility in learning Spells and Incantations; they are more powerful, faster to cast, and their effects are prolonged. You don't have to limit yourself to memorizing just a few. You have an innate increased resistance to fire and cold.
Trait: The Prince That Was Promised - You are part of the prophecy and inextricably linked to another world. Under the right conditions, you can travel between the two worlds.
Blessing: Eye of the Grace - Graeter Will has rescued you from the influence of two other Outer Beings to make you It Champion. It locked a fragment of Elden Ring in your eye.
The cost of increasing your level with your Maiden is halved. The number of runes you gain is also doubled. You are no longer limited to a single Great Rune.
Curse: You have been marked by the Frenzy Flame of Chaos. It is an unrelenting force that seeks to destroy all life and melt everything into one. Through the spread of Madness, it rends sanity from the mind with suffering.
You have caught the gaze of the Outer God. You gain a permanent bonus to Faith. Your Frenzied Flame Incantations are twice as powerful.
You are cursed. The cursed whispers of those burnt and melted by the Yellow Flame of Frenzy accompany you, capable of driving you mad. Your resistance to Madness has weakened.
Title: Demigod - You united the Great Rune of Unification with the Great Rune of Life, the foundation of the Elden Ring, partially rebuilding it. You are now Ringbearer and charged with reforging the Elden Ring. You gain pernament +5 to all attributes.
In exchange for a certain number of runes, you can bring back to life creatures you have killed whose souls were absorbed by the Great Rune of Life.
Only a god has power over life, and you have barely scratched the surface of this power.
Secondary Title: King of Winter - Thousands of generations of Starks have stood guard over the North. The Kings of Winter ruled it for millennia, until they bowed to Aegon Targaryen.
As a descendant of these two powerful Bloodlines, isn't it fitting that you hold this honorable title?
The Kings of Winter are symbols of survival, adaptation, and unwavering perseverance. You receive a permanent bonus to Endurance.
Attributes:
Vigor: 35 → 40 (+1 from EF, +2 from Crimson Amber Medallion)
Mind: 35 → 40
Endurance: 45 → 50 (+10 from Kings of Winter, +1 from EF)
Strength: 41 → 46
Dexterity: 40 → 45
Intelligence: 35 → 40
Faith: 57 → 62 (+10 from EotG, +5 from Marked by Flame)
Arcane: 35 → 40
Resistance:
Poison - 35% → 40%
Scarlet Rot- 35% → 40%
Madness - 20% → 25%( -15 from Marked by Flame)
Sleep - 35% → 40%
Blood Loss - 45% → 50%
Frostbite - 100% - Complete resistance to cold (+50 from Song of Ice & Fire)
Death Blight - 35% → 40%
Damage negation:
Holy - 35% → 40%
Fire - 85% → 90% (+50% from Song of Ice & Fire)
Lightning - 57% → 62%
Magic - 35% → 40%
He didn't know how long he stared at his status, but it must have been a moment. It wasn't easy to digest such a vast amount of information. Not only had his strength increased significantly, coupled with the number of runes he'd acquired during the attack on Stormveil Castle, but he'd also just joined the infamous Demigods.
He knew his priority should be testing this new, almost divine power he'd gained. Resurrecting his fallen enemies. He had already managed to quickly formulate a theory in his head about how this was possible, but he couldn't be certain.
Looking for a moment more at the spot where his Great Rune had incinerated the body of the creature, supposedly a messenger of Greater Will left him with more questions than he wanted. Questions to which perhaps only one person he knew could know the answer.
"Melina... I know you can hear me. I need your help," he said aloud, standing and waiting patiently for an answer. And just when he thought she wouldn't respond, the young woman materialized before him, a strangely small smile on her face, as if she were clearly pleased with something.
"I see you're in a good mood, you know." He greeted her with a smile of his own. "I wonder what could be the reason for it. Hmmm?"
Melina looked at him with a raised eyebrow, which looked quite comical with her sealed eye, to the point that Aerion started grinning.
"I guess it's only natural that I'm pleased with the task thou've accomplished. Defeating Godrick with greater ease than I expected was undoubtedly impressive," she admitted in a curt tone, approaching him and examining him more closely.
"Thou hold many secrets that even I cannot fathom. I don't know where thou obtained those powerful Dragon Cult incantations or what is the source of this sudden increase in strength, but right now I'm more interested in what happened here… What game is Greater Will playing?" she said, her usually calm tone dripping with intrigue.
Aerion shook his head. "I have no idea what happened here, and I was hoping you could enlighten me on that aspect," he replied with a sigh. "But I see you know as much as I do."
"Hmh. Indeed. It baffles me why both Great Runes merged. The only conclusion I can draw is that the Greater Will sees thou not as the future Elden Lord but as Queen Marika's replacement and the new leader of the Golden Order."
"Promotion? I don't know if I should be happy about it, though," he replied, frowning and starting to pace nervously around the top of the tower. He didn't like it one bit. Especially since similar thoughts occurred to him himself.
"And thou shouldn't. Mine mother was nothing more than a powerful puppet," Melina admitted.
"And aren't we all puppets in the hands of the gods, dependent on their plans and whims?" he asked ironically, stopping and looking at the golden tree on the horizon. "Still, it seems to me that it's better to be a powerful puppet than a powerless one."
Melina pressed her lips together, remaining silent, and he shook his head, not expecting an answer. "Never mind. We'll have plenty of time for a similar conversation," he said after a moment, approaching her again. "Take me to the Roundtable Hold. It's time for me to make my presence known there."
"Thou won't have to. News of thy deeds and victory over Godric has already reached that place." Melina assured him, holding out her open hand to him, "Come. I'll take thou there. Many people will want to talk to thou."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roundtable Hold
973 year AS (after Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Nepheli Loux
Nepheli knew she returned with news that would displease her adoptive father, whose ambitions were no less than those of any other Tarnished aspiring to become Elden Lord.
And that troubled her. Gideon Ofnir might pretend to be a sage, supporting the other Tarnished in their quest, but the truth was that he did everything to further his own plans and ambitions.
However, she, like a good, obedient daughter, tried her best to ignore these traits of her father. If he hadn't taken her under his care, she likely would have long ago ended up like hundreds of other Tarnished. Slaughtered by Margit and his minions, or worse, grafted by Godrick.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly on her father's solar door, hearing his voice in response, "Come in!"
Opening the door, she saw a large room filled with a vast number of books, scrolls, and various objects and artifacts. Behind a massive oak desk sat her father, hunched over an open book. His long, white hair fell on either side of his long, pale face.
As she entered, he looked up, and his silver eyes, tinged with yellow, regarded her with their usual intensity. For though Gideon Ofnir was not known for his enticing nature, no one could deny his exceptional intelligence and vast knowledge.
Even though, according to Hewg, it was her father who had given himself the title of All Knowing.
"Nepheli… my dear. What information do you bring? What happened at Stormveil Castle? I felt a great change in the world, and my men reported sounds of fighting coming from the castle for several hours." As usual, her father got to the point, avoiding unnecessary sentimentality.
"Godrick the Grafted is no more. Slain in single combat by Aerion… the Tarnished you recently mentioned as causing havoc in Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula," she replied and then briefly explained what she had witnessed.
Her father listened in silence, but with each word his expression grew more somber. Nepheli guessed what he might be thinking at that moment. Where she had seen a powerful fellow warrior who deserved her respect, Gideon Ofnir saw both opportunity and danger.
At this point, he was the unofficial leader of the Tarnished at the Roundtable Hold, and they went to him for advice and help. But what if someone stronger and more effective emerged? Would the others follow the experienced and knowledgeable Gideon Ofnir, sitting on his ass for centuries, or the Tarnished, who slays Demigods and collects Great Runes, fulfilling the task entrusted to them all?
Although Nepheli told her father about the events at Stormveil Castle, she omitted the subsequent conversation between her, Aerion, and Bernhal, knowing how he would react to the ambitious plans of the new ruler of Limgrave.
"Hmh. You've given me much to think about, Nepheli," her father finally spoke, though his eyes remained fixed on space as he absently rubbed his chin. "After the first news of him, I mistook him for the thousands of other Tarnished before him. That was a big mistake."
He shook his head slightly. "To think he actually possessed the Great Rune in his eye, as rumors had it. What game was Graeter Will playing at? Had it grown tired of waiting? If so, the immediate future might be more troublesome than I feared."
Finally, his eyes returned to her, studying her more closely. "What is your opinion of this man?" he asked, though his tone suggested it was an order. "Do you think he's capable of achieving more than defeating Godrick?"
Nepheli pondered for a moment, not on her answer, but on what she should and shouldn't say. She considered portraying Aerion as someone far less impressive than he actually was to make him seem less of a threat to her father's plans.
However, she didn't know if that wouldn't backfire. Furthermore, Aerion had announced his intention to come to the Roundtable Hold after absorbing the Great Rune in the Divine Tower of Limgrave.
Perhaps it was best to tell the truth? Better. That her father would be wary of the new Tarnished, especially since she wanted to fight alongside him at least once.
Finally deciding, she said, "I think he has potential. Godric, though the weakest of the Demigods, was still strong enough that none of us tried to confront him... However, during this fight, there was never a moment where he could have won. Aerion controlled the fight from beginning to end."
Her father looked at her in surprise but didn't question her words, knowing she had a keen eye for such things.
"He was stronger, faster, and used powerful spells and incantations," she added, further astonishing her father.
"Stronger than Godric?" he asked doubtfully. "I find that hard to believe. And what do you mean by powerful spells and incantations? Where could he possibly have obtained them?"
She just shrugged. "I have no idea. I know what I saw. He formed a golden lightning spear in his hand and threw it straight at Godrick, followed by six smaller ones, seemingly shooting out of thin air around him... and finally, an equally golden bolt of lightning struck from the sky, practically charring the demigod.
"Knight Lightning Spear? Godwyn's personal incantation? That's impossible!" her father exclaimed, outraged, but she only shrugged again.
"I know what I saw, and I'm telling you how it was. Knight Lightning Spear? I don't know. Call it what you will, Father," she replied, though she began to wonder where this new Tarnished, who had recently appeared in the Lands Between, had acquired such a powerful incantation.
Her father rose nervously and walked over to one of the shelves, pulling out a book. He placed the massive tome on the table, then opened it and gestured to her.
"Is that what it looked like?" he asked, and she glanced at the open page of the book, which showed an image of a golden-haired, athletic man casting the exact same incantation as Aerion.
She nodded. "Quite identical," she admitted, then looked at her father.
Gideon sat down heavily, muttering to himself, "Not good, not good. He's more dangerous than I expected. This incantation requires considerable Faith, and for it to be powerful enough to kill Godrick, this Aerion must have been as strong as the Dragon Cult's finest knights."
Seeing her father slip back into one of his states, completely lost in his own world, Nepheli decided to use this as an opportunity to retreat. She had to ask Hewg to repair her beloved axe.
She secretly hoped that Aerion's arrival at Roundtable Hold had caused less trouble than she feared.