In the Caelid region, specifically the area of Fort Faroth near the Dragonbarrow, countless wyverns circled a mountain-sized form. This was Greyoll, the oldest of the wyvern race and the mother of all existing wyverns in the Lands Between.
That massive body, which once had the power to eclipse the sun, was now powerless to soar through the skies. Stricken by the encroaching Scarlet Rot, the Dragon Mother was fated only to linger here in a state of terminal decay.
Some of her offspring had scattered to the corners of the world, while others remained by her side, guarding her until the final moment arrived.
A powerful gust of wind swept through the air as Agheel descended onto the crimson-stained earth. Her kin immediately surrounded her, led by a wyvern named Greyll. As his name suggested, he was one of the oldest wyverns alongside the Dragon Mother.
"Agheel? Why have you returned now? Have the Dragon Communers on that lake finally driven you into a corner?"
Agheel remained silent for a moment. In the past, she had indeed been soundly beaten by a human who could transform into a dragon. However, considering the benefits she had gained—trading a beating for such a powerful patron—it hadn't been in vain.
She knew Greyll looked down upon wyverns who left the Dragonbarrow to wander, though he wouldn't act against her for the Dragon Mother's sake.
"I have returned to execute the will of my King and to request aid."
Greyll was momentarily taken aback. After a few breaths, he indeed detected a thick human scent upon Agheel.
"To think you have actually taken a human as a master. Well, at least you haven't eaten so many glintstones that it affected your judgment, unlike those other dragons."
Agheel didn't bother arguing. She knew that the wyverns wandering the Dragonbarrow would only provide aid if their mother, Greyoll, gave her consent.
"My choices are not for you to question. I am here to see Mother. Move aside."
Though Greyll felt a trace of disdain for Agheel's choice to side with a human, he did not block her path. A child seeing their mother was, after all, beyond reproach.
Agheel slowly crawled before Greyoll. That massive white frame was now completely eroded by Scarlet Rot. Massive growths of fungal matter had fused her flesh to the earth; even the slightest movement brought a tearing, agonizing pain.
"Mother, I have come back to see you."
The Dragon Mother, Greyoll, cracked her eyes open. As a dragon of high intelligence, she remembered the name of every one of her children, even while being tortured in this state.
However, her severely eroded body made it difficult to respond. She merely lifted her head slightly to welcome her child home—even though this former home had long since become a grave, a grave she could never leave.
It had been a long time since Agheel had seen her mother. Though she had heard of her weakness due to the rot, she hadn't felt she had the right to return; a child who leaves home should learn to survive on their own.
Now that she had returned for a necessary cause, her heart was consumed by grief and rage. Regardless of the outcome of this mission, she would use her dragonfire to incinerate those rotting things completely.
"Mother, I have returned to purge the Scarlet Rot. I need the help of my brothers and sisters."
Greyoll recalled the sight of the shifting stars from not long ago. In her vision, she had seen two figures powerful enough to shatter the stars locked in a fierce battle.
If anyone were willing to clean up the mess that Caelid had become, it could only be that man.
Enduring the tearing pain in her body, she slowly raised herself. Instantly, every wyvern in the Dragonbarrow answered their mother's call and gathered round.
"Child, I can grant your request. But as a mother, I have an important message to relay to the human you serve... you must remember it well."
"Yes, I am listening."
"Tell him to hunt the traitor named Bayle—the Dread Dragon who brought endless suffering upon the wyvern race—and seize his heart!"
"Bayle? Who is that...?"
Agheel was momentarily stunned. As a relatively young wyvern born after the outbreak of the Shattering, she had never heard of this "Bayle." But judging by her mother's fury, the traitor must have committed a sin so great it brought calamity upon the entire race.
Snapping back to attention, she focused on memorizing every word her mother spoke next. The more she learned of the truth, the more she felt a mix of rage and fear. So this was the true origin of Dragon Communion.
Inside Redmane Castle, the entire Redmane army was making final preparations. For this joint operation, Stormveil Castle had also sent a detachment to garrison within the walls.
Through their cooperation before and after the Radahn Festival, the warriors of both regions had already forged a strong bond, all for the purpose of suppressing the Scarlet Rot.
Nefeli Loux carried her newly forged Stormhawk Axe on her back. It featured a prominent double-headed eagle insignia, a custom piece she had specifically asked Master Hewg to forge. As her first major task after leaving her adoptive father, this battle could not afford any mistakes.
"Sister Nefeli, do you think we will successfully achieve our goal tomorrow?"
Standing beside her was none other than Roderika, the apprentice Spirit Tuner who had volunteered to help from the Roundtable Hold.
"The wind here has been tainted for too long; even the air reeks of rot. I will not allow this to spread any further," Nefeli said. "Everything is ready. Thank you for coming to help, but tomorrow, stay in the castle and wait for good news. Keeping yourself safe is the most important thing, understood?"
Roderika nodded. she looked down at the spirit ashes in her hand. Spirit bodies wouldn't be tainted by Scarlet Rot, which was where a Spirit Tuner like her would play her part. As long as she could ensure the spirits kept fighting, it would be enough.
"Speaking of which, maybe I should go try to convince Diallos to stay a bit further back. I'm glad he's willing to help, but..."
Nefeli looked back at Diallos, who had once again managed to drop his weapon on the floor. She rubbed her temples. As long as he doesn't actively get in the way tomorrow, it'll be fine.
Despite her slight exasperation, a gratified smile touched her lips.
After she and her adoptive father parted ways, she thought they wouldn't have much interaction. However, when she went back to the Roundtable Hold to get her weapons, her father had actually sent someone to find her, offering his help.
Thus, she had brought along a large group of her father's subordinates, along with fellow Tarnished who had volunteered after hearing the news.
Nefeli didn't know why Gideon Ofnir had made this decision. The official reason he gave her was that the Scarlet Rot in Caelid was an uncontrollable risk factor and had to be snuffed out if the opportunity arose.
Regardless, the help from the Roundtable Hold eased their manpower shortage and made tomorrow's operation much more certain.
Refocusing on the journey at hand, Gawain passed through the Uhl Palace Ruins, which were swarming with Claymen. Appearing before him was a small Malformed Star—a juvenile form of the malicious meteor that had once destroyed the Eternal City. They were still scattered throughout the ruins; it seemed every Eternal City had been "plowed through" back then.
Sensing an intruder who was distinct from the mindless Claymen, the Malformed Star immediately activated its power, using gravity to lift surrounding boulders and hurl them at the target.
But before they could hit, all the boulders froze in mid-air. Then, along with even more surrounding rocks, they were hurled back at the Malformed Star. The juvenile creature let out a strange shriek as it was pummeled.
"Is that it? This gravity magic feels weaker than one of the General's hairs. Since I've taken his Great Rune, I'll help him do some proper star-scourging."
Gawain didn't waste time on this juvenile. After blocking the first wave, he dual-wielded the Starscourge Greatswords and activated the Starcaller Cry skill. Using superior gravity magic, he yanked the creature directly off the ceiling and slammed it into the ground.
He then charged a jump attack, shattering the hideous skull with a single overhead slam. The Malformed Star, which had been hissing and throwing stones moments ago, went dead quiet.
He crouched down to examine the relatively intact corpse. This was his first time seeing this form up close. In his eyes, this was a more advanced version of the Fallingstar Beasts he had fought before.
The iridescent, star-like structure on its back contained a highly complex internal composition—a mana storage structure far more efficient than ordinary glintstones of the same volume. Only refined glintstone, like that in his Sword of Night and Flame, could compare.
Adhering to the principle of not letting things go to waste, he personally tore off several of the Malformed Star's thin wings. He could give them to Master Sellen for research.
After injecting a bit of mana into one, a light swing caused it to spray a nebula-like wave of light, which exploded violently after a short delay, turning the boulders in front of him to dust.
As expected of one of the specialized weapons for large bosses in the game. It's quite useful, Gawain thought. Though it was a bit redundant for him now, if the structure could be mimicked and mass-produced, the mana conversion efficiency in these wings would make them excellent melee weapons for sorcerers.
"Stop smirking at those wings. A bit further ahead is the lost Eternal City of Nokstella. Don't forget that besides the Baleful Shadow we are hunting, there is another cradle located here. If you can obtain that cradle, Asimi can grow into a true Night Lord."
"Mm, fair point. I suspect that once the Nox branch in Nokstella sees Asimi, we won't even need to fight to convince them. They've lived next to the Lake of Rot for ages; we can probably get the current situation of the lake from them."
What Gawain didn't say aloud was that there was likely another "old friend" he didn't technically know in Nokstella. Things shouldn't be too problematic.
Speaking of which, he checked on Asimi, who was residing within him. Why does this kid feel completely different from her personality in the game's cut questline?
Originally, he had been prepared to give her some "tough love" once they got the second Cradle of Mimicry and she started her rebellious phase, just like the cut content. But the plot seemed to have gone off the rails.
When he first met Asimi, she had seemed cowardly—likely a survival instinct. But once she took up residence inside him, she had basically become a shut-in. Even with him acting as a mobile fountain of life, she didn't even want to come out to fight her own kind.
She spent all her time hanging out with Melina, doing god-knows-what, and occasionally sipping on his power.
He felt like a long-suffering father. His "child" would occasionally make a noise just to ask for "pocket money." When he finally called her out for a look, her mimicked appearance was slowly becoming more and more like Melina. Wait, isn't a Mimic Tear supposed to only mimic its host?
After much thought, he finally realized the most likely reason for this world-line shift: his soul-fusion with Melina. Their soul connection was much tighter than he had imagined.
In the original questline, Melina and Asimi couldn't see each other; they could only vaguely sense each other's presence and try to offer a greeting.
But now, as soon as Asimi joined the party, she had fallen into the "clutches" of Melina. Lost in a cycle of Melina's affection and "headpats," she had lost herself and become a mini-Melina.
In the original cut quest, Asimi would have reached her "Night Lord" phase and become a rebellious teenager, thinking she was the Queen of the world and that "two kings cannot coexist." This would lead to a conflict with the silent protagonist, resulting in a "Father of the Year" scenario where she gets turned back into spirit ashes.
Now, with a high-end "foster mother" like Melina personally raising her, she hadn't strayed. A Mimic Tear's nature was to mimic; even with her own consciousness, she was slowly gravitating toward the personalities of both Melina and Gawain.
The result was that Asimi had become a lazy, emotionally delicate shut-in. Over the last two days when Melina wasn't around, she barely spoke. Previously, he could occasionally hear the two of them chatting.
Well, this generation's Night Lord has been raised into a total mommy's girl. If she couldn't be reset, the future of the Nox would probably have a very different "vibe" after she took the throne. Just thinking about that picture was... something.
Confident in his logical deduction, he felt a bit melancholy. He didn't know how he was going to explain this to Yavena. He had accidentally raised their "Hope of the Nox" into this.
Whatever, what's done is done. Best to enter the Nokstella area first.
There were two paths before him now. One was to continue along the river toward the lower reaches of the Ainsel, where he could find the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella and head directly to the Lake of Rot.
But after some thought, he decided to head upward into the core area of Nokstella itself. Nokstella also led to the Lake of Rot anyway, and he already possessed the Dragonkin Soldier technology—he just hadn't mass-produced it yet, so he wasn't in a hurry.
With a few leaps, he reached the high ground of the ruins. Just as he remembered, there was a narrow passage leading deeper. After several twists and turns and dealing with blocking Claymen and giant ants, he finally reached the main channel of the Ainsel River.
This was the same river channel one would be teleported to from the Renna's Rise portal. According to the original game plot, this was where one would find the Miniature Ranni. He glanced at the doll sitting on his shoulder. Although the reality had changed drastically, the outcome wasn't as different as he had imagined.
The main channel of the Ainsel was much wider than the paths he had taken to get in, making progress much easier. At least he didn't have to worry about something strange jumping out from a corner to spray him in the face with nowhere to hide.
Before long, Gawain finally reached the core of Nokstella. If he had to describe it, Nokstella was far more intact than Nokron. At least fewer buildings had been pulverized by meteors.
Compared to the sprawl of ruins in Nokron—where only the Night's Sacred Ground and the Siofra Aqueduct were relatively whole—Nokstella clearly offered a more direct look at just how glorious the Nox civilization had once been.
"Arrival at the Eternal City, Nokstella! How beautiful, Nokstella! Oh, look, isn't that a giant ant? Let's just look at the church in the distance, folks."
Ranni didn't know what to make of his nonsensical exclamation. After entering the city, she could already smell the stench of the Baleful Shadow. She wondered exactly where it was hiding.
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (238 chapter - Ongoing)
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