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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.
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"The Academy of Raya Lucaria lies to Limgrave's north, towering over the mist-laden lands of Liurnia. Rennala is the queen of the Carian royals, who govern the academy. But Rennala herself is no demigod. Her beloved, Radagon, left her to become Queen Marika's second husband, taking the title of King Consort. The Great Rune dwells within the amber egg that was Radagon's gift to her."
Gideon Ofnir
The Cleanrot Knights vowed to fight alongside Malenia, despite the inevitable, if gradual, putrefaction of their flesh. Their acceptance of their fate made these battles fiercest of all.
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Liurnia
973 year AS (After Shattering of the Elden Ring)
Aerion
Standing on the cliff and seeing the land of Liurnia for the first time, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. Frankly, he couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight.
The fog, the lake below, the sprawling cliffs all around—it all combined to create a paradise-like view from this distance, straight out of a fairy tale.
If he could also see the Raya Lucaria Academy from here, supposedly the most beautiful building in the Lands Between, the landscape before him would be even more stunning.
From what he'd learned, however, the enormous palace and fortress lay over a thousand kilometers to the north. So, a long journey lay ahead. However, he had to remember to take small steps at a time.
His first destination was the ruins of a church slightly to the west, a good first stop in exploring this fairytale place, which undoubtedly held a wealth of horrors from his worst nightmares.
Having reached the ruins of the church he had seen earlier, guided by his experience with the Church of Elleh, he had half expected to find someone there, and he was not disappointed.
A man in robes practically identical to Sellen's sat against the wall opposite the entrance. He didn't want to think about his sorcery teacher, though, even now, for he knew she would scold him for taking so long to return.
Perhaps he would find some time in the next few days. For now, however, his attention focused on the man, who had also noticed him, eyeing him intently. After a moment, the man smiled broadly.
"Welcome, welcome. You're Tarnished, aren't you? Then, perhaps you could spare some runes? Believe it or not, I studied glintstone sorceries at the Academy of Raya Lucaria. For a small donation, I'd be happy to share my knowledge."
Aerion raised an eyebrow at this kind of impertinence. The sorcerer hadn't even introduced himself before asking for alms. But well, let it not be said that the future ruler of these lands is not generous.
He waved his hand and with a single thought, just as Bernahl had taught him, directed 100 runes to the man. A golden stream flowed from him to the sorcerer, at which the man's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Well, bless you, bless you. Such generosity. You are a true saint. And not only that. My name is Thops. Presuming you're interested, I can teach you sorceries, as promised. Only, none of them are particularly great..." the man exclaimed with obvious gratitude, even with tears in his eyes.
"Aerion," he introduced himself with a slight nod. "And yes, I am Tarnished."
Thops's eyes widened, then he bowed even lower. "Forgive me, my lord. I recognize your name. You are Godircka's Vanquisher and the new ruler of Limgrave. The man closest to the throne of the Elden Lord. It's an honor."
He waved it off. "Enough of these pleasantries. Show me those spells you mentioned. I won't turn down any magic."
Thops beamed at these words, then pulled three slightly crumpled and soiled scrolls from his robes.
Aerion looked at them, then took them in his hand, examining them more closely. Without a moment's hesitation, he replied, "I'll take Starlight, because I already know the other two. How much do you want for it?"
"Three... three thousand runes. No... forgive me, for you, my lord, two thousand." The sorcerer seemed clearly frightened and instantly lost all confidence.
Aerion shook his head with a slight sigh. "Let it be these three. Here," he replied, and another stream of runes flowed between them, this time much larger than before.
Having purchased the scroll, he sent it back to the inventory and then recalled once again to read it detailed description.
Starlight
One of the glintstone sorceries of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.Creates a small, floating star light that illuminates surroundings.
Granted to sorcerers who depart from the academy to embark on journeys. Even during the blackest nights, sojourns underground, or imprisonment in gaol, the stars are never far from a sorcerer's side.
"For learning my paltry sorceries. I never imagined that a bluntstone like myself would have the chance to play teacher. Especially for a person as honorable as you, my lord. One day I will be able to proudly admit that I left a tiny mark on the path of the new Elden Lord."
Aerion sensed the obvious pride and satisfaction in the man's tone.
"Thank you again. In return for your generosity, I can tell you what I know about this place. That should help a bit. You've seen that structure to the north, towering over the water. That's the Academy of Raya Lucaria, where we study glintstone sorceries. Only, its doors have been closed for quite some time now."
Thops said, stating the obvious, but Aerion didn't interrupt him, for how could an academy student know details that even Gideon didn't?
"After they declared they wouldn't interfere with the Shattering, the academy cast repelling seals on the east gate leading to the Capital and the south gate leading here. As you might have guessed, the seals are still active, making entry to the academy impossible without a glintstone key."
"And you're stuck here," Aerion interjected, crouching on the ground and leaning back against the wall.
"Yes. And so I'm stuck here. A fledgling sorcerer, with little chance of acquiring a key. When they cast the seals, I'd just popped out, and now I'm uprooted from my place of learning."
Suddenly, the sorcerer's face lit up as if a thought had occurred to him, and Aerion had a bad feeling about this. If the sorcerer wanted to give him a quest, he could shove it up his ass; he didn't have time.
It seemed Thops had planned exactly this, because a moment later, he said in a voice filled with enthusiasm that tried to sound overly convincing.
"Why not find yourself a glintstone key? Without one, you can't pass through the academy, and you'll never reach the Erdtree Capital. And if you find an extra glintstone key, perhaps... Once you've tied up all your loose ends—and I can be very patient—would you consider donating it to me? I know it. I'm a blunt stone. Just a hint of talent for sorcery. But still, my place is at the academy..."
Aerion pondered his words for a moment. If Thops was right, then perhaps he really did need that damned key to get to Ray Lucaria. After all, he had no clue how to break such barriers, or if it was even possible, since none of the demigods had even attempted it.
But where was he supposed to find one key, let alone two, in a continent so vast? As if reading his mind, Thops already had the answer.
"I know where one of the keys is, but I have no chance of getting to it."
"Where? Where is it?"
"To the west of the academy lies the lair of the Glintstone Dragon Smarag, a fearsome beast. A few years ago, one of the higher-ranking sorcerers, Rouven, left the academy walls but was captured and devoured by a dragon. The key is probably lying near the lair in the dragon's droppings."
Aerion felt the urge to clear his ears, convinced he had misheard. "Did I hear correctly? You want me to dig through dragon shit?" he growled, irritated, but taking a deep breath, he quickly regained control of his nerves.
Thops raised his hands in front of him apologetically, then shrugged. "Forgive me, Lord Aerion. It's only a suggestion. However, it's the only relatively certain information about the key's location."
"I'll consider it then. But first, I'll ask Master Sellen; perhaps she'll know the location of other keys or perhaps even another method of gaining entry," he replied after a moment's thought.
"You've taken on an apprenticeship with Sellen? Well, that's something. Sellen was well-known. The most promising sorceress in the history of the academy. I followed her at school, but there may as well have been an ocean between us."
The tone of his voice, and the admiration in the man's eyes, made it clear that he truly admired Sellen to that extent. Could this woman really be so famous and powerful?
However, it was Thops's next words that evoked much darker thoughts.
"But Sellen was expelled from the academy. Accused of unthinkable treatment of certain sorcerers, under the name of the Graven Witch. I still don't believe the accusations. The illustrious Sellen would never do such things..."
Aerion wasn't so sure. He knew well that the pursuit of knowledge could corrupt and that there were lines one shouldn't cross.
He didn't know her well, after all, and the sorcerers at Raya Lucaria Academy must have had a good reason to exile her. Although the reasons could just as easily have been completely different, such as jealousy, a quarrel, or even a simple academic disagreement. And the accusations against her were just a good excuse.
Well, it was best to ask at the source. And what he would do then, he didn't know.
He knew that since arriving in the Lands Between, he had changed because of these new experiences, but still... experimenting on other people left a bad taste in his mouth. It was one of those lines he wouldn't dare cross, knowing there was no return from the dark road ahead.
With a sigh, he rose to his feet and quickly stretched. His gaze fell on the man watching him. "It was good to meet you, Thops. If I find a key or another way to get into the academy, I'll let you know." He said, extending his hand to the man.
He shook it awkwardly, as if for the first time. "Likewise, Lord Aerion. I believe we will meet again. I wish you well on your journey."
As Aerion headed for the exit from the ruins of the church, Tophs called after him, "My lord, one more thing. To the northwest of here lies Evergaol, where Adan, Thief of Fire, is imprisoned. It is said that he once stole a powerful incantation from the followers of the Fell God of Fire, whom the giants worshiped. This incantation would surely prove useful on your journey."
Aerion smiled faintly and nodded, "Thank you for the advice. I think you've intrigued me enough to seek out this place. Take care of yourself."
With those words, he left the ruins with a sense of purpose. Time to acquire a powerful new incantation for his collection. Greater Will had better reward him with it.
**************
He found Evergaol roughly in the area Thops had indicated, though it was a bit further than he had originally expected. Once there, he stepped without hesitation into the seal of the eternal prison, which soon began to glow with a lavender light.
There was a blinding flash of light, and he found himself beneath a thick purple barrier of pure energy. A bulky figure clad in red armor with a crimson hood pulled over his head stood before him. Adan, Thief of the Flame, who, according to Thops, had stolen the knowledge of the giants' own fiery incantations.
In any case, he was so dangerous that Marika decided to imprison him in Evergaol, or maybe she simply wanted to prolong his suffering indefinitely.
Aerion quickly outsmarted his opponent, only glancing at the flame in his right hand before his gaze fell on his left hand, where delicate orange flames danced, posing the greatest danger.
So, without allowing the other to use his strongest weapon, faster than it took to draw a breath, Aerion was already in front of Adan, kicking him in the chest with the force of a rushing Rune Bear.
A dent appeared in the man's breastplate, and he was thrown into the barrier several meters away, the force of both the kick and the blows tearing a cry of pain from his lips. Aaerion, however, frowned. Both the breastplate and the man's body were exceptional. Normally, such a kick would have shattered both armor and flesh, and the fight would have been over.
"Hmh. Interesting. It seems that stealing the flame of giants is not that easy and requires some strength," he muttered to himself, then jumped towards Adan, while Godrick's old axe, which he renamed the Axe of the Golden Lineage, appeared in his hand.
He planted his left foot on the ground right in front of the recovering Adan and, using all the strength of his sword, swung his massive axe, which came down on his opponent's hooded head, splitting it in half along with half his chest.
Enemy Felled
Adan, Thief of Fire
You receive 26 800 runes
You receive Flame of the Fell God Incantation
Flame of the Fell God
This legendary incantation is one of several that draws directly from the power of the Fire Giants.
Releases a ball of raging fire said to be inhabited by a fell god. The fireball floats toward enemies and explodes, setting the area ablaze.
Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants.
Having left Evergaol and made sure that the areas around him were relatively safe, he stretched out his hand with his index finger pointing upwards, above which a moment later fire appeared, slowly forming into a sphere the size of a human head.
Testing the limits and possibilities of this incantation, he raised his hand high above himself and, with concentration, began to cast the incantation. Within two heartbeats, the fireball grew to the size of a man, and a few seconds later, its diameter was no less than ten meters, making Aerion appear tiny by comparison.
The temperature around him rose to such an extent that the grass around him turned to ash and the ground turned black, and if it weren't for his high fire resistance, he would probably have suffered a similar fate, although he was more than certain that the incantation itself contained a partial and temporary fire resistance for the caster.
With a single thought and a flick of his finger, he released the miniature sun from his control, sending it plummeting into the sea below the cliff. The fireball, freed from his control, began to move in that direction, but with each meter it traveled, it accelerated further, becoming increasingly destabilized.
Just before the explosion, it moved faster than a galloping steed, vibrating with the energy seething within. When it erupted, even hundreds of meters away, he felt a surge of heat. The unleashed flames expanded to a size that could engulf the entire Castle Black, melting stone as easily as human flesh.
He could already picture in his mind's eye the terrible effect this incantation would have on the Others and their army of corpses. These flames were not only more powerful and far-reaching than the Agheel Flame, but they possessed a vicious will that made them as difficult to extinguish as to control. Perhaps this was a remnant of the will of the giants' "Fell God," known as the Fire God, as he had learned.
*************
After clearing the area of enemies, including the Cleanrot Knight hiding in a nearby cave, he directed Torrent toward the lake itself, which might as well have been called a sea, for from the cliff he could barely make out the outline of the cliffs on the other side on the horizon. It must have been as much as three hundred kilometers across at its narrowest point.
And according to what he saw on the maps at Roundtable Hold, the lake stretched north for over two and a half thousand kilometers. And although most of it was shallow, no more than a meter or two deep, there were places where the bottom was a dozen or so meters below the surface.
The southernmost part of the lake, lying at the foot of the northern face of Stormhills, was fortunately shallow enough that traveling on Torrent's back was relatively smooth. That is, of course, if you didn't take into account how many times they had to slow down to deal with whatever enemies were swarming that damned lake.
Even if at this very moment he had to threw himself from Torrent's back to the side as a compressed stream of water pierced the spot where he had been. His brave steed whinnied, more in irritation than fear, as the attack severed several flying hairs from his mane.
Landing knee-deep in water, Aerion spotted a large beast in the distance, a good 150 meters away, the likes of which he had never encountered before but about which he had heard much from other Tarnished before setting out for Liurnia. Giant Crayfish, mammoth-sized creatures with powerful claws capable of easily slicing a human in half, possess one of the deadliest attacks in the Lands Between.
They shot a beam of incredibly compressed water from their mouths, under such immense pressure that it could blow a hole through their target. However, it wasn't the power of the attack that was the worst, but the incredible speed and range. Most creatures wouldn't be able to react, let alone avoid the attack. And it was rumored among the Tarnished that these beasts could hit a target from five hundred meters away.
"What a fucker," he muttered to himself, then, scrambling to his feet, he immediately cast a Lightning Spear Incantation, hurling it towards the Giant Crayfish, returning the favor with a thunderbolt.
The golden lightning spear covered the distance between them even faster than the beast's attack but missed it by two or three meters.
Aerion had to dodge again, tilting his body back so that his back almost touched the water's surface, as another water projectile flew at his torso.
How on earth could this damned beast have such aim at such a distance? At that moment, it wasn't simply a matter of victory but of pride. Who would hit their opponent first?
Their fight had turned into a duel, and of course, Aerion could have hurled his attack at the surface of the lake near the Giant Crayfish, which would likely have fried it, but his manly pride wouldn't allow such low blows.
The fight dragged on for a good ten minutes, during which Aerion unleashed a total of over 40 lightning spears, using up his entire supply of Cerulean Tears in the process.
He finally managed to hit the beast in the head, shattering it and singeing its upper body. This made things more difficult for him, as he tried not to aim too low to avoid hitting the water.
Seeing that dusk was approaching, instead of pressing on, he decided to return to the first Site of Grace he had awakened in Liurnia, the one at the top of the cliff.
For the umpteenth time, he was grateful for the ability to travel between Sites of Grace, which allowed him to save more time and devote more of it to exploration and combat.
Sitting beside the glowing Grace, he reached for the pouch on his belt containing his talismans, pulling out the one he had acquired today after defeating the Cleanrot Knight.
Winged Sword Insignia
A talisman depicting a raised prosthetic blade. An honor bestowed upon the knights who fought alongside Malenia the Severed.
Raises attack power with successive attacks.
The wings symbolize Malenia and her undefeated prowess. Though she never knew relief from the accursed rot she was born into, her blade was forever beautiful - and relentless.
Reading the description again, he couldn't help but think more about Malenia herself. Until then, he had treated the demigods as soulless enemies, shadows hovering on the edge of his consciousness that he knew he must defeat in the future.
But he never stopped for a moment to consider what actually drove them. What were their plans and ambitions? What values and goals? Wasn't knowing one's enemy the absolute foundation of strategy?
What did he know, for example, about Malenia herself? She was a great warrior and a master of the sword. Everyone agreed on that. And the most powerful demigod next to Radahn. On that point, too, everyone agreed.
Nepheli had mentioned that Malenia would be more impressive if she thought more for herself, instead of being her brother's hound. He had to agree with her on that, though he also understood the impact sibling bonds and love can have on a person.
Hadn't he himself jumped into the fire for his siblings? Wouldn't he die to see even one more smile from Robb or a grimace of indignation on Arya's face?
And according to Gideon, Miquell was the reason Malenia lived, because he had found a way to stop the Scarlet Rot from growing inside her.
Hearing this, Aye was perfectly able to understand the woman's love and gratitude for her brother. It gave her a deeper meaning, and he wasn't sure he wanted his opponents to have that.
It was easier to kill someone you treated like an absolute monster, harder to kill someone you could even sympathize with.
Besides, Malenia impressed him, and Arya would have loved her. If his sister loved stories about Visenya or Nymeria, how would she react to tales of someone as incredibly powerful and persistent as Malenia?
He himself could admit that he didn't know if, in her place, he wouldn't have given up long ago. What would it feel like to be consumed from within by a divinely derived rot, knowing there was no cure, no salvation, only a certain end? An end that might as well mean unleashing the monster within you?
He wondered what their meeting would be like and what he would say to her. No. What would he say to her when he demanded her Great Rune? After all, their clash was inevitable if he wanted to unite and reforge the Elden Ring. The question remained whether he would have the strength to take the Rune from her.