A Song of Rot and Flame: An Elden Ring Story

Chapter 1: Rot

"So many... bodies..." you said as you waded through the sea of the dead. Heads cut off; arms torn out; legs ripped off. You haven't seen a more gruesome sight than this. It was scorching hot and you felt like you were getting fried underneath your armor so to counteract that, you took your helmet off.

"I've seen my fair share of battles, but this... this is different." Finlay muttered as she looked around, searching for any sign of Malenia- or whatever's left of her.

You look in the distance, trying to find anything that could signal her whereabouts; the standard of her Royal Guard maybe.

You see nothing, until you happen upon something red; scarlet. A giant flower stood tall in the midst of the chaos; entrails and blood littered the ground. "Finlay, do you see that?" you say as you point at the scarlet flower.

Finlay squints at what you're pointing at and juts her head forward slightly before her eyes widen.

"It's her."

You run after she says those words, rushing to the scarlet flower blooming in the distance. The closer you get, you start feeling something seeping into you. You look on your uncovered arm and you see rashes forming and you feel burning; pain coming from inside you.

You stop in your tracks and turn to Finlay, showing your arm.

"F-Finlay, what's this?" you say, slowly raising it to give her a clear view. You see a sudden panicked expression on Finlay's face. She runs to you and holds your arm, examining the rashes on you.

"Scarlet rot." she says softly, lamenting the fact that you may have just gotten the rotting affliction. "What's that?" you say in confusion.

"Malenia. She was born with this disease; affliction. Some say it was caused by the meddling of Outer God's." Finlay said, looking at the flower in the distance.

"Disease?" you said, tilting your head at her.

"Yes. She kept it at bay for a long time- until this happened. Scarlet Rot infects those in close proximity of it; and if you're unlucky, you could be born with it. Malenia was part of the latter."

You look to your side, glancing at the flower before looking back at Finlay.

"Is there any way to alleviate this sickness?" you say while holding your arm.

"Yes." she mutters, nodding at you before reaching into her armor. "An unalloyed gold needle. Every Cleanrot Knight under her banner is given this. That's what gives us resistance to the Scarlet Rot."

"How come we weren't given one?" you questioned.

"Ever wonder why you're never allowed to be within a certain distance of Malenia lest you're a Cleanrot Knight?" Finlay retorted.

You nod your head in realization, "Fair enough. But now what?"

"I have an extra. We were given two to prepare for the unfortunate event that we lose one." she said as she handed out the needle. You take the needle in your hand and examine it's careful construction for a bit.

"Okay, now what do I do with it."

"You stick it in you."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I'm supposed to just-"

"Yes."

You look at the needle, hesitating for a bit before finally going through with it.

"Alright, here goes nothing."

"Just make sure you're not puncturing anything important, yeah?"

You raise an eyebrow at her, "How am I supposed to know where to put it?"

"Here, I'll do it." Finlay said as she walked towards you. You give her the needle and she lines it up with your forearm. "Could you at least do a countdown?" You say as you look at Finlay.

"Alright. Three."

You close your eyes as you prepare for what's about to happen.

"Two."

You take a deep breath, but then suddenly feel a sharp pain on your forearm. You let out a slight yell as you flinch from the surprise.

"You told me you were gonna do a countdown!" you said, looking at your forearm.

"It's better if you don't expect it." Finlay said, chuckling slightly. She takes out a piece of cloth, wrapping it around the entry site.

"That should do. Feeling better?"

"I..."

You don't manage to finish your sentence before you drop down on the floor.

"Ahhh Shit..."