Journey To The Elden Ring

Chapter 2: Maidenless

Location: Limgrave

The Tarnished started walking towards the weird man, who beckoned at him "Ah greetings! Come closer so I can get a good look at you, newcomer!". The Tarnished started walking towards him at a faster pace, maybe this guy has answers! Thought the Tarnished, however on closer inspection he saw that the white robes that the man was wearing had stains of what seemed like blood on it, and his white mask made him all the more unsettling.

 Nevertheless, the Tarnished approached the man who said "Ah Tarnished are we? Come to the lands between for the Elden Ring hmm? Of course you have, there's no shame in it. What is your name?". The Tarnished went silent for a moment, trying to remember his name. "My name...its-Adrian, Adrian Hughes" said the Tarnished. "Ah an interesting name, well unfortunately for you Adrian, you are maidenless". Adrian was shocked by what he had said "Excuse me, what?". "Indeed" said the man "and since you're maidenless I'm afraid you have no access to the roundtable hold, and thus you are faithed to die alone in obscurity." Adrian was dumbfounded, who does this guy think he was? Calling me maidenless, he doesn't have any maidens around him either! The man, as if sensing his shock, continued "Luckily you still have one hope left which is me; Varre, take care to listen Tarnished, are you familiar with Grace? The golden light that gives life to you Tarnished. You may also behold its golden rays pointing in a particular direction at times, that is if you're lucky enough to have the Guidance of Grace. It holds all the answers and will lead you, maidenless as you are, on the path that you are meant to follow, even if it leads you to your grave..." Adrian processed the information and then said "I am indeed blessed with Grace's guidance, it points towards that small forest towards the northeast. I'm not so sure about the whole "leading to my grave" part however".

"Ah excellent, so you are not useless after all" Said Varre "To castle Stormveil then, over on the cliff, the home of the decrepit demigod Godrick the Grafted, that is where Grace is most probably leading you, kill the weakest of the demigods and attain his Great Rune, You will need it if you seek the Elden Ring, maidenless as you are." Adrian was starting to get annoyed by all the hidden insults, his fists itching to give a painful introduction to the man's mask. However he restrained himself and asked "Alright I get your point and I see where I need to go, but I don't even know what a Great Rune is!"

 Varre sighed and said "When Queen Marika the Eternal, whom I hope you at least know about, shattered the Elden Ring, it shattered into many pieces, however, 8 of them held more power than the others and became known as the Great Runes, and they fell into the hands of Marika's children, the Demigods. Thus the great war of the Shattering began where the Demigods warred over who would control all 8 great runes, the war lasted nearly a millennia and resulted in Grace abandoning the Demigods, out of which no one won". Adrian listened intently and said "Alright I think I got it, I only know a bit about Marika and this Elden Ring, could you elaborate on that".

 Varre said "How illiterate are you? Fine, I shall explain it, Marika is the goddess of the Lands Between and was chosen to be a vassal of the Elden Ring by an Outer God of Order, which for your knowledge an Outer God is someone who does not directly interfere with the Lands Between and exist in a realm outside this world. This Outer God gifted Marika with godhood and the Elden Ring, as well as the Erdtree, to create a Golden Order that would rule over the lands between, and thus a golden era ushered after several wars to bring the Golden Order into power, Marika wed 2 times to 2 different people, first was Godfrey, first Tarnished, who became known as the first Elden Lord and brought the Golden Order into power in the lands between, after his usefulness ended Marika banished him and all Tarnished out of the Lands Between and Married Radagon, whom not a lot is known about. Does that sate your curiosity?" Adrian took a deep breath and then said "Yeah mostly, I still don't know why the Ring was shattered, as a matter of fact, I dont even remember my own past!".

 Varre chuckled and said "All will be revealed eventually, now go and claim the Great Rune of Godrick the Grafted, ah and word of advice, you see the giant man and giant horse who are covered in gold armour? Be sure to avoid him, he is an Erdtree Sentinel and his kind protect the minor erdtrees which are spread across the Lands Between, and before you ask; Minor Erdtrees are smaller more physical versions of the Golden Erdtree, the Order claims they are to extend the blessings of the Erdtree across the Lands Between, however considering the enormous levels of power the Erdtree radiates, I have come to believe that what they say is nonesense, I believe the Minor Erdtrees have been made to show the absolute control and power of the Golden Order in the Lands Between, but I digress, what I mean to say is that this Erdtree sentinel is nowhere near his Minor Erdtree, and he is quite powerful and well above what you can handle. Fairwell, and remember to come back to me once you get your Great Rune, I shall guide you forward." Adrian said "Alright, thanks for the help..and maybe stop the silent insults, I'll be going now". He quickly rested at the Site of Grace next to Varre before starting his journey.

 Adrian decided to first visit the broken down church to see if he could find anything of value. He started walking towards the church, deep in thought about what he had learnt, but mostly about how he would make Varre repay for his insults, stupid man, thinking he can insult me without consequences, who exactly does he think he is! Adrian was so lost in thought that he didnt realize he was walking directly towards the Erdtree Sentinel, he realized too late when the Sentinel spotted him and started to stare him down. Adrian quickly backed up a few steps and said "Umm, hey there, can you speak?", as he expected the Sentinel didnt say a word, he simply willed his horse to slowly walk towards him while raising his right hand towards the weapon on his back. Of course this guy cant talk, now what? thought Adrian, He thought about running back to the Site of Grace, but then he remembered smug old Varre and his insults. He said this guy was way above what I could handle, I'll show that idiot thought Adrian. 

He unsheathed his two blades and shouted at the Sentinel "Well then, come at me! Or are you all bark and no bite?" The Sentinel grabbed the weapon that was behind his back, which was a massive golden halberd, and with halberd in one hand and shield in other he willed his horse to charge at the Tarnished. Adrian waited until the Sentinel was right infront of him and dodged to the right, avoiding the halberd that was swung towards his chest, he turned around and jumped onto the massive horse and shoved both his swords into the Sentinel's back, however the armor was too tough and his weapons bounced off harmlessly, Adrian didnt have time to react however as the horse quickly forced him off by jumping around and then kicked him in the chest with the force of both its back legs, Adrian hit the ground with a huge thud and groaned in pain. "Oh god, I think I've broken my ribcage" He groaned, he looked up and saw the horse standing infront of him, with the Sentinel still sitting on it and staring him down. The sentinel raised his halberd high in the air with the intent of smashing it into the Tarnished's face. Adrian realized this and shouted "Wait! no no stop!" but it was no use as the Sentinel swung his halberd with all his might, it hit Adrian on his face smashing it instantly, and thus Adrian died, his body dissolving into ash.

                           ~~~•||•~~~

Adrian woke up with a jolt, he quickly got onto his feet and looked around, he was back at the Grace next to Varre, "Where? What happened" He asked himself. The last thing he remembered was being absolutely pulverized by the Erdtree Sentinel, this must be what its like to be reborn. Ugh, I see why that Tarnished soldier said it could be a curse Thought Adrian, he touched his face, remembering the split second of excruciating pain before he died. His train of thought was interrupted however, when he heard someone chuckle behind him, followed by outright laughter. He turned around, only to see Varre laughing, his mask didnt show much but the sound was enough for Adrian to get mad, he demanded "What's so funny?" Varre laughed for a few more minutes before stopping and saying "I warned thee of the danger that is the Erdtree Sentinel, but you had to try and prove yourself didn't you? Well look how that turned out, maybe next time listen to the advice of someone willing to help eh?"

 It took Adrian all his willpower to not unsheathe his swords (which had also reappeared in their sheathes). He said "Oh shut up you" before walking back towards the church. I can already tell this is going to be a long and very painful journey He thought as he once again tried to reach the church.

Little did he know how correct his guess what.