Elden Ring: Putrefaction of Gold

The Testament of Flame Pt 3

 Messmer may have taken great pains to hold Melina in the confines of Shadow Keep for her own safety, but Melina's destiny and purpose, given by her mother, fated her always to be a wanderer. One whose resources to escape her brother's protection to see the wider world far exceeded his resources to stop her. Sometimes, it came with the help of good friends, but not always. And it wasn't certain how much Messmer knew about the extent of these little escapades. He was more than aware of her relationship with Gaius and didn't seem to stop it so long as his commander respected Melina. (Of course, they agreed not to mention the night before.)

Today, the call of her curiosity and interest took her to the south. These wanderings had no explanation. No call for order motivated them. Only the urge to see what lay in the great expanse of the Lands-Between and the whispers of her mother's voice, even in her absence.

Melina's thoughts were soon interrupted by the snort of something from behind. She looked back and saw the gentle friend Gaius had previously introduced to her.

"What further do you have to do with me?" Melina asked the animal. He approached her and butted his nose against her open hand before leaning against her with his head resting against her shoulder. "Mother wouldn't allow me to have you. Not when you have the mark of the Crucible's divinity. I know not the nature of her prejudice, but I suspect it is a great wound that causes her significant sorrow. Still, I suppose it would do no harm if I had you in my company, at least for this journey. It is both of us who seek the same thing, are we not?"

Melina moved her hand over his coat and felt the imperfections of raised scars under it. There was a sense that this creature was indeed more than he seemed. Gaius did not exaggerate his intelligence, at least. It was like the beast came from another time before Marika and perhaps from the great storms that lay beyond time. This revelation was further punctuated when she heard the creature's name, "Torrent." And she sensed his many masters before he came to her.

But Melina would never be his master. That was not necessary when the two shared a single goal.

"You are indeed an ancient, wise being, Torrent. I suspect there is not a single grain of sand your hooves have not touched. Very well, gentle creature. Let our destinies be now entwined in an accord. I shall let no harm come to you as you carry me across the lands. If it is that I fail in that promise, then I will deliver unto the wretched fiend that which he deserves," said Melina. "Let us seek now the one who would be Lord for Mother's sake. Today, I searched for a place where none willingly went. To the land of mist and fog. No, I do not believe a Lord is there, though he may call himself one. Mother tells me that it is a lesson there that she says must be fully seen and understood."

Even without tack or saddle, Torrent allowed Melina to ride. For once, her thoughts were less on the burden of her purpose but more on the relatable thought of how she would look to hide this creature from her mother.

Melina knew this part of the realm only by rumor. None ventured there among the Hornsent. She had heard the name of what has presumed its sole occupant as Midra, an intellectual sage who had contributed much to the advancement of Hornsent society and was overcome with his delusion. Melina did not know why her mother wished her there and not by Messmer's side. But she felt uneasy as the paths grew dark, and the trees began to shape themselves into perverted twisted trunks that lingered their shadow over the road.

"Mother," whispered Melina. "If he is a false lord like you say, then what more is there for me to understand?"

"My daughter, I have conceived your body from the Rune of Death itself. It is for you to understand the ruin which shall never be allowed. Now go to that false Lord and deliver to him what is rightly his. Deliver to him destined death."