Sanity's Ashes

Chapter Two

I walk on through the valley, and see a small fountain, with a single hollow standing between me and it. The hollow is staring at me with it's empty sockets, as if it has nothing better to do. I ready my axe low at my right side, and hold the flame in my left hand behind me, preparing to throw it 

I sprint towards the hollow, and roll to the side as it swings a small blade towards my throat. As I rise, I swing my axe horizontally into its abdomen, hacking through the hollow's gut and then bringing it back in a second swing through its chest. I hear the noise of a second hollow running towards me, and I evade backwards as it lunges towards me, and then hurl a ball of fire at it, effectively melting it's brain and killing it instantly.

I step over the two corpses to the fountain, and a glint of something blue catches my eye. I stop and investigate it, and find it's an ashen estus flask. This reminds me that I should make sure I have my estus flask, and I find it safely secured in my belt. I tuck the ashen estus flask beside it, and move on.

As I go forward, I see a path to the right and a path to the left. The path to the left seems to go alongside a steep cliff, and the path to the right looks to lead into a narrow canyon path. I favor the right, as the cliff path risked a steep drop to certain death.

As I walk down the path, I see something distorting my vision, like an illusion that can only be seen if one doesn't look directly at it. I blink my eyes and try to focus my vision on what is causing it, and eventually I see what looks like glowing writing in the ground. I try to read it, but I need to get closer.

As I step closer, I examine the writing. I can't recognize the language, but somehow I can recognize its meaning.

Turn Back.

I step back, entirely unsure of what to make of the message. Too curious to stop, however, I walk past the message. Shortly after the message, I see bloodstains on the ground, as if a battle was fought and the corpses taken out, leaving only dried blood.

I step forward over them, feeling a sense of regret slowly build, but my curiosity is still too great, I want to know what this place is.

I hear a rustling noise, and spin on my feet as fast as I can to face it. I see it's just ash blowing in the wind, and turn back around, shaking my head and smiling at my reaction. The noise, however, doesn't stop, and continues to blow, so I turn back around.

I jump back in surprise as I see the ash taking the form of a man in a suit of armor, shield and sword at the ready. Curiously enough, however, he is stepping back from me, as if afraid. I stand up and face him.

"What are you?" I ask, not making a move towards him, but readying my axe in case he turns hostile. The ashen man gives no response, but it looks like he starts to dodge backwards. Mid-way through his dodge, his entire body is crushed against the ground, as if an invisible boulder had rolled over him. The ashes settle back down and are lost in the wind.

The entire scene is so odd, the message, the ashen man, the blood stains. I have no idea what they all mean, but just based off intuition, I decide maybe this path isn't the best idea for someone trying to survive.

I turn around to leave, but freeze as I hear a chime. I hear what sounds like a giant mass of glass shards crunching up together and shifting about. As I listen, I distinguish unique impacts in the sound as steps. Footsteps that are nearing me.

I run as fast as I can out towards the other path, which takes me near the cliff. After I have run an adequate distance to convince myself I don't hear the noise any  more, I stop to take in my surroundings.

I'm on a path that follows the cliffside towards some kind of Stone pavilion. Along the way, I see figures in black that I assume to be hollows. Right in front of me is the most curious detail—a pile of ashes with a sword stuck through it.