The Wolf and the Dragon

Prologue

Artorias' voice is above, a cut audio file of his introduction. I recommend watching it if you've never played Dark Souls with the add-on or heard the adio before.

Also, I'm publishing the first chapter or prologue of different books to get a feel for what ideas I should eliminate or not. Please tell me if you like this book or not, thank you.

Kill...

No....

Killll....

No!

KILL

"Aaaaarrrrrraaaagggggghhhhh! Get out of mine own head!"

The dark voice chuckles as the once noble knight stabs his sword into the ground. He leans upon it as water forms in his eyes. Sobs wrack his body as he felt the guilt slowly seep into his soul. All the people, the good and the bad, that the darkness had made him kill... All those undead who only wished to free him, turned hollow by the tip of his blade. Every face, every body, every moment where his sanity would slip away flashed before him as he remembered the looks of pain and sadness in each of their eyes. He remembered how he lost his sanity with each person he killed, how each kill caused him to laugh.

Artorias pulled his sword out of the soil beneath him as he glanced about his prison. An old arena surrounded him, overgrown and only one entrance from the forest of Oolacile and one exit, that enters deeper into the catacombs. There, is where he lies.

Manus.

The Primeval Man.

The most powerful force of darkness Artorias had ever encountered. That dark creature, the Father of the Abyss, and lord of the Dark Soul, or more commonly known as the Furtive Pygmy. He fought the creature, and in that fight, his dominant arm was broken, his left. He sacrificed his soul's purity to save Sif, but was corrupted himself. His will is still strong however, and that is why Manus is trying so hard to break him.

He shall not has't mine soul, Artorias thought as he leaned against the pillar.

"Gough, mine own dearest friend, art thee still up tither? " Artorias called.

"Aye, what dost thou needeth?" Replied a the deep, guttural voice from above. Artorias laied his head back upon the pillar and closed his eyes, he slid down until he was seated upon the soft soil.

"I needeth naught a thing. Just a friend to converse with while I still has't mine own witts about me", Artorias replied as he glanced at his broken arm. He winced as a rush of blinding pain washed over him. He felt the bile form into his throat as he forced it back down. Silent sobs wracked his body as he tried to remain silent. He heard an audible sigh emit from Gough and his voice followed soon afterwards, "T pains me, Artorias. To heareth thy sobs of teen and dry sorrow.  If 't be true, if only there was a way to free thee from manus' grasp...".

"The only cure... is death", Artorias replied in a degraded voice, " and yet, none hast cometh to best me upon mine own abilities. F'r not all art of mine own own arts. Manus places his black charm about mine own soul and condenses the waves and waves of mine own pain and sorrow so they hitteth mine own opponents and has't those folk share the suffering mine own soul and corse. I just wish to be free of such a burden of yond hast been thrown upon me 'gainst mine own will, the burden of life-".

"Artorias! Did rid those thoughts from thine mind! Such talk is not thine own. These words drip with manus' oppression, thee musnt alloweth him win! Bethink of Cairan, Ornstein, Lord Gwyn, what would they bethink of such words yond escape thy maw, what would they say?"

Artorias lifts his head slightly as he thinks, what shall they sayeth? I coequal not recall their voices, f'r all I've hath heard these days whither Gough's?

The stout square, till the very end! The voice of Gwyn's range through his head.

I'll has't thy back brother, till the very end, he faintly had a memory of Ornstein's voice.

Mine own artorias, I'll be by thy side, at each moment, Cairan's voice range loudest pulling him out of his depression, but only for a split second as he realized that it was only a memory.

What has't I done, to deserve such an eternal torment. With a friend who can't coequal cometh face to face with me to speaketh? a companion who I can't even touch anymore? a lov'r who is't leagues hence, I wonder if 't be true, Cairan coequal knoweth what hast been plaguing me f'r these last few decades. I desire not, I would be despaired if 't thy fair lady whither in a state of sorrow for knowing what fate did befall me ...

Artorias then saw one of Manus' demons come into his arena, another undead wilt be near...

He made a jumping jab at the monster when he sensed the presence within his arena.

"Who ever though art, stay... away", he said, as he drove his blade deeper into the creature. Trying hard to speak in the modern tongue that the undead these days speaks.

"You see", he continued as he turned his attention to the undead who had just walked into the arena. He was wearing a knight's armor, with a sun upon his chest. With a bucket like helmet with a bright red feather adorning it. and Sunlight Straight Sword and a round sheild with the same sun painted upon it's center, "I will be consumed by that-

"By the dark-

"By the spread of the Abyss. It... it must be stopped".

"I know Knight Artorias, that is why I am here, to end your suffering", the knight replied as he pulled his blade at the ready, Artorias only remembered seeing the darkness surround him, wrapping about him like the tendrils. And a final scream filled with pain and fury emitted from his maw before he completely blanked out.

***

A sudden sharp pain erupted from his core causing him to regain control. He saw the undead male before him holding that straight sword which pierced through his abdomen. His face was exposed, helmet nowhere to be seen. When the knight turned his head, he saw the crushed remains of the sun knight's helmet upon the floor, possibly thrown when he realized that it was of no use anymore. Artorias gasped in pain, but a smile formed upon his lips. The obviously Astorian knight's blue eyes met Artorias' gold, and thickets of his messy blond hair where strewn about his head. His face was grim which caused Artorias to chuckle as he saw his own blood dripping onto the floor.

"Thankith thee *gasp* undead. There is nay needeth for such... such a grim look, for I am f-finally f-f-free of manus' d- *coughcough* dark hold over me. He might not but beest *gasp*", his vision flickered as he was forced to take a knee, the undead crouched down with him as he listened with rampt attention.

"He must be destroyed befor.... before... *cough* *wheeze* he... *wheeze*...annihilates... *cough* Oolacile!"

Artorias then coughs up a giant blood clot and falls to the ground. The undead pulls the Sunlight Straight Sword causing Artorias to groan in pain.

"Thank you, Wolf Knight Artorias, for all you have done for our world. May the sun safeguard your path fellow knight", the sunlight knight said, his voice distant as a new darkness started to raise it's clutches towards Artorias. Fear finally took hold of him, as a rush of panicked thoughts echoed through his mind.

Wait! I'm... I wanteth naught to die! Mine Lord Gwyn... I'm scared!

I promise that only the Prologue, Chapter 1 and possibly Chapter 2 will have Artorias speaking old English. He will learn how to speak normally don't worry 😊.

Yep, this story is back. I love it, and I miss it. But it won't be a priority. It's just when I'm not feeling like writing my other stories  (other fanfics nor originals).