Elden Lord of Cinders

[Elizabeth's Poleblade]

[A double-headed poleblade forged in the Land of Reeds]

[Once wielded by Eleonora, the "Violet Bloody Finger"]

[But after being completely tainted by the Accursed Blood]

[Her refined technique was lost]

[Replaced by pure agony]

[And an insatiable thirst for blood]

[Unique Ash of War: Accursed Blood]

[Spin the blade and dash forward, leaving a trail of blood that explodes after a short delay]

[Using the skill again returns you to your original position, leaving another blood trail]

[Effect: When characters nearby are bleeding, damage increases by 15% and some HP is restored]

After toying with Elizabeth's poleblade for a while, Lloyd got a good sense of its role. Basically, it was a high-end version of the Nagakiba. Sure, its basic attack range was a bit short, the stagger potential wasn't quite up to Bloodhound's Fang, and its base stats were slightly lower too.

But the thing is—this weapon stacks bleed absurdly well. Just normal swinging already causes bleeding at least twice as fast as Bloodhound's Fang. On top of that, the two-stage Ash of War not only gives great mobility, but the exploding blood trails deal heavy bleed buildup.

Then there's the passive effect: increased damage and healing whenever anyone nearby is bleeding. As long as the boss isn't immune to bleed, just slap on heavy armor and keep spamming the skill—it's that simple.

Still, it can't fully replace Bloodhound's Fang. The short reach and low stagger might not matter in boss fights, but when clearing enemies through the world, it can get annoying. And if you run into a bleed-immune boss, this weapon lags way behind in pure physical damage.

Especially considering Lloyd had specced into Faith and Intelligence for Night and Flame and only had the base 10 Arcane, plus 5 from Godrick's Great Rune—he was better off mixing things up for now.

After testing out his new toy, Lloyd went to find Yura, handing over Eleonora—now freed from the Accursed Blood and back to her senses. Then he fast-traveled to a Grace in Limgrave, blew his whistle, and started heading east toward Caelid.

Then...

"Hey—! Anyone out there—?"

"Can someone give me a hand? I'm stuck—!"

"Hello—hello—anyone—?"

That bumbling, oddly familiar voice made Lloyd immediately steer Torrent toward the sound. And there he was—a Warrior Jar stuck in a pit.

A reskinned Onion Knight?

Sure, the model was a monster's, the armor wasn't onion-shaped, and the look was totally different. But the awkward first meeting, the goofy tone, the round, pudgy body—it all confirmed it for Lloyd. This had to be this game's Onion Knight.

"Oh, perfect timing!"

Seeing someone approach, the Warrior Jar sounded excited.

"I'm Warrior Jar, 'Iron Fist' Alexander—as you can see, I'm stuck in this hole. I'd appreciate a hand getting out."

Lloyd dismounted and walked over.

"Sure. How can I help?"

"You're willing to help? Thank you."

Alexander thought for a moment.

"Just use something big to hit the bottom of me. That should knock me loose."

"I'm sturdy—don't worry! I've been working out. Just hit hard."

Lloyd thought it over, pulled out the little wooden club he'd had since the start, and got ready to help. Then...

Thud

"Wait—that's my face!"

Thud

"No, that's my lid!"

Thud

"Agh—my waist!"

A moment later, Alexander lifted his head—somehow—and looked at Lloyd seriously.

"Maybe you should stop hitting me. I'm starting to feel like staying in the hole isn't so bad after all."

Lloyd looked a little sheepish. He hadn't meant to torture Alexander, but the guy was a jar—an oval with no real front or back, no obvious top or bottom. Lloyd couldn't even tell where the voice was coming from.

In the end, though, he got out. Lloyd suddenly remembered—this was real life, not a game. He didn't have to smack the jar. After scraping away some dirt, Alexander climbed out by himself.

"Phew, I thought I was going to split in two."

After climbing out, Alexander didn't show any sign of blaming Lloyd. Instead, he handed him a piece of Exalted Flesh as a token of gratitude for helping him out.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Warrior Jar, 'Iron Fist' Alexander. I'm currently heading east to train myself."

East?

Lloyd glanced at the map.

"You're planning to go to Caelid?"

"Yes."

Alexander nodded and sighed in admiration.

"I heard there's a battle festival being held at Redmane Castle, down in the southern plains. I'd only ever heard of such things in stories. Doesn't it sound amazing?"

He paused, as if realizing something, then turned to look at Lloyd.

"Oh, I bet you're heading there too, right? Just from the way you hit me earlier, I could tell—you're a brave warrior. It's only natural someone like you would be drawn to such a festival."

Lloyd nodded in confirmation, and Alexander let out a hearty laugh, then shook his head.

"Though I'd love to travel alongside a courageous warrior like you, if I truly want to become a hero, I must learn to face solitude. I imagine the warriors inside me would say the same."

"So, while I really appreciate your help, I'll continue this journey alone. When the time comes, we'll meet again at the battle festival..."

Bang.

Too focused on saying goodbye, Alexander didn't notice where he was going—and fell right back into the same hole.

This time, he was stuck even worse.

He looked up at Lloyd with an awkward expression, watching as Lloyd earnestly pulled out his little wooden stick.

"Don't worry. I'll hit the right spot this time."

"Really?" Alexander had a sinking feeling.

"Really." Lloyd nodded.

Then—

Bang.

Watching Lloyd stand in front of him, looking apologetic yet still holding the stick, clearly eager to try again, Alexander fell silent. Then, with utmost sincerity, he said,

"How about you dig me out again?"

This was Alexander—the Warrior Jar who aspired to be a hero.

For the first time in his life, he felt fear.

And he chose to surrender.

...

After parting ways with Alexander, Lloyd was still puzzled as he recalled the jar's round shape.

So how was he supposed to tell front from back? He could've sworn he was hitting the rear...

As he pondered, he continued on his way. After crossing a large bridge and walking a bit further, he came across a familiar face.

Hunter of the Dead—D.

When Lloyd saw him, D was standing in front of a freshly slain corpse, murmuring quietly to himself.

"Hmm, as expected... death spreads again..."

"I'm sorry. I can't tend to your rites just yet."

"But since you weren't touched by 'Those Who Live in Death', your soul will still return to the Erdtree."

"Golden One, guide this soul to peace."

As he spoke, the sound of hoofbeats reached his ears. He turned and saw Lloyd approaching.

"Oh, it's you. We meet again."

Lloyd walked over, glanced down at the body on the ground, then looked up at D.

"What happened here?"

D shook his head and looked toward a distant village.

"Death has spread to that village up ahead. The 'ship' is likely there too. If you don't want to die needlessly, stay away."

Lloyd paused, considering.

"The ship?"

"It's the Tibia Mariner. A death-bearing ferry. Extremely dangerous—it must be eliminated..."

Oh. A boss.

Lloyd nodded, about to summon Torrent with the spectral whistle to go check it out, but then a thought struck him. He looked back down at the corpse.

"Wait—hasn't the Erdtree been compromised? He shouldn't be able to return right now, right?"

D was momentarily stunned, then shook his head.

"The Erdtree itself remains intact. It's just that the Elden Ring is shattered, so the Golden Order can't function properly."

"Once a Tarnished gathers two Great Runes and begins restoring the Ring, the golden radiance will return. Then, both the Erdtree and the Golden Order will be whole again, and there'll be no further issues..."

"Huh?"

Lloyd blinked.

"But wasn't there something wrong with the Golden Order from the start?"

D: "...?"

Before D could respond, Lloyd continued.

"You mentioned the two Great Runes—I already have them. And I just had a talk with the Two Fingers at the Roundtable. It admitted the Golden Order has issues too."

D: "???"

After a brief pause, Lloyd added one last thing.

"And I don't even know why, but all I did was greet it and try to talk about the Golden Order..."

"But the moment I got there, it just started ranting and accused me of profanity and... inappropriate behavior..."

"Finger language is wild, huh?"

With that, Lloyd mounted Torrent and rode off.

D stood frozen in place, completely stunned, motionless for quite a while.

What... what did he just say?

...

On the other side...

After a brief exchange with D, Lloyd arrived at the village D had warned him to avoid. He'd originally come to fight a boss, but unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.

No—calling him familiar wasn't quite right. It was more like... the corpse of someone familiar.

No, that wasn't right either. Because this "corpse" was still alive.

It was...

"Rogier?"

Looking at the humanoid skeleton dressed in Rogier's gear, Lloyd blinked.

"How did you end up like this?"

"Ah, it's you..."

Seeing it was Lloyd—and that he hadn't attacked—Rogier let out a bitter laugh.

"As you can see, I've become one of Those Who Live in Death. As for why..."

"Have you heard of Fia, the Deathbed Companion?"

Because Lloyd had helped him in the past and didn't seem to hold prejudice against Those Who Live in Death, Rogier decided to explain his situation honestly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't tell you the truth about who I was. I used to be one of Fia's companions. When I went to Stormveil, it was to find an important item connected to Those Who Live in Death."

"Oh, right—you probably don't know what Those Who Live in Death are, do you?"

"Put simply, they're people excluded from the Golden Order. Born of death."

"In D's words, they're defilers—existences that shouldn't be allowed in this world. I went to Stormveil because I wanted to save them."

"You probably think I'm being naive."

"But during my investigation into the Night of the Black Knives, I realized something. Those Who Live in Death haven't harmed anyone. They're simply trying to survive. And for that alone, they've become outlaws in the eyes of the Order."

"I couldn't turn a blind eye to that. So when I met Fia and learned she wanted to protect them, I chose to help her."

"But lately, I've realized that we don't see eye to eye on what 'protection' really means."

"I want to protect Those Who Live in Death because they're innocent—I want to find a way for them to live."

"But Fia believes they must grow stronger to survive. Even if it means hurting others."

"I think that's wrong."

"But I can't argue with her, because the truth is—just like she said—if they don't fight back, if they don't hurt others, if they don't gain power... they won't even survive."

"But then... what makes them any different from the ones who persecute them?"

"If things continue this way, once Those Who Live in Death gain power, they'll just become another Golden Order—or worse."

"I don't want to see that happen. That's why I asked Fia to turn me into one of them."

"I want to use this path to find a way to survive—without harming others."

"But..."

Rogier glanced around and gave a helpless smile.

"Right now, I can't even leave this place."

"D is just outside. He used to be my friend, but that's exactly why I know—if he sees me now, he won't hold back."

"I've betrayed Fia. I've betrayed the Roundtable. This little patch of ground is the only place I can stay, and even Those Who Live in Death here don't seem to like me much."

"Maybe... maybe I was wrong from the start."

After hearing him out, Lloyd paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"What you're saying is way too complicated. I don't really get it."

He paused again, and before Rogier could reply, he spoke up.

"But if it's a place to stay you need, I might have one for you."

"There are a bunch of Misbegotten and Demi-humans there already. Not long ago, I even sent in an Albinauric. I figure one of Those Who Live in Death shouldn't be a problem."

Rogier froze.

This...

But before he could respond, Lloyd continued.

"Oh, right. D said something about a ship in this area. You know anything about that?"

"The Tibia Mariner? Yeah, it's been spreading death. If you're going to fight it, I can help..."

Under Rogier's guidance, Lloyd found the Tibia Mariner. After a few quick strikes, he took it down, chatted with Rogier a bit more, then escorted him to Castle Morne and left him with Edgar.

After accepting Rogier, Edgar gave Lloyd a look that had become increasingly difficult to read.

Misbegotten, Demi-humans, an Albinauric—and now, one of Those Who Live in Death...

At first, he'd assumed Lloyd was just gathering some strength for fun. But now...

Well, he wasn't sure how to put it.

Was he going to end up bringing in the Frenzied Flame next?

That thought startled Edgar. He shook his head quickly.

"Bah. I've clearly been working too much lately—brain's gone foggy. Frenzied Flame? That's the enemy of all the Lands Between. No matter how bold Lloyd is, there's no way he'd try to bring in something like that..."

...Right?

Thinking back on Lloyd's past actions, Edgar suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.

In the end, he accepted Rogier. And since there were indeed some of Those Who Live in Death still within the territory, he decided to put Rogier in charge of them.

Lloyd, however, hadn't thought much of it.

After dropping Rogier off, he returned to the Site of Grace where they'd met and continued heading east.

Soon, a land bathed in scarlet appeared before him—plague-ridden, strewn with pustules, and crawling with twisted creatures.

He had arrived in Caelid.

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

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