The Blue Sentinel of Alagaësia

Chapter 2

Yazuac Bonfire

"Not all those who wander, are lost."

-J.R.R Tolkien

Bonfires didn't exist here. Well, she didn't think they did. At the very least she hadn't seen one yet in her exploration of the town. Granted she was fighting most of that time exploring, but that was besides the point. With no feasible way for her to recover her energy or her nonexistent estus, she resorted to making a small bonfire of her own outside of the worship center. That was where the remaining survivors were held up, with some guards searching for remaining attackers, Ugrals as she had learned, or other survivors. Despite her intervention there were not many, she had seen one or two survivors brought by guards but other than that, about one hundred survivors remained. The building was large, easily able to fit the survivors. She couldn't call it a church though, these people obviously didn't worship Gwyn.

She had picked up bits and pieces from the guards' conversations, she was in a town called Yazuac, said town belonged to a much larger and supposedly corrupt empire under a tyrannical king. Even helping out in the defense Yazuac, she was still regarded with caution. She would have to be more careful in the future, people here weren't Unkindled, they weren't as powerful as her. So here she sat, at a small bonfire she had made for herself to wave off the chill of the evening and to bring back some sense of comfort and familiarity. The coiled sword wasn't present, but it brought warmth and she could feel herself recovering the strength and energy she had expended in defense of the town. She wouldn't be staying here for long, that was for sure. She couldn't afford to.

She didn't know anything of this odd land, and word of her actions would surely spread. She didn't want to get into any conflicts without knowing which sides existed and for what reasons they fought. She didn't want to become a pawn without her knowledge of becoming one. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to fight, but what would she do if not fight?

It was all she knew, after all…

The sky had turned a brilliant shade of orange by the time the next interesting thing had happened. There were two newcomers, maybe travelers? She couldn't see much from this distance. One was much older than the other, and vice versa. They were walking towards the worship center now, and she could see them much better than before. Nothing that they wore stood out, the only thing that she really noticed was their age and a sword. The elder was exactly that, an elder. However she learned long ago that age held no correlation to weakness, she knew plenty of old warriors in her time of Lothric and Astora. His eyes held experience, she had no doubt that he was a seasoned warrior, or maybe a mage? She had no idea. The other couldn't be more different if he tried. He was young, he was obviously inexperienced, his eyes were innocent. Innocence like that was something she had never seen before, not since the children… not since the children…. His sword was a work of art, definitely fancy. It mattered little to her, there were many… extravagant weapons in Lothric, to say the least. Some bigger than even herself.

Their lips were moving. We're they… She shook her head and everything was coming back, noises primarily. "Oh, I'm so sorry, we're you speaking to me? I was lost deep in my thoughts." Her voice must have come as a slight shock to them, were women not common warriors here? Another thing to think about when she looked into this place. It obviously wasn't Lothric. "I am Anri of Astora, may I know your names?" She has to withhold some information for now, maybe in time she'd talk about where she really came from, but for now she's have to lie. As much as that put a foul feeling in her stomach. The two looked to each other before the elder stepped forwards. "My name is Brom, this is Eragon, my traveling companion. We're travelers, and came to investigate when we saw smoke. What happened here?" The younger took a step forward as well, "Yeah, where is everybody? You're one of the first we've seen."

This probably wouldn't bode well.

Anri blinked behind her helmet before standing up and brushing herself off. "Well met, Eragon and Brom. I'm sorry to say that this village was attacked. I myself am a traveler, hauling from a town called Lothric, and arrived to help. Unfortunately I arrived late. The remaining guards and I were able to route the attackers, Ugrals if I remember correctly, and the survivors are holding fast in the place of worship behind us. Under half remain if what I've heard from the guards is correct, though more show up as time goes on.." She turned and pointed at the place of worship when she was near finished speaking.

Brom pursed his lips in a frown before responding, Eragon looked distraught. "This is grim news, we were hoping to resupply here before moving on to a different town. That may be difficult now, I'd hate to take what little these people have left." Brom looked away with a troubled face, Eragon was a different story. He took a few steps forwards and looked at Anri with curiosity, who turned her focus to him as he approached. "Excuse me, Anri, would you happen to be a knight?" Anri looked at him with a small head tilt before responding in a slightly amused tone, crossing her arms. "Yes, I am a knight."

Eragon's eyes lit up at her confirmation, "that's amazing! I grew up on stories of knights. Tales of heroism and chivalry. They were only topped by the tales of the Dragon Riders." While still amused, more so after his excitement, the term dragons put her on edge. We're there dragons in this land as well? And if so, would they turn out to be enemy or ally?

Little did she know, that would be answered sooner than she thought.

"Indeed? I hope that I can live up to those lofty expectations then!" She responded with a laugh accenting her words. Where she came from, knights had a very different meaning, similar, but much different. Pontiff Sulyvahn's Outrider Knights were one example of this. Though she wouldn't dash the young man's views with tales of the false Pontiff's tyranny. While Eragon was consumed by his excitement, Brom looked at her with curiosity and a bit of suspicion. "Do you serve the Empire? If so then you are far away from any Imperial post. And you say that you helped fight off an army of Ugrals?"

Uh oh.

How best to go about this… "No, I am not a knight of the Empire, I am a knight of Londor. Though I doubt you've heard of it, it is very far away from her. And yes, with no small part played by the town's guards I may add. I did fight off an army of Ugrals." She didn't say how the guards were slaughtered. She was Unkindled, she was most likely far, far above this land's view of skilled. The Ugrals didn't stand a chance, when she showed up in the town it practically sealed their fate. It would have been worse had the Chosen Unkindled been with her. But… she was wary of the gleam in Brom's eye…

"Say, we're going to depart in the morning for Daret, we are traveling East for the desert. Perhaps you'd like to join us? If not for the desert than at least to Daret?" Eragon looked at Brom with the biggest 'what…' face he could muster. "Brom, we can't, what about Saph—" She curly him off, "I don't mind. I was going to leave in the morning anyways, it's been… too long since I've last had traveling companions. I may not stay the whole way, but why not? At least to Daret I shall join you. They may have spare room in the place of worship, I am unsure." Brom clapped Eragon's shoulder before he could protest, "It's settled then! We'll depart on the morrow. I bid you a good knight, Anri." He led Eragon towards the big building behind her and Anri nodded, giving her farewell before sitting back down. Though after not even ten feet Eragon turned again. "Umm, Aren't you going to join us inside?" She blinked owlishly at him before it clicked, "oh! No thank you, I am perfectly fine out here, I prefer it actually. Good night, Eragon." She watched him nod with a small frown before the two left her, leading a conversation of their own. She let out a tired sigh as she stared into the erratic flames of her little fire. She had many things to think about. Many, many things. Luckily the night was long.

The next interesting happened not a few hours later, Anri wasn't sleeping, she didn't have a reason to. Brom sat across from her, watching her as the flames crackled in the space between them. "Hello again, shouldn't you be sleeping? It's rather late." His lips quirked into a small smirk. "I could ask you the same thing, why aren't you asleep?" She gave him that with a small huff of amusement. "You have a fair point, Brom. I guess you could say that I simply enjoy the night. That and I have much to think about." Brom nodded, silent for a good few minutes as they both stared into the fire. "There was a reason I came out here," that got her attention, "but first, would you mind removing your helmet?"

She froze.

"And… why would you want me to do such a thing?" He shrugged before responding, "I simply feel more comfortable when I see the face of the person I'm talking too, surely it's not a problem?" There was something there, she couldn't see it in his eyes but she knew that there was some motive behind this. Was it a test? A trial of trust, perhaps? She didn't respond, but with a frown she slowly brought her hands to her helmet and listen it off of her head. What she didn't expect was to actually see a face staring back at her as she briefly saw her reflection in her helmet. Braided dirty-blond hair framed a youthful face, holding two grey-blue eyes. She was shocked, but didn't show anything as she put the helmet next to her. To say the least, that wasn't what she was supposed to look like.

"How does one so young have eyes so old?" Brom was staring intently at her, he could garner many things from this. First and foremost: she wasn't a Shade. This way he would also be able test her face for reactions, something was off about her and he intended to find out what it was. She blinked owlishly before responding, a responsive quirk? "The place I come from… is not forgiving." This was it. "Tell me about it, it's undoubtedly clear that you aren't from here. I've been alive for a long time, and I've traveled to many, many places. Not once have I ever heard of a place called Londor. And I've certainly never heard of a town by the name of Lothric."

Anri was frowning, this was the exact topic she was hoping to avoid. "It's a long story, and rightfully so. As I've never heard of an "Empire," and if what Eragon said was true, the tales of dragons that I've heard are much different." She didn't know how to talk about this, luckily he had a solution for her. "The night is long, and we have time. Perhaps a trade of information is in order? A question for a question perhaps?" Tentatively she nodded, and so they traded. She told him of Lothric, of Londor, and the Age of Fire. He told him his history, of the Dragon Riders, the betrayal, the Empire. To say she didn't like the Empire was an understatement. Attacking its own citizens? Sacrificing innocents? It was hitting close to home for her. So she continued, and told him of Aldrich. She told him of her journey and the final confrontation. She didn't want to tell him about her being undead, so she replaced it with a tale of her being cursed. Cursed not to die, and forced to continue fighting. He was concerned for her, that actually made her feel happy, very few people were concerned or worried for each other back in Lothric. She also told him of the Darksign, he wanted to see it but they decided to do so at a later date. Eventually there drew to Brom and Eragon's reason of travel. "We're on our way to meet up with the Varden. The resistance group, if you will. It is imperative that we reach them, it's why we wish to leave at first light. I cannot say why, it's a closely guarded secret, but knowing that you don't hold allegiance? If you could help us—" She cut him off, "I'll do it," he stopped when he realized what she said. "—at least for a few towns, wait. What?" She smiles honestly at him, "I'll help you, I am a knight of Astora. If this will help innocents in the long run then I'll help you. I'm honor-bound to do so. Besides, like I said, it's been too long since I've had traveling companions.

He gave her an incredulous look, "you're sure? We also hunt a group called the Ra'zac. They are very dangerous." To that, she laughed. "Did you not listen when I described Lothric? I am no stranger to peril, Brom. I've fought most of my life. In all honesty I've not a memory of peace. You need all the help you can get." He continues to stare at her, though a small smile did grace his features. "You're not going to waver in this, are you?" She simply shook her head before responding. "We've a long journey ahead of us, get some sleep. If it makes you feel better then I'll follow suit." He sighed and nodded, the two gave their farewells and Anri was once again left alone.

She stood up, picking up her helmet, and walked into a nearby house. Luckily she found a mirror pretty quickly, she needed to confirm this.

The face of a shocked young woman stared back at her when she looked at the mirror. She watched her reflection bring a gauntleted hand to her face, and felt cold steel touch her cheek. She watched intently as her cheek molded to the touch before moving the hand to pull on her hair. She winced at the unfamiliar pain. This was her? It was the face that one would see on a noble. Fair, unblemished, young.

She looked like a daughter of Gwyn.

That thought had her taking a few steps back. That, was borderline blasphemy. She gave a chuckle at this kind of thought. She had faced the Deep, the horrors of Lothric. She faced Aldrich. Her own face was the thing that unnerved her? When did she look like this? Did she ever look like this? Was this even her face? Was—no. She shook her head. She already got lost in her head too easily, that line of thought was a descent into madness. Though… She looked down and unclasped a gauntleted hand, removing it. A dainty and smooth hand was what she saw. So it was her entire body? She would have to discover that at a later date. She… didn't exactly feel comfortable disrobing in an unsecured house. This was all starting to make her head hurt. That thought in mind, she put her gauntlet back in and picked up her helmet. She stared at the faceplate for a good few minutes before putting it on. Instantly a sense of familiarity hit her. She looked at the mirror.

Anri of Astora looked back at her.

Not that… Doll. Not that perfect and unscarred face. This was who she was.

She tore her eyes away and went back to her bonfire, sitting down and looking at the sky. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. They would be departing in a few hours. She would be ready.

Come Dawn, she was up and working. When the sun made itself known she began breaking up her small little camp, putting out the fire and taking count of her supplies. She didn't have any estus, which would most likely be an issue if she was drawn into prolonged battle. She would have to rely on her armor and her skills as a warrior to keep her safe. She had some throwing knives, not many but they would be useful. She had quite a few prism stones left over from the Catacombs, might be a good source of coin in this world but not much use other than that. Other than that she had a change of clothes that was who-knows-how-old, if she ever wanted to be in something other than her armor. That thought wasn't very appealing to her, so those clothes probably wouldn't be used. Other than that she had the armor on her back, her sword, and her crested shied. In reality that was all that she would need, her weapon was made of Londorian make. She wasn't worried about it dulling, not in the slightest. Her armor wouldn't need much maintenance unless she met something that was more than a match for her, the same went for her shield. To her knowledge she didn't require food or rest, though that might have changed. She looked… She looked a lot different, maybe that wasn't all that was changed. Overall she was confident, much more confident then any of her travels in Lothric.

So with that done, she put her shield on her back leaned against a building and crossed her arms, waiting. She watched the sun rise into the sky and briefly considered going to wake them up before she heard a commotion coming from the place of worship. Eragon stumbled from the building, rubbing his eyes and obviously still waking up. Brom came out right after him, much more composed and awake than his younger counterpart. Anri looked on with amusement as Eragon tried to function until he was awake. It was understandable of course, not everybody was used to functioning in the wee hours of the day. With a small grunt she pushed off the wall and approached them, giving a small wave which they returned. One much more subdued than the other. "A good morning to you, Brom and Eragon. Did you sleep well?" She already knew the answer; one slept much better than the other. It was Brom who replied first, "and a good morning to you, Anri, are you ready to go?" Eragon also have a small mumble in greeting, and she swore she heard him say something about a sapphire? Maybe she was hearing things.

"I am, I've taken inventory of my supplies and am ready to depart when you two are. You said our destination is a town called Dart?" What a strange name, well, a strange name for an equally strange land, she thought. Brom laughed before clarifying, "No, you're close though. The town's name is Daret… Are you pouting, Anri?" She couldn't have been that obvious. She had a helmet on! "No, and it's a confusing name. I'm not from your land…" It only got worse when Brom laughed more, it being at her expense. And then Eragon joined in, "Ah! You betray me, siding with that fiend!" Eragon raised his hands, trying and failing to stop laughing. However, despite her words, she found herself laughing along as the three made their way out of the destroyed town of Yazuac and onto the road. They made idle conversation as the sun rose ever higher, until they spoke of a topic that genuinely drew her interest.

"Eragon, I think it would be best if I started teaching you magic. You'll need a basic understanding by the time we reach the Varden, and the more you know the better." Eragon lit up at that, clearly excited at the prospect of learning magic. That statement however genuinely shocked Anri. "You're a sorcerer, Brom? I wouldn't have thought you to be one." He looked at her with those intelligent eyes before responding, "well, in different words, but yes. I can use magic, and I'm rather skilled at it." With a very foreign word a ball of flame burst into life above his hand. He was a pyromancer? That wasn't even taking into account the fact he just casted magic without a pyromancer's flame.. "You… did that without a flame. How?" Brom looked at her genuinely confused for a moment before his eyes lit up in realization. "Where you come from you have a different system of magic, don't you? And if I'm correct a very, very different one at that." Eragon wasn't talking but she could tell he was very interested. "You would be correct, the use of magic where I come from has a very complicated story, and if we had more time I would tell it. As we do not, I'll do my best to give you the brief summary. Our system of magic is broken into three categories; Miracles, Sorceries, and Pyromancies. Each has different uses and different ways of being casted. To me, you have just used a pyromancy, without the main source of that magic. Miracles require a talisman, and sorceries require a staff. Unfortunately that is about all I can explain." She looked away and crossed her arms in an embarrassed fashion. "I do not know any form of magic from my homeland. I am a knight first and foremost."

Brom nodded, taking everything she said in and committing it to memory. The more he learned about her and her homeland the better. Though, this did bring forth an opportunity he hadn't considered. "You know, you may be able to learn the magic of our land, it's certainly possible and I wouldn't mind taking another student. And there's another thing I hadn't taken into thought. Eragon here is in need of a teacher of combat. If you're a knight then you might be perfect for that role. "Both Amir's and Eragon's eyes locked into each other, even if hers were covered by her helmet. "Y-You really think you might be able to teach me?" She looked down briefly, while she didn't exactly teach people, she did practice her swordsmanship rather often. His sword was very similar in make and style to hers, and she could easily fight without her shield. Huh, it actually had a high chance of working.

She looked back at him and tilted her head to one side. "Yes, I would be glad to teach you, Eragon. Be warned though, I will not go easy on you. Such is not in my nature. I come from a place where most creatures tried to kill me, I will teach you as if you would be going there. It will not be easy." She expected fear, and she did get some, but what she didn't expect was the determination in his eyes to quickly replace that fear. It was odd how that made her proud. "I'll still do it. I'll take whatever you can throw at me. I'll learn as much as you can teach me." Behind her helmet she smiled, and nodded her head at him. "Good, we will begin soon, for now we have a town to reach. A town that I will most likely not be able to pronounce." Once again that got a good few laughs. "This may very well be the simplest name you encounter in this land, if you don't get it then I fear what will happen when we get to the dwarves."

Oh joy. Something told her that this wasn't something that she would ever live down. "Let us just continue this journey, my… difficulties with names aside I am still excited to see more of your land."

So it was, for with the troubles they would now face, Eragon would have the aid of a blue sentinel.

In another part of the world, another wayward soul found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. Atop a large mountain range he let his gaze wander over this new and strange world, for that is what it was. It was odd, that much was certainly true. However, it was another thing, something that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was peaceful, there was no strife in these mountains. The figure looked to his side, appraising the large Sword-Spear in his hand. What would he do now in this new land? He was a total stranger, there was no one like him. He was alone.

A furious wind from behind him dashed that thought from his mind.

Well, maybe he wasn't totally alone. The large Storm-Drake behind him would accompany him, as it had for countless years. Word would most likely spread, of a drake-rider garbed in tattered gear, wielding an odd weapon. Yes, word would undoubtedly spread of him. It mattered not, he would continue as he always would, no bell would toll here.

He would remain Nameless.

So here it is, the end of the first actual chapter of Blue Sentinels. Whew. I do realize that this is not 5,000 words, but I still feel like this is a good ending point. Next stop is Daret, and all that comes after it. How will the story change now that Anri is committed to helping our young Dragon Rider. And how will she react to said Dragon. The explanation of the Dark Souls Magic system is meh, but it's meant to be like that. Anri can't use magic, it would make sense that she would only know the basics. I'm regards to her humanity, all will be revealed.

Regards to All, Digital.