Before you panic, no this is not a notification Familiar of Souls is cancelled.

It's not undergoing a rewrite either.

Consider this my admission that I bit off a fairly large project. Familiar of Zero is a fairly large series, and attempting to combine that with something as vague in lore as Dark Souls and you're pretty much bound to either take the easy way out and take an established character or do a reverse crossover (bringing FoZ into Dark Souls).

I enjoyed writing the first 6 chapters of the story, something that I've been trying to forcefully recapture in Chapter 7; something I've advised many authors against.

So I'm going to take my own advice and go on an extended break in order to recapture my spark. I don't want to force my muse because last time I tried that I ended up scrapping the majority of my projects in a fit of frustration.

To show I have been writing, here's what I've written. Consider this a two month waiting apology.

Fouquet watched the scene from the safety of the bushes. What sort of magic did that girl use? No magic just makes things explode… She eyed a spiderlike crack running down the wall, just beyond the training wall that the spell splashed a little onto. It's a tiny opening, but still one I can take advantage of. She knelt and chanted as the earth rippled and changed under her.

"Now Zerbst, since you've lost, I never should see you near my familiar again!" Louise shouted triumphantly, her nose in the air.

Kirche was not looking too well, moping on her hands and knees in an OTL position.

Tabitha watched this, slightly bemused, before returning her gaze to Louise's familiar. His eyes were still glazed as he stared at some far off point in the sky.

Abruptly, she felt something, a rumble in the ground. Kirche and Louise had noticed it as well, and turned to see a massive earthen golem heading for them.

Kirche ran off screaming, and the noise was enough to break the familiar out of whatever daze he was in. "Wha…"

Then his eyes fell onto the golem and immediately he rose to his feet, hand clutching the staff and the other unsheathing the white metal sword at his hip. "A Giant? Here? How?" he muttered, before white energy gleamed around the crystal and a blue vapor rose from the ground around him. The air hummed in anticipation, and with a roar, four white spears of light erupted from the sapphire in his staff.

. . . . .

How could a Giant possibly be here in this land? I slew their leader, the rest should've fled back across the sea! Tayrr thought rapidly.

Dread filled his heart.

Or is this the land beyond the sea, the Giants' home?

If so, then he needed to gather every civilian in this land and promptly evacuate back to Drangleic. King Vendrick would likely take them back in-

The rasp of a rotten corpse as it fell sideways, disintegrating into red ash, the exquisite crown and sword falling with a clatter to the stone floor.

He grunted in mild exertion. He had time to think of that later, now he had to eliminate this giant.

It was a meager one, and did not even have its weapon. It would be a simple matter to eliminate it with his sorcery.

. . . . .

Fouquet muffled her shriek under her hood. She was planning to step over the still sitting youth but he quickly focused on her before promptly using magic to defend himself. And he was doing a very good job of it.

His projectiles, whatever they were, were piercing her golem with absurd ease and efficiency. If she didn't get out of here quickly then the golem would likely disintegrate and she'd be captured. She gazed longingly at the spiderline crack in the school's wall before lurching back and ambling towards the wall and leaping over it. Mid jump, blazing heat and fire hit the golems arm and roughly half of it was blown apart. The moment the golem landed beyond the gate she disintegrated it and ran to the darkness.

Tayrr still had his hand raised in a ready position, the flame burning angrily, before slowly lowering it. It was quick for a Giant; had he not gotten it fleeing with Forbidden Sun then he likely would have lost it.

Now, however… now he had to see Osmond. As well as retrieve the rest of his equipment. He would not hear out Louise's request, not now that there was a hostile entity roaming nearby.

. . . . .

The following morning, there was quite a commotion over last night.

Someone had attempted to break into the tower containing the vault using an Earth golem, but was repelled by Vallière's familiar. The Earth golem was the signature tell of Fouquet, and it being the first time the thief had ever been repelled, the staff was naturally impressed.

However some teachers could only be angry at the fact the vault had been targeted in the first place.

"How daring of him to target the academy!"

"Who was on duty last night?" a teacher snapped.

Mrs. Chevreuse felt a little anxious. She was on duty last night, but had shrugged off her duty wondering who would attempt to steal from the academy.

One of the teachers saw her guilty expression and called her out. "Mrs. Chevreuse! You were on duty last night, am I wrong?"

She shook her head, her eyes beginning to water. "I'm sorry… very sorry."

Old Osmond stepped in then. "Now is not the time to be hard on the lady."

The teacher who had begun to build momentum to a tirade responded "But headmaster, Mrs. Chevreuse failed in her duty! She was sleeping when she was supposed to be on watch."

The old wizard contemplatively stroked his beard while gazing at the shaken teacher.

"What's your name again?"

"Gimli! You forgot?"

"Ah, Gimli! Well, don't get angry. No true damage was done, and besides, how many of you can honestly say you're always vigilant during this duty?"

The teachers looked down in shame. Some of them could not deny having dozed off.

"I think all of us, myself included, are accountable for this incident. Why did we think that Fouquet would never target the academy? Was it the number of mages here that gave us the assurance we won't be attacked? This is fundamentally wrong," Osmond solemnly said.

He twisted the butt of his staff on the stone tile and continued, "Our complacency gave Fouquet the courage to trespass and attempt to rob us. We might have lost valuable standing in the eyes of the students' families."

He cleared his throat. "Now, do we know who witnessed the theft, and who was the one who repelled Fouquet?"

Colbert indicated the group of people behind him. "These four."

Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, and most unusually, and Louise's familiar. There was… no doubt the youngest child of the Vallière had a familiar who was also a mage.

"Oh… you four…" Osmond's eyes were fixed on the hooded youth, who returned his gaze levelly.

"Please tell us about the event in depth."

The familiar answered, cutting off his master who stepped forward. "A golem was heading for the walls of the school. I stopped it."

The staff immediately began fuming about the rude familiar, but were hesitant in saying this, fearing he may interpret it as a "challenge". None of them were quite confident in facing a mage who could materialize lightning with his bare fist.

The headmaster hummed a bit. "Did you see who was controlling the golem?"

"Black hooded cloak. Couldn't tell the gender."

"Yes, that is definitely Fouquet. Nice to have confirmation."

Louise muttered, "We wanted to give chase, but by the time we scaled the walls with the help of Tabitha's dragon, all we saw was a mound of earth."

Osmond noticed someone was missing. "Where is Miss Longueville?"

The gathered teachers blinked collectively, before their sweeping gazes confirmed the secretary was indeed not present.

"I haven't seen her since this morning…"

"Where could she have gone?"

The green haired secretary slipped into the room in the midst of these voices.

"Miss Longueville! Where have you been? Something terrible has happened!" Colbert said anxiously.

"I'm extremely sorry to be late," she said coolly and calmly. Tayrr's eyes flickered to the secretary. "I was doing some investigations. So…"

"Investigations?"

"Yes. There was a lot of commotion this morning, but nothing seemed to be disturbed when I searched the school. So I went into the villages around the area and asked around."

"Very efficient, Miss Longueville," Colbert praised the secretary briefly before returning to urgency. "Did you find out anything?"

"Yes, the whereabouts of Fouquet."

"What! Where did you get this information?" Colbert asked.

"According to the commoners around the area, they saw a person wearing a black hooded cloak entering an abandoned house in the nearby forest. I think the person is most likely Fouque and that abandoned house is most likely his hideout."

She was taking a risk, she knew, by tipping her hand. But perhaps while they went to investigate her hideout, she would have another crack at pilfering the Staff of Ruin.

Louise exclaimed "A black hooded cloak? That has to be Fouquet!"

Tayrr still watched the secretary. And just what are you plotting, woman… This Longueville was an extremely smooth liar. No flicker of expression at all. But she was a terrible actor. Should she not be in panic, like the rest of the faculty members? She was much too calm for an attempted robbery, and if Fouquet is truly as notorious as he is hearing, she should be at the very least happy she has this knowledge...

Perhaps she was different, naturally calm and efficient. Maybe he was just reading too much into things. But, in all his time in Drangleic, outside of Majula's inhabitants only two ever showed true honesty.

That's not being fair to those before the Curse happened.

The monarch bit back a response to the tiny voice in his conscience before the image of red hair and sunlight abruptly shut him up.

The Curse has a habit of changing everything and everyone for the worst.

Osmond asked, rather excitedly at that, "How far is this house from here?"

"By foot it takes half a day, by horse perhaps four hours."

Alarm bells were ringing in Tayrr's mind and he abruptly spoke, "You talk as if you've been there." Ice settled around the room.

Longueville stiffened before smoothly saying, "It's near the village I investigated-"

"And these villagers did nothing? Not even a report to the authorities?" Tayrr's mind was rapidly moving. There should not be a way for Longueville to know the time it takes to get from Fouquet's hideout to the school unless she'd been there, and even if she was speaking the truth surely it was not normal for hooded, cloaked individuals to hideout in abandoned houses?

Longueville stared at him icily for half a minute before crumbling. "Yes, I went myself and investigated the location."

The teachers immediately burst into noise, some asking what she found, others berating her for her lack of self-preservation, Colbert being the latter. The monarch opted to tighten his grip on the Staff of Wisdom, and blue energy began to swirl around the head. A low humming filled the air, drowned out by the noise of the bickering faculty.

"When I went there, the house was empty and I could not find anything of note; it is possible Fouquet moved locations, but it is worth investigating. Perhaps we may find a clue of some sort to his next hideout."

The teachers accepted this without complaint, and the sorcery that had been gathering in his Staff faded. Yes, he was overanalyzing; that was a reasonable action. And it also explains why she knows how long it would take if she rode from there to here. Still, her avoidance of the second question still tugged at his mind.

He would leave it be, however.

Colbert proposed, "We should report this to the Imperial Court! We must seek reinforcements from the imperial army!"

Tayrr tuned out the bickering, seemingly a matter of pride. He drummed his fingers lightly on the metal shaft of his staff. Something was profoundly… wrong… in the air around the vault. It was like… hm… it was like he was standing before Queen Nashandra's portrait in Drangleic Castle, lessened and muted…

Ordinarily, he would not feel the effects, but his studies in the Dark and delving into the Dark Chasms of Old did give him a little more sensitivity to the Dark. It was as if his soul was trying to leave his body… Truth be told, he had no idea how the others in the room did not notice its potentness. Even the tiniest fragment of the primordial Dark could bring ruin to great kingdoms.

Unknown to him, the Crown of the Ivory King's ruby flashed briefly in his pack.

Tayrr's blood ran frigid. This feeling… it was like the laughing jars in the Shaded Woods. That meant there was an artifact of the Dark here. Something here had the potential to Curse life.

Why? Did they not know the risks of having a piece of the Dark? Even he, who delved deep into Dark to study it still had a heavy fear of it.

How? How did a fragment of the Dark surface? Was it a sign the Curse was encroaching on the land? Impossible, the First Flame still burned brightly in the land; there should be no way Dark would overcome Fire, not at this point in time.

He had to discuss this with Osmond. In private; he did not want to unduly panic the other mages.

"And… ah… Miss Vallière comes from a prestigious family, renowned for their mages. She'll be a promising one in the future… and her familiar…"

Tayrr returned his attention to the old wizard upon hearing his title. "He is capable of commanding powerful magic, and repelled Fouquet's golem… He will not be a match for him."

Mr. Colbert coolly added, "Yes, he is, after all, the Myoz-"

Osmond hastily covered the teacher's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "He, he's talking nonsense!" and gave off a nervous chuckle. A silence, painful in its awkwardness, enveloped the room.

Osmond removed his hand and spoke more solemnly. "If anyone thinks they are more capable than those mentioned, please step forward."

None took him on that challenge.

"The academy awaits the capture of Fouquet then!"

The three students stood to attention and said, "We swear upon our wands to capture Fouquet!" and curtsied. Tayrr watched this, bemused at the gesture. He wondered briefly if he should do a duel bow, but… no, there was no reason to. He was not challenging anyone.

"Well, ready the carriage and set off right away. You should conserve your energy before you reach your destination. Miss Longueville, could you go with them as well?"

"I would have to, to show them where the hideout is."

"Osmond," Tayrr's voice, ever calm and collected, betrayed nothing of his increasing worry.

"Yes? What is it, familiar?" the headmaster asked.

"I would have words with you when we return. I believe that something housed here is dangerous," Tayrr curtly said.

"What? What could we be holding that could pose a threat?"

Tayrr thought carefully on this. A careless word would bring questions regarding the Curse, and while he did tell Osmond and Colbert about it, it was because Osmond was the leader of the school, and he saw no reason to dismiss Colbert. But, given the other teachers' rather… volatile temperaments, he was worried about how they would react to housing a potential catalyst to the Dark in their very walls.

"This is not something I am comfortable discussing."

Immediately he was beset by angry questions from the other teachers, while Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha watched, either in worry, interest, or curiosity. Despite their insistence on having the right to know, Tayrr refused to answer their questions.

"Enough! We will discuss this later, familiar of the Vallière. Every moment we waste is another moment Fouquet could be slipping away!" Osmond suddenly shouted, his words suddenly demanding respect. The faculty recoiled, the students flinched in instinctive fear, and the monarch inclined his head.

. . . . .

Tayrr observed the carriage with mild fascination. Most horses in Drangleic had been killed in the battle against the Giants, and by the time he had returned, adorned in the ancient equipment of Heide, the race itself was virtually extinct, considered to be too valuable to risk potentially losing. Many soldiers and even high ranking officials in Drangleic never even rode a horse, not even Captain Drummond, one of the most distinguished captains in the entire Royal Army.

It was an efficient vehicle as well; on the off chance they were attacked, it could easily be jumped off and fled from. Such a design was to be noted, and he mentally stored a sketch of the carriage in his mind.

His master and Kirche were bickering again. Tayrr sighed and leaned back in his seat. Innovative as the carriage was, it didn't change the fact that it was boring. The quiet sorcerer was reading a book.

Kirche looked… a lot like Natsumi…

He frowned imperceptibly. He didn't see Natsumi again after he departed, but… could this not be considered cheating?

Or was it him subconsciously longing for her that influenced his decision to enter a relationship with the young pyromancer?

And there it is. Two months and that's all I have to show for it.

It's fairly clear, considering the length of the previous chapters (roughly twice the amount of words churned out in a DAY and uploaded in a week) I've clearly lost my spark.

While I'd love to continue writing this, I'm simply not motivated.

At the moment.

I'm reading other fanfictions and playing games when I can, and it's reigniting my spark... albeit in other things.

So, don't worry. This story isn't dead or being cancelled. It's simply going on an extended leave. Hopefully this chapter is enough for two months of waiting.

P.S: What I've written is in its roughest, most base form, with no looking back or adjustments, literally the second after I wrote it. I'd be more descriptive and not use abbreviations like OTL, so to the concerned guest reviewer, I planned to fix it and the abbreviation is just shorthand.