To Those Who Are Prepared to Die! · 1:09am Jun 26th, 2016
My side project: Only Embers Remain. A Dark Souls crossover much unlike what ever has been seen before. Here's some introduction.
"Yes, indeed. This be the land of Equestria..."
A hoof stretched out of a sandy grave. It was a half-rotten hoof that was covered in rusted steel plates and broken chain mail. The hoof clutched the side of the grave's edge, letting all the dirt and sand slide off it like a waterfall. It was weak and skinny, full of signs that it had not seen the sky in decades. With the feeble strength, it pushed upward, displacing more and more sand.
"Once a proud nation, ruled by the Alicorn Princesses of old..."
Another hoof burst from the sand with twice the effort as the first. This one was missing some of the armored plates, but it acted the same way. It took hold of the other side of the grave and with sheer determination, pushed the rest of the pony upward.
"It was an Age of Prosperity, an Age of Hope, an Age of Harmony. That was until the Fires started the fade..."
The tip of a knight's helmet emerged from the sandy grave. The visor and breathing holes allowed the loose sand to pour out from within the helmet. Two bony ears protruded from the back of the helmet. The steel of the helm was filthy and not a gleam shined from it. The original shine was lost and all that remained were the scratches and dents of battles past.
"With the Fires fading, Hope was lost and the Undead began to rise..."
A startled breath came from within the helmet. It was more of a frightened gasp than anything else. The high-pitched wail disturbed nothing as there was nothing in sight. The eyes of this rising warrior looked upon the sand that was everywhere. It was not sand, but ash. A gray and loose ash that had no end in sight.
"Not even the six Bearers of Harmony, who were the heroes of the land, could stop the Fires from growing dark..."
After the helmet came two shoulders, both with short pauldrons that were loosely strapped on the pony. A wingless torso followed, being dressed in a golden garb that rested over the steel plates that almost completed the armor. Like everything else, it showed the signs of tear and neglect as it had sat under the ash for years untold.
"The Younger Sister, who did not believe in the Fires, deserted her companions to seek a new Hope. A Hope that will survive without Light..."
The warrior let out a deranged groan and pulled itself out of the ashen grave completely. Upon standing up, its back legs in identical armor as its fronts, fell to the sand, unable to keep balance. A tail of faded bluish color followed the weak moving corpse. The warrior kept a shallow breathing, making the ash in front of it's muzzle wisp into the air that only blocked its vision.
"The Dragons of the Southern Badlands left Equestria to its doom, but soon realized the Undead Curse did not spare any species..."
The warrior placed all its hooves firmly in the ash and stood up with arduous effort. It looked upon the land that it has just awoken to. Ash, nothing but ash and the ancient signs of conflict. Swords and forgotten corpses of griffons and ponies dotted the ashen landscape. Mountains lined the horizons in every direction, but any actual distance could not be determined by the solid gray color of the world.
"With no other options, the Princess of the Sun, who would do anything for her home, sacrificed herself to the Fires to keep the flames of Hope alive..."
One hoofstep after the other, the warrior trudged along the wasteland. Not a thought was spent trying to remember why the world was so ruined. The warrior knew nothing but the faintest of memories in a life long gone. The undead pony reached a sword, pulled it out of the ash, and strapped it on the back with thin leather straps that were also on the swords. Something told it that this particular sword belong to it, but that was nothing but a peculiar feeling.
"Her sacrifice extended the Age of Hope and the Age of Harmony, but not even she could stop the Fires from fading once more..."
The walking was exhausting to the warrior. It slid the helmet's visor upward, revealing the face of a young mare, old beyond number. Her eyes were gray and unclear, her lips dried and some of it missing, and her fur was caked with ash and dirt. She tried to say something, but only a guttural sound came from within her parched throat.
"Then came an Age of Conflict when all the species tried to save themselves, only to fall faster into Oblivion..."
The warrior sat down on her haunches, making a rattling noise that died down in the ceaseless wind. With one hoof, she shook the ash off the other to see that her fur color was an off-white. She could not tell if this was her actual color, or simply the signs of being under ash for an innumerable amount of years.
"The Fires faded, yes indeed, and all Hope was lost. Equestria succumbed to the Undead Curse, not even the Alicorn Princesses escaped it..."
She pulled the visor back over her face and marched onward to a location she knew nothing about. The hoof prints left behind her disappeared in the violent breeze that carried the ash and sand about. Her wandering took her passed the skeletons of the griffons and the corpses of the ponies, even passed the massive skull of a dragon.
"There is spoken, however, of a prophecy. A prophecy where one Undead will rise and rekindle the fading flames in the attempt to restore the Age of Hope. A prophecy of an awakening that will shake the world and start another age to be remembered."
The warrior found a torn thin cloak that was caught on a spear. She raised her visor, took the cloak in her mouth, and fashioned a shawl to block the flying ash. With squinting eyes, she pressed on against the wind, going somewhere she thought would be best. She could barely see the outline of a sign of civilization; or, perhaps, the remains of one.
As a person who never played Dark Souls before, I'm actually feel eager to read this when it comes out.
4048866 I tried to base it off of the Dark Souls openings
Hmm... interesting, I wonder if that is an OC or a certain character.
4049295 OC, but you know me, I rarely use OCs. So expect her to be the only one.
4049556 She's an OC? well that destroyed my theory of her being gleaming shield or Vinyl...
and I though the eyes were just grey because she is dead. But still, this might be interesting.
4049683 Well, your prediction is not entirely off....
I'll stop there.
I'll just say expect the usual suspects.
Ooo, spicy~
4051411 like salsa