Chapter 54
“Excuse me… dear lady… coo-eee. Time to wake up.”
The Chosen Undead was slowly stirred from her fitful rest by the gentle pressure of metal gauntlets.
“Come on, my good lass. Now’s not a good time to be idle.”
The female tried to bury her face further in Sif’s warm pelt, to chase the momentary peace she’d finally attained.
“Really miss, I apologise for this, but things have gone a bit pear shaped here.”
The metal gauntlets suddenly slapped the Chosen Undead hard across her face, finally bolting her back to wakefulness. Their owner politely jumped back as the warrior was on her feet and had her blade aimed at his throat in the blink of an eye.
“There we go! Aye, siwmae my dear! Pleasure to see you again!”
The female undead blinked and narrowed her eyes as the sight of a bizarre golden face decorated with horns and a pair of black glasses faded into view.
“D-Domnhall of Zena?” She said.
“As we both live, for the moment, and breathe.” The strange armored peddler chuckled. “Truly it is the grace of karma that I got back here in time. The Archives are as welcoming as when I last explored their grandeur.”
The Chosen Undead cocked a confused eyebrow, then turned at the sounds of battle and carnage raging just outside the door of Seath’s study.
“Wha-What’s happening?” She demanded, turning back to Domnhall. “What are you doing here?”
Domnhall raised his hands submissively and stepped further back.
“Oh, what I always do, my good lady. Heading to where the best trinkets and oddities are to be found. A little bird told me it was time I take another look through the Archives, and what do I find when I turn up? Bloodshed, chaos, Seath’s little experiments slaughtering their way through his own work force, oh, and the Grand Duke himself with his daughter, reunited at last. Quite exciting developments all around!” The peddler exclaimed. “I see you’ve managed to bring some more friends into the fold, both new… and old.”
Domnhall looked at Sif. She likewise seemed to be trying to wake up, but the sheer exhaustion from having the Covenant of Artorias forcibly removed from her body was still taking its toll.
“At any rate, where there are souls trying to avoid being butchered, there are buyers in need of wares. What honest merchant could stay away from a prime new location to set up shop?”
The Chosen Undead turned to see Domnhall step over to a spot he’d cleared out by the fireplace. Several chests surrounded a richly woven rug, upon which a few of the crystal weapons the peddler seemed to fancy were laid out.
“I don’t suppose you could spare a moment to look over my stock? I’ve come across some exciting new items that I think you’ll be most interested in trading for!” The peddler reached for one of the chests, only to immediately stop himself as the door splintered from a great axe smashing through it.
“Of course, seeing as there’s trouble brewing, we can always wait until later to do business.” He mused as the Chosen Undead grabbed for her helmet and slid it on.
“I’ll… I’ll have a look afterwards. Sif!” The undead warrior commanded, getting only a weak whimper. She turned to see the great wolf trying to stand up, and failing as her legs shook terribly from exhaustion.
“Sif?” The Chosen Undead said in a more worried tone. Domnhall retracted his hand and instead placed it on the wolf’s side.
“Mmm, I suspected this might happen. Perverting the whole course of destiny does tucker one out.” The peddler chuckled. “Worry not, brave warrior, I’ll stay with her till she’s shaken off her fatigue.”
The Chosen Undead seemed unconvinced, but the return of the great axe to further tear down the door told her this was not the time to argue.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll be back soon as I find out what’s going on, and if anyone needs my aid.”
The warrior ran to the door, using her shoulder as a battering ram to push it open from her side. The bodies outside echoed in shock as the barricade they’d been trying to break through suddenly fought back, knocking several of them onto their backs as the Chosen Undead forded through. She shouldered her massive greatsword and ignited her free gauntlet as the mob of man-serpents and crystallized hollows scrambled to get back up.
“Pob Iwc!” Domnhall bid to her as the undead kicked the door shut behind her while lighting the hallway up with a brilliant pyromancy firestorm. “And as for you...”
The peddler rose again to stand before Sif. He knelt and held his hand in front of her muzzle to test the strength of her breath.
“I can’t deny it’s as much a pleasant surprise as it is a worrying concern to see you still live. All the work done to make it impossible to save you, yet now that things have been allowed to stray off the set path, the impossible has been accomplished. How shall we approach this most unexpected development?” Domnhall pondered. Behind him, the wail of bodies being incinerated and chopped to bits provided some fitting background music as he stared at the struggling wolf.
“Well, clearly someone with great wisdom, valor, and the desire for glory and exploration has taken an interest in this most sordid tale. As a kindred soul, who am I to not let things continue, if only to see where they end up?”
The peddler walked over to his chests and retrieved a familiar looking mushroom. He then grabbed Sif’s muzzle and opened it to toss the mushroom down her throat.
“May that cleanse and rejuvenate your soul. So long as you’re on borrowed time, might as well make the most of it.” The peddler chuckled as Sif instinctively swallowed and thrashed violently.
“Give it a while to work. I honestly have no idea what the effects will be on a being of your ilk, seeing as you were never meant to be a recipient of such a gift...” Domnhall continued as Sif’s eyes slowly opened. “But it seems to be working as intended. Most wonderful!”
The peddler sat back down to hunt in his chests again.
“Hopefully you’ll soon be well enough by the time your new friends get here to convince them to trade for a few of my other offerings. I made sure I sized them correctly to fit.” Domnhall mused as he set down Artorias’ helm, along with Gwyndolin’s Dark Sun crown.
***
Back in the Tomb of Giants, Patches remained perched over the pit he’d kicked Trixie into, listening intently to the groans and shuffles of feet making their way over to the new victim. He sighed as if almost regretful at having to send the unicorn to her fate. Key word there being ‘almost’.
“Darn shame. First time I’ve ever seen an equine be dumb enough to venture down here. Kind of made for a nice change of pace.” The human shrugged. “Oh well, I’ll make sure to pray for her after I strip her of all her treasure. A dark soul to her memory and all that, since I never got to know her.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too quick to say that.”
Patches promptly froze, then whipped around upon hearing another voice behind him. A light suddenly clicked on in the dark and blinded him momentarily, just long enough for his chest to receive the same treatment he’d delivered to Trixie’s flank.
“I personally saw Trixie take a giant sword to the gut and come back right as rain. So why don’t you stick around? I’m sure she’s really eager to get to know you now!” Pinkie grinned as she bucked Patches over the edge of the hole, sending him down to join his victims. She clicked off the flashlight she’d been holding and trotted over to peer into the darkness.
“Trixie, if you’re still down there, I need to go take care of a few things! When you’re done doing… whatever you want with that bald creep, use this!”
Pinkie slid a ladder down into the pit, anchoring it to the top.
“Consider it my way of saying sorry! If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask one favor in return.”
Pinkie’s mane deflated as she flicked out a balisong knife from it.
“Save that creep’s head for me. That shiny dome of his would make a lovely Nightmare Night mask after I cut it off and tan it! Hee hee hee!”
The pink turned and ran off back towards the catacombs, her laughter echoing all around the darkness in her wake.
***
There was no more pain. The impact of Trixie hitting the ground at speed still registered, but by this point she’d fallen so often and so far it no longer hurt. All she fell now was cold, hard, deathly emptiness inside her.
Letting out a few tired sobs, the unicorn slowly pushed herself to her hooves. Around her the darkness slowly closed its many long and impenetrable fingers, robbing her of both light and hope.
“Why...” She whispered, feeling her rump sting from the impact of Patches boot upon it. “What did Trixie do to deserve this?”
The darkness echoed with groans. Though the fall hadn’t broken any of her bones, Trixie still felt like she wasn’t going to be able to move.
“All she wanted was to do one good thing with her life! To make up for her mistakes! To show she’s not… not just some charlatan, working cheap parlor tricks!”
Shapes slowly materialised from the dark. The clank of metal armor moving with two heavy bodies grew louder alongside the groans.
“Instead, she gets betrayed and punished… again… and again… AND AGAIN!”
The shapes slowly gained definition. Haggard, exaggerated movements, large bipedal anatomies, the gaunt, withered visages of souls gone hollow.
Gritting her teeth, Trixie lit up her horn. Indeed there were two beings, dressed in heavy plate mail and armed with mace and shield. Their mouths were drawn open in a final, agonized scream of silent suffering, their bodies limping towards her as if weighed down by the disgraceful way in which they had perished.
Trixie honestly couldn’t blame them.
“Is this Trixie’s fate? Is she… am I to never be allowed a chance to redeem myself?” She asked in despair. The two hollows quickened their pace, drawn to the unicorn like starving wolves to a fresh steak. Trixie knew she should try to fight back, but what was the point? After them, there’d be more, and more still after those.
“Should she just let herself end it here?” The unicorn muttered as maces were raised to cave in her skull. The impending moment of doom seemed to stretch on, prolonging the unicorn’s agonising want to just give up.
The only reason she didn’t… was the sudden appearance of a literal light in the dark.
“No!”
The two hollows turned, and were sent flying against the wall of the pit by a force miracle.
“Nico, Vince, please! Not another!”
Trixie turned, blinking as a white, almost angelic figure stepped out from behind a towering stalagmite. She was dressed in a fairly pristine hooded robe of white spun cloth, her features noticeably soft and human, if tightened by an expression of despair. Her hands glowed with golden light as she approached Trixie.
“You… you are the one who spoke to me from above, are you not?” The lady said. “The Great and Powerful Trixie?”
The unicorn blinked then nodded.
“Yeah, I was.” She said in shock. “Was trying to figure out how to rescue you, when that Patches jerk kicked me in here!”
The robed female’s face fell.
“It is as I feared. That lout tricked you as he did us! My comrades, Vince and Nico, were badly injured in the fall. I prayed for their survival, but they succumbed and turned hollow.” She lamented. “My name is Rhea of Thorolund, and it seems my frailty and ignorance are again to blame for our predicament.”
Trixie turned as the groans of bodies heaving themselves from the ground echoed through the pit.
“I have been trying to hide from my escorts, unable to at last end their suffering. When I heard your voice, I believed the gods had at last answered my prayers. It seems I only succeeded in distracting you long enough for that horrid beast to send you to the same fate as myself!”
Vince and Nico slowly shambled into the pool of light from Rhea’s hands and Trixie’s horn.
“I… I am sorry Great and Powerful Trixie. My doom is now yours as well.” Rhea mournfully stated. Trixie looked from her to the hollows. Her teeth ground against each other as she felt herself feel slightly less hollow, like something was worming its way back into her guts. Not as a parasite, but as an ember, something to fan the flames of one particularly strong emotion.
Anger.
“I… that is, Trixie, just killed herself twenty times over to get down here and find you… and now that she has, you believe all is lost?” The unicorn declared. Rhea looked at her in shock, then at her former escorts.
“I… I could not let them take the life of another… but neither can I bring myself to kill my only two remaining friends!”
Her hands fell to her sides as Vince and Nico ran at her with intent to not return her mercy. Trixie scowled as she felt her own building rage start to burn out of control.
“Well then, get out of Trixie’s way, sister! She needs to vent on something!”
The unicorn’s horn flared wildly, drawing Vince and Nico’s attention in time for them to witness the second force miracle that sent them crashing into the wall again.
Rhea gasped as Trixie now walked to her former comrades with a purpose. Her horn flared and blasted them again, and again, each stream of golden energy burning with twice the intensity of the one before it.
“Trixie… has… had… ENOUGH… of this!” The unicorn growled as the thoroughly battered and smoking hollows forced themselves to get up again. She took a deep breath, summoning what energy she had left to hit them again. She reared in preparation to make these worthless wastes of flesh pay for all her hardship, then felt something rattle against her back from her movement.
Vince and Nico shambled at their attacker, who in turn put her hooves down and let out her breath.
“She came down here to rescue a soul.” Trixie growled as she levitated the Astora straight sword from its sheath. “And she is walking out of here with that soul. Period.”
The hollows showed they cared not with another charge. Trixie showed she was likewise devoid of any more mercy as she swung her blade with all her might, and felt it cut through a mass of dried out flesh.
Nico felt to the ground, his head bouncing several inches away from his body. A mass of souls erupted from his corpse and surged into Trixie’s body, giving her a second wind to turn and face down Vince. The second hollow knight swung for the fences with his mace. Trixie ducked under it, using her smaller stature to avoid the attack and move to a new position, where she could let loose with her last blast of magic to knock Vince off his feet.
The knight fell to the ground, and moved to get back up.
Trixie turned her sword downward with her magic, and pinned the damned hollow permanently to the rock, the divinely enchanted blade going through Vince’s neck, and leaving him squirming helplessly for a few minutes. Gradually, his body stilled, and the souls contained within it left his withered flesh to give Trixie the energy she needed to spit on the useless knight.
Silence fell as Trixie got her breath back, her body no longer feeling paralysed by the loss of hope. Rhea cautiously approached her, aghast at what she had just witnessed.
“Vince… Nico… you killed them...”
Trixie glared at her.
“Yes, Trixie did. You couldn’t bring yourself to do it, and the universe seems adamant that Trixie will never be allowed to do anything good, so she decided to stop caring.”
Rhea dropped to her knees under the unicorns disdainful eyes.
“Do you have a problem with that?” Trixie demanded.
Rhea held up her hands.
“No, none at all, I assure you! Their banishment… terrible as it was to witness… it had to be done! I bear you no ill will, Great and Powerful Trixie! Only thanks, and praise.”
Trixie furrowed her brow as Rhea reached over to Vince’s body, removing a scroll from the pack slung around his waist.
“Here, this belonged to them. A parting gift from our teachers. Your command of miracles is exemplary. You deserve it more than I!” She said, handing the scroll over to Trixie. Cautiously the unicorn took it in her magic and unrolled it.
“Replenishment? A miracle by which the faithful shall not fall easily?” She read. Rhea nodded.
“The means by which you will no longer need to rely solely on estus to heal your wounds. It is the least I can do on behalf of myself and my escorts.”
Trixie furrowed her brow again.
“I assure you, Vince and Nico would be grateful for your doing what I could not. They may rest easy now, having been saved from their suffering by another of our faith.” Rhea explained.
Now Trixie hung her head.
“Trixie fears she is not of your faith. Well, she’s not a cleric at least. She just happened upon a guy named Petrus who taught her a few new spells.”
Rhea looked shocked again.
“Petrus? He made it out alive?”
Trixie nodded, much to Rhea’s sadness.
“Then perhaps he realised my weakness before I did, and thus made the decision to abandon me when I lead us into danger. I can hardly blame him now.” The white robed female said before clenching her fists. “However, if he still lives, then I must reunite with him. To let him know of what became of me down here.”
Trixie sighed and shook her head.
“Trixie is just as eager to get out of here too, but seeing as we’re at the bottom of a pit, that’s going to require some thinking as to how...”
THUNK!
Unicorn and human went silent at the sound of another body hitting the floor at speed. They turned and cast their light in its direction, finding Patches now lying at the bottom of a ladder that had apparently appeared as if by magic.
“Wha? Ooogh… what just happened? Feels like I just got hit by a battering ram!” The bald human groaned as he clutched his ribs. “Ngh… well, whomever that was is going to get a serious beating once I get out of here. Just gotta check that… that...”
Patches looked up, finding himself staring into the light of both Rhea and Trixie.
“Oh… there you are! Right as rain! Heh heh… oh dear.” He whimpered.
***
“Yes, through here! I’m almost certain this path leads to the outside!” Siegmeyer declared as he fought his way down the stairs through a wall of crystallized hollows. “Definitely remember Griggs and I passing through a similar looking chamber, at least during our first trek to the Crystal Caverns.”
Applejack mopped her damp brow and let out a tired huff as she drew another arrow from her quiver.
“At this point, Ah don’t care if it leads to another cliff into nothingness like so many other places here seem to. Jest so long as Ah get some room to breathe!” The farm pony whimpered as she attempted to notch the arrow in her bow, while simultaneously not trip over the bodies littering the stairs and floor. “One second we’re havin’ a nice drink and a moment of peace. Folk leavin’ us be, all nice and neat. Next those same folk are blasting the door down and forcing us to basically swim through their corpses! What the hay gives with this place??”
Siegmeyer gauged the deep carpet of bodies he’d laid down, and the replacements attempting to climb over their deceased brethren to continue the attack. Paying Seath’s hollowed slaves a prayer of apology, the knight climbed on top of his most recent kills, his armored boots sinking into their soulless flesh as he resumed cutting his way through.
“Any and all number of things. Worry not, my good equine, I’m certain we’ll soon have an explanation for what’s going on.” Siegmeyer soothed as he shoulder charged an archer, knocking it into a soldier hollow. Both stumbled backwards, then managed to find their footing as the knight charged for the door. They made to intercept him, only for the soldier to stop, then drop when an arrow lodged itself in his leg. The archer turned, and received a complimentary follow up in its chest.
“If nothing else, you’ve been most excellent company during this rather unpleasant turn of events.” He said as Applejack shot the archer hollow one more time for good measure, then paused to catch her breath as her foe joined its brethren on the floor, souls bursting from its flesh to infuse her own with fresh energy.
“Ah’ll… Ah’ll be even better company once Ah know what happened to the rest of our friends.” Applejack panted. “If this many hollow made it their business to come get us, what happened to Twilight? Or Rarity? Or Spike? Or Rainbow? Or Fluttershy?”
Siegmeyer kicked another hollow through the door, then exhaled in relief as he stepped out onto some manner of scaffolding overlooking the courtyard.
“Well, it appears we shall at least have the addition of two more numbers to help us answer that question!” He declared. “Seems the Grand Duke and his daughter also had the right idea of stepping out for some fresh air to clear their heads and settle on how to deal with this uprising.”
Applejack joined the knight, and blinked in amazement at seeing Seath and Priscilla holding their own against the crystal golems massing upon them from every direction. Priscilla was doing her best to slow the lumbering bodies of glistening blue stone with her blizzard powers, while Seath was focusing his attention on an even great mass of crystal that seemingly was growing out from a cavern on the far side of the courtyard.
“Okay. That’s something at least.” Applejack groaned. “Means Ah can give Seath a few choice words about how the service of this place has gone way downhill since Ah got here.”
Pony and knight jumped off the scaffolding and onto the grass below. Applejack made to run to Seath and Priscilla, only to pause as she noticed Siegmeyer turning and react to something in the distance.
“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble, why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll catch up shortly.” The knight said as he pointed to a particular golem, one that stood out from the rest due to its vibrant golden hue. “That rotter there gave Griggs quite a fright and nearly flattened him underfoot during our first visit. Been meaning to give it a sharp reprimand for that!”
Applejack looked to the golden golem then back at Siegmeyer, her face twitching with the obvious reaction of wondering whether the knight had officially lost his mind.
“It won’t take me more than a moment. I promise!” Siegmeyer promised in his usual jovial manner.
Applejack let out another tired sigh and pulled her stetson down over her head.
“Jest, don’t get yerself killed please.” She pleaded as the knight ran off into battle. “Ah’d at least like you to try mah recipe for zap apple cider. See how it compares to that siegbrau o’ yers.”
Shaking her head, Applejack turned and galloped to Priscilla, drawing another arrow to nail the golem antagonizing the crossbreed, and thus add a further tally to both their kills.
“Thank Faust you two are alright! Erm… don’t suppose the same can be said for anyone else?” The farm pony asked as Priscilla ripped her scythe out of the fallen golem.
“Fairest Applejack, a welcome sight thou art indeed.” Priscilla gasped, then looked away. “Alas, we know not if any of thine friends hath been graced with the same good fortune. Nay, we still know not what hath prompted this sudden revolt of the hollows.”
Seath glared in silent rage at the mouth of the crystal cavern, an aura of white light enveloping his hands as more golems climbed out of the glistening hole, accompanied by a few of the maneater clams.
“I begin to suspect, though.” The white dragon snarled as he looked down at Applejack. “Thine medallion, quickly, equine! The one mine channelers gave thee for thine safety!”
Applejack looked at the golden disc she’d attached to the front of her hat. Snorting scornfully she yanked it off and threw it at Seath.
“Gladly. Would love fer you to explain why it suddenly jest stopped working and everything went back to tryin’ to kill us!” She demanded. Seath caught the medallion and focused his sorcery upon it.
“If thou intends to blame I for this treachery, then thou art as mindless as the hollows. T’is no fault in mine work that causeth this restlessness, but the interference of another!”
Seath clutched the medallion to his glowing midsection, curling his body in on itself, then letting fly with a roar and an explosion of crystal spikes all across the courtyard. The golems and maneater clams were promptly knocked onto their backs and shells, the spikes piercing their bodies then shattering.
Seath let out a mist filled growl as his creations shakily began to rise again. Applejack noted they did not immediately resume their attack, but rather looked around as if confused as to what had just happened to them.
“Yea, the truth is laid bare. Another’s essence doth conspire to confound and twist the minds of mine experiments, blind them to that which is friend and foe...” Seath snorted. “A most magnificent demonstration of what sorcery maketh possible. Beautiful indeed.”
Applejack blinked as the monstrosities seized up, as if remembering why they were in the courtyard, then charging at her and Seath with fresh bloodlust.
“The fact that these things are trying to kill us is… beautiful!?” She bleated in anguish. Seath scoffed and shook his head.
“Nay, foolish equine, that one hath sought to match mine own skills in control over crystal is beautiful. That they use mine art, that which I hath made possible, to turn mine work against me?”
The white dragon filled his lungs and proceeded to freeze two approaching golems in place with his crystal breath.
“Nay, THAT is a sin I shalt see them dead for!!” He declared, smashing the immobilised monsters into pieces with his tentacles.
Applejack let the tension drain from her legs, then stumbled backwards as she was left as a shaking, nervous wreck.
“Grea… Great. So… does that mean you’ll help me find out who’s doing this and what’s happened to our friends?” She whimpered, trying to not fall over. Seath scowled at her loss of spirit, though he did curl a tentacle around the mare to keep her standing upright.
“That I shall, more so as I suspect all too clearly who art they that seeketh to foul mine hallowed archives with this offense.” The dragon growled as Applejack slumped against his support. “Reclaim thine spirit, equine! T’is a poor choice to falter now, when I must take leave of thine company!”
Applejack shook her head, then looked up at the great drake with shocked despair.
“Leave us? Seath, yer creations are massin’ on us from every direction! Yah can’t be expecting us to fight ‘em off without yer help!” She cried. Priscilla extracted her scythe from the body of another maneater clam, coughing in mild disgust as a great number of human skulls spilled from its mouth, alongside a single gleaming shard of twinkling titanite. She tried not to ponder where the monstrosity acquired such a grotesque assortment of treasures and trophies, let alone dwell on this as further evidence that the tales of her father’s madness were not exaggerated.
“She speaketh truth there. We cannot hope to turn back this many enemies without additional aid.” She said, cringing as Seath lowered his head in abject disgust that none were supporting his choice of action.
“She is all the more foolish to say such then. For never did I state I would leave thee without aid!” He scoffed before pointing at the mouth of the cavern. A brilliant white aura materialised around his fingers as he moved them in a circular motion.
The golems and clams still climbing out to replenish the number in the courtyard halted as the ground beneath their feet shook violently.
“Many of mine creations I did charge to see all but those most loyal to me as foe.” Seath quietly seethed as the crystal monstrosities turned around, sensing something approaching from the deeper recesses of the caverns.
“But for they that I did proclaim as mine masterpiece...”
The crystal cavern was suddenly alight with a torrential storm of rainbow auras. First, they swirled around to illuminate the glittering walls around the golems...
Then said golems were struck down where they stood when the light formed itself into a spray of needle thin projectiles, hammering them hundreds at a time as three more new beasts exploded out into the courtyard. Applejack gasped as she recognised the glittering technicolor wings and helix twisted antenna that graced the butterfly Seath and Twilight had made for Princess Luna… only here, both were far larger to accommodate the far greater bodies they were attached to.
“A most wondrous work was the Moonlight Butterfly, too most wondrous to remain as one solitary masterpiece. Over time, I did labor to create more. Fine treasures with which to beautify mine hallowed sanctum.” Seath said as the butterflies swept across the courtyard, spraying the golems with light needles and magical blasts.
“That they would not tarnish the purity of that sanctum, they were never to attack unless provoked… or until I ordered them to.” Seath blew on his fingers and gave a dismissive nod to the carnage unfolding around. “Perhaps t’was mine error to not do so when first the Chosen Undead did come to foul these halls with her presence.”
Applejack pushed herself off Seath’s tentacle, getting her breath and her nerves back under control as the tide of battle began to turn in her favor.
“Well, glad yer choosing to unleash ‘em now.” The farm mare exhaled. “Okay, I guess with them on our side, we can hold our own out here.”
“May you do, and with all haste!” Seath declared, turning to place a hand on Priscilla’s shoulder. “I must find mine student, know that she hath not been felled by this wretched twist of fate. Wilt thou be kind to purge what remains of mine creations from the archives in mine absence, daughter?”
Priscilla took a deep breath and nodded softly.
“If thou consents that I destroy what thou hast made.” She replied. Seath sighed as he watched his creations destroy each other.
“What I hath made… t’is mere shadows and mockeries in the light of what standeth before me... to what I might yet make… if only I for once be granted the clarity to do as I did with thee.” He said, looking the crossbreed in the eyes. “Prove thyself the better soul by casting away these fetid remnants. There is no place now for them.”
Priscilla nodded again.
“Then I shall.” She replied.
Applejack took another breath herself and retrieved her bow.
“Guess Ah better go find the rest of our friends. Okay, think Ah’m good now.” She said, looking to Siegmeyer as he stepped back to let the now thoroughly needle pelted golden golem collapse onto the ground. “Jest hope everypony else is too.”
Sensing his friend’s eyes on him, Siegmeyer turned and gave Applejack the thumbs up. It was worth it to see her smile and run off to continue doing what she had to in order to stay motivated.
“Well, that was a most fine display of barbaric strength, good chap, but I’m afraid our time together is at an end. Can’t have you or your friends continue making a mess of this place when there’s so few other safe havens in Lordran.” The knight said as his opponent tried to rise again. With a chivalrous nod, he raised his zweihander and brought it down on the general region of the golem’s back, watching in satisfaction as the finely sharpened blade at last pierced the golden crystal exterior.
“As my fallen enemy, I salute thee!” He said, pounding the chest plate of his armor as the golem exploded in a blinding flurry of white energy.
He then had to take a step back as something was ejected out of the vanishing golem’s body, a being clad in the same Catarina armor as himself, hefting a bastard sword in one hand and a piercing shield in the other.
“Oooh! Ooof!” Came a distinctly feminine cry as the fellow knight crashed and rolled like a corpulent wad of steel across the ground. Siegmeyer approached, and knelt to offer his hand as his new ally pushed herself back to a sitting position. “What… what happened? You… you freed me?”
Siegmeyer was struck dumb as he recognized the voice. The other onion headed knight had the same reaction as she finally got a look at her savior through the grill in her helmet.
“Fa… Father? You… you got me out of that crystal?” The knight exclaimed. “It’s… It’s me...”
Siegmeyer nodded in awe.
“Sieglinde! It is you!” He declared.
***
“And so it continues as before. I summon more enemies, you keep taking them out. Even though Seath can’t possibly have had enough time to properly instruct you in the disciplines of sorcery, you’re still proving rather apt at using it during the most critical moments.” Logan mused as Twilight sent two more manserpents crashing into the wall of the prison. The snake monsters let out one final, weak hiss before sinking to the floor in a dead heap of scales. Twilight gave silent thanks as the souls that then burst forth to infuse into her skin made her every body part hurt slightly less.
“He has had… precious little time to teach me, yes… but… heh… I’m no ordinary student.” She said, raising to fix the giant hat wearing human with a loathsome glare. “Before him, I was instructed by Princess Celestia herself in the arts of pony magic, then I was made the bearer of the Element of Magic, the living personification of all the supernatural powers that exist in Equestria. After that, I became an alicorn and a princess myself, the highest possible stature for a magic wielder to obtain.”
Under the brim of his hat, Logan rolled his eyes at this pointless boast.
“Suffice to say, I’m very good at learning new magical abilities, more so if it means showing you why trapping and torturing me like this was a very bad idea.” Twilight seethed. “So for the love of Faust, stop. Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s falling apart around you right now.”
Logan had to turn as he heard the hoarse screams of hollowed bodies being sliced apart and hitting the floor above the prison.
“Stop this now… and I’ll tell Seath to spare you. There’s nothing more you can hope to prove by making the situation worse.” Twilight declared, while silently begging her legs not to give out under her. Though she put on a brave face, she had pretty much hit her limit. If this dragged on for much longer, she wasn’t going to be able to hold out.
That thought alone made Logan’s sinister laugh all the most chilling as he shook his head.
“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, equine. Everything I’ve hoped to prove, you’re proving right now. You’ve been doing it with every one of the monsters I pit you against. The more dire I make the situation, the more you confirm that indeed you are everything I suspected and feared you might be.”
Logan banged his catalyst on the floor, causing blue energy to shoot up it and form into a sparkling orb at the top.
“As for my efforts falling apart around me, heh, let them fall. Whatever happens to me here is of no consequence. I’ve left many of my teachings and many students at the Vinheim Dragon School. My legacy shall continue no matter what. This I’ve seen, thanks to what I’ve learned from Seath’s writings.”
Logan drew out the strange crystal sphere he’d used to control the hollows. Raising his catalyst, he cast the ball of energy into it, then hurled it into the bottom of the prison, forcing Twilight to retreat as it exploded on impact with the floor. The subsequent shock wave easily knocked her off her hooves as her vision was reduced to pure, painfully white light.
“Thereby I have all the reason to continue with this little test. What say we ramp up the challenge to see how much of Seath’s influence there is in you… and also demonstrate I’m not making empty threats here.” Logan said from somewhere far away as the air around Twilight seemed to fracture, reality itself tearing apart to permit a new horror to enter the fray.
Out of the light stepped a massive figure, robed in swirling tattered black robes and holding a larger version of the crystal ball Logan had chucked onto the floor. Any hint of identity was concealed beneath a much greater brimmed hat, similar to the sorcerer's, but warped and tarnished as if worn for countless eons.
“Behold, from a far future time, those who have mastered my teachings now stride as giants of the lands. Where Seath was to fall and be forgotten, I have made possible a new generation of far superior crystal sages!” Logan declared. The doppelganger turned to view him, its body freezing in surprise at the sight of the smaller but apparently recognizable sorcerer. It looked to Twilight, then back to Logan, expressing a silent message that Logan couldn’t help but smile at.
“Let us see how you fare, one student to another.” Logan replied. Twilight felt her heart sink as the giant sage raised its crystal ball, filling the sphere with the light of a fresh spell.
“No...” She bleated.
The sage moved to cast, and thus end the pathetic little alicorn’s life. Logan primed himself for what was going to be a very successful end to his little experiment...
Then, as fate would of course have it, something had to intervene. A soul arrow shot out of the darkness of the upper prison levels, hitting the sage’s arm and forcing it back. Its spell shot wildly out of the crystal ball, exploding against one of the higher cells and vaporizing most of it
“No indeed. Forgive me, Master Logan, but I fear I cannot allow you to proceed any further in this insanity.”
Twilight looked up, gasping in amazement as Griggs stepped out of the darkness.
“While yes, your knowledge and wisdom has inspired many scholars of Vinheim to take up our hallowed art, a great many of the higher sorcerers have long suspected your infatuation with Seath has gone too far. When you suddenly departed from the Dragon School, seeking what lay in the Duke’s Archives, I was sent to follow you to Lordran, to uncover your true intentions...and to take you out if indeed it transpired that you truly had gone mad with the desire to rise to Seath’s level of mastery.” The younger sorcerer said, adding in a less confident voice. “I… only apologise for my secrecy, and for not acting faster. I had hoped it would not come down to this. That I could gently talk you down and bring you back safely home.”
Logan lifted the brim of his hat, meeting his fellow sorcerer’s gaze for a moment, before pulling his hat back down and turning away as the crystal sage launched another salvo of spells at Griggs.
“Then you are as useless as our brethren, as blind as the Grandfather himself. This became inevitable the instant Seath was spared from his demise.” The older sorcerer said aloofly. Twilight stared in despair as Griggs threw himself towards the ladder connecting the entrance of the prison to the lower levels. He grabbed and slid down it just as the crystal sage’s spells destroyed the entrance platform.
Twilight charged her horn and cast a barrier, protecting the younger sorcerer from the falling rubble as he ran for the edge of the next floor and let himself fall down to where she was at the bottom.
“Ooof… be that as it may… the need to stop you has thus also now become inevitable.” Griggs said, picking himself from the floor. “Fairest Princess Twilight, while I give my deepest apologies to you as well for not preventing your being forced into this abominable situation, might I atone by fighting alongside you?”
The young sorcerer held out Twilight's demon catalyst.
"I feared the worst when I came to Logan's study area, and found this discarded amidst his books."
Twilight instantly nodded as she forced herself onto her hooves and grabbed her weapon from Grigg's hand.
“Yes, just… save Logan for me.” She said, baring her teeth at the crystal sage. “I intend to question him further about how this fresh face he introduced ties into what’s going on!”
So here we are, another chapter where I feel like I cover a lot but don't end up actually progressing anything. 
My editor tells me it's good and not to worry but I can't help feeling like I could've done more. Oh well.
At the very least I finally brought to bear two of the plot points folk were hankering for. Yeah, now you can all rest easy knowing Sieglinde has been rescued, by the one she came seeking no less, and Trixie has fulfilled her immediate goal of saving Rhea, with a nice bonus of Patches being delivered to her on a silver plate for her vengeance...if she so chooses vengeance.
Next time we see if Celestia is having any luck with Kalameet, and just what Twilight is going to uncover now that she's finally got some back up.
And yes, for those wondering where the idea of Griggs being a spy sent to track and possibly stop Logan came from: in game, he wears the Black Sorcerer Set , which the lore entries state is only worn by the secret sorcerers of Vinheim. Coupled with that is his dialogue that Logan is seen as 'heretical' and is plagued by 'awful rumors', implying that Logan is already under suspicion by his fellow sorcerers. Once Logan leaves Firelink Shrine he also immediately states he's going to pursue him, implying his reasons for following his master to Lordran aren't just due to him respecting Logan's cause. It's not too far a stretch to imagine he was actually sent by the Dragon School to make sure Logan wasn't searching for the Duke's Archives in order to enact some nasty business. The only problem of course is, if you buy all his spells and items, you find out he never made it past Sen's Fortress and ended up going hollow before he could fulfill his quest
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0:20-1:35
My reactions after checking countless times before next chapter is available.
The bit just before 1:35 is my reaction to a new chapter.
8349524
In a meta sense this is just like the franchise it draws from. The going may be slow and rife with set backs, but so long as one has purpose it WILL continue...lest I condemn all those involved to the fate of the hollow.
Great chapter! Moar plz?
8349755
There'll always be more. It might come slowly, but this isn't the end. Not by a long shot!
Well first off, nice to see this story back. Secondly, I have my Dark Souls III The Fire Fades Edition copy so I wont be spoiled too much now.
Though I'm still not very far in it, I recognize the Crystal Sage Boss of the Road of Sacrifices and now know more about that sludge monster that eat Gwyndolin.
Anyway hurry for Trixie completing her quest and at the same time as her fire back up.
I never had Grigg utter those dialogues, well since I never really went the sorcerer's route in the first Dark Soul their was little chance. But I really like this side reveal of him.
8351448
http://darksouls.wikidot.com/griggs-of-vinheim
Click on the 'Show Dialogue' option at the bottom of the page. That'll tell you most of what I was referring to.
Is this Crystal Sage summoned from the time it was still sane or from the current time line (the one we fought) where its will has been devoured by the crystal sphere?
If its the one from the current time line, it would be quite ironic, because both Logan and the Sages were eventually driven insane by the same magic. Though its a bit sadder for the Sages with the whole backwards "Release me now!" line they keep shouting in pain whenever they use a big spell.
8353736
I fear you answered your own question with the second part. There's too much good material to not explore the link that Logan and his students only achieved their power by completely sacrificing their minds.
8388824 oh sod off...she is not everyone's waifu...plus she still alive well sorta...she died but isn't dead compare that to what Sif had to go through.
It's been awhile since I've read a new chapter of Friendship is Scaleless. I'm glad that Pinkie bucked Patches. Cheeky git shouldn't make a habit of pushing everyone he meets onto pits. Most of my understanding of Dark Souls lore comes from this fic and is enough for me to pick up Dark Souls 2.