Minor erdtree catacombs

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The blade forging left Sorore exhausted, the failure left her frustrated, and the cold gave way to fear as the night drew closer. As day faded into dusk, she reflected on a morning that had been as full of ups and downs as the mountain paths they’d travelled. The very fact that she had been able to use magic, that it had crashed from the realm of fairy tales and church warnings into the very real everyday occurrence was already an earth shattering experience.
Then she’d moved water with a thought, seen monsters fall from the sky, and watched the paladins cleaving them in two. Her head spun with the strangeness of it all, the sheer onset of fanciful things blurring and mixing together with reality. She began to wonder what else might be true, of the fairy tales in the myth she had heard on the seas in her father’s ship. Of the old folk stories of Erratz, often dismissed as nothing more than old wive’s tales.
A new world had opened up before her, and she wasn't sure to be fascinated or terrified of it. Certainly the paladins didn't want any part of it, and they certainly didn't want her to be involved. And from everything she knew of the church scripture, they were absolutely right. She felt the danger, the power of the matter, and knew that it was only a small fraction of what it could do. She even felt a certain degree of fear towards the masked man in the black robes, as respectful as he had been as a tutor.
At least he didn't use a switch to reminder of when she had failed.
But even in the murk of her disquiet in that moment, she also felt a smouldering frustration underlying it. The knife had been hers, her project, her duty, and she had resolutely failed to craft it. Part of her shifted the blame elsewhere - it was a new technique she had picked up over the course of an afternoon. Efrain himself had said as much, even going as far to say that he hadn’t expected her to do it.
Now that was something she didn’t like at all. When people expected her to fail, despite all her efforts.
However, that resolution meant little now, given that she had been excused from the effort. At least now the mage had the basic shape to work on. She let her hand drift on the rough stone walls of the church. Thousands of individual perfections, many thousands of years old, the stone functioning despite it. Perhaps it would be enough, the basic, overall function, but she recalled all the pittances and channels carved in her vision of the knife.
She knew what was driving the doubt. It was curiosity, that sticking bug that clung to her, despite all her prayers to the contrary. She just couldn’t seem to shake it, despite the ‘assistance’ of church teachers when it reared its head particularly high. She had expected the snap across the palms from Efrain when he drew that piece of wood. It had been a relief when he’d tossed it over his shoulder.
The thought was an unworthy one, she immediately considered. She should’ve been grateful to the various priests and scholars who’d spent years teaching the twins. Some had even prepared their entire lives, just on the chance they’d meet the beloved Bequeathed. If they were strict, then so be it, it was for the sake of preparing her and Frare for their duties.
The church was once more a buzz of activity as people prepared for the night ahead. She and Lillian found their way to the altar, attracting only minor glances. The villagers clearly had gotten used to their presence, although some offered a respectful and perhaps wary gaze for Lillian. One of Frare’s eyes opened as they approached, but he quickly returned to his half-rest leaning on a pillar. Aya was still very much asleep, chest gently rising and falling under the furs where Sorore had left her.
Sorore sat on the wide steps, put her chins on her hands, and began to think. It was a rather dangerous proposition, considering her recent failure. She had a tendency to ruminate on them, and often her twin would find her staring plaintively before loudly disrupting it. This time was no different, as before anything but impotent frustration could boil over, he plopped down behind her back.
“Stop that,” he said, “I can hear your teeth beginning to grind.”
She leaned back to lie upon his lap, despite the admonishment she heard in her head about proper sitting position. His eyes were closed again, and she followed suit, letting the minutes wile away as night crept into the word. She was shaken out of this reverie by a loud pop and Aya’s yelp. The girl was both mid yawn and bright red as both the paladins and the twins turned to look at her. She insisted that she was fine, and took to straightening her clothes subconsciously.
It was a mere temporary distraction for Sorore, who was largely engrossed in considering the knife. Rather than merely wallowing in her problems, she was invested in its function. She could almost see the stone parting before her, revealing the source of that smothering cold behind the door. Maybe if she had tried one more time, maybe if she reduced the complexity of the form, then increased when she got the basic shape. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
It was all of very little use. She was inside her head once again, at a complete loss of what to do. Maybe, within the grand archives of Angorrah, the answer was contained in a dusty scroll. Some offhand fact or technique of forging, long forgotten in the darkness of the shelves. But these were several weeks of travel away, and she wasn’t sure that she’d see the next sunrise. So then, what could she do to get them to bridge that gap? Just one more day, that’s all they needed, to hold out until the next sunrise.
Nothing. That was the simple truth of it - she was a lost little girl in a small village surrounded by terrible things. The thought was not a comforting one, and she wriggled, trying to nestle deeper into the legs of her twin. Aya by that point had come to sit down beside them, looking greyer as the dark came on. No wonder, for she knew she all felt the chill roll forward as the fog waxed in the night.
Another meal of common fare came and went, though Sorore noted that many soldiers were taking care with it. Perhaps it was common practice, to relish what very well may be your last meal. For her part she found it rather difficult to keep it down, the coming dread of the hours ahead offsetting her appetite.
The faces of the paladins had settled into that implacable, stoney cast once more. They quietly rebandaged their injuries, readjusted their armour, and set to sharpening their great blades with long deliberate strokes. Sorore idly thought that their sleeping faces were significantly more pleasant, if rarer to see. Thus it was that they crossed over into the late afternoon, where the light was quickly fading.
“I would like to take one last little walk,” Aya spoke up, “before… you know.”
The paladins looked up, their eyes twisting with barely veiled misapprehension at the request.
“My lady…” Lillian began.
“We can’t,” Niche said, “Not now. Not so close to dark.”
“Just barely outside the door,” said Aya, “Just so I can see something other than the church. Just to stretch my legs.”
The paladins looked at each other, looked back, and set their faces.
“Well, I suppose it can be accommodated,” Lillian said, “only just outside the church, and only for a few minutes.”
Her tone warned of dire consequences if these conditions should not be strictly adhered to. The children all collectively nodded and the party of five set out past the doors. The barricades within the church had grown in size and strength, at least as far as Sorore could judge. The villagers, under the supervision of the soldiers, had proven diligent in the daylight hours. She could only hope that it would be enough for the onset of the creatures, should they breach the church.
She had a dread certainty that it would indeed be breached, sooner or later. Though she hadn’t heard of any specifics, whispers of just how many of the things lurked outside were passed around. It was a small stroke of fortune that the windows were narrow and ensconced in stone. The last thing they needed was one of the flying beasts to crash through the glass.
The faint red-pink cast to the grey outside was beginning to fade into blackness as the sun shrank. Occasionally, the banks of fog would strip away, revealing the abominable silhouettes standing still past the wall. They would close just as quickly, removing any clarity, and leaving only the icy fear in its place. The remaining soldiers and villagers watched them with anxiety and exhaustion.
The garden around the front of the church was almost non-existent. Most of the flowers had been trampled either in preparation for or during the course of the battle. The only things left relatively untouched were the central beds around the side of the church, which grew produce for its tenants. Some trees still stood, showing minimal damage from the fog and its creatures.
The five ducked under the boughs of the closest one to the doors. The additional chill brought by its shade was a trifling concern at the present. The green, muted as it was by the overcast sky beyond, was a lively anchor in the cold, dead mists. Such was the comfort of the place that Soroe let herself lean back onto the bark of the tree and eyes drift closed.
The trunk was solid, a comforting sensation that seemed to offset the malevolence of the fog.
Enough so that Sorore began to wander the netherworld of half-sounds and sights that characterised pre-sleep. They all wandered with her, some staying, some peeling off, guided by their own demented logic. Little and less was coherent, but it took her away from the horrible reality of what lurked a few hundred steps away all the same.
She fell deeper into this other-state, letting the visions wash over her as the real world slipped away. Time became a mercurial concept, which led her to question when exactly everything had settled. But settled it had, into a hazy blackness which the eye could not pierce. There, in the distance, a bright ribbon of twisting warm color glowed. A piece of fresh-forged metal perhaps, the day’s task going straight to her head. Or maybe it was the remnants of another dream that day, one that was already a blurry memory.
From a great distance, she heard a crash, unmistakable in its ringing clarity. A forge hammer singing out a song of its own, for now merely a rhythm. It shifted in tone as it rang out through the abyss once more, adding progression, then melody, all written in singing steel. Sorore’s fingers began to drum out the sequence on her thighs as she felt it reverberate through her. Then, with a sliding screech, she was left alone in the half-dream, with nothing but darkness remaining.
Still, the bright memory of the song remained, and in the darkness another voice took shape. It was a deep, rich, and handsome sound, that spoke of a confidence of such immensity that you were convinced its wielder could do anything. Sorore had never heard the likes of it before, either on the docks, or in cities, or on the open waves.
“Come now,” it said, “this little thing is giving you trouble?”
Sorore’s eyes slowly open, pulling her from the dreamscape back into the dreariness of the real. Aya had her knees pulled to her chest, leaning back into the trunk. The paladins, tired but alert, scanned the endlessly shifting banks of fog.
Sorore had a fleeting impression that the answers were just beyond the pale mists. Maybe something would come through, parting it like thin curtains, and impart the inspiration she needed. Or maybe a whole set of schematics will drop into my lap from the sky, she thought with dark irony.
The vision was quickly fading into the abyss of forgetfulness. Perhaps Aya had shared it once more with her, but she was in conversation with the paladins. Not wanting to interrupt, Sorore looked at her outstretched legs. Past them were a handful of leaves that had fallen despite the summer of the valley, with a couple long decomposed to nothing but their skeletons.
She reached out to grasp at the leaves, looking at the yellow-grey veins that raced across its surface. The large ones spread from the central stem and the hundreds of smaller capillaries that interconnected them. Holding up to the sky, she screwed her face, trying to discern the details of this piece of nature. After a few moments of tepid stillness, the clouds parted for just a moment, letting a ray of sunlight lance down to catch their hill in its beam.
For a second, the leaf seemed to glow, shimmering like metal catching glare.
And Sorore had her inspiration.
With that, she sprang to her feat so fast that one of the paladins almost jumped. Both looked around with questioning and slightly alarmed expressions. Sorore didn’t have much of an answer - in fact her mind was going so fast that she could hardly even articulate the solution that had been revealed to her.
“The- the- the-” she said, snapping her fingers, trying to put words to the idea, “I know what to do. I need to find him.”
“Find who? The mage?” asked Lillian.
The fiery certainty of the thought sent Sorore tramping out onto the grass, leading to calls from the paladins to slow down. She didn’t bother to wait for them, consumed by this need to find the mage, the knife, to try again.
The forge was more or less empty, save for the few labourers packing up the tools and ferrying them into the church proper. With a furious set of questions, she gleaned that he’d vacated the premises some time ago. The paladins called for her to stop as she doubled back, but she couldn’, not now.
The scenery seemed to blur as she rushed through the church doors, past the bustling barricades, and to the captain’s tables. A somewhat perturbed Damafelce told the young girl that Efrain had been seen entering the door at the end of the church. With that, Sorore broke out into a run, past the altar, through the door and down into the darkness of the Catacombs.
She stepped out onto the sand floor, the members of her party at her heels as she tried to seek out the path to the black wall. She stumbled more than once as she felt her way along in the darkness, fortunately with no skeletal interruptions this time. Down the stairs and into the long corridor she came, the smothering cold increasing as she pushed forward.
As she had surmised, Efrain was there, just about to start whatever process pried apart the stone. The tip of the blade was raised, pressed into the stone above his head. He turned at the approaching footsteps, cocking his head at the lack of isolation. Sorore didn’t even wait for him to say something, instead thrusting out her head for the crude metal knife.
“ I know- I can- I can do it now,” she said, breathless from the long run from the surface.
Delicately, Efrain removed the metal from the stone, and looked down at her. There seemed to be a questioning quality to the look, at least as far as she could read the emotionless mask. He looked at the cat, then back to the girl, and then to the rest of her party.
“How?” he said, “ If I let you undo this, we may not have enough time to recreate it before the attacks begin.”
“Leaves,” she said, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself as her lungs complained, “it- was the leaves.”
“The… leaves?” he said, “ All right. Stop, take a few breaths, and start from the beginning.”
And so she did, explaining how she sat under the bows of the trees, the half-awake dreaming, and the skeleton of the leaf.
“I got it. I was trying to build the whole thing out myself, all at once,” she said, stumbling over her words, “instead of letting nature do what it wants. The metal wants to come together - I don’t need to force it into its final shape. I just need to build a- a-”
She snapped her fingers at the air, trying to reach past this new blank as Efrain regarded the knife.
“You want to build a frame,” he said, “and let the metal fill in the rest of the empty space.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he turned over the knife, hilt first, to the girl.
“Well then,” he said, “let’s hope you know what you’re doing.”
She did, or at least she hoped she did this time. Within moments, the metal was flowing over her hands like a cold stream, but instead of trying to sculpt it, she began to spin filaments outwards. Like the skeleton of the leaf, little veins of metal stretched outwards, stopping abruptly, and folding back into themselves. If it had been hard before, it was now brutal, the smothering cold dragging at every attempt to shape the material.
Hands trembling, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead, she managed to split the metal into dark fingers. All she had to do was resist gravity and prevent it spilling over the imaginary bounds of the shape. From those dark fingers, snaking vines spread out and connected with each other. Slowly, slowly, branching and arcing, they filled in the skeleton she’d created and fused.
The final product wasn’t altogether too different from what they’d created during the afternoon. The shape, a heavy chisel tip, tapering out to twin furls like a plough, a longer tang. Sorore, half blind by stinging salt, didn’t fail to notice swirling furrows spreading across its surface. She had no idea how she’d managed to etch those designs, or perhaps the metal remembered, just as the stone did.
“Well,” said the mage at last, “suffice to say, I am impressed. Now, hold it up.”
She did so, despite the exhaustion of her arms, the tip wavering as his finger touched its point.
There was a rush of something, extending over the surface of the blade, stopping just short of her hand. It was like a coat of mail had been pulled taught, the links aligning at the same time, snapping together in a regular structure. From the tip of the chisel, down to the tang, the metal shuddered and settled. By the time it disappeared under her grip, it was rigid as any steel tool.
The mage gently took it from her, holding the blade up to that little flickering light above his head. Flicking it this way and that, he seemed to find whatever he was looking for, and pressed the tip to the wall. Sorore, despite her fatigue, was practically exploding with excitement. She’d done it, not only conquering the task, but she was about to see what was behind those dark walls.
Then, before he pressed the blade into the stone and drew it down, he paused.
“Paladins,” he said, voice quiet, “it would be best to take the children back into the church.”
Lillian frowned and put a hand onto her hilt as she stared at the door.
“What?” said Sorore, aghast, “ But I-”
“No buts,” said Efrain, “we don’t know what’s behind this door. It may be dangerous, it may not. But I strongly suspect it’s not something you would want to see. Very well done, little one, but this is something I should deal with on my own.”
The tone of academic authority was not an unfamiliar one to Sorore. But unlike in virtually all other occasions in her life, she attempted to object. Before she could speak more than a few words, Lillian took her by the shoulders, her mind apparently made up. All three of them were carted up the stairs as barely contained rage began to bubble up inside her.
“Do you think we should…?” said Niche, gesturing to the surrounding stone.
“No, not yet,” Lillian said, “putting aside everything else, we still might need him.”
Niche nodded and said no more.
They had made a steady pace, overtaking half the hallway as the scream of metal on stone echoed out. It was followed by a grating rumble as presumably the doors opened. If the temperature below the surface was cold when they came, the resulting drop was freezing. The mist that rose up behind them whispered things in long mournful sighs as the surroundings began to buzz with what must’ve been magic.
Then, from up the stairs there was a long, terrible wail.
[←Chapter 47] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 49→]

Hey Folks, during night time in Limgrave and Weeping Peninsula the player is able to hear some background noises echoing in the air. They're some "crucified" tarnished that can be heard screaming in agony when close to them, that's not what I mean. If you go to a quite area at night in any of these two locations and pay attention, you can hear something that sounds like crowd chattering. I can also hear a bit of music that sounds like the opening of a radio commercial!?! Not sure. And it's even possible to distinguish some weeping in the noises. Is there any lore on this? Has anyone analyzed these sounds?
The bit of music that sounds like a radio commercial puzzles me. Initially I thought this was a secret that was going to be revealed further down the story. Perhaps, the tree was playing music or something... And I was going to hear more of it as I'd get closer to it. Then when I was closed to one of the minor erdtrees in Weeping Peninsula, some opera music started playing which kind of reaffirmed my initial guess. But further down the line I figured it was just the bat harpy elders singing.

There was this quiet sort of contemplation as the weight of the Cleric's words echoed in our minds.
There were Gods out there, at least one, but likely more, and for whatever reason, we were the ones who had potential access to actual miracles.
Everyone just kind of accepted that this was a thing that had happened, we were terrified to think about it any more deeply than that, yet some had seen it as a sign that there was some kind of intelligent divine force out there and called out to it.
And it had answered.
Nobody addressed it, not until the funeral.
The Cleric stood among the dead, who were gathered and put into caskets, he solemnly addressed the town.
"We stand before proud men and women of this town, who worked a dangerous trade to support their families. Upon their caskets, me and my fellow Clerics have carved their names, There are some of us who would rather let the dead remain dead, whether it is because they are in heaven, or because it cannot be certain that they will, indeed, return."
He cast his gaze around us. "None have denied me permission to try."
I could hear the weeping of people who were simply devastated, others simply stared forward in abject sorrow. Some watched with hope in their eyes. Hope that one day, we would have our family back.
"It is the duty of the living to carry on, to grant solace to the dead, whether that is in honor of a God, or in honor of oneself, or one's family. We consign these souls to the safekeeping of those whose gentle gaze falls upon us. Whether that be in the arms of Bahamut, or another."
He held his hand out to us. "May peace rain down, and soothe your woes."
There was a subtle lightening of the area around us, followed by a feeling of calm and peace. The weeping petered out.
"I have been given permission to have made a mausoleum for the dead." He said. "For the next ten days, the dead will not decay, during this time, we will dig, until the dead are at rest. Anyone who wishes to help is welcome. Wer tiichir di wer Naflopsola qe acht wux."
The blessing of the Grandfather be upon you.
Everyone went to their lost family members, they were kindly warned not to disturb the salt-covered pennies over their eyes. "It is necessary for the spell to remain in effect." The Clerics explained.
I didn't have anyone who was dead that I particularly missed, but that could have easily been an entirely different story, had we not gone as deep as we had. That said, the idea of a God existing was... I had been a fairly staunch atheist most of my life, and the idea that there was a God felt... weird.
Like, we had proof that there was more going on than met the eye, there was proof that these Clerics got their magic from something.
In the next few days, I helped out with digging out the mausoleum. There was something about digging solid, stable tunnels that felt wonderful, We started with exploratory tunnels, if we found any veins of ore, we would mark the tunnel as such and move on. We managed to find one, before settling on a location just outside the Anomaly.
We needed to make it large enough for Humans to walk in, wide enough for them to walk past one another, with enough space to stack up to four caskets. The idea was to use the natural coldness of the underground to help preserve the bodies. Even if they would be restored to their original state, they weren't embalmed, just drained.
The Clerics didn't want to risk something going wrong with preservatives, and cremation wasn't an option since the other resurrection spell, True Resurrection, would take even longer to achieve.
We started with a large antechamber, one that the Clerics intended to have as a shrine and temple to their God, followed by a long tunnel downward, which would lead into the catacombs proper. Stairs would be carved along either side, with a recessed ramp serving as a place to install a lift. We already had Kobolds on the job, 'Artificers', who could make magical items and technology.
Over time, as we worked, the Clerics would pray to their God, asking for the guidance and wisdom to see things through.
During one of our rest periods, the main Cleric approached me and sat beside me.
"Do you need something?" I asked.
"No. Not in the sense that you expect." He said. "I wished to thank you for your help. I understand you prefer your solitude, and appreciate you taking time to aid us."
What he said confused me. "Solitude?" I asked.
He nodded. "The Warren is well aware of how you prefer to be alone, how when this all started, you were among those who were distressed. You consigned yourself to this new reality, rather than accepting it as we had, and in respect of that, we wait for you to find your peace."
"I'm not that antisocial." I said.
He looked at me, his brow ridge raised. "How many of our names do you know?" He asked.
"I, uh... Well, my brother goes by Tallyn now." I said.
"Now. As though it were only recent, rather than from the start. I do not wish to sound rude or disrespectful, the rest of us have accepted we will never be Human again, I do not think you feel that way."
He was right. No matter how I integrated into the warren, it was always grudgingly. I only practiced magic because it was something I could do, something that could give us answers, something that could at least give us the option to go back. I only took on the name Tallyn, because my own brain forced me to. I still resolutely spoke in English, even though the Humans were getting better with Yipyak every day.
I was the only one who hadn't given up. Or rather, I was the only one who refused to move on.
"My name is Galax, and you are Ruuk."
I nodded. "I just... I don't think we should just give up, there has to be something."
"It is my belief this is a gift." He said softly. "One with unfortunate mistakes, perhaps a wish gone awry, or an attempt at equity, to ensure we would not be outnumbered to our detriment." He smiled. "And that is the least I can say, without preaching, at least."
I rubbed my thumb against my palm. "I... wouldn't mind if you did. Just to have a better idea of what to expect."
He nodded. "Perhaps another time." He said. "For now, I will leave you with this. Of my faith, these are our tenets. Justice and Good above all. Honor and Fealty to the King of the Good Dragons. Honor and respect to righteous innocence. Honor and Duty to the Balancer, to Her Mercy, and to the Justicemaker. Honor and Protection to the lesser races. Honor and Correction to the enemies of Justice and Good. And Honor and Forebearance for oneself."
"Lesser races?" I asked.
"Perhaps a bit unfortunate a term there, for our day and age." He admitted. "But it means people like you and me, we would be considered a lesser race." He thought for a moment. "Honor and Protection to those in the minority. Yes, I believe that is better. May Bahamut see wisdom in this, and if not, guide me to a greater truth."
We finished resting, and at least for the time being, I could understand why he worshiped the God he did.
By the time the mausoleum was finished, a week had passed. The ramp lift was installed and worked, it was capable of holding two caskets at a time, or four people if the seats were pulled up. We all worked to bring the caskets down, before slotting them into their final resting places.
Once the work was finally done, we were invited for a shared meal.
"So, what's the plan now?" I asked Galax.
"We will continue to expand upon this temple." He said. "After all, we will need a place to sleep and pray, not to mention having a place for visitors to stay." He smiled. "It is my hope people come here to worship in peace, and I do hope you come to visit, even if it's just to say hi."
I nodded.
After stepping into the sunlight, after spending so much time underground, I snarled. I really did not like being outside, it was too bright and exposed, and nobody made Kobold sunglasses.
To my knowledge, at least.
Galax's words to me in the catacombs, about separating myself... It made me actually look around and see how much the town had changed. We had sequestered ourselves at the edge of town, making our own tools and living without easy access to technology, simply because we were overwhelmed and needed some place to be. Now, I could see new houses in the place of old ones, large tracts of land that now functioned as its own little village in the middle of everything.
While I stayed separate, unable to be Human, but unable to accept that I was, and likely will be, a Kobold for the rest of my life.
I walked over to my old house, practically abandoned, and walked in.
Everything was coated in a layer of dust, there were cobwebs everywhere, and everything was just as giant as I remembered it being. This used to be my entire life, and now it was just a snapshot of one that I couldn't live in anymore.
There was no electricity going to it, why direct it here if nobody's inside?
The fridge was empty, Mom and Dad emptying it out for me.
"It's taken you longer than everyone else." I turned around to see my brother, his talons clacked against the wood floor, digging slight furrows into it. "Oh, uh, sorry." He said.
"It is what it is." I said.
"Thinking of selling the place?" He asked.
"I don't know what I want anymore." I admitted. "I just... I keep thinking, maybe one day I'll find a way to go back, to return to my life... But this is it, isn't it?" I looked at him. "There's no going back. This isn't even a curse or something I can handle, even if I work my ass off."
Tallyn walked over to me and hugged me, I hugged him back.
After that, and some time just sitting in silence, he said, "You could have the place demolished and have a new house built."
"With what money?" I asked.
"Wait, you still haven't figured it out?" He asked, shocked.
"Figured what out?"
"We abandoned money, like, a month into this. I mean, we got turned into a bunch of little lizard dudes with dragon blood in our veins, money just kind of felt like an arbitrary thing we used. We've been self-sufficient for months at this point, and we did it all through the power of our kind just naturally gravitating toward helping each other out."
"So, wait, we're a bunch of communist lizards?" I asked, shocked.
"Socialist." He replied. "It probably helps that we're a relatively little grouping of people with fairly solid infrastructure, even if we're in the process of fixing it."
"Huh." I sat in silence for a few moments. "So, wait, you're telling me someone's just going to build me a house."
"You literally spent the last seven days digging out a temple and a catacomb out of the goodness of your own heart." He said. "Money didn't even cross your mind, did it?"
"Well, no, but that's because it was needed." I said.
"Yes, and housing is a need." He pointed out. "Look, we've got a council and everything, just ask them to take this place apart and build you a new one. A building this size would support four storeys for us." You can have it as modern as you want, or you could go full medieval like a lot of us have and go for aesthetic."
"Well, I do like the aesthetic." I said. "But I'm absolutely having electricity, because fuck cooking over a fire."
He laughed. He invited me to his house, and well, it was cozy. He wasn't having any Human visitors for a while, except in the absolutely huge sitting room.
"There are windows on the interior wall." I remarked.
"Yeah. Sometimes I can't be bothered to go all of the way to the ground floor, and unlike someone, I can't just leap off and float to the ground."
"What is it that you do?" I asked. "I never asked, because I was too much in my own damn head."
"Well, first thing you need to know is that there are roughly thirteen Classes, fourteen if we ever get a Blood Hunter."
"A what?"
"Nevermind. So, unlike you, most of us don't have one yet. Like, it's there, but we haven't awakened to it yet. Everyone with some sort of practical skills, they awakened to the easier Classes to awaken to. Druids, Rangers, Sorcerers, Artificers- all have something innate to them that makes it easier for them to awaken. We have one Fighter, and he's ex-military. We have one Barbarian, and he's that guy who has anger management issues."
"Getting pissed off is a Class?" I asked.
Getting pissed off regularly. Now, Bards? Nobody's musically inclined, so that's a no go. Monks? About the best we've got is yoga, and until someone starts learning karate, I doubt we're getting one any time soon. Paladins? Well, they're specifically people bound to a sacred oath, rather than a God, and until one of us swears vengeance on someone, that's not happening any time soon."
He paused, thinking to himself. "If anyone's a Rogue, they're keeping it hidden. My guess would be the locksmith. Warlocks require making a pact with an otherworldly being, and Wizards are explicitly people who have studied magic long enough to understand how to use it, unlike you, who just knows."
"So, like, what? You don't have a Class, so you're screwed until you get one?"
He shook his head. "No. We definitely get stronger, but we can't use something we don't know we have, and reading about it isn't enough."
I had always assumed that everyone just knew what they were, but in all actuality, we were the ones who were lucky.
"Do people hate me?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"No." He said firmly. "You've thrown yourself into understanding your Class, even though out of all of us, you're probably the least knowledgeable. Which is actually fitting. You haven't hesitated to use your magic to help other people, but you don't go around flaunting it like an asshole."
He paused, waving his hand in circles, likely trying to recall something. "Like that Mending spell. Do you even remember how many people come to you to get their broken shit fixed? You just know it's broken, you can fix it, so you do."
I nodded. I hadn't even kept count.
"Or the times you used that Mage Hand to get things that were out of reach for people, like getting that frisbee down, and let's not forget how you've used Pressi- Presiti="
"Prestidigitation." I said.
"That. Just that one spell alone has been monumental in making things easier for people. We actually have Artificers working on gloves that just do that, because it's so useful." I nodded. I did make a habit of just cleaning things with it because I simultaneously couldn't bother with it, but didn't want to leave it alone.
"Ruuk." He said. "Everyone's been waiting for you to join us, rather than stay alone. We are a warren, all of us, even the Humans. It's time to come home."
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]]

On the day that I posted this, 5-28-2023, it would have been an entire year since I started collecting the daily word that Bing offers every day. For those of you don’t know, if you search for “Word of the day” on Bing, you will find a unique vocabulary word that is specific to each day. That’s what I’ve been documenting for the past year.
I started collecting the words back on May 29, 2022. I kept them in a plain text document that I named word-of-the-day.txt. This document was going to store my words in a specific format, which you will see below. I appended to this document every day in the summer using Windows Notepad, until I eventually moved the document to my Google Drive. This allowed me to hook up multiple automations to it, like a Siri Shortcut that would get the latest word and allow me to append it. Once April of 2023 (or even earlier) came around, I decided to change to only updating it every 6 days since my life was getting a bit busier then. And when I wasn’t automating, I would manually add the daily word as part of my MicrosoftRewards routine (sometimes, but only when I had the extra time for it)
Doing this isn’t as easy as going back to add all 365 words right before I published this. That is because there is a limit to how far back one can go in the daily words — after 7 days a word disappears from the end of the list and is lost forever. This meant that I had to stay on top of the word list, which I did do pretty consistently until I missed on day on June 30th. But that’s ok, as we all make mistakes.
While I was keeping track of the words that Bing offered every day, I learned some interesting things. Discovering a new word every day slowly strengthened my vocabulary to be more eclectic. I used these words in various things like stories, or just to confuse people that had never heard of the words. And with more words, what started as a hobby to collect the words became a project to archive the WOTD for an entire year.
A lot can happen in a single year. When I started, I didn't even have a Reddit account, and it was late May around the time where everyone gets out of school that I started making the list. Now it’s the end of another school year. I am completely different person.
So with that context and reflection, I would say that it is about time to show you the list that I’ve been collecting:*
```

~2022~

[001] May 29 - tenacious - tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely [002] May 30 - empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another [003] May 31 - prate - talk foolishly or at tedious length about something [004] June 01 - cerulean - deep blue in color like a clear sky [005] June 02 - redolent - strongly reminiscent or suggestive of [006] June 03 - diaphanous - (especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent [007] June 04 - sillage - the degree to which a perfume's fragrance lingers in the air when worn [008] June 05 - desultory - lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm [009] June 06 - mercurial - (of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind; of or containing the element mercury [010] June 07 - fawn - a young deer in its first year; a light yellowish-brown color [011] June 08 - estuary - the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream [012] June 09 - mellifluous - (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear: [013] June 10 - zippy - bright, fresh, or lively [014] June 11 - lush - (of vegetation) growing luxuriantly [015] June 12 - bucolic - relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life [016] June 13 - verdant - of the bright green color of lush grass [017] June 14 - regal - of, resembling, or fit for a monarch, especially in being magnificent or dignified [018] June 15 - pyrrhic - (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor [019] June 16 - picturesque - visually attractive, especially in a quaint or pretty style [020] June 17 - myriad - a countless or extremely great number [021] June 18 - gleaming - (of a smooth surface) reflecting light, typically because very clean or polished [022] June 19 - deafening - (of a noise) so loud as to make it impossible to hear anything else [023] June 20 - aberration - a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one that is unwelcome [024] June 21 - pleonasm - the use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning (e.g. see with one's eyes), either as a fault of style or for emphasis [025] June 22 - Instigate - bring about or initiate (an action or event) [026] June 23 - dubious - hesitating or doubting [027] June 24 - noxious - harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant [028] June 25 - calumny - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander [029] June 26 - abscond - leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft [030] June 27 - predilection - a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something [031] June 28 - equivocal - open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous [032] June 29 - pernicious - having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way [033] June 30 - ??? [034] July 01 - languor - the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia [035] July 02 - obsolete - no longer produced or used; out of date [036] July 03 - ambiguous - (of language) open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning [037] July 04 - patriotism - the quality of being patriotic; devotion to and vigorous support for one's country [038] July 05 - carouse - drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way [039] July 06 - insurgent - a rebel or revolutionary [040] July 07 - oligarchy - a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution [041] July 08 - loyalist - a person who remains loyal to the established ruler or government, especially in the face of a revolt [042] July 09 - veracity - conformity to facts; accuracy [043] July 10 - rescind - revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement) [044] July 11 - malarkey - meaningless talk; nonsense [045] July 12 - epoch - a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics [046] July 13 - abrogate - repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement) [047] July 14 - laconic - (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words [048] July 15 - prepossessing - attractive or appealing in appearance [049] July 16 - sonorous - (of a voice) imposingly deep and full [recovered, assumed] [050] July 17 - bombinate - buzz; hum [051] July 18 - altruistic - showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish [052] July 19 - upbraid - find fault with (someone); scold [053] July 20 - maelstrom - a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river [054] July 21 - illusory - based on illusion; not real [055] July 22 - lethargy - lack of energy and enthusiasm [056] July 23 - ethereal - extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world [057] July 24 - syzygy - a conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun [058] July 25 - phosphene - a ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system other than by light [059] July 26 - vacuous - having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless [060] July 27 - oleaginous - rich in, covered with, or producing oil; oily or greasy [061] July 28 - ignominious - deserving or causing public disgrace or shame [062] July 29 - parsimonious - unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal [063] July 30 - treachery - betrayal of trust; deceptive action or nature [064] July 31 - verisimilitude - the appearance of being true or real [065] August 01 - luminescence - the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated, as in fluorescence and phosphorescence [066] August 02 - susurration - whispering, murmuring, or rustling [067] August 03 - accost - approach and address (someone) boldly or aggressively [068] August 04 - clamor - a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently. [069] August 05 - mendacious - not telling truth, lying [070] August 06 - dilly-dally - waste time through aimless wandering or indecision [071] August 07 - neophyte - a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief [072] August 08 - purist - person who insists on absolute adherence to traditional rules or structures, especially in a language or style [073] August 09 - bellicose - demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight [074] August 10 - duplicity - deceitfulness; double-dealing [075] August 11 - deus ex machina - an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel. [076] August 12 - supine - (of a person) lying face upward [077] August 13 - nebulous - in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy [078] August 14 - viscosity - the state of being thick, sticky, and semifluid in consistency, due to internal friction [079] August 15 - lampoon - publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm [080] August 16 - fatuous - silly and pointless [081] August 17 - effervescence - bubbles in a liquid; fizz [082] August 18 - defenestration - the action of throwing someone out of a window [083] August 19 - acumen - the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain [084] August 20 - tempest - a violent windy storm [085] August 21 - repartee - conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies [086] August 22 - chuffed - very pleased [087] August 23 - iridescent - showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles [088] August 24 - archetypal - Very typical of a certain kind of person of thing [089] August 25 - forbearance - patient self-control; restraint and tolerance [090] August 26 - stoic - a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining [091] August 27 - officious - assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, especially with regard to petty or trivial matters [092] August 28 - maudlin - self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness [093] August 29 - oblivion - the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening [094] August 30 - scintillating - sparkling or shining brightly [095] August 31 - lithe - (especially of a person's body) thin, supple, and graceful [096] September 01 - superfluous - unnecessary, especially through being more than enough [097] September 02 - zenith - the time at which something is most powerful or successful [098] September 03 - evocative - bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind [099] September 04 - cobbler - a person who mends shoes as a job [100] September 05 - vitriolic - filled with bitter criticism or malice [101] September 06 - stolid - (of a person) calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation [102] September 07 - eurhythmic - (especially of architecture or art) in or relating to harmonious proportion. [103] September 08 - fallacious - based on a mistaken belief [104] September 09 - multifarious - many and of various types [105] September 10 - rhapsody - an effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling [106] September 11 - cogent - (of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing [107] September 12 - gregarious - (of a person) fond of company; sociable [108] September 13 - vilify - speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner [109] September 14 - toady - a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important [110] September 15 - deride - express contempt for; ridicule [111] September 16 - rapturous - characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm [112] September 17 - bibliophile - a person who collects or has a great love of books [113] September 18 - fugacious - tending to disappear; fleeting [114] September 19 - lollygag - spend time aimlessly; idle [115] September 20 - bae - a person's boyfriend or girlfriend (often as a form of address) [116] September 21 - jovial - cheerful and friendly [117] September 22 - sycophant - a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage [118] September 23 - wayward - difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior [119] September 24 - maverick - an unorthodox or independent-minded person [120] September 25 - vociferous - (especially of a person or speech) vehement or clamorous [121] September 26 - eclectic - deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources [122] September 27 - bane - a cause of great distress or annoyance [123] September 28 - pedant - a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning [124] September 29 - writhe - make continual twisting, squirming movements or contortions of the body [125] September 30 - foliage - plant leaves collectively [126] October 01 - eerie - strange and frightening [127] October 02 - bogeyman - an imaginary evil spirit or being, used to frighten children [128] October 03 - catacomb - an underground cemetery consisting of a subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs, as constructed by the ancient Romans [129] October 04 - cryptozoology - the search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated [130] October 05 - kafkaesque - characteristic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of Franz Kafka's fictional world [131] October 06 - cipher - a secret or disguised way of writing; a code [132] October 07 - morbid - characterized by an unusual interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects, especially death and disease [133] October 08 - eldritch - weird and sinister or ghostly [134] October 09 - superstition - excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings [135] October 10 - omen - an event regarded as a portent of good or evil [136] October 11 - miasma - a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor [137] October 12 - poltergeist - a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around [138] October 13 - harridan - a strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman [139] October 14 - serpentine - of or like a serpent or snake [140] October 15 - incarnadine - a bright crimson or pinkish-red color [141] October 16 - pallor - an unhealthy pale appearance [142] October 17 - apparition - a ghost or ghostlike image of a person [143] October 18 - abhorrent - inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant [144] October 19 - banshee - (in Irish legend) a female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death in a house [145] October 20 - dismal - depressing; dreary [146] October 21 - labyrinth - a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze [147] October 22 - sarcophagus - a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece [148] October 23 - twilight - the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere [149] October 24 - bizarre - very strange or unusual, especially so as to cause interest or amusement [150] October 25 - foreshadow - be a warning or indication of (a future event) [151] October 26 - fiend - an evil spirit or demon [152] October 27 - lycanthrope - a werewolf [153] October 28 - scythe - a tool used for cutting crops such as grass or wheat, with a long curved blade at the end of a long pole attached to which are one or two short handles [154] October 29 - lusus naturae - a freak of nature [155] October 30 - wraith - a ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death [156] October 31 - jack-o'-lantern - a lantern made from a hollowed-out pumpkin in which holes are cut to represent facial features, typically made at Halloween [157] November 01 - logophile - a lover of words [158] November 02 - eloquent - fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing [159] November 03 - sesquipedalian - (of a word) polysyllabic; long [160] November 04 - irony - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect [161] November 05 - homophone - each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling [162] November 06 - homograph - each of two or more words spelled the same but not necessarily pronounced the same and having different meanings and origins. [163] November 07 - elegy - a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead [164] November 08 - palindrome - a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward [165] November 09 - antithesis - a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else [166] November 10 - bookish - (of a person or way of life) devoted to reading and studying rather than worldly interests [167] November 11 - phenomenon - a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question [168] November 12 - denouement - the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved [169] November 13 - woe - great sorrow or distress [170] November 14 - blithe - showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper [171] November 15 - trouvaille - a lucky find [172] November 16 - empirical - based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic [173] November 17 - trite - (of a remark, opinion, or idea) overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness [174] November 18 - diction - the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing [175] November 19 - hubris - excessive pride or self-confidence [176] November 20 - motif - a decorative image or design, especially a repeated one forming a pattern [177] November 21 - anachronism - a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned [178] November 22 - gourmand - a person who enjoys eating and often eats too much [179] November 23 - recant - say that one no longer holds an opinion or belief, especially one considered heretical [180] November 24 - erudite - having or showing great knowledge or learning [181] November 25 - omniscient - knowing everything [182] November 26 - novella - a short novel or long short story [183] November 27 - metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable [184] November 28 - anagram - a word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another [185] November 29 - expunge - obliterate or remove completely (something unwanted or unpleasant) [186] November 30 - sough - (of the wind in trees, the sea, etc.) make a moaning, whistling, or rushing sound [187] December 01 - advent - the arrival of a notable person or thing [188] December 02 - gelidity - the quality or condition of being extremely cold or icy [189] December 03 - niveous - snowy or resembling snow [190] December 04 - awe - a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder [191] December 05 - Scrooge, Ebenezer - a miserly curmudgeon in Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol (1843) [192] December 06 - levity - humor or frivolity, especially the treatment of a serious matter with humor or in a manner lacking due respect [193] December 07 - tranquility - the quality or state of being tranquil; calm [194] December 08 - ephemeral - lasting for a very short time [195] December 09 - surfeit - an excessive amount of something [196] December 10 - staid - sedate, respectable, and unadventurous [197] December 11 - ubiquitous - present, appearing, or found everywhere [198] December 12 - virtuoso - a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit [199] December 13 - winsome - attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent way [200] December 14 - Grinch - a mean-spirited person who spoils the enjoyment of others; a spoilsport or killjoy [201] December 15 - mirth - amusement, especially as expressed in laughter [202] December 16 - quirky - having or characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits or aspects: [203] December 17 - toboggan - a long, light, narrow vehicle, typically on runners, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice [204] December 18 - evanescent - soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing [205] December 19 - zephyr - a soft gentle breeze [206] December 20 - hearth - the floor of a fireplace [207] December 21 - tidings - news; information [208] December 22 - garland - a wreath of flowers and leaves, worn on the head or hung as a decoration [209] December 23 - cornucopia - a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn [210] December 24 - crackle - make a rapid succession of short sharp noises [211] December 25 - Yuletide - archaic term for Christmas [212] December 26 - fervor - intense and passionate feeling [213] December 27 - whimsy - playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor [214] December 28 - kith - one's friends, acquaintances, and relations [215] December 29 - equanimity - calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation [216] December 30 - insidious - proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects [217] December 31 - revel - enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing

~2023~

[218] January 01 - clinquant - glittering with gold and silver; tinseled [219] January 02 - Elysian - relating to or characteristic of heaven or paradise [220] January 03 - coterie - a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people [221] January 04 - eke - make an amount or supply of something last longer by using or consuming it frugally [222] January 05 - vestibule - an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building [223] January 06 - lucid - expressed clearly; easy to understand [224] January 07 - livid - furiously angry [225] January 08 - perspicuous - clearly expressed and easily understood; lucid [226] January 09 - vex - make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters [227] January 10 - puerile - childishly silly and immature [228] January 11 - splendour - magnificent and splendid appearance; grandeur [229] January 12 - wistful - having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing [230] January 13 - capybara - a South American mammal that resembles a giant long-legged guinea pig. [231] January 14 - martyr - a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs [232] January 15 - gimmick - a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade [233] January 16 - brood - a family of birds or other young animals produced at one hatching or birth [234] January 17 - malady - a disease or ailment [235] January 18 - zeal - great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective [236] January 19 - hamartia - a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine [237] January 20 - supernova - a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass. [238] January 21 - celestial - positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy [239] January 22 - peart - lively; cheerful [240] January 23 - serendipity - the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way [241] January 24 - blatherskite - a person who talks at great length without making much sense [242] January 25 - constellate - form or cause to form into a cluster or group; gather together [243] January 26 - recalcitrant - having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline [244] January 27 - waif - a homeless, neglected, or abandoned person, especially a child [245] January 28 - moulder - slowly decay or disintegrate, especially because of neglect [246] January 29 - limpid - (of a liquid) completely clear and transparent [247] January 30 - travesty - a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something [248] January 31 - quixotic - extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical [249] February 01 - eidolon - an idealized person or thing [250] February 02 - desideratum - something that is needed or wanted [251] February 03 - ensorcell - enchant; fascinate [252] February 04 - aurora - a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by the appearance of streamers in the sky near the northern or southern magnetic pole. [253] February 05 - jaded - bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something [254] February 06 - limerence - the state of being infatuated with another person, typically experienced involuntarily [255] February 07 - obfuscate - make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible [256] February 08 - idle - (of a person) avoiding work; lazy [257] February 09 - peart - lively; cheerful [258] February 10 - scintilla - a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling [259] February 11 - gangling - (of a person) tall, thin, and awkward in movements or bearing [260] February 12 - sublime - of very great excellence or beauty [261] February 13 - ineffable - too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words [262] February 14 - moonstruck - unable to think or act normally, especially as a result of being in love [263] February 15 - nostalgia - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past [264] February 16 - panacea - a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases [265] February 17 - razz - tease (someone) playfully [266] February 18 - kin - one's family and relations [267] February 19 - melodious - relating to or characterized by melody [268] February 20 - fractious - (typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome [269] February 21 - idiosyncratic - relating to idiosyncrasy; peculiar or individual [270] February 22 - spurious - not being what it purports to be; false or fake [271] February 23 - quandary - a state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation [272] February 24 - pulchritude - beauty [273] February 25 - rhetoric - the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques [274] February 26 - naturalism - (in art and literature) a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail [275] February 27 - histrionic - excessively theatrical or dramatic in character or style [276] February 28 - onomatopoeia - the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named [277] March 01 - gawky - nervously awkward and ungainly [278] March 02 - akin - of similar character [279] March 03 - garrulous - excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters [280] March 04 - lofty - of imposing height [281] March 05 - pugnacious - eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight [282] March 06 - relative - considered in relation or in proportion to something else [283] March 07 - liminal - relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. [284] March 08 - gratuitous - done without good reason; uncalled for [285] March 09 - solicitous - characterized by or showing interest or concern [286] March 10 - quaint - attractively unusual or old-fashioned [287] March 11 - inane - lacking sense or meaning; silly [288] March 12 - pert - (of a girl or young woman) attractively lively or cheeky [289] March 13 - esoteric - intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest [290] March 14 - schadenfreude - pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune [291] March 15 - odious - extremely unpleasant; repulsive [292] March 16 - numinous - having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity [293] March 17 - loquacious - tending to talk a great deal; talkative [294] March 18 - impecunious - having little or no money [295] March 19 - sanguine - optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation [296] March 20 - pungent - having a sharply strong taste or smell [297] March 21 - charming - very pleasant or attractive [298] March 22 - soliloquy - an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play [299] March 23 - penurious - extremely poor; poverty-stricken [300] March 24 - jamboree - a large celebration or party, typically a lavish and boisterous one [301] March 25 - rapacious - aggressively greedy or grasping [302] March 26 - incontrovertible - not able to be denied or disputed [303] March 27 - promulgate - promote or make widely known (an idea or cause) [304] March 28 - opportunist - person who takes advantage of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle [305] March 29 - gallivant - go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment [306] March 30 - iconoclast - a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions [307] March 31 - pinprick - a prick caused by a pin [308] April 01 - petrichor - a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather [309] April 02 - ungainly - (of a person or movement) awkward; clumsy [310] April 03 - abject - (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree [311] April 04 - lurid - unpleasantly bright in colour, especially so as to create a harsh or unnatural effect: [312] April 05 - spire - a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, typically a church tower [313] April 06 - proclivity - a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition towards a particular thing [314] April 07 - convivial - (of an atmosphere or event) friendly, lively, and enjoyable [315] April 08 - unfeigned - genuine; sincere [316] April 09 - penchant - a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something [317] April 10 - sanctimonious - making a show of being morally superior to other people [318] April 11 - inimical - tending to obstruct or harm [319] April 12 - taut - stretched or pulled tight; not slack [320] April 13 - rue - bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen) and wish it undone [321] April 14 - pithy - (of a fruit or plant) containing much pith [322] April 15 - impetuous - acting or done quickly and without thought or care [323] April 16 - disperse - distribute or spread over a wide area [324] April 17 - sinuous - having many curves and turns [325] April 18 - plethora - a large or excessive amount of something [326] April 19 - meadow - a piece of grassland, especially one used for hay [327] April 20 - persnickety - placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details [328] April 21 - rusticate - suspend (a student) from a university as a punishment [329] April 22 - dichotomy - a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different [330] April 23 - bardolatry - excessive admiration of Shakespeare [331] April 24 - halcyon - denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful [332] April 25 - gad - go from place to place in the pursuit of pleasure [333] April 26 - collusion -secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to deceive others [334] April 27 - ration - a fixed amount of a commodity officially allowed to each person during a time of shortage, as in wartime [335] April 28 - clergy - the body of all people ordained for religious duties, especially in the Christian Church [336] April 29 - mitigate - make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful [337] April 30 - paradigm - a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or mode [338] May 01 - May Day - 1 May, celebrated in many countries as a traditional springtime festival or as an international day honouring workers [339] May 02 - denouement - the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved [340] May 03 - voracious - wanting or devouring great quantities of food [341] May 04 - sciamachy - sham fighting for exercise or practice [342] May 05 - vindicate - clear (someone) of blame or suspicion [343] May 06 - panegyric - a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something [344] May 07 - indomitable - impossible to subdue or defeat [345] May 08 - sedulous - (of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence [346] May 09 - baby boomer - a person born in the years following the Second World War, when there was a temporary marked increase in the birth rate [347] May 10 - plaudit - an expression of praise or approval [348] May 11 - audacious - showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks [349] May 12 - intrepid - fearless; adventurous [350] May 13 - multifarious - many and of various types [351] May 14 - eclectic - deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources [352] May 15 - evanescent - soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing [353] May 16 - normative - establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behaviour [354] May 17 - lucent - glowing with or giving off light [355] May 18 - erudite - having or showing great knowledge or learning [356] May 19 - encomium - a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly. [357] May 20 - husbandry - the care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals [358] May 21 - meticulous - showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise [359] May 22 - niche - a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment: [360] May 23 - lugubrious - looking or sounding sad and dismal [361] May 24 - magnanimity - the fact or condition of being magnanimous; generosity [362] May 25 - cornucopia - a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn. [363] May 26 - nascent - (especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential [364] May 27 - pulchritudinous - beautiful [365] May 28 - contingent - subject to chance
365 Days/Words
```
I’m not in control of this list, you there might be some duplicates. Just enjoy the post, as I’m sure that this is something contrasting from the Bing Ai that a lot of people are posting about. I saw that the moderators commented on my post thinking that it was relating to Bing AI.
You can ask me a question about this project in the comments below:

[←Chapter 46] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 48→]
Efrain was left, more or less, with two things left to teach. First was the more complex magical motion, how to draw flows and glide things along them. The second was how that applied to the wondrous black metal, and then to shape it into whatever she had seen.
Efrain, not for the first time, wished that he’d seen the knife, that way he wouldn’t have to rely on the girl’s amateur talents. There was a good chance that she would not be able to construct it soundly or missed crucial details that were essential. It was a risk, giving her this greatly expedited tutelage, then making her build a magic tool with nothing but educated guesswork. Practically like explaining pulleys and counterweights, and then asking a student to design an elevator.
He didn’t let his mind rest on it for too long - he had enough horrors today without contemplating what lay beyond the stone. Still, it weighed on him, as even moving the water around was noticeably more difficult than it would’ve been in the free air. He set out another filled bucket and an empty one, provided gratis by the workers.
“Are you having fun yet?” he said aloud, drawing the attention and a few nervous chuckles.
“It might be good for you to listen in,” he continued, “magic is here, has been here, and will continue to be here long after any of us are gone. One of these principles might save your life one day?”
After a few moments, a younger member hesitantly spoke.
“Are there any schools? To teach magic,” he said, before immediately trying to shrink back into the crowd.
Efrain regarded him as he considered the question.
“Why? Do you have an interest?”
The men around him laughed, and the boy’s face flushed as he locked eyes with what must’ve been a very attractive bench.
“Yes. There are, and were, schools. The greatest was the Angorrah Academy in the capital, but it has long been ransacked and converted to other uses. Centuries ago, now.”
The men were listening with interest now. Efrain wasn’t surprised, given the way the church stepped on the toes of history when writing its edicts.
“Yes. Angorrah used to be a heart of learning of all kinds,” he said, gesturing off to the western mountains, “magic, science, the arts, craftsmanship. The academy was beautiful, in its way. Still… what happened happened.”
“The night of the burning tree?” one of the older men ventured.
“Indeed,” Efrain said, “the night of the burning tree. A bunch of hotblooded youths getting involved in open rebellion. Anyone care to take a guess at what the seniors were doing?”
No one responded, all were looking on with bated breath.
“Nothing. Sitting in their towers, sipping their wine. All the while a bunch of idiots painted a target on all of our backs, and they did nothing to stop them.”
He was conscious of the potential hypocrisy he was engaged in. It was only a couple of years after the night of the burning tree when he had awoken in his new body. For all he knew, he could’ve been one of the idiots involved. He would like to think that he was not so stupid as to burn the most holy symbol of the church. But there was no way to know for certain.
“Then the purges began,” he said, “I had left the city before. I saw the writing on the wall.”
“But that would mean you’re hundreds of years old,” protested one of the men.
Efrain looked at him, the other men looked at him, and the man faded back with a quiet ‘oh’.
“Yes, I’ve lived for a very, very long time,” he said, stretching as he did, “there’s several different ways you can go about it, but… well, the results speak for themselves.”
Now that caught their attention, as tales of immortality often did.
“Before you ask, there’s a steep price for extended life, regardless of which way you do it. Not to mention, it’ll most likely take decades upon decades of study, and help from others besides. Even with all that, it’s still a very risky business. One mistake, and you’ll be greeting death early.”
That seemed to quell most of the curiosity, though not extinguish it completely.
“Well,” he said, “back to the original question. As for the remaining schools of magic, you’re not likely to find anything west of the mountains. The church’s hold is too strong for any sort of formal study to flourish there. The best one would be…”
Efrain tapped his mask as he ran through the locations, hoping that two centuries hadn’t wiped them away.
“Karkos, to the south east,” he said, “though I haven’t been there for many years. I recall… well, there was the idea of a school once. If you’re really interested, that would be the place to try.”
Some of the men nodded thoughtfully, though Efrain doubted any of them were actually vying to go.
“What can magic do?” said one of the younger ones again, “can it make swords sharp, or on fire or…”
He stuttered out as he reached the limits of his creativity. Efrain didn’t mind - it was nice to have queries to take his minds off of recent events.
“Magic weapons?” he said, mentally thumbing through his collection of knowledge on the topic, “yes, you could. Most ordinary weapons can be infused with magic, with appropriate skill. As for things custom made for the purposes of handling magic, well…”
He thought back to his vault in his holdfast, missing home, as cold and isolated as it might’ve been. There were a handful of weapons in his collections, usually cursed, but little that he would actually use. They were mostly there for preservation and study, rather than actual warfare. His armoury on the other hand had enchanted items, but they tended to be more along alchemical lines rather than physical ones.
“They are rare, quite rare. Some of you are steel workers, I would think?” he said, witnessing a few nods, “well then, how many years would it take to become a good one, usually?”
There was a smattering of guesses, until a big, keg-chested man offered “five or tener’ years, depends.”
“Then I’m sure you can imagine, my friend,” Efrain said nodding, “combine learning magic and smithing, then learning how to weave the latter into the former. Many, many years. True master enchanters and magesmiths are not something seen since Angorrah’s golden years, and that was centuries ago.”
He remembered the site of the great forge works under the academy, situated near the cistern so that they had a constant supply of water to fuel engines and quenching pools. The smell of hot metal and burning wood barely eclipse the stench of sewage. There had been several doddering craftsmen by the time he’d left, though the days of their magnum opuses were long past.
“Even in my time, they were dying out, and when the Academy was ‘decommissioned’, well, most of their works and knowledge was destroyed. I only knew barely beyond the basics. In any case, most magic weapons are too expensive to be practical. However you could ‘enhance’ in the way you’re thinking’ - holding edges for longer and so on.”
He paused, trying to recall the few examples he’d witnessed first-hand.
“Why, they even used to pre-enchant metal at the academy, so you could temper them faster at higher temperatures, without risking warping or weakening.”
The men began to nod more fervently - this was a subject they were more familiar with.
“But nothing dramatic. To be sure, there are tales. Weapons of light, tools to replant forests and cure illness,” he said, reaching over for the cube.
Watching the streams and rivers of metal form and reform in his hands, he began to recite.
“Long lost, long lost, across the waves,
Past brothers’ tombs and fathers’ graves.
Long lost, long lost, across the sea.
Lands old and rich and everfree.
The first lands where we long to be,
Long lost, long lost, across the sea.
Where all are found, where all is saved.
Long lost, long lost, across the waves.”
“I know that!” one of the men said, “it’s in one of the church books the priest used to sing.”
“Aieadda. It’s an old poem, one of the oldest. It’s one of the few surviving writings from the times of Eblem.”
The name of Angorrah’s founding king turned the last of the bowed heads.
“You’ve been?” said a number of astonished labourers, drawing a mental grin from Efrain. The ‘first lands’ must’ve been a legend to them, something spoken about in terms of gods and myths.
“No, no I’ve not,” he said, “they do exist, far to the south west. Several weeks by ship, if the wind is in your favour. It’s a hazardous crossing. But, if the verses are to be believed, ‘anything’ can be found there. Magic runs strong in that country.”
He lifted up the now solid cube as an example.
“For instance,” he said, “and if this is the metalwork they could do, who knows what else they could create?”
The men were enchanted now, transfixed by stories they’d never heard. But it’d have to wait for later, he thought, as he saw Sorore led by Lillian cut around the corner.
“Right then, back to work. Though you are welcome to listen in as you wish,” he said, as Sorore sat down in front of him, frowning at the two buckets.
“You ready?” he said, and she nodded, “very well, let’s begin.”
“The second lesson of magical motion is as follows…”
For the next half-hour he taught her about the process of drawing flows. How to imagine an invisible line, like carving a channel for the water to follow. How to start from before the mass, and move magic through it, simultaneously pushing the magic through it, and pushing the mass on the magic.
“And to practise that, I’ve brought back your favourite teaching aid,” he said, gesturing to the pair of buckets in front of them.
He thought he detected the hint of a scowl on the girl’s face.
“Quite simple, really, just draw an arc between the two points. We’ll stop when you’ve filled the empty bucket to the best of your ability.”
The hour after that was relatively simple, Sorore imagined a line, drew magic across it, then drew the water across that. A few false starts and water explosions later, she had a steady stream falling into the bucket.
“That’d be useful,” said one of the men, “wouldn’t have to move around the smithy too much.”
“Solid objects get a little more tricky,” said Efrain, “if I taught you how, you’d spend just as much time learning how to dodge wayward tools.”
There was genuine, not nervous laughter this time. Sorore was sitting there, quite focused on the stream, though not particularly tense, watching as the water slowly filtered from one to the other.
“A fun minor lesson,” he said, “try to make a flow with right angles only.”
The girl’s concentration lapsed, spilling water on the cobbles to her annoyance. But regardless, she tried, and largely succeeded in the first part. When she attempted to push water up, it sprayed off past one of the men, leading to it being quickly dropped.
“Any object has mass, and thus momentum. Think of running and rapidly turning around. Takes a lot more effort, doesn’t it? Curves are almost always more efficient. Now, back to it.”
Within another twenty minutes or so, she had filled up the second bucket. The last of the drops were drawn over the arc, and vanished under the surface.
“Well done,” he said, “you now know the basics of moving liquids like water, and even gas like the air around us. Solids get a little more tricky, so there’s really no time to teach you that. When we get to forging the knife, let me handle that part.”
She nodded, beaming at the bucket that was empty less than an hour ago.
“You’re ready,” he said, “now for one little note about this material. This has no resistance to magic. You’ll have to create your own, for reasons that we can discuss later. Two forces, equal, pushing against one another. Are you ready?”
She nodded, fingers twitching in excitement as he handed her the cube.
“Merely make them equal as you can,” he said, “don’t try and-”
The partially liquid cube shot out to the left, which Efrain caught and circled around into the main mass. The girl’s magic was still quite chaotic, and it was potent.
“Try again, two opposite forces at the same time. Like pressing your finger tips against each other. You’re holding it under tension.”
She did so, and a couple of tries later, the cube collapsed into fluid.
“Well done,” he said, despite the gasp she made as she attempted to grab at the fluid, “now comes the hard part. You need to maintain that tension as you guide it along the flow.”
He demonstrated, letting the material pool and coalesce into a streamer that floated into the air.
“This will be tricky. We’ll work at it,” he said, letting it spatter back onto the pavement.
The girl tried, and tried, and tried, and tried. For hours and hours as her face grew pale and sweat once more dripped from her chin. They were well past midday before she managed to get a decent grip on the technique, even though it still vibrated violently.
Efrain was completely unsurprised by the imperfection. Wo
rking with material like this was a challenge even for senior students. She had managed it in an afternoon. On its own, she would be considered exceptional, even if she had years worth of theory to catch up on. Efrain seized control and moulded it back into a cube, letting it solidify once more.
“Well,” he said, “you’ve gotten the gist of it. Not so easy, hm?”
She nodded, brushing her hair back and rubbing at her eyes.
“Now comes the really hard part,” he said, with less sadistic, teacherly mirth than he might want to, “You need to create a flow that is the shape of the blade.”
Sorore’s eyes widened at the proposition, and she audibly gulped.
“How?” she said.
“Imagine the shape of the blade in space, and divide it up into flows that you can guide the metal to. Simple in theory. But far, far from easy. This is the challenge we’ve been leading up to. You need not worry about making it solid, just let me handle that. You need only to work on the shape.”
Sorore was eager to try, if a little daunted perhaps by the complexity of the task. First Efrain managed to make a concept wire piece of the blade with her. They discussed features, the chisel tip, the furled blades, the tang of the blade. The small rivulets and channels she’d seen in her ‘visions’ of it.
Then came the actual ‘forging’ of it, and by the Lost, was it difficult. Attempt after attempt after attempt fell apart, the girl growing grey by the exhaustion. As the light around them began to darken, they stopped, adjusted and retired. All to no avail.
“I just can’t…” she said, face red with effort after the latest attempt, “there’s too much to keep track of.”
Efrain had watched, with occasionally gentle prodding, as the girl attempted to fill in the gaps. The actual flow wasn’t particularly difficult, but forming the total structure of the blade, while maintaining cardinal paths for the metal to follow was clearly beyond her level. Efrain sighed - at least now, he had an idea of what the shape was and could make a good approximation of what was needed.
It was unfortunate that the young girl didn't manage to fully develop the skill over the afternoon’s course, but it was hardly unexpected. He had been pushing her far too hard, and at this point it was probably going to be more economical to just simply create the blade himself. It wouldn't be perfect, but he had to hope that it would be enough for the door.
"Well,” he said, “ it would appear that we’ve run out of time. Good progress despite. I think I'll try to finish the rest of it.”
As he’d expected, the dismissal made the young woman's shoulders slump further. He was almost tempted to reach out to her, but the ever-present glare of Lillian dissuaded him. She would get over it, assuming they all survived, and for that, he needed the knife. Soroe was led away into the afternoon, and Efrain was left to find a solution he wasn’t entirely sure existed.
Within a few minutes he had managed to get the basic shape, the details, however, were an entirely different story. Try after try after try, he spent what hours he had attempting to get every single detail he could. Night was oncoming before he had something he thought might work. The actual utilisation and technique he hoped weren’t as important as the structure. Efrain was not looking forward to the most likely outcome - the first usage of magic would immediately revert the solid metal to fluid.
Sighing, he finally rose, bizarre blade in his hand. With a nod to the rest of the labourers, well at work repairing blades and mending armour, he departed to the church. The remainder of the townsfolk were littered about, preparing for the siege. If they were lucky, they had a few more hours before the attacks began, but that did not still the fear obvious in their eyes.
Efrain crossed into the main hold of the church, and made his way to the stair door. Innie picked herself up off the stones and walked beside him.
“The child?” Efrain said, looking back towards the medic bay.
“Leave her,” said the cat, “she’s needed, and the happiest I’ve ever seen her. Did you have any luck?”
“She came close. Somewhat,” Efrain said, letting the black blade catch the light, “I finished it.”
“Oh that’s comforting,” said Innie, “using a tool you finished.”
“If you have a better suggestion,” Efrain responded with a snort, “we can’t get much more desperate than we are now. Is this or roof.”
“I'd rather fight them here on, at least that way I can burn the church down while I die,” she said.
The catacombs greeted them - dark, cold, and smothering. The duo came before the black stone wall, Efrain glancing over to check if there was nothing he’d missed. Finding that his powers of observation were sound, he raised the blade tip to the smooth black stone.
“Here we go,” he said.
[←Chapter 46] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 48→]

We know well that in the age of Erdtree the very concept of death was banished from the world thanks to Marika but it doesn't mean that living beings were immortal back then. People following the Grace had died eventually and had been buried in a catacombs and then they could be resurrected with thier body and soul in Erdtree. It seems similar to both christian theology and the concept of reincarnation.
Dying by natural causes was definitely a thing but then why so many characters in the current events are probably thousands years old?
Marika was a vessel for the power of true god called Greater Will so it's understandable than she could be immortal and forever young. She was like a goddess from others perspective. Demigods had special blood of Marika/Radagon so let's say that they just inherited immortality. We can interpretate Tarnished like the protagonist or Hoarah Loux similarly to the undeads from previous From Software's games, they die and resurrect in a never ending circle, they were made like this on purpose. Fire Giant was a vessel for different outer god so he also could be immortal, maybe his entire specie was immortal or extremely long living. We can also accept very long lifespan or immortality of monstrosities like dragons or Astel, they are very unique and just could be build different, same with Snake God.
But during the game we see tons of normal humans who seems to be just like an undeads from Dark Souls, completely unable to fully die, but they are not undeads. Those who live in dead are actual undeads in this world, and they are clearly different from a common minions looking like a mindless undeads who forgot their purpose and roams Lands from many ages now. Normal people can't be resurrected without the Grace of Erdtree for sure but they should be able to die somehow, just like their ancestors buried in catacombs.
Then we have specific characters who are clearly not Tarnished and they aren't related to Marika but they seems to be alive for thousands of years. Rennala is actually just a human, descendant of an ancient astrologers allied with fire giants before the age of Erdtree. She was a powerful sorceress but it's unclear how she even could get rid of mortality. Banishing the death is a really big deal and only Marika could do it. Rennala tho is definitely thousands years old and forever young, no matter what happens to her.
Selen is another example for the human who probably lives for ages and never goes old. She could be the member of the academy when Rennala was still sane. And she isn't nearly as powerful as Rennala. It seems that sorcerers are kind of immortal for no particular reason.
Jerren might be a tarnished but there's no proof. If he's human then he is thousands years old because he was a good friend to Radahan before The Shattering. I took my chronology from the very unclear statement of George R.R. Martin that Shattering could happen about 5000 years ago, but even if it's an exaggerating then it's still must be really long ago.
And shit, even the one one only horse Leonard must be thousands years old.
Blaidd and Iji know Ranni from her childhood so they're also incredibly old and seem to be immortal for some reason. That's pretty weird when you realize that your good buddy Blaidd is actually some wierd ancient being.
Godskin apostles and nobles, crucible knights, they're all unique characters who don't reproduce themselves so they also must be immortal for some reasons and they basically witnessed entire ER lore by their own eyes.
Personally I don't like the idea that you are surrounded by ancient creatures who can casually speak with you. They are witnesses of all those legendary events from thousands of years ago but they're more interested to speak with you about the current weather than to reveal something more about this very unclear and still pretty much unknown lore.

Spoilers ahead! Beware of a very speculative theory!
Classes
We can choose from several classes at the start of the game. While the wretch, bandit, prisoner and vagabound are rather universal concepts with nor specific lore attached, the hero, warrior, astrologer, prophet and confessor are perfectly linked into the Lands Between lore. And then there is the samurai who has also a nice bit of lore. Doesn’t it feel odd if this lore isn’t linked to the Lands Between. Wouldn’t it be more likely that it is?
Templates
With the templates it is quite similar. There are some that have a very direct connection to the lore, like Numen (Marika), Nightfolk (Nox / Silver tears), Draconian (Farum Azula), Warrior (Godfreys kinfolk) We can also establish connections to areas or tribes of the Lands Between to some of them based on their discribtions, like the Northener (Kaiden), Loner (Merchants), Truth Seeker (Prophets / Sages), Aristocrat (Noble), Seafarer (Peninsula / Castle Morne). Again, what’s left would be the Reedlander.
Size and Viewpoint
The game gives us a rich environment with different regions. But still, it is a video game that has to downscale the areas by a huge margin to make it playable. Given the economic backgrounds necessary to have cities and armies with the given scale, the backlands providing them must be enormous. So, we should assume that each major area of the game contains dozens over dozens of square miles of land. The game gives a lot of hints to this concept, with calling areas “lands” and describing them as vast or wide. When the game talks about the “Lands Between” we can pretty much understand this as a real plural talking about several regions which all by themselves could be called a land based on their size.
The realm of Marikas reign seems to be very much centralized with Lyndell as the capital. If this is the heart of the realm, with the scale and the overall layout of the map in mind, it is pretty likely for an inhabitant of Lyndell to call Caelid a “distant land”, Godfrey and his army would most likely share this viewpoint. So, a Samurai being from a “distant land” does not necessarily have to point outside the Lands Between.
A Swamp
If we look into the underground onto the lake of rot, with the Map (Lake of rot) in mind, then the rot in this land, as the item calls it, is probably because of the sealed essence of the god of rot. But if we look at the overall layout and the Grand Cloister then it seems clear that this area would be a lake even without the rot around.
We can take this idea to the swamp of Aeonia. The rot in this area comes from Malenia, but even without this it most likely is still a large swamp. Reeds grow prominently in wet areas like these.
Stuff
Certain Reedland Equipment is with or in the vicinity of their unique users. Like the Ash of War: Seppuku and the White Reed Set (Inaba), Ronins Set and Nagakiba (Yura), Eleonora's Poleblade (Eleonora), Okina Mask and Rivers of Blood (Okina).
But we find a significant number of Land of Reed equipment in Caelid, like the Meteoric Ore Blade (Caelid Waypoint Ruins), Moonveil and Cross-Naginata (Gael Tunnel), Wakizashi (Goal Cave), Land of Reed Set (Isolated Merchant) with the Moonveil even stating that it was made in Sellia.
Some are found not all that far away like the Uchigatana (Deathtouched Catacombs, Stormhill), Ash of War: Unsheathe (Teardrop Scarab, Agheel Lake, Limgrave), Red Thorn Roundshield Shield (Nomadic Merchant, Weeping Peninsula)
That leaves few to be out of this like the Hand of Malenia, Serpentbone Blade (Tanith, Volcano Mannor), Dragonscale Blade (Lake of Rot), where the Dragonscale blade could also be linked to Sellia through Nokron
Dragons
Combining the Map of Dragonbarrow and Greyoll’s roar draws the picture that the dragons are typical inhabitants of Caelid and this much likely for a fairly long time.
Elenora wears the Drake knight set, which describes people who have pride to be both dragon hunter and partaker of dragon communion. It is also stated that from birth, drake knights speak not a word. It is not clear if this is to be understand as a vow of silence from the point of becoming a knight or like someone being born mute and therefor being forced to take this profession. Both interpretations indicate a very strong cultural background of hostility against dragons.
Yura supports us in the battle against Agheel and afterwards he says: “That was my first dragon hunt in quite some time. Paired up with a hothead like you, it was just like old times.” This sounds a lot that it is quite normal for him to hunt dragons.
The starting equipment of the Samurai contains the Red Thorn Roundshield Shield, which particularly boast fire defense. The Long bow also being with the Samurai starting equipment is nicely fitting.
Blood
The Mother of truth is likely the force behind a lot of bloodshed. She is desiring it and within her realm of influence it most likely will occur. We find Mogh in the Mohgwyn Palace after he brought Miquella there, but Mogh himself is a relatively new servant of hers, considering she is a god and most likely ancient herself. So it may be that the area was hers even before Mogh got there. If we compare this region to the lake of rot we see a strong similarity, the lake being polluted by rot, and the Moghwyn palace area by blood. Both outer gods have a strong impact on their surrounding area just by being there.
This area and her realm of influence lies directly under Caelid. The culture and history of the land of reeds is strongly associated with blood and bloodshed. This could indicate her influence is what established the history of bloodshed in the Land of Reeds.
Okina
If the civil war in the land of reeds comes from the influence of the Mother of truth, this can give us a hint to the meaning behind the sentence: “The more he sharpened his mind, the more the absurdities of the world came into stark relief. And so Okina renounced it all, and rose to a higher plane. There was only himself. His katana. And its mastery. Before long, Okina became a demon of a swordsman.”
The funny thing about this is that Okina most likely relocated into the Mountaintop of the Giants into the Church of Repose. From Caelid this quite literally a higher plane. Also, it is the place furthest away from Caelid measuring in overland distance but also a place where Caelid can still be seen from.
Okina was followed by his disciples the Inaba, that probably died somewhere along the way in the mountaintops.
Prime
The divine tower of Caelid does not have a divine bridge attached. The Greattree and Saint image prominent on these bridges is missing in Caelid. Whether you belief in a Greattree or not, and whether this Greattree comes before or after the crubicle, changes the positioning a bit, but overall it seems in the time when the divine bridges of Lyndell, Liurnia and Stromveil were build and therefor in the timeframe around the crubicle age, the Land of Reeds may be in its Isolated and prime state.
We can choose to be Samurai at the start of the game, therefor Reedlanders must be around at the time that Godfrey was banned. This adds up with the Sword Monument in eastern Limgrave at the border to Caelid which states that there was the “end” of Godfreys campaign before he was tarnished. This would indicate his campaign ended with the battle against the Samurai.
Extinction
The great war campaign of Godfrey across the Lands Between seems to be very brutal. There is a surprising pattern within this. It’s not just enemies that were defeated, it seems hole souverain nations ceased to exist.
The Grafted Greatsword description is telling us: “A lone surviving champion from a country now vanished was so determined to continue fighting that he claimed the swords of an entire clan of warriors.” This tells us basically that the Weeping Peninsula or parts of it were once souverain. And only a champion survived and later was killed off by Godfrey at the Siege of Castle Morne.
Then there are the following three items telling another story like this. The Briar Greatshield reads “Originates from Eochaid, a land of proudly solitary ascetics.” the Regalia of Eochaid reads “Treasured sword of Eochaid, a lesser, long-vanished domain.” and finally Marais Executioner's Sword reads “Elemer of the Briar, the Bell Bearing Hunter, snatched the sword from the site of his looming execution, and furnished it with battle skills from his home of Eochaid.” Another souverain land, here called a domain which vanished. Its champion should be executed later but then overtook the shaded castle.
With the Dancers Castellans found also at the shaded castle and the description of the Consorts mask and the Briar Greatshield we might assume that Tanith is also from Eochaid, but that may be a topic for another post.
With these examples we get a picture of what might had happened to the Lands of Reeds and the culture of the Samurai. Like many other nations it did not survive into the realm of Marika and the Erdtree.
Open points
What’s left to discuss would be Okinas support at Rhadans festival and his clash with Mogh. But these would contain even more speculations about the timeline. Also, the connection between the Reedlanders and Sellia. But this post is already long enough as it is and I think it’s enough to share the overall idea.
Thanks for reading

Spoilers for the Frenzied Flame ending and the possible identity of the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
The side room in the foyer of the Auriza hero's grave contains basilisks, who appear to be guarding the Golden Epitaph and likely killed the person whose corpse it's found on. Godwyn's corpse has a number of basilisk traits, which along with the basilisks' deathblight makes me think they have alliegance with him. So, by guarding the Epitaph they could be trying to prevent the true death of their master that Miquella wants to grant him. Or, since the basilisks are kind of like mini-Godwyns, this scene could be read as Godwyn trying to cling to what remains of his life.
The Auriza hero's grave contains torches which have the same fundamental design as the candelabras in upper Leyndell.
One of the Leyndell candelabras can be seen in the back corner.
I believe the Auriza hero's grave is the only location where this design actually contains fire, because as I talked about in an older post, the candelabras in Leyndell contain artificial flame. The fake candles were probably devised as a way to bypass the stigma associated with fire, and likewise reflect Morgott's hatred of the smoldering flame of ambition.
Curiously, all of the lit torches in the Auriza's hero's grave, despite containing real flame, also have the same artificial fire as Leyndell's candelabras. The fake flame is fairly conspicuous, but if you position the camera close enough, the flame will disappear and you'll see the basic structure of the torch underneath.
I find it funny that FromSoft's apparent laziness with its assets is reflected by the in-game, canonical laziness of whoever constructed the tomb.
I argued in the aforementioned post that the post caps in upper Leyndell symbolize the grafting of the Erdtree onto the Crucible. In a later submission that was also about these post caps, I proposed that the caps also represented urns, thereby subverting the orthodox intentions of Leyndell's architects (because urns contain ash, i.e. a burnt tree). I believe something similar could be going on with the rot sigil hidden in the door to the Erdtree, which was pointed out by ImportantDebateM8. In both these cases, I believe the architecture contains omens of the Erdtree's eventual destruction.
This could also be true of the Auriza/Leyndell torch designs. To me, the six prongs resemble the four triangular protrusions of the Crucible in the Frenzied Flame ending. Both flare out at similar angles, giving the impression that the pressure of the rising flame bent them outwards. I suppose if this connection was intentional, the number of protrusions should match. However, I'd also like to note that these torches in the Auriza hero's grave have a unique golden hue that isn't found in any other torches: it's a more yellowish flame, which sort of resembles the yellow of Frenzy. With this is mind, the Crucible in the Frenzied Flame ending could be compared to a torch.
Sidenote: I think this scene is referencing Mordor from The Lord of the Rings. The protrusions of the Crucible look like the spikes on Barad-dûr, which is the tower the eye of Sauron sits upon.
Six-pointed shapes, as argued by Sinister Stromboli in his stars video, are often associated with the Blood Star or Crucible. So even though the number of protrusions doesn't match, the six-pronged torches could still be symbolizing the Crucible in this way. More evidence is that the bosses of the Auriza hero's grave are two Crucible knights. Along with this, the grave is narratively associated with Godwyn, who in taking on his scaled merman form, becomes something like an Omen—a being who is close to the Crucible. So the torches could be symbolizing Godwyn's dual status as one who is "golden", but also tied to the Crucible. Note that the Crucible talismans, including the Crucible scale talisman, are all found near Omens or Omen killers; and as I'll mention again shortly, the Crucible feather talisman is found in the Auriza hero's grave.
Finally, one could make the silly but potentially valid argument that by containing both artificial and actual fire, the torches exhibit the convergent properties of the Crucible. If the Crucible association is intentional, this would be a third example of cryptic sacrilegious imagery in Leyndell.
The most likely alternative to the Crucible theory is that each segment of gold and its spikes are meant to resemble a leaf—perhaps a maple leaf. This would make sense for Leyndell and its surroundings, since Altus is always autumn, which is a season associated with maple leaves in the West. (Then again, I can't find any maple trees in Altus.) If the torches and candelabras are meant to be leaves, the result would be "gold leaf", which is the term for thin sheets of gold.
As mentioned, the Crucible feather talisman is found in the Auriza hero's grave. The user cheese_dogg wrote a great post ("Odd Leaves, Chimeric Plants, and Some Connections to the Crucible") showing how the leaves growing from the vines by the Erdtree Sanctuary, as well as some of the leaves in Deeproot Depths, appear to have the same shape as the Crucible feather talisman. I think this could explain why the talisman is found here, since the grave is right outside Leyndell and directly above Deeproot Depths.
another example of \"gold leaf\"
To the right of Godwyn's corpse is a tree with particularly bright golden leaves. There are other leaves with this color in Deeproot, but not in the same area near the Nameless Eternal City. Using the telescope, I was able to determine that many of these leaves are of the same type found on the Leyndell vine-trees. Presuming this, and that the feather theory is correct, the leaves on this tree must also be the feather type, and match the shape of the Crucible feather talisman. (Personally I think it would have made more sense to put the Crucible scale talisman in the Auriza hero's grave instead of the feather talisman, since Godwyn has scales, but I digress.)
Within the Auriza hero's grave is a sculpture of a person holding a golden spear. In front of the statue is a basilisk. This statue is also found throughout the Altus Plateu, Leyndell, and at the Grand Lift of Dectus.
basilisk and the statue holding a spear
Some have theorized the figure is Marika, but the placement of the statue in this hero's grave leads me to think it could be Miquella or Godwyn—with the latter being more likely. Miquella uses gold needles, and like the golden spear held by the statue, the Golden Epitaph—also found near basilisks—has been theorized to be a kind of gold needle. As confirmation, the Golden Epitaph does in fact have gold needles attached to its hilt. On the other hand, Miquella's (St. Trina's) adult form is said to be unnerving, which this depiction is not.
I think it's possible Miquella journeyed through the Auriza hero's grave, potentially lending credence to this interpretation. First, as mentioned, the Golden Epitaph is here. To add to this, the roots we find in this location are likely connected directly to Godwyn's corpse, because the minor erdtree nearby has been shown to be the same tree that Godwyn's corpse is grafted into in Deeproot Depths. The roots are particularly concentrated in the boss room, as is typical for the catacombs. And the boss rooms of both the Auriza hero's grave and side tomb are "aimed" at the minor erdtree.
The skull marker is placed right over the boss room of the Auriza side tomb, and the sword is over the boss room of the Auriza hero's grave.
The reason this is important is that Miquella's needles might be usable on the tree's roots. The sources I'm finding on copper nails (which the gold needles were based on) say they should be hammered into the base of the tree, but it's possible they could be effective on the roots as well. So if Miquella didn't have access to Godwyn's corpse in Deeproot Depths, he might have used the Auriza hero's grave to get closer to it. If true, it would make sense for the figure holding the golden spear (needle) to be Miquella.
Then again, the true base of the tree is in fact in Deeproot Depths, so if the nail technique requires access to the base, this would be ineffective—something which, as the most intelligent demigod, Miquella would probably know.
The theory that the figure is Godwyn can be put more succinctly: the basilisk seems to be showing reverence to the statue—and as stated earlier, the basilisks might view Godwyn as their lord. Plus, the figure's wavy hair kind of looks like the hair of the figure hugging Malenia and Miquella in the statue at the Haligtree, which, based on analysis of the game's cut content, many have concluded to be Godwyn. If the figure holding the spear is Godwyn, perhaps this is where Miquella got the idea of the gold needles from. There might also be a connection with Vyke the Dragon Spear, since like Godwyn, Vyke was involved in the Dragon Cult.
Returning to the possibility that the figure is Marika, I could understand this being the case if the scene is meant to get us to associate Marika with death. Again, the basilisk seems to be facing the statue reverentially, and basilisks are creatures linked with death. The intention behind this arrangement might be to hint at a darker side to Marika—who, based on a variety of evidence, could very well be the Gloam-Eyed Queen. Recall that gloam is dusk, and Godwyn's ending is called the "Age of the Duskborn".
At this point I'll start to talk more about the Auriza side tomb.
The side tomb has blue torch flames, while the Auriza hero's grave has golden flames. Thus, the colors of the two Auriza graves are blue and gold, which are colors associated with the Golden Lineage, Farum, Farum Azula, and the Stormveil-associated churches (e.g. Castle Sol) which have primarily blue and gold stained glass windows. These two colors also predominate some of the stained glass in Raya Lucaria, which could represent the union of Radagon (gold) with Rennala (blue).
blue torches in the Auriza side tomb
This is likely what the word 'Auriza' refers to. 'Au' is the chemical abbreviation for gold, and is included in words like 'auric' (which means "golden") and 'Albinauric'. The letters 'za' are like an abbreviation of 'Azula', which refers to azure, or blue. Furthermore, since 'Auriza' starts with the letter 'a' and has three syllables, it sounds a lot like 'Azula'. If this interpretation is right, 'Auriza' would mean "blue and gold".
The Auriza side tomb is the only catacombs dungeon or hero's grave I know of that has pots and jars in its walls. This is probably because it is one of two dungeons, along with the Giant-Conquering hero's grave, that contains the soldjar enemies (the mini-warrior jars). The Giant-Conquering hero's grave has the same alcoves in the walls as the Auriza side tomb, but these alcoves do not contain pottery. Perhaps the implication is that the alcoves were inhabited by the soldjars, before they climbed down and started guarding the hero's grave.
jars in the Auriza side tomb
The combination of the pots in the walls and the soldjars confirms to me the idea that M00n_Slippers had, of the warrior jars being like urns. The placement of the pots in the side tomb look a lot like urns, largely because of the environmental context.
The unique placement of pottery in the Auriza side tomb, along with the soldjars, is interesting because the minor erdtree above Godwyn's corpse is one of the few that is not surrounded by cracked warrior jars. The tree has no leaves, but is distinct from the other two leafless minor erdtrees in the Mountaintops and Consecrated Snowfield. Quelaag posited that the tree's sickliness is why it's not guarded by an Erdtree avatar, and why it's not being cultivated with warrior jars.
Yet, despite this, there are indeed warrior jars and pots in the walls of the Auriza side tomb, which again is right next to and aimed at Godwyn's minor erdtree. The idea I had is that the tree might still be getting fed by the warrior jars and urns from below. Some evidence against this is that the alcoves and roots are far removed from each other, and that the jars in these alcoves are empty.
Part of my reasoning for this theory is that Godwyn's minor erdtree is not simply dead—it is more specifically living in death. The tree is the same one that Godwyn's corpse is grafted into in Deeproot Depths. So if the tree is neither dead nor alive, it would kind of make sense for the tree to still be half-fed by warrior jars, surreptitiously. This even aligns with how the true nature of the minor erdtree—the fact that it's half-alive—is only made apparent when looking underground at Godwyn's corpse.
Actually, the base of the aboveground part of the tree does have ivy growing on it. Similarly, there are a few leaves on the lower half of the aboveground part. This could be communicating the same idea: that the lower part of the tree is alive, while the top is dead. Now that I think about it, this is the same pattern manifested by the Erdtree itself. The upper part of the Erdtree is dead, while the lower part still lives.
You can see the ivy and small clusters of leaves on the lower part of the tree, while the top part has none.
A final thought: I think it's interesting how the invented words used to express color in Elden Ring, such as 'yelough', 'rold', and 'auriza', are kind of like Elden Ring's great runes. Runes are language, and all of the great runes are physically imbued with a unique colotint, ranging from red to gold. Similarly, the letters used to construct the color-linked words above could be compared to runes, since letters are also linguistic symbols. In this way, the word 'yelough' could be described or visualized as a collection of yellow runes; 'auriza' as a collection of blue and gold runes, and so on.
Links and references:
-Thumbnail: https://imgur.com/a/bOHxoFj
-ImportantDebateM8's post on the rot sigil: "Massive in-game DLC hint on Erdtree 'door' - The Haligtree of Rot!"
-cheese_dogg's post on leaves: "Odd Leaves, Chimeric Plants, and Some Connections to the Crucible"
-Sinister Stromboli's video: "Elden Ring Symbology - Stars"
-My post on Leyndell's fake candles: "Counter-fire symbolism in Leyndell: fake candles and torch snuffers"
-Post on Leyndell's post caps and urns: "Cross-symbolism between urns and Leyndell's bannisters, and a look at other post cap designs"

Please help. Also need to beat altus tunnel if anyone can help

Elden Ring is my first FromSoftware game, and what a goddamn journey it has been. This is an overview of the approximately two months I've spent playing this game.
When I first started, I had no clue what I was doing. I rejected Melina's request when I first met her, worried that I'd be accepting a quest too early. Eventually I had to look up how to level up and realized my mistake.
I farmed runes at the Gatefront Grace for a long time and wound up acquiring a Brass Shield and Lordsworn Straight Sword. I used these for most of the game. As I progressed and found more weapons, I realized I liked quicker swords as opposed to heavier weapons. I eventually switched to the Gargoyle Twinblade and max levelled it.
I explored... most of the map. I know I didn't get to every inch of it, but I did most. All the evergaols, most of the caves and catacombs.
I did some stuff in an odd order. Explored most of Limgrave, eventually went to Liurnia after taking down Godrick, but I missed everything on the west end of Liurnia. I dealt with Rennala, missed all the Caria ManoRanni stuff. Went back to Caelid and eventually was able to beat down Radahn.
Around this time, I found a good farming spot in the Deeproot Depths at the Across The Roots Grace.
Finally went up to Altus Plateau, even though I got there super early from the teleport chest at the Tower Of Return to Leyndell. But, before heading to Leyndell, I went to Mt. Gelmir and took down Rykard. I did one of the assassinations for Tanith, but it felt pretty dishonourable, so I stopped after that one and found the other way to Rykard. Finally, it was time for Leyndell.
Somewhere mixed in with all that, I was doing most of the other underground stuff, too, but it's all kind of become a blur.
When I was clearing the Mountaintops Of The Giants, I finally killed my first dragon, Borealis, because I kept running from them before that one because they kept icing me. I knew defeating the Fire Giant would lead to the burning of the Erdtree, so I held off on that and got half of the Haligtree Medallion in Castle Sol. I had to look up where to get the other half. Turns out I missed it in western Liurnia, so it was time to backtrack. I wound up going to Caria Manor and doing Ranni's quest while I was at it. Then I went to the Haligtree.
Malenia... holy shit. I fought her so many times. It took me about a week before I beat her, but what an achievement it was. Then off to the Fire Giant. Dealt with. And off to Farum Azula. I think I killed all the dragons here, and took out Maliketh without too much trouble.
Pretty much all I had left was the final fights, but I wasn't ready. I went around and slayed every dragon I could find. I don't know if I got them all, but I got all the ones I had previously encountered and knew how to locate.
Earlier on in the game, I must say, one of the hardest boss fights, which also took me so many tries and days, was Astel Naturalborn Of The Void. That was a brutal fight.
Finally beating the Elden Beast felt so good. I had it down to the final hit maybe five times, but it kept one-shotting me whenever I got in close to land the final blow. Then, finally, I did it. I had finally figured out most of his moves. I could dodge most of what he threw at me. Otherwise, I had maxed out my health flasks and levelled them up to +11 I think? Anyway, yeah, I beat the Beast and my heart was pounding in my chest. I danced with him and waited him out until I could close the gap on him and strike him down. I didn't realize I was so on edge until it was over.
I had three endings available to me. The standard ending, Fia's quest, and Ranni's. I took a while to decide which I wanted to go with, but Ranni kind of stole my heart, so I went with hers.
I got all the great runes. I think I missed one remembrance, which I should go back for.
I ended up at level 213 I think. My build was based on Strength/VigoEndurance. I wore Lionel's armour for a long time, but I hated looking at it, so I eventually switched to Radahn's. It felt good slaying Malenia in Radahn's armour after what she did to him.
I could keep talking about this game for a long time, but I really didn't mean to write this much.
I started this game constantly angry at it, until I finally started to get the feel for it and wasn't dying every five minutes. It took even longer before wrapped my head around all the different items and buffs and possibilities for customization.
So, in the end, I loved this game. I haven't started another new game yet. I'll probably NG+ and try for more endings, but first I need a little breather.
EDIT: It was an incredible experience going from barely being able to survive to actually learning the mechanics of the game, and discovering the story along the way. All in all, a very rewarding experience.

I really suck at this game, I don't know how to parry, my roll timings are off constantly, I'm getting killed by random mobs all the time. I'm dying - a lot. And I still love that, and I consider this game one of my top gaming experiences ever.
The only gripe I have at this game, is that all the difficulty seems to be in the minor encounters, while the large fights important for the plot at least for me are kind of... easy (compared to everything else).
Because I'm not very good I definitely try to get as much help from the game as I can - but not using any glitches. I'm using fully upgraded mimic to help me when I can, I summon NPC cooperators, I try to upgrade my weapons as fast as I can (but not running forward two game zones to get upgrade materials from there).
My build is dex/faith build which I kind of landed naturally by playing what I wanted to play rather than considering meta. I'm RL 150 now, with 50 FTH, 35 DEX and 50 VIG.
I started confessor and wanted to play some kind of "dark paladin". Weapon progression: twinblade -> godskin peeler -> godslayer greatsword -> blasphemous blade -> blasphemous blade + golden order great sword
I'm using two powerstanced +10 great swords, and I'm melting the bosses but still dying all the time to random mobs..
First the shard bearers, the most difficulty by far I had with Rennala (this boss run is imprinted in my memory now), then with Godrick, and then... not much?
My first biggest meh moment was when I steamrolled (definitely overleveled) Horah Loux the golden phantom and Morgott. Both of them on one set of flasks not even breaking a sweat. I did Radahn on the first try with the help of the summons. I did Rykard on the first try with the special weapon.
Yesterday I fought Malenia, and I was scared shitless after all the stories I heard about her, and I got her after maybe ~5th try? I was getting solid damage, my and my mimics attacks staggered her, she did waterfowl two times on the mimic and it tanked those easily. I had to dodge maybe like two katana slashes and took like 5 hits for about 60% of my health that I just healed.
And then I run out of the haligtree roots site of grace and I die like 15 times to some annoying kindred of rot pests on the cemetery who one shot me with like million arrows. Maybe it's how it is supposed to be, but it feels non-thematic if I can kill goddess of rot, but bet mauled by a few randos.
I feel like even in the bosses, the more unremarkable they are the harder they are to beat, and the more someone is important for the plot and supposed to be powerful, then the easier the fight is.
Lesser erdtree burial watchdogs probably killed me more times than all the bosses combined. The erdtree avatars in the haligtree (which are kind of bosses, but not really) were absolute nightmare and I had to cheese them - same for the ulcerated tree spirit near the Millicent.
I am constantly on my toes with this game when walking through the levels, but when a boss fight starts I know I will be able to have my summon, I know I will have a large flat nice area to fight with with room for dodge etc. Then with random mobs I get thrown off a cliff, ganked by multiple jumpers or shot from the distance with arrows I don't know where they are coming from.
Just my small vent. Just yesterday I beat the godskin duo trivially with Bernahl and mimic, and I'm heading to finish this game soon. It was an honor to try myself in the lands between.
Bosses that I had the hardest time with: - Godskin Apostle in divine tower of Caelid - I was under-leveled as hell but really wanted that sword
- Gargoyle Duo
- Some magma wyrms (I started powerstancing two swords, after I couldn't beat magma worm theodorix in one go)

I’m tired of fighting these things. Minor Erdtree catacombs, I’m at the fog. Help please. :)

i’m at the fog gate i need to defeat the two watchdogs at the end but i can’t do it alone pw is star

Hello everyone,
it's not been relatively long after I first finished Elden Ring so today I would like to talk about something I didn't really have the opportunity to share with others yet: the experience I've had with my favorite NPC, Fia.
Warning, long read!
When Fia popped on my screen for the first time, what was already getting my attention was the portrait of Marika hanging on the wall right above her in her bedroom. Something I don't see people making connections from it at all but if you know her whole storyline then it actually makes sense. So to me she already seemed to play an important role. The fact that she wears a robe in the color of the game's coverart background even supports this further.
Once I heart her softspoken dialogue I already felt in love in her voice and her demeanour. Right after she first got me in her embrace I got caught quite off guard. Never would've I expected to get this kind of beautiful moment. The first time will always have a special place in my heart. But as she started talking in secret about being chased from her home and exiled I felt sorry for her. It's very clear from the beginning that she is dependant on the Tarnished's help.
Of course I noticed the red square with the arrow down under my healthbar. The problem is that since the consumable that Fia gave me only had one usage I never came to use it. Yet I just visit her for a hug and don't even bother her saying "The blessing is still aflame in your breast dear". So you probably know the rest. wink wink
Finally after a while she gave me a quest. Giving a dagger to the rightful owner. Yes I didn't get to do her favor about Rogier in my first playthrough but in another I did and by doing that little sidequest she made a much more caring impression to me. Back to the dagger. It was very weird how close D, the owner of the dagger was to Fia, right? Also since I didn't know at that time that resting on a grace means reloading and updating a quest I continued late since my visits at the Roundtable Hold are a bit far apart.
And there it happened. No Fia and D were not friends at all I fought to my head. This part was quite a game changer to me. Those who live in Death, the skeletons, who we fought in all souls games before had to kill in tight catacombs, happen to be the victims in the current state of the Golden Order.
From the looks of it, D was probably going to kill Fia after she talked with him in the other room. I'm certain that Fia had to protect herself. As Rogier probably wanted I took Ds armor and gave it to his twin.
It felt like ages for me seeing Fia again in the Deeproot Depths. Just like Ranni she has no good things to say about the Golden Order. Even Goldmask criticized the Hunters of the Dead for abandoning learning the laws of the Golden Order only to fight something that they see as an absolute evil.
After another hold I could give her the other cursemark. It shocked me a little how much Ranni's and Fia's questlines are intertwined to each other throughout, making me believe that it could lead to some arguments if I choose to side with one or the other. But I always find it interesting when you do Rogiers Questline Ranni says regarding her cursemark: "I can fathom what thy purpose might be." Like she is okay that we help Fia?
At last it seemed like I finished Fias quest. She held me once more and gave me a sweet thanks. By the way she talks about her plans to revive Godwyn I feel how thankful she is to the Tarnished. But all she could give me is one unique tight embrace. She told me farewell and hoe satisfied she was, which made me very happy to hear. As you might remember I said before I didn't know how reloading works in the game so before I even fully explored Altus Plateau I just stopped there and thought Fias quest is over and has a peaceful ending. But one late return, after I reached the haligtree, there she was in her slumber. Fortissax came out of nowhere and I first tried him hoping that she is alright. I returned and found her still asleep. I did quite a few dejection poses as I was expecting her to be at least away and well in another place. But she stayed and didn't wake up anymore.
Reading description of the rune she seemingly birthed it and died probably by it. Which was hard to digest for me. Reloading made everything worse as I saw to me personally the most heartbreaking scene in a fromsoft game yet. D's brother stands there in a triumphant pose while Fia got put down on the ground with a pool of blood. She died even before. But how her dignity got taken made me cry. How his gloating mocked me while I looked at Fia lying there. Was this my punishment for not avenging D's death on my own? A friend who helped me? Even in the Roundtable I did the dejection gesture for him. But I still got angry at him for what he did and killed him. Not Fia.
In the end I ended up caring more for Fia than anyone else in the game. She was like a loving mother to the undead and her ending is in my opinion the most underrated in the community. I made a post once where I talked about how I saw many Fia haters. Some replied that there are many fabs of her and I am just not looking at the right places. Maybe I should just learn to ignore negative comments about something or someone I like.
I've been very emotional the last several months whenever I read lore or posts about Fia. People have mixed feelings about her and that's something I love in the Elden Ring community. The comments who say that Devin's gloating was justified make the comments where people appreciate Fia's hugs even more wholesome. It's perfect duality. Just like in the Age of Duskborn questline. Where Death exists instead of constant reincarnations from the Erdtree.
In the end I want to apologize that I am sometimes whiny about people having opinions that I don't agree with and that I love Elden Ring really much and I am thankful to the writers how they made me so sentimental about a character like Fia.
Elden Ring has something for everyone! And that's a good thing. Btw if you made it until here, you are amazing!
Thanks a lot for reading everyone!

Looking to sell or trade some games away. Shipping is free to most locations unless noted (PM me your zip; free shipping confirmed after I get your zip code). My goal is to clear shelf space, so any offers are also welcome. Offers which clear the most space take priority. (It's not first-come first-served. It's whatever clears the most shelf space. As such, I may take up to a day to reply.)
[Have]

• Battle Line Medieval [4] - $20
• Botanik [5] - $20
• Catacombs [5] - $55
• Cartographers [5] - $20
• Charterstone [4, unplayed but opened] - $20 (Free shipping only to CA, $5 elsewhere)
• Equinox Golem Edition [5] - $20 (Free shipping only to CA, $5 elsewhere)
• Genotype [5] - $30
• GPS / Mountain Goats / Sequoia Bundle / Expansion Box [5/5/4.5/5] - $45
• Iki [5] - $45
• It's a Wonderful Kingdom (Sleeved) [4; but insert replaced with 3d printed insert] - $45
• Mascarade (2013) - $10 (Free shipping to CA, $5 elsewhere)
• Near and Far [4] Kickstarter with Metal Coins [3] - $60
• Nidavellir (Sleeved) [4] - $30
• Quest Avalon Big Box KS [5] - $50
• Red Cathedral [4, but box has minor crease] - $25
• Raiders of Scythia with Folded Space insert and Metal Coins [4.5] - $55
• Revive [5] - $90
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective (Thames Murders & Other Cases) [5] - $25
• Turncoats [5] - $50
• Vegetable Stock [5] - $25
• Wildlands [5] - $45

Other things:

• Magic the Gathering: Duel Decks. [$350] - I have everything up through Blessed and Cursed (2016). They are opened, sleeved, and most of them have their respective Duel Deck box. Willing to negotiate if you don’t need them all but I’d rather sell them all together.

[Wants] - All games must be in mint condition

• Adventure Tactics (2nd+ Edition)
• Alhambra (Revised Edition)
• Burncycle
• The Great Split
• Marvel Champion Character Decks (Hulk, all of cycle 2 except Scarlet Witch, most of Cycles 3, 4, and 5)
• Planet Unknown
• Offers OK but I'm mostly looking to clear shelf-space.

Password is Neo

I recently finished Elden Ring after playing it for a bit over 100 hours and I have quite a few thoughts on it (as you can see from the length of the post). For those with little time and/or patience here's the tldr:
Playing Elden Ring was a great experience that was sadly kept from becoming truly amazing by quite a few big flaws.
Do not read this if you haven’t played the game there’s spoilers for like, everything.
1. The Opening
The first 10 or so hours that I spent in Elden Ring are genuinely some of the best I have ever spent in a game. Gazing upon the Erdtree far off in the distance, exploring the lush forests while getting to grips with the combat and fighting my way up towards castle stormveil were great fun. The tension rising as you make your way up the hill with the winds getting stronger and the enemies more numerous and better organised made it feel really exciting. Early examples of stumbling into situations that you are not at all prepared for were pretty cool as well (like when you are riding through a field of what looks like giant statues laying on the ground only for one of them to stand up and start to fight you).
After exploring a bit I eventually ended up in the first big bossfight against Margit, the fell omen for which I was not at all prepared for. Because I was too heavy for a fast dodge roll, the fact that I was not at all used to the delay between the boss telegraphing their move and actually striking and because I was underleveled the fight ended up being very frustrating. This leads neatly into my next point, Elden Ring's problematic difficulty.
2. The Difficulty
Elden Ring's difficulty is one of the biggest issues I have with the game. Because of deciding to explore the "wrong" part of the world (more on that later) I ended up with a short period of the game being harder than intended followed by pretty much the rest of the game being quite a bit too easy. Now I don't want to sound like I didn't die a lot during my playthrough (I did in fact, end up dying quite often) but the difficulty tuning never ended up being quite right. I imagine that I was far from the only person to have this problem, as a game like Elden Ring is inherently pretty hard to balance since you are free to go almost anywhere from the start and because the amount of different playstyles and amount of rewards is so big.
Now “too easy” in the case of Elden Ring still meant that the game was punishing and quite a bit more difficult than many other games because of the great movesets of the enemies and bosses. But this expectation of Fromsoft games being very difficult is also a reason why newcomers to their games (like me) don’t realise that they’ve wandered into a part of the world that is too hard or are fighting a boss while underleveled since I couldn’t really tell what the “right” difficulty was supposed to be.
3. The Exploration
I genuinely don’t comprehend how they could build a world this massive and this visually impressive without really having any loading screens at all (apart from the big elevators). The exploration was (at least during the first 2/3rds of my playthrough) of my favourite part of playing Elden Ring.Whether it was stumbling onto dungeons hidden throughout the open world or exploring Castle Stormveil, the Raya Lucaria Academy or Leyndell it was really cool and very different from the exploration in even other open world games. The big legacy dungeons were probably the best part of the game since they combine these enormous, awesome looking places with great atmosphere and cool encounters. In general the various areas look absolutely stunning with different landmarks in the distance to guide you and enough verticality to make traversing them a challenge. Another great moment that was one of the best surprises was getting into a random elevator in limgrave and discovering that there was an entire second open world underneath the ground. Discovering Nokron after Radhans meteor formed the crater was really cool as well.
The game also rewards you pretty well for exploring with weapons, spells, upgrade materials and more waiting around every other corner. Sadly these rewards are so plentiful that they contribute to the messed up difficulty and in the case of spells and new weapons are pretty quickly not that useful anymore since I did not use any spells and the game doesn’t incentivise you to switch up your choice of weapons. Sadly after about a third of my playthrough another issue became more and more apparent:
4. The Repetition
This is, apart from the broken difficulty, the biggest flaw of Elden Ring. So much stuff is repeated, very similar dungeons with bosses that you’ve fought multiple times before, these magic tower things that are just copy pasted everywhere, a dozen dragons that you fight all the exact same way and evergaols that are literally just a repeated bossfight but this time without any of the cool buildup or arenas or anything really (seriously why are these things in the game? It would improve the experience by quite a bit if they were just cut and not replaced with anything). Worst of all is that even some of the big bossfights are repeated. I fought Astel in a dungeon in the snowy mountaintops before I fought the “real” Astel in Ainsel. The catacombs are so similar to each other that I really thought that I had lost my mind when I got to the first one that had a “mindfuck loop” in it. Sadly this loop was then repeated in other catacombs as well.
The repetition really robs the game of a lot of mystery and makes the exploring quite a bit worse. I honestly wish that the game was smaller or that there were fewer things to explore so that the remaining ones could be cool and memorable instead of “oh, yet another dragon”.
5. The late game
The last 10 or so hours were my least favourite part of Elden Ring. After defeating Morgott and finally standing in front of the Erdtree, having completed this massive journey there’s an impassable wall of thorns and you have to take a pretty big detour just to get back to the place you were before. (Though I do have to admit that the burning Erdtree looks pretty cool) Also there is a sudden difficulty spike so that the black blade kindred that you fight to get to the big elevator is harder than the literal King of the Lands between. From there you have to travel through the mountains which are possibly the worst area in the whole game due to their lack of colour and the fact that you can’t see shit. Then After you fight the fire giant you then have to fight the godskin duo and Maliketh which are both bossfights that are less than great with not much space for exploration. Then after this you get to fight Sir gideon ofnier, Godfrey, and Radagon + the Elden beast back to back. That’s just too many bosses especially since this is all just to get back to where you’ve been before. Also the Radagon/Elden beast boss fight kinda sucked even if it was majestic.
A few more thoughts that didn’t fit neatly anywhere else:
-While I kinda like spirit ashes because I feel they kinda ruined a lot of bossfights for me since I played with a mele build. I really like the idea of being able to call in enemies that you’ve probably fought before to now fight on your side but it just ended up making bossfights even easier and adding a layer of randomness to the fight since the boss sometimes hits you as well while attacking the spirit ashes and sometimes doesn’t.
-Regardless I still really love my boys,
-The Haligtree was pretty cool but that one attack Malenia does really drags the fight down. Was pretty fun to bleed her to death with bloodhound’s fang while summoning the bloodhound knight
-Fuck the revenant. I hate it soo much.
-Why did Fromsoft expect most players to go south to the weeping peninsula when they explicitly tell you to go north to castle Stormveil? And why are there like 3 weeping tears in this area that many players will only discover when they’re overleveled anyway? Just further fucks up the difficulty.
Conclusion
I’ve been pretty negative so far but I want to emphasize that playing Elden Ring was overall a great experience with a lot of moments that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I’m already excited for the DLC.

I see all endings as options to restore the "natural order" of the world, depending how far back in history you wanna go (or in the future in one case). None of them is inherently good or bad. It all depends on how much of a traditionalist or progressive you want to be, based on your understanding of what is better for the world. Here is my interpretation:
Flame of Frenzy is the oldest one, which restores the world to its original state of a primordial chaos (or the One Great, according to Hyetta) were all life was melted into a singular essence, before the Greater Will fractured it and caused births and souls to emerge from it.
Blessing of Despair has strong ties with the Crucible (the primordial version of the Erdtree, probably the next form of the One Great after its fracture) which birthed the Omen who, along with the Misbegotten, were considered impure beings as civilization advanced, but were considered divine beings in ancient history. That means that the "curse and defilement" that Dung Eater mentions means that everyone born in the Lands Between would be again a divine being of the Crucible, no matter how disgusting modern society considers it.
Age of Duskborn basically restores the natural order of the world that was in place before Marika plucked the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring (even though for some reason it differs in appearance from the Mending Rune of thr Death Price gestated by Fia). That event caused all living things to be unable to die permanently and completely (in body and soul), in an attempt to establish a perfect (golden) order.
Age of Fracture maintains the status quo during the events of the game, after the Shattering. That means that people will still be unable to completely die, so they keep getting buried in the Catacombs in hope their souls return to the Erdtree which in turn will create new life through some uknown process.
Age of Perfect Order is probably some perfected version of Marika's original vision, the details of which only the Noble Goldmask is aware of by decrypting the language of the Greater Will. We only serve as the catalyst to this.
Finally, the Age of Stars is looking to the far future where the natural state of the world is not dictated by some Outer God and its vessels upon the Lands Between, but by the pure will of its inhabitants. That means venturing into the dark and frightening uncertainty of the unknown, as Ranni mentions.
PS: I would go off to speculate that each Great Rune is a different aspect of the natural law dictated by the Elden Ring and after it getting shattered these laws would be unapplied from the world (Miquella's Rune of Abundance, Malenia's Rune of Decay) and the Tarnished gathering them should restore these natural laws in each ending except Ranni's. It would also be cool if that meant that the version of the Elden Ring we see inside Radagon (and all promotional art) is what remained after he attempted to reforge it and adding to it the Great Runes the Tarnished collected we would get the early and complete version depicted in Crumbling Farum Azula. It would make so much sense.
That was my TEDx talk. Thank you for your attention.