Elden Ring: A Sword's Purpose

A bird, small and a pale shade of see-through white, landed on his left shoulder. Its silent chirps drew others of its kind, the birds perching upon or flying around him as they played a silent chorus. Just as they produced no sound, their translucent forms had no weight. And so, Jin allowed them to do as they pleased as he continued his trek back to camp.

"It was Torrent who led me to you." Melina's voice reached him before she fully manifested, a faint fog gathering in the shape of her atop that spectral steed. She ran a hand along the horse's, Torrent he assumed, side before looking his way. "Spirits appear to be drawn to you."

"Is it that flame of yours I wonder? That which draws them so." Jin grunted in acknowledgement as he passed trees and pushed through foliage, careful not to let the dead elk thrown over his shoulder leaved a clear trail of blood. Her guess was as good as any. He'd always been able to see them and they in turn tended to follow him for a time. Just another thing to be ignored as far as he was concerned.

Admittedly, that was a far more difficult task than he remembered when he once called these lands home.

From this forest, to the main roads, and even the coasts, spirits populated the Lands Between in numbers he'd never seen. Not just that of animals. There were no shortage of wandering knights and other citizens, all locked in a daze, some so far gone they didn't even seem to realize they had long since parted from their corporeal form.

"What exactly happened to Marika?" Jin asked. While it didn't show on her face, Melina's momentary pause gave away her surprise. While she given him a basic rundown of the state of affairs, he never entertained any of the history lessons she offered. Finding other members of his clan had been all that mattered.

Had been.

"It is said that Queen Marika has been sealed away as punishment for shattering the Elden Ring. A decision made by the Greater Will." Melina said. The irony of that was not lost on him. "It was that which ushered in this age. The reasoning behind her actions remain a mystery though many speculate that Godwyn's death played a role."

Godwyn was dead? A shame. Jin cared little for Marika's fate but Godwyn had proven himself to be one of the finest warriors to grace the Lands Between far before the Long March. A warrior worth facing in battle though the chance had never presented itself.

He hadn't given it much thought but the demigods that'd been warring over the shards of the Elden Ring must've included the offspring of Marika and whoever she declared Elden Lord after exiling Godfrey. That merciless woman wouldn't have tolerated weaklings carrying on her direct lineage.

Such demigods were sure to be worth killing.

"That's quite the expression." Melina said. His smirk, one he hadn't realized formed, fell. "Bloodlust is far from the worst trait in a lord. One must possess a stomach for battle to claim the title Elden Lord."

Jin grunted. It's been too long since he fought a proper battle. Far too long.

Melina and Torrent faded away as the camp's sharpened walls came into view. Dull smacks, Polyanna's cheers, and Amy's laughter. All the usual sounds.

Good.

A knock on the primitive but sturdy wooden gates silenced it all. He paused then knocked again. Another pause then one last knock. "Open up." Only after those knocks and the sound of his voice did the girls move, the gate quickly unbarred and pushed open through the combined efforts of Mary and Maureen.

"Welcome back." Maureen said as he stepped in. The spectral birds around him dispersed in an instant, the Scarlet Rot inspiring fear in the dead as well as it did the living.

"Jin!" Amy jumped at him, hanging off his waist as the other two locked up behind him. "Did you bring it? You brought it, right? Say you brought it!"

"No."

Before she could begin her whining, he produced a mango from his pouch. The girl forgot all about her incessant demands for a sword, releasing him and sinking her teeth into the sugary fruit. Rare in these parts but obtainable if one knew where to look. He tossed another to Millicent who was waving from the log she sat on, Polyanna in her lap, before heading towards the edge of the camp where he strung up the carcass from a wooden post.

The girls returned to their previous activities; Mary beating on one of the wooden posts she'd all but broken down, while Millicent continued trying to get Polyanna to crawl around. All the while Amy bounced around the camp, doing whatever came to mind. Maureen's nose normally would've been buried in a book but instead, she'd forgone reading to train alongside Mary, a trend that's been going on for awhile now.

A reluctant decision on her part he imaged.

Finished up with the elk's carcass, Jin took a seat on one of the logs beside the cave's entrance and watched the two girls train.

Proper food and time were doing right by them. Their strikes were stronger and they kept at it for far longer before running out of breath. While still on the skinny side they were no longer held back by the more severe effects of malnourishment. Still, Maureen was showing no real talent or drive for the blade.

Millicent took a seat beside him, placing Polyanna at their feet. Enraptured by the mango he'd given them, she bit and gnawed at it, more teeth filling out here mouth but her set still far from complete. She'd be a sticky mess once that fruit was done with.

"Mister Jin?" Millicent spoke up though trailed off, looking between him and her training sisters. "…you won't tell Mary I said anything will you?" He answered with a raised brow. "I don't think…I don't think Maureen wants to train with her."

"Can you talk to her?" Millicent asked.

Back amongst the clan, such a request never would've been entertained, let alone made. Problems and disagreements were settled by the parties involved; whether that be through violence or compromise was their decision to make.

Millicent looked up at him, golden eyes full of hope.

Back amongst the clan no one would've looked at him like that.

"I will see what I can do." Jin said.

"Thank you, mister Jin." Millicent hugged his side with a smile. While it wasn't as common as Amy, she'd taken to similar shows of affection. Another thing that wasn't particularly common among his clan unless it was between immediate family. Even then, he couldn't claim to have much experience with such things.

While Millicent returned her attention to Polyanna, Jin focused on Mary. There was something behind her hits. A bubbling frustration.

She'd soon tire of his hands off approach to training them.

…

That night, long after dark, Jin sat on his bed of furs, legs folded beneath him and his eyes closed, waiting. It wasn't a particularly long wait, quiet shifts coming from Maureen's bed. Exhausted as she was she always found time to read. Naturally, it wasn't long until she checked if he was awake, quietly taking a seat beside him and asking about words.

"Do you want to train with Mary?" He asked between her questions.

"I-" Mary started only to fall quiet. "I need to do what's best for us."

"And Mary knows what's best for you?"

"Yes." The answer came immediately, not a drop of doubt present.

Jin nodded. "Trusting another to lead the way is not wrong. So long as they have proven themselves. But remember this; none can know you better than you yourself. None." He opened his eyes and looked to her. "Do you believe the blade to be the best way for you to support Mary?"

She looked down to her pages, holding the book tighter. "I need to be able to fight. How else can I do that?"

"Sorcery. You are aware of it?"

"Like the magic in the books?" She peeked up from her book, her rainbow-stone illuminated face full of curiosity. "Is that what your fire is? Sorcery?"

"No. I know little of the subject." He freely admitted. "Would you like to learn it?"

"Can I?"

"I can make no guarantees, but I believe it would better fit your strengths."

"Then…then, yes. I want to learn it." She decided. Jin nodded then closed his eyes, attention returned to the fire within.

He would find her teacher or at the very least, gather what she needed to learn sorcery but first he had to deal with Mary.

…

Smacks filled the walls of their camp.

Mary attacked her post, her slashes stronger than they've ever been, but equally messier, technique throw to the wayside over the last few days. She struck and struck until, inevitable, something gave, the top of the post splitting and flying away. What might've been an accomplishment weeks ago did nothing to calm her. If anything it brought her to the breaking point she'd been teetering around.

Wooden sword in hand, she stomped over to him. Jin didn't look up, helping, a now very nervous, Millicent gather her hair into another ponytail.

"Old man." Mary called out. "You said you would teach us how to fight like you, so teach us." Jin said nothing, leaving Mary to fume until he was finished with Millicent. The younger girl chose to dodge her sister's anger by scurrying out of the way.

"I have been taught to kill." Jin finally said, looking straight at the girl. "You think yourself ready to learn the same?"

Mary scoffed. "I've already killed."

"Starving mutts stricken by disease. Whatever insects you could dig up from the soiled dirt of Caelid. Birds too sick to fly. You've put down the weak and ran from the strong, girl. You know only how to survive." He said. "Do not mistake that for what I intend to teach you."

"I'm ready." She insisted.

"So, you claim." He stood from the log and walked past her, heading over to Maureen who'd been swinging on one of the posts alongside Mary. He patted her shoulder and took her blade, directing her to join the others. Jin gave it a few test swings before pointing it towards Mary. "Strike me."

The simple command gave Mary pause. But as always, what the girl might've lacked in skill and experience she made up for in spirit, the grip on her wooden sword tightening. She rushed forward, practice blade pulled back in the single slash he taught them. He swung the moment she sent the blade forward, aiming for the handle.

To her credit the scream of pain he expected came out as nothing more than a muffled grunt as she released the blade, clenching at the quickly reddening skin of her hands.

Before she could make a move towards the fallen weapon, he stepped forward, thrusting his sword. She stumbled back, flinching so much that her eyes closed. Had she not done that maybe she would've actually avoided the attack. It hit home, striking her stomach hard enough to force Mary to the ground beside her sword, chocked coughs leaving her. He prepared another slash, sure to give her enough time to make a move of her own.

She scrambled away, struggling to get back to her feet.

He didn't follow.

"You clung on to your sword because you were afraid to lose it. You flinched when I attacked because you were afraid of being hit. You fled instead of picking up your blade because you were afraid you wouldn't make it in time." He said, lowering his sword. "You are full of fear. You can try to hide it but one's blade always reveals the truth."

"You are pathetic, girl. Weak. Did you think that would change in a single month?" Mary bottom lip curled into her teeth, her fists balling up as he berated her. Good. That was the sort of reaction he was…were those tears at the corner of her eyes? He'd intended on saying more but maybe he'd already gone far enough if she was already on the edge of being reduced to tears. "But you do have promise. For now on, you and I will be training together. Understand?"

Mary blinked away those tears, slowly nodding. This was the part where he let her walk off and lick her wounds. But he couldn't even do that, beckoning the girl to him and placing a hand on her head. Whatever bruises he left her faded away along with whatever other injury she had as his flames flowed into her.

"Rest today. You'll need it." He warned. She nodded again before taking off in a brisk walk towards the cave.

The others, who'd been watching, stared at him until he raised a brow at them, none eager to find themselves singled out the way Mary had been. None except for Amy of course.

"Can I play too?" She exclaimed, running over to the posts and picking up her battered practice blade.

Should he be concerned by how little she took seriously or impressed by her distinct lack of fear?