I placed my wooden catalyst on the ashy pavement and sat down, resting my back on battlements. I was huddled around the fire with four other men. They talked and laughed with each other, while I gazed up at the stars illuminating the night sky. One of the men faced towards me; I think his name is Gregory. “So, how did an exalted sorcerer such as yourself end up in a desolate place like this?” He gestured to our surroundings.
I arrived today at the North Undead Asylum. One of the other men stopped a twirling a key around his finger. It fell down his index finger and he grasped it in his hand, looking up. “Yeah, I’ve also been wondering why someone from a noble family would come here. Don’t you have better things to do? Like hide in your mansions with your fancy food and women, while the rest of the people suffer as the world goes to shit!?” He slammed his fist on the floor, sneering at me. His disdain for nobles was quite obvious. Gregory put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Calm down, Alden.”
Alden shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Alden and I stared at each other, the only sound coming from the crackling of the flames. The flames burned brightly through the night, causing the shadows to recede. This place was our sanctuary in the midst of darkness. I was the first to break eye contact. “I can tell you if you want to know; however, it’s a long story.”
“We have time.”
I sighed. “Alright. Then I suppose I’ll start from the beginning.”
“I was born on a farm outside of a small village.”
Alder interrupted me. “Wait, you weren’t born in a noble family?” I glared at him.
“Ah, sorry.”
“As I was saying, I was born on a farm outside of a small village. I lived with my mother and father, who were both farmers. I began working in the fields when I was just three, helping my mother pick crops. As I grew older I was taught how to plough the fields as well. Not a very noble life.”
Gregory spoke up. “That explains them.”
I raised my eyebrow.
“Your hands, those aren’t the hands of a noble, those are the hands of a commoner. Those are the hands of someone who has worked hard to survive.”
I looked at my hands. They were coarse and rugged from years of working in the fields. I remember working until blisters formed on my hands and blood dripped down the hoe. I remember wanting to stop but continuing, because if I didn’t work, I didn’t eat.
I put my hands down, going back to the story. “Everything changed one day after I turned sixteen. It was the day I went to the annual sorcerer ceremony.” The other men nodded. They had gone through the ceremony as well to see if they had the potential to become a sorcerer. “I remember that I was excited since it meant I could take a break from working, but my father was unhappy since he thought it was just a waste of time. Long story short, I passed the test.”
“What!?” The other men’s jaws dropped, eyes widening. Alden couldn’t believe it. “You actually passed? I’ve never heard of a commoner with the potential to become a sorcerer. I thought only nobles could since the lineage of sorcerers is only passed down through the noble families.” Gregory nodded his head. “I thought the sorcerer ceremony was just another way to oppress the commoners and show them why they’re inferior to the nobles.”
I nodded my head as well. “I had the same opinion as all of you, but I guess the ceremony isn’t as rigged as we all thought. At first I didn’t want to go, but my parents convinced me that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and that it was a chance for me to help our family be more than simple peasants. I reluctantly agreed and followed the proctor to the Vinheim Dragon School, the largest school for sorcerers. The school was magnificent. Large buildings made of pure marble, walkways with lights powered by mana, students practicing spells together in huge open fields. When I arrived, I suddenly had dreams of becoming one of the greatest sorcerers of all time, someone who was on par with Seath the Scaleless himself.”
I sighed.
“But my dreams were quickly crushed. Who was I? A nobody. I had no money, I had no influence, I had no power. In the eyes of the other students I was just a maggot that had somehow managed to crawl its way into one of the most prestigious schools in the kingdom. And they made sure to remind me every day.”
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I laughed dryly.
“A group of students, around ten or so, would often take me into the fields to practice magic. I was excited the first time they asked me if I wanted to come, but then I realized that they brought me along to practice magic on me. You see, they had always wondered what their spells would actually do to a human being, but using magic on each other was strictly forbidden. And then I came along, someone who was considered to be less than human. For hours, they would use soul arrows on me and laugh as I writhed in pain. They would always go for my legs first so I couldn’t run away. When I was close to dying, they would have someone heal me through miracles and start over. They say Gods grant miracles to mortals so they can protect themselves from evil. What a joke.”
“But out of all that, there’s one day I’ll never forget. It was towards the end of one of these ‘practice sessions’. I was sprawled across the ground, my body bruised and battered. There was blood all over my hands and I couldn’t even feel my legs. I just wanted to die. And here comes a teacher. I called out to the teacher, pleading him to help me. I was so weak I was afraid he wouldn’t even hear my voice. But he heard. He stopped and looked over at me. We made eye contact. And then he looked at the group of students standing over me, laughing. One of them even kicked me in the stomach right there. And do you know what that teacher did? He turned away and left. He just left me there.
And that was when I truly realized how broken this world is.
Later that night I left the school. For the past three years I had stayed there, hoping that they would eventually get tired of tormenting me, hoping that if I persevered long enough, something would eventually change. But it never did. I left and went back to my home, or at least, what was left of it. When I arrived there were only the charred remains of the home I grew up in. Even the fields I had spent so long working in were burned down. I rushed over to the nearby village and asked the people there what had happened, but no one was willing to talk. Only after threatening to destroy the village with magic did they tell me what had happened.
Some noble had heard that a family of commoners had produced a sorcerer, and was disgusted by it. He sent a group of men from the village to kill my parents and burn down the farm, to wipe out our bloodline. Apparently I was on the list to be killed as well. The villagers started weeping as they told me the story. They apologized over and over for what they had done. They told me to run away before the noble’s men caught me, and so I did. And while on the run, I found a notice for help at the North Undead Asylum. I decided to come here because no one wants to go to a place where the undead are gathered. And here I am.”
There was a long silence. Alden stood up. “I’m sorry for my outburst earlier. I never would have guessed what you’ve gone through. Listening to your story, I don’t think anyone has any complaints when I say that you’re one of us now.” The others nodded their heads. Gregory spoke up as well. “Everyone here has lost someone or something. That’s why we’re here. To try to escape our previous lives and start anew…”
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Here's a little side story. I ended up redoing it a few times but it still didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I had to take out a lot of details because I didn't want it to end up being too long, but I think that made it feel rushed. Anyways, while I was writing this, I really wanted to write a whole ln on this character. Something along the lines of they arrive at their home and finds out what happened, releasing all the pent up hatred and driving them to insanity. This leads to them rediscovering abyss magic(which is a thing in dark souls) and leading a rebellion against the upper class in the midst of the plague.
Dark OrbAbyss sorcery discovered by an Oolacile
sorcerer on the brink of madness.
Fire giant Dark Orb.
In contrast to standard soul sorceries,
Abyss sorceries are weighty and inflict
physical damage. Perhaps human souls,
because of their humanity, produce
sorceries with a more tangible presence.
I plan on doing a few more side stories because I want to delve into the other characters in dark souls(though this one will be different than the others). Hopefully I'll get better the more I practice.