User blog:Aftenshnoshnikr/"'Til Hollowing, Do I Part"

Cold. I await my time in this dank, dark and musty cell. The echoes of Zombies and Hollows all around me, trying to escape, trying to stop their miserable life. Nothing could be so torturous, to be Undead. "Immortality just goves you more time to fail", that quote rang in my head but my memories were so vague i could not remember who or what spoke those words. I was huddled in the darkest corner of this prison in the Asylum. The light burned my wrinkly, dead skin and peired my eye sight. I noticed a small rat creep into my cell, it too was affected by the plague that had come to this land. I turned my left hand into a fist and struck the rat dead. As it did i watched a peculiar light erupt from within the rat's corpse and it twitched. The rat rolled back onto its feet and scuttled away with a screech.

A loud scraping sound echoed throughout the prison area. A door to my left opened and a Hollow trudged through the door way. It was dressed in Tattered Cloth and wielded a hilt from a broken sword. It gathered its bearings quickly from the way it jerked its head around the room, i quickly acted like i had gone Hollow so that i wouldn't attract attention. Out of the corner of my eye, it was a very heavily built male, most likely a Far Eastern Traveler. Out of nowhere he began to hack at the Hollows closest to him, i was safe in my locked prison cell but hopefully he didn't notice me and try to tear it open. The Far Eastern man ran off down the hall, away from my vision. I got up and shook off the fear. I looked around for something to use to get out and follow this person. I looked around but saw nothing. I peered through the bars to see if i could try and grasp something to break apart the lock. I saw a silver shining key on one of the Hollows corpses. A loud crash shook my prison cell, a brick from above fell down and i could see a knight fighting some sort of monster. Before i could inhale my next breath the monster raised its weapon, a massive hammer, and smashed the knight down on the roof. Part of the roof caved in and the monster jumped back so it would not fall off. I need to help that knight, i run back to the cell door and reach for the key, my fingers brush the 'teeth' of the key but it slides away. I manage to grasp the handle of the key but just as i touch it a Hollow bursts into my face and wraps its hands around my throat through the cell bars. It tries to strangle me but i punch it in the face. Its body flings across to the other side of the hallway, the Hollow recovers quickly and grabs a broken straight sword next to it. I grab the key again and slip it into the key hole but it doesn't fit! Its the wrong key! The Hollow staggers over to me, i curl up into a ball as far away from the door as i can get, i starts hammering blows on the door. I curl up in fear and witness a big, black sword skewer the Hollow in one motion. The Hollow turns to look at its opposition but a black shield bashes its head, killing the Hollow. I gasp in horro at the fearsome beast before, a big, black knight. It kicks the prison cell door down and walks slowly toward me. I get up and push the Black Knight back, it staggers but doesn't fall down. I run past it and rush down the hallway, my legs ache from not being used in so long and my lungs burn from the sudden need for oxygen. I stop running and jog for a bit. A pool of water opens out infront of me with a ladder attatched to the wall. I grasp the rails and climb the rusty, slippery ladder. As i reach the top i get up and job up the series of stairs before a doorway opens up into a Courtyard with a bonfire in the middle. It is already lit. I rest at the bonfire and i feel my skin and organs settle down. I relax a little. Infront of me and the bonfire a closed door lies ahead. From the corner of my eye the Far Eastern traveler runs towards the door from my right. I get up to talk to him but he is already halfway through the door. As i touch his clothes the monster from before jumps down, its blood-stained hammer glinting in the sunlight. The Far Eastern traveler braces himself and the giant doors close infront of me. I look to my right and another closed cell door lies in the dark. I walk over to ot with the key in my hand and i push it into the lock. It fits with a click and i twist it to the left. I open the cell door and close it behind me in case the Black Knight comes back. A flight of stairs lies before me, followed by another. I hear footsteps and run back down to the cell door and huddle in the dark. I see the head of the Dar Eastern traveler but in his hands are a broken, wooden shield and a small hand-axe. He begins to run up the stairs but as he gets half way up he rolls to the side. He lands ten feet infront of me while a large metal boulder rolls down the stairs and breaks down a brick wall. The Traveler waits for several seconds and then runs up the stairs into the wide hole in the brick wall. I don't know why i didn't talk to him, i was so scared. I mutter a curse and walk up the second flight of stairs, just as i peer up another Hollow descends on me. It swings its scimitar in a downward arc towards me. I knock its arm away with my left hand and clasp its throat with my other. It doesn't notice the situation and simply drops its weapon and flails its arms around. I choke it for several seconds and punch it in the chest, it screeches in pain but i finsh it off with a slug to the face. I grab the scimitar it dropped and the sheathe the Hollow carried. With barely any cloths on except for a loincloth for modesty, i decide to loot the corpse for its single boot and its thin waistcloth. I felt, absurdly, like a warrior. Although, i guess the thin breeze that picked up made me feel like a popsicle soon after. I heard some voices and footsteps. The Traveler was talking to someone but while he was another Hollow from down the steps came running towards me from the right. I held my scimitar with both hands and tried to block its attack but its straight sword managed to nick my right elbow. The Travelers voice stopped talking soon after and i heard the sounds of water being splashed echoing closer. I jumped to the left and hit next to the cell door again, just as i did so i heard running and the sound of the Hollow above me being killed. Its body fell beside me, its eye holes peering at me. A door was being scraped to the side above me and the footsteps sounded distant. I heard more Hollows approaching so i ran to the cave the Traveler was in before. As i entered i saw the knight from before look at me. His helmet glinted in the sun and the sunlight poured through a hole in the roof. He reached his left arm towards me but it soon fell weak against his side. He reached inside his satchel and retrieved his final, last Estus flask. it was slightly bigger but abnormally longer than any i had seen before, it was more like a canteen than a flask. I took the Estus from his hands and tied it to my waistcloth. He was obviously getting weaker by the second, before i could leave he grasped my hand and made a 'chop-off-head' motion with his finger across his neck. I nodded, he took his sword and clasped it to his breast to prepare for the afterlife, and i slew the proud knight with my weapon.His body disappeared within a cloud and a hundred tiny souls were absorbed within my body. A violent earth-shaking rumble flung me off my feet and a loud crash echoed throughout the whole Asylum. I ran through the exit of the cell, up the stairs, past the bodies of numerous Hollows and stopped at a fog door. Before the fog door could allow me through it the white mist of the fog evaporated. On a small platform, i could see the Traveler standing down below, he had a triumphant smile on his face. Had he killed the monster? I pondered the question but decided not to think about it. By the time i jumped down, a big black door had been opened behind me and a large, black Crow was flying off to a distant land. I ran to the cliff but saw no way to reach him. A series of loud cawing caught my attention and i walked to the right to see a Crows nest but no bird in sight. "Caw, you! Caw, give me! Give me warm, caw! Give me soft, Caw!" said a nearby voice. I could not see the owner of the voice but i looked at the nest. Maybe i should drop something warm in here? I took out my Estus flask and dropped a few millilitres of warm Estis in the nest. I heard no reply. A strong breeze picked up and i stumbled, i stepped on the nest and the eggs splintered into a gooey, yellow mess. The nest fell off the cliff and was picked up by the cliff. A loud "CAAAAAWWWWwwwwwww" was all i heard before it was too far to hear it anymore. I dove after the nest. Would i die or would i live? I don't even know. I grabbed the nest and cradled it in mid-air. I heard no chirping or cawing but my arms were now stained with egg whites and yolk. I peered into the nest and found a bone. I grasped it and wondered if birds eat flesh, meat and bones. Now was not the time, as the clouds below me got ever closer i thought about home. My wife, the kids, Berenike, the Church, the King and our Prince Ricard. As i did so the bone began to glow a white light and it enveloped me. White light surrounded me and i fell flat on my face on soft grass. I picked myself up and looked around, mossy stone structures, ancient buildings and a bonfire next to me. A series of laughter came from behind me and i turned around to see a warrior. Although he bore no Crest, but faded etchings and marking across his chained armour, he looked physically strong and at peak condition. He smiled at me, his hairy stubble swaying from a cool breeze and his eyes staring at me with a dull look. "Oh i see the bird's nest in your arms, don't want to go carrying that around i tell you. Mother Bird is above us right now and i don't think she's too fond of having a scrambled daughter or hard-boiled son. I, however, love eating cooked eggs." said the Crestfallen Warrior, and with a grin, he took an egg, a stone platter, and began to cook his meal. During our meal however, we began to find Titanite in our egg yolk, a Ring in our egg whites and we found a scroll labelled Pursuers after we had thoroughly digested the eggs. He vouched to keep them and i heartily agreed.