Chapter Text
---Subterranean Shunning Grounds---
They would show me their future, whenever I felt their touch on my own skin. Vivid and lively visions, of destiny and fate, of change and death. Most of them brought joy and promises of better days. Sometimes, when the coming nights would be dark and lonely, the people would try to turn their lives around, trying to prevent the inevitable. Whether they managed to succeed, I do not know. My name is Aveline and I was known as an Oracle, back in the days of my childhood when my parents would bring their friends and families in to hear what the gods had planned for them.
Due to my Omen-born nature, my family was forced to keep me hidden in the basement throughout most of my days. Only they themselves, my siblings, our knights or servants would occasionally come to ask all kinds questions, of which I could answer a few. Much to their dismay, the songs were sung in an ancient language and their pictures painted without shapes or forms. Yet all the predictions I deemed worthy of being shared came true in the end, so long as I shared those clear enough to not leave any room for misunderstanding or interpretation. To tell apart possibilities from factualities was a skill I acquired through hardship and observation.
Ironically, my own future remained a mystery to me, a secret I was never meant to uncover and so I lived, unknowing of what tomorrow would bring.
I was a child when a certain man and his followership arrived to claim their fair share of my gift, only they refused to leave without me. By what I have seen, I knew of the horrors of the world as much as I knew of peace and happiness. My young, innocent self expected to be taken to the capital, where they would employ me to work for higher entities, maybe I would even serve the royal court as a true oracle. Then they shackled and chained me, dragged me out of the basement, past my wheeping mother and onto the back of their carriage, away from the life I knew. Away from a family that loved me, despite my cursed blood.
I was taken to Leyndell, but its splendours were not meant for my eyes. Instead, I was thrown into the sewers, where I came across others of my kind, who had suffered the very same fate. There, we were left to rot. Sometimes we were fed, other times they would send gruesome hunters armed with weapons made from the bones of our kin to strike us down. To step outside, to leave this place would mean death, and to remain bore the risk of starving or succumbing to injuries caused by the hostile environment.
Soon, two new members joined our family in these forsaken depths; twins born of the royal bloodline. While it was a shame to see that not even the Queen's own children were spared from being wiped away like a stain on their perfect Golden Order, they were capable of providing me something I had to miss out on ever since I arrived.
I could not read my fellow Omen, for their future was of an impenetrable darkness, of wicked grinning faces, baring their teeth at me whenever I tried to see. It was the very same faces hunting us in our nightmares. The twins, however, soon learned of my ability and did not miss out on asking me - I agreed, hoping to provide a prophecy that promised the end to our miserable existence. Of course, I knew it was impossible, though worth a try.
As I put my hands into their own, I saw two things hidden far beyond the grizzly vultures: the Erdtree, in all its might and glory, no matter how little I had seen of it, and a golden rune, shaped like the head of a trident, soaked in blood. That was when the visions started to get more and more intense, offering more clarity. Like most of the previous ones, I brushed them off as erratic whispers shared among people I would never meet, of stories I could not tell anyone about, locked away as I was. Until they repeated themselves. These visions spoke of death and undeath, of a disaster, the downfall of what we all held dear - no matter whether it shunned us or loved us.
One day, the twins' older brother came to visit us, which was when all of my dreams suddenly took up shape. I presumed they were tied to him, directly or indirectly, yet I refrained from approaching someone so holy and pure when I was nothing but a stain of filth threatening to dull his golden shine. When Godwyn first set foot in the sewers, he was the light radiating at the end of the tunnel, from which I shied away on instinct. It was blinding almost, so very fearsome.
I did not know how to react and so I hid myself in the darkest corner, every time he appeared. During these hours, the visions got more vivid than ever, as if they were trying to make me move, have me act on them, and do as I was meant to do. Or so I told myself. I could not allow myself to show my cursed face around him, no matter my gifts and purpose.
One of the twins, Mohg, did not miss out on telling their brother about me, so I was eventually asked to join them the next time Godwyn would visit. I politely declined and excused myself. Little Mohg was obstinate enough to bring his brothers to me instead, when I had hoped the golden prince would never have to lay his eyes on me. Yet there he was, a gentle smile painted on his face. It was unlike that of my nightmares, his was soft and genuine, calming me down in an instant.
He reached out for me, asking me to accompany them back to the twins' gaol. I shied away, then felt guilty for being so disrespectful when he clearly meant no harm, nor did he seem appalled by my presence. I got over myself and followed quietly, praying that the gods would forgive me, and him, for bringing our disgrace upon himself. Certainly, the twins had shared all they knew about me and Godwyn would sooner or later ask me to tell him about his fortune...
Godwyn sat down on the bed, Morgott to his left, swaying his tail as he clung to his older brother. Mohg enthusiastically offered me a seat on the other end, he just wanted to hear about brighter days and whether there was something in for him. Not that I could blame him, we all wished for the same - even Godwyn did. I couldn't get myself to get too close and sat down on the stone floor.
The prince reached out for my hands, I immediately recoiled, claiming that I was dirty and hadn't seen a bar of soap in years. He shook his head and chuckled, offering me a look of compassion.
"You are not. The sewers may be, but I can see your heart is pure" he mused.
The way he said it almost sounded too poetic to be true. Torn between my emotions, I resigned and offered my hands to him. As soon as he touched me, the room we were in was flooded with his golden light, engulfing us until there was nothing left besides a blank, luminescent canvas on which a small fraction of his future would paint itself in a moment.
A blade, like a dagger, appeared in front of me. Warped and bent.
Behind the dagger, a circle started to form, only that it did not complete. Rather, it was a semicircle, from which flames or little arms emerged, I could not tell. As soon as they did, the golden light turned dark blue and eventually black, until there was nothing left but the void, along with a stinging ache in my back.
I must have gasped in surprise from the impact.
These visions continuously appeared, got more or less frequent over the time, but I barely made any sense of them. We were left with the cryptic messages. Godwyn returned many nights, together we plucked the fruits of futures from the tree we had planted whenever they seemed ripe enough. I foretold his wife would bear a son, and soon after, she was with child. The prince never doubted my words, he never judged or tried to hold me accountable, unlike others, who had dropped to their knees, begging me to avert their terrible fate or attempted to use violence against me, anything in their despair. There was nothing I could have done.
Once, I was given something to work with, something about a dagger yet again, one formed of a corpse it seemed, held in a place of eternal night. It was a ghastly sight, of severed fingers, in which the other half of the circle I had seen the other day was embranded. Even Godwyn, unwavering as he was, shuddered upon hearing the description.
Every time he visited me, more about a future entailing a gruesome destiny was revealed: death. Gods may have been mortal, but Queen Marika had done everything to keep such harm away for herself and her family. Which implied eternal confinement for the twins on one hand, and on the other, if Godwyn were to fall, the Golden Order would fall with him, crumble away under the weight his death would bring. A weight of guilt, too heavy to be bearable for myself. He understood, countermeasures had to be taken. His death was not yet a certainty - just a possible consequence.
When the stars aligned for one last time, for I was shown a future of a titan holding them back like a lion's jaw locking his prey in place, the moon was shining brighter than ever before. Its gentle, white light even reached into the depths that were our jail and home. I bathed in the rays protruding from the drains above, allowed the silver to settle on my skin like the frost of a winter breeze. It ran down my spine, cool and unforgiving. The presence of an immediate threat became more and more apparent. Something was wrong. Where there was light, there was also darkness, and this darkness was of moving shadows, darting across planes to hunt and kill. Twelve of them I counted, each moving gracefully like a dancer clad in a flowing veil.
Godwyn visited a few weeks later, bearing the news that a princess had been born to house Caria. I did not mean to ruin the festive mood. However, I learned of her name and title soon after, and deemed it a necessity to share that in fact, the Lunar Princess would be the one to initiate his death. I prepared myself thoroughly before making a blunt accusation that could have marked a life far worse than that in the sewers. Godwyn was listening to me, still without judgment. Actually, he was well aware how unnerved I was about my discoveries. How pure and golden he was he did not hesitate to prove yet again, by calming me down and promising me to act against the lingering menace.
We still had time, if my visions would yet again turn out to be true, then the newborn child had to grow into a lady first. To not lose my own credibility, I continued my work as the Oracle of the Forsaken Depths. Each major event could be taken as a milestone, so long as I was able to line them up correctly. Which was difficult, and only the greater picture allowed me to see in which order they would occur.
The Elden Lord and his beast regent, bereft of their gold and swept away by the wind - well, not quite. They were standing through the storm, yet when they returned home in their final days, they were denied access.
Queen Marika's apparition in my dreams suddenly appeared to be incomplete, ever since Lord Rykard had been born. Or was his brother, General Radahn, born first? I did not remember. The day Lord Radagon had left his family to take on the mantle of Elden Lord, the Queen Eternal seemed to be whole again.
And soon after, a beautiful, scarlet bloom flowered in the light of the Erdtree, along with the shine of unalloyed gold in its centre. The flower dissolved into a thousand little butterflies, revealing a girl laying in the middle, cradled by her brother. Only that she had severed limbs and no eyes....
Godwyn returned, this time he brought news I hadn't foreseen. Lunar Princess Ranni was born an Empyrean, meant to succeed Queen Marika one day, much like the twin prodigies. Their involvement or interest in shattering the Golden Order was ruled out quickly, but however we spun the story, no matter how many times we twisted it, they always led back to the same conclusion.
The months after the revelation were highly unpleasant. Imprisoned as I was, for the very first time the fact I couldn't leave hurt me. I wanted to act against these warnings so long as it was still possible, yet I had been tossed down here and locked away with no way out. Night after night of waking up to dreams in which I drowned in an endless sea, day after day I spent nearly being broken and crushed by the weight of anxiety, over losing the only friend I had to something I could have prevented.
It was no longer a case of selfishness and self-preservation. It was a matter of respect. On a grand scheme, the world depended on him. In no way would I throw my own life away by risking a glance at the outsides, as they would kill me on sight. Hence I forced myself to be patient, to endure the pain until Godwyn came again to take it off me, to ease the tearing ache inside of me that had left me sore and trembling for weeks.
Up until Godwyn made me an offer I could not refuse, simply because of how alluring the freedom he promised was. Even if it only lasted for a duration, perhaps it would ensure a benefit, should the mission he wanted to send me on be successful, or even restore the reputation of our once loved kind. I nervously followed and took in each word he spoke with utmost care, to prepare for the grand quest he wanted to send me on.
Worries crossed my mind, thoughts that quickly developed into pure dread of potentially failing him - the most important person to each one of us. His friendship was irreplaceable. Godwyn wanted to free me, to use my gift in order to prevent anyone from killing a god again. I laid out all the things that had proven to be helpful in an act against such a vile prophecy and he swiftly eased my mind by sharing his own thoughts. Together, we worked out a plan and the conditions that applied to me, as freeing me could bear consequences for him.
I did not want to be responsible for his punishment. In detail, down to the most insignificant parts, I described the steps I had to take, about everything my gift had revealed to me, everything we could get our hands on. The prince helped me sort them and provided his own knowledge of locations, names, dangers, all the things I had never seen in my life and remained unaware of, though I figured he wasn't overly keen on sending his knights into the cities below the earth. Various reasons there were, mainly because we would enter the enemies' territory.
For me, it meant that not only would I get to see the world for a short period of time, but I would also save the world from falling apart. Suddenly, the weight was put on my shoulders, but I wanted to carry it with the same pride he did, regardless of whether he was a golden prince, the face of the divine and I was just a cursed, little Omen living in the sewers of Leyndell among the handful of other, shunned and unwanted children. Whether it was his intuition or good will that he planned on letting me off, trusting that I would do as promised, I did not inquire. I simply appreciated the amount of faith he put into me, so much so, that I was terrified of failing him.
But, then again, he would have not let me go on my own. No, he had tasked one of his loyal knights to accompany me. At first, I was taken aback to learn he had shared our secrets, but I reminded myself that I knew him better. I regret my reaction and immediately apologised for my poor judgement. Never would he ever risk the lives of those dear to him for no reason. Each death would have been a sacrifice made to accomplish something greater, and never did his people die in vain. I knew that.
His knight would serve for the sake of protection and supervision. I would lose my head, should I dare breach the conditions of our contract and the knight certainly would not hesitate to kill yet another Omen, when the deed would bring him nothing but fame for banishing us vile creatures. For keeping the streets clean and the image perfect.
The more I thought about it, the less confident I felt about leaving the sewers. Contrary to the danger the Golden Order imposed on people like us, the streets were safer than ever before, and it was a knight's duty to let the shield come before the sword, to protect those in need. Except for Omen, who were unworthy of such privileges - to kill them meant to keep the roads clean and free from all harm to the citizens.
Now I was curious about how he wanted to enact the plan in regard to my appearance. Of course, I had underestimated him and how he was three steps ahead of me. Besides the knight, he handed me a small array of gifts.
One was a spellscroll of a minor healing incantation, enough to close a wound and stop the bleeding, along with a seal to cast it.
The other was a veil of thin, almost translucent fabric, similar to white silk. It would conceal my true self to the untrained eye - luckily, there weren't many who would have been able to see through the illusion created by wearing the cloth. It was merely a copy of the original veil and nowhere nearly as effective, but it would provide enough security.
The last one, a gift I was not meant to take offensively, was a bar of soap, a towel and a set of fresh clothes. I looked at them a little helplessly, as they were not tailored to fit my frame. Godwyn explained that they would fit the illusion, and I was meant to put them on after the veil.
I had a few more days until my departure, Godwyn needed the time to arrange the part that would allow us to slip out unnoticed, even if I was in disguise. And to make sure no one else would interfere. Time barely went by, each minute felt like hours and the anticipation replaced the feeling of tiredness taking hold of me.
When Godwyn finally came down to visit us one last time, I was introduced to the man he spoke of. A paladin going by the name of Glenn of Rothes. Presumably in his early thirties, clad in golden armour and a matching cloak with golden embroidery around the edges and emerald eyes; A pristine and noble in presence as one would have expected from a knight of the Golden Order. He made my parents' staff look average, at best. I was eyed with a hint of suspicion, though not with distrust. It was a mix of curiosity hidden behind his righteous duty to do as his Lord commanded, even when the matters demanded him to take care of someone as graceless as I.
The good Sir Knight bowed to me and introduced himself with his courtly ettiquette, I returned the customs in the same way I remembered them from days long past. Which he seemed surprised about. I couldn't fault him for thinking of us like the outcast creatures that we were, with no common sense or understanding for more delicate topics. Turned out, he was rather surprised to learn that we were more human than he had expected, capable of speaking and learning, of thinking beyond the limits of a child's fantasies. Some of us, especially the twins, were well able to create magic unknown and incomprehensible to studied masters of that field. What differenciated us from others was just our appearance and strength, after all.
Godwyn wasted no time and explained the effects of the veil, how it would render me unable to perform certain actions, such as running, fighting, casting spells or climbing and would lose effect, should I find myself fully submerged in water. I took a mental note and put the cloth over my head. It disappeared, but I could still feel it rest atop my horns. In an instant, my physical form altered itself, transforming me into the image of a woman.
My features remained unchanged, I kept the same brunette hair, only my body was now much more frail and about a foot shorter, my skin was now a pale shade of beige. An additional, fifth finger and toe appeared on both of my hands and feet. I could feel my strength fade into nothingness, so much so, that it took me a second to balance my weight anew. Apparently my eye colour had changed as well, from crimson to a shade of bright blue.
My clothes, or the rags I wore, fell off of my shoulders, leaving the exposed body of a human behind. Both Godwyn and the knight were kind enough to turn around immediately, as I forgot to cover my indecency. For the moment, I was too fascinated with the new appearance, and in addition, I had never been taught to feel ashamed. We Omen were all scantily dressed. I would have not even considered it to be proper clothing, mere rags covered the parts that would have been inappropriate to show. Secondly, this body was not my own, and there was no shame yet in showing something I was not personally, emotionally or physically attached to. The men left me to it and decided to pay the twins a visit while I prepared myself.
Since I did not intend to stain the good clothes I had been given, I cleaned myself first, but no matter how hard I scrubbed or how many times I covered myself in excessive amounts of soap, it felt like the dirt and stench from the sewers would not come off. Each time I rinsed myself, despite the water being fresh, it felt like I put the muck right back on. A disgusting feeling, bothering me all the more I thought about the poor knight having to spend his days with me by his side. I prayed I would not assault his nose any longer than I had to. In the end, I couldn't tell whether I smelled of soap or sewage. After all these years, I had got used to living among waste.
Before I left the Shunning Grounds for an unknown period of time, for my return was a given, should I survive, I wanted to say goodbye to everyone. They wished me the best, that I may be successful.
First off, we had to go to a place of eternal night, where false stars illuminated the sky, in order to find the tool bringing death to the emissaries of the Greater Will and make sure it would never fall into the hands of those willing to kill. The twins, despite their irritation that I got to leave while they did not, handed me a small gift each - a vial of blood and an Omen bairn carved from wood. One would aid me in battle, if either thrown or applied to a weapon, alternatively I could drink it to cure myself of unwanted effects. Although, he warned me, the heat of his blood might burn me. The bairn would help me channel our inner fire, to spew it at fiendish creatures, of course, only if there were no eyes to witness such blasphemy. A welcoming warmth radiated from both of them and would remind me of the cause I was serving.
Godwyn stayed behind to spend the evening with his brothers and Sir Glenn took me outside, disguised in my human form.
As soon as night fell, we left, for the safety of darkness would hide us.