Chapter Text
Stella was awake.
And, to start, that didn’t make sense. Last she remembered, her entire life had ended when that second-rate sorcerer had stuck a blade in her back at the top of the tower. Her sorceries hadn’t done any good against the subterfuge, and the last thing she remembered was her murderer sneering at her before stalking away.
All of that to say, Stella should not be able to “be awake.”
The sound of the sea told her otherwise.
And so, with a decidedly unladylike groan, she levered herself up.
Around her stood a massive church, littered with bodies all in various states of Erdtree-approved preservation. Woodsmoke, wax, and stale dust mingled with the sea salt scent creeping in from the crumbled walls. Stella was alone, save for a corpse garbed in the robes of a maiden, propped against the door.
It only took a few seconds to piece together where – what – she was.
And now Stella was really awake.
—
Stella’s first meeting with a person of any real coherence was depressing.
The man garbed in white chortled at her, making fun of her solitary presence. Stella’s curse in return only seemed to encourage him. Unfortunately, he also confirmed the thing she had been afraid to confront. Stella was now tarnished, her old blood called back to ascend to the erdtree or – more likely – die trying.
However, the man in white clearly wanted something from her. His meager help spoke more to him hoping she would come crawling back, asking for answers, directions. Stella knew that look; knew how the upperclassmen at Raya Lucaria would wear it when they wanted someone to come to them for answers, to give them a bargaining chip in their world of regal politicking and one upmanship. Favors were the coin of Raya Lucaria, and Stella refused to fall for it.
As such, she found herself walking off without a second glance, creeping around the underbrush and blasting her way to the nearby ruins with the meager glintstone sorcery she could currently manage. Surveying the structures, she noticed the glimmer of gold off to the side, drawing her reluctantly in. It would do Stella well to rest there before combing through the ruins for anything useful.
Stella’s second meeting with a person of any real coherence was a surprise.
“Greetings, traveler from beyond the fog. I am Melina. I offer you an accord.”
Stella immediately jumped away, staring in shock at the woman who had just emerged from the fog. The woman who, seemingly unaffected by Stella’s shock, continued her introduction.
“Have you heard of the finger maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to the Tarnished. But you, I am afraid, are maidenless.”
Stella, of course, was not thrilled. “Ah. So the second person I meet since my timely un-demise also seeks to cajole and mock me. What a thrilling surprise!”
Melina stuttered, clearly not expecting an interruption so soon. “I… no, my apologies. I come to offer myself to play the role of your maiden, turning rune fragments into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you, to the foot of the Erdtree.”
Scoffing, Stella drew her staff, letting glintstone energy gather at the tip. “You show up out of nowhere and expect me to partner up with you? How stupid do you think I am?”
“I understand.”
It was Stella’s turn to stutter. “I… good. Okay.”
“I’m asking you to put faith in but a stranger. Yet I’m certain that we can reach an understanding. Summon me by grace if you should reconsider.”
And with that, the stranger disappeared, and Stella was alone again.
Finally away from prying eyes and surrounded by the protective magic of the Grace, Stella let her guard down. Though she may have rejected it in her past life, her tarnished blood was the only thing keeping her around now. For whatever reason, she had been awoken with the grace of gold, and she felt a part of her drawn to the erdtree.
Someone would become Elden Lord. That’s what it would take to save this broken land. A Godfrey, a Radagon, someone with extraordinary strength and an unmatched will. Someone with something to fight for.
That wasn’t Stella. Not the least of which because she had no way to inherit the strength of those runes, bolstering her power.
But she couldn’t just trust someone with no reason. That was what got her killed the first time, and she would not repeat that mistake.
So what could she do? Wait until the grace of gold finally let her slip through its grasp? Sit forever? Return to what remained of Raya Lucaria and attempt to usurp the Full Moon Queen?
Except…
No. Stella had no supporters, no allies, and no power of her own. Even if she were to accept Melina’s deal, she could not recover an entire campus alone.
But it would be a start. It would help her survive. And maybe it would be good to figure out the terms of the deal in the meantime.
Gathering her resolve, Stella reached into the enchantment of the grace, only Melina was significantly easier to summon than she should have been.
“Have you reconsidered my offer?” A warm eye, unassuming. But Stella knew there was more to it than her being a simple maiden. She should not be able to do this. This Melina could be a powerful ally, if Stella could only figure out her motivations, her needs, and make sure they oh so coincidentally would line up with hers.
“What are the terms?”
A brief smile flickered across Melina’s face before she spoke. “I shall turn runes into strength, if only you promise to take me with you to the foot of the Erdtree.”
“And what if I don’t rush there immediately? What if I take my time, gather my strength?” Stella didn’t like the ambiguities there. Ambiguities were never loopholes, only nooses, and she knew better than to hang herself on them.
“I need only to venture to the foot of the erdtree. Everything else I leave to you to decide.”
It wasn’t much to work with. But Stella had made worse deals for more ambitious purposes than mere survival.
“Then, on those terms specifically, I accept. I lead you to the Erdtree, you help me inherit the runes. “
Melina chuckled, brandishing another hand towards Stella. “Ahh, another matter. I bequeath to you this ring. Use it to traverse great distances. It will summon a spectral steed named Torrent. Torrent has chosen you. Treat him with respect.”
Suddenly, the deal was out the window. “What do you mean, bequeath it to me? Is this part of the deal? What else would I owe you?” Stella begun, but already Melina was shaking her head.
“Torrent has chosen you. There is no more to it than that.”
And then she was gone. The whistle ring had been left in Stella’s hand, and Melina had disappeared, leaving Stella wondering what kind of being she may be dealing with.
—
The second time Stella called upon Melina, the grace was nestled in the ruins of another church, just outside of a large forest. The protective magic enveloped her, replenishing her, and she felt a tug at the edge of her consciousness.
“Melina.”
Melina’s form melted into existence, the evidence of grace coalescing until she stood before Stella. She was quiet, and her stance betrayed nothing to Stella.
“Please, allow me my inheritance.”
Melina kneeled, reaching out her hand, offering power. “Then I shall turn your runes to strength. Let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment. Share them with me, your thoughts, your ambitions, the principles you would follow.”
Stella saw the honest interest Melina had in her goals. But it would not do for this wary ally to know her every plan.
“And why should I tell you, kind maiden? What does this have to do with the runes.”
A pause, and then Melina drew back her arm. “Tarnished, it allows me to bolster thy strength. I cannot simply pour these fragments into you. Unstructured and unguided, these runes shall lay dormant within you, ready for the taking by the next greedy fool to seek your demise. Once I know your ambitions, I may build the runes around your desires. When I know your principles, I may guide your growth to your will. Without, however, there will be nothing.”
If only Stella had been able to truly study this part of her bloodline. There was no telling if this was true. If not, it would make sense. Favor for favor, coin for coin. Stella would guide Melina to the erdtree, a weary journey to the Altus Plateau, and she would have to tell Melina of her goals. In return, Stella would grow stronger, and she would have use of the spectral steed.
Perhaps Melina would use the knowledge to backstab her later, pinpointing her weaknesses and working around her plans.
But without the power, Stella had no chance of gathering any other allies.
“Fine then. I shall tell you.”
Melina’s hand reached out, gently alighting in Stella’s own.
“I seek to recover my mastery over Sorcery. I was well versed in its use, but my time since then has left me rusty. I care not for the Academy’s limitations; Glintstone and its sister pathways can lead to power far beyond what my former masters limited themselves to.”
Melina withdrew. “Thank you, Tarnished. I have arranged your runes according to thine desires.”
Stella could feel it. More focus, a sharper understanding of her limits. The techniques she had forgotten from her schooling returned to her, once again a mere thought away. Her power was returning to her... perhaps even more than she possessed in her first life. It was almost intoxicating.
She did not yet have the means to take advantage of it. She would need to recover her spells and relearn them, committing them to memory. Perhaps her journey could lead even to new techniques, beyond the limited bounds of Raya Lucaria’s curriculum.
That thirst for knowledge had returned: the force which lead Stella to her studies in the first place. She needed to know what the world held for her. She needed to know what she could do, who she could become.
Melina was still there.
Unlike before, she had stayed. She was gazing across the ruins, lost in her own world, until she felt Stella’s eyes on her. The warm eye once again rested on Stella.
“Spoken echoes of Queen Marika linger here, as well. Shall I share them with you?”
Shock flooded Stella. Melina seemed powerful, yes, but to be so in tune with the grace? To have the training to structure runes, and to also hear echoes of the Erdtree Goddess's own words?
Who was she?
More importantly, “What is your journey’s purpose, Melina?”
The maiden tilted her head. “Me? I’m searching for my purpose given to me by my mother inside the Erdtree long ago, for the reason that I yet live, burned and bodiless… There is something for which I must apologize. I’ve acted the finger maiden, yet I can offer no guidance. I am no maiden. My purpose was long ago lost…”
Her Mother? Inside the Erdtree?
Just what was Stella dealing with?
—
While venturing through Limgrave, the protection of grace had begun to reassure Stella, protecting her from the environment and the enemies that prowled, hunting for her gathered runes. Those moments of rest and preparation became the only moments Stella could let her guard down. She could breathe, take notes, and study. She could sleep. She could relax.
Scouting into the east became a task of finding the next grace, the next stopping point where Stella could push off from.
Arriving at the grace, however, proved that Stella had become complacent.
Melina appeared in an instant, the grace’s protection freely parting to admit the cloaked woman and striking a fear into Stella’s heart. This must be the moment, then, that Melina would reap her, stripping the grace of gold from her eyes and leaving her to drown in the broken land. Stella figured it was only fitting that her second life end the same way the first did.
“Forgive me. I’ve been… testing you. To see whether or not grace truly does guide you. And… whether you are fit to face the challenge that entails. It seems my worries were unfounded.”
Stella’s eyes were blown wide, and her spine straight.
Melina only looked down at her.
“Torrent had your measure from the very start, whereas I merely pretended.”
A small amount of tension left Stella’s shoulders, and she brought herself up, standing to meet Melina. Her fingers itched, desperate to reach for her staff, but she knew anything offensive could leave her dead.
“There is but one other thing I can do to offer you guidance. I can take you to the Roundtable Hold, gathering place of Tarnished champions guided by grace.”
Melina’s hand emerged from her cloak, and Stella swore a smile flickered across her lips. She stood like she presented a choice to Stella, and either one would work for her.
Stella knew better. There really was only one choice, when the force offering held power over the very thing keeping her alive.
“Very well. Let my hand rest upon you, for but a moment.”
The grace pulled at her, and Stella knew better than to resist, letting the grace whisk her away.
Stella’s life was in Melina’s hands. It had been, every step of the way. She was a plaything to a demigod, a pawn.
That could not continue.
—
Stella did not call upon Melina the next time she came to rest at a grace in Limgrave. She had just returned from the edge of that blighted, scarlet land, still not powerful enough to feel safe scouting its terrifying environment. She needed to grow more powerful, yes, and she knew that blight must hide the secrets of Sellia and their gravity magicks, but it was too risky.
Melina was an unknown factor. Despite how open, how honest she seemed, Stella didn’t believe it. People don’t just walk up to the first stranger they find and try to strike up an alliance with them. Certainly not ones powerful enough to manipulate the very power of grace itself. Most definitely not ones who could name a being inside the Erdtree as “mother.”
And, of course, not someone who would simply let a spectral steed dictate their allies.
Torrent, at least, had not held any ill will. Despite the danger Stella steered him towards, he was steadfast, obedient, helpful. But he was still a spectral steed, and there was no world where he held any sort of power over Melina.
Indeed, Torrent had apparently been the reason that Snow Witch had come to the Church of Ellah. She was certainly powerful, but she didn’t play at any sort of alliance. The spirit calling bell was a useful tool of course, but her blatant deception in her identity had burned up any favor she might have been owed, Renna had been a popular topic of debate in the academy due to her proximity to the royal Carians, and it was clear the Snow Witch that Stella had met earlier simply inhabited a recreation of the famous sorceress.
That puzzle was easier to solve. Nostalgic, even. Not like the mystery maiden.
The grace swirled towards Stella even when thinking about her, reaching out, ready to summon her vexing companion at the barest allowance.
No, Stella would do so when she was good and ready. Once she had found strength beyond the runes, so that she wasn’t utterly reliant on the maiden. Only then could she ensure the inevitable betrayal wouldn’t leave her defenseless.
—
Visiting the church in the Weeping Peninsula, Stella felt the grace reach out once again, calling to her, asking to visit. Surprising, considering the last time they spoke, Melina had made it clear she could appear whenever she liked.
Stella was ready now, however. Her search amongst the ruins of the land had returned a plethora of techniques, armaments, and equipment. She could survive on her own until she found a new source of power, or at least long enough to establish a new base. The sorcerer in the roundtable hold must be holding out here somewhere. Or, perhaps that Snow Witch could use an ally with some actual proficiency in magic? Her wolf had not yet impressed Stella.
So, with backup plans and stockpiles set, Stella let the grace reach out again, and she grasped at it, allowing it in.
Melina appeared once again, warm and serene.
“Hello, Tarnished. I hope you are well. Shall I turn your runes to strength?”
Her eye was soft, peace lingering in her gaze. Her hair glowed in the light of the grace, swaying as her hand emerged from the cloak, reaching for Stella once again.
Stella gathered herself. She knew Melina might not directly cut her off. Not yet, at least. Stella would do her best to take advantage of Melina’s power while she still could, awaiting the moment Melina held it over her head, seeking to compel her into action. She would not find a waiting pawn.
Their hands met, Melina holding her with such a tender, graceful grasp. Stella prepared herself, beginning to once again let Melina know where she wanted the runes to grow, before Melina cut her off.
“Tarnished. Share with me your name?”
Stella was stunned. This couldn’t be part of the process, could it? There was no reason to know. But it also wouldn’t hold any power over her. Any allies or enemies she once held at Raya Lucaria would be long dead by now, and she had never grown influential enough to reach beyond those enchanted walls.
Melina, patient as ever, gazed up at her.
“...Stella.”
This time, Stella was sure a smile danced across Melina’s lips, but then power began to flow, and Stella felt it surge through her.
Each fragment was like a puzzle piece. Each bit, slotting into another. Echoes filling cracks in her magical foundation. Towers of runes flowed into her mind, clearing the fog that plagued her. Foundations, stability, raced throughout her bones, invigorating her.
Melina’s work was fast – too fast to follow, even with her mind’s eye. But it was not incomprehensible. There was a chance Stella herself could do this, given the proper time and techniques.
As Melina pulled away, however, something else flowed through Stella. A cohesion, glue, something locking those fragments into place. Stella felt even more whole, more put together than before.
Their eyes met, Stella’s cerulean gazing into Melina’s own amber.
“Safe travels, Stella.”
Woodsmoke and sea salt mingled in the air before the warmth of grace pooled back in, the protection muffling the senses.
Stella remained. Visiting the Roundtable Hold would do her no good for now, so she set up her camp and laid out her bedroll.
The amber light of grace kept her company as she gazed at the stars.