Chapter One: Rise from the ashes.
Author's Note
A few things I’d like to address. 1. As mentioned Cain is the original ashen one that's been displaced through time, not a human displaced as the ashen one. 2. Alot of what Cain has will be based on my playthough of the Dark Souls 3 mod Cinders, so there'll be alot of things you won't recognize. 3. My approach to this whole 'Dark souls is part of Equestria' head canon will be a little rough around the edges this is my first time writing a MLP/Dark Souls cross-over so depending on feedback, some parts of the story may change. 4. And before a certain someone asks if they'll be more characters from the Dark Souls series, yes, but I won't say who to avoid spoilers.
On a side note, you can talk to Cain via the comment section as Soapstone messages. Please keep them as reasonable advice/questions.
Chapter One: Rise from the ashes.
“The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle.” The fire keeper said as she held the flame in her hands; the very flame that had kept the world lit for many years, fueled by millions of souls that gave up their life to stave off the age of dark due to Gwyn’s fear of his rule being taken away.
The ashen looks on in dead silence as the world begins to fade; bringing the end the age of fire. Cain’s been wanting this for so long to end the wretched cycle of keeping rather than watching the world be further twisted and warped.
“But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lord’s past.” The firekeeper spoke.
Cain looks down at her in curiosity as her word’s meaning takes hold in his mind, revealing that a new flame may be ignited, but not yet when and where.
“Ashen One, dost thou hearest my voice, still?” The firekeeper asked, causing Cain to kneel down and embrace her as the last remains of the light were now gone.
It felt as if the world stood still for Cain and the Firekeeper; an endless dream of the abyss was all that greeted them; unaware of the events that were taking place.
The world of ash remained undisturbed for many years, until one day, the firekeeper’s foresight came true as flickering embers started to gather, and before long, a roaring flame ignited anew.
The fire did not belong to the hollows of humans, but that of six ponies, their fiery hearts renewed the world. Thus creating the Flame Of Friendship; the age of friendship. The flame was kept lit for thousands of years and soon passed on to two alicorns, crowning them to rule over this new land. Using the power of the flame of friendship, they brought forth the day and the night, creating order and harmony upon the lands.
The ashen one stirred from his slumber, soon rising from the ashes of the old Firelink shrine. The ashen one, known as Cain looked around in confusion as he patted himself down in surprise. The last he remembered was his firekeeper’s foresight and the coming darkness, and then deep and suddenly slumber. Cain looks around, wondering why he is back in the Firelink shrine. Looking ahead, he spots the familiar coiled sword. Making his way over and extending his hand over it, he ignites the flames, but instead of seeing and feeling their usual warmly orange glow, it was now a strange purple ethereal flame, oddly comforting and harmonious.
“Despite allowing the first flame to die, it appears the cycle has been renewed, yet I know not whom has lit it, how, and why. Do I need to journey once more to the Kiln Of The First Flame?” Cain thought as he held his hand over the bonfire, channeling through it in a attempt to warp
“...Nay, I do not have access.” Cain thought to himself with a frown. Cain found this strange, feeling uncertainty about it. Cain looks down upon himself, noticing he is still wearing the armor from when he fought the soul of cinder. His helmet was that of a knight, worn from weather, battle, and the occasion blow to the head. His chest piece was made of the same silvery metal that was of his helmet, a chestplate that had dangling chainmail that reached in front of his thighs, two shoulder guards that went unforeseen because of the short red, scarf like material that had been stitched together to pull both sides together. Those trusty metal alloyed gauntlets he wore have protected him against the whiplash he’s gotten from parrying weapons that were from those who were stronger than Cain. They even reached just below his shoulders, still allowing for maneuverability. His leggings were rather the same, still being of the same silvered materials. The metal shoes he wore were something he had gotten used to, countless days spent stepping in them, trudging along. And as Cain gathered himself as best he could for the moment, he saw something sticking out of the ashes. Reaching in with both hands, Cain soon pulled it out, revealing it to be a spear; flames dancing along its length; his weapon of choice, a Ringed Knight Spear he had won after a fierce duel with its previous owner. Sheathing it onto his back, he, without question or fore thoughts, begins to explore the firelink shrine, rekindling old memories of the past.
Alas, many of its inhibitors were gone. No longer could he hear Andre hammering upon the anvil, no Coryx greeting him as his apprentice, no words of grace from the fire keeper, no sweet smile seen upon Irina’s face, no nothing. Cain slowly frowned in disbelief that he is the only survivor of the age of darkness. The ashen one explores Andre’s old workshopped; covered in ash and dust for lack of use. Cain felt disheartened by all this. With nothing else to find, Cain begins to head out.
Outside felt almost the same. The many graves around the shrine, the bell tower, the many trees and moss along the walls. Cain paused in his step as he noticed something very different off in the distance. He was atop a mountain. But there was a taller mountain beside it. With enough distance so that they would only connect due to one or the other collapsing. He also observed an ocean side that was only a mile or so away from the mountain. Yet another place he does not recognize. Especially because of the gigantic tree that was sitting atop the other mountain. Cain was perplexed because it almost seemed as if there were remnants of bird nesting around it but it was too far to properly know. Cain began to wonder just how many years had passed since the firekeeper helped the first flame to fade.
Reaching into his cloak, his body long since running on autopilot, Cain pulls out his Dragon Stone as he concentrates on the power within the stone, allowing the power of the everlasting dragons to flow through his body. A pair of draconic stone wings sprout fourth, and with a flap of his wings, he ascends into the air, making his way over to the giant tree in the distance.
After a bit of time Cain nears a bridge, allowing himself to land upon it as his stone wings fade into dust. The Ashen one places the dragon stone back inside the neck of his cloak. With a look of caution around the area, he begins to cross the bridge.
What Cain saw as he entered the village were what appeared to be many houses with walls made of bark, wood, and straws of hay. For some reason the ground was also covered in hay which served nearly no practical service as far as Cain could tell. It was as if standing in a giant nest, but what made Cain grip the handle of his spear were the many tall griffons that walked around going about their life that stood on their hind legs as others walked on all fours. In fact they shared humanistic qualities that normally weren’t belonging to wild beasts of magic. Yet, No matter how long the ashen one stood there, the griffons remained tame, causing him to lower his arm away from his weapon in disbelief. Cain was so used to beasts attacking him on sight, and to see them being tame is unusual behavior to him.
“What the flock are you doing here in Griffonia? Even past that armor you look about as lost as a hatchling.” An easygoing voice calls out from Cain’s side, making him look to his right. What he sees is a six foot tall griffon that was a sleek feather color of silver covering his entire body besides his head which was a slightly different shade of gray instead. forming a flat-stare with their beak, how uncanny of them. And by the sound of their voice Cain assumed they were male.
Cain softly blinked as he heard the griffon talk, further confusing the ashen one about the differences of his old world and this new one. Reaching into his side pouch, he takes out a glowing orange soapstone and begins writing onto the ground. Slowly, the words came into focus as glowing fonts.
[Where exactly am I?] The griffon read aloud.
“What are ya, mute?! Nevermind the strange magical stone, use your words for flocks sake. You outsiders never know how to react to normalcy I swear.” The griffon sizes Cain up, rapidly blinking. “Hold on lemme take a wild guess. You’re some type of adventurer that came out here in Griffonia in search of job opportunities which is why you look like a merc right now. Sorry to break it to you but this is a decent place with decent folks.” He gets up to his paws and now stands at a good seven and a half feet tall. “If you’re really that dense though, this entire place that you see? This, this is all Griffonia, the capital of the Griffon Empire.”
Despite the griffon's demand for Cain to use his words, he still continued writing on the ground, drawing each word as he slid the soapstone across the dirt, forming new words as the old ones faded away.
[Yes, I am lost as the lands seem to have changed quite a lot since the last time I was here] Cain wrote.
“Oh you are lost huh? That much was obvious, what exactly are you trying to find here pal? Somebody could take advantage of your cluelessness if you aren’t careful. Actually, you never even told me your name? Or uh, wrote your name with that fancy rock, I’m Planor but I doubt we’ll meet again anytime soon after this.”
Cain waited a moment as his written words faded away, allowing Cain to write new ones.
[Cain. Where in the lands is Griffonia?] he wrote as he paused to look out toward the forest below and the nearby mountains, recognizing no familiarity. [Where exactly is Griffonia on a map?] He finished writing.
Planor glanced down at the ground, watching what Cain wrote and snorted. “Cain… Sounds like a griffon’s name. Well Cain, we’re near the middle of the world towards the upper east, basically right above Dragon Land territory but we don’t mess with them and they sure as shit don’t mess with us. Nobody carries a map on them except for griffons who have that sort of job. And that ain’t me, you’re lucky I don’t have work today because I used a vacation slot or I wouldn’t have given you the time of day like anyone else.” Planor slowly got back down to all fours when he noticed nothing was going to transpire. “Why do you need to know something like that in the first place? You didn’t do research before coming here?”
At first, Cain was about to write a message, but stopped as second thoughts creped into his mind. “..It’d be best to make him think I’m a Griffon so I can blend in, see what I can learn in secret of my kind’s existence before I openly tell him I'm a human.” Cain thought to himself.
[Those dragons you mentioned, are their scales made of stone?] Cain wrote down curiously. “They were almost extinct last I heard.” Cain mentally thought to himself.
Planor raised an eyebrow and held the top of his beak as he frowned. “What, you've never seen a stone dragon before? Of course their scales are made out of stone. It’s the reason we’re in this stalemate now. We can’t necessarily damage them in any great way without going all out and they can’t hit us because of our wind magic and natural agility. We’re better at aerial maneuvers than they are, enough to dodge and slightly redirect breath weapons with group efforts. And now you’ve got me curious, where do you hail from Cain?”
“...So the stone dragons still live despite Lord Gwyn slaying many of them.” Cain thought before going into a long moment of pause to answer Planor’s question.. “..By the first flame, it's been so long that I’ve forgotten..” The ashen one thought with a frown as he stood there trying to recollect what his life used to be before he first attempted to link the first flame, yet failed. It was like his memories had burned away. the irony of it all. Shaking his head, Cain begins to write into the ground once more.
[Apologizes, I can’t seem to remember.] Cain wrote.
“Great, you’ve got amnesia too. Normally I’d tell you to go to local law enforcement and be on my merry way or to the mayor’s office but you probably aren’t a citizen since I’m sure I would’ve recognized you by now.” Planor angrily sighed. “What am I supposed to do with you now? Matter of fact, why are you here? Where’s your friends and family?”
[That I do not know as they have all but vanished mysteriously.] Cain wrote then nodded to the griffin. Cain left out the part of the firelink shrine and him raising from the ashes, believing that such words may sound outlandish to Planor.
Planor’s expression soured more so than before as he did his best to keep composure. “You ain’t leaving me with plenty of options on what I could do. If anything to me it sounds like you never existed in the first place, no family, no friends, not a citizen, can’t even remember where you originally come from?” The Griffon paused for a moment and continued. “Listen if I was you, then I’d definitely start anew, make a name for myself and try to forget about all of that jazz on finding out about your past. That’s the only viable thing you could do, I doubt the king would want to see you over something as trivial as this anyways.”
It felt odd hearing advice from a sentient griffin, and despite it feeling like a whole different world, Planor acted like a human being much like the ones he used to know.
[Thank you, I believe I'll do that, and in the meantime learn more about this world… whatever it is named now.] Cain wrote.
Planor brought one of his claws up and rubbed the base of his chin. “You can’t possibly be serious. The planet is called Equus, how have you… I’ll chalk it up to amnesia for you then. Here, why don’t I help you get on your bearings by showing you around first.” As Planor was going to turn right he saw a commotion from the top right corner of his eye, involving some Griffons and a strange beast that they were chasing after. “Cain, are you seeing that over there?” He pointed in the event’s direction. “I’m going to have to head out, maybe I could catch you some other time?” Planor didn’t wait for a response and instead flew away to get out of harm's way.
Cain’s attention was soon drawn to the same direction as a strange cyclops goat came barreling through town with many guards chasing the creature. Cain is forced to roll out of the way as it runs past.
“STOP THAT CREATURE, ITS STOLEN OUR RELIC!” A griffon shouted, causing Cain to look over at where the creature ran.
“I won’t be able to catch up.” Cain thought as he lifted his Lothic helmet’s facial guard up slightly. The Ashen One takes a gentle breath as he channels his pyromancy throughout his body, gathering it up to a focus point within his throat. Thrusting his head forward, Cain unleashes a Chaos Beam out of his mouth, shooting it straight at the cyclops goat. The creature is caught off guard as he goes stumbling, madly patting at himself to get rid of the flames that were eating at its flesh. Putting the helmet’s facial guard back down, the ashen one makes a dash as the creature starts to rise up.
The goat cyclops attempts to swing its fist at Cain, forcing him to roll out of the way. Cain makes a leap at the monster; his ring knight spear blazing bright as he stabs at the beast’s chest, causing it to scream out in pain as fire ignites.
The cyclops slams his fist into Cain, sending him flying into the nearest griffon home. Cain lays there for a moment as he let out a pained groan. “D-damn… the creature hits hard like a giant..” Cain mentally thought as he got up from the destroyed remains of the house’s wall.
Whatever creature this was began charging relentlessly at Cain for a follow up attack, knocked through several guards in its wake, most of them dodged and flew out of the way however there were some unfortunate ones to be trampled on. Just when it seemed to reach Cain, it was stopped by three griffons who were all wielding a scimitar in their offhands(claws?) , blocking an incoming head ram from it that was going to barrel through the house and potentially Cain.
“G-get up, this bastard is way too strong for me.” A griffon said as his arms were struggling in the process, wobbling and barely holding onto both parts of his weapon as it began to dent. The others weren’t doing any better as audible groans were heard from their weapons. Cain did his best to get back on his feet, his hand glowing with a fierce fire as he shoved his hand into the beast’s mouth; performing the Sacred Flame spell as he lit the beast’s face on fire followed by a burst of flames from within.
One of the soldiers took a sigh of relief and amazement. “Thanks, my superior is gonna kill me for bending metal like this though.” The other griffon patted him on the back while the third stared darkly at the chimera on the floor.
The monster immediately dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the fire, clutching its own face and mouth as it ran off in a random direction towards a bridge, stumbling as it fled. The flames began to disperse, which was unfortunate for our griffons because of what it had in its claw.
“Flames damnit, the beast runs too fast..” Cain thought to himself as he channel fire into his hand, empowering faith into his pyromancy, turning it into a Holy Flame as lightning began to dance along it as he prayed upon the Nameless King to give him strength. Thrusting his talisman into the air, the very sky above the cyclops crackled with energy. From above and with a mighty eruption of sunlight, the cyclops is struck by a fierce lightning bolt caused by his Lightning Storm spell. The bolt struck true, not only electrifying them but also destroying the bridge it was running onto, sending them into the dark chasm down below. As the sound of lightning cleared, the griffon guards gathered around the edge of the cliff, looking very confused at Cain’s display of power, the deafening silence did not ease him.
One of the griffon soldiers from earlier used their wings to fly above the hole in shock. “Flock! It fell with the artifact. What are we going to do now?”
“Maybe we could get a search party to go down and retrieve it?” Another suggested but was quickly shot a look.
The soldier who shot him a look, held tightly onto his scimitar. “We don’t have that much time on our claws. It’s either we dive down to get it or we accept incoming peril. And I’d personally prefer doing the former. Who’s going to help me-”
A griffon cut him off, their appearance made it seem as though they were ready to strangulate someone. They appeared to be a male, black feathered griffon whose head was instead a faded gray, they wore a yellow crown on top of their head that had decorative diamonds and other blue gems around its base, around his neck was a sash with a gold ribbon that were in the form of wings. His tone was gruff and commanding. “Which one of you did it…?”
“King Guto, I think it was an acci-” The previous soldier who was speaking tired to start but to no avail.
“That isn’t what I asked, I said which one of you did it? Who was the featherbrained idiot that DESTROYED THE BRIDGE AND SENT THE ARTIFACT DOWN THERE?!” He practically screamed from the tops of his lungs.
Every griffon in the area flinched from the mere volume of his demand. Every soldier then proceeded to point directly at Cain with their heads down.
King Guto got close towards Cain’s face or rather his helmet. “So it was you then?” The king asked.
Cain kneeled down toward the ground, using his soapstone to write a message, earning confused looks from everyone present.
[Yes as the speed it was running, none of the guards had the means to keep up, so I had to do something drastic to strike it down.] Cain wrote on the ground.
King Guto looked down at Cain, his face softened in all but a mere moment. His pose was elected for respect of all those around him. “...You are mute? I can only assume from a damaged voice box. Normally I would have sent you to prison without another word but desperate times call for desperate measures, so allow me to make this clear for you.”
“You are going to retrieve that artifact, post haste. All will be forgiven, and then you shall have whatever you would desire from me. This promise is held by the word of King Guto, the current king of the Griffon Empire. Do we have a deal, unknown knight?” The king held out a claw to Cain, waiting for him to take it.
[Please, call me Cain. But first before I go and retrieve it, would you mind telling me what the artifact is exactly?] Cain wrote as he placed his talisman back in his pouch.
“Cain… Well Cain, normally I’d have no business telling an outsider such as yourself something of such great importance what this artifact does or is, that’s neither here nor there. The explanation shall be quick and then I will send you on your way. This artifact allows for us griffons to keep our sanity and sapience intact. The griffon king before me wielded it and the one before him did so as well. You will know it when you see it.” King Guto huffed and pointed towards the hole. “To show your honor you shall descend, alone, post haste Cain.”
“..Sounds like something that prevents them from going hollow.” Cain thought to himself of Guto’s explanation. [As for going alone, it won’t be a problem] Cain worte then turned around to slowly make his way over to the edge of the chasm.
“I see no wings on your person. How would it be possible for you to go down there by your lonesome.” The king was merely bluffing, he expected a slight sign of exasperation from Cain. Yet here he was, at the edge and appearing ready to jump off.
Taking out his Dragonstone, he concentrates on the power of the everlasting dragon, and with a short explosion of wind, a pair of stone wings burst from his back. Raising his arm and making a fist, he gestures a Quiet Resolve before allowing himself to free fall over the edge, causing some of the griffons and the king to come running over, and yet here he was gliding down despite the wing’s appearance, seeing such things made the guards to mumble along themselves about who Cain truly was.
A newer soldier who was knocked over from before had re-arrived on the scene. “How in the flock did he sprout those wings? They seemed like a gargoyles’ though they were gnarlier.”
“Were you just now seeing what they did? That Cain guy had used some type of fire magic on the chimera to drive it away and used some sort of lighting from the sky to strike it down.” Another Griffon replied.
King Guto started coughing, taking some deep breaths as he felt something creep in the back of his mind, tugging on his will. “Whoever he was, he has a promise to uphold. And despite no one recognizing him we shall treat him with respect, lest he fails his mission.”
