The Great and Terrible (Dark Souls/Multi)

(AN: I'm switching to third person because holy shit I hate second person)

[The Iron Fist] As skilled as you are in hand to hand combat, you need a weapon in your hand to feel complete. *Locate your greatsword or a new weapon. Reward: A suitable weapon, 75 xp

Do you accept?
Y/N

The fallen knight of the Great Lord Gwyn rose from the crater- and near tomb- created with its impact. Stone chips and flakes rained around in a miniature storm. A quick self assessment showed a broken and missing left forearm, a severely cracked left leg, and various dents, scars, and punctures all across the rest of its form. Altogether, nothing insurmountable for an immortal spirit of wrath and violence, but certainly not the best state of affairs.

Glancing back at the ominous words floating in midair, the Knight was surprised to note that they rotated perfectly to remain in the exact same position no matter where it looked. A quick backstep followed by an awkward sprint forward illustrated much of the same phenomenon.

It could be ignored... but in a position like this, could any distractions be afforded? Especially since the Knight realized that due to this bizarre situation, it neglected to survey its surroundings properly. Quickly, the Knight glanced around to take account of the narrow stone walkway it crash-landed into. A massive Moonlight Butterfly was noticed flying away in the distance, adding to the growing frustration the Knight felt, as it could've easily taken advantage of the distraction caused by the... unsettlingly accurate message.

Boiling over with annoyance, a black armored fist lashed out at the haunting words, doing absolutely nothing of importance. Which did nothing to stave off the one-armed attack as it continued, on and on until it managed to hit the glowing 'Y' and just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. At this point, confusion was such a staple of this Knight's unlife that it merely shrugged it off, chalked it up to the continued doctrine of Victory Through Sufficient Violence, and decided to finally start its... quest to reclaim a weapon. Idiotic messages by magecraft. Bah.

Shortly afterwards, it found itself at the mossy base of the Darkroot Forest, trees and greenery extending everywhere as far as the eye could see. In the distance the faint sound of steel could be heard and thus the Knight had a destination.

The forest was enormous, gloomy, and verdant. Its canopy was contested by various overwhelmingly massive trees, sufficient twinkling lights bursting through their crowns for bright shrubs to grow in the rich grounds below. Silent climbing plants- and disguised serpents- grasped most of the forest, and a hodgepodge of flowers, scattered sporadically, added more life in the otherwise dark green landscape.

A cacophony of wild sounds, belonging mostly to vermin fleeing the steel-clashing, formed a chaotic orchestra with the occasional splashes of frogs jumping in the surrounding puddles from the latest rainstorm. All too soon the scene causing the noises was located by the Knight in black, who looked on silently, unwilling to immediately engage with unknown foes while this weakened.

Three giant forest guardians, embodied spirits in signature stone armor, surrounded and attacked a lone human. The individual was clad in a fancy set of steel armor, with a blue and gold surcoat and what appeared to be a fire-warding heraldic symbol on it. Spinning, rolling, and lashing out with a simple longsword, the lone knight faced down the lumbering forest golems with what appeared to be little to no fear. For their part, the golems managed a crude approximation of tactical acumen as one would lift a massive stone greatsword and activate magic to slow the knight while the other two would continue forward, attempting to drive the knight into a corner where their reach would overcome the knight's speed.

Watching the entire affair, a black knight pondered on their next move:

[] This fight, while interesting, won't help in any way. The Knight continues on their way.
[] This fight is interesting, but not worth getting involved in. The Knight continues watching silently.
[] The blade the knight is using is much smaller than a Black Knight is used to, but it's better than nothing. The Knight assists the forest guardians.
[] While not quite the same as a certain black greatsword, the golems seem to possess a peculiar substitute. The Knight attacks a forest guardian.
[] Write In

While not quite the same as a certain black greatsword, the golems seem to possess a peculiar substitute. The Knight attacks a forest guardian.

Stars illuminated the dark figure's path even as the moon was missing from the sky; an auspicious occurrence for a day that matched in every way.

For long centuries the Knight of Gwyn had fought, waged war, and inflicted countless acts of violence in the name of their god. They relished every single moment of it. Every swing with their void of steel was akin to a brushstroke of worship. Every broken enemy, shattered foe, and destroyed opponent a form of prayer. When the Knight took to the field, victory was proclaimed with the certainty that only comes from one who turned death into a song; a song that was sung loudly and frequently. Undead, golems, humans, demons, monstrosities, abominations, upstart godlings, and above them all, the drake-kin, the Knight and their long lost companions had faced them all. With a song in hand and annihilation in mind, the Knight fought them all.

The Knight was still around.

A recent poor encounter with magecraft nearly made exception to that rule- that law. But opportunities for growth were always to be taken as they came. Among the emerald sea of wood and starlight, a demon-slayer admitted to growing arrogant and overconfident, before charging into battle with a mountain of stone and magic in order to correct that mistake.

Irony was a foreign concept to this particular warrior.

The Knight was thrown across the blasted field, body driving a drift of grave-dirt and bone before them as they plowed through the battleground. Behind them, their foe approached, smug confidence radiating off of them in waves. Admittedly, as a magical guardian construct of stone, there wasn't a lot in the way of personality beneath the armor yet there was something about the gait that had shifted which spoke volumes.

Initially wary by a Black Knight approaching out of nowhere, the ease with which the giant repeatedly drove the challenger into the ground seemed to have touched the faint bit of intellect the creature possessed:

It was no longer afraid.

Fractures deepened along the jagged wounds along the immortal warrior from the crushing blows that were just too fast to evade. Standing was a chore made more difficult by the newly acquired limp and weakened right leg. The jade giant was gracious enough to allow a brief respite as it slammed its sword into the ground, flooding the area with a wave of magic to turn the air into a thick morass. Already trudging along in the face of a emerald onslaught, the Knight found themselves wary as the mere act of stepping behind a tree took an eternity and a half. Making the situation worse were the muffled thumps of a quickly approaching giant, intent on putting the 'immortal' concept to the test.

Prepared to take advantage of the brief loss of visual contact, the Knight braced themselves for a last ditch effort at crippling or disarming the golem as they passed around the trees. The wait was longer than expected as sudden noises and bursts of flame indicated a new complication to the entire affair. Waiting to catch whomever off guard, the Knight was pleased to note the slowing effect was removed as a shadow appeared and their arm flashed out.

Knocking aside a weapon, the Knight leveraged their strength to avoid putting weight on their weakened leg as they jerkily breezed around the tree. Their unsuspecting target was shoved to the ground with a small sound of surprise just before the Knight dropped their knees on either side of the golems' opponent. Armored gauntlet wielded as a claw at the throat of the lesser knight, a quick assessment of the surroundings showed spreading fires dotted throughout the forest, bathing the area in waves of glistening tendrils, multicolored serpents swimming through starlight as they slowly consumed all they touched. Glancing downwards showed the Knight their underestimated target, lying still, a massive charred hole through their chest and one of their shoulders. Nearby, the still intact moss-covered blade rested softly against the corpse of its former master, next to the unexpectedly dropped longsword of the knight-turned-captive. No other moving creatures could be seen through the thickening curtain of flame and smoke.

"Sir Knight, I know not what brings you to th-this cursed forest," the voice is soft and gently echoing from within the grey-steel helm. "B-but I'm honored by your regal presence. My n-name is Arinn of Astora. If y-y-you find me worthy of Gwyn's Light, please spare me, I will continue to honor the Gr-Great Lord in all I do. By your mercy, Sir Knight."

[] Grab the greatsword and continue onwards.
[] Grab the longsword and continue onwards.
[] Kill the knight. (2.0x)
[] Write In