Consort of Destined Death Chapter 2 [Re-upload]

The clacking of hooves could be heard as they made their way through Limgrave, with Torrent carrying both him and Melina. Ever since they set off from the Church of Elleh, Harry had to have his head on a swivel to make sure that they didn’t accidentally run into any traps or enemies.

Dodging Godrick’s men, wolves, and all sorts of other dangerous creatures that would happily tear Harry apart was now seemingly his full time occupation. Sadly, it seemed that most of the beings in the Lands Between were like the deadly Tree Sentinel he had faced upon arrival, with those like Melina and Merchant Kale being the exception.

And according to Melina, Limgrave was one of the most peaceful territories in the Lands Between. And it certainly didn’t improve his mood to know that Caelid, their destination, was supposedly the most deadly part of the continent. From bad, to worse, I guess…

As Melina had explained to him, in order to get to the Erdtree’s base, the two of them would have to travel to Leyndell, the Royal Capital of the Lands Between. But in order to get there, they would first have to get some sort of special medallion in Caelid, which would activate the Grand Lift of Dectus, a massive elevator that would then bring them to the Altus Plateau, where Leyndell was located.

The whole explanation Melina gave him just gave Harry a massive headache, and that was without mentioning how they would have to travel through three separate regions of the Lands Between in order to even reach the lift. Caelid was bad enough to think about, and the terrors lurking in Liurnia’s swamps sounded even worse.

“You’ve still yet to explain how you came across this spectral steed, Harry?” Melina suddenly asked about Torrent, startling him.

“Oh, well, um…” In the chaos to actually begin their adventure to Caelid, Harry had completely forgotten to mention the strange witch, Renna. In fact, just thinking about the woman made him all flustered, especially as he recalled her taunts about him and Melina being close. “You see, I met this woman… er, Witch, actually, named Renna.”

“Renna, you say?” Melina scrutinized him. “Are you sure that was her name?”

“…No.” He replied after a moment of thought, thinking back to the strange interaction with the witch. “If it’s any help, she had blue skin, four arms, and wore this fluffy white dress-”

“Ranni.” Melina deduced immediately. “Her name is Ranni the Lunar Princess, the daughter of Queen Rennala of the Carian Royal family.”

“I’m surprised you figured out her identity that quickly.”

“I’m your Maiden, Harry, it’s my job to know such things.” Melina smiled kindly, making his heart do a small flip. “That said, I advise caution when dealing with the Lunar Princess from now on.”

“May I ask why? She seemed nice enough, if a bit teasing.”

“I think bratty would be the appropriate word.” Melina scowled. “Ranni hails from a complicated family, and has always been the ambitious sort.”

Harry snorted in amusement, mentally imagining the blue witch’s reaction if he called her a spoiled brat right to her face. Now that he thought about it, the blue witch seemed the type to pout when she didn’t get what she wanted.

Torrent continued moving as they talked, crested a hill and continuing down a path leading out of Limgrave. It was then that Harry heard something, a cry for help coming from nearby.

“Hello?! Can someone help me! Help! I’m stuck!”

Torrent changed course under him, as they changed direction to get closer to the cries for help. That was when Harry came upon one of the strangest sights he had ever seen, being a massive talking pot with legs and arms that were stuck in the ground.

“What in the world…” He muttered to himself.

“Oh my stars, I’m so happy to finally see someone!” The giant pot seemed to notice him. “As you can see, I’m stuck, and could use some help getting out of this!”

For a moment, Harry just stood still as he tried to come to terms with what he was seeing. That was until Melina shifted and spoke in his ear. “He’s a living jar. They are not uncommon in the Lands Between.”

“Of course.” A slight grin formed on his lips as he pointed his wand at the living jar. “Wingardium Leviosa.”

His magic latched onto the jar’s body and lifted him upwards, pulling him from the ground and floating him a couple feet up into the air. The living jar spun around in the air and waved his arms around in joy before Harry put him down feet first.

“Ha ha ha ha! I haven’t had that much fun in years! My thanks! A thousand thanks!” The jar gave the equivalent of a bow as it faced him. “I am the warrior jar known as Alexander. Iron Fist Alexander, in fact. I journey to the east, where I intend to further my education in the ways of war in the scarlet rot-blighted Caelid Wilds.”

“Huh, we’re going there too.” Harry remarked.

“Oh? You’re traveling to Caelid as well? I, Iron Fist Alexander, am headed to Redmane Castle for the great festival!” Alexander’s voice turned oddly serious then. “Radahn awaits.”

Melina seemed to shiver at his side. “The Great General Radahn.”

Harry frowned, feeling the minuscule hairs on his neck rise at the strange name. “Who is Radahn?”

“He’s one of the demigods, being Queen Marika’s adopted son from her second marriage.” He filed Melina’s words away as she spoke. “Because of this, he is one of the holders of a Great Rune, and was a mighty general during the Shattering.”

Alexander nodded. “Indeed, Radahn was a mighty warrior. Loved battle, loved honor. He studied gravity magic just so he could ride his beloved horse even after he grew too large for it. A towering figure, both in stature and spirit.”

“So why fight him?” Harry asked in confusion. “He can’t be as bad as Godrick, can he?”

“Because Radahn is no longer himself.” Alexander spoke as if telling a great secret. “At the end of the Shattering, he fought Malenia the Severed, and ended up defeated and infected with scarlet rot.”

“H-He lost?” Harry didn’t know why, but his heart seemed to thump loudly as the tale went on.

“He did.” Melina seemed to be sharing her own opinion then. “Malenia is also one of Queen Marika’s children, also known as the Blade of Miquella, for the defense of her twin brother. Since birth, she has been infected by Scarlet Rot, and during her battle with Radahn she used it to curse him.”

“Radahn is stricken by madness.” Alexander stated. “His mind is lost, but his body’s strength remains. He wanders Caelid to this day, carrying his Great Rune as he fights those who try and claim it.”

“And Malenia? What happened to her?”

“No one really knows.” Melina answered. “At the height of the war she led a great host, and marched all the way down from the mountaintops to Caelid where she fought Radahn. After that she simply disappeared.”

The tale came to an end then, with Harry having a poor taste in his mouth, all while silently hoping he would never have to fight Radahn or Malenia.

Alexander didn’t seem to sense the heavy mood, instead continuing on. “Oh! I forgot to ask, are you a sorcerer?”

“Err… I’m a wizard.”

“Well, if you’re of the magical persuasion, you might find interest in a certain sorceress. Sellen is her name, and she hides among the ruins not far from here. Bit of an outcast, if rumors hold true, but I hear she’s quite talented.”

Harry glanced at Melina, and she nodded faintly. “I know the name. She once walked the halls of the Academy of Raya Lucaria, before her exile.”

“Thanks.” Harry turned back to Alexander. “I’ll look into it.”

“Splendid! Then I shall not delay you further.” Alexander gave a proud nod, then turned to waddle down the path. “May fortune favor your path, brave wizard! And do try not to get stuck in any holes!”

/////

They found Sellen in stone ruins that sat alongside one of the main roads which ran through Limgrave. It was only thanks to Alexander’s help, along with Melina’s guidance, that Harry wasn’t left alone and wandering aimlessly in search for the errant sorceress.

Inside the ruins were giant killer plants that Harry was sure would pique Hagrid’s interest, but luckily he didn’t have to fight them as Melina led him to a stairway which led to a cellar below the ruins. According to her, it wasn’t uncommon for residents of the Lands Between to hide beneath ruins like the ones they were searching.

And exactly as Melina had stated, right below the rocky ruins was the woman they were looking for. She wore blue robes that Harry could see a normal witch wearing in his old world, with a strange stone mask that was certainly not normal.

She didn’t attack him upon his entrance, instead holding her hand to her chin to convey interest. “Tarnished, are we? A wonder you should turn up here. I am Sellen, a sorceress, and I would like to know why you are here?”

“I heard there was another magic user around, and decided to investigate.” He answered, before remembering to introduce himself. “I’m Harry Potter, a wizard.”

“Ah, a wizard but not a sorcerer? I can’t say I’ve heard of your kind.” Her accent was posh and sexy, similar to some of the hot pureblood Slytherin girls back at Hogwarts. “Do you wish to learn glintstone sorceries from me? You certainly seem to have the aptitude with those foreign academy robes you wear.”

Harry looked down, and couldn’t help but realize he was still wearing his Gryffindor robes. They were filthy after several days of travel and combat, yet he was still unsure if he wanted to get rid of them entirely in favor of armor. “Hogwarts is the school I attend, and these are my class robes…”

“Hogwarts is your institution of learning then?” She asked curiously. “I, for one, was exiled from the Academy of Raya Lucaria, as a reviled, apostate witch. Do you still wish to learn from me while knowing this information?”

He swallowed thickly, silently hoping the sorceress in front of him wouldn’t be teaching him dark magic. He wanted to learn what he could to help in navigating the Lands Between, but that didn’t mean he wanted to stoop to the level of Voldemort or Grindlewald if it meant gaining power. “As long as it’s nothing too evil.”

“You’re quite the piece of work, aren’t you? Very will, I will take you as my protégé in glintstone sorcery. That said, I refuse to coddle or cast kind words, so prepare yourself, young apprentice.”

/////

The sky was becoming more red the closer they traveled to Caelid, and yet the sun was nowhere close to setting. A foul smell was beginning to fill the air, and the howls of strange beasts could be heard in the distance.

Another church sat up ahead, right on the border of Limgrave and Caelid. It marked the point where green grass and lush trees met red earth and desolate landscape. Harry almost sighed in relief at the sight, looking forward to reaching a site of grace and being able to rest before they entered Caelid proper.

He had spent the past two days learning all he could from Sellen, all while having to put up with her condescending attitude that made Melina nearly lose her temper. Eventually, after learning a handful of useful glintstone sorceries, they decided to set off and continue their journey towards Caelid.

Excluding the usual beasts that frequently chased him, as well as dodging Godrick’s men who patrolled the major roads, Harry and Melina’s journey went quite smoothly. At least, that was until they nearly reached the doorstep of the church they were approaching.

The rasping snarl of a blade scraping against stone greeted them, along with a shrill, inhuman laugh. A woman stumbled out of the church then, looking like a mockery of what a Maiden was supposed to be. She was covered in blood, her hands like claws with her teeth bloody and filed into fangs. In her hands she held a massive steel cleaver, rusted and soaked in gore.

Her voice cracked with madness. “Rotten, clever, sweet little Tarnished. You’ll scream nicely.”

Harry raised his wand, his hand not shaking whatsoever at the terrifying sight. As sad as it was, he was becoming stronger and more used to such horrific sights as the cannibal in front of him. “I’m not in the mood.”

She shrieked a laugh and charged towards him.

Glintstone Pebble. He mentally incanted, as Sellen had taught him not to speak when using glintstone sorcery.

A shard of shimmering magic burst from the wand’s tip, and shot off like a bullet fired from a gun. It smacked into the woman’s side, making her stumble, but she still grinned maniacally, as if she cherished his resistance, before she continued charging towards him.

“More!” She howled. “More of your shiny little tricks!”

The first swing of her cleaver came fast—faster than something that large should move. Harry barely rolled aside in time, the impact exploding the ground beside him. He came up with his wand already slashing through the air.

She swung again, and this time Harry didn’t dodge. “Protego!”

A magical shield flared around him, causing the woman’s cleaver to bounce off it. It sent her off balance, making her stumble and nearly fall over, and that was when Harry decided to try out another new sorcery.

Carian slicer. He incanted within his mind, as the outline of a blue blade formed at the end of his wand. He gripped his wand with two hands, his feet spread evenly to maintain his balance, before swinging the glowing sword down.

His blow struck true, and cut her from shoulder to hip. He could feel her runes flow to him with her death, making him stronger, as Harry let the carian blade dissipate before he moved towards the church’s entrance.

“You’re becoming powerful, Harry.” Melina said as the battle came to an end. “Many Tarnished have fallen to that foul woman.”

A simple glance at the area surrounding the church proved Melina right, as the desecrated remains of what was once tarnished warriors decorated the landscape. All the sight did was wear him down, for as beautiful as the Lands Between was, Harry struggled to get over the atrocities he had witnessed since his arrival.

They entered the church then, as Harry spotted the grace sight first, before his eyes raised up to view something that wasn’t present in the other church he visited.

“Who is that?” He couldn’t help but ask.

A large stone statue of a gorgeous woman sat at the front of the church, her arms spread wide as she wore a tiny dress that barely fit over her hourglass form. It seemed wrong for a church of all places to have such an erotic statue, and Harry’s pants tightened the longer he studied it.

“Queen Marika.” Melina answered as they neared the church’s grace site. “Many churches were built throughout the Land’s Between to worship her as the Elden Ring’s vessel.”

“does thou truly seek to be Queen Marika’s third consort, and be Elden Lord?” He remembered Ranni’s words before she departed then, and her strange take on what it would mean to become Elden Lord. Maybe it was his teenage mind speaking, but Harry didn’t think he would mind ruling with a beautiful woman like Marika at his side.

That was when a conversation from earlier drifted to the forefront of his mind, as he remembered what Melina and Alexander had said about Marika’s family. “So she’s the one who gave birth to Radahn and Malenia?”

“To Malenia, yes.” Melina said as she sat next to him. “In her first marriage to Lord Godfrey, she had three children being Godwyn, Morgott, and Mohg. Godfrey soon left the Lands Between, being stripped of Grace, before Marika then married Radagon, the then-husband of Queen Rennala-”

“-who was Ranni’s mother.” He remembered.

“Yes.” Melina nodded. “Marika then had two children with Lord Radagon, being the twins Miquella and Malenia. Along with them, Radagon had three children with Rennala which he brought into the marriage, being Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni.”

“Wait, so Ranni and Radahn are blood siblings?” He frowned. “And wasn’t it Malenia who fought Radahn too? How could siblings even do that?”

He thought of what it would be like to fight the Weasleys for power, or even over something as trivial as the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry wanted to say the people back in his old world would never turn against him, and yet he thought back to the Triwizard Tournament and the nasty looks he received upon being selected Champion. He had yet to speak to any of the Weasleys since his selection, but just knew that things would turn ugly. Perhaps it’s the same here, and that no one is immune to such base emotions like envy or jealousy.

“It cannot be understated how tribal the Shattering war was.” Melina emphasized. “Brother fought sister, civilization crumbled, all while reality fell apart at the seems. The Lands Between in its current form is a shell of its former self. All it waits for now is for someone to defeat what demigods remain and reforge the Elden Ring using their combined Great Runes.”

Harry leaned back against a fallen stone pillar, his limbs feeling heavy then. “I don’t know if I could do it, Melina. To fight all of them would take so much effort, and to becoming Elden Lord on top of that?”

[The rest of this chapter is available on the PDF]

Patreon took down the original post, so it is available to read as a pdf