"Come on, bro, Elden Ring is years old, and if you get it on Steam now, there is really a good discount. So you almost get it for free." Ahmir said excitedly beside me.
How he had such power in this weather was a riddle in itself.
I could only roll my eyes; it's always the same with him and his Elden Ring, but I suppose looking at Steam at how much it is when I am home is at least worth it so that Ahmir may finally let it be.
Sighing and finally giving in, "Sure, bro, I see how much the game is, so let it be okay. I don't want to hear it anymore."
Hearing my answer made him laugh and give a relieved laugh, and his whole body relaxed. "Haaa, finally! Do you even know how hard it is to talk about the game I love the most without spoiling the game too much? Well, just wait and see, if it's worth it, because I think you can get your money back if it doesn't."
Snapping my head at him, my eyebrows lowering and my voice quivering with barely constrained anger, I slowly asked him, " What the fuck did you just say about refunding?"
Looking at me with that dumb expression that is an aloof expression, "Yeah, Leo, you can refund almost all games on Steam. Though there is a small problem, you can only refund before an hour and some games before two hours." His eyes narrowing down and looking at me like I am the stupid one, "Don't tell me you didn't know that?" His tone was mocking.
Taking a deep breath and grabbing my face, then pushing my glasses up. I answered him defeated " No, Ahmir, I didn't know that, because if I had, I would have played more games." Shrugging his shoulders, the rest of our walk home was in silence.
The snow crunching underneath our boots and the wind biting deep in the bones.
After several minutes of walking, we arrived at our homes. Ahmir's home was the house next to mine. So we're saying our goodbyes until we meet, as if we're not meeting in the next 5 minutes on discord.
The moment I stepped into my home, I was greeted with the comfortable warmth of my home and the smell of fresh food. Taking off my jacket and boots and walking into the kitchen, there was fresh potato mash, a salad, sausages, and a sauce for all of that. Mom or Dad must have made this before they were leaving for work. Looking at my watch, it was 4pm, so I missed Mom and Dad by a hair's breadth.
Taking some food to my room and starting my PC, I just hoped that Elden Ring really was as good as Ahmir said. As my PC was on and I joined Discord, where some of my friends were, I was silent, and the discussion they had faded in the background. Eating while searching for Elden Ring on Steam, a huff made it out of my mouth. Ahmir was right; the game really was discounted, and that it was only 30 bucks.
I didn't think much and downloaded the game, but damn, did it need many KB. So while waiting for it to be installed, I made some small talk with my friends, and slowly but surely it tickled forwards.
After some hours of waiting and playing a different game, it was finally installed. I could feel myself getting more and more jittery. "Ahmir, it's finally done. Do you want to watch me play the game? Because I leave to different channel."
"Sure, bro, let's go. I'll switch us to a different channel." Lo and behold, I could hear the pop sound as he moved us to a different channel.
The next thing I did was start a Discord stream,that both streamed me and the game. Good thing I had this Nitro thing; plus, now my stream was looking extra crisp.
Only now did I finally start the game, yet weirdly enough, as I started the game, I was hit with a strong migraine attack that let me see for a few seconds nothing but black and the feeling of swindle; the pain itself felt like somebody was poking into my brain with hot metal, so painful in fact that I held my head with my hands. Several painful hisses escaped me. After what felt like an eternity, the migraine started to fade.
And slowly, I was beginning to hear a familiar voice, yet it was filled with worry.
"H-he-ey, Amon, are you all right? Should I come over? Should I call my mom?"
Taking deep breaths and slowly leaning back in my chair, I grunted out, "Nahh, it's all right now, but wow, that was fucking bullshit, and I hope it's the last time something like that happens. So let's just play the game."
"Alright, bro, if you say so." He answered over voice chat; I could hear uncertainty in his voice.
But right now I just wanted to play the game; I heard so muuch frome.
So I started the game and was instantly hit with settings, quickly making everything to my liking. Holding in my joke about if this is the gameplay of a game of the year, clicked of accept setting.
Instantly there was a screen of different kinds of classes, but weirdly all of them were greyed out, so I looked to see which class was greyed out. Hero, Bandit, Astrologer, Warrior, Prisoner, Confessor, and Vagabond were all greyed out, but Wretch wasn't. I really didn't want to play Wretch. Who wants to play a homeless man? Not only that, who wants to play a homeless man without pants?
Was my game bugged?" Ahmir, is my game bugged, or why can't I choose somebody else then the bum?"
"Maan, I don't know; either it's just a weird bug, which I have never seen, or it's just your PC. Wait, let me google it." So even he didn't know it; let me test something.
Moving my mouse slowly to the Hero, I clicked on the class; a small text came up that read, `This path is not for thee.´
What the fuck? "What the fuck? It's not mine. The game is mine, WTF" I swore loudly. This game is seriously beginning to piss me off.
"Okay, Amon, I don't really want to ring any alarms, but I didn't find anything about what is happening to your game. Soo, seems like either uninstalling it and installing it again, or playing the bum." His voice is at first weirded out by all of what is happening and then transforms again into his joking self.
Still there was something growing inside of my stomach. I—I can feel it bubbling. Suddenly there was something growing, and I let out a huge burp. Seems like the wrong feeling was just that.
With that out of the way, let's play with the naked man (Pause). Clicking on the class, there was again a pop-up: ´A wretch that will either be forgotten in obscurity or the one who can change the lands between.´ Rolling my eyes and not thinking much of it. I could choose between body types, and I chose male.
Then the next screen came. Name, body type, age, origin, keepsake,Choose baseline Template and detailed appearance.
At the same time that I made my character, Ahmir and I talked about what we do now that we have winter holidays. I obviously want to first to complete the game and the Dlc and then we see.
By the end of our talk, I had finished most of my character. It looked like this now.
Name: Amon
Body Type: A
Age: Young
Origin: Wretch (Locked)
Keepsake:
Choose Base Template: Numen (Locked)
Detailed Appearance: It was my appearance (Locked) which really creeped the hell out of me.
I choose to read and ask Ahmir about the keepsake and what was the best, or at least the best for me. Which sadly triggered a unskippable cutscene of thoroughly explaining about the Keepsakes, their use and how they help, etc.
In the end, and a little over half an hour, I finally was at the end of the character creation, which looked now like this.
Name: Amon
Body Type: A
Age: Young
Origin: Wretch (Locked)
Keepsake: Lands Between Rune
Choose Base Template: Numen
Detailed Appearance: Still mine appearance (Locked)
I really couldn't choose much, and not only was it getting much creepier because I really couldn't choose what I wanted to, sure it wasn't something that was important for the game, at least that's what Ahmir told me.
The next and hopefully last step was to accept everything and finally begin the game. The next pop-up came up. `Starting game with this charachter . Is that okay.` I clicked the yes button.
Then the screen became black, and I heard a voice that said:`Good Luck tarnished`
Suddenly the migraine returned worse than before; everything inside my head burned, the world twisted, and the pain was unbearable. My hand shot to my head in the hopes that something helped. The chair suddenly felt like it vanished under me; the headset must have felt off or something. I couldn't really care right now. I dont know if I even scream or if it was the world that screamed inside my head and ears.
Then suddenly a small light appears, and I hear a voice
´The fallen leaves tell a story´
I see somebody in a black dress inside a cathedral or something. They smashed something on a stone, with golden light leaving the hammer as it struck down.
Then the next vision, is of what appears to be a man with long hair that held something like a hammer that was on the stone. The vision was almost bathed in golden light. He appears to be hurt or grieving.
Then a sound of a smash and a picture of the mace breaking the ground or something like that.
´The great Elden Ring was shattered.´
Then a vision of a coastline with ruined walls or something, and in the background was a golden light with lines in the sky.
´In our home, across the fog, the Lands Between.´
Then a woman with a golden tiara, which was in a crucified form, she had a black dress that had golden vines on it, golden hair and fair skin. She was stunning.
´Now, Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found.´
Marika, that must be her name.
´and in the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was first to perish´
As I saw the next vision a feeling of unimaginable dread washed over my body; it
felt like staring into one death. A man with golden hair was kneeling on the ground while being held up on his arms by what appeared to be hooded assassins. Several of them surround the man, and they carve with a knife or something a symbol on his back.
The hooded Assassins were also Black Knives. They killed somebody important, it seems. By the looks of it, maybe the Child of Marika? Before I could further think about it, the next vision came.
´Soon, Marika´s offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden RIng.´
Somebody with white hair and an oversized hat with blue robes appeared before my eyes. Must be one of Marika's offspring, also a demigod.
Then a battlefield, two persons were fighting, the one on the ground had armour and red hair. The one that was on top had a tattered hood but was muscular and tried to pierce the one on the ground with a stick or something. Both of them were surrounded by soldiers.
´The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the shattering.´
A person with a trident or something like that with fine robes was carrying a small child with golden hair and a white robe.
Then a bodyless head that was being eaten by a Snake.
`A war from which no lord arose´
A battlefield of dead warriors, orange dust or something on the battlefield and in the sky. It felt wrong, disgusting even.
A figure most likely I think a women with armour,helm, that held her Arm that has a long Sword in its hand, She lso felt weirdly wrong, and disgusting. She was standing against giant, twin black curved swords, with red hair, maybe the warrior from before , that was fighting against the hooded one. He felt like a mountain, an unmoving fortress. Or unstoppable force.
´ A war leading to abandonment by the Greater Will.´´
The two are most likely fighting against each other.
´Arise now, ye Tarnished´
A stone figure of Marika was standing in the Moonlight arms spread.
´Ye dead,who yet live´
Several coffins with thick fog in the moon. Right, Ahmir said something about us playing someone who was once dead.
´The call of long-lost grace speaks to us all´
The statue from before was overseeing the ground that was, oh god, littered with dead people.
´Hourah Loux, chieftain of the badlands ´
A huge man who had a spear in his guts and was hanged from both of his arms; beside him was a huge lion head In its trees it was also dead. Most likely Hourah Loux.
´The ever-brilliant Goldmask´
A man with a gold mask was lying on the floor a book in his reach as well as writing utensils.
´Fia, the deathbed Champion ´
Okayy, weird sexy lady in a bed with a dead-looking guy, surrounded by skulls. Weird as hell.
´The loathsome Dung eater.´
A man hung from his neck, people throwing something at him and what appears to be rage or something. When I look at him I get again a feeling of wrongness and a shudder on my whole Body.
´And Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-knowing´
A man with books and a helmet in a coffin.
´And one other. Whom grace would again Bless ´
A small golden light was lying in the air and slowly flying to a corpse, and then entering its body
´A Tarnished of no renown ´
Wait, hold up, is that me?
And then complette Black