After finally convincing Alexander to stand down, Gawain instructed the jar to stay at Stormveil Castle for a while before worrying about anything else. At the very least, there were a few Potentates in the castle who could manage some basic repairs.
Leaving the plaza, which was now filled with the sounds of snoring warriors, he turned and entered Jerren's quarters. There were matters that needed to be discussed.
"Ah, you've come? Earlier than I expected. Please, sit."
Jerren wiped his greatsword clean and set it aside. Now that the festival had concluded and his greatest burden had been lifted, he appeared far more relaxed than before.
"From the looks of it, you've finished handling the General's affairs," Gawain noted.
"Indeed. With this, my duty is finally complete. Next, I should probably—"
Jerren stopped mid-sentence, sensing something amiss. He looked at Gawain, who sat across from him with a meaningful, lingering smile. The old hunter let out the breath he had just drawn and sighed.
"Fine. Forget I said anything."
"That's the spirit," Gawain replied. "That's the Castellan of Redmane Castle I know—the man who has held the line against the rot for so long. The festival was merely a way to give the General a mercy, so he no longer had to wander aimlessly in the dunes."
Gawain turned to look at the Wailing Dunes, which had finally regained some semblance of peace. He could still see many of Radahn's soldiers patrolling with torches, clearing the area.
"The priority now is to maintain the suppression of the Scarlet Rot. I don't think anyone is better suited for this post than you, Castellan. So, forget about retirement for now. In a while, I'll produce something even more powerful to treat the rot. When that time comes, I'll need the Redmane Army to coordinate closely with my Storm Knights."
Jerren sighed with a sense of self-deprecating resignation. He was originally just a guest commander from the Academy; he had stepped in temporarily to give the General a dignified end, intending to leave afterward. Now, it seemed he was in for the long haul.
He turned and produced an exquisite box, handing it over.
"In that case, I have no reason to refuse. These old bones of mine should be able to manage a bit longer. Accept this gift as my thanks for your performance in the festival."
"Hmm? This is..."
Gawain opened the box to find two familiar items: Radagon's Soreseal and the other half of the Dectus Medallion. This was an unexpected surprise; he had originally planned to make the trip to Fort Faroth himself.
"I sent men to Fort Faroth to retrieve these," Jerren explained. "I suspected these items would be of use to someone like you. Since the General's Great Rune now belongs to you, these items should as well."
"The Soreseal speaks for itself. That half of the medallion was an item used by the General during his expedition to the Royal Capital. If I recall correctly, the other half is kept somewhere in Limgrave. Once reunited, they can be used to operate the Grand Lift of Dectus and reach the Altus Plateau."
"Thanks. These will be very useful. I won't disturb you further; get some rest, Castellan. The future is going to be busy."
As Gawain was about to leave, Jerren spoke up once more. "By the way, the Great Rune you hold is still in an inactive state, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'll head to the Divine Tower to activate it myself."
"There's no need for such a hassle. I forgot to mention—Redmane Castle has a portal that leads directly to the Divine Tower of Caelid. It's a passage specifically reserved for the winner of the festival. You don't need to travel the long way around. Once you're ready, come find me, and I will open the way for you."
"That saves a lot of trouble. Thanks."
Gawain reflected that this made sense. A facility as important as a Divine Tower wouldn't be without a portal, especially with the General being a master of gravity magic and having the assistance of the Sellians. Portals were likely common within the Redmane Army's territory.
Returning to his room, he withdrew Radahn's Great Rune from his body. Due to excessive use, this Rune appeared far more shattered than Godrick's. He wasn't even sure if it could be activated normally.
"Melina, are you there? Help me figure out how many Rune Arcs it'll take to fix this."
As soon as he spoke, Melina's figure manifested beside him. She touched the shattered, dormant Great Rune, considering it before answering.
"During his struggle against the Scarlet Rot, General Radahn burned the Great Rune to suppress the corruption. In the final battle, he overtaxed its power even further, deepening the damage. Fortunately, its internal structure remains mostly intact. I can attempt to repair it, but I believe it will require a massive amount of Runes as a catalyst. Look..."
Gawain checked his Rune balance. Having defeated the General and claimed many spoils, including his Remembrance, and having dealt with the celestial creatures, he likely had enough.
"It's fine. Use whatever you need. I'll leave all my Runes in your care; if they run out, I'll just go out and find more."
"It likely won't take that many," Melina replied. "I will restore the Great Rune to a state where it can be activated as quickly as possible. Leave it to me."
Deep within the Roundtable Hold, Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing, stared at the intelligence reports delivered by his subordinates. His face beneath the helmet remained unreadable. He had, of course, sent his own confidants to participate in the festival, and they had sent back detailed information immediately.
General Radahn's defeat and fall was within his expectations—after all, the Scarlet Rot had long since brought the demigod to death's door. However, the actual combat intensity reported was staggering.
Specifically, the Storm King's strength far exceeded his estimates. If the previous victory at Stormveil could be attributed to the castle's winds, this time it was pure, unadulterated power.
Nearly every major faction in the Lands Between had sent someone to the festival. There was Lionel the Lionhearted, representing the Prince of Death; a nameless combat puppet from a certain detestable individual of the Carian Royal Family; the Empyrean's shadow beast; Okina from the Mohgwyn Dynasty; and even the long-missing Empyrean Miquella, whose Needle Knight had appeared at Redmane Castle.
It was certain that with the General's fall and the movement of the stars, every faction would make their next move. He was no exception; he needed to update his intelligence as quickly as possible.
Gideon summoned Ensha, who stood guard at the door, and ordered him to go to a certain location in the Liurnia of the Lakes to find an individual named Latenna. Through his scouts, he had already located the Albinauric woman who rode a white wolf, as well as the exact location of the Village of the Albinaurics. No matter the cost, he had to obtain the medallion leading to the Haligtree from her.
Ensha silently accepted the command and left the room. He needed to coordinate his men in Liurnia to ensure the All-Knowing's mission was completed by any means necessary.
"Alright, you should be familiar with the general layout of the Roundtable Hold by now. If there's anything you don't understand, just let me know."
"Don't worry, Sister Nepheli. I've memorized everything I need to."
Roderika followed behind Nepheli Loux. After being rescued from Stormveil Castle, she had been searching for a purpose, eventually deciding to visit the renowned Roundtable Hold. Having been born in the Royal Capital, she had seen the legendary, long-abandoned original structure, where it was said Lord Godfrey and his heroes had formed the first Roundtable.
However, after arriving with high hopes, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. There weren't many heroes here; it felt more like a massive refugee camp, taking in low-ranking Tarnished who had nowhere else to go. To her, it seemed less impressive than the current Stormveil Castle—at least there, a true hero sat upon the throne.
"Good. That room I showed you earlier is yours. My friend used to live there, but he's moved out and hasn't returned. You can stay as long as you like. I have things to attend to, so I'll leave you to find your own path."
Roderika nodded obediently. She recalled the grumpy Misbegotten blacksmith she had seen earlier while accompanying Nepheli to have a weapon repaired. She felt the blacksmith looked at her strangely; she wondered if she should go back and speak with him.
Nepheli rubbed her aching shoulders. She had been active in Liurnia recently and had only just returned to find Roderika looking lost in a corner, so she had taken the girl on a tour. Lately, her adoptive father had been giving her tedious tasks. She had wanted to head to Caelid to join the festival, but ultimately decided against it. She also wondered where that fellow Rogier had disappeared to.
Initially, she could occasionally team up with him, but then Rogier started muttering about "Cursemarks" and went off on his own. He had nearly been impaled by such a thing beneath Stormveil; he clearly hadn't learned his lesson. Perhaps he had been bewitched by that woman, Fia?
Pushing the thoughts aside, Nepheli opened the door to her adoptive father's study.
"Father, I'm back. This is the intelligence you wanted regarding the Recusants. I captured and interrogated a few; they are indeed under orders not to operate within Limgrave for the time being."
After delivering the report, Nepheli spoke of the sight she had seen the night before.
"Did you see the magnificent movement of the stars last night? I could see it clearly from Liurnia. It was related to the General, wasn't it?"
Gideon nodded and handed a report to his adoptive daughter.
"See for yourself. See the great feat accomplished by that warrior you admire."
Nepheli took the report with interest. As she read, her expression became increasingly animated. Finally, she couldn't help but strike the wall with her fist. She truly wished she could have witnessed the scene in person.
"I knew he was even stronger than I imagined. He has the making of a King. Does this mean there is now a first person—other than you, Father—to hold two Great Runes? I suspect the Two Fingers will have something to say about this. Should I go to Stormveil to notify him?"
"It's fine. I won't be giving you many tasks for a while anyway, so go where you wish. As for the Two Fingers, do not concern yourself too much with them."
Watching his daughter leave the room in excitement, Gideon made several annotations on a scroll regarding the Volcano Manor. His pen stopped on a portrait of a man in heavy armor holding a scepter. He wondered what kind of agreement existed between Bernahl and the Storm King for things to turn out this way.
He set aside the questions he couldn't yet answer and looked toward the secret passage in his room that led to the Two Fingers. He was actually pleased to see a hero with two Great Runes emerge. This meant the man—like Bernahl and Vyke before him—qualified as a "Candidate for Lord." He could ignore the Fingers' seal and enter the Royal Capital.
Through his long communication with the Two Fingers, Gideon had confirmed one thing: the Fingers had long since been "broken" by reality. He was content to let the hero stand at the vanguard and receive the Fingers' validation. To him, the only thing that mattered was uncovering the truth behind Queen Marika's actions.
At dawn in Redmane Castle, Gawain stared at the nearly restored Great Rune. This endeavor had cost him over a hundred thousand Runes—enough for him to level up twice. But he had no choice; a Great Rune was far more important.
He had spent the night watching Melina slowly fill the missing fragments. Through her process, his understanding of Great Runes had deepened. Whether it was a standard Rune or a demigod's Great Rune, they were essentially fragments of the shattered Elden Ring. If one gathered enough ordinary Runes and infused them with their own Law, it was theoretically possible to forge a Rune of one's own.
Of course, his understanding hadn't reached that level yet. Perhaps in the future, he could exchange notes with Goldmask—assuming the man could even speak. As for the Dung Eater or Fia, he'd pass.
"Alright, it's about time to head to the Divine Tower. I wonder what powers the General's Great Rune will manifest when I activate it."
"Every Great Rune held by a demigod inevitably bears the unique mark of its original owner," Melina noted. "Expect something along those lines."
Gawain agreed. Pushing his door open, he ran into Lillian, who was packing her things to return to Sellia. He offered a few instructions.
"Be careful on the way back. Call for me if anything happens."
"Alright, alright, I've heard it enough. Don't worry. We Sellians might not be as strong as you in a fight, but we're very confident in our survival and escape skills. Are you off to activate the Great Rune?"
"Good guess. Once that's done, I'm heading back to Stormveil. Join me there as quickly as you can, because it won't be long before I head to your ancestral home, the Eternal City, for a tour."
"Hmm?! That sounds great. You absolutely have to take me with you then!"
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (181 chapter - Ongoing)
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