Shadows & Sorcery #67
Well well well! Look who it is… The sixty-seventh edition of Shadows & Sorcery! I hope everyone had a good day!
Now, on to this festive edition of everyone’s favourite dark fantasy flash fiction minizine! I’ve performed another little experiment in the spirit of the season in which everything’s just a little bit different. To be blunt, I’ve been somewhat indulgent and have gone back to one of my biggest inspirations: Dark Souls item descriptions.
What does that even mean? For those unaware, Dark Souls is a series of dark fantasy dungeon crawler videogames developed by the Japanese company FromSoftware (they also developed Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring, all share fundamental similarities). Their storytelling method is indirect—via environmental clues, snippets of dialogue, and descriptions attached to items, the player can interpret a story and events surrounding everything. The way they require an active engagement struck me (and many many others) and that’s how I’ve written this edition. There is a story, a world, hidden in the background of these pieces I’ve given you. But like much of the microfiction here, you’ll need to piece it together in your head. Every reader will likely have a slightly different picture of it all—and that’s what I want.
This is an experiment, nothing more, but it was a fun change of pace. If you like this, let me know! Please, leave a like, leave a short comment, I want to know your thoughts! I may do something more ambitious in future in this vein, or I may drop it if this comes off as incomprehensible nonsense (which is possible).
This week, we follow the trail of a righteous knight who has set out on a quest, past the Cemetery of the Undead, through the Cathedral of the Sea, and deep into the Dragon Ruins…
Armor of the Pale
Stately bright steel cuirass worn by knights who live on the fortified Aslean frontier, the Pale. Once engraved with the sigils of royal beasts and painted with house colours, this particular specimen bears its battered and chipped countenance with pride. Blessed with a mild regenerative prayer to a Castlegrand saint that has never faded.
Spear of the Saints
Spear of incredible craftsmanship. The polished, reddish shaft ends in four golden effigies of Castlegrand saints, standing back to back, from whose heads there emerges a thin, hard blade. Its relatively shorter length denotes that this weapon is intended for quick, heavy thrusts. This particular spear was commissioned for a lordling who alas never made it to the battlefield.
The wielder's faith, more than their strength, is behind each thrust of this fine weapon.
Sanctuary Sword
Sword formed to resemble the spire of a Castlegrand church, thus fulfilling the role of a temple on the road. The broad, golden-hued blade tapers to a sharp point, with several squarish holes resembling windows near the base. The twisting crossguard resembles thick braids of hair. Its pommel bears the crest of a royal order. This weighty weapon is likely worth even more than its weight in gold, which already makes up so much of its body.
Indeed, no expense was spared for the one who would wield it.
Cemetery of the Undead
"Yes indeed, it is an isolated burial site for souls beset by demons who disturb their rest. It is also, I believe, the furthest wing of the subterranean crypts which lead to the Cathedral. Undeath is not a natural state, you see, a fact which drove the poor souls there to madness. Those deathless wretches have added to their number countless hapless travellers and wayfarers. The place is, quite frankly, crawling with demons. And the undead, their bodies bear the warped wounds of many dire battles. I fear that few resemble the humans they once were..."
Grave of the Knight
This oversized tomb of brilliant white marble seems fit for a grand family or knightly order, but upon inspection, it seems uncommonly bare. It is also curiously bereft of any offerings, or signs or statues of saints.
Only too late did the knight's comrades learn why the grave was to be built in such a wild place...
Cemetery Demon
Horror which dwelt in the grave of the knight. Called down from the outer dark by a noble who dabbled in curses, it was ultimately responsible for the growing undeath which plagued the burying ground. If demons are indeed beings given form by those who summon them, then this particular entity must have been born of a desperate fear. Or perhaps a need to share something. Mercifully, the world will never know which.
Saints of the Undead
A set of obscure Castlegrand saints the undead once prayed to for succor. Each undead grave has a saint statue in place of a headstone, which serves as both bulwark against deviltry, and also a warning. These tarnished statues have had the blasphemous shackles which impeded their power shattered. Their wards now slumber below, if but fitfully.
Passage Crypts
"The stench of salt and seaweed pervades the old crypts. It's the last place you'd ever expect to encounter such a thing."
"Indeed, those old tunnels served as a pilgrim's path to the church. They used to inter the faithful underneath as a kind of symbolic burial at sea."
"Well, something of the power far above has crept in over the centuries, and the sounds of sloshing water will come from more than just your feet down there, my friend..."
Cathedral of the Sea
This curious inland cathedral was dedicated to the worship of the sea. The great open floor is flooded with knee-deep briny water. Once a peaceful shrine to a distant divinity foreign to Castlegrand, the vast, pillared interior was thronged with the faithful who revelled in the bounties of the deep, until a visitation from that divinity left the cathedral in ruins, abandoned but not empty. Much of the water is far deeper than it should naturally be.
Shaded Armor
Pitch black armor of a slain assassin-knight found wandering the cathedral interior. In an age long ago, these warriors stalked battlefields, slaying the rivals of their tyrant king unchallenged. But in the end, their lust for blood turned on their master, and the assassins fled into the wilds seeking new lords to loose them upon the world.
Despite its size and appearance, this armor allows the wearer to approach their mark almost unseen, its sound not being a problem in the din of battle. No honourable knight would dare don this.
Echo of the Sea
Remnant of something with the power to persist.
This formless echo was found in the possession of a Shaded Knight. It is contained within a vial of sea water. Its dark tint indicates it must have come from the depths of the ocean, but how it was recovered can only be wondered at. Perhaps that is the reason why it echoes.
Dragon Ruins
Weathered ruins of inhuman construction. This great expanse of crumbling stone was once inhabited by a race of scaled beings and their kindred. When they vanished, the ruins came to be inhabited by humans who built upon the old masonry. It was only centuries later did they discover what still slumbered there, and its secret worship overtook the cult of the harvest saint until it was all that remained.
Temple Wilderness
A wild expanse left as untouched holy land by the adherents of a Castlegrand saint now lost to time. Most of it is scorched, and what remains slowly loses its power. The old harvest cult would leave the land untilled and free, knowing it as the place wherefrom the harvest saint's miracle emanated.
After it caved in, the temple wilderness became home to a pit of sacrifices, and the miracle began to fade.
Abandoned Sacrifice
"I beg of you...if you must go further, take me with you. My flesh is not my own. It belongs below."
"I will take you...but the way is not safe..."
"Please, ensure I am delivered to its maw. It's been...so long since it was sated."
Sacrificial Glade
Tangled forest clearing where the tall trees seem warped, almost as if from heat. The ground is little less than yellowed bones packed with dark earth. The land slopes downwards sharply, having once caved in.
There is an open void at the center over which the air shimmers like the air above a naked flame.
Sorcerers of Offering
Remains of a dragon cult official, the ostentatious red robes faded and stained, found amongst the corpse pile at opening to the great pit. The withered, skeletal hand still clutches a stone tablet whose words describe a gruesome rite of calling.
Ash Sword
Longsword found near a corpse in charred metal. Of a type usually carried by elite Aslean knights of Castlegrand, the pommel bears the faded crest of a proud royal order. This sword has been veritably roasted in dragonfire, and though flaking badly, the broad, warped blade is holding together fairly well. It retains much of the fiery power which consumed it.
It awaits a worthy hand to use that power and complete the quest for which it was forged.