Elden Lord

Chapter 6 - Liurnia

'Thou art being played, dear Consort,' Marika said suddenly, surprising Talos. She'd been quiet for a good while now. And she was still going on about him being her Consort. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he'd considered it, taking into account the dearth other options. He still didn't know what to make of her, and he wasn't too pleased with the idea of shacking up with a god in the first place. If it made the fight against the Outer Gods possible and easier, then he'd do it. But she'd have to really grow on him in the mean time, he wouldn't budge on that.

'You've been rather quiet, Marika. Something bothering you?' Talos replied.

'Liurnia bothers me. Having to enter the Academy bothers me. The woman within that place bothers me. But do not change the subject. Thou'st realised the girl is using thee, yes? She speaks to thee as a victim, yet I hear words left unsaid, see motives obscured beneath her innocent visage. She is not what she appears,'' Marika said sternly.

'You think I'm unaware? I see what most others do not. Few can hide the truth from me, Marika. Rya has her secrets, but I don't believe those secrets belong to her. And she wasn't lying when she said she needed help.'

'And thou canst be so sure? I see what thou see, and more besides. She was watching thee weave thy sorceries, and I will have answers about them, Talos, so be ready to explain when I ask. The girl saw an opportunity, of that I am certain.'

Talos stopped walking. 'Markia. Do you believe in fate? Or in cycles that repeat themselves ad nauseam with slight alterations each time?'

'I am unsure what thou art trying to ask. Fate is a... strange thing. I know not if all things are guided by providence, but if they are, then by defying the guiding hand of the Greater Will, I have broken fate's hold on me. But the question could be asked if such an action was yet another whim of it. Perhaps in shattering the Elden Ring, I did exactly as I was directed, despite believing otherwise. As for cycles, well...,' she thought for a moment, 'there was once a wise man who visited my court. He and I had a discussion about history. This was early in my reign, thou see, and he told me that history doth not repeat, but it often rhymed. Would that be what you ask?'

'Not quite, but insightful regardless. I suppose the question was unfairly worded. Allow me to be candid for a moment,' he felt Marika's curiosity, 'I have lived for a very long time, Marika. Far too long if you ask me. But in that time, I have existed in many places at many times. It is through much excruciation that I have learned that every world and those within those worlds exists within a cycle, adhering to patterns unseen. Of course, there were those who knew of the cycle and were perpetrators of it. It took a long time, but I came to realise that nothing happens for no reason. Those I interact with are there just at the right time to meet me. There is no luck or chance in this. It is simply the mechanical function of the cycle doing its work. It is as that wise man said; history does not repeat, but it often rhymes. And rhyme, it does. Often painfully so. Each face I see is the analogue of another I have met before, destined to encounter me as either friend or foe,' he shrugged 'So the girl is using me to her own ends. Most do. But in the end, I stand above as slayer or saviour. I will do as she asks and the cycle will propel me to the next stage of her destiny, just as it will mine.' Talos explained. Marika was silent, but he could feel the questions roiling within her mind.

'Thou... speakest true. I have grown acutely aware of the currents within thy soul, so lying to me would benefit thee not. 'Tis as I suspected when first I bound myself to thee. Thou art ancient, lived of years beyond count, anomalous by every metric. From a peasant boy, to a common levied soldier, to an honoured knight, thou were an exception even before thine ascension to nigh godhood. From the moment thou supped upon thy first demon soul, everything about thee changed and the course of thy destiny was truly set. Ever since thou defeated the Old One, thou'st slipped through the cracks between worlds, thy body and spirit in flux. Impermanent. Ephemeral, yet paradoxically eternal.' she said.