Elden Lord of Cinders

Faced with Lloyd's outrageous remarks, Morgott ultimately chose to remain silent.

He didn't refute, didn't correct, didn't even try to explain. Because, based on his understanding of this guy, the moment he started explaining, he'd be bombarded with a string of questions like "Who is Radagon?", "So what's the relationship between the two of them?", "What's the link between gods and kings?" and so on.

For the sake of his mental health—and his blood pressure—after some thought, Morgott decided to say nothing at all.

However, just as Lloyd was about to leave, Morgott suddenly remembered something. He looked up at him.

"By the way, if you see Ranni again, try talking with her more."

Lloyd turned back, confused. "Didn't you just tell me to be wary of her?"

"But she's not wary of you," Morgott said seriously. "I'm not telling you to spy on her or do anything specific. Just talk with her."

Lloyd was strong, sure—but Witch Ranni was no ordinary person either. Morgott didn't expect Lloyd to do anything to her.

But in Morgott's eyes, Lloyd didn't need to do anything special. Just acting like his usual self might be enough to drive Ranni crazy. And if it didn't drive her crazy, even just giving her a bit of a headache would still be a win.

After all, why should he be the only one suffering?

Lloyd thought about Morgott's words for a moment. It sounded like a side quest hint. He nodded to show he understood and left Stormveil.

Once Lloyd was gone, Morgott watched his retreating figure and finally let out a long sigh, shaking his head.

"Radagon is Marika... your brain really works in strange ways…"

What?

As he muttered those words, Morgott suddenly froze in place.

...

After leaving Stormveil, Lloyd didn't head directly to Raya Lucaria. Instead, he used Grace to fast-travel to the basement where Sellen was.

Since the next destination was the place where Sellen had once studied and worked, there was a chance he might run into people she knew. He figured it'd be smart to gather some intel and prepare a bit beforehand.

Dragged out in the middle of the day, still groggy, Sellen listened to Lloyd's question with half-lidded eyes. She yawned and looked at him, puzzled.

"What are you going there for?"

Lloyd answered honestly, "To get the Great Rune."

"The Great Rune... the Great Rune?!"

Sellen snapped fully awake, eyeing Lloyd strangely.

"Apprentice, don't tell me you actually want to become Elden Lord..."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Even if you do want to fight for a Great Rune, you should've gone to Stormveil first. Godrick's Great Rune is the easiest to get…"

"Oh, I already got that one. It's right here."

Lloyd spoke as he pulled out Godrick's Great Rune to show her, then added with a sigh,

"No wonder everyone wants this thing. All attributes +5—it's like getting 40 free levels. This thing's amazing..."

Thanks to Alice activating it and finishing a dungeon, Lloyd's Great Rune didn't even require a Rune Arc—it could be used right away.

Seeing him pull out the activated Great Rune, Sellen was stunned.

No way... her dumb apprentice might actually have what it takes to become Elden Lord?

Was that even possible?

After a long moment, Sellen finally came back to her senses. Staring at her cheerful, clueless apprentice, she reached out and absentmindedly touched his face, eyes full of complicated emotions.

"You stupid disciple, do you even know how dangerous the path to becoming Elden Lord is... Never mind, you probably wouldn't understand."

She sighed and shook her head.

"Ask whatever you want. I'll answer as best I can."

What followed was a round of questions and answers about the Raya Lucaria Academy.

Most of it had been mentioned before—mainly the current state of war between the Carian faction and the Academy faction, along with some details about the Queen of the Full Moon. Lloyd learned that the reason for the queen's current poor condition was due to being abandoned by that scumbag Radagon, which ultimately caused her mental breakdown.

"Um, Teacher Sellen, isn't it kind of... I mean, for a queen to fall apart over something like that, isn't it a little..."

"Don't ask me. I'm confused about it too. But I'm from the Academy faction. Even if there's more to the story, they'd never let a witch like me in on the details."

As she said that, Sellen suddenly remembered something and added,

"Oh, and the Academy lot—if they show you no respect, don't spare them on my account. Strike first. They deserve no courtesy. Don't let them push you around."

Lloyd blinked. "Huh? But aren't you part of the Academy faction?"

"I am," Sellen nodded, then snapped irritably,

"But I still got on Caria's bad side trying to stick up for them. Look at me now. If they'd backed me up even once back then, I wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

Lloyd thought back to some things she'd said during her lectures and hesitantly asked,

"Uh, teacher... I mean, is there a chance you might've gone a bit overboard back then...?"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Even so, Sellen still seriously explained everything she knew about Raya Lucaria. When she was done, she rummaged around in her tiny room for quite a while, eventually handing Lloyd some anti-magic tools and offering him a few last words of advice.

"If you can't beat them, run. If you can't run, try name-dropping me—though that'll only help if they're from the Academy faction. If it's the Caria lot, hearing my name might just make them hit you harder."

"In any case, survival first. Even if you never become Elden Lord, I'm not giving up on you, you idiot."

"Don't you dare die."

Looking at Sellen's worried face—like she wanted nothing more than to follow him—Lloyd suddenly recalled the day they first met.

Witch. Cold. Ruthless...

Sigh. Soulsborne teachers.

Sigh. Witches.

...

After parting ways with Sellen, Lloyd returned to the Site of Grace at Stormveil. This time, however, he didn't go looking for Morgott. Instead, he followed the path north from where Godrick had dropped dead.

Not far along, he left Stormveil behind. After a few more steps, a vast land wreathed in mist and clouds stretched out before him.

Standing on high ground, Lloyd gazed at the distant scenery for a while before turning his attention to the surroundings.

Hm? That looks like a church?

After confirming what he saw, he blew the Spectral Steed Whistle and summoned Torrent. After making a small detour, he reached the church.

And then, he spotted a shiny bald head.

A bald man sat there. Though he wasn't wearing one of those intimidating Glintstone crowns, the robes he wore looked a lot like the Academy uniform Sellen had once shown him. The man sat slumped in a chair, clearly troubled by something.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?"

After confirming the man had no intention of attacking him, Lloyd dismounted and walked over.

The bald man froze for a moment. Then, realizing what was happening, he looked up at Lloyd.

"You... are you one of the Tarnished?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Then... would you be interested in learning sorcery?"

He sounded hesitant, even a little guilty as he spoke.

"My name is Thops. I know I don't look like much, but I used to study Glintstone Sorcery at the Raya Lucaria Academy. If you're interested, I could teach you some spells... all I ask is a small amount of Rune."

"Take me as your student?"

"No, no, no!"

Thops quickly shook his head.

"I'm not qualified to be anyone's teacher. It's more like... you give me a bit of Rune, and I'll teach you some basic spells. Nothing fancy—just some simple ones, really, but it won't cost you much..."

Another sorcery teacher? Something about this felt off.

Still, Lloyd didn't dwell on it for long. It wasn't unusual to trade Runes for magic lessons.

"How much are we talking?"

"Uh... 10 Runes?"

"Oh, 10 Runes... Wait—how many?"

Lloyd was already reaching for his pouch when he realized something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes at Thops.

"Dude, you sure you didn't forget two extra zeros on that? Even random critters on the road drop 10 Runes."

Seeing his reaction, Thops misunderstood and gave a bitter smile.

"Sorry... I really can't make it any cheaper."

"No, it's not that. Just—based on what I've seen, even for beginners, no one teaches for just 10 Runes..."

Still, Lloyd handed over the 10 Runes. True to his word, Thops began explaining the basics of Glintstone Sorcery.

As expected, it wasn't anything advanced. The lessons were all introductory, and the spells he could teach weren't even on par with Sellen's.

Wait a minute. Doesn't this overlap with Sellen? And you only meet him after killing Godrick? And the spells are worse...

"I'm really sorry," Thops said with a wry smile, noticing Lloyd spacing out. "You were kind enough to give me Runes, but all I can offer are simple spells, nothing impressive."

"In that case, how about this—I'll tell you everything I know about this land..."

Then Thops began talking about Raya Lucaria. Most of it was stuff Lloyd had already heard from Sellen, but there was one important detail she hadn't mentioned.

"To keep out of the Shattering, the Academy set up a seal. Without a Glintstone Key, you can't get inside."

"That's right, I can't go back either. As a low-level sorcerer, a Glintstone Key is way beyond my means. I happened to be away when the seal was cast, and now... I have no way of returning."

"So, you'll need to find a Glintstone Key first—without one, you can't get into the Academy."

"And if—after you get one for yourself—you somehow find another..."

"No rush. Just, after you've handled your business... could I have that extra key?"

"I know I'm just a piece of deadweight with no real talent for sorcery, but I still want to return to that hall of learning. Maybe if I make it back... I'll be able to teach you something better next time."

After hearing all that, Lloyd finally realized what had felt so off about the guy.

A dejected slouch, a sorcerer's path, a teacher's tone, a merchant's honesty, a thief's objective... and still acting like this?

"Brother."

Lloyd's expression turned serious. He rested a hand on Thops' shoulder and spoke with gravity.

"I'll definitely get that key for you. But promise me—when you're ready to go back... take me with you."

Because with all those death flags waving around him like an old general on stage...

Lloyd didn't even want to imagine how miserable this guy's end could be.