post 3

Before me fell Vordt, fell the Curse Rotted heathen of days long past, fell the mighty Dancer, and the scores of ravenous undead between. Perhaps I am unstoppable, or perhaps I am merely lucky. At this moment, it matters not which.

Enter: Ordo

This day, I learned again what it means to feel hope. I was battered, driven back by the Watchers of the Abyss; my blood leaked warm and mournful across the stones, as their powerful blows staggered me. Then, a Hollow: a specter clad in gold, smashed through the door of fog, his blade a honeyed whirlwind that drove back those dark warriors.

At his side I vanquished them, blinded forevermore the Watcher's eyes. With my taciturn comrade at my side, Wolnir fell without more than pitiable resistance, his hands nigh severed beneath the ferocity of our strikes. As he crumpled, my comrade spoke: his name he revealed to be Or'do, slayer of the Cinder Lords much as I myself am tasked. Yet he like I chafes beneath the endless cycle, and I believe, that he like I, will break it.

Post 4

Invaders! Across the stones had my blood been flung by their blows; two and three they came, assailing me before any hope I had of defending myself. Then, I remembered my new comrade. Vigor coursed through my torn body as I lifted my souls from the flagstones, and devouring the heat of an ember, commanded him forth. At his side, perhaps I would once more find safety, and more than that, a reason to fight.

I was however, surprised when he rose in mantle of silver. He and I were identical, twins in all save for blood. Perhaps in my desperation, in my anger, in my fear, I had created him.

Invaders! Across the stones had my blood been flung by their blows; two and three they came, assailing me before any hope I had of defending myself. Then, I remembered my new comrade. Vigor coursed through my torn body as I lifted my souls from the flagstones, and devouring the heat of an ember, commanded him forth. At his side, perhaps I would once more find safety, and more than that, a reason to fight.

I was however, surprised when he rose in mantle of silver. He and I were identical, twins in all save for blood. Perhaps in my desperation, in my anger, in my fear, I had created him.

Post 5

Beneath our combined might, the Lords of Cinder were felled like withered oak; indeed, this world is all but conquered save for the Soul of Cinder himself. In this time, in those battles, we spoke little, yet learned much. He like I has sought to break the cycle, and he like I, shall attain our freedom from this bleak realm. I speak of this not to flaunt my success, nor to indulge the need for acclaim; but to ensure that when the bitter Fate at last has his vengeance upon us, we joyous souls, you like I, will feel my agony.

Next: our first adventure. How I miss it.

Our first adventure

We stood above the corpse of Aldrich, the foul mire that once rushed through her ancient veins now lay dark and forlorn across the stones. Or'do stood with greatsword slung over his shoulder, blood like clotting pitch flowing along its keen edge.

"This is useless." He murmured, his smooth baritone startling me, so seldom had he employed it.

"What you mean?" I was perplexed if not  bewildered. "We just slew the last Lord of Cinder that stood  between us and the Kiln of the First Flame!"

"And when you reach the First Flame, what will you do?"

"Link it of course!"

"Then..?" He pressed, obviously expecting some damning response on my part.

"Then I am reborn again in a new world, to slay once more the traitorous Lords and link the Flame once more." I wondered now, dared hope even, that perhaps he shared my distaste in this endless cycle.

"And you see no fault in it?"

"Should I?" I elected to stride carefully here; certainly, this was a path with as many crippling pitfalls as cobblestones.

"Yes!" Flame blazed in the molten depths of his silver eyes, which glinted like poured mercury as he gestured emphatically. "You are a slave to their whims, Aleorn! There is no end to these parallels, no end to the Kilns and no end to your fight. Do you not tire of it all?"

A strange, anxious heat swelled in my breast. I exhaled, steam roiling over my parched lips, and dared for the first time speak without falsehood or avoidance.
[Listen to this]
 "Every day." My tone was grim, hard as the steel of my sodden blade, and just so dangerously keen. "I've long yearned to end this cycle, to break free of the shackles with which I was born and must forevermore live."

"Then do it!" He clasped my shoulder, his strength flowing through me like the ember's warmth that pulsed through my ignited skin. "We can break free, Aleorn. You and I, can change this world."

I smiled beneath my helm. "Perhaps I am going mad, Or'do, for I believe you."

Post 6

We had strode on in silence for a time; seeking another bonfire by whose warmth we could rest. Here to, he defied the laws that governed most Phantoms, remaining at my side until death temporarily tore him from me.

"You spoke of breaking the cycle, Ordo," I exhaled softly, the bonfire's spasming flames quivering beneath my undead breath. "But we cannot so much as imagine why it was created."

"Whatever it was that created the Flame, and the Lords to govern it, forged this cycle to trap us here. They fear us, or perhaps are merely wary." He mused. "The Flame burned away the darkness, and the Lords were those strong enough to survive it, and wield its strength. Whether Dragon with scale of stone, or beast for which we haven't name nor mind vast enough to grasp, all were cast down, and the Flame reigned. Beyond that, I know not why the cycle was born, only that there exist a countless if not numberless multitude of worlds parallel to this one; the frenzy of guarding the Flame, binds us as surely as any cage."

"Then how," I asked, leaning forward to peer through dancing flames and into his no less radiant eyes. "How do we free ourselves?"

He shrugged. "I've slain countless Lords in my time, and for it only pale understanding has dawned. This I know: we must slay the Firekeeper, replace her with another more suited to our cause, one who is no pawn over the Flame."

"Yuria?" I asked warily.

"Not her, yet in time she shall be part of our plans as well."

"I do not trust her," I murmured. "There is a darkness, a hatred about her that unnerves me."

"There, is a sentiment I understand well. In time you will come to understand her, to know her. The  animosity she harbors is not toward our kind, nor the Lords, but those who bound us here; it is they for whom she reserves her true wrath."

"If not Yuria, then who?"

"One who is steeped in the light, a teacher of miracles who can if given the power, take mantle of Firekeeper." He said enigmatically.

"Irina of Carim?"

"Aye."

"Slay the Firekeeper and replace her; no easy task."

"Few tasks of importance, are easy, my friend." Ordo murmured. "And those that are, seek only to delude and lure."