Chaos in Castle Morne, a long-suppressed rebellion

The deeper he went, the more chaotic things became. It was easy to imagine what the center of the castle would be like.

"Is... is someone there?" The Tarnished, keeping watch for ambushes, suddenly heard a girl's faint voice.

"Is anyone there?" Her voice sounded timid. When the Tarnished approached, he discovered a blonde girl with strips of cloth wrapped over her eyes.

"Who are you? Why are you alone in a place like this?" The Tarnished's curiosity was piqued. Castle Morne lay just ahead, yet a blind girl was traveling alone at the heart of this chaos. Clearly, there was more to her than met the eye.

"Um... my name is Irina. I'm the daughter of Edgar, the lord of Castle Morne." Irina answered honestly, hiding nothing.

"I see. So you're fleeing the fighting?"

"Um... yes. Father was worried about my safety, so he sent me out of the castle, but..." Irina lowered her head.

"Could I ask you a favor...?" The girl seemed to fumble for something before taking a letter from inside her clothes. "If possible, please deliver this to my father... I know it's rude of me to ask, but..."

"..."

"Are you... refusing? Of course... you have no reason to get involved." Irina sounded disappointed. Though she had expected this, she still worried about her father and hoped he would survive.

"How did you reach that conclusion? I'll take the job. I'm going to Castle Morne anyway, so it's on my way." The Tarnished took the envelope.

"R-really? Thank you so much! But I'm sorry, I don't have anything worthy to offer as a reward..."

"Whatever. I'll ask your dad for it." The Tarnished moved beside Irina, took out a furled finger, and drew a Golden Sign next to her.

"What are you doing?" Blind as she was, Irina naturally grew curious.

"I'd like to take you with me to Castle Morne, but inside the castle will only be worse than here. I'll leave a sign here. If you're in danger, just touch it, and I'll come."

"I see... thank you." Irina gave a faint smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be off, then."

"Please be careful."

After another journey that was neither especially long nor short, he finally arrived before Castle Morne. On a rise not far away, he spotted a new Site of Grace, perfect for taking a rest.

Suddenly, the Tarnished noticed the ground shaking. Looking toward Castle Morne, he saw an enormous figure awaken from its slumber. "A Golem, of all things. Hah... this little Castle Morne certainly is lively."

Golems were enormous weapons of war built using the civilization of the ancient ruins as their basis. Their cores lay in their chests, and they were truly heavyweight weapons.

But the Golem before him seemed badly worn. A golden aura leaked from its exposed ankles. Presumably, those were its weak points.

"Looks like I'll have to get past it before I can enter Castle Morne." The Tarnished retrieved the Tree Sentinel's Golden Halberd from the Site of Grace, sneaked around behind the Golem, then gripped the heavy weapon in both hands and delivered a mountain-cleaving blow to its damaged ankle. The Golem shuddered and fell to its knees.

The Tarnished struck its other ankle with the same move. With a crack, the Golem's ankle shattered, and it toppled to the ground, its enormous body making the earth tremble.

"Time for the curtain to fall. Antiques belong in a repair shop." He brutally thrust the Golden Halberd into the Golem's Power Furnace, blasting the Golem into pieces and sending its Giant Greatbow flying.

"Whoa..." The Tarnished marveled as he watched the greatbow sail through the air. "A proper Golem wouldn't be this weak."

A fully intact Golem would have had armor covering its ankles as well, and naturally would not have been so easy to bring down.

"Still, I never expected to find a Golem here. Just how many factions are involved in Castle Morne?"

The Tarnished shouldered the Golden Halberd and headed inside. As his strength gradually returned, he could now handle its weight. Heavy weapons were a good choice against large enemies like Golems.

He activated the lift. What greeted him was a small hill piled from corpses, with several Misbegotten still angrily mutilating the dead.

"Heavy losses." Looking up, he saw plenty of human soldiers hanging from flagpoles as well. The brutality of it made the Misbegotten's hatred for humanity all the more apparent.

"What goes around comes around." With that sigh, the Tarnished headed deeper into the castle. Naturally, Misbegotten blocked his way, but he dealt with them one by one.

"I never mistreated you. At least pick the right target for your revenge." The Tarnished had just turned around when a club bound in chains came hurtling toward him.

"Huh?" He sidestepped it and saw a burly man wearing a pumpkin-shaped helmet. His muscles bulged beneath gray skin, and beastlike growls escaped his mouth from time to time.

"What the hell are you?"

Pumpkin Head showed no trace of reason, swinging his Flail wildly like a savage.

"So talking isn't an option? Guess I'll have to finish you off."

"Aaaaargh!!" Pumpkin Head answered with a roar, grabbed a nearby Misbegotten, and hurled the creature at him. The Tarnished punched the smaller Misbegotten away, then approached Pumpkin Head with the Golden Halberd dragging behind him.

Pumpkin Head slammed his Flail downward, only for the Golden Halberd to pin it down. He frantically tugged at it until the Tarnished released the pressure. With the halberd's weight suddenly gone and Pumpkin Head still pulling, momentum sent the Flail straight into his helmet, knocking him onto his backside.

"This one's a real idiot." Watching Pumpkin Head throw a furious tantrum on the ground like a child left the Tarnished embarrassed for him. Then, a moment later, Pumpkin Head tossed aside his Flail and began banging his head against the ground.

"What's going on now?" Pumpkin Head kept roaring as he bashed his head against the ground. The Tarnished had no desire to watch his antics. While he raged, the Tarnished raised the Golden Halberd and severed his head.

"Your head seemed to hurt. I'm a kind man, so I thought I'd help." He tore down a ragged flag nearby and used it to wipe the blood from the Golden Halberd.

Castle Morne was not particularly large, so it did not take the Tarnished long to reach the top, where he found a thoroughly despondent man clad in gold-tinged armor.

"You're Edgar, the lord of the castle, right?" He walked over and handed him the letter Irina had entrusted to him.

"Who are you...? Is this letter for me?" A great many Tarnished seemed to have come here lately...

"I'm just a nameless Tarnished who happened to take a request from your daughter."

"Ah... Irina. She's safe... thank goodness. Thank you for looking after her." Joy appeared on the man's face.

"If you really want to thank me, I suggest you take your daughter and leave Castle Morne as soon as possible."

"No... Lord Godrick entrusted me with this duty... I must live and die with this castle. And Castle Morne's Sword must never fall into the hands of those defilers! So I cannot leave."

"Oh, is that so? Goodbye, then." The Tarnished looked Edgar over, then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Edgar called out to stop the departing Tarnished.

"Something else?"

"Tell Irina I'm sorry. I've failed her as a father. Please ask her to forgive me." Edgar's voice brimmed with guilt.

"Tell her yourself, idiot." The Tarnished glanced at him and refused the request.

"Let me tell you something. This world never runs short of blindly loyal fools like you. Your existence means nothing. You're just servants for those above you to order around as they please. They toss you a few scraps, and you give them everything you have, thinking you've earned their favor. Take a good look at where you really stand." The people the Tarnished disliked most were those who acted superior despite having no ability, and those who had no opinions of their own and only knew how to obey.

Godrick? What the hell was he? His territory erupted into rebellion, and instead of sending immediate aid, he demanded even more from it. That was hardly how a sane ruler behaved. Limgrave, where Stormveil stood, was an utter mess. What reason was there to stay loyal to a king like that?

"You... what did you say...?"

"Figure out for yourself what matters more: your family or some nebulous duty. I don't have time to play make-believe with you. I came to Castle Morne for something else."

"How can you be so..." Before Edgar could finish, the Tarnished interrupted him.

"Castle Morne's Sword won't fall into the Misbegotten's hands, of course. Because it'll be mine." With that, the Tarnished vaulted over the castle wall and reached a high vantage point.

"Ah... that must be it." Gazing into the distance, he could see a cluster of gravestones surrounded by water, with one enormous stone standing out among the rest.

"Whether you agree or not, I'll take that sword as payment for this job." He had heard the barbarian mention that Castle Morne held a greatsword as magnificent as a throne. According to legend, a hero of a fallen kingdom had forged it by gathering together the weapons of his comrades.

The greatsword lay some distance away, so the Tarnished had to cross numerous castle walls and jump down from an overhead beam before finally reaching the other side of Castle Morne.

"What a pain. Though it does make this weapon's importance even clearer."

"Jellyfish...?" When the Tarnished reached the water, he saw a group of little Spirit Jellyfish drifting around the area.

Spirit Jellyfish had profoundly tragic origins. They were all children who had died in accidents, wandering with their final wishes unfulfilled.

"The Lands Between have never known peace." Whether during his own campaigns or during the supposed golden age that followed his exile, the Lands Between had never lacked conflict. It all stemmed from the Erdtree's intense intolerance. Its forces were bound to fight other factions to secure their place upon this land.

"Heh. All that glitters is not gold."

The Tarnished dragged the Golden Halberd through the water, throwing up splashes as he walked straight toward the gravestones where the greatsword rested. Before the enormous gravestone stood a Misbegotten warrior with red, lionlike hair. Leaning against the Grafted Blade Greatsword, he watched the approaching figure through narrowed eyes.

"Oh, a Leonine Misbegotten. You're the leader of this rebellion, aren't you?"

"..." The Leonine Misbegotten did not answer. He merely stared at the Tarnished, madness lurking in his eyes.

"Abuse... oppression... you humans have never truly acknowledged us. You treated us like livestock... our standing was even lower than those traitorous Trolls." Speaking in the human tongue, the Leonine Misbegotten slowly rose.

"So we rebelled... to repay you self-righteous humans twice over for every humiliation we suffered. One day, we Misbegotten will cut down that false golden tree!" Scarlet light blazed in the Leonine Misbegotten's eyes.

"Filthy gold... false gold... gold that accepts no one. We refuse to submit!"

"Why?! Why should merely touching the Crucible and possessing an aspect of the Crucible mean we're shunned, looked down upon, toyed with and abused however you please?"

"...Heh. Cutting down the Erdtree, huh? Count me in."

"Huh...?" The Leonine Misbegotten seemed unable to understand what the Tarnished had said.

"What? You were so eloquent a moment ago, but now you can't understand me?" The Tarnished chuckled. "I said... if you're cutting down the tree, count me in."

"Devious human! What are you after?"

"Give me the greatsword."

"You want this sword...? Hahahahaha! Not a chance. Only we deserve to possess it! This, too, was stolen by you humans from our ancestors."

"Look at the bodies of our brethren covering the ground! They all long for this treasured sword! I will never let it fall into the hands of you despicable humans again!"

The Tarnished glanced at the countless Misbegotten bodies piled beside the enormous gravestone. According to legend, the Grafted Blade Greatsword had been assembled from many weapons, and standing before it, he could feel the anger and hatred within, along with that quality unique to creations of the Crucible-an undifferentiated mingling of all things.

"Oh, I see. No wonder the barbarian didn't take this sword. So that's how it is..." Though rough in manner, the barbarian was not cold-blooded. On the contrary, he had always held warriors in the highest regard.

"Then forget it." In that case, there was no need for him to claim the sword.

"Huh?" The Tarnished's behavior baffled the Leonine Misbegotten.

"You know how to rise against this misguided age. That's good... I respect your resolve. Keep the sword."

"Are you even human...?" The Leonine Misbegotten remained wary.

"So what if I'm human? So what if you're Misbegotten? Understanding what deserves to be understood has nothing to do with race."

"But..." The Tarnished's tone shifted, his sharp gaze seeming to pierce the Leonine Misbegotten's soul.

"What are you going to do...?"

"Those Spirit Jellyfish outside were your rebellion's doing, weren't they...? War really is cruel."

"Shut your mouth! What, now you're merciful? Didn't you servants of the Erdtree slaughter the giants for your own interests?!"

"Yes, we too committed monstrous crimes against other races. But to put it plainly, we did it for our own people. In the end, we ushered in the so-called golden age, just as you rebelled to vent your anger and resist, hoping to win an age of your own.

War has nothing to do with justice. It's all about interests, and it always harms many other lives. If it benefits your own race, then it's justice, even if it means oppressing others. Then those other races take up arms to resist that oppression. It's an endless cycle."

"War is stupid, cruel, and filthy, yet unavoidable. Conflict is etched into our instincts, and war will repeat itself again and again."

"Then how are you any different from us?!"

"I'm not." The Tarnished shook his head. "Just as you said, I'm human. I'm a Tarnished. Naturally, I have to consider my own people's interests, even if I don't discriminate against you."

"But living beings have always fought for their own kind." The Tarnished shouldered the Golden Halberd.

"You...!" The Leonine Misbegotten immediately drew the Grafted Blade Greatsword and took a defensive stance.

"I understand why you rebelled. But understanding doesn't mean I won't fight back. You slaughtered my people, and I won't stand by and watch. Naturally, I'll get involved, even if, from your perspective, there's nothing wrong with what you've done."

"So you're going to stop me?! I'm not afraid of you!" The Leonine Misbegotten's eyes widened in fury. Sensing the overwhelming aura radiating from the man before him, he felt an instinctive flicker of fear. But he would not retreat. Even if he died, he would leave a scar on this lapdog of the Erdtree.

"Yes... I will. I'll give you a dignified death." The Tarnished raised the heavy Golden Halberd in one hand, pointing it straight at the Leonine Misbegotten as he calmly regarded the warrior before him.

"Come, then, rebellious..."

"Misbegotten hero..."