Horace continued checking. Most of what remained were ordinary congratulatory gifts. Though valuable, there was nothing particularly special about them.
Until his fingers touched something hard tucked into a corner at the very bottom of the pile.
It was unusually heavy.
Peeling back the silk, Horace's pupils contracted sharply at what lay beneath: a piece of golden amber. Unlike ordinary amber, however, it seemed to hold a slowly flowing mass of golden light.
He quickly wrapped it in silk again.
Isn't this the Unborn's... His knowledge of the game churned furiously through his mind.
Great Runes are fragments of the Elden Ring. In the game, Rennala cradles this Amber Egg, Radagon's parting gift... Marika and my big brother... what have they done?
Had they stripped a small piece from the intact Elden Ring ahead of time? Or was this itself something the Golden Order rejected? Like Destined Death?
Horace recalled a few details: in the murals in Crumbling Farum Azula, the Elden Ring of the Ancient Dragon era had six rings, whereas by the era of the Golden Order, it had become four. (The author says there is a picture.)
Of the two missing rings, one was the Rune of Death, or Destined Death. And the other...
Horace steadied himself and forced himself to calm down. This was not the time to investigate further.
He no longer had the heart to examine the remaining gifts closely.
After a cursory look to confirm there were no more similar "surprises," he rubbed his brow and suddenly realized that something seemed to be missing.
"Where's Messmer's?" he murmured.
Surely that boy had not forgotten to prepare a gift?
Or had yesterday's crushing defeat in their duel, combined with Melina's "critical hit," made him withdraw completely and forget?
As he wondered, a soft knock