Dynasty of Blood and Flame

Chapter 5

Gareth could feel someone skulking about in the capital. Someone much like himself, by the feeling he got, though weaker. Not a god, but an empyrean of considerable strength. He knew it wasn’t his sister in law, Ranni was more careful not to be seen. Whenever she snuck into the capital, whether it was to secretly tutor his son or just to spy on him, she knew to mask herself and to stay well away from his network of reviving flames. Whoever this was, they were traveling at a leisurely pace, completely unhidden, resting at each flame they passed without a care, yet they hadn’t announced themselves at all. Either that was another tarnished, who either had not been informed of or did not yet fully understand the responsibility that had been thrust upon them, in which case he could attempt to offer guidance, or it was someone who knew full well who and what they were, but thought they could simply slip through unnoticed if they played the fool. Luckily for Gareth, they were being fairly obvious about where they were going, He could feel them now, resting in the sewers. Before leaving he gathered a few odds and ends and dug out his mimic veil from storage. Gareth had little use for it these days, but if whoever it was felt him poking around in their head, it would completely defeat the purpose of disguising himself. He quickly assumed the guise of a nomadic merchant, the first form he had inhabited when he was summoned blind and deaf from the darkness between worlds. Kalé would kill him if he found out he was doing this, but it was the simplest way to remain covert, and besides it was the form his twin memories knew the best besides his own.

He set himself up in the Cathedral of the Forsaken, playing the melody he remembered from the merchants he’d inhabited. He couldn’t hear the song at the time, he could only feel the merchant’s fingers move independently of him, moved by a deep compulsive sorrow at their confinement. Just as he remembered playing the song, he also remembered hearing himself play it during his long descent to the three fingers. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the tune that wormed its way into his soul. Now he was whole, now his fingers both bowed the strings with practiced precision and his ears could hear the mourning notes wrung from his instrument. It was an experience both strange and beautiful in equal measure, so much so that he became so lost in it he almost didn’t notice when his quarry entered.

They wore a furred cloak, unseasonably warm for Leyendell, but perhaps they were from the Mountaintops of the Giants. If another had inherited the giants’ flame of destruction, he would be happy to teach them restraint just as Malenia had taught him. Perhaps it would even be easier, with their domains being so complementary. Garreth could see a sliver of long blond hair past their hood, and they walked with bare feet despite the filth of the sewers. He put his bow down and halted his playing.

“Have you come to pay your respects?” The door to the frenzied flame proscription was left always open now, so that the nomadic merchants could visit their dead and bury them elsewhere as they wished. It was also a reminder of the failures of the Golden Order, that so many innocents had been killed for worshiping the flame purely on the basis of rumor. Before they were locked away, not one of them had been a believer. It was only after, in the darkness of their tomb that they reached for the flame, tearing it into the lands between. Many treated the trip down here as a pilgrimage, to respect those who had everything taken from them by the order. The trip through the sewers was in memorial of those omens who were tossed down there from birth, while the trip to the proscription was in memorial of all those who were persecuted for heresy against the order. At the end of that path they would reach the now empty housing of the three fingers, a reminder that anyone, even the lowliest of tarnished, may seize power for themselves to end such injustices.

“I’m afraid I do not understand, it has been quite some time since I’ve visited the capital.” They had a soft voice with an almost androgynous quality to it.

“Indeed it must have been sometime if you are unaware of what this place is. It is treated as a memorial for those of the great caravan, who were buried alive by the order, sealed in this tomb for crimes they were innocent of. If you aren’t here for that, perhaps it’s my goods you’re after?” He gestured to the arrows and cookbooks he’d gathered from home before setting out.

“I was under the impression that this place was a church not a tomb.”

“Aye, that it is, though many under the order found the distinction much less clear.” Gareth gestured towards the hole with his bow.

“When I was told that a Lord of Frenzied Flame had risen to the throne I believed every place of worship, every school, and every home would become a tomb as well. That everything would be melted until no disparity remained and everything returned to oneness and nothingness.”

“Ha! Suppose you’d be disappointed then. The King Eternal seeks to eliminate disparity as far as anyone can tell, but he seems to delight too much in the company of others to melt everything together. Where there is oneness there is no longer disparity, however where there is only oneness there is also crushing loneliness. There is escape from pain but no possibility of pleasure either. He lived too long as a human, and now has lived too long as a husband and father for him to consider that an appropriate solution.”

“You seem to know his heart well, merchant.”

“He visits this place often. I believe he feels a certain amount of responsibility for their fate. They were falsely executed for worship of him after all. As I said, he is quite personable, we often speak before he makes his descent.” His quarry shifted from foot to foot, likely nervous at the idea that they were unknowingly in a place that Garreth frequented.

“Tell me, does anyone else frequent this lonely chapel?”

“Quite a few, if you intended to meet someone here, perhaps you could aid me by offering a description?”

“I seek a man about yay tall.” he indicated a sconce mounted around eight feet off the ground. “He would likely come disguised or in the dead of night, but you would be able to recognize him by his extravagant raiments.”

“It sounds as if you speak of Lord Mohg, though he never comes here surreptitiously.” Gareth’s back stiffened at his words. He would seek out his husband? For what purpose?

“Ah, you are one of his followers then?”

“No. As a nomad I devote myself to no god or lord.”

“Then why call him lord if you do not follow him?”

“That is his rightful title as Elden Lord, is it not? While I do not revere the King Eternal and his consort as Marika and Radagon were expected to be revered, I respect their efforts to create a more equitable kingdom.” The other empyrean coughed. No that wasn’t a cough, it was a half choked laugh, painful and cruel.

“Well, if you see him, let him know I wish to speak with him. He will not say no to me.” Garreth knew who he was speaking with now. He barked out his own laugh, letting his voice drift, now sounding as if it came from the direction of the hole.

“I think you have grown far too accustomed to getting your way, Miquella.” As Gareth spoke his name, he commanded every light in the room to go out. His husband was the more dramatic one by far, but he had his moments. “Did you truly believe that you had escaped my notice? I have felt you here since you arrived, traced your movements as you entered my city and descended to this sacred place of rest. You would enter like a thief, without offering a greeting to either of us, and then demand my husband come see you here? In the place he was held captive for so many years? Such arrogance you display!” He removed the veil, drawing himself back up to his full height and bringing his flame to its full intensity.

“You are aware of what force claims me as its envoy are you not?” Miquella removed his hood letting his golden braids cascade over his shoulders. His curse had been shed and he no longer looked like the mummified husk Gareth had glimpsed from the cocoon. He looked so much like Marika, just like his sister looked so much like Radagon. However, his eyes were light purple, almost silver rather than his mother’s gold. His skin was pale and slightly translucent from so many years inside his cocoon revealing the complex network of veins beneath his skin. “Darkness suits dreams far better than madness.”

“You would be surprised. I’ve found darkness aids madness just as handily as it does sleep.”

“Perhaps, though I do not wish to fight with you today.”

“You do not? Then tell me, for what other reason would you ask for an audience with my husband as if he was at your beck and call?”

“He acts strangely does he not? Perhaps he still calls for me even though you are wed. I seem to consume his every thought.”

“I already broke the enchantment you placed upon him.”

“Ah…”

“That was the first thing I did when I convinced him to return you to Malenia.”

“Then he no longer harbors any feelings towards me.”

“Well I wouldn’t say that.” Garreth began to count on his fingers as he listed them. “Let’s see, there’s betrayal, hatred, disappointment, contempt, distrust, acrimony-”

“I think you’ve made yourself clear.”

“Disgust, vengefulness, disdain, loathing, animosity-”

“YOU’VE MADE YOURSELF CLEAR!” The empyrean took a moment to collect himself. “All I wished to do was remove the enchantment upon him in thanks for his assistance. If that enchantment has been lifted then I have no further business here.”

“His assistance doing what?” Gareth willed the lights back on, briefly blinding Miquella.

“In ending my curse.” He shielded his eyes. “Before I was unalloyed gold. I believed that I could heal myself by gilding it further, by creating my own Erdtree, but that wasn’t the case. I needed to be alloyed with iron, which Mohg provided me in spades.”
“Then you owe him far more than the freedom I have already given him. Telling your sister that his obsessiveness was compelled would be a good start.”

“You have not told her yourself?”

“Of course not, I saved the honor for you. It would not be my place to tell her, nor would she have believed me if I did. Her dear, innocent, brother Miquella could never do such a thing.”

“I was desperate! I required more allies!”

“You stole years from his life!” His flame erupted out of his control, burning the pews near him to cinders. “If you truly desired him as an ally you would never have bewitched him as you did. No, what you wanted was a loyal watchdog. If you can’t at least admit that to Malenia, your sister whose care for you could never be shaken, so that she no longer gazes upon the man who freed you from your curse with disgust, how can you claim to have repaid him for anything. I’d also ask that you asked for his forgiveness personally. I would guarantee your safety due to my friendship with your sister, but I cannot guarantee he will ever forgive you.”

“Would this be upon pain of death?” Miquella challenged. “I thought you wished to rule more equitably than my parent.”

“No, it would be upon pain of life. Death would be nothing but a release. I know not what lies beyond the roots of the Erdtree or the searing heat of the ghost flame, but I know it is neither eternal torment nor eternal sunshine. I have looked into the eyes of the Prince of Death and I saw nothing behind them. Nothing without end or beginning. A place without pleasure, but also one without suffering. You and I will live for quite a long time, probably until someone takes it upon themselves to kill us. I know you feel guilt for what you did to Mohg. The fact that you came here to lift your enchantment tells me that you do. Eternity is quite a long time to shoulder that burden. Of course if that is not enough torment, ‘you are aware of what force claims me as its envoy are you not?’ Guilt is such an excellent conduit for madness.” He leaned over Miquella allowing his heat to beat down on the demigod.

“Once again you make yourself abundantly clear.”

The next day Malenia practically beat down his door with her cane. She often used one when walking with her prosthetics became exhausting, however it was also useful for absolutely going to town on the odd warrior that caught her unprepared or any inanimate objects that happened to attract her ire. Gareth heard Meinir open the door.

“Aunt Malenia! What are you doing here?!” The girl yelled excitedly. She enjoyed visiting her aunt immensely, though Malenia had previously refused to visit the capital.
“Hello, young flame!” She affectionately ruffled Meinir’s hair. “Unfortunately I’m here on business, are your fathers around?” Gareth came to the door as well.

“I assume you have questions?”

“And you had better have answers.”

Mohg hadn’t thought he and Malenia would ever comfortably occupy the same room. Well they still weren’t exactly comfortable but they weren’t ready to kill each other. He was filled with concern at what this meant. She had left the Haligtree, that could only mean one thing.

“You,” she pointed at Gareth, “why didn’t you tell me?” His husband kept only one secret from Malenia. It was bizarre to think about the circumstances that could have led up to such a thing, but Miquella must have told her.

“I left it up to Mohg’s discretion.”

“You then, why would you allow me to treat you the way I did when it was my brother who drugged you?” Mohg shifted to ease the pressure on his back.

“First and foremost, would you have honestly believed me? I was the one who stole your brother away from you with the intent to make him my consort. Your brother who was trapped in the body of a child. Would anything that came out of my mouth sound like anything but an excuse?”

“I admit that is likely a fair assessment, but to not even try?”

“I had a complicated relationship with my own brother, he was a rather complicated person. Although I have no love for yours after what he did, I still would not wish to drive a wedge between you two when you were so close.” Malenia seemed taken aback. “Do not misunderstand. I did not do this on your account, but merely because I would find the act personally distasteful.”

“My brother asked me to tell you that he would like to apologize for his behavior in person. You merely need to give him a location you feel comfortable meeting in.”

“There is a church that overlooks both the academy of Raya Lucaria and the Erdtree, I will meet him there.” Gareth held his hand.

“I can come with you if you wish,” he spoke, only to Mohg. Mohg rubbed his thumb over his fingers. This I can do myself.

“I also wish to apologize. I misjudged you. I’ve treated you coldly all these years for something that was not your doing.”

“Although I have an excuse for this particular incident, I am still just as violent and possessive as the man who stole your brother from you. You did not misjudge me, I have merely found someone who can be my match.”

“You truly mean that?” Gareth asked. Oh no, Mohg had encouraged him.

“That you are a violent and possessive man who anyone else would see as a nightmare of a husband?”

“But I am a dream to you, aren’t I.”

“You two’s relationship aside,” Malenia redirected the conversation. “I’m sorry for how I treated you, Mohg.”

“Your apology is not needed, but it is nonetheless accepted.”

“I still think you’re a stubborn bastard.”

“Once again, your assessment would be correct.” Mohg stretched as he stood. “Now if that’s all you had to say, I do have business I must attend to.”

“I still don’t like him very much.” Malenia said once he had left. “But I do understand why you do now.” She paused for a moment, gauging if what she was about to say would offend him. “You seem the type to thank someone for punching you in the face.”

“Only if they buy me dinner first.” He laughed.

“You know you do not have to suffer this alone,” Gareth held Mohg’s hand as he dropped him off at the church of vows. “Even if you are perfectly capable of handling it by yourself, you do not need to if you do not want to.”

“I want to. I do not intend to kill him if that is what you are concerned about.”

“I’m concerned about you.” He cupped his cheek. “I want you to feel safe, always.” Mohg covered his husband’s hand with his own.

“I do not fear Miquella. A man who must use enchantments to compel followers, is one who is vulnerable the very minute that fact is discovered.”

“Would you take this at least?” He placed a charm in his hand, a circle formed from two carved horns. “It will protect you from the effects of sleep.” Mohg closed his hand around it.

“If it makes you feel better, I shall carry it with me.” He took Garreth’s hand and pressed it against his fangs. “Now go, I’m sure there are things you need to attend to.” He drew away slowly, looking back before slipping into the flame to travel home.

It took another hour for Miquella to arrive. Plenty of time for Mohg to get in his own head about this whole thing. What if this was yet another trap? What if Miquella used him against his husband, perhaps even his children? What if this time there was no one to release him? He gripped the charm in his hand tightly. No, he would never allow it to come to that. Even if it did, Gareth would save him, just as he did before. Part of Mohg hated that he relied on him so much, but the rest of him knew that was the shunning grounds talking. His husband cared more for him than anyone had in his entire life, he would never betray him.

Miquella entered the church softly, quietly announcing his presence as he was accustomed. His curse had finally been removed and he stood before Mohg as an adult, but there was still something of sickliness that remained in his appearance. He could see the red arteries criss-crossing underneath his translucent skin and knew with uncomfortable certainty that the blood within them was his own. He removed his cloak revealing that he too had grown wings, though his were glass-like and transparent, like the wings of a nascent butterfly. His silvery violet eyes met Mohg’s yellow ones. The old caretaker of the church shook himself from slumber upon his arrival. “Shall we begin the process of arbitration?” He asked gently.

“Your eye has been healed.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Mohg crossed his arms.

“My apologies, I was merely surprised. Even under enchantment you never trusted me enough to attempt to fix it.”

“Well that is precisely the issue isn’t it, you never truly earned my trust.”

“I knew you for years, Mohg.”

“You met me once. After that, what you spoke with was a puppet fashioned from my body by your hands.” Miquella flinched.

“You know why I have come here.”

“To seek atonement, correct?” Mohg scoffed.

“I have taken much from you, while you have given everything to me. The stolen blood within my veins has broken my curse, and continues to change me and strengthen me in ways I find incredibly appealing.” He flashed a little bit of fang as he spoke. “I lived so long as a beautiful accessory, I find that conventional beauty no longer has any appeal. Your blood is shaping me into something sharper, something powerful and unsettling, far more suited to the man I am than that child’s body. I wish not only to atone but to thank you for what you have done to me. You always wished to have children right? I could offer you my great rune, Marika bestowed upon me the rune of abundance, with that, you could fill your husband with as many children as you desired.”

“We have already had two children.” Mohg said incredulously.

“Well you did speak of a dynasty did you not? Surely you would prefer that they shared your blood?” Miquella hadn’t seen him naked. He thanked not only the Formless Mother, but every god whose name he remembered. His memories of the years he spent enchanted were hazy. He knew he had given Miquella his blood, that was bad enough, but it was an immense relief to discover that he and Miquella hadn’t done anything more intimate than that.

“My parents taught me that mutual care and respect are far more important than blood. Even if my children were not my own, I would treat them no differently than if they were natural born heirs. But, if you remain unconvinced, my children are in fact of my blood and the blood of my husband. We are expecting our third soon as well.” He curled a hand protectively over his stomach.

“Ah, a gift from your mother of truth?”

“No. I was always capable of bearing children. You simply never cared to learn that about me.”

“I am sorry that I never took the time to know you better.”

“Finally! The first apology I have wrung from you tonight, what an excellent start!”

“I offered you my Great Rune, is that not apology enough?”

“If I may,” the old pastor interjected, “Lord Mohg, do you believe the Great Rune of abundance to be of equivalent value to the years you lost?”
“No I do not. Nor do I consider it of equal value to my trust.”

“Alright, is there anything Lord Miquella has that you consider to be of equal value?”

“No.”

“Then what would you ask of him that we might move forward.”

“I wish for a verbal acknowledgement of wrongdoing for the years he took from me.”

“So then it is the lost time that bothers you most?” Miriel asked.

“Yes.”

“I cannot see why that would be the case.” Miquella inspected his nails. “Our time is unlimited, a few decades lost in the service of another, or trapped within a cocoon are nothing compared to the expanse of eons we look forward to.”

“Once again you show your ignorance. My time on this earth was not endless. Any day I could have been killed, or succumbed to old age and died. Omens were not afforded the privilege of eternal life, not even the sons of Queen Marika.”

“You guarded me from trespassers, even if you believed it could cost you your life?” Miquella raised an eyebrow in doubt.

“OF COURSE I DID! I BELIEVED I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU!”

“Please calm yourself, Lord Mohg. Lord Miquella, have you ever experienced love before?”

“I’m afraid I have not. My curse prevented such things.”

“Then you would not know the gravity of compelling such strong affection. My lord, people kill for love, betray for it, lie for it, steal for it. Those who are most devoted are even prepared to die for it. Your enchantment upon the Elden Lord was so powerful that he would have been willing to lay down his life for you, the only one he had. Do you now understand the gravity of what you did?” Miquella paused for a moment in thought.

“I- I don’t think I could ever understand that actually. I cannot ever hope to. My mind cannot fathom having such limited time and choosing to waste it on the whims of another.”
“When it is by choice it is not so terrible.” Mohg thought of Gareth. If they had met when they were younger, before Gareth was a god and Mohg was a priest, when they were still hotblooded and stupid, both young men trying to live in a world that hated them, Mohg would have been happy wasting his limited time with him. “However, you took away that element of choice, binding me to you by enchantment.”

“Then I suppose what I must answer for is my ignorance. Alright then,” He turned to Mohg. “I acknowledge that I made a lapse in judgment in forcing you to my side as you did. Though I was unaware of the weight of that decision at the time, now, presented with my complete inability to comprehend the pain it caused you, I understand that I did incalculable harm to you. Thus I acknowledge the harm I have done to you and surrender my Great Rune to yourself and the King Eternal.”

“Lord Mohg, do you accept Lord Miquella’s apology?”

“I do, though I wish to add a final term. You will stay the fuck away from myself and my children. I do not wish to see your face within the capital once this is done with.”

“You have my word.”

“Lord Miquella you may cleanse yourself in the basin you see before you.” Miriel angled his head towards the pool of water at the altar of the church. Miquella reached inside himself and drew out the glowing rune within. He handed it to Mohg.

“Do with it what you will. I have no use for the thing.”

When Mohg returned to the capital, he insisted Garreth examine the thing immediately. It was a gift from a rival empyrean after all, one with intimate knowledge of the ring itself through his study of golden order fundamentalism, it could be something completely different from what the demigod purported it to be. After taking a long look at it, accompanied by several books as well as the flame’s knowledge, Garreth came to a conclusion. “It is what he says it is, the rune of abundance. It governs the reproduction of all things, from plants, to animals, and to even people,” he finally announced.

“So what does that mean exactly?”

“Well say I decided as god, that it was right and proper for every child to be a twin, I could tweak this piece of the rune here,” he indicated a line of text on the outer ring “and it would be so. Say I decided the gestation period for, I don’t know, land octopuses was too long, I would change this line here.” He pointed to another small patch of text. “Or if I decided humans should lay eggs…” he trailed off in thought.

“Don’t.” Mohg didn’t think they were in the good graces of the public enough to get away with that one.

“No, no it isn’t that. I could make it so that any two people could create a child, provided they desired to have one. It would only take a few lines. Here, here, and here.” he pointed with awe in his voice.

“How would that be possible without radically altering most of the populace?”

“It isn’t. Not now. Not with the way the laws of biology are written at present. However, we hold those laws in our bare hands!” Mohg could hear his excitement. Gareth wanted so desperately to do this.

“If you can do it safely you have my blessing.” Gareth cheered at Mohg’s assent and went looking for an etching needle. He did his work efficiently and neatly, quickly but flawlessly rewriting the laws that governed their very existence. He placed his tools down and after inspecting the rune and handed it to Mohg.

“It needs to be placed back with the rest of the ring, you know where that is correct?” His flame flickered in a wink as he lay down on his work bench and removed his shirt.

“Miquella drew it out of his body without opening himself up,” Mohg teased. “Perhaps you ought to do it yourself, dearest.”

“Come on now, you would deny me the pleasure of being taken apart by your hands?”

“Beg me to do it.”

“Please cut me open. I wish to feel your hands inside of me, deeper than anyone else could ever touch. I want it to be you that restores this rune and grants others the joy that you have given me.” Mohg carefully selected a saw from among the implements his husband kept here. He gently pressed its teeth against the skin of Garreth’s chest. His breath hitched as he felt the cold metal touch his skin. Mohg tapped twice on Gareth’s wrist for confirmation. He tapped twice back. Mohg began to saw.

Gareth did not cry out but the pain made him throw his head back and arch his back. Mohg forced him back down. It went quickly with his brute strength and soon he saw the gold glimmer of the ring within his husband's rib cage. He took his time fitting the rune back in place, feeling each rune with his hand one by one, marking the places where he noticed Garreth’s handwriting instead of Marika’s or the god who Placidusax was once consort to’s. The King Eternal sobbed quietly beneath him. Everytime Mohg ran his finger along a rune, he felt his husband’s dick lurch weakly between his legs. For some reason, he felt that his heart wasn’t in it tonight. He slotted the rune carefully back inside the ring and closed up the wound he’d made with a rudimentary healing incantation, trusting Gareth to be able to do the rest. Golden light suffused the room as he slowly regained the strength to heal himself.
“Why did you stop?” He felt the skin of his chest to ensure there was no scarring.

“I’m sorry, I was too much in my own head after my meeting with Miquella.”

“There is no need to apologize. Your comfort in such a situation is just as important as my own. If you aren’t in the right mindset you need not feel obligated to continue.” He placed a hand on Mohg’s forearm. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“If our time was limited, if we both only had one life to live, would you still have agreed to spend yours with me?”

“If I only had one life to live it would make the choice that much easier.” He slipped the guise of his human face over the flame. “If both our time was limited I would want to spend as much of it with you as possible. Choosing to spend eternity with someone was a much more difficult one for me,” he admitted,” but because it was you, I could make it in a heartbeat.” He pulled himself closer to Mohg, stopping just before his lips met his teeth. His warm brown eyes looked into Mohg’s yellow ones. Only if you feel ready, darling. Mohg leaned forward into him and Gareth gently kissed his teeth before moving up to his cheek and nose and over his eyes, working his way slowly up to his forehead. Mohg reflexively licked over his teeth and found the enamel whole and unmelted.

Mohg knew the body could be changed by blood. He had seen today what his own had done to Miquella, mirroring the changes that overtook his own body when he had first devoted himself to the Formless Mother. He and his brother had once been far more similar in countenance, until the fire in his blood was lit and his fangs and claws began to grow even wilder than they had before. He had consumed a great deal of the King Eternal’s blood over the years. Mohg indicated for Gareth to pull away. “Is there something wrong?” he asked. Mohg touched his cheek. The skin of his hand didn’t bubble and melt as it usually did. He held his face with two hands, still he didn’t burn. Mohg ran his hand through Gareth’s illusory hair, gently scratching along his scalp. It felt soft to the touch. He withdrew his unwounded hand and showed it to his husband.

“You have further marked me as yours, dearest.” Garreth took it in his own hands, inspecting it and tracing over the lines of his palm.

“Are you alright with that?” He avoided making eye contact.

“Well, it will allow me to show you greater affection in public.” He ruffled Gareth’s hair. The gentle touch saying what he still had difficulty admitting aloud. If it is you, I will never mind.