Maidenless No Longer (Elden Ring)

Ranni had thought she made herself perfectly clear to her Consort. She had thought that… well, not that he was entirely on board with her plans, for their last conversation had left her certain he was not. Still, she had told him then that she could be flexible. She had prepared herself to make room for his wants and needs in the new order she intended to build.
 
But she had not expected this. While Ranni, even in her new ascendant form, could not peer into the heart of the Erdtree, she had no need to, to see how Queen Marika’s influence over the Lands Between had waned and been waning for quite some time, ever since the Shattering. The Eternal Sovereign, along with the Outer God she served, were weakened by the breaking of the Elden Ring. Their power was not what it once was.
 
And yet, here Marika stood, hale and hearty, as strong as ever. Ranni would have been afraid, if it weren’t for her own power. The power that only her consort’s dogged pursuit of her had truly made possible. In the aftermath of her suicidal charge, if he had not come to her with the ring, she would never have realized her true potential.
 
For that, she would always love him. But for this? For this, she wasn’t sure how long it would take to forgive him. They could have had it all, if he had but let Marika die along with the vassal beast. Instead, it seemed he’d healed the Eternal Queen, and slew the beast with his own two very capable hands. Now… now he expected them both to stand down? Did… no… surely not?
 
Ranni’s tone is just as exasperated as the kindling maiden’s, as she addresses her Consort.
 
“Dear Consort… surely, thou dost not intend for reconciliation to take place here. I have allowed thee much, mine consort, and will promise to allow thee more, further still… but thou eyes grow too large for thy stomach.”
 
Marika stiffens, at being compared to food product. The golden blonde’s eyes blaze with anger as she looks past the Tarnished she owes her life to, in order to glare directly at Ranni.
 
“My son is dead, because of thee. Or dost thou deny it?!”
 
Folding one pair of hands in front of her, Ranni keeps the other pair at the ready, always. Should a fight break out despite her Consort interposing his formidable self between them, she will not be caught off guard. Nevertheless, Ranni straightens her back and juts out her chin.
 
“I have never denied it. I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite. I did it all.”
 
A vindictive, vicious snarl spreads across Queen Marika’s face. And though she does not step past the Tarnished between them, she does jab a finger in Ranni’s direction.
 
“SEE?! She admits it! Stand aside, Tarnished! No matter what she hath promised, thine heart has been gifted to a murderer!”
 
Tis true. That does not mean Ranni will just stay quiet and take it.
 
“And what, pray tell, dost that make thee?”
 
Marika stiffens, but Ranni isn’t done.
 
“Thou hast named me kinslayer. Tis true. I arranged the Night of the Black Knives and saw my cousin Godwyn the Golden murdered on the same night that I was slain in turn. But then, what dost that mean of thy culpability, Queen Marika?”
 
At that, the Eternal Sovereign rears back as if struck. Suddenly, she looks hunted… more hunted, even, then when the Elden Beast sought to make a weapon of her. Ranni, sensing weakness, happily pushes forward.
 
“I did not see it at first, of course. Thy role in the play. But all the same, I have had a long time to come to terms with my past… and thy part in it.”
 
The beautiful blonde Goddess’ jaw works, and she hesitantly shakes her head.
 
“I know not what-!”
 
But Ranni does not leave her room for her denials. Though he remains silent as ever, the Tarnished clearly knows what she speaks of already. His quiet is not shock, but simple watchful calm. However, the kindling maiden on the other hand, born of Marika’s making and a fragment of Ranni, does not know this part. And there… there, Ranni sees an opportunity.
 
“There’s nothing wrong with a well-laid scheme, Queen Marika. Thou should take pride in one’s plans. Thy gambit succeeded, after all. The vassal beast lieth dead. The Greater Will’s influence, shattered. The Lands Between are thine prize. And all it cost… was thine own golden son.”
 
At hearing her crime laid bare before her, at being forced to face down what she’d played a part in, Marika… snaps. A hoarse, inhuman scream leaves the Numen woman’s throat. She lunges forward, attempting to attack Ranni. But not with all the mighty golden power at her fingertips, not with the glory of a God, but with her bare hands.
 
Ranni doesn’t have to lift a finger. Her Tarnished catches Marika by the wrists and holds her firmly, anchoring her in place and not letting her past. Hm. Perhaps now he would see that she was not meant to continue on. Perhaps now he could see that Queen Marika the Eternal’s time had come at long last. Perhaps-
 
“It was not supposed to be HIM! Thy plan was obscured to me! I thought… I believed that thy target wouldst be Radagon!”
 
That gets Ranni’s attention, the Lunar Princess’ eye widening in shock.
 
“Mine father? Thou’rt a cruel sort, to hope for such a thing.”
 
“There was to be no success! I wished for thy failure! I set defenses! But then…”
 
Ranni’s eye widens even further, and she finds herself finishing the sentence unconsciously.
 
“… Then I went for Godwyn…”
 
The fight leaves Marika, at hearing her son’s name on Ranni’s lips. The Eternal Sovereign collapses to the ground, Ranni’s Consort dropping down with her and holding her still so she could not hurt anyone… or even herself.
 
“My boy… O’ Godwyn, I am so, so sorry…”
 
Gazing down at her only peer in the entirety of the Lands Between, Ranni isn’t sure what she feels. Pity? Was this why her Consort had saved Marika? So Ranni could rub her face in what she’d done? Was she supposed to gain some sort of satisfaction from this moment? If it twas a gift, it twas in singularly poor taste. She wasn’t sure how to feel, not about any of this. She-
 
“Princess Ranni… do you truly feel nothing?”
 
The kindling maiden appears out of nowhere at her side, having snuck up on her while her attention was focused solely on Marika. And then, to Ranni’s utmost shock, Melina does the unthinkable. She reaches out and takes hold of one of Ranni’s hands, gripping it tightly in her own. The two women turn to each other, their single open eyes meeting, and in that moment Ranni’s breath is stolen from her lungs.
 
Melina would never be anything more than a fragment. Ranni would not brook any sort of true comparison between them. She refused to let the kindling maiden be called her other half, or for it to be said that they were equals in any way. But… there was no denying that Melina came from her. Created and brought into existence by Marika, certainly, but she was not made whole cloth from nothing. No, she was built on what Ranni had left behind, what she had discarded that night.
 
Not her body, for that remained atop the Divine Tower of Liurnia. But her guilt. Her sorrow. Her agony at the choice she’d had to make that night, when Godwyn had been slain. He was not her sibling. He was not her brother. But he was still blood, still her cousin. He was family, and though they had not been particularly close, she had still cared for him in her own way, before Godfrey’s Exile and Radagon’s Betrayal had ruined everything.
 
Ranni had discarded those emotions that night when she’d hardened her heart to do what needed to be done. And Marika, whether she’d intended to or not, had picked them up and used them to craft Melina, a fragment of Ranni’s own self.
 
Hands clasped, eyes met, Ranni feels it. Everything that she had refused to let herself feel all this time. The sorrow, the guilt, the agony. Godwyn’s death… was a tragedy, but a necessary evil. And yet, just because it was necessary did not make it any less evil, did it?
 
“… I am sorry. Truly, I am.”
 
And then, she draws in breath and pulls her hand free of Melina’s, turning the full force of her focus towards the Tarnished.
 
“But dost thou not see, dear consort? This is why! This is why I seeketh to remove mine influence from the Lands Between! It is as I told thee! Mine order wouldst be far removed from the earth beneath our feet! I wouldst abandon this soil, to leave it to the mortals to decide for themselves what to make of their time amongst the living! Wouldst thou have it otherwise?! Even now, wouldst thou disagree, my one and only lord?!”
 
By the end of it, Ranni’s voice is somewhat shrill. She can’t help it; she’s feeling desperation when this should be the moment of her triumph. And then… he shakes his head, and it feels like her whole world is crashing down around her.
 
-x-X-x-
 
After her collapse, Marika had fallen quiet. Wallowing in her own emotions. Perhaps it was unbecoming of a God such as her, but she had to admit, it was… almost n-nice, being held in a big, strong man’s burly arms. This Tarnished… he reminded her of Godfrey.
 
Regardless, she listens with only half an ear as her kindling maiden confronts Ranni. Truly, she only actually starts properly listening again when words of apology of all things suddenly fall from the Lunar Princess’ mouth. After scoring such a mortal blow against Marika, after throwing her own culpability in Godwyn’s death back in her face, the Eternal Queen had not thought to hear such a thing.
 
And yet, there it is. Ranni apologizes. And so, Marika listens, as she goes into a rant that makes it clear she’s been punishing herself for her own culpability all this time. Her intentions, to remove herself from the board when all was said and done and take all of the power with her… they were almost noble in its own way, but Marika isn’t surprised when the Tarnished denies her with a simple shake of his head.
 
In the wake of his display, Ranni’s crestfallen expression should have amused Marika. It should have filled her with satisfaction. So why then, does she find herself trying to comfort Ranni with a gentle, quiet tone.
 
“Thou shouldst know, he is right. It wouldst not work.”
 
Ranni stiffens, her jaw clenching, but in the end, the Lunar Princess manages to look at her with curiosity, instead of hatred.
 
“Explain thyself.”
 
Feeling unaccountably exhausted, Marika waves a hand lazily at their surroundings.
 
“Remove thyself from this soil if thou wisheth to do so. Divest thine power from the earth and travel the stars. But pretend not that thou dost this for the mortals. All thy departure will accomplish is to invite new predators in to take thy place.”
 
Ranni’s eye widens at that, and Marika allows herself a small, crooked smile, even though the tears have not yet dried on her face.
 
“Think of me what thee will. I, at least, did not conceive to abandon this world to the Outer Gods that even now seeketh claim over it. Nor will I ever, so long as I still draw breath.”
 
The Tarnished, suddenly, begins to stand. Marika is startled but stands as well at his mild urging. And when he offers her his hand, she blushes but takes it, beginning to understand him more and more by the moment. And as such, she is neither surprised… nor particularly aggrieved when he offers Ranni his other hand, the Lunar Princess going still as she stares down at the outstretched palm.
 
“… I see. Dear Consort… thou wouldst hath me share mine responsibility with Queen Marika. Wouldst have us stand united then, against the enemies at the door?”
 
For a long moment, Ranni looks mulish, as if she would rather do anything but agree. And yet, after that moment passes, her one open eye drifts shut and she sucks in a deep breath, before stepping forward and taking his hand as well.
 
“Thou’rt ever a dogged fellow, dear consort. Very well. We shall see, what thy Plan shall wrought.”
 
Before Marika can offer some biting reply, the Tarnished between them smiles… and something begins to happen. No, not something… THE thing. Ah, perhaps that is not necessarily the noblest way to put it, but it’s hard to put into words. The Elden Ring, shattered so long ago by her own hands… begins to reform.
 
Tis the Tarnished who is guiding the process, and the way in which he does so as if he is a practiced hand at it makes Marika gawk in shock. Not even Radagon, who could be said to be the closest to her, could repair the Elden Ring once she shattered it. And this mortal Tarnished was doing so, albeit with her and Ranni’s help.
 
Great Runes return to the Elden Ring, one by one. The Greater Shards of the shattered ring’s power, coming home at long last. One after another, and Marika can feel them, each of them, suffused with the presence of her children, and the children of her other half and the Carian Queen. Each of the shardbearers who held onto them all this time has left their mark.
 
One might consider it taint, but the bad is washed away, and only the good is left behind. Their sins, their crimes, their evil… is forgiven in that moment, while their strength, their might, and their fortitude are brought into the new Elden Ring, to strengthen it beyond its original making. There’s something else strengthening this new Elden Ring beyond it’s original as well, and it takes Marika a moment to place it.
 
It’s coming from the Tarnished himself, but it reminds her, quite painfully, of her beloved Miquella and his work in blunting and pushing back the influence of the Outer Gods. Tis almost as if this Tarnished had been pricked by a hundred-hundred thousand of Miquella’s needles, as if he has made his body into a vessel, into a Great Rune that can hold the Outer Gods at bay just by existing.
 
That in and of itself is amazing, and then… Marika’s breath catches, as she feels it. A new Rune, not one that she recognizes but also one that is intimately familiar to her. She knows its name immediately and knows where it comes from. The Mending Rune of the Death Prince… and the proof that her son Godwyn is not wholly gone from this world.
 
Tears stream down Marika’s face, as she welcomes even that Rune into the new Order that the Tarnished is creating. Neither of Gold or Moon, but of everything and everyone. This next era, this new age… will be something most unique indeed, that much is for certain. And when all is said and done, and a new Elden Lord has been crowned, Marika knows exactly what she wants…
 
-x-X-x-
 
It’s beautiful. Watching the three of them remake the Elden Ring, watching as her Tarnished lover is at long last crowned Elden Lord… it’s absolutely beautiful. Melina watches on, bearing witness to history. She’s not upset that she’s not directly part of it. No, she’s played her part, long past what she thought she would. And when it’s all done, when it’s finally over, she’s not all that surprised by Marika’s first words either.
 
“I wouldst ask for time alone with mine new Lord. It wouldst seem I have a LOT of catching up to do.”
 
Ranni’s eye twinkles as she steps away from her Consort’s side… then, said eye darts over to Melina and her lips curl up into a wicked smile.
 
“I taketh no issue with that, Queen Marika. However… I must insist upon the inclusion of thy kindling maiden. It is a mother’s place to teach thy daughter, after all, is it not?”
 
Wait, what?
 
Marika’s eyes turn towards her, her lips pursed for a moment before finally, she nods begrudgingly.
 
“Very well.”
 
Wait, WHAT?!

-x-X-x-

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