Elden Ring:After the end

The strong rays of solar light that seem to be products of the midday sun, pass through the branches of the Golden Tree and as a product of its touch, they change to have a golden filter just like everything in Leyndell. 

Beneath such an imposing Golden Tree that seems to glow in an incredibly golden hue, lies the capital city of Leyndell, where the Lord of the Circle and his retinue dwell. 

At one of the multiple exit or entrance gates, a caravan consisting of about three carriages and twenty soldiers dressed in the same outfit can be seen. 

"It lives up to its name. By the way, Lansseax, are you going like this?"

A young man with dirty blond hair, brown eyes, pale complexion and dressed in what looks like brown scaled leather armor plus a silk cape on the outside. Yes, followers of fashion souls will easily recognize it as the armor of the Nox monks, quite light and beautiful if one must admit.

"Obviously, I don't plan to change my form for them. Although I have learned magic to change people's cognition... Thanks to that I didn't have to maintain an awkward form when I played a priestess."

"Do whatever you want if you're confident Lansseax. By the way, can you two stop staring at me like that?"

"No!"

Being speechless in front of Sister Night Maiden's sincerity, I looked at her quizzically for a few seconds and before I can open my mouth again, Swordswoman Nox jumps on her to cover her mouth. 

"Ha ha ha ha... Just let what my sister just said slide. But you look so much better in Nox than in gold, if you were in your real form it would be even better."

"Thanks... I guess?"

"You're welcome. Boc, why don't we go talk inside? Sis you're coming too."

As I watched the Nox sisters drag Boc towards Leyndell, a small shiver ran down my back and I most likely know why. 

Shaking my head to put aside the muttering about making new clothes by those two, I bid Al farewell with a simple nod and advanced towards the caravan along with Lansseax. 

...Some time later…

"Everything here is so... Surprisingly golden."

We had already left Leyndell for an hour or two, the once imposing walls which seem to be indestructible have been left behind and then along the way everything was rather monotonous. 

"We are on the Altus Plateau, the center of power of the Golden Order, Queen Marika and her golden dynasty. It was obvious that everything would have this layer of golden color to suit their tastes."

"If I couldn't detect boredom under that cloak of pride, I would believe in you not being tired of this monotonous landscape."

Opening my eyes to look up at the blue sky, well I try, as the branches of the Golden Tree cover much of it and it's warm sun. Without moving my body resting on the roof of the carriage, I turn my head to the side and look towards Lansseax, who sits on the edge of the carriage with his legs down. 

"I may be tired, but I won't throw a tantrum about it. I know I have an idea, why don't you talk to them?"

"No fun, wait this means dragons don't have a high spiritual sense, well I can explain it to you."

Lifting my body easily by putting some force on my lower area, I sit cross-legged and look towards Lansseax who looks quite puzzled. 

"Are you serious?"

"Sure, we have nothing else to do and I don't think you want to spend all your time in silence."

"You know I'm a dragon, I can easily go a few months or years without talking and it won't do anything to me."

"I'm going to explain it to you. ok? OK?"

"Okay..."

Half forcing Lansseax to listen to my explanation, it might make me look like the bad guy, but I'm already tired of seeing electric goats, golden things and the occasional demi-human running away when they see us coming. 

"Ahem, now I'm going to answer your question about why I don't talk to those soldiers. Take a good look at them, not only with your eyes, but also with your magic sense."

"They're quite... Predictable? Monotone? Unnatural?"

"Not bad for the first attempt you've made. That feeling you have subconsciously, it forms because they don't line up with everything you've seen so far."

Speaking in a convoluted manner just to catch more of her attention, because dragons may stand out for their pride, but they are also quite curious and the more I sugarcoat my words the more into it Lansseax will be. 

"So they're not human?"

"Obviously, they're spirits."

"Aldrich, you want me to take a swing at you..."

"You think you're capable of doing that?"

Approaching Lansseax without hiding, I extended my index finger and crushed his cheek with the tip of my finger. His skin was incredibly soft, the truth had considered that it would be more resistant and even more so considering the small scales still visible all over his body.

"Grr..."

"Calm down and let's get on with explaining the matter. The strangeness stems from the contact you've had with the spirits of Leyndell over the past day. Even though they too are spirits, they have more substance, they seem totally ordinary humans."

"Tsk, you're right about that. That mimetic tear doesn't look any different from a person and the Nox sisters are pretty human too."

Noticing that she had already given up on stopping my finger, she withdrew it from her cheek, lowered her watchful gaze and guided my full hand to one of her horns. It may be disrespectful, but I've never seen a person with these features and Boc doesn't count as such a man as Blaidd the wolf. 

Blaidd the wolf, eh. I remember we worked together for a while under Ranni's command. Whether it was in chasing the traitor of the hound knight, the search for the city of Nokstella, also the festival of Radahn... A good comrade was Blaidd. 

"Are you thinking of someone else... while touching one... one of my horns!"

"Calm down, calm down, calm down Lansseax. "

Maybe it was too much to use a spell on her to calm her down, maybe it was, but I wasn't going to taste the red lightning Lansseax was preparing. Literally from all over her body you could see little red bolts of lightning coming out, it seemed to me it was an incantation just like Vyke's Dracorrayo.

"I'm leaving. Now stay the rest of the trip alone."

"Come on, don't overdo it."

"I'm leaving."

"Let's keep talking, Lansseax."

Holding his shoulders a bit tightly, I again make Lansseax take a seat on the roof of the carriage and ignoring his trembling... It's out of anger... Right? Right...? 

"Ahem, as I was saying. The strangeness comes from that stark difference between the two, even though they are both essentially the same thing, spirits."

"A lot of back and forth and you still don't explain why not to talk to them."

Seeing that Lansseax has managed to contain his temper, I let go of his shoulders and sat back in the carriage. 

"In a nutshell even though they are both spirits, these are more... Weak, no substance, they don't have a personality or even very distinct memories. They only follow orders or commands that are moderately complex."

"So if these humans who are weak and can show themselves as spirits, doesn't that mean that at some point the spirits of stronger beings could appear. Imagine if the spiritual and physical planes were not separated... What chaos that would be."

"Lansseax..."

"Luckily there are only a few places where the planes converge and there are even fewer people who have an affinity for spirits."

For every word that leaves Lansseax's lips, a bead of cold sweat forms on my back, because there must be so much trouble on the horizon... Damn life.