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deathblightprince · 1 year

Text

A Request

A long lore dabble. 1929 words. Fluff with hints of angst.

Summary: Godwyn enters communion to ask Lionel a very important question regarding himself and Fia.

Notes: This is an AU version of Godwyn I have created for this RP blog. This is a divergent canon fic. Also, I don't know if Lionel is tarnished so I'm just assuming he is, don't @ me.

Gnarled black roots wrapped tightly around his wrists, thorns pushing with a force that threatened to pierce his skin. The sting that came with this ritual was not new to him. He sought to embrace the sting, for it was a gateway to his realm.

He had come to learn that his newly found abilities made communication with Those Who Live in Death, and Fia's Champions easy and relatively fast. During his and Fia's stay in the Roundtable Hold, using Communion to his realm was essential to communicating his orders to Those Who Live in Death. Even now that he resides back within the deeply nestled roots of the Erdtree, he found communion more efficient than getting up somewhere high above the decaying masses and making a speech.

However, this night he would not make any orders to his subjects. Rather, he entered communion to speak to one person to ask for something. Something of great importance, something that could alter the course of his new life.

As the thorns pierced his skin and his blood began to drip, he felt his immediate surroundings fade away. The crackling fireplace and the faint sound of Fia lightly snoring gave way to the sound of dripping water and corpse flies. His sight fogged to see a more dark and gloomy area that was lined with deathroot from the walls to the ground. It leads upwards, reaching far above his head, twisting around the Erdtree roots like a parasite.

This was his tomb. The heart of his realm, and the heart of the new upcoming age.

His voice broke through the sound of water and flies. "Come forth Lionel the Lionhearted, Champion of Fia." Like many of his dutiful subjects of the living dead, a man adorned in abnormally rotund armor stepped forward from the fog. His great Epee slung over his shoulder and his staff hanging from his other hand.

He offered a courteous bow to The Prince of Death. "You summoned me, Lord Godwyn?" His voice was slightly muffled within the disk-like mask. The hunk of metal tilted upwards to see the Prince through pinholes.

"Aye, I hath summoned thee here for an important question." He answered Lionel, his cloudy eyes laid upon his oddly-shaped visage.

"Of course, my lord." While Lionel’s voice spoke of calm compliance, he couldn't help but wonder anxiously why Godwyn would want to ask him about anything.

"Fear not, for I do not wish to quiz thee. Prithee, humor me, will thou?" Sensing his tension, Godwyn attempted to cut the growing tension. He knew Lionel was more loyal to Fia than him, and understandably so.

"Very well." Lionel nods.

Godwyn started with a long breath. "As thou'rt aware, Fia has survived the deathbed ritual whilst resurrecting me. She has not left mine side, even after recovery. She has become my companion not only in death but within mine new life. Before my new life, thou hath dedicated thyself to protecting her with thy sword and staff. Thou hath declared thyself to be her father, protecting her like she was thy flesh and blood, correct?"

"Yes." Lionel nods once more. "I cared for her like my own child. In turn, she offered me purpose and a peaceful death once I lost my sight of grace."

"Fia tends to nurture the soul of those she comes across." Godwyn offered a soft smile. "She offered beyond nurture for mine own soul. She offered me comfort, solace, and intimacy when I trusted no one else. She has become my rock. A constant companion through it all..." Godwyn continued.

"So I must ask you, Lionel, the Lionhearted... Will thou accept mine proposal to take Fia's hand in marriage?"

Lionel was almost stunned to silence. First, he stared at the Prince silently through his helmet, then a muffled chortle escaped him.

"My Lord, what you're asking for is no easy decision."

"I understand. Thou may tell me what grips thee." The question was finally out, but Godwyn couldn't rest just yet. He needed to hear Lionel’s concerns and quell them before he could get an answer.

"She does not understand this world like the two of us." Lionel's tone noticeably dropped low. "She has lived a very... macabre sheltered life. Grace had essentially uprooted her, torn her away from the only life she knew. I met her when she still had that flicker of grace. She was so scared... of everyone, and everything. She had no real way of defending herself from anything, even hawks or wolves. All she could do was hide away and stay out of sight. I happened to stumble upon her hideaway when I was exploring the woods of Limgrave. She attempted to flee, but I stopped her. It took her so long to come down from tears so she could tell me her name."

Lionel knew more about Fia's past than Godwyn. While Fia had told Godwyn bits and pieces of her past life as a deathbed companion, he had not known of her life when she freshly rose from grace. He had assumed that it didn't matter much to Fia, or that it was too painful for her to remember. She often shied away from speaking about things that were painful for her to remember, like memories of lost childhood friends.

"Thoust were driven to care for her in her time of need, yes?" Godwyn inquired.

"Correct. It wasn't immediate. It took time for her to warm up to me. To tell me about herself, and what she was doing there. I don't know what exactly drew me to her at the time, but I believe it was because she looked like my own daughter. Same hair and eyes, a soft voice. If she looked much younger I would have thought it was her."

"Thou hath a daughter of thy own?" Godwyn perked up curiously.

"Yes. She was my wee flower. She was a fragile little thing, her health had failed her since the day she was born. She passed away when she was about 10…” Lionel’s tone had become more sorrowful.

"Fia has a gentle soul like hers... It killed me to have seen her in her darkest hours. I just felt compelled to help her. Who else would in a world like this? The next tarnished would have likely killed her."

Godwyn winced at the thought of someone hurting Fia. It's one thing to consider the dangers she had to face, but the mere thought of her getting hurt or killed while she was alone genuinely upset him.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, Godwyn swallowed a lump in his throat. "I am genuinely sorry for thy loss. Truly, I cannot imagine how painful that must hath been. I... I can see why thou hath cared for Fia like thy own."

"I call her my daughter because she is my daughter. I love her as much as I love my flesh and blood. I braved through Linurnia and Altus Plateau to reach Leyendell with her at my side. I was fatally wounded by one of those damned tree sentinels, and she was there for my last breath. She would have probably tried to revive me if she already didn't make up her mind to revive you."

Godwyn furrowed his brows, panged by the undertones of anguish that rode within Lionel's speech. The pain of losing a loved one, finding another, and working tooth and nail to get them where they need to be. His intentions were pure to protect and uplift, all in memory of his late daughter.

"If thoust do not mind I ask, how did she come to learn about me? When did she make the decision to revive me?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to prod further into raw nerves that still needed time to grieve. Godwyn was curious about how Fia came to know about him and his story. This was something Fia had yet to tell herself. After this, he would have to ask for her perspective given the time and comfort.

"I lent her my invitation to the Roundtable Hold. Once she was there, she spent her time reading up on the Landscape of The Lands Between. I don't know what specific books she read, but one of them mentioned you. She slowly pieced together your past by reading different books. Then she found a book specifically about The Night of The Black Knives, and you became the center of her attention from then on. She could hardly stop talking about you for the first month. A few months later, she tells me you gave her purpose once again, and that was to revive your banished soul." Lionel did not sound perturbed by Godwyn's request for information. He readjusted the Eepee slung over his shoulder and glanced at the side, viewing the dozens of souls that wandered Godwyn's realm. Many of them were warriors from times long gone.

"She could not fight, she could hardly even survive on her own. She would have been destined to die if I didn't find her. She had little motivation to follow the guidance of grace. She felt like she had lost her purpose, and that she was worthless and doomed to wander until death found her. I remember the day she came to me one night on my travels, her eyes alight while she spoke to me of a Demi-God who once fought and defeated the ancient dragons, only to befriend one of them and bring peace and diplomacy to The Lands Between. How the Demi-God was slain in the night, and now his soul is gone while his body continues to live. She was smitten with you, I would say. It appears she still is." Lionel’s tone noticeably picked up.

Godwyn snickered at Lionel's comment. Fia wished not to die after reviving him, that should tell Godwyn how smitten she truly was.

"I believe so." He smiled at Lionel. "She is the flicker in my eyes. She is what wills me to get up in the morning. She gave me the wings to fly, and now she is the wind beneath my wings. I could not hath gone this far without her." There is a brief pause between them.

"Will you make me a promise, my Lord?" Lionel asks.

"Of course."

"Do you promise me that you will continue to care for her, give her life more purpose than just reviving you?"

"Aye, I will.” Godwyn nodded. “I wish to make her my consort. She will become a queen and a mother to Those Who Live in Death. She will be a beacon to our new faith and philosophy. Mine consort eternal within the Age of Duskborn."

There was a lull of silence between them. Lionel pondered his final answer to The Prince for a few moments.

"Very well." He finally answers. “You have my blessing, my Lord."

Godwyn's smile grew into a grin as a feeling of relief and joy welled up inside of him. This is it, he's going to pop the question to Fia. He's going to marry his deathbed companion, and soon he shall be a god with his consort eternal at his side.

He bows reverently to Lionel. "My dearest thanks, Lionel."

"It is an honor, my Prince," Lionel responds, offering a bow in return. "Shall I go now?"

"Thou may leave now. Thy work is done here."

With that conclusion, Lionel dissolves into a fine grey mist. Godwyn then severs the root that connected him to his realm, returning to the Lands Between.

#{ verse: prince of death }#{ dabble }#{fia: my deathbed companion}#godwyn the prince of death #lionel the lionhearted #elden ring #elden ring fanfic

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