lina began by running the Whetstone Knife gently along the blade of the halberd. Small, grayish, translucent crystals flaked away with each scrape.
"Should you wish to bestow a new Ash of War upon a blade that already bears one," she explained, "you must first strip away the old one."
She sprinkled the Storm Stomp Ash of War evenly across the halberd's surface as she continued her quiet instruction. "Ashes of War are but remnants of warriors who once mastered a singular art of battle. To wield them is to call upon the mory of such a one, using the ash as a vessel through which their technique is made manifest. That is why they require Focus to use."
lina's pale eyes flicked to him. "The cost is well t. Surely you feel it—the refinent in each stroke. The mastery wrought through tens of thousands of motions, each one shaping the last."
Lucian nodded. The skill Stamp (Upward Cut) from his previous ash was one thing, but when channeled through magic, it carried a perfection that could never be faked—every motion sharpened by countless battles fought long before his ti.
"If I fully master the art within one ash, and then replace it with another… could I use both techniques?" he asked.
lina's lips curved faintly. "Difficult, indeed… yet, should you have truly mastered the first art by your own hand, why should it not be within reach?"
She pressed her palm against the whetstone knife, imbuing it with a faint glow. Runes etched along the blade lit softly as the ash lted into liquid light, seeping into the halberd's steel.
"With this Knife, I may alter a weapon's scaling—from standard, to that of Quality. Shall I do so for you?"
Lucian hesitated. He vaguely rembered that Quality scaling balanced both strength and dexterity bonuses, but reduced base damage. Thick scaling, by contrast, heavily favored strength.
"What's the effect of Quality, exactly?" he asked.
"It shall lessen the raw force of each blow," lina said, "yet grant greater advantage from both your strength and dexterity."
Her explanation jogged his mory. Quality scaling took both attributes evenly—good for those who trained in both. But for now, his early investnt in strength and dexterity likely wouldn't outweigh the base damage loss.
"Leave it standard," he decided.
lina nodded and removed the old Ash of War, placing each crystal of the lunging cleave into the pouch that once held the Storm Stomp. She handed him the halberd and the whetstone knife.
"It's done. Would you want to test it?"
Lucian could feel the difference even before he swung. The mory of the Storm Stomp's wielder lingered in the weapon—ready to be called forth with a thought.
"Not yet," he said. "First, I want to level up."
After slaying so many foes, he expected a windfall of runes… but he had only earned just over eleven hundred. Without the critical executions, it would have been far less.
lina explained, "Runes dwell within the flesh of those bound to the Golden Order. A part fuses with the flesh itself. To strike with overwhelming force—like wringing a soaked cloth—can draw forth those runes from within."
It matched his mory of the ga: killing with at least 1.5 tis the damage threshold yielded about 20% more runes.
Fortunately, he still had three hundred in savings, plus over two hundred from slaying the misbegotten along the way—just enough to put a point into vigor, leaving barely a hundred runes to his na.
The misbegotten road Castle Morne in hordes, likely more vicious than anything in the ga. The Storm Stomp would give him another source of wide-area damage.
He rose from the site of grace. The mist that had lingered in Ranni's presence had faded, though Irina and the rchant still slept nearby.
Night still cloaked the land. He left them undisturbed, lit his torch, and mounted Torrent.
"Hmm… your coat looks thinner here," he murmured, brushing the spectral steed's flank. Torrent kept running without reply.
They soon reached the forested slope and the village within. A great bonfire stood at its center, but no one would ever gather around it again.
Lucian searched the place and found a Fla Crest Wooden Shield on a corpse. Beyond the village lay the Callu Baptismal Church, its roof long gone, the great Statue of Marika weathered by ti.
Beneath it rested a gilded chalice—the Sacred Tear.
lina's voice echoed beside his ear. "That chalice shall let you restore the sacred droplet's blessing to your flask, strengthening its healing."
Lucian took it without hesitation. That was the reason he had co.
Back in the empty village, he gripped his halberd to test the Storm Stomp. Following the mory within the weapon, he gathered magic into his legs and stamped down. A gust of wind surged outward, ruffling the grass and scattering dust in a two-ter ring before fading.
Not bad—enough to disrupt enemy attacks and throw off projectiles.
'Not enough.'
The voice of the Ancient King rumbled through his mind. 'You have seen the true storm before.'
Lucian's thoughts flashed back to the Chapel of Anticipation, to the endless gales that lashed that lonely isle.
"How do I reach it?" he asked inwardly.
'Imagine it. Beco the storm.'
Guided by the Ancient King's will, he pressed deeper into the mory of wind and thunder. His next stomp unleashed a far greater blast—gales screaming through the village, walls creaking, wooden beams scarred by invisible blades.
He stared in surprise. The Focus (FP) cost hadn't changed, but the range and power had grown imnsely.
'Better… but still far from the true storm,' the king said. 'I shall show you once. Watch well.'
Lucian felt the king seize his magic. The ground shook as a tempest erupted—tearing houses apart, shattering the bonfire and its stone base.
For a heartbeat, the true storm had descended upon the village.
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[T/N:
Yes, killing an enemy with a single strike that deals at least 150% of their maximum health results in a 20% bonus to the runes earned from that kill. This chanic, known as an "overkill" bonus, has been present in previous 'FromSoftware' gas and carries over to Elden Ring. I can't believe I just learned sothing so 'important' from this fanfic. ]
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