I OWN NOTHING

If you have to ask me, someone that likes Berserk, Dark Souls, Bloodborne and now shows that he also likes League of Legends, why I do this I'd have to ask…

What the Hell is wrong with you?! This is Solaire we're talking about! I want him to be happy!

X-X-X-X-X

Two knights sat down next to each other, the winds of Firelink Shrine gently making the red feather plume atop the helmet of one knight flutter.

"Brother… This will be our final battle soon. If that toothy serpent doth not lie to us…Perhaps we might still link the fire together, then?" One knight, clad in the armor of a true elite knight, rose his helmet up, a strong and determined voice coming from within his helmet.

"I… never got the chance to apologize to thee for thy valor... For saving me. That is." The elite knight begun, his voice hesitant as he didn't know how to say what he felt. His brother in arms if not blood rose his helmet, seeing his friend struggle to articulate his thanks.

"I was so alone then. So awash in the darkness, the pitch-black Abyss, I believed there was no other option but to…" He closed his fist, looking at a small sunlight medal, worn as the day above them was, yet a reminder of what he shared.

"I honestly believed at the time…you had to…" He couldn't bear to admit it to Solaire, his moment of weakness and fear of the unknown, of death. "Die…But it was thine warmth that reminded me. That even if I was a Darkwraith, thou were still my brother. My friend. And my comrade."

The elite knight continued, his thoughts coming out like a flood of water, much like when he had drained New Londo below them. He held out his darkness empowered hand, the red and black power his hand now possessed held a perfectly round sphere. With a single red eye open on it.

"I was so convinced thou had to die…it truly came as a surprise when I was reminded, not through thine words, but…through helping me. I'd forgotten that…When thou did save me there and then. I swore myself to a soul who suffered in quiet solitude. To absolve my sins, and to sooth the pain of another. And I learned the powers of Flame, rather than Darkness." He held out his opposite hand, fire embracing it and gently coiled around his fist as he gently held the orb out over the cliff they sat upon.

With a twist of his wrist, the orb fell far below them into the expanse below. To be broken and shattered far below.

"I swear to thee brother. We will end this and bring a new era upon all of Lordran. Not for a godling like Gwyndolin, not for Frampt, but for us." He rose, his hand gripping a straight sword tightly.

"And, for our comrades, new and old. For the knights of Catarina, for the good people of Astora, for all those who have helped us, for all those who still believe in good. We are knights of Astora, and heroes. Let us shine the sun once more upon this world." The elite knight outstretched his hand, the sun knight next to him gripping it with a warm smile behind his helmet.

"We will do this together, my dearest friend. I, Solaire of Astora, swear to you. We will fight the good Sun Gwyn together, and end his pain forever. We will link the Fire as one, and make this world…Better than it ever was." They swore oaths to each other, and as one, they walked towards the Lordvessel far below them.

X-X-X-X-X

It all felt like a bad dream of which he desired to wake up from. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Everything had lost the spark that once was what drove him forward. It just left him to ask himself if this journey was worth it, if it had been just a fool's quest for a goal that would never be achieved. Perhaps it was like the tale of Icarus, who once flew so close to the sun his wings burned, letting him fall to his death.

How ironic…

And yet…

There was one that stood by him, a strong knight with a strong faith, a strong arm and, most importantly, a strong heart.

The figure, clad in a blue tunic typical of an elite knight, reached to him. For a moment he wondered if there was a smile hidden in the helmet of the brave warrior who had extended a hand for him to reach, to keep moving forward in times of despair.

Together, they battled against him, against Lord Gwyn, the fallen deity that would burn anyone in his path to ashes, this Lord of Cinders was the ultimate foe they had ever faced together, worthy of their combined strength. Blow after fatal blow fell on the towering final enemy they would face together as Warriors of Sunlight, knights who fought for all that is good in the name of righteousness.

To fight against the one who they once idealized, who they believed had died a hero, it was as if mortal wounds struck their very hearts. Yet he and his dearest friend, they had persevered, through fire, through light, through shadow, through magma and dark, they had fought so many times together that every movement was in coordination.

When he was wounded, his friend would protect him with his shield, darkness enveloping one hand with him behind it and glowing balls of fire thrown at his opponent from its burning brother. When his friend fell back, he the Warrior of Sunlight stood forth, a valiant protector who cast lightning and parried Gwyn's blows with his shield so that he might deliver furious ripostes.

A glorious end awaited Gwyn when he was finally beaten, fire and lightning surged forward and for a brief moment the Old King had an ember of his once great glory returned.

The once great god stepped forward and offered the victorious warriors a single nod. A king's respect, a warrior's regret, and a god's departure, he offered all he had left to them both.

It was when the battle was over, that everything truly started. His dear friend had linked the fires, and as the blaze consumed them, had smiled and told him that his story was yet to fully end. Through fire consuming his armor and his body, his souls light fed its hunger and desire. Solaire could do nothing but watch as his friend's armor was engulfed entirely in fire.

Soon only a body made out of burning crackling flame was left, yet not a single scream was uttered as the Kiln was lit alight. The enormity of what they had done, the truth of what they had been promised revealed as a hollow lie, and the shock of watching his brother in arms burn all hit Solaire at once.

He broke down sobbing, was this what he had fought for so bravely? Was this the price both had to pay for killing their God? He would be left alive, sent back to his world without his dearest friend, time would never remember their struggles together, nor would anyone care as long as the fires were lit. A cycle to bear repeating, a crisis that shall never end, for all eternity, Light and Dark would wage war for supremacy.

The cruelty of such a monstrous fate was enough to bring a knight to despair. Yet, his dearest friend merely walked towards him, his body burning alight as the First Flame greedily devoured him whole.

"Solaire. Do not cry for this fate of mine, for it twas I who chose it willingly. I did this, so you may not be lost… I fell to Chaos, I fell to Shadow… in the pitch black Abyss it was your light that I saw and that which guided me out. Your kindness that I felt. Your bravery that I respected. In this hubris of mine, I forgot why I fell to begin with. You made me remember the truth, I fell because I wished you may live at my lives expense. Do not cry, I am unworthy of thy tears to begin with."

His dearest friend's words were rare, but always heartfelt, and always meant with the truth in mind. He could cry only harder than, for he was to watch his dearest and most cherished friend die.

"Yet it is not yours to go with me… I will send you away. To a world where corruption hasn't fully set, where hope still resides, where a hero like you may still dream… Solaire, my dearest friend… Farewell, and always remember I had a name…"

With the last sputtering embers of godhood that he had been granted by the First Flame, he touched Solaire's sobbing face, and…

X-X-X-X-X

With a gasp, a brave knight woke up and looked at his surroundings. Green grass as far as the eye could see, mountains that could touch the skies, and a sense of loneliness. If a giant golem were around the corner, he'd feel right at home. Instead of making himself comfortable, he got up and took it all in while stretching his limbs.

He had his white tunic with his blazing emblem proudly in full display on his strong torso. His green duster still covered his broad shoulders, he still had his chainmail, armor, longsword, large round shield with the same emblem as his tunic, and since he felt the extra weight on his shoulders and the wind didn't hit his face as a breeze blew, he still had his cylindrical helmet complete with a fancy red feather on top.

To many he would appear as a tall and strong man with a strong arm, to others he'd appear as a fool, and to everyone he'd look like a knight in some need of fashion tips and perhaps thicker armor. Although if someone dared to get him to change his outfit they'd have to pry his armor off his cold, undead fingers, and then make sure he wouldn't come out of his grave to get it back.

"What a strange land this is…" he said in a soft, melodic and masculine voice that had cheered up his comrades in arms more than once, "Was everything I just saw a dream or a bizarre limbo? If so, how long have I been trapped there? Oh, dear me, if I am here then my dear friend…"

He tensed at the thought of his last battle, dream or not it felt all too real to be a product of his mind. The emotions, the crushing despair he felt before he stood on his own two feet like the proud knight he wanted to be as he traded deadly strikes with Lord Gwyn, none of that could have been fake. That, in turn, left many questions.

Where was he, and what had happened to the one brave warrior that risked everything to save him from madness?

"I cannot dwell on this misfortune any longer." He told himself, "If I am here, I have been gifted the blessing of a second chance to look for my sun. Yet I cannot allow this bizarre arrival to pull me away from the battle that brave warrior asked me to join in after all those hardships they conquered to reach for me, broken and dead of heart as I was." With renewed vigor he gazed at the horizon, where he knew the sun would rise up, "Where will the light of this land lead me to?"

Having asked that, he heard screaming. Not even thinking twice, just recently getting the sound of yelling in his eardrum, the odd knight already started dashing to where he heard the voices.

To his surprise, he found a group of knights in a small village, led by a dashing fellow with an odd spear and a bizarre set of armor that appeared to be made of the remains of beasts. As the warriors fought valiantly and shielded the villagers with their lives, the odd knight saw something else as their leader advanced towards the center of the village, where a well and a familiar creature resided currently.

"What beast is this?!" the spear wielder shouted as he held his weapon in both hands, slashing and stabbing at an Undead Dragon, characteristic for the putrid rotting hull it dragged around on half-skeletal and liquefied limbs, even from where he was he could smell its abominable purple miasmic breath, the stench unmistakable to all.

The dashing fellow managed to roll away from one of its many arms but watched in horror as it cost him one of his men. The poor knight cried in fear with actual tears as the creature crushed him under one paw, purple goop cloying inside its mouth before it prepared to melt him with a spray of poisonous acid. Instead of that, everyone saw a bolt of lightning in the shape of a javelin impaling the creature's wrist, making it shriek in pain and letting the knight go.

Finally, the dashing fellow turned to see the newcomer, "Ah, hello there." he said in his jolly voice, but gripped his sword and shield tightly in each hand while the monster turned to him, "Allow me to introduce myself as a friend of a friend of mine would…" he took his stance, shield forward and sword ready as he declared proudly in a way he remembered a father in love with adventure would, "I am Solaire of Astora, and I'll bring light to the darkness brought upon this land!"

"Solaire of Astora…you have my gratitude." The leader of the knights said, giving the man a polite bow of the head.

He was utterly surprised when Solaire chuckled merrily, "Shall we engage in jolly cooperation to slay that undead beast then?" He held out one hand to get the handsome man up on his feet, before he rolled aside from the creature's ferocious swing. In the same movement it took for him to jump up, he had already thrown another lightning bolt at the dragon.

Its shriek bought him enough time to step back further, holding out his right hand and giving a brief prayer to the Sun, his homeland, and his friend. As if it were the work of deities, the sun came out for a brief moment through the rolling clouds overhead. In front of the gathered soldiers and the radiant man, Solaire summoned light, sun, and prayer, and melded them into a massive crackling orange spear.

"In honor of my dearest friend, I will simply say what he always said when he smote an evil fiend like you… LET THERE BE LIGHT!" With that he hurled the Sunlight Spear, its radiance piercing through the miasma the creature spewed and smashing into its head.

"This is no ordinary man..." said the stylishly armored spearman. In a glorious golden explosion of crackling lightning and energy, the creature's head was obliterated with its body going the same way, its tottering legs twitched then fell over in a spray of visceral black blood.

The men and villagers stared at Solaire in awe, who took a moment to realize what happened, "Oh dear… I said cooperation, but it seems I went overboard…" he sounded worried, and was worried that he took the prize another man worked hard to earn. "My apologies, it was not my intention to take away your prey, I-"

"I believe you had the right, and you have my thanks for helping one of my men." The dashing fellow said with a smile. It truly didn't matter, the soldiers and civilians started cheering, bursting with joy at his victory. Solaire couldn't help but smile at the warmth and joy surrounding him. It seemed like he hadn't experienced such a thing for far too long.

"Hm! You are strong, very strong, Sir Knight. Might I ask who you are and where you hail from?" The jolly man asked as he stepped forward, holding out a golden hand with the smile of a true leader.

"I am Prince Jarvan Lightcrown the Fourth, some people call me J4, but I prefer Prince Jarvan or simply Jarvan to my closest comrades." The man wasn't surprised when Solaire earnestly gripped it and nodded at him, the knight taking off his helmet to reveal his face underneath.

A couple of ladies stared at the features of the knight of the sun for he possessed an extremely handsome and rugged appearance with a blond stubble and a short ponytail that flowed down to his shoulders. Solaire had a face that could make any beautiful princess swoon but what truly made it handsome was the sincere and earnest smile it bore as he bowed to the prince in front of him.

"I am Solaire of Astora, friend to any who call for aid, warrior of the sunlight, believer in faith, and one who is simply looking to find his own sun… and to uphold a promise he made to his dearest friend to never stop searching for his dreams." He declared proudly, the conviction he held in his friend and faith making Jarvan smile despite himself.

"At last, a man who still dreams in this age of ours." Jarvan said, sounding like he had found a truly rare treasure, "You may fight for something odd, but I will never tell anyone their dream is pointless, evil maybe, but you believe so truly in your dream… and your friend. I cannot, will not, shall not, besmirch the honor you hold in that belief. Welcome to Demacia my good knight, the land of justice and light."

Solaire let one of his characteristic merry laughs, "Hah hah hah… Thank you for your kind words, Prince Jarvan, but I'm afraid I cannot stay in such a land…" Jarvan was surprised that the jolly knight said it with a warm smile, until, "After all, my search hasn't ended, for it appears to have just opened another chapter of my quest to find my own sun. Brief as our meeting was, I am honored to have met such a good man as you and wish you great fortune in your journey. I'd be a merry man if I could stay, yet I cannot let my sun set down."

"So be it! I, Prince Jarvan, so declare that you may pass through this land unhindered and freely!" Jarvan declared this with a single word, his troops cheering alongside him before he warmly requested something of the knight in front of him, it was rare he met such a soul with a brilliant cast as this one, "I do request one thing my good knight, I request that you share a drink with myself and my own companions. I wish to hear the deeds you have done, the heroics you have achieved, the monsters you've slain… and of this man you so fully believe in, if his words ring so true in your heart."

Jarvan was nothing if not pleased to meet Solaire, so he invited him thus, a shining knight whose heart and soul sung of the light that made him stand proud.

How could Solaire decline?

With a merry laugh, the jolly man accepted, "Hah hah hah… Very well. I am happy to share my exploits with my comrades, shall I tell you of the great Black Iron Tarkus, my dearest friend, and the heroic Siegmeyer of Catarina? All four of us fought together at multiple points, our beliefs, and our dreams mixing together… We wished to fulfill our own stories, our own quests, our own missions… I miss all of them dearly, my dearest friend most of all. But they'd have wished me to fight on, to fight for my dream no matter what. And so I shall."

The pub was filled with merriment, laughs, drinking, a few drunken songs honoring the tales Solaire spoke of, and booze. Solaire proved to be a good drinking buddy to those around him, not just the prince and the soldiers, but also the villagers that wanted to thank him. Quite a few ladies were blown away by the fact he always kept a warm smile, soft words, and great modesty on his feats. He spoke in great detail of his friends' victories and quests and show great respect for those that perished in their journeys, but not once did he ever talk of his past in such a passionate way. Yet his search lead him to dangerous places filled with dragons and even a dangerous duel with two slayers.

"Was that man as big as you tell?" Jarvan asked with some surprise.

"His comrade was about twice my height, perhaps not that large, but he was still towering. And this giant I speak of carried a hammer the size of his companion's body and dwarfed said warrior by being at least twice his size. I could see why I was summoned to fight alongside my dearest friend. Ornstein and Smough, Princess Gwynevere's royal guards, were powerful, far stronger than any other foe we had faced together up to the point."

Hearing Solaire intently, Jarvan nodded, "Such a formidable duo… I am glad you and your friend managed to best them in battle, otherwise I wouldn't have found such a good drinking partner."

"Oh, I am inclined to think you're growing fond of me, dear prince." Solaire jested before he and Jarvan shared another laugh.

When the sun rose, Solaire couldn't help but gaze as it illuminated the horizon before slowly brightening the sky. He could also hear Jarvan talking to him to say his goodbyes, both knights now back in their full sets of armor. They shared a near brotherly handshake before parting ways, Jarvan back to his kingdom which he welcomed Solaire of joining while the reliable knight moved on to find the horizon and question where he could go from there.

X-X-X-X-X

And that's my rap!

The Lord Of Pages and I were debating this fic idea for years, quite literally. We begun writing this around 2015 or such and scraped it a bunch of times. As time passed on, we kept this thing on a development Hell to rival Duke Nukem Forever. Okay, not that much, but still close enough to Daikatana.

Anyhow, we both love Solaire and wanted to see him in a happier adventure. All we have are separate headpieces which we're trying to piece together. So far we just want to do this for fun. All in all, this was a fun experiment to break out of the usual for me.

Part of the reason I decided to post this is because I'm praying for my father to get healthier. Chances are he can recover, so whether or not you're a man or woman of faith, at least give him a silent prayer. I won't ask for money or attention and none of you need to do anything for me.

Just...the idea of people thinking of him and wishing the old stubborn man that shaped me to be the half-competent mess I am today gives me hope. Thank you, and sorry for being such a sap.

Swordslinger out!