Hi there. I'll intend to make a "no death, no bonfire" run, for the challenge and to have both rings. I intend to make this playthrough with a new character, on a simple NG, as a deprived. This will be a little romanced, but as english isn't my primary language, I apologise in advance for my grammar.

Well then, here we go.

Dear diary. Today we are... I don't even know the day. My memories are fuzzy. But I'm not completely lost.
I remember some of my past life. Maybe I was someone, maybe I had a family. If I had anything, the Curse took it from me. It took everything. I remember a family... a mother, or a sister ? Maybe my love ? I... I can't remember. She was importent but... The Curse took her. Damned, for no reason, I was hunted and I fled.I don't really know where, but I fled. That's like I was drawn to something, like the scent of a wonderfull meal, while I was starving. And I was starving... But what I wanted wasn't food, it was something I, myself, felt fading away within me. Life... the Curse took even that from me.And Death. It took my death away, depriving me from my right to rest in peace. During my travel, I crossed path with a curious old woman. She spoke about the Curse, about my fate, the fate of the Undead. Before I knew it, I was in front of that pool of darkness, that gate... a gate to a land loaded with Souls, delicious Souls. So I jumped in. What did I have to lose ?

I woke up in a curious place. The Thing Betwix, as it is called. I could see, from a distance, the dark sky torn, like a piece of cloth, letting rays of light go through. That light was my beacon and I went to it, just to stumble upon a hut. In there, I found three old women, like the one I encountered earlier. They helped me, gave my this strange thing... the Human Effigy. I focused on it, saw an image of myself. This simple vision seemed to heal my rotten flesh, casting light into my mind. I'm in Drangleic, seraching for a a solution to the Curse. The old women mocked me, they think I'm doomed to fail, to loose the souls I could gather, to loose hope and to turn Hollow.
I won't.
I swear I won't lose any soul. I won't rest until I found what I'm looking for. Those hags will see, they will see !

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Today... I don't know which day we are. Maybe I never will.
My first steps in this curious land were strange. Deprived from any weapon, weak from exhaustion, since my past travels, since the Curse drained me from my very Life, I didn't know it would be so harsh. There are some nice people in Majula, the little village just outside the Thing Betwix. Maughlin sells protections, but I barely have enough souls to sustain myself, not enough to waste in armors. Another man, quite depressed, gave me good advices... but speaking to him is enough to steal my motivation. Then, there is this strange woman, the Emerald Herald. She called me the "new monarch or the pawn of fate". For no reason, she decided to help me. That's good, because she can help me to infuse my body and mind with the life essence the souls holds, making me stronger. She told me to seek the King, to seek mysery, because that is where powerfull souls are. If they are strong enough to sustain me forever, or better, to break the Curse, then I'll gladly look after them.

But my enthousiasm faded away, as I explored further. The first place I went was the Forest of the Fallen Giants. That's what this old hag, Melentia is the name, told me. Long ago, a great war raged here, with the giants. She said that the corpses of the giants would give life to the trees. That is quite poetic. But the poetry ends here. All the soldiers were hollows and tried to kill me, to steal my souls. Armed with a simple kife, clothed with rags, the fight sounded unfair. But, deprived from their humanity, they weren't as talented as they should. I gutted them, gave them another death, then took their souls. They don't need them as much as I do, they're already lost. Maybe I'll find another weapon in those ruins... the blade of my dagger dosn't cut as well as it was. I didn't know weapons were so fragile.

Today, I ventured deeper in this ruined forrtress. I found a short sword in a really good shape. But my bones and muscle were still too weak, not adjusted to wield this weapon. Am I not pathetic ? Scavenging ruins in search of weapons and souls, not strong enough to wield a simple short sword... I used my dagger to the end : It broke on the neck of this undead knight, wielding a halberd. I had to finish him with my bare fist. That was tough, and I think I broke one or two finger on his rusted armor. I found a broken sword earlier, but It wasn't good to use. I tried a few swing with it, but it's too heavy, too slow... But now that my dagger is gone... I decided to run back to Majula, to use the souls I have already gathered from the hollowed footmen. It's surprising how my body can grow strong, with a little help from this woman.

Now it's much easier to cut my way into this crumbled place. I chopped everything that got in my way to pieces, gaining confidence... a little too much confidence. I said earlier that hollows are stupid. It's strange how I am right as much as I am wrong. Some of them waited in hidden spots, ready to fall on the unprepared traveler. Some soldiers would attack me in the back, while I was venturing in a burning cave. Their were knights waiting behind their ballista, thinking I would not see them. After killing them all, I used those ballista myself, to kill some strange turtle warrior. They also retain some of their past knowledge in the use of their weapons. The most dangerous were the one wielding a shield and a rapier... one of them almost killed me, parrying my swing, leaving me wide open to his counter attack. I didn't think I could endure so much pain and keep fighting. Those wounds in my chest didn't kept me from making some in his. But the Sun can be praised, because there were those curious gems. They felt warm and, upon crushing it, they would unleash a magic which would heal me.

But all the people you encounter aren't hollowed corpses. There was this guy... Pat, or Pate... a shady mild-mannered guy. He warned me about a trapped door, a guy he locked away... I'm not sure if I like this one or not, but I don't trust him. He gave me this strange stone, used to make send my spirit into parallel worlds, to help others, right after trapping me inside with multiple hollows. There was this other knight too, right wainting under a tree. To be honest, I dont' understand if he is hollow or not. He wasn't paying any attention to me and, to begin with, I confused him with a body to loot. But as I lowered my hand to his helm, I heard his cavernous respiration. He would not respond to me and, judging by his gear, I think he would have chopped me to pieces if I tried to steal it.

Finally, there was this giant... I thought they were extinct and that he was just like the others : a corpse upon which grew a tree. But he was alive... and enraged. Upon seeing me, he proceeded to free himself, the large pillar impaling his torso didn't slow him one bit. But this fight wasn't so hard... Pate came to help me and, by the time I found this poor creature, I already had packed up some nice gear and strengthened my body with souls.

Please don't post fan fiction on the forums. If you'd like to post it just to your blog without cross-posting, that's fine.