The fire crackles before you, almost taunting you to continue the journey. A journey to take the ashes of the lords of cinder. A journey to place those ashes on their lost thrones in a bid to link the first flame once more. But you just sit and watch the flames dance around the coiled sword in the middle.

Then there is the sound of footsteps, barely audible against the quiet of Firelink Shrine. It's the fire keeper, your ever present servant in your long journey. There's a rustle of fabric from her long, black robes as she takes a calm, kneeling position by your side.

"Ashen one." She calls your title, and it's as gentle as ever. "Why does thou hesitate?"

When the silence passes a moment too long, the fire keeper takes a different approach. She clasps her burned hands together in her lap and speaks once more, "The lords may wait a moment longer. Let thyself rest by the fire." The fire keeper suggests the act without any force, almost like you could push back, continue the journey and she would simply nod.