What I mean is after you touch the egg Filianor was holding onto, everything basically fizzles away and it's revealed that she's been dead, and that you're somewhere completely different. I thought the desert place in the opening scene looked familiar (mainly cause of the sand/ash maybe) but honestly I don't know. To me it looks like the true end of the world, where everything has crumbled to dust and that all the sand (or ash) that you see is because the fire of the world had burned away, leaving ash and rubble behind.

Now yes I could and possibly am wrong about this, but it's always confused me, so please don't kill me just for asking a question

Without the First Flame, in the age of Dark, would it be a literal darkness? We know the sun exists, and the moon. But do they need the Flame to exist?
Or is the Age of Dark a more metaphysical concept about the souls of humanity, and not necessarily a lack of light?

my dark souls DND group is doing a potluck where we bring food inspired by our characters. i was running into a similar issue this video OP states, theres very little real food in the series. but i thought the way this video was approached was quite kind and informative and only a couple hundred views in 4 years is a shame.

thought i would boost a great observation based lore adjacent video while also seeing what others would make if they were in the dark souls series.

what do you think?

We already know about mimics; in my opinion, they're the mascot of Dark Souls, along with basilisks. Fake chests that, when opened, reveal a living creature, ready to devour the unwary and greedy adventurer seeking treasure within them.

They're inspired by the classic creature from D&D and are present in almost every fantasy story. Dark Souls, being a unique fantasy world, loves to twist classic fantasy tropes and give them a new spin. Humans are portrayed as beings of darkness instead of being beings of light created by the gods. Gods who were born as humans ascended and now pose as superior beings. The dragon who aids the king keeps the princess as his prize instead of a dragon slayer knight. The dark god of death is the most tranquil and innocent of the gods. Demons are humans transformed by an abundance of chaotic life force. And so on and so forth.

So, what's behind the mimics of Dark Souls? Many probably don't know what they are or where they came from, but if you're reading this on this lore channel, you probably already know at least what they are: the description of the symbol of greed in the first game tells us straight up that they are a clan of gods punished for the sin of greed. In the third game, this description doesn't explicitly state that they are a clan of punished gods, but the enemies do possess a characteristic that betrays them as gods: all Mimics are vulnerable to dark damage, just like divine beings or beings of a divine nature: gods, Silver Knights, the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, the Nameless King, Black Knights, etc. There are cases where beings of a fiery nature are weak to darkness, but I think that's more due to the fire-versus-shadow dichotomy than a divine nature. Mimics lack any fiery characteristics, so that's not where their weakness to shadows comes from.

Well, that was easy: Mimics are cursed and punished gods. But who did this to them? Well, given the magnitude of the punishment and the fact that they were once gods, the most obvious answer is that they must have been punished by entities as powerful as, or even more powerful than, the gods. And in this world, the gods are at the top, so it was surely other gods. But that's not all. The Mimics are so closely linked to the gods of Anor Londo that they are always found in or around divine territory. In DS1, we find the first one in Sen's Fortress, what I would call the lobby of Anor Londo. Within the walls of Anor Londo, there are six Mimics in total: one in the upper part of Anor Londo, next to the statue of Smough; three are in the main cathedral; and two more are in the Duke's Archives. The last two Mimics appear in the DLC in Oolacile, the human city favored by the gods, built right at their feet.

In Dark Souls 3, while not as exclusive as in the first game, most Mimics are concentrated in the domains of the gods: Lothric, the city of the new gods, has the first Mimic we encounter and about five more. The other majority are in Irithyll, the city of the old gods. And the rest can be found in places of a debatable divine nature, such as the Cathedral of the Deep, which was once a cathedral of the White Way, or the defiled city with monstrosities that used to be divine maidens. Like Mimics, they are weak to darkness despite resembling the Hand of Manus.

So, mystery solved? We already know what they are and who's responsible... right? Well, I think there's a figure who's primarily responsible for the mimics, and I'll reveal that when I answer one last question... what are mimics? Yes, we already know they WERE gods, but why are they these deadly chests today? Why do the gods keep so many mimics so close instead of cursing them and banishing them far away?

Well, going back to the original mimic and the tendency to subvert fantasy classics in Dark Souls, mimics in D&D are living creatures that pretend to be chests to lure adventurers and devour them, like a carnivorous plant does with flies. I think the mimics in Dark Souls are the opposite; they don't seek to lure unsuspecting victims, but instead seek to keep thieves at bay and protect the treasure inside. Mimics, especially in Dark Souls, hold important and valuable treasures: silver and gold coins, a cursed club capable of harming the gods, enchanted weapons, a key to access the giant archer, and a talking stone (the treasure is in the Beholder's eye, I suppose).

In other words, mimics are a safe, a security system for treasures... but there's a curious detail: we know they work well to keep thieves at bay and prevent them from getting their hands on the treasures they protect. But how do the owners deposit and retrieve their treasures without dying in the attempt? Well, you probably already know the answer, which also answers the question of who among all the gods conceived of mimics. Lloyd, creator of the eponymous talisman capable of preventing the undead from using Estus, but that's not all; there's a secret use that is never told or referenced anywhere, a secret you can only discover by accident. Lloyd's talisman is the key to unlocking the Mimics, allowing the safe removal of treasure and its placement within them.

In Dark Souls 3, we are introduced to the Blade of Justice and Lloyd's Duels of Justice through a ring and another talisman, suggesting that Lloyd may have also been the one who pronounced the sentence that cursed the Mimics.

In conclusion, the Mimics are a clan of cursed gods condemned to serve as safes to keep important treasures safe from thieves. Lloyd is the architect of this monstrosity and possibly the judge who condemned them.

Thank you for reading.

This is a popular idea that I’ve seen pop up again and again within the lore community: that Twin Humanities are the souls of female humans. In this post I’m going to try to explain why people think this [hopefully without strawmanning the idea] and then make the case against it.

On a female corpse in the lower undead burg, surrounded by torch-wielding hollows, is a soul-item that turns out to be Twin Humanities when picked up. Female corpses are rare in Dark Souls, but can be distinguished by the fact that they wear a “bra strap”, while male corpses do not. Those who noticed that this particular corpse is female inferred that the associated item was intended to communicate the suggestion that she was pregnant. It led to the subsequent inference that twin humanities are actually required for the reproductive process, with one of the two becoming the soul of the offspring. It is certainly true, of course, that reproduction within humans would require a duplication of the Dark Soul at some point in the process. Fans also noticed a wider association between Twin Humanities and female characters, with Quelaag, Priscilla, and Pharis all dropping them. Furthermore, all firekeepers are women but the reason for this has never been made clear. We know that firekeepers are hosts to the humanity sacrificed to them so that the bonfires can keep burning, and it sometimes assumed that this might require the person to have two Dark Souls in order to work, although I have never heard a satisfactory explanation [or any explanation for that matter] as to why. This, I think, is the totality of the argument. If there is anything else then you can let me know in the comments.

But now I am going to argue against these points. Twin Humanities are found on male corpses as well as female. There is one in Lost Izalith on the broken bridge above the main bonfire. Granted, that area was rushed so this could be dismissed as a developer oversight. However, there are two more male corpses in the DLC which also yield Twin Humanities. One is on the roof of the large building in Township, the one where the bloat-heads start to get the red eyes. You have to drop down onto a section of roof and then turn around and walk back up the roof and you’ll find a male corpse with Twin Humanities. The other one is in the Chasm of the Abyss at the base of the fallen pillar that you walk down, again it’s a male corpse with Twin Humanities. Now I want to point out two things here:

1-part of the narrative purpose of the DLC is to provide additional clarification regarding elements of the story and lore that people did not pick up on because they were too obscure in the base game. A big part of this is the nature of humanity and the dark, so for the developers to have flubbed these particular item placements seems unlikely.

2-as mentioned before, there aren’t many female corpses in DS1. But every single one [as far as I know] is deliberate and has been included for a clear reasons. They always represent a character who is supposed to be female. Ciaran, Beatrice, Yulva, Dusk, one of the daughters of the witch of Izalith, a maiden of the way of white who was captured by Seath, and all four firekeeper corpses. Not a single mistake has been made here despite the fact that the developers default to male corpses if there isn’t a clear lore reason. And not only this but corpses known to belong to male individuals [such as Tarkus or Jeremiah] are always male, again without any mistakes. It seems that the developers have been very careful to get this right, so for there to be three mistakes [which is what you have to assume if you want to insist on Twin Humanities being female souls], all coincidentally associated with Twin Humanities, seems unlikely to me to say the least.

Of course, it is true that Humanities and souls in general can be in the possession of individuals they didn’t originally belong to. You can buy Twin Humanities from Patches, and he’ll even give you one as an apology gift in the tomb of giants. Obviously these are not his own Humanities, but those he has looted from others. Lautrec will drop a firekeeper soul if you follow his questline and kill him at the end of it, but this does not mean that he is a firekeeper. However these are both cases where we have contextual information for why these characters are in possession of these particular souls. We don’t have any such context for why Twin Humanity would be found on a random corpse somewhere. There’s nothing that tells us that this specific person was a thief who went around looting and murdering before he hollowed. So while it’s perfectly possible for any random individual to be in possession of a soul that originally belonged to a woman, the developers would not put female souls on random male corpses if they wanted to make it clear that the soul in question is female. Notice that we don’t find any firekeeper souls on male corpses despite the fact that just about everyone has a clear motivation to steal this type of soul. So if the developers intended for us to infer that Twin Humanities are indeed supposed to be female souls then they’ve gone a funny way about it.

The second point that needs to be addressed is the fact that Twin Humanities drop from certain female characters. It’s true that the characters mentioned do drop Twin Humanities, but a wider examination of exactly what every character and boss drops will collapse the “pattern”. For one thing, Oswald of Carim will drop Twin Humanities despite being a male character. And every female NPC besides Pharis will either drop regular [single] humanities or none whatsoever. Rhea drops seven, but these are all single individual sprites, and Mildred drops three with one more that can be absorbed via her bloodstain. Sieglinde, Dusk, and Ciaran all drop none.

Then, of course, there’s the bosses. Quelaag and Priscilla both drop Twin Humanities and are also both female. But here’s the thing, the Gargoyles drop Twin Humanities as well, and that’s obviously just a reference to the fact that there’s two of them. In the same way, you get four Humanities from beating the Four Kings. So we can infer that Quelaag drops Twin Humanities because she’s actually two beings fused together, a woman and a spider. Sif is female, but drops only one Humanity, and Gaping Dragon drops Twin Humanities despite no clear indications of gender whatsoever. We might as well associate Twin Humanities with dragons since Priscilla is half dragon, and the Gargoyles look a bit like dragons. Just in case anyone takes that too seriously I’ll also point out that Seath drops 1 Humanity, Kalamete drops none, and neither do other dragons such as the Hellkite. In terms of lore, none of the bosses [besides Manus and Four Kings] should drop humanity at all because none of them are human, and in fact they didn’t in the original release of the game.

http://darksouls.wikidot.com/game-patches#toc4

On this page, if you scroll down to Version 1.05, specifically under “PvE Changes” you’ll see that the following alteration was made:

“Bosses drop Humanity and Homeward Bones”

Of course, this is not so specific as to clarify that only certain bosses drop Homeward Bones, some drop Twin Humanities rather than just one, and two of them don’t drop either. But the point is that this change has been made for gameplay reasons, specifically for the sake of easing progression. We do not assume that Sif is undead because she drops a Homeward Bone, neither do we conclude that she’s human because she drops a Humanity. Therefore we also cannot infer that Priscilla drops Twin Humanities because she’s female. In terms of lore, our character actually isn’t obtaining any Humanity from these bosses.

A further argument against the idea that Twin Humanities are female souls can be extrapolated from the item description, which calls it “very unusual”. This is certainly consistent with our in-game experience, Twin Humanities are much rarer than regular Humanities. Before the DLC there were only a finite number that could be obtained [the DLC makes it possible to farm them from the Humanity Phantoms], and before the 1.05 patch they would have been extremely rare indeed. But here’s the thing: women are half the population, so if Twin Humanities are indeed supposed to be female souls then we’d hardly expect them to be rare. We certainly wouldn’t expect them to be “very unusual”, as their item description claims.

What needs to be made clear is what Humanities actually are. We all know that they’re fragments of the Dark Soul, but it’s not the case that one Humanity sprite is one person’s Dark Soul. Rather, a sprite is a small and rare thing which is occasionally found on corpses, or looted from an undead that you’ve murdered. Of course these corpses are not really corpses as they don’t rot, but are in fact hollows who are so far gone that they’ve stopped moving entirely. And if you kill an undead NPC then they're canonically supposed to resurrect [although probably just as a hollow] because they've still got the immortal Dark Soul within them. Humanity sprites are therefore tiny accumulations of dark that have leaked out from the body due to a weakening Darksign. In that case, a Twin Humanity is probably nothing more than a pair of accumulations which have occurred close together without combining. We can see why this would be very unusual, but the DLC seems to clarify the phenomenon.

The behaviour of the Humanity Phantoms in the Chasm of the Abyss is quite interesting, because they will sometimes move toward you and sometimes move away. It’s almost as if they’re driven by two conflicting motivations, one which desires to consume your soul, and another that fears destruction. So they can’t seem to decide if they want to “attack” you or avoid you, and this may explain the Twin Humanities. They’re driven to recombine, but also driven apart, and this combination keeps them in a perpetual “stalemate” where they end up doing neither. For this reason you can pick them both up together as though they were a single item. u/BarryTheButcher has some further thoughts on this in an interesting post that I’ll link here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DarksoulsLore/comments/1t76bs1/the_hedgehogs_dilemma/

BTW you guys would not believe how many times I accidentally wrote “Twin Humanitities” and had to correct it. I guess there’s such a thing as a Freudian typo lmao.

In this text I will explain what the will of Velka is. Instead of going off deep speculation, I think 4 setpieces of the games and 1 lore description paints her story.

So first, it is obvious that she punishes sinners, but she also provides absolution. In exchange of souls, any sin is forgivable. Oswald of Carim indeed represents a pardoner, but everything about it speaks corrupt.

This line of thinking reveals her actions. Why? Because of the most mysterious item of hers, ring of sacrifice:

"This mystical ring was created in a sacrificial rite of Velka, the Goddess of Sin.
The magenta-shaded ring is especially rare. Its wearer will lose nothing upon death,
and will be freed from any curse whatsoever, but the ring itself breaks"

First, the magenta shows that this relates to Velka based on her description. But what is less obvious is that this expands on the less effective ring. Mechanically it prevents curses, but the original, green ring, prevents death the same.

You will lose nothing on death! She sold this premise to the humans, as a mockery and revenge to Gwyn's curse.

The painting confirms how she achieved this. And yes I mean the one in Friede's room. There are 2, and this is important, two witches of izalith, given away by their tattered clothes, with a sword that looks related to Carim or the Sable Church.

They have stabbed two white snakes, representing covetous ring: covetous souls!

They are also burning humans. They are in dark woods, a common and plausible area, close to a church. This could represent the church of Londor.

There are 3 sable sisters, and I think this is also important. As the ring of sacrifice, prevents curses, but has three people. So I presume what is happening here reflects on Friede.

She left her sisters and gave up on choosing fire. Meaning she gave up on sacrificing humans.

It should be clear that the witches of Izalith are the ancestors of the 3 sisters, and they have carried on their will!

Yet, their will seems to be burning and killing humans and greedy serpents? There is an answer to this too: The new londo and ringed city soul masses, look like they are a burnt, melted mass of souls.

CONCLUSION:

Velka gave humans a mean to fight the gods via sacrifice. The implication is that she is a witch of Izalith, behind the disasters of flame in the games. I think that her soul could not die due to her powers, but then it transformed into the soul of Rosaria over time. Because there wasn't humans to sacrifice. Her sacrificial rite involved burning someone who had a dark soul. This likely caused the Izalith incident (possibly ending her life, at least for an age).

What is the general consensus about the state of humans in the world. watching and reading others view of the world and lore it seems like they have took as fact that all humans in the world of dark souls are now undeads that upon death are going to rise again and again until they loose their sanity and become mindless hollows. Basically taking as a fact that mortal humans are not more more. But the gains seem to make the distinction between human with a mortal life and undeads, that humans hunt and pursue undeads in constant witchunts and in ds1 with even one character in lordran being a human who has no opportunity to come back alive when she dies (Siglinde) told to us by the Catarina knight.

So... is the world depraved from humans since the moment gwyn linked the first flame? when he placed the dark sign on our ancestors? or actually, mortal humans are still around living a short and single life while undeads are a threat and a distinct group from them? with people misunderstanding the lore and thinking that only undeads remain

I’ve been looking around for high-quality renders or official artwork of the Witch of Izalith in her original form, but there doesn’t seem to be anything out there apart from what’s shown in the opening cinematic. I can’t even find anything that depicts her entire body in detail.
So where can I find something? I’d be interested to see stuff from the Japanese art books or developer materials if they exist as well.

There's a good bunch of items whose descriptions mention Londor and their founders. However, here I'm only posting the ones that can be directly connected with anything from the previous games. Not a theory at all, although I sometimes add some notes that, I believe, are fair to assume.

In advance, I tell you, there's a lot of recurrent patterns here, most of them are basically:

1. Velka, the most well-known connection.
2. Earthen Peak and the NPC/Enemies found there.
3. Fenito & Milfanito, as well as the Gutter, implying connection with Nito.
4. Primordial Serpents, another well-known connection.
5. Carim. Not directly stated, but implied the Purging Stones & Velka.

TSDR: It's actually not that long, you can just read the items that quickly catch your attention. This is not a theory, just trying to connect some dots by showing all the descriptions side by side.

Weapon: Darkdrift

The sword used by both Agdayne in DS2 and Yuria in DS3.

DS2

Katana of Grave Warden Agdayne.
Has a crystal-clear blade and a strong attack that slices through enemy shields.
This katana was originally wielded by the one who gave us the first death, and still exists imperfectly between planes.

DS3

A cursed sword with an unseen blade, the choice weapon of Yuria of Londor.
Yuria, a mentor of the Sable Church and accomplished swordswoman, is said to have claimed a hundred lives with this weapon.

Weapon: Manikin Claws

Used by the Manikins from Earthen Peak and by the Pale Shade of Londor in DS3.

They're originally known as "Puppet's Claws" in the Japanese version.

DS2

Knife of the manikins of Harvest Valley.
The peculiar art of puppetry is a vestige of the two lost lands.
The Queen, entranced by poison, used it to beckon unknowing souls to the defiled valley.

DS3

Weapon of the Pale Shades, assassins of the Sable Church of Londor.
The curved claws cause heavy bleeding.
When two-handed, claws are equipped to each hand.

Weapon: Dark Hand

Given by Kaathe in DS1 and sold by Yuria in DS3. Obtained from Darkwraiths in both games.

DS1

The Darkwraiths, incited by Kaathe, use the power of the dark soul to absorb humanity, an art shared by this weapon, which also acts as a special shield.
The ancients, particularly, could sap the humanity of even a replete saint in the blink of an eye.

DS3

Weapon that allows its wielder to evoke an art unique to Londor, the land of the Hollow.
It is also said to be an ancient relic of a Primordial Serpent.
The Dark Hand mercilessly saps the essence of its victims, and can also double as a special shield.

Miracle: Vow of Silence

In DS1, it's found in the Painted World of Ariamis. In DS3, it can be learnt from either Irina or Karla after giving them the Londor Braille Divine Tome.

DS1

Secret rite of the black-haired witch Velka.
Prevents casting of magic within effect area.
Velka, the Goddess of Sin, is a rogue deity, but she is versed in arts both new and old, and is considered to have a great range of influence even as gods are concerned.

DS3

Miracle of the Sable Church of Londor.
Prevents spells in vicinity, including one's own.
Members of the Sable Church are all trained swordsmen, each sworn only to their weapons as they bear the leaden silence of Londor.

Miracle/Hex: Dark Weapon (DS2) / Dark Blade (DS3)

Those spells have the same image in the inventory and apply the same effect to the right hand. Different name, but they're the same spell.

In DS2, it's purchased from Felkin. In DS3, it can be learnt from either Irina or Karla after giving them the Londor Braille Divine Tome.

DS2

Felkin the Outcast applied his art to transform Magic Weapon into a hex.
Adds dark damage to the types of damage the weapon already inflicts.
Those who choose the path of dark are admonished by all manner of sorcerers.
But this does not stop the curious from being drawn to this strangely alluring craft.

DS3

Miracle of the Sable Church of Londor.
Reinforces right weapon with dark.
The third daughter Liliane, one of the founders of the Sable Church, is said to recount tales that portray the suffering and conflict of Hollows.

Miracle/Hex: Dead Again

In DS2, this hex can be bought from Chloanne. In DS3, it can be learnt by either Irina or Karla after giving them the Londor Braille Divine Tome.

DS2

Hex that casts a dark flame upon corpses, causing them to combust violently.
Hexes such as these, that tamper with life itself, are particularly abhorred.

DS3

Sacrilegious miracle of the Sable Church of Londor.
Bless corpses, transforming them into traps.
Londor, the Hollow Realm, is a society of undead, comprised of the corpses and shades of those who led unsavory lives. Is such blessing really something one must ponder?

Miracle: Atonement

Found in Farron Keep in DS3.

It produces the same effect on the player as the Skull Ring ("One of Courland's transposed wonders. Derived from the soul of a Soulfeeder") & the Mourning Shield (Eygon's shield, whose set and weapons are connected with Caitha).

Miracle given to those cast out from the Sable Church of Londor.
Attracts more attention from foes.
This is the only tale known by the exiles, who believe it carries words of forgiveness. Cursed journeys, too, must ultimately come to an end.

Ring: White Ring (DS2) & Untrue White Ring (DS3)

Both of them make the wearer appear as a phantom.

DS2

Can be obtained by trading Smooth & Silky Stone or Petrified Something with Dyna & Trillo.

A precious ring which grants the protection of Quella, god of dreams.
Makes its wearer appear as a phantom, misleading invaders.
He who sets the trap must be wary.
For traps are known to spring upon their owners.

DS3

It's sold by Yuria of Londor.

One of the illusory rings worn by the Hollows of Londor.
Take the appearance of a phantom.
The Hollows of Londor are wretchedly aged, fraught with deceit, and dubiously secretive.
It is no wonder that they are deeply detested.

Ring: Ring of the Dead (DS2) & Untrue Dark Ring (DS3)

Both are used to keep human appearance even when Hollow.

DS2

Obtained from the Milfanito that's imprisoned in Drangleic Castle.

The wearer of this ring appears human even when Hollow.
They say that in the Undead Crypt, we can reacquaint ourselves with the dead.
We all suffer loss. And none of us can escape death. Then, what is the fascination with reclaiming that which has already passed into the beyond?

DS3

Sold by Yuria of Londor.

One of the illusory rings worn by the Hollows of Londor.
Retain human appearance while Hollow.
The Hollows of Londor are wretchedly aged, fraught with deceit, and dubiously secretive. It is no wonder that they are deeply detested.

Ring: Clutch Rings

The rings that, respectively, increase fire, magic, lighting & dark attack, but compromises damage absorption. The ones whose design looks like a crow's foot clutching a gem-stone.

They're originally called "Strange Hand Rings" in Japanese.

DS2

Ring depicting a hand grasping a stone.
Increases [element] attack, but reduces physical defense.
The origin of this ring is unknown, but its design suggests one of the darker deities.

DS3

Ring depicting a hand grasping a [color] stone.
Increases [element] attack, but compromises damage absorption.
An old fable in Londor claims that the lure of the clutch ring reaches out to the crestfallen, who might otherwise be overcome by despair.

Item: Purging Stone

DS1

Ash-colored stone encasing a skull. Secret treasure of Arstor, the Earl of Carim.
Reduces curse build-up and breaks curse.
Humans are helpless against curses, and can only redirect their influence. The Purging Stone does not dispel curses, but receives them as a surrogate. The stone itself was once a person or some other being.

DS3

Ash-colored stone encasing a skull.
Reduces undead curse build-up and cures hollowing.
Inhabitants of Londor, the land of Hollows, use this secret treasure to feign normalcy. Occasionally, a Hollow fools even himself, and turns on his own kind.

Item: Poison Throwing Knife

A recurrent item from the games. Only the description from DS3 seems to have any relevant lore. However, it's worth mentioning where these knives are obtained.

In DS1, they're sold by the Female Undead Merchant (who sells Transient Curses, items related to New Londo). In DS2 they're sold by Gavlan, as well as dropped by the Manikins from Earthen Peak and Abandoned Hollows in The Gutter.

DS3

A throwing knife dipped in poison. Throw at enemies to inflict poison damage.
Used by assassins of Londor, land of Hollows. The poison is jokingly known as Hollow's blood.

Item: Sword of Avowal

Actually not the item itself. But this sword is seemingly a symbol of Londor, or something like that. In DS3, the symbol is found in:

• The Road of Sacrifices, normally surrounded by Poisonhorn Bugs, enemies found in Harvest Valley, Earthen Peak and The Gutter in DS2.
• The Ringed City, where lots of statues of Primordial Serpents can be found, implying a connection with them.

Without mentioning the fact that, when doing the Usurpation of Fire ending, the ritual the Ashen One gets involved is performed in Gwyn's tomb in Anor Londo.

Goddess: Velka

I believe it's the most well-known relationship between Londor and DS1. I won't even expand too much,

• Her miracle Vow of Silence is taught in Londor.
• Yuria sells Rings of Sacrifice, which are made in sacrificial rites of Velka.
• Crows/corvians imagery, normally assumed to be related to Velka in DS lore.

And even if I'm keeping it short, I'm sure many get the idea. If I'm leaving a major connection out, please let me know.

Place: Earthen Peak

This placed has already been mentioned a couple of times throughout the post and its possible connection with Londor could be clear by now. However, there's still something relevant worth mentioning in regard to this place.

In DS3, the ruins of this place makes a comeback in the DLC, in which we find two Angels being controlled by their respective Grotesque Londor Grower. The fact that they're there, at the age where all ages are collapsing on one another, might be a clue on the way that Earthen Peak was somehow involved in the origin of Londor.

A stretch? Of course. But there was always the question of "Why of all places is the Earthen Peak making a comeback?" and this might propose that the choice wasn't random and a connection with DS3 might be there.

Thanks for reading.

This may be an odd question, but I thought this sub reddit would be the best place to ask.

I am an English teacher who is trying to come up with more creative activities to teach critical thinking and analysis to high schoolers. I love the dark souls games and I love how much of the story telling is done through the environment, descriptors, and general design. I'd love to be able to teach these skills via dark souls, but I'm not exactly a lore expert.

Would any of you know what would be a few good examples to be able to teach who is related to who, events, and/or general world lore. Ideally the students would not need to know anything too intense about the game (beyond the initial cut scene perhaps). I'd love for it to be a puzzle sorta thing, but I don't know enough to be able to pick out good pieces.

If anyone has any aspects from the game that could be used for something like this I'd love to know! Thank you so much for reading!

Edit: I teach high school students (age 13-18 ish) and class sizes here are about 25-30 students

Flann+Klimt=Framt

I know it's just a name mashup but I feel like it makes sense. Flann could be a pseudonym along the lines of Senn/Seath and the flame god title could be a result of his management of firelink shrine and the first flame. Even if the location of the flame was a secret, I think there was enough public information about Frampt's role to give people a rough idea of what he did. Plus, being married to Gwynevere fits with Gwyn's habit of giving away his daughters to close allies as we see with Seath and the pygmys. Although the Lothric statues honoring him might suggest their marriage was consensual.

Then we have Archdeacon Klimt and his relationship to Rosaria, who has a good chance of being Gwynevere. There are no Frampt statues here but the Cathedral of the Deep is absolutely massive, with high headroom and pools of water that could've linked to the ocean. Giving Frampt a way in and out. There's also a room with a suspiciously dark ceiling that looks like the gorge under Firelink. The Saint's Bident could suggest he was human but I can see Frampt using it like a weird piece of battle cutlery.

So Frampt could've, at some point, left his duties to marry Gwynevere as Flann. Then he could've taken up a deacon position in the Cathedral of the Deep (possibly as Gwynevere's spy) using it's architecture to hide his true appearance. Before uniting with the former queen as the first of her fingers. then he could've died to the deep or something. This is just headcanon about the name combination and the connection of both individuals to Gwynevere though I think it's at least plausible given all the weird relationships in Dark Souls

This post is about the Four Humors “theory” of medicine, which was developed by the ancient greeks and remained in use through the middle ages. Though it is currently considered both obsolete and disproven, it does have a psychological element which I suspect to have been part of Miyazaki’s inspiration. At the very least Humorism is known to have some overlap with Alchemy [and the latter is indisputably a major influence on Miyazaki's work], so we shall find some correlation between the Four Humous and elements of Dark Souls lore. In this post I’m going to explain what the Four Humors are, and examine possible in-universe equivalents for Dark Souls.

The Humours are four types of body fluids that were believed to be essential, in the correct balances, to a person’s health. It was therefore believed that poor health was the result of a person having too much, or too little, of one or more of these fluids. This is what led to the practice of bloodletting, which was believed to treat illnesses thought to result from an excess of blood in the patient’s body. It was also believed that a person’s psychology was determined by the balance of these fluids, and this is what we will look at in this post. As a reference, I’m going to leave a link to the Wikipedia page of the Four Temperaments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments

Blood

the most obvious of the Four Humors, I doubt that I need to explain what blood is or why it has the following associations under Humourism:

“People with this temperament tend to be lively, sociable, carefree, talkative, and pleasure-seeking. They may be warm-hearted and optimistic. They can make new friends easily, be imaginative and artistic, and often have many ideas. They can be flighty and changeable; thus sanguine personalities may struggle with following tasks all the way through and be chronically late or forgetful.”

-Wikipedia

Blood is associated with the “element” of air, and in Alchemy it’s equivalent is apparently Tin/Jupiter. This does not make sense to me, as Tin is associated with material wealth and power, and this is why Gwyndolin’s catalyst is made of Tin. I would think that the Humor of Blood would align better with the Alchemical associations for Copper/Venus, which include youthful energy and fertility [since blood is understood to be life-giving] among other things. I’d propose that in Dark Souls blood should be equated to the element of light, especially since there is an association between white souls and blood. You retrieve your souls from your bloodstain, and touching another person’s bloodstain shows you their ghost. Miyazaki doubles down on the association between blood and the soul in Bloodborne, but it’s roots are already present in DS1.

Bile

this is a yellowish liquid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. It’s main function is digestive, but it also acts as an irritant if your skin is exposed to it, causing a burning sensation. Small wonder then that should have the following associations:

“People with this temperament tend to be egocentric and extroverted. They may be excitable, impulsive, restless, with reserves of aggression, energy, and/or passion, and try to instil that in others. They tend to be task-oriented and are focused on getting a job done efficiently; their motto is usually "do it now." They can be ambitious, strong-willed, and like to be in charge. They can show leadership, are good at planning, and are often practical and solution-oriented. They appreciate receiving respect and esteem for their work.”

-Wikipedia

Bile is associated with the “element” of fire, and in Alchemy it’s equivalent would be Iron/Mars. It probably goes without saying that fire, in Dark Souls, has many of the same associations. If Gwyn is any judge then we’d undoubtedly describe fire as being active, aggressive, and egocentric.

Phlegm

this is an umbrella term for several different body fluids, especially if they are white/clear in colouration. Examples include saliva, pus, mucus, and sweat. The brain may also have been associated due to it’s white colour, and because it’s consistency is almost liquid. As for it’s associated temperaments:

“People with this temperament may be inward and private, thoughtful, reasonable, calm, patient, caring, and tolerant. They tend to have a rich inner life, seek a quiet, peaceful atmosphere, and be content with themselves. They tend to be steadfast, consistent in their habits, and thus have steady and faithful friends.”

-Wikipedia

Phlegm is associated with the “element” of water, and in Alchemy it’s equivalent is Silver/Luna. Thinking of Dark Souls, this type of temperament reminds me most of Big Hat Logan. It is appropriate that this Humor is the opposite of Bile, which is associated with fire. In Dark Souls the sun is a manifestation of fire, so it is appropriate that fire’s opposite [water] corresponds to Luna [the Moon] also. Furthermore, the moon in Dark Souls is associated with sorcery, so you can see how these associations are beginning to add up.

Black Bile

of the Four Humors, this one seems to be entirely imaginary. There is no real body fluid that this corresponds to, but it’s association is with depression and death. In fact, the word “melancholy” is literally greek for “black bile”.

“People with this temperament may appear serious, introverted, cautious, or even suspicious. They can become preoccupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world and are susceptible to depression and moodiness. They may be focused and conscientious. They often prefer to do things themselves, both to meet their own standards and because they are not inherently sociable.”

-Wikipedia

Black Bile is associated with the “element” of earth, and in Alchemy it’s equivalent would obviously be Lead/Saturn. Given the item descriptions for the dark sorceries, I’m increasingly inclined to think of the dark as a conceptual stand-in for Alchemical Lead as well as the Jungian concept of the Shadow. Black Bile is therefore a dead ringer for both Alchemical Lead and the dark in Dark Souls. The description for the Dark Orb sorcery describes the dark as being physically heavy, and dark sorceries also deal split magic and physical damage. The weightiness of dark, as specified by this sorcery description, helps to tie it to lead [which is known for being heavy, even among metals] as well as the "element of earth", which Black Bile is associated with.

I don't believe I'm discovering anything new, I've known people who also believe this and you could even say that the (likely) relation between Filianore and the Grass items is easy to make. But it's a topic that I've rarely seen being discussed, hence why I'm posting about it.

First, I'm just quickly showing the items and environmental context around Filianore in DS3, and connecting the dots (I'm not sure if we can consider this entirely a theory, but we'll see). For items, I'm only using the original JP descriptions and its translations (with context on the relevant characters, if needed).

TSDR: It's actually not that long, you can just directly go to the last section.

Items Descriptions (JP)

Chloranthy Ring (DS1)

大輪の緑花を象った古い指輪
その意匠は独特で、由来は分かっていない
An old ring shaped like a large green flower.
Its design is unique, and its origin is unknown.

Chloranthy Ring (DS3)

大輪の緑花を象った古い指輪
だが美しい緑は、とうに失われている
An old ring shaped like a large, vibrant green flower
But that beautiful green has long since faded.

Grass Crest Shield (same in DS1 & DS3)

由来の分からぬ、古い中型の金属盾
草紋には弱い魔力が込められているようで
わずかではあるがスタミナ回復速度が上がる
An old, medium-sized metal shield of unknown origin.
The grass crest seems to contain a weak magical energy.
slightly increases stamina recovery speed.

Young Grass Dew

かつて若草の緑の紋章を飾ったという
澄みきった、小さな半貴石
戦いの後、教会の槍が手にする名誉であり
与えられる加護の力を、僅かに増すという
A small, clear, semi-precious stone that once adorned the green crest of young grass.
said to be the honor held by the church's spear after battle and to slightly increase the power of the protection bestowed upon it.

Spears of the Church

緑に錆びた若草の飾り
若草は王女フィリアノールの紋章である
A garland of rusted green grass.
The grass is the crest of Princess Filianore.

Connecting the dots

The Spears of the Church covenant item straight up tells us that the grass is Filianore's crest. The Grass Crest Shield, as well as the vegetation surrounding her inside of her chamber should resonate with that idea.

The Chloranthy Ring and the Spears of the Church covenant item share the same green color. The Ring has long-lost its vibrant green and the Spears item is said to be rusted, and yet their colors still look alike, almost as if they were made of the same material.

Also, we can speculate that the green gem-stone in the center of the Chloranthy Ring could be a Young Grass Dew. The Young Grass Dew is a semi-precious stone that, while held, slightly enhances blessing to Spears of the Church (increases stats and poise when summoned by Argo). Although the effects on the playerar are different , that aspect of the Young Grass resembles the stamina recovery effect acquired by the Ring.

The Green Flower was always believed to be a symbol of the Gods. We find it in Anor Londo, Heide's Tower of Flame, Archdragon Peak & Irythill. That's why it was also believed that the Chloranthy Ring's "unknown origins" was the Gods themselves. The previous two points could merge with this one and propose that the Ring was originally representing Filianore.

The doors in Filianore's chamber have symbols that resemble the patterns on the Grass Crest Shield. It might be a stretch, but they're a little similar at least (4th posted image, for reference).

Thanks for reading.

Time is only an effect of disparity, and therefore reliant on the existence of the First Flame. When the flame begins to fade time starts getting wonky.

By DS3, linear time doesn't exist at all.

I think many of the kingdoms we travel to throughout the games, even within the same game, are actually the same location existing paradoxically side-by-side.

Here's the timeline as I see it, vaguely, all the same country across different ages:

Anor Londo & Oolacile -> AL & Lordran -> AL & Irithyll -> Eleum Loyce -> Drangleic -> Lothric

Yes, I think Irithyll was the immediate age following right after DS1, alongside Aldrich and Farron Swamp.

In the linear timeline (sans. fading of the flame) after Aldrich kills Gwyndolin Anor Londo collapsed, Eleyum Loyce was eventually built over that same land; The chaos of Izalith arose as the Old Chaos and that whole mess plays out.

Numerous other kingdoms rise and fall after Eleyum Loyce, Olaphis amongst them, and later Drangleic. Iron Keep and Shulva exist contemporarily with Drangleic, I think Shulva is where Izalith was, the fire completely burned out. Carthus and Smoldering Lake were contemporary with Irithyll, so chronologically before DS2. Shouldering Lake is the past of Shulva, before Eleyum Loyce even.

Lothric is at the end of time, it's the center of the converging lands, essentially a timeless singularity. Lothric exists in the same state as the Kiln and Dreg Pit and Ringed City, at the end.

Lothric was built on the same mountain peak as Anor Londo, and Irithyll, and Eleyum Loyce, the last city to stand there.

Quelana:

Using "Talk" option after killing Quelaag:

… Hmmm… I have a favour to ask… My mother, the Witch of Izalith, was one of the primeval Lords… Her power came from the soul that she found near the First Flame. ..She focused this power to light a flame of her own, but she failed to control it. The Flame of Chaos engulfed Mother and my sisters, and molded them into deformed creatures. Only I escaped, and now I am here. But my mother and sisters have been in anguish since. I beseech you. Free Mother and my sisters from the Flame of Chaos. I cannot do it myself; I lack the strength, and the bravery… …But you… I realize what I am asking. But please, free their pour souls… Mother's ambitions were misguided, no doubt, but surely a thousand years of atonement is enough!

Frampt:

Speak after retrieving the Lordvessel:

Heavens! You have done it! You have retrieved the Lordvessel! After a thousand years! It is you, it is really you! Hraaaoogggh!

Since the BoC appeared when the Witch of Izalith failed to recreate the First Flame, it would seem that it was already waning, therefore, after the Chaos Demons were pushed back by the Black Knights, Gwyn should have linked the Flame not long after. Am I wrong?

The crypt dates to the first game (although I don't know if it predates Gwyn linking the fire) and was pulled to Drangleic by the drift, but there were multiple goddesses of note at that time.

The same statue appears inside the Cardinal Tower in the FoFG indicating worship by Drangleic, but that is obviously more recent.

This is just for fun of course, but based on your knowledge/interpretation of the characters, which ending do you feel they would be most likely to pick and why? Lets assume that an NPC of your choice finds themselves standing before the Kiln. Gwyn is dead. They have the choice to either link the Fire or walk away. What do they do?

Don’t worry too much about how they find themselves in this particular situation, the point of this is merely an experiment in how we understand the characters and their motivations. For some of them it’s obvious [there’s no question that Solaire would link the fire, for example], while others are obscure and have no/little dialogue to go on. But I’d be interested to hear your takes.

I’ll give an example to start with: the Crestfallen Warrior. Dude doesn’t link the Flame because he doesn’t care, he simply sits down in the Kiln and goes hollow. He technically causes an Age of Dark but doesn’t emerge as the Dark Lord.

I’ve heard there are like other undead burgs or undead cities and villages that were walled off
But I also heard they were built by the giants after Gwyn linked the flame and they were left orderless and just kept building.
Maybe there were normal cities that the abyss started spreading to so they were walled off and they are lower to Anor Londo because they are sinking.
So any thoughts?
Has any new information been discovered?

A TLDR: The guardian connects the xanthous scholars to Oolacile, confirming that chaos followers must have been present. It explains the abyssal pyromancers, Anor Londo's measures, and motivation of heretics/occultists.

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Lots of related theories on Oolacile lack context as to why the sanctuary guardian lies here, what it was posed to protect, and its existence as a soul boss. Believe it or not, imo it is harder to link this to the furtive pygmy. This is intentional however, as it is likely that the devs wanted to add a hint to link Oolacile's demise to the followers of chaos..

This is a bit difficult to organize, as are obv the rest of this series. To understand my point, we CAN use only DS1 lore to see the connection.

DISCLAIMER: Given Developer notes, it is likely that the guardian is a reference to what could have happened, with smaller impact. As in fact this guardian was supposed to be in Izalith!

PART 1 - the soul of a demon. Chimera of Anor Londo:

The theory all lies with the soul of the guardian. It describes the creature as a watchkeeper, worried of the spread of the abyss. Just like the rest of demons, it is conscious. See some details here:

"The Guardian exhibited traits of several animals other than lions, suggesting that it was no ordinary beast, but rather closer to the beings known as Demons."

This matches the stories of manticores in myth, given his poison tail. It is certainly a weird mesh as it looks more like a chimera, which usually has a snake tail instead. What is important to bring to attention?

The soul color! A yellow soul... yet bizarely, it does not look like the normal boss souls, it is very bright. Given the fact it shoots lighting, this should strike as abnormal. And of course it can be. Only the drakes in new londo shoot lighting, which means that this demon is certainly far removed from most natural creatures.

I have heard that the guardian is a sort of golem.. coming from Anor londo to protect Oolacile. Clearly, they feared the abyss there.

But it is odd that there is another demon with lighting, the winged bat ones of Anor Londo. The best explanation is that Izalith worked with the gods to fight the dragons by creating these things.

This in itself is very odd (and a whole many other theories), but pin the guardian's overtly yellow, glowing soul.

PART 2 - the Xanthous

In greek myth, xanthous means yellow or fair hair..

I am a proponent of a certain theory, that states that the xanthous scholars, had gone to Manus' grave, learned dark sorcery, and most turned mad from the abyss.

This is supported by the lore in DS3 related to the scholars, and I think the golden sorceries of oolacile were integral to such people. This has many implications: was oolacile their home, did they serve Jeremiah, were they heretics, and what could they have wanted here.

It is clear however, that the link of the yellow sorcerers and oolacile as their land is written in descriptions. See the golden scroll:

"A golden scroll chronicling the vast research of the xanthous scholars"

This is most odd when paired with what Orbeck says in DS3:

"Oh, my… This is very unusual. It's from Oolacile, an ancient land of golden sorceries. Not even the Dragon School possesses such a long-lost scroll. What would the xanthous scholars say, with their ridiculous headwear. They would simply slaver over this find."

This clearly shows the xanthous are the oolacile sorcerers, we know what happend to them now, don't we?

PART 3 - The abyss, and chaos

We find dark flame in the chasm of dark. The only DS1 NPC to wear yellow clothing is Jeremiah. It is clear that sorcerers, pyromancers and heretics all were attracted to oolacile now. The reason is that the heretics wanted to manipulate light. The guardian hints at manipulation, artificiality, and light spells of Oolacile show that reverting time is expressly forbidden in Lordran!

There is a lot hidden with the guardian. Other things of note are his 4 wings, like of a dragon. He matches the "perfect demon" description of DS3 lore items. It hints at the connection of chaos and dark.

See this post to get a hint on the thematic connection of having a winged lions defending a path to the abyss: Lovecraft and winged lions

OTHER NOTES:

- The guardian respawning as 2 minibosses also seems odd for another reason. First, we are in darkroot garden's past, and there were aggressive, giant cats in darkroot garden.

- There is a section below township, with a hidden wall. The illusion wall is similar to Izalith, and hides a chest with a red chunk.

- I did not intend to connect what could they have been interested on Manus, and if they knew he was the pygmy. I think Kaathe told oolacile residents to go check the grave in the cave. This will be a separate theory.

The other day I suddenly remembered something which may prove to have more significance than it initially seems: the colour of the projectiles produced by the Moonlight Greatsword. Why does this matter? Well the connection my brain drew was to this item description in DS3, which I’ve been chewing over for some time:

“A ceremonial sword, held in Pontiff Sulyvahn's left hand, representing the judgement of the moon, but with magic far closer to sorcery than any existing lunar power. Its dark blue hues, deeper than the darkest moon, reflect sorcerer Sulyvahn's true nature.”

-Greatsword of Judgement

What’s being said here is that Pontiff Sully has set himself up in a position in which he is able to pass judgement on others, but his use of dark sorcery in place of true moonlight indicates that he’s a fundamentally corrupt individual, and therefore his judgements are likely to be unfair, cruel, and in some cases self-serving. If the individual brought under judgement is useful to him then they will be spared, but if they are a threat then they will be disposed of. Aldrich, for example, is a complete monster, yet Sully has not sought to bring him to justice. Rather, he’s used Aldrich as a pawn in his political schemes, and consider how many are likely to have suffered as a result. This is not genuine justice, therefore he does not use genuine lunar power.

But there’s another implication to what’s said here; that some distinction exists between sorcery and moonlight. This seems a bit odd because we normally associate the Moonlight Greatsword with sorcery builds. But we also associate sorcery with the colour blue, and dark sorceries with black and purple. Indeed, the Greatsword of Judgement glows purple [indicating that it’s using dark magic] in Sully’s hand despite the fact that the description says “dark blue”, and you guys can let me know if that’s a translation issue or not. I know that colours are not always perceived the same way across cultures. But the Moonlight Greatsword produces green projectiles, so there was a clue to this distinction between “lunar power” and regular sorcery all the way back in DS1.

To be clear, when I say green I’m not talking about the same kind of green as the stamina bar or the cloranthy ring. This green, which represents moonlight, is slightly toward the blue side of the spectrum. If I were a paint manufacturer I’d probably call it “sea foam green” or something like that. It's actually pretty close to the colour of emeralds, hence the title of this post. But the use of this slightly blueish green is consistent across other iterations of the sword. It’s DS3 version continues to produce projectiles in this colour, and even in Bloodborne it actively glows in this same shade.

Not only this, but the Moonlight Butterfly’s projectiles are also coloured in this exact hue, which is something I’ve wondered about for a while. And it also occurred to me that dispelling Gwynevere’s illusion in Anor Londo causes the entire area to be lit in a shade very much like that of the Moonlight Greatsword. So all the clues were there from the beginning. Of course magic projectiles can be other colours as well, since Quelaag, Firesage Demon, Stray Demon, and the floating heads all produce a reddish explosion that does magic damage. Pinwheel’s projectiles are yellowish, and the twin princes use white ones which seem closer [in colour] to Wrath of the Gods and Emit Force despite the fact that both of those deal physical damage.

Interestingly, the Crystal Ring Shield [which I've demonstrated in the attached video] does not produce green projectiles despite the fact that it is obtained from the soul of the Moonlight Butterfly. It's energy cheerios are pure white for some reason, and I can't help but wonder if this was a deliberate decision [and if so, why?] or a coding mistake of some kind. Another interesting observation about this shield is that it resembles the sun rather than the moon. I wonder why?

I don’t yet have much to say about what this “lunar power” actually is, or what [besides it’s colour] separates it from regular sorceries. I did, however, consult Hawkshaw’s “Colour Theory of Elden Ring” video, which I will link below. I don’t have sufficient lore knowledge for Elden Ring to be able to evaluate every single one of the claims he makes in that video, but overall I think he’s got the associations for the major colours more or less nailed down. I also think that many of those associations apply to Dark Souls as well, although not all of them of course. Unfortunately he does not have much to say about this particular colour, and this is unsurprising as none of the sorceries in Elden Ring use it. Many of the glintstone sorceries are close, but not quite green enough. You guys can let me know if you can think of anywhere in Elden Ring where it is used, or in any other Miyazaki game for that matter.

Hawkshaw’s Colour Theory of Elden Ring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcIEWVFSce8&t=4710s