DarkSouls Lore

First there was the Age of Ancients. Light, Dark, Life and Death didn't exist. The land was dominated by Archtrees and Dragons (which are not considered living beings, and are basically sentient rock). Then, inexplicably, the First Flame appeared in a cave underground. The presence of the Flame created disparity, meaning that Light, Dark, Life and Death existed. Hollows, whodh are humanoid beings without Souls, found the Flame and retrieved Souls from it. Most found weak Souls, but 4 found Souls of particular strength. Gwyn found the Light Soul and shared it with some of the other Hollows to make them Gods. Nito found the Death Soul, and gained the power to control death. The Witch of Izalith found the Life Soul and shared it with 7 others to create her Daughters of Chaos. The Furtive Pygmy found the Dark Soul and shared it with the rest of the Hollows to creae Humanity. So, Gwyn, Nito and the Witch, along with their kin, fought and eradicated the Dragons. Some slipped through the cracks but for the most part the Dragons were destroyed. Gwyn and co. were helped by Seath the Scaleless, a Dragon born without the scales that make Dragons immortal. So, with the Dragons destroyed, the Gods and Humans were able to build their kingdoms, and the Pygmy slipped out of memory. Gwyn built Lordran, the land of Gods, from which he basically ruled the world. The Witch built Izalith below Lordran, and Nito slipped away to rest in the underground Tombs, from where he continued to administer death. It was probably around this time that he created the Fenito and Milfanito; two races who soothe and protect the dying. Gwyn also granted fragments of his Soul to his allies; one to Seath the Scaleless, who was made a duke and began researching immortality, and one to the four human kings of New Londo, a city built exclusively to house the humans. Gwyn had three children. The eldest was a God of war, but was banished after he lost the "annals (records) of history". His daughter, Gwynevere, was loved by all and worshipped as a Goddess of fertility and was married to a God named Flann. Gwyn's youngest child, Gwyndolin, was born with an an affinity for moonlight which was considered feminine, and as such was raised as a daughter. Gwyndolin ran an order known as the Blades of the Darkmoon, who hunted down sinners and those who would threaten the Gods. There were other Gods as well, such as Velka, Lloyd, Fina and the Blacksmith Deity. So things were great for a while, until the Flame began to die. The Gods feared that this would mean an Age of pure Dark, ruled over by Humans (incorrect since Dark needs Flame to exist). The fading Flame caused the Curse of the Undead to appear. Cursed Humans would slowly lose their Souls and Humanity, leaving them as Hollows. The Witch of Izalith attempted to create a new Flame using her Life Soul. However, the Flame is made up of Light, Dark, Life and Death, and the Witch only had one of those. As a result she accidentally created the Chaos Flame, which turned the people of Izalith, including several of the daughters, into Demons. Gwyn and a group of his Silver Knights attempted to fight the Demons, but they failed and the knights were singed black. So Gwyn, as a last resort, chose to use his own Lord Soul as fuel for the First Flame. This gave the Age of Fire a second leash of life, but even more problems arose. A Primordial Serpent named Kaathe tricked the human kingdom of Oolacile into awakening a primeval man (most likely the Pygmy) from deep underground. They did this, and the man was driven mad. His Humanity (probably the majority of the Dark Soul) went wild and formed the Abyss, which began to consume Oolacile. The people of Oolacile were transformed into fleshy monstrosities and the primeval man became Manus, Father of the Abyss. One of Gwyn's most elite knights, Artorias, journeyed to Oolacile with his companion the grey wolf Sif, and they tried to take down Manus. Artorias, injured by exposure to the Abyss, sacrificed his shield to protect Sif, before confronting Manus. However, Artorias was corrupted by the Abyss and became an insane, feral

monster. A hero from the future appeared and killed both Artorias and Manus, although the legends still noted Artorias as the hero. Manus' essence fragmented and scattered actoss the world. This was the catalyst for events to come. The Abyss, despite Manus' death, continued to spread. It hit New Londo next, and Kaathe came with it. He convinced the Four Kings and their knights to join the Dark Side, turning them into Darkwraiths. In order to stop the spread of the Abyss, three Sealers flooded the city, killing its inhabitants and trapping the Darkwraiths under water. The Flame began to fade once more, as Gwyn's Soul began to wane. The church of Thorolund began hunting down Undead and locking them away in asylums. Bonfires were built in Lordran using the bones of the Undead. These Bonfires were linked to the First Flame, so that Undead could feed the Flame by burning Humanity in the Bonfires. The Gods began to flee Lordran, including Gwynevere. Gwyndolin remained behind, and wth the help of a rogue Primordial Serpent named Frampt he devised a false prophecy. This prophecy stated that an Undead would come to Lordran and replace Gwyn as fuel for the Flame. The result of this was that Undead began to flood into Lordran, using Bonfires to strengthen the Flame. One Undead escaped an asylum and was able to kill Nito, the Witch of Izalith, Seath, the Four Kings, Manus (by travelling back in time) and eventually Gwyn. This Undead either became fuel for the Flame or walked away to become the Dark Lord. If they chose the latter then someone else likely linked the Flame. After these events, a sort of cycle began. Every time the Flame began to fade someone would come along and relight it. The Lord Souls (including Seath's) were picked up by other beings, who would subsequently die and drop the Souls to be picked up by further beings. Kingdoms rose and fell, often destroyd by the Curse. The fragments of Manus (remember those?) began to reform into humanoid beings, and were attracted to the powerful Souls of the various kings who rose and fell. A Throne (the Throne of Want) was inexplicably formed. Anyone who sat on the Throne would become the True Monarch, gaining control over the Flame, and as a result, over Light and Dark. Nobody found the Throne for a long time, until it was discovered by a man named Vendrick. However, he could not access the Throne as it was sealed inside some sort of kiln. Vendrick, along with his crazy scientist brother Aldia, founded the kingdom of Drangleic. A woman named Nashandra, in reality a fragment of Manus, approached Vendrick with warnings of an army of Giants across the sea. Vendrick took his army and crossed the sea to the Land of Giants, where he took on his foes. While there, he came upon a mysterious "prize". Vendrick returned to Drangleic with this "prize", as well as several captive Giants which he gave to Aldia for research. Vendrick fell in love with Nashandra and she became his queen. An era of peace followed as Drangleic prospered under their benevolent rule. Vendrick and Aldia studied the nature of Souls and began creating Golems by placing Souls inside of statues and suits of armour. Various past kings had also created Golems, and Vendrick began salvaging them from the ruins of dead kingdoms, beinging them back to bolster his army. The Flame began to once more fade, and the Curse hit Drangleic. Vendrick himself was hit by the Curse. Aldia began studying ways to avoid the Curse, and his research led to him creating an artificial Dragon, since Dragons were immune to the Curse. Aldia used the Soul of a Giant to bring his Dragon to life. He also created a human/dragon hybrid named Shanalotte, the Emerald Herald, who was able to manipulate Souls. The Giants, angered by Vendrick's invasion (they probably never posed a threat in the first place) decided to take revenge, invading Drangleic. Vendrick, who had gained the strength of the Giants, was prepared to take the Throne; the door would only open if one with such strength appeared. However, he soon discovered Nashandra's true nature, and realised that she wanted the Throne for herself. Vendrick would have to kill Nashandra if he wanted to take the Throne, and he could not

bring himself to do so. While the war against the Giants raged, Vendrick slipped away. He sealed the Throne behind a magic door which could only be opened by one wearing his ring. He also sealed Aldia away in his keep using the same type of door. Vendrick fled to the Undead Crypt, guarded by Milfanito and Fenito (remember them?). The song of the Milfanito could soothe those who brought Death and Dark. Nashandra, being the embodiment of the latter, would be unable to reach the Crypt as the song would slow her down. Vendrick was also protected by his most loyal knight Velstadt. Vendrick's crown was hidden away at the Shrine of Amana, where the Milfanito resided, as uniting this Crown with the crowns of three previous kings would allow the uniter to nullify the Curse, preventing an Undead from going Hollow. A hero from the future (again) defeated the Giant Lord and ended the war with the Giants, but Drangleic was irrepairably damaged. Aldia, sealed in his keep, found a way to escape the common order of Light and Dark, becoming one with the First Flame. He was now truly immortal, but inhuman and unable to mankfest away from a Bonfire. Nashandra realised that she would need someone to open the way to the Throne for her. She sealed Drangleic away in a separate dimension, leaving a portal so that a few Undead could enter. She hoped that one of these Undead would find Vendrick's ring and open the way to the Throne for her. One Undead, the Bearer of the Curse, arrived in Drangleic and met the Emerald Herald, who told them to become the true monarch. This Undead found and killed the current owners of the Lord Souls in order to gain access to Drangleic Castle. Along the way they were visited by burningtree-Aldia, who warned them against taking the Throne. The Undead met Nashandra, who instructed them to find Vendrick. They did so and obtained Vendrick's ring. The Bearer met with Aldia's fake Dragon, who granted them with the power to enter the memories of the dead. By entering the memories of fallen Giants, who had become trees upon death, the Bearer encountered and defeated the Giant Lord, and as a result gained the strength of the Giants. With both the ring and this strength, the Bearer could access the Throne. Nashandra attempted to kill them and take the Throne for herself, but the Bearer killed her. Aldia then visited the Bearer once more, giving them the choice of taking the Throne and becoming the True Monarch, or walking away as Vendrick did, and hopefully finding a cure for the Curse. And so begins Dark Souls 3, likely set centuries after the fall of Drangleic.