The Heide Scholar

Greetings, fellow undead! Please, take a seat at the bonfire and allow me to entertain you with what I have investigated in this world torn asunder.

[darksoulslore-blog]

Crown of the Ivory King

Wow... phenomenal DLC, in my opinion. Not trying to spoil anything, but the final boss was my favorite boss in any Souls game, next to Gwyn.  Expect a lore entry coming very soon.

[darksoulslore-blog]

The Will of Undeath: A Blessing within the Curse

One thing I enjoy about Dark Souls is that there isn't a true main protagonist. Sure, you can say most rpg don't ever have a "true" main protagonist but that the player character is the star of the show, the hero to save the day. But what is a hero? What constitutes a great hero and a regular hero? You find plenty of bodies in both Souls games that retain the Soul of Heroes and Great Heroes alike; but they fell at one point in their journey. It is unknown how any of them died; perhaps it was met by a very anti-climatic end.

Much like real life, there is no good and evil in the Dark Souls verse. The Souls universe is simply the culmination of a collective moral ambiguity, wreathed in failed intent and lonesome traveling in order to get answers. Good and evil are mere constructions of the mind, a mindless war that is fought within the individual until they either die by their convictions or die by the blade of another. But in Dark Souls, there is something that the real world doesn't have; or rather something that isn't quite the same. The Undead curse is a significant central part of the story of Dark Souls. The "soul" reason (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist) the Undead curse is even considered a curse is because an individual is subject to experiencing death over and over again, each time becoming losing more and more of what you once were. This process is known to those acquainted to such a thing is called going Hollow.

An individual that dies enough time eventually becomes a full-fledged Hollow, which is essentially a zombie that forever is lost to the broken world around them. They do not remember why it is they are doing what they do, though there is strong evidence that there is some aspect that remains within the individual that has gone Hollow. The enemies you encounter in both Souls games aren't in fact enemies. They are just individuals fulfilling duties left by a King that is no longer around, or lost souls that were thrown in a pit and tried to live a peaceful life. Alas, nothing escapes the curse of the Undead and any hopes of starting over are nothing but a doomed cause.

Despite going Hollow, the enemies retain something shared by the player character. It seems that Hollows have a will as strong as a Giant, chasing and relentlessly pursuing and attacking the player with nothing but your demise on their mind. When the player runs too far off, the Hollowed ones slowly find their way back to that familiar setting. It serves as the final memory of where they went Hollow and is the only place that makes the most sense to be at.  Hollows are the least of your problems, though. You will face monsters, fallen gods, demons of untold terror, Giants, illusions of past champions, and worse of all other player characters. It is common to be invaded by another supposed "chosen undead" with the intent of eradicating you. Facing another chosen undead in battle comes down to two things; who knows their style of weapon and whose will is stronger. Luckily there are individuals who feel the same sympathy as you do and will help you in times of dire need. However, when all is said and done, they go back to their worlds and move on. It seems they were using you for their own self-interests. Be wary, for those that aid you may actually end you before you even realize what's going on. 

There is always an end goal to a Souls game; rekindle the flame or let the kingdom fall. Of course, it becomes more complex than that as there are certain toothy serpents that see these supposed "chosen undead" as vessels to be used to achieve an end goal. Perhaps an Emerald Herald is aiding you for the singular goal of reigniting the flame for some currently unknown agenda. It is unknown why you or I are experiencing these hardships other than we enjoy it. We don't seem to truly care, so long as we have nice swords to play with. We become addicted to this world, forever seeking even harder challenges to hone our blades and practice our spells on. It seems at one end of the Undead curse, an individual gives up and becomes Hollow. At the other end, however, the Undead curse pushes us to seek greater hardships to achieve more souls so we can satisfy some strange void inside of us. Are we trying to fill the void of our missing humanity?

Humanity seems to be an aspect of the Dark Soul, the piece of the First Flame that has been the "big bang" of the challenges you and I face. Without it, we become Undead; beings that are after difficult challenges and yearn for nothing more. Once we give up, we become mindless versions of our old selves and are lost to the Dark forever. It seems to be a lose/lose situation, but how else are we to cope with this curse? We must power on so that we don't go Hollow, so we embrace the singular idea of facing great challenges for more souls. Is that not what a Hollow does? Become consumed by a single idea and fight to the bitter end? We are all Undead, and becoming Hollow is simply what happens when we let the curse consume us. We are all Hollow then, we just aren't zombies yet. Through each death that happens, we are a step closer to devolving into something full of emptyness. Or perhaps we are evolving, as humanity was born of the First Flame. Emptyness is, after all, the very essence of the old world of dragons and archtrees. Are we unnatural byproducts of the First Flame?  Now here you are, at the bonfire. Will you give up and let your mind completely die out or will you pursue yet another challenge? I think you and I both know the answer to that one.

[feren14]

I have no words

[theinvertedtower]

[darksoulslore-blog]

Really want to do a lore entry on my favorite dark souls character. Soon :)

[blazemalefica]

Why.

[darksoulslore-blog]

Jesters don't answer to ANYBODY

[darksoulslore-blog]

I attempted more of a first-person approach to this entry. Please let me know what you think!

Giants and Dragons: The Other Cycle

Hello fare traveler and welcome to my abode. How did you stumble upon here? It matters not, for this is a safe haven for Undead such as yourself. Please, have some Estus and listen to this tale I to share.

I am by no means the first scholar to venture out in this decrepit kingdom in search of answers. Ask 3 different people what they believe Heide’s Tower of Flame represents and you will get 12 different theories. Such is the nature of the curious mind, forever questioning this maddening place. Satiating the insatiable thirst for knowledge, the scholar is defined by one that ventures forth into the realm with the intent of conducting diligent research into the lost kingdoms of this world. Of course, it helps to be a warrior of some kind if one wishes to survive long. A scholar is by no means a mere fool who dares to travel the realm without some kind of blade. Though, perhaps you favor the sorceries of Melfia.

But enough of my rambling.

  In my travels within the kingdom of Drangleic, I found myself in deep contemplation in a lush green forest. At the time, hadn’t known how I gotten there and the place was riddled with Undead. I myself was observing a fabled Knight of Heide for a time trying to uncover their mystery. It’s a bit of an obsession, really. They don’t call me the Heide scholar for nothing, you know. Alas, my train of thought seems to be unhinging itself once again!

A fellow told me that the forest was known as the Forest of Giants. What a name for a place that lacks such things. A Giant? Believe me, I traveled for a good bit without seeing one Giant stomping about. Alas, I eventually stumbled upon the craggly upturned roots enveloping the carcass of such a beast. Before my very eyes laid a Giant, nestled in it’s own grave. You see, when a Giant dies, it becomes apart of the good earth once more and it’s body becomes a tree. The lush forest I found myself in was nothing more than a graveyard clad in green.

Observing a Giants body is not enough in forming a hypothesis of any kind, so I ventured far and wide; I had learned of the man known as Aldia, the brother of King Vendrick and his “experiments”. He was so obsessed with creating a dragon that he went to great lengths in such that those that were invited to his Keep were coincidentally never heard from again. Not the best host, to be sure, but he was most certainly a man of great ambition. He tirelessly used his magic to commit these unspeakable atrocities, working in order to find an answer to the begotten question that plagued their world; the plague of the Undead. It seems that I wasn’t the only one that studied the bodies of Giants.

Bodies of these great creatures lay about a room in Aldia’s Keep, like pieces of decaying meat that was tossed away after precise observation and prodding. Aldia and Vendrick had different ways of achieving true peace in Drangleic, and despite their differences in approach, they shared the same resolve. The two brothers also shared the same dreams of naivety of achieving “true peace”. Such a concept entertains the minds of the aspiring fool, hollowing the mind until nothing but reaching that goal is all that is real. It truly is a curse in of itself. Aldia’s persistence gifted him with multiple Souls of Giants. He noticed their souls were completely different from any soul he encountered. The exterior emanates the shining light of most souls but the interior center lays a dormant piece of Dark. Perhaps Giants are more human than we realize, as they share some of the Dark that we so desperately search for that we simply refer to as Humanity. What’s that? You’re asking me how I know what a Giant’s Soul looks like? Ah. It’s better that you didn’t know..

 Now then. What an interesting dilemna we have here. Giants that turn to trees when they die and madmen using their souls to create dragons. If you can think of a dilemma more puzzling than this, then you have seen more than I could ever hope. Aldia had vanished off the face of Drangleic and mysteriously in his “backyard” lies the Dragon Aerie. Such a coincidence can only mean that Aldia had succeeded in breeding dragons once more into this world. It was possible that Vendrick made amends with his brother and was able to use these newly birthed dragons in his military exploits, via the Dragonriders. But I am one who would incline to disagree with such a thing. I would ask you to head over and see for yourself that these beasts are not to be tamed. I believe the “guardian” dragons to be real dragons from a time long forgotten that seem to be under some kind of spell. Why would all those dragon make roost in the backyard of the man obsessed with such things?

You see, at the end of the Dragon Aerie is a shrine. Drangleic seems keen on worshipping dragons for some reason, but this beast is unlike anything I had ever seen. It spoke to me in the third person and spread itself, showing off it’s magnificence. Truly, it was a thing to be worshiped. But something was not quite right about the beast. I wouldn’t call it a dragon. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to learn more. A fellow from another time once told me that he slayed a dragon that had a Soul of a Giant. I may or may not have gotten my hands a little dirty to see for myself, but that is a story for another time.

I know you want me to get to the point. Thank you for hearing me out this far, but now it is time for me to get into the “meat and potatoes” of my studies.

  Archtrees and Dragons were once all that existed in the realm; albeit there was no realm at that time. Hell, there was no concept of time either! Dragons and Archtrees were once eternal; the hide of a dragon was stronger than any stone much to the likeness of the ever resilient trees. Dragons seemed to live in unity with these trees and there was nothing in existence until one fateful day, the essences of light and dark were born from the First Flame. Nobody knows where it came from or why, but such is the nature of reality. It seems not even the eternal Dragons were immune from the bane of fate. Four great souls were amassed and the end of grey was no more; now was the time of disparity. Now was the time for Light and Dark to live. If you want to call this state of affairs living, that is. I do not believe the Giants of Lodran are related to the Giants that invaded Drangleic. I am inclined to believe there are different species of Giants, much like there are different species of any form of life, but I do not believe these particular form of Giant have no relation to the giants of Lordran. Some things to take note is that these Giants seem rather brutish and without remorse. They have their hands steeped in pyromancy and weaponry and are able to feel emotions. They are sentient enough contemplate revenge on an entire kingdom, so as I stated earlier, the Giants are not that different from us humans. Nature seems to be keen on cycles. There is the cycle of seasons, the cycle of life, the cycle of the undead, and so on and so forth. Life is reborn in new forms, but is still life. The Giants that invaded Drangleic seem to be born from the ashes of the Archtrees of long ago and have the balanced “grey” soul. What better individual to discover the hidden secrets of the soul than a sorcerer? After all, who could forget old Bighat Logan who contemplated the soul so much that he devised the Crystal sorceries? How interesting to see that when a talented sorcerer falls victim to obsession that they end up making fantastical creations that dare challenge the notion of possibility? It should also be interesting to note that these two sorcerers were obsessed with dragons, in one form or another. 

I am inclined to argue that the Giants are remnants of the Archtrees; after all, trees are indeed alive and all living things have souls. It would make sense as they came from a time of great balance, which was disturbed by an unknown cataclysm that brough upon the First Flame. Their very souls are evidence of the fact that they are not just some brutish race of monster hellbent on destroying everything in their path. Perhaps within the caches of a Soul of a Giant is a song that calls the dragons of a distant time forth to it, like how the Archtrees once did so very long ago. The “guardian” dragons seem drawn to the Souls of Giants, enough to make a nest. Under the guise of an ancient dragon, Aldia created a machination that emanated this song about the Draon Aerie and thus controlled the dragons to stay. Some would say Aldia himself merged himself with the ancient dragon. After all, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility to merge souls to things as evidenced by Vendrick’s ability he stole from the Giants to create golems. What a curious thing, to have stolen something from the Giants that enables one to fuse souls. It must be something sacred for the Giants to traverse the sea and obliterate an entire kingdom over. Perhaps this very thing is the key to understanding everything.  I believe once we venture into the Shaded Woods in search of the Ivory Crown, we will get our answer.

[deathstroking-it]

The Knights of Heide

Many a tale has been lost in the decrepit kingdom of Drangleic. Truly, what is truth but the words spoken of those that conquered the land from the previous rulers. Such a vicious cycle is the Undead curse, crushing hope in its wake with the promise of something unattainable. Who can you trust when those closest to you covet the power that governs a land?  Warriors have amassed across the river of time to venture to Drangleic, the kingdom of lost hope. A certain rat would argue that it is human nature to kill and murder the poor fool that dared vested trust in one other than themselves, so true is the song of Dark. Everywhere you go in the Dark Souls world, few have malintent, most harbor an agenda, and almost everyone goes hollow or perishes through their own greed. Once there was a kingdom of Sunlight, that’s brilliance shone like no other. It was the beacon of hope in a world fallen to the Dark, and was the symbol of hope to those that wished to be as grossly incandescent. One such a knight was so obsessed with this symbol of hope that he dedicated the rest of his days in search of it, only to discover that the light was within him. Some say that he perished to his own obsession in a kingdom of fire, some say he transcended the mortal plane and sacrificed himself in a vestige of fire. Very few shared the Sunlight warriors sense of kinship to aid others, but he served as a role model for countless others to take the same path of righteousness. 

The warrior of sunlight traversed the different planes and left his mark on many an individual. His selfless action of aiding those in need in a world abandoned to madness shined the light of hope into those that would go hollow and become forever lost to the Dark. It is not known how many were touched by the sunlight warrior’s actions, but it is known that he left behind a legend in of itself; if only he knew the impact he would have.

Long ago, there was a kingdom known simple as Heide. Whether Heide was a king or whether it was a deity is uncertain. After all, many a tale is lost in the waves of time. Whether Heide was an entire kingdom or was simply a city-state that was apart of a much larger kingdom is debated by many a scholar, but the legacy of Heide remains in it’s shimmering Tower of Flame. The Cathedral of Blue still remains, even after withstanding the Undead plague and devastation of the elements. Perhaps this shows how strong the resolve of the Blue Sentinels truly is. 

The Knights of the Blue must rely on one another to achieve a greater goal. However, becoming a beacon of hope for the world is not something any mortal can just achieve. One must test themselves and train diligently both in principle and in combat, in order to reach a higher plane. Refinement of the self leads to refinement of the soul, and thus a powerful ally of the blue is born. Heide was once a place renowned for it’s highly trained knights, who aspired for enlightenment in this world of chaos through harsh physical and mental training. Those that joined the Knights of Blue were to serve humanity, but those that dreamed to be a Heide knight must serve the realm. How then,you must be asking, are the two related? The two were different but stemmed from the same resolve; a resolve once belonging to a warrior of sunlight. The archetype of hope was something strongly desired in a world of misery and decay. There was no “true” uniform for a blue sentinel, but to be a Heide knight one must wear their uniform with great pride. The knights of Heide were donned an armor that would represent their strength and hearts. Their armor was made with a special alloy that seemingly ignored the untold eons that passed and still retained it’s white color. To gleam upon a Heide knight was a breathtaking sight, as one would become lost in their presence The Heide Knight was one that sought to aim high in all things, something that they tried to incorporate with Way of Blue. However, the Heide Knight was the very pinnacle of what the Blue Sentinels represented. It seemed that Heide was a place of strong resolve and honor, and tried to instill it into the world around them through their covenant.  Such a kingdom laughed in the face of the Undead curse. They slayed the enemies of man in nearly every encounter they had and represented an archetype of hope for those that wished to be free from this world of Dark. The world was brimming with hope and even with the looming threat of the Undead curse, the Way of Blue established itself to the far ends of the earth. Heide was truly a kingdom that shined the light of hope in a world of darkness. Alas, their good fortune and selfless acts did not auger well. It is not known was caused the sea to swallow the kingdom of Heide. Some portend that a sea beast lurks in the depths of the ocean darker than the Abyss itself, while others portend that it was simply the gods way of saying that their time had come. Buildings and bodies are corporeal, whithering away to the erosion of time and the elements. Much of Heide was destroyed; but the Cathedral of Blue still stands to this day, still with dedicated followers that go out to aid those in need.  With no kingdom to serve, the Knights of Heide left the Way of Blue to it’s own devises and continued to do what it was they always did; refine and hone themselves. They dispersed and went on their own personal pilgrimages, understanding that even the mightiest of kingdoms can be swept away in the blink of an eye. To this day, some say they have seen a Heide Knight in deep thought, contemplating the machinations of reality and living in the moment. Even when Hollowed, their will and untold skill still holds true. Their humanity may be gone but their resolve lives on through the Way of Blue. The Tower of Flame still stands to this day, to serve as a symbol for what the Knights of Heide once stood for; to be a light in the Dark.

[deathstroking-it]

In Dark Souls 2, you encounter the “Old Dragonslayer”. Some speculate that this is not, in fact, the same Dragonslayer we see in the previous Dark Souls. I’m one to disagree, and here is why. The captain of the four knights, Dragonslayer Ornstein is heavily implied to be a knight that holds a great deal of honor; for both his men and those he fights alongside with. The symbolism of the lion in his character implies that he had the “soul” of one. Someone described to have the “heart of a lion” is someone who doesn’t know the definition of quitting and makes it a point to allow exemplary bravery and courage shine in whatever it is they do. Being a leader does not necessarily make you the strongest, but rather the one whose soul shines the loudest. A soul that shines bright will draw in other powerful souls like a moth to a flame and show others the way. 

At one point in time, Gwyn, the lord of Sunlight, bestowed upon his most trusted and powerful allies fragments of his soul. Though Gwyn’s intentions of keeping the Dark at bay was noble at heart, his men were entrusted with a rather strange task; to protect an age from ending. One of Lord Gwyn’s four knights, Artorias the Abysswalker, was tasked with going to the town of Oolacile and halting the Dark in it’s tracks. Indeed, this proved to be folly as no mortal, human or not thereof, can overpower the Abyss with will alone. Artorias was said to have a will of steel, but that steel slowly eroded overtime. It simply took longer for the Abyss to poison his mind and body, and no word was heard from him again. Hawkeye Gough and Ciaran were under Captain Ornstein’s orders to protect Anor Londo and make preparations for the oncoming Age of Darkness. How does one truly fight against the changing of times? As time when on, Ciaran had more than likely brought up the fact that Artorias had not been heard from since he was sent on his mission to eliminate the threat in Oolacile. Despite Ornstein’s love of his men, he knew his job was to ensure that the kingdom was well-prepared for the upcoming threat and set aside his feelings for Artorias for the greater good of the kingdom. Ciaran disagreed with Ornstein’s method of leadership and, consumed by her feelings for Artorias, set off to Oolacile to discover the fate of her beloved. When a women makes such a choice of passion, not even the end of the world can deter her.

Hawkeye Gough probably tried reasoning with Ornstein that if someone as powerful as Artorias was defeated by the Abyss, then perhaps they should reconsider what it is they are doing. Perhaps there is something more to this upcoming age of darkness that Gwyn didn’t understand. Ornstein disagreed and more than likely was able to foresee many upcoming problems as a direct result of this strange new age. He already sent out Black Knights to hold down different parts of Lordran and help fight off the coming disaster. Gough, as much as he respected Ornstein, was able to see the problem for what it was. He worried each passing day about his two brothers-in-arms and told Ornstein that he was going to go after them. Ornstein more than likely attempted to explain to the doubting Gough that the two knights-in-arms shared a romantic past that was to sort itself out one way or the other. Princess Gwynevere needed protecting along with the rest of the kingdom, but Gough wasn’t known as Hawkeye purely for his sharpshooting ability. To possess a hawks eye was to see things clearly for what they are, not for what they seem to be. Gough set out to discover the meaning to all of this. He probably tried to help the people of Oolacile, but was chastised. With Gwyn no longer a presence and the people of Oolacile treating the once proud warrior of Sunlight with such disdain made the giant retire his post and dedicate the rest of his days seeking personal enlightenment.

Ornstein was running out of time. The four knights of Gwyn had dwindled to just one dragonslayer. Executioner Smough lingered behind as he had no qualms of seeking out Artorias. The Executioner grew more savage by the day, as there was no form of law or order to stop him other than Ornstein. The age of Dark had slowly begun to seep into the once radiant kingdom of sunlight and the Dragonslayer prepared himself for the worse. Unbeknownst to Captain Ornstein, Gwynevere had fled from Anor Londo with a deity of fire as she saw didn’t believe in her fathers ridiculous attempt at combating a new age. Or perhaps he did know but chose to stay. He needed to see through to the end Lord Gwyns last orders and to execute the plan perfectly. Smough was a monster, but it was better than defending the entire castle by himself. Time went on, and the spread of the Undead curse became rampant. His black knights remained in their post, unaware of what exactly it was they were fighting for. Ornstein remained in the throne room with Smough, awaiting the fateful day the Princess was threatened. It was a gloriously bright day, as he knelt in front of the illusion of Gwynevere. His mind was already consumed by one thought; to protect Gwynevere. Despite his untold amount of time within the throne room, his senses were sharper than ever as he felt a presence coming toward the throne room. He left and awaited for the poor soul that rued the day of challenging the Dragonslayer in combat. Before his very eyes was an undead, powerful enough to defeat the black knights that guarded the castle. Dragonslayer Ornstein lept from the balcony and after untold years of waiting, he attacked the Chosen Undead. Time is twisted and convoluted in Lordran. There are different worlds that phase in and out of existence. Some worlds, the Dragonslayer was the only knight remaining and absorbed his fallen comrade, despite his psychopathic tendencies, and went all out against the chosen undead. Other worlds the Dragonslayer was crushed under the vicious hammer of the Executioner and for a blink moment truly wondered if everything he did was for nothing. He remembered his friends before being defiled by Smough’s hammer, and his soul was absorbed. Perhaps he too was simply an illusion created by Gwyndolin.  Perhaps in some worlds, Dragonslayer Ornstein traveled around Lordran in search of his comrades only to find they were no longer in Oolacile. That was the only thought on his mind; to seek out the other three knights that he once took up arms with to protect an entire kingdom. He traveled the world, for untold amounts of eons, and witnessed the fall and end of several kingdoms in its wake. The lightning that surged through his veins had become nothing but darkness, enveloped by the deep regret he has for not aiding his comrades. If only he had listened. Only ashes of them remained in his mind as the darkness took control of his thoughts and took refuge in the Cathedral of Blue as a means of escaping the outside world. As he tries to contemplate his thoughts, all he can see within him is darkness. He cannot even remember the name of his friends that died in the name of a long forgotten Lord of Sunlight; he cannot even remember his own identity. All he knows now is the silent darkness. As an undead enters the Cathedral of Blue, the forgotten knight captain’s contemplation is disturbed, and the Old Dragonslayer lunges out at the Undead, forever lost to the Dark.

[darksoulslore-blog]

Reblogged from my main page :)

[darksoulslore-blog]

AYE SIWMAE!

Welcome, fellow Undead! Please, take a seat at the bonfire. Pop open an Estus and delve on into the lore of Dark Souls! I present the legends of Drangleic and Lordran (among other kingdoms) in the form of short stories and free-writing. Many a scholar debates on the authenticity of anything regarding history in the Souls world, so take what I present to you with a grain of salt. Feel free to comment and enjoy :)