#fire knights

[arnaerr]

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[sevensplaceofworship]

Kood is done with this bull-

[sahashbelvanie]

The Fire Knights of the Impaler

I just wanted to talk about a few of the lesser-known Fire Knights we encounter throughout the DLC—aside from Queelign—because even though they're obscure, each has their own minor story that I find compelling for how they humanize both the members of Messmer’s army and Messmer himself.

So, what exactly is a Fire Knight? Fire Knights are warriors born of Erdtree nobility who wield Messmer’s flame through incantations, as they were unable to embody the flame inherently when it was bestowed upon them. Because of their involvement in the so-called “holy war,” they were scorned by Erdtree society and ultimately cast out from their homes. Despite this, they chose to remain loyal to Messmer, bound to him by oath.

Within the military, Fire Knights hold the highest rank, subordinate to no one but their lord, Messmer. They know him intimately, and not only accepted but understood his true form as a fiery serpent. They recognized that such an existence caused their lord immense suffering—both physical and mental.

Traditionally, Fire Knights wore pointed helms and armor draped in red cloaks, adorned with a twin-serpent gold motif at the neck. Their enchanted weapons—ranging from daggers to greatswords—resembled flowing flames. They also carried sacred seals modeled after Messmer’s emblem: a gold ring encircling a flame, which enhanced the power of their fire incantations.

Some Fire Knights even authored crafting manuals used by Messmer’s foot soldiers—guides for creating fiery tools like fire grease or ember-based fire coils from materials found on the battlefield.

Something I forgot to mention is that the standard helm worn by the Fire Knights actually provides slight boosts to health, stamina, and equip load, while their armor enhances the potency of Messmer’s flame incantations.

Now, onto the known members of the Fire Knight order (excluding Queelign, because I just don’t feel like it haha):

The "leader" or most prominent among the Fire Knights is a man named Kood. The English script gives him the rank of Captain, but from what I can tell, he simply stands above the others in either skill or authority. His helm is shaped in the likeness of Messmer’s winged serpents—creatures said to be wise and noble companions who help suppress the wicked serpent gnawing at Messmer from within. Given this symbolism, and Kood’s position as the lead Fire Knight, it makes me wonder if he served as a kind of advisor or confidant to Messmer, much like the winged serpents themselves.

Kood’s helm enhances the battle arts used by Fire Knights, and he even wields his own unique technique: Flame Spear. With it, he adopts a poised, thrusting stance before unleashing a fiery spear straight ahead. He stands guard before the entrance to Messmer’s dark chambers.

Wego is the “elder” of the Fire Knights. In this context, the term elder refers to an old man, wise with age and experience. Wego is a man utterly consumed by loneliness—it corrodes his heart. This is likely because he has lost those dear to him, as suggested by the two loosened death masks he wears, vertically stacked atop one another. He is also knowledgeable in the arts of resurrection.

This somewhat reminds me of the necromancer Garris, who, after losing his family, dedicated himself to ancient death hexes. He wielded a flail with copper heads, each attached to the handle by chains and crafted in the likeness of his departed loved ones.

Wego may have lost his family—or perhaps comrades. The spiritual nature of Messmer’s flame drew his attention, and he sought to incorporate it into his resurrection arts. However, when Messmer’s flame took root in the corpses he tried to revive, it did not restore their souls. Instead, it produced shambling husks that brought Wego no comfort.

Wego is one of only two Fire Knights known to have spoken dialogue, hoarsely commanding: “Fire, take seed in death and rise again.” The stacked death masks he wears reduce the focus required to summon spirits—fittingly so. He is found alongside his soulless companions within the sunken church district of Messmer’s castle.

The elder Wego had an apprentice named Salza, who would become the wisest among the Fire Knights. Salza was a man who despised barbarity and needless violence, yet he became most notorious for setting numerous Hornsent villages and townships ablaze during the crusade.

However, Salza risked his life when he counseled his superior—either Captain Kood or their lord, Messmer—to spare the old ruins of Rauh, believing that burning such a place would be a grave mistake. Alongside his dear friend, the Fire Knight Hilde, and others, Salza also advocated for the preservation of various Hornsent specimens within the Shadowkeep’s storehouse.

I presume Hilde is a woman, given the feminine connotation of the name. She would perish during the crusade, and her remains were enshrined as a guardian spirit within the storehouse. It’s rather fitting that she would be laid to rest among the very specimens whose preservation she once championed.

Salza is credited with the incantation Rain of Fire, in which he calls upon a burning cloud. With arms outstretched, he yells, “Rain of Fire,” as fiery rain pours down from the sky while he guards the entrance to Rauh. His pointed helm is wrapped in excess cloth, giving the impression of an enlarged head. Fittingly, the helm boosts one’s intelligence.

Seeing the Fire Knight portraits from @arnaerr made me want to write this, lol.

[littlezas]

the gangs all here

[izunias-meme-hole]

...Ever think about how utterly horrifying Messmer and the Fire Knights are?

I mean they ARE nuanced, but at the same time these motherfckers might just be some of the scariest Soulsborne villains/antagonists ever. They follow a lot of the more traditonal Souls-like storytelling of limited screentime, consistent activity, and unforgettable presence which is helped by players meeting the Furnace Golem before running into any other enemies.

Not only that, but the goddamn body count is unforgettable. Look at this shit!

You don't run into these guys often, but their handiwork and warcrimes are all over the Land of Shadow, and by god those warcrimes just paint the picture of type of ruthless bastards Messmer and his army were when they got sent there. These guys were horrifying and Miyazaki didn't sugarcoat it at all.

[the17thmuse]

(more) etymologies on our zealots of pyromania and punishment

I actually covered Messmer, Andreas and Huw here but this is everyone in Messmer's army.

Messmer

From German messner, a custodian, a gravedigger, verger, and churchwarden (by oldest definition a housekeeper).

From German messer "knife", meaning "one who makes knives" or knifemaker.

From French mesmer, animal charm/magnetism.

*The first definition is most applicable though Messmer made a poor one by letting his men behead all those Marika statues (where did those heads go, by the way?), and the third will explain the sheer number of animals in Shadow Keep. I wonder if he made or designed those Fire Knight weapons himself, which will account for the second.

Andreas

Derived from the Greek anēr, with genitive andros, Andreas means “man” or “manly.” The moniker refers to the courageous traits of the patriarch in Ancient Greece, so Andreas is sometimes translated as "warrior.”

*Andreas is the name of several physicians in ancient Greece, and it is difficult to distinguish each from the other. The earliest Andreas wrote a treatise on rabies and was falsely accounted to have left his native country for having set fire to the library at Cnidos. He was also accused of plagiarism, and was called "the Aegisthius (or Adulterer) of Books".

Maybe Commander Andreas was the one who killed Hilde?

Huw

Of Welsh origin, derived from the name Hugh, which has Old French and Old German origins; understanding, heart, intellect, soul, bright mind, bright spirit; or from Hugo, derived from the old Germanic hugu, meaning 'sense, mind, thought', and huggen, meaning 'to think'.

From hew, to obey or behave according to (rules, principles, or expectations).

*Both define Huw's situation. Poor guy's stuck in a lose-lose situation; either he loses his lord and comrade or his father. He chose to be the filial son in the end, but we don't know the specifics of how far their rebellion got, if Huw had a tell that let Messmer figure it out (too late).

Edredd

From Eadred or Edred, an Anglo-Saxon name, from ēad "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ræd "counsel".

*Mr. Prosperous Counselor is stationed in the Fort of Reprimand area so either his form of counselling is very violent, or he is the final attempt at getting these people to receive a lighter sentence.

Garrew

From Scottish name Garrow, descriptive nickname from the Gaelic epithet garbh 'rough, stout, of powerful build'.

From Cornish nickname garow 'rough'.

Kood

Estonian, borrowed from Middle English code and Old French code “system of law”.

From Latin cōdex, later form of caudex “the stock or stem of a tree, a board or tablet of wood smeared over with wax, on which the ancients originally wrote; hence, a book, a writing.”. 

*Also means a particular lect/variety of language, a cryptographic system using a codebook, and unwritten rules.

Insert a joke on Andreas the religion and Huw the principle/rule vs Kood the law/unwritten rule, anyone?

Salza

Salza, Austrian noble surname, taken from saltz. Saltz is associated with German Salz "salt" and the Latin salarium (root of the word salary), which referred to the payment made to Roman soldiers to buy salt. This could suggest that members of the Salza noble family could have been part of an elite military organization at one point.

Salza is the name of three towns (one French, two Italian) and three river tributaries: the Salza (Saale), in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; the Salza (Unstrut), in Thuringia, Germany (Saale -> Unstrut -> Elbe -> North Sea); and the Salza (Enns), in Austria. 

*Maybe Salza is descended from rich salt merchants who became warriors then nobility, or something. But his name is more likely pertaining to "tributary of a river" due to his position guarding the pathway to Rauh.

Wego

From Spanish huego, obsolete and rare form of fuego "fire", from Late Latin focus “fire”, which came from Latin focus “hearth”.

From Tagalog huego, obsolete form of huwego, borrowed from Spanish juego, from Latin jocus, iocus. Synonym of sugal "gambling". Can mean gambling; a game/play; a set or series of things; or looseness or movement of a mechanical attachment within its own clearance (such as in a steering wheel).

Hilde

Derived from the name Hild formed from Old Norse hildr, meaning "battle". Inspired by a name borne by the legendary Valkyrie Hildr, a female warrior who had the power to revive the dead on the battlefield so that each day, they can continue fighting for what they believed in.

Queelign

Possibly from Irish name Quinlan meaning “fair form,” “handsome image,” or “strong". 

Quellen in Dutch means "to torment, to hurt, to torture" and in Middle English "to kill or slay; to inflict death upon someone", "to quell or suppress; to end afflictions or threats", "to verbally insult or demean", "to ruin, to lay waste to".

*Curiously, both Danish lign and Norweigian ligne mean "to look like, resemble, be similar to", "to take after", "to compare".

Gaius

Roman given name, of uncertain meaning. Possibly derived from Latin gaudere "to rejoice".

Gaius was generally the second-most common personal name, following only Lucius, throughout Roman history. Although many prominent families did not use it at all, it was so widely distributed amongst all social classes that Gaius became a generic name for any man, and Gaia for any woman.

A familiar Roman wedding ceremony included the words, spoken by the bride, ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia ("as you are Gaius, I am Gaia"), to which the bridegroom replied, ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius.

*Gaius emphasizes his personhood by having the name of a normal ordinary man. And that mention of Gaea and Gaius in Gaius' helm...

Rellana

Re- is a Latin loanword prefix used with the meaning “again” or “again and again” to indicate repetition, or with the meaning “back” or “backward” to indicate withdrawal or backward motion.

Possibly derived from Elana or Elena, from the French name Alienor, which could either be a form of Helen, from the Greek helene "light" or selene "moon".

From Lana, taken from English Alana or Alan, meaning "little rock" or "handsome". Lana in in Hawaiian means "calm/still waters" or "afloat".

*Everything about Rellana's name can describe her not only her unique sorcery but also her arena.

Moonrithyll

Based on this Reddit post, Moonrithyll's name is either a meme or a pun, possibly having the meaning of "moon-moon", "moon squared", "moon-night" or "moon-time of moon".

Moongrum got off very lightly with grum meaning "surly, sour, glum, morose".

[katyspersonal]

Thinking about Giants' curse

(Images by Zlofsky) It seems like Radagon was not unique, after all! Fire Monks got this too! Notably, Arghanthy's hair is much less saturated, which makes sense since she is old :p I assume merely close contact with the Fire of Ruin is not all there is, but, they did inherit its power at some point:

"Can't burn if you are already on fire" or whatnot.

With Wego and Kood it can't be seen due to their helmets, but with Salza and Hilde (and general Fire Knight enemies) their red hair are also very visible! Though if Arghanthy is of any indication, again, Wego's hair is likely not so rich of color :p

This similarly confirms that wielding the Messmer's Flame (who we all know is connected with Fell God's curse one way or another) alone is not enough, but Fire Knights attempted to accept it within them! Even if it doesn't settle, the red hair stays!

Queelign seems to be an exception as he is the only Fire Knight whose hair isn't red, and also the only one who doesn't wear red cape. Again, he also uses Messmer's Flame but it alone didn't effect him; for one reason or another, Messmer didn't give him the curse despite Queelign being close enough to become a Fire Knight and live in Shadow's Keep. I think considering how much Queelign is like if Messmer was younger and more naive, he just doesn't want to.. Messmer always hated his flame, so maybe he doesn't have a heart to curse a guy who is quite basically a version of him he wished he was? And how could he ruin someone's blond hair...?

^^^ On a side note, Fire Knights don't have faces modeled under masks, but Messmer's Soldiers do! Seeing how the skin starts to darken for Fire Knights where their mask starts, they probably have a similar damage! Arghanthy has bright orange eyes though, and Fire Monks have normal Lands Between eyes (blue with Grace of Gold), despite both likewise having their faces darkened around the eyes, so maybe Fire Knights should also still have eyes? It is hard to say for sure,