Hi I'm Bob the Hollow and this is a Lore Dump.
These are all things that I've noticed throughout the game and wanted to share but couldn't
fit into any of my other videos.
So, without further ado...
We've killed Gundyr and took his soul.
How is he alive?
Well, he isn't.
The armor itself is probably being controlled by the pus of man, just like the Dragonslayer
Armour is controlled by the pilgrim butterflies.
But what is that thing, the dark pus of men?
Well, it seems to be humanity gone wild, just like what happened to Manus during the times
of Oolacile. What seems strange to me is that their appearances
are contained to the Cemetery of Ash and Lothric Castle.
Why are they here? And why now?
The Dark Sigil, granted to the unkindled, is a bottomless pitch-back hole from which
the darkness of humanity seeps from.
So it would stand to reason that these hollows, that spurt the pus of men, are related to
the unkindled that hail from that very same cemetery.
And just like the wretches of Irithyll dungeon would be failed attempts of the experiments
that lead to Ocelotte, these hollows would be failed attempts of the endeavour for creating
fully functioning unkindled ash.
I have postulated before, that the wyverns at the Dragon Barracks would have been humans
once, that ascended to that form through the Path of the Dragon which, at the time, also
explained their pus of men and now, it still fits perfectly with this new theory.
Also, on my very first Dark Souls video, Dark Lord Gundyr, I had proposed that he was supposed
to have been a contender for the position of Dark Lord, and his pus of man, bleeding
out of his dark sigil, would serve to further corroborate that theory for only a champion
of ash can usurp the First Flame.
If you've watched my Non Vereor Nox video, you may recall the point when I was talking
about Fina and Rosaria, and I brought up the relief sitting at both sides of the statue
of a goddess, in front of the firekeeper's corpse.
Well, reddit user Velexious brought this Cathedral of the Deep engraving to my attention, and
they both share similarities, which could be another small piece of evidence to support
my theory since they would both be located in places that, according to the theory I
proposed, are related to the same character.
Also, I'm still trying to figure out Leonhard, but his moonlight imbued weapon, which was
given to him by Rosaria, could help that theory as well since Gwyndolin's affinity to moonlight
magic could explain how Rosaria would've come into possession of it in the first place.
And Gwyndolin himself would already be connected to that first statue through the Darkmoon
Seance Ring, that can be found in front of another one of those statues, down at the Catacombs.
I had actually forgotten about this ring and was reminded by Marty McFly.
Thanks, mate.
I've mentioned in a video the idea that the Stone-humped Hag, in the Dreg Heap, could
be the firelink Shrine Handmaid.
I didn't have any substantial evidence to support that, but it seemed like the most
likely explanation.
Viewer videopostrrr even pointed out the fact that the two characters have different voice
actors, so I gave a couple of possible explanations for that and left it at your discretion to
decide whether it was believable enough or not.
But I have recently been exposed to a better possibility.
Cheps, from Cheps Gaming, got it from one of his viewers, FallenAngel2100.
It would state that the Stone-humped Hag would've been Lorian's wet nurse, Emma is Lothric's,
and the Shrine Handmaid was supposed to have been Ocelotte's.
That 's ... perfect.
It's simple, logical, and I see no reasons NOT to believe it.
We may not agree on other aspects of his theory but, regarding this part, yeah, I'm definitely
going with that one from here on...
The link to his video is in the description, by the way.
Bloodborne is the soulsborne game where lovecraftian inspirations are the most obvious, but Dark
Souls already had some of its own, long before Bloodborne came to be.
In Dark Souls, sorcery is considered pure knowledge, the study and understanding of
the laws that govern that world.
In order to create the form of sorcery we came to know, Seath, the Scaleless, had to
unlock the secrets hidden within the primordial crystal which, in fact, drove him mad.
The same fate that later befell good ol' Big Hat Logan.
An ancient eldritch wisdom whose understanding will drive you to madness...
What could possibly be more lovecraftian than that...?
This interview dealt mostly with graphical design but Miyazaki let a few lore notes slip,
which is good, because these things could not otherwise be confirmed.
Well, they're confirmed.
The statue behind Frampt, in Firelink Shrine, is of a goddess.
I've seen people claiming that it doesn't have to be of a goddess but apparently Miyazaki
begs to differ.
Andre is just a blacksmith so, yeah, stop with the theories... unless they're fanfic
love stories of course.
Also, the blacksmith statues are petrified blacksmiths, they aren't just statues,
and they aren't related to Andre either, so they're more likely blacksmiths from Astora.
Maybe the hair and beard were in vogue for blacksmiths of that time...
And Ceaseless Discharge is the first demon, he isn't the last son of the old Witch of
Izalith, he's the first son of the new Bed of Chaos.
And on a personal side-note about the Bed of Chaos, who says that the Witch of Izalith failed?
She did create a self-sustaining source of life for herself, her daughters, and the demons.
It's not the First Flame but it is a success.
If it weren't for our meddling, who knows how much their society could've flourished.
Calling them a failure just because they look different is a very narrow minded attitude
from the gods, indeed.
Also, still as a side note, claiming that the Bed of Chaos wasn't Isalith is a bit far fetched,
considering that we got an actual lord soul from it.
The only other two lord souls come from Nito and Gwyn so, if you're going to consider the
possibility that it was not Izalith, then you're opening the floodgates for people to
claim that the Nito we fight was actually Nito's brother, and that Gwyn was actually
Lloyd...
Reddit user HelloGB00 posted a very interesting theory that I'd like to share.
It goes as follows:
"As we all know, Dark Souls protagonists ruin everything by touching everything they come
across (paintings, shells, you name it).
But my favorite time the Ashen One fucked up is when they picked up the Ashen Estus Ring.
The description makes it clear we're supposed to wake up with it but since we picked it
up in the past, it's not there.
We literally could have had the ring from the start of the game but since we picked
it up in Untended Graves, we lost it.
The Ashen One literally robbed his own grave."
Cool.
So, let's recap: unkindled are undead who failed to link the Flame and are reborn as unkindled.
But why now?
And how, exactly, are we reborn?
As I have stated before, Sulyvahn, First of the Scholars, would've brought the knowledge
of embering from the Smouldering Lake to Lothric, in order to help Rosaria, Mother of Rebirth
and Queen of Lothric, in the creation of the unkindled.
The unkindled being, in theory, an essential backup of the throne ritual.
But the prince would be taught by Sulyvahn to doubt the linking of the First Flame, so
the unkindled would have another purpose instead...
Then, we have the pilgrims of Londor, who came to Lothric to... die... apparently.
And judging by Yoel's questline, they were supposed to have died by granting the dark
sigil to someone, and that someone would have to be unkindled.
So, they are pilgrims of Londor, and Londor's goal is to usurp the First Flame.
Their goal is to grant the dark sigil to the unkindled so the goal of the unkindled's creation
would have to be to usurp the First Flame as well, as per Londor's plan.
Ok, is that it?
Well, no.
The unkindled are reborn at the Cemetery of Ash, and in that same place, albeit another
time, we can also find the Hollow's Ashes, further linking Londor and its plan to the
creation of the champions of ash.
And I believe that one of these champions, Freide, was supposed to have been the Lord
of Hollows all along.
It would stand to reason that she, of all unkindled, would be granted this honor and
in Firelink Shrine, with the Sword of Avowal in hand, she'd have a heap of unkindled to
choose from and stake through the head in wedlock.
She was tucked away inside the Painting where Father Ariandel, now a corvian, would be a
sympathizer to Velka's principals and would side with Londor, just like she once sided
with the Occult Rebelion.
The toll of the now useless, frozen bell would signal her to return but she turned it down
and founded a new Sable Church inside the Painting.
Londor has many champions to choose from, but she's the only one that can, after her
own twisted vision, save the forlorn of the Painted World.
And so, we became the backup not only for the throne ritual, but for the usurpation as well.
We all know the theory that Gwynevere was the queen of Lothric and, if you've seen my
other videos, you know that I disagree with it.
At one point it was brought to my attention that Projected Heal could be used as an argument
pro-Gwynevere but once again I respectfully disagree.
It is found in Lothric but it makes no mention to the queen whatsoever.
And it was said that it could be a link between Gwynevere and Lothric since she'd have to
be present for them to feel her "caress," but the Japanese description says "healing
and blessing" rather than "caress and bounty," it's referring to her miracles and blessings,
it does not imply that the inhabitants of Lothric would've felt her caress, as it has
been argued.
It says that he "tried to remember her [...] and spun a serious story."
Her original miracles, or tales, were lost so they created a new one.
The world was coming to an end, they were looking for comfort, and there's nothing more
comforting in Dark Souls than Gwynevere's bosom.
So they spun fictional stories about her.
I honestly see it as another FromSoftware troll towards the community.
They know about the common misconception that Gwynevere was the queen, they created the
misconception, and they believe that all the theorists who fall for it are both innocent
and sincere in their beliefs.
Were the Red Eye Orbs farmed from the heads of the twisted inhabitants of Oolacile?
White Titanite reinforces both divine and occult weapons reinforcing my theory that
the Occult Rebellion sprang from within the Way of White.
A very unassuming shield for sure, but it does beg the questions of "Why were twin snakes
an old symbol in Lordran?
And why did it become the symbol of the Great Swamp?"
Also, the fact that Vince and Nico wielded such shields oddly reflects the symbol's modern
use, since it was mistakenly transformed into a symbol of medicine by the military.
The Zweihander in the Firelink graveyard is probably a hint to this version of Tarkus,
from one of the trailers.
"Only a mad Hollow would choose to fight with this."
The wolves were already present in Ariamis.
We could hear them howl...
Another small piece of evidence linking Sulivahn to Lothric and his position as First of the
Scholars, is that Greirat will sell Lothric Knight weapons and the Scholar's Candlestick
after his trip to Irithyll.
Oh, dear!
The Tree Women of the Painted World probably became forlorn on the account of being used
as raw material for making Witchtree Branch staffs.
Dark Souls has seen its share of strange trees throughout the years but Lothric's just pushing it.
Hollowed trees, tree-people, cursed trees, and end-of-times pilgrim-sprouting angel-blooming
would-be trees.
Just take your pick.
About the hollow trees, it looks like the praying hollows couldn't be bothered to move
even after the trees started growing around them.
Nothing to see here, moving on.
What we have in the Undead Settlement is different, though.
They're not growing from the ground, they seem to have been enveloped in some sort of
tree husk.
I'd say that given the properties of the close-by Rotted Greatwood, that could've been a way
of sealing away cursed individuals.
Or a more interesting possibility, and in my opinion more likely, would be that it was
used to protect yourself from affliction.
Most of them are sitting in rocking chairs rather than thrown around like the other corpses,
in a building filled with books.
The only other building in the Settlement where you can find books is the first one
you enter, where there's a single bookcase, and that is also the only other place where
you can find these husk-encased hollows.
The presence of books would infer some kind of scholar and I think the husks could be
their version of the plague doctors' garb and just like the real thing, it wouldn't
have worked as well as expected.
Oh, and the high hanging fruit from the Curse-Rotted Greatwood have limbs hanging out of them...
That's just gross...
The... things... that sprout from the Pilgrims' corpses in The Ringed City are sometimes mistaken
for tree like people but they're actually humanoid bugs, just like the so-called angels.
It has been argued that maybe the bug thing didn't sprout FROM the corpses, but I think
they did, considering that londor pilgrims created pilgrim butterflies and the presence
of the broken chains that once bound their shells.
The difference between the butterflies and the angels can be easily explained by the
maturity of the parasite, at the time in which it would've conjured the airborne apparition.
Continuing on the topic of these pilgrim parasites, what exactly are they?
In the real world, we have parasitoid insects that lay their eggs inside other insects,
living hosts that will carry, protect, and ultimately die for their larvae overlords.
And in the world of Dark Souls, of course this concept would be taken to a whole new
nightmarish level.
These bug-like creatures are found in the Ringed City DLC, and in that same DLC we can
also find the White-faced Locust Preachers.
Most likely based on the White-Faced Bush Cricket and the Mushishi manga, these uncanny
sermon givers would use their very prominent ovipositors to lay their eggs into their human victims.
Granted that, in real life, locusts would play the part of the host but this is Dark Souls:
you adapt, overcome, and endure.
In this latest installment of the series, we are introduced to the blue robed, travelling,
undead clerics who can also be found in the abyssal swamp where the locust preachers reside,
and their similarity to the pilgrims of Londor, from whom the offspring would eventually hatch,
is undeniable.
And if you find it strange that the white-faced locusts would be the origin of the pilgrim
parasites that would wind up at the end of the Age of Fire, just try to remember that
the Ringed City is a glimpse of both the past and the future of this world.
Back in the real world, jewel wasps and many others that practice these breeding procedures,
affect the brain of their hosts, wildly changing their behaviour to turn them into the willing
caretakers that they need.
The host will not fight, it will not flee.
It will defend the invading offspring with their lives, while the wasp's larva feed upon
their flesh.
The undead clerics wore their back covers to prevent becoming seedbeds of darkness,
unaware that the covers were seedbeds themselves.
They were entrusted with a duty, they were sent out into the world to spread the locusts'
breed and bring back the unwitting converts.
Their fanatic behaviour was exploited by Londor, who turned them into their Pilgrims.
Some of them tried but failed to return to the swamp.
And all the while the locusts are still preaching, beckoning the undead.
Fear not the dark, and let the feast begin!
Yes, this one's going to be highly speculative.
First, a little backstory.
I had originally intended to solve the problem of having the Dragonslayer Set in Archdragon peak.
I think the most popular theory is that Ornstein was an illusion in Dark Souls 1.
I don't like that theory.
I think it's rather short sighted, it ignores facts, it leaves new questions unanswered,
and it creates more questions than it answers.
We got Ornstein's soul in Dark Souls 1, that's the biggest argument against him being an illusion.
Also, if Gwyndolin could create illusions as powerful as that, he'd be unstoppable.
Also also, there'd be boss illusions to fight for him in his corridor, instead of him just,
y'know, dying.
Also also again, you're opening Pandora's box with this one since now, every single
living thing in the game would be a possible illusion.
I have already presented my answer to this problem in a previous Lore Dump but I feel
the need to address it again because there doesn't seem to be any consensus among the
community.
So the answer came through Sacred Oath and the Dragonslayer Armour boss.
The Sun's firstborn is the Nameless King of course.
His "faithful first knight" is Ornstein, as stated by the Leo Ring.
And Dark Souls 3 introduces the "brave dragonslayer who served them both" as a new canonic character,
since this paragraph didn't exist prior to Dark Souls 3.
You get Sacred Oath by ranking up in the Warriors of Sunlight covenant, offering medals to the
Nameless King statue in Lothric, about 30 feet from the Dragonslayer Armour boss fight.
They asked the question of "who was this brave dragonslayer" and then immediately answered
it with "he was the original owner of the armor that is now controlled by the Pilgrim
Butterfly."
Now, the question would be "what happened to him, then?"
And that's where Archdragon Peak comes in: he abandoned his original armor and donned
Ornstein's to honor his memory, he looked after the cathedral for a time but, feeling
disillusioned by Anor Londo's sad state of affairs, he eventually left in search of his
only surviving captain, the Sun's firstborn.
Ok, now, about Smough...
It's just a continuation of the same theory, really.
A new knight picked up Ornstein's place and likewise, a knight picked up Smough's place
as well.
And the biggest hint here would be Smough's armor's current description, which calls him
a knight.
Considering that he was never a knight at all, then I think it's pretty clear that some
other person, an actual knight, took his position.
After Ornstein 2.0 left, he was "the last knight to stand in defense of the ruined cathedral."
Since you can get his Hammer in Irithyll and armor after defeating Aldrich, then I think
it's also safe to assume that he stayed there for good, which would inevitably place him
under the service of Sulyvahn.
And about the connection between his armor and Aldrich, I think that the original Smough
may have been used as a role model for Aldrich, to help convince him of the benefits of
eating people.
Up to this point, I think it's all kinda solid.
It's just a matter of following the logic.
The part where I claim that Vordt might be Smough 2.0 is the part where speculation really
kicks in.
I'm not saying that he most definitely is this knight that took Smough's position.
I'm saying that he could very well be.
We'd still need to know what happened to Smough 2.0 and Vordt would fit the bill.
Not to mention that all bosses have quite a bit of lore to them so, if I'm wrong about
this, then Vordt would be the only boss who's just a bigger version of a regular enemy.
This ghostly visage, walking alongside the Dancer, would be of Vordt as he was leaving
Irithyll.
The differences in shape and size are easily explained, since this version of the Dancer
is also extremely different from the Dancer we get to meet.
Their bodies would've been deformed by Sulyvahn's magic, as stated in the description of her
armor.
And he'd be a lot thinner than Smough's armor but, our character can be really skinny and
wear that armor too...
Like I said in the beginning, this is highly speculative, but it does fit well with my
theory for the Dragonslayer Armor Set, it explains Smough's armor's description, and
it explains the origins of Vordt.
And, c'mon, two giant fat bastards with giant blunt weapons ready to crush you with their
giant big fat butts...
Just give me the benefit of the doubt is all I'm saying...
The ancient dragons wouldn't die of old age but they were just as vulnerable as the gods were.
The gods have presumably survived many cycles of the First Flame, so the Flame wouldn't
be necessary for their so-called immortality, just for their power.
Demons can be used as an indication of this since, in theory, they would be immortal so
long as the Chaos Flame burns, just as the gods would be immortal so long as the First
Flame burns but the Stray Demon, in Lothric, has no trace of the Chaos Flame left in him
and yet, he lives.
Maybe they were already immortal before they found their souls in the First Flame, maybe
their souls are what made them immortal.
Either way, the pygmies would be immortal too, since they came from the same proto-race
and found the Dark Soul inside the First Flame.
Regarding humans, I think our natural state would also be one of immortality.
We are descendant of immortal beings, and just like the later generations of gods were
immortal, we would be as well.
But the gods placed their sign upon the first men to control them, much like -and I do believe
it is- the darksign.
So, the darksign would always be there, you'd lose humanity and souls through it and that
would keep you mortal.
And once the Flame starts to fade, once the humanity inside you starts getting stronger,
it would trigger and become visible to the naked eye.
It can no longer keep you mortal, so it will at least keep you hollowed.
We're tiny, we fuck like bunnies and spread like roaches.
Now imagine that real-life roaches were immortal beings, who could absorb our souls in order
to grow stronger.
Wouldn't you want to prevent that?
That's where the darksign comes in.
It's a safeguard against humanoid, immortal, godlike roaches.
We've been robbed not only of our sanity, but of our immortality as well.
The Black Hands, a group of assassins who serves Lothric's royalty... but Lothric's
royalty is gone.
Except for the Princes who aren't absent but have excluded themselves from their royal
duties so...
They serve Emma instead?
I mean, she certainly seems to be in charge.
The Black Hands, a group of assassins who serves Lothric's surrogate royalty.
Under Emma's orders they are positioned at the three entrances of the Grand Archives,
effectively creating a lockdown of the building.
The clerics and knights have never trusted the scholars, not only that but Gertrude,
mother of the angelic faith, is said to be somewhere in there right now...
Once there were three.
An unknown hunter was positioned at the top of the Grand Archives but he was killed by angels.
Once there were three, now there are two.
Gotthard helped us on our journey to defeat the lords of cinder and returned to his post
where he awaited, key in hand, to help us out once more.
But he was killed before he ever had the chance, and most have come to believe that he was
killed by Kamui, based on his sword's description which says that he "fled the castle" and,
in theory, his duties too.
Once there were three, now there is one.
Kamui was tasked with guarding Prince Lothric and was positioned at the Grand Archives entrance
that led to the prince's quarters.
His demise came at the hands of a champion of ash.
Once there were three, now they're no more.
But there is more to it.
First, there's the question of why was Gotthard killed.
The problem with the currently accepted theory is that his sword's original description leans
more towards "he was away (or sent away) from the castle," implying that he was out in official
Black Hand business.
There is also Kamui's companions, Kriemhild and Albert.
I had considered once that maybe Gotthard might have been killed by the Dragonslayer
Armour, but then I remembered that you can kill that boss before he dies so... yeah...
Now, I have come to believe that our first instinct was right, and Kamui really was the
perpetrator.
As always, things become more clear if you trying looking at them as a whole, instead
of separately.
Emma still wished for the Prince to become a lord of cinder, despite his refusal.
Gotthard agreed with her, in that this would be the best way to serve the throne, by helping
it ascend to the ultimate glory.
While Kamui, "who looked after the prince," decided to uphold his wishes.
Being a covert assassin operating from the shadows, outside the jurisdiction and power
struggle of the three pillars, he placed Kriemhild as a spy inside the Grand Archives, posing
as a pupil to the Twin Sages and spying on the scholars.
She may have been their favorite pupil but, once you get to the top of the Archives, it's
pretty clear where her allegiance lies.
Albert stayed close to Emma and spied on the knights and clerics, who in effect worked together.
I once assumed Emma may have died after spending all her energy keeping the Dancer out, but
judging by the pool of blood that can be found around her, in her final moments, she was
killed too.
And following Kamui's orders, Albert would've been her killer.
He sees you off to the Undead Settlement.
Whether you succeed or die trying to kill off the lords of cinder, it really doesn't
matter, you are all enemies to the secluded prince.
And he uses a black crystal and leaves you behind if you kill Emma because his job here
is simply done.
Grand betrayals, assassins, and spies.
When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
I know some of the stuff I talked about today is a bit controversial
so whether you agree or disagree with them, leave a comment, I really would like to hear
what you have to say about it.
Or, come and find me at SinclairLore's Discord Server.
It's a very cozy place to talk about Dark Souls or anything, really.
And you can take the opportunity to check out her channel, she's got some really good
stuff over there.
As always thank you very much for watching.
I would also like to thank Vinnie for helping support this channel at Patreon.
And if you like my content and haven't subscribed yet, feel free to do it so you don't miss
out on any future videos.
Until then, cya.
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