Dark Souls Lore

Kingdom Hearts may have an extremely complicated lore, one which will probably leave you spinning if you read/learn more than what I told you! A keyblade war? We'll get back to that but at least this game gives the player the story, albeit slowly but Dark Souls reveals its lore through subtlety and rather vague item descriptions. So what can we decipher from this game? Here's what I've been able to dig up...

Note: this is for the first Dark Souls and not the other games in the Souls series. You assume the role of an undead sent on a pilgrimage from the Undead Asylum to discover the fate of the rest of the Undead. But how did we get to this moment? We begin at the end of the Age of Ancients 1000 years before you start your adventure in the asylum, the Age of Ancients has no recorded beginnings but it was ended when Gwyn, Lord of Cinder lit the first flame. During the Age of Ancients a race of Everlasting Dragons evolved and ruled the planet with total control, there was little development under the Everlasting Dragons, until Lord Gwyn lit the first flame that is. This occured in the "Dragon Wars" where the four lords: Gravelord Nito, The Witch of Izalith, Seath the Scaleless and Lord Gwyn who used the Lord Souls to free Lordran (the realm the game is set in) and destroy the Everlasting Dragons.

The Age of Fire replaced the Age of Ancients and brought with it a time of peace. However, the flame began to dwindle and many attempts were made to relight it. Gwyn, then known as Lord of Sunlight relights the flame but it comes with a cost. Lord Gwyn became Lord of Cinder and eventually became what is known as Hollow. Across the land the bonfires began to feed off of Humanity, turning the humans into the Undead and eventually the Hollow. From this Chaos Fire rose which also fed off of Humanity as well as Soul Devouring Demons which came from the land known as Lost Izalith. Suddenly those who retained their humanity wanted adventure and exploration, many turned to the Cursed Land of Lordran in search of a challenge. Others turned to the holy city of Anor Londo in search of gods.

You're given the choice at the end of the game, you can end the Age of Fire or prolong it further. If the player chooses to end the Age of Fire the Age of Dark is brought in. To do this the player must slay Gwyn, Lord of Cinder in the kiln of the First Flame, the flame he created in the "Dragon Wars" 1000 years prior. This age signifies man's triumph over the gods and a time of technological progression. If the player relights the First Flame the events of Dark Souls are doomed to repeat itself once again.

So how did you wind up in the Asylum? When Gwyn relight the First Flame, as we discussed above, the flames fed off of Humanity and turned humans into the Undead. The Darksign was left on the Undead who possesed a fragment of the Dark Soul, these beings were believed to be future Dark Lords who would bring about the end of the Age of Fire. Gwyn ordered his children to round up these Undead and lock them in the Undead Asylum to make sure the Age of Dark never comes to Lordran and his rule is eternal. And this is where you come in, an Undead who leaves the Asylum to either prolong the Age of Fire to to birth the Age of Dark and end Gwyn's 1000 year rule!

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