Install Steam
login
|
language
简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
日本語 (Japanese)
한국어 (Korean)
ไทย (Thai)
Български (Bulgarian)
Čeština (Czech)
Dansk (Danish)
Deutsch (German)
Español - España (Spanish - Spain)
Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America)
Ελληνικά (Greek)
Français (French)
Italiano (Italian)
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Magyar (Hungarian)
Nederlands (Dutch)
Norsk (Norwegian)
Polski (Polish)
Português (Portuguese - Portugal)
Português - Brasil (Portuguese - Brazil)
Română (Romanian)
Русский (Russian)
Suomi (Finnish)
Svenska (Swedish)
Türkçe (Turkish)
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Українська (Ukrainian)
Report a translation problem
Discussions Rules and Guidelines
Report this post
great, now i want to replay Shovel Knight.
Seriously though, it's cool if you're only interested in gameplay or PvP, but there are those who love the lore. This is for them; though I know they're mainly on Reddit not steam. I'll publish there too.
Saulden tells us that all living beings, be they sentient or not, posses a soul. These souls originate from the flame as shown in dark souls. My theory is that the flame is a soul, for is the world we live in not alive?
When the flame starts to fade, the darksign appears. I have heard that the darksign is no creation at all, but nature running its course. The darksign consumes souls, but energy is never lost (physics). So what does it change into? The theory states that the darksign is a failsafe: if there is no undead who will link the flame, the flame will reignite with the souls consumed by the darksign. For from the ashes of a flame, a new flame will reignite.
If the flame is indeed a very powerfull soul, than anybody would seek it. We know Nashandra covets that what she lacks, and that is strenght. She manipulated Vendrick to get closer to her goal, but Vendrick found out and that is why she needs us.
Nashandra is the embodiment of want, as she is an eternal prisoner of her own desire. For the larger the flame, the larger the shadow that will be cast.
That's great to hear, I'm also quite interested in what you'll write! Let me get to answering your question though and my opinions on them.
Who is the Emerald Herald? I believe WHAT she is-is an 'artificial fire keeper'. In the first Dark Souls, there was an unexplained reasoning on how all fire keepers linked the flames, but they should never meet. This is explained to you in Anor Londo by the Keeper there who is also a member of the Darkmoon Blades.
What's rather strange is that at the very start of Dark Souls 2 that rule is broken. Fire keeps are in each others company and also seem to have abandoned their posts. Why it is they did this or if there is an age requirement for being a Keeper, we may never know, but what we do know is that the rules are different in Dranglaic, right from the start.
So that leads to the next question, what did Vendrick steal? I believe it is/ was The Lord Vessel and maybe The Ashen Mist Heart (could be several items). It's possible the Giants inherited the Lord Vessel as Kingdoms rose and feel on the land across the sea, likely Lordran. I believe the Giants are likely also the Arch-Trees who existed alongside the Dragons before Gwens assault on them. They were likely sleeping, as it is referenced that when a Giant is at peace they simply turn into trees.
The Seed of Giants is also a hint to the Giants being hostile toward invaders even when resting, as when one is used, enemies will attack invaders the same as the Host. It's a good assumption that someone used these seeds normally before the Giants even arrived to Dranglaic and might also explain why a Giants soul and Dragon Scales can create an "Ancient Dragon".
Which also leads into Who is Nashandra? I believe 'Shandra is just a representation of Trail by Fire. Vendrick likely believed himself to be invincible and she wanted to test his strength. It's likely she just wanted a powerful soul to inherent the Dark instead of linking the fire. The search for the crowns in the DLC is likely all suggestion from 'Shandra that go unmentioned, the Giants just so happened to be more then Vendrick could handle, and so he fled. Vendrick I believe represents the player if he were to 'give up', ti in a corner and just wither away.
As for Tseldora and it's Duke? I don't have much on the place, but it is rich with lil' details. A few days ago a person reminded me of the decayed dragon hanging from the ceiling, as well as Ashen Knight Boyd being a summon-able NPC there. I don't have much yet, sorry I couldn't give more.
Who is the forth Fire Keeper? I'm not sure, if I recall I only met the one Emerald Herald and the "retired" crones in Things Betwixt. If I knew what finding the information did to push the story forward, it might be looking into. As of now, I don't really see how it would matter either way, but I'd like to hear about it if anyone else knows! :3 #haveFun
I'm nearly done. I just have a few more to complete, evolve and issues to address. Then there's formatting and creating the guide itself.
I'm a subscriber to the theory that Vendrick stole the Ashen Mist Heart. What Vendrick stole is one of the biggest parts of my theory. I don't think it was the Lord Vessel - the nature of kingdoms being cylical (thanks Straid) makes me think that Drangleic occurs roughly in a similar position to Lordran was. I think that the Lord Vessel would be guarded by the Kings throughout time until, at some point, it was broken. Perhaps by Aldia, in the Majula mansion which may have been his abode? Anyway, I think that the Lord Vessel; has stayed in the same land all this time.
There are other suggestions - the Throne of Want, Giants Kinship, the First Flame itself, the Petrified Dragon Egg being the main ones - but I'l l touch on how I think they don't fit in when I publish.
If that's true, Vendrick being King, had to have something to do with it, even if it was giving Aldia the ok or the breathing room to claim the Vessel, at the same time, I'm certain some sort of siege was required to retrieve it from either the Dark Lord or the next Kingdom who inherited it years later. That being the case, it would explain why bonfires work the way they do now and why the Fire keepers aren't linking the fires anymore (or no longer need to).
I would agree with you to pass on the Lord Vessel if it can be proven that the events in Tseldora, The Lost Sinner being locked away, and the Old Iron Kingdom falling to ruin happened during or within the time of Vendricks reign or conquering of Dranglaic, which would suggest the souls had been release before he got there (which is unlikely). However, the Ashen Mist Heart having priority over the Lord Vessel as a prize is a stretch.
On the other hand, the Ashen Mist gets direct use in-game with The Giants~ which is uite curious, and is also more relevant to the story then the Lord Vessel. The Ashen Mist also has arguable much more use and power then the Lord Vessel, as being able to travel into old memories in a land of forgotten and lost knowledge is undeniably valuable. I would say he stole both items, but I also don't know where it suggests it was 1 thing or many.
If you could explain a lil' more, it might be clearer, but I can also wait for you to publish your information as well. Either is fine. :3 #yep
Consider - Vendrick collected the Souls of the four Great Ones as a Chosen Undead. I think we know this to be true, or as good as. He then feels, not suspecting the depths of Nashandra's evil, that the kingdom is at little enough threat to safely move the Lord Vessel. He either works with Aldia, or allows Aldia to conduct research with the Lord Vessel, Or, somebody in the Majula mansion at least. This person ends up breaking the Lord Vessel, whether by accident or intent is unsure. The four Great Souls of old (and more?) are released into the land, and take up residence once more, influencing Drangleic and it's citizens. There are obvious parallels between the Rotten and Gravelord Nito, the Duke's Dear Freja and Seath et cetera. This is what makes Vendrick aware of the cyclical nature of time; and perhaps pushes him along the path to giving up - powerful evil will always rise again.
I think it fits. :) This is a new branch for me, those thoughts have largely come off the bat. I'll include it!
the emerald herald is apparently indeed an artificial firekeeper, at least she inherited the ability to manipulate souls using a bonfire (leveling up). maybe she is also the 4th firekeeper, but in a younger version from the past. in the artworks there are even pictures of her as a child, so that would make sense. would also explain why all firekeepers in DS2 look the same - they are clones, not like the firekeepers of the past.
and here is where it gets completely speculative, but you can google some of this (at least the pics) yourself: in concept art leaked before release, there were drawings of several areas in DS2 like cardinal tower, dragon shrine, shaded woods (the long bridge you can see from majula), heides tower, shrine of armana etc. almost ALL of them had 2 different versions, one old and in ruins, the other one new and intact. in the intro to DS2, the scene where the main character sails across the lake, the refelction in the water is completely different from the actual landscape - instead of ruins, you see how the place looked in the past. so i assume that actually tons of stuff got cut from the game, maybe a whole time-travelling concept, basically like zelda or chrono trigger. if you remember the earliest footage of the game, the 8 min or so clip on IGN iirc, there was a really weird sign where the covenant sign is now - one that has not been seen since. it look like an astronomical clock, which would hint to some time-shifting stuff as well. there were speculations about day/night cicles as well, in general time itself was to play some role, but i don´t know what exactly.
what vendrick stole from the giants....well, i think it might have been something that let him understand the cycle. don´t know wat exactly it was. for some reason vendrick found out that his struggles are somewhat futile, maybe whatever it was that he stole gave him this insight - making it one of the most powerful items in the world, leading you to understand the nature of existence itself?
nashandra is part of manus, who is the furtive pygmy, who found one of the 4 lord souls at the beginning of the age of fire. manus seems to represent human desire (the throne and nashandras items are all "of want"), be it greed, lust - or in his case most likely love. he kidnapped Dusk, pretty much like kingkong with that white chick and kept her alive in the abyss, as you find out after beating him. after getting destroyed, the first piece to emerge again was nashandra - looking an awful lot like dusk, dress an all. seeing as Dusk means the fading of daylight, it´s quite the fitting name for her. maybe her ultimate goal is to find a way to fulfill her desire, a desire that she doesn´t even know the origin of?
tseldora is the "rebirth" of seath - some crazy lord who spends his day xperimenting on humans and animals - hybrids in this case. freja was in the little cage in the dukes chamber until she got too big and broke the cage as you can clearly see entering the room.
4th firekeeper: see first answer