For anyone wondering what this wonderful soundtrack is, I just found it: 1st part: Jessica Curry - Golden Ratio - th-cam.com/video/F8xb6H6bgVM/w-d-xo.html 2nd part: Jessica Curry - Standing Stones - th-cam.com/video/udU882DNO3A/w-d-xo.html
Saw your other comment, somehow I can't see it here, but I can see in the cellphone notifications. Thank you so much for the comment and for sharing your emotions, I'm always amazed when someone feels touched by this video, Jessica's music indeed helps a lot! Really recommend you to play the games that she worked as composer, such as Dear Esther and Amnesia Machine for Pigs, no doubt your feelings will be the same as when you see this video. I'll also pin your comment since people from time to time keep asking for the songs ;-)
@@earlkzb I was trying to find the soundtrack with the help of Shazam, but Vendrick's dialogue made it difficult, so I posted a comment asking for the songs' names in case someone could help; immediately afterwards I tried one last time at parts where there was 2-3 seconds of uninterrupted music and I found it. The original comment was rendered useless, so I deleted it and that's why you cannot find it anymore. Moral of the story: never give up I guess 😅. Thank you for pinning the comment, the souls community is a sucker for soundtracks tbh and I'm glad I can help them find good songs. Jessica has some great music to make things impactful, it's not like boss OST, it's more atmospheric. I'm sure folks will appreciate her music, especially when heard in the environment it was created for. Most of all, thank you, Earl KZB, once again for this amazing video. I honestly listen to Vendrick more frequently than I would like to admit.. the bittersweet emotions I feel whenever I do send me chills... Dark Souls II's story and main characters are spectacular, and it's the reason I consider it a flawed masterpiece.
@@earlkzb Hi Earl, may I ask if the music you used in this video is copyrighted? Is it possible for me to use them for my own fan-made Dark Soul mashup video (non-profit)? Or should I contact Jessica personally and ask for any possible authorization? Thanks❤.
It's funny that Vendrick and Aldia know the true nature of the world and this supposed "curse" more than any character in Souls series and yet DS3 cast both of them aside like they're nothing.
@@Mango-cp1im No, DS3 takes place after DS2 because in DS3, Drangleic is in ruins and the knights that survived are wandering around. Also some speculate that the First of Scholars who convinced Prince Lorhric to abandon the Firelinking curse is actually Aldia, but yeah, I do wish he was more present.
That's actually really sad. I didn't play ds3 yet, but judging by what I saw, it just looks like a giant ds1 fanservice. The bosses look amazing though. Sight, I least ds2 tried its own thing... And got a legendary amount of hate for it.
Love how he describes "his dear Shandra" as a feeble tiny thing, thirsting for power. Almost as if he can't bring himself to hate her, despite all she does :')
He is correct though, nashandra is described as the smallest fragment of Manus and she is a physical embodiment of his feelings of want. Think about how you enter the DLC in DS1. You're literally dragged in by him as he reaches through time and space to grab you because you have his precious pendant. If his feelings of want over a pendant were so much that he reached through time and space, imagine how strong his feelings of want must have been for actual power. She quite literally couldn't help it, she was a lust for power given flesh, so she obviously would lust after power. Alsanna is incredibly fearful which is why she keeps herself protected from harm with the ice on the stairs. She simply can't help being afraid, she is a human embodiment of fear. With all the time Vendrick had to think, he probably did begin to hate Nashandra for what he did before he came to realize she wasn't human, and thus didn't have the same emotional control humans have. Vendrick definitely doesn't blame her for what happened because while she may have tricked him, he too allowed himself to be tricked. He still chose to invade the giants and oppress the undead. Vendrick is one of the most introspective characters in anything ever. He has totally come to terms with what happened and harbors no ill will towards Nashandra.
He's king vendrick. One of the 2 most enlightened people in the game. He has very strong souls. In addition, if you have an eternal life and in such a gray world, it is not difficult to reach philosophy. Especially for those living in Turkey like me. BtW best philosopher and most enlightened person in the Game is GAVLAN : Gavlan wheel gavlan deal. very pure and very wise words.
My god, his voice actor did an amazing job portraying Vendrick I can feel his words carving themselves inside my skull. I am in love with this man's voice
I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here: Dark Souls 2 has to be, BY FAR, From's best story-telling venture. Say what we will about the gameplay and whatever else, and say whatever we will about the "B-team" and all the redos they had to do in development. The only game From has made that rivals Dark Souls 2 in story-telling is Dark Souls 1, and I am saying that having played Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, and watching multiple playthroughs of Bloodborne and Demon Souls. Dark Souls 2 takes the curse of undeath and makes it personal; Before in the land of the gods, Gwyn being hollow meant that the world was on the brink. Every action you did was world-defining: Ringing the bells, conquering Sen's Fortress, Acquiring the the Lord Souls, Linking the Flame or letting it die. YOU defined the outcome of something larger than yourself, you "chosen undead." But things are different; you are not some prophesized curse-bound hero. You're a nobody. You're a nobody from an unnamed land, with nothing to call your own. Your reason for being here? Find a cure to the curse. To die. When you encounter Gwyn at the Kiln, it's supposed to feel as if you stumbled upon the vestiges of god. When you come across Vendrick, you find a scared old man, hollowed away far away from all prying eyes. From Gwyn we learn the "reality" of the world, a fading flame. From Vendrick, we learn the truth, "A lie, but I knew no better." Dark Souls 2 has characters that have genuinely figured it out, Vendrick, Aldia, Shannalotte, and others. The world of flame and shadow was just a lie, and all this suffering the purchase of a single sin. "Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"
The prophecy from ds1 isn’t real btw. There is no “chosen undead.” That’s only what they call the protagonist because they were the one to link the flame. The prophecy was just propaganda to get enough “chosen undead” to try and hope one of them would manage to do it. Throw enough shit at the wall and something will stick.
I couldn't agree more. Dark Souls 2 is in my opinion much superior to the others in terms of storytelling, the aspect I find more important. I also think it's better than DkS 3 gameplay wise and it ties with 1, although it's more balanced. All in all the fact that it has the highest metacritic score is more than justified, it's a masterpiece.
I actually agree as well. I know very little about the lore of DS2, but still have a pretty good understanding of the story and what it was trying to get at. It still has that vagueness, but it's just clear enough to convey things properly, but also spark intrigue. DS1 was a lot more heavily dependent on environmental storytelling, and while it was good and had that spark effect as well, it was definitely less clear beyond it's very surface-level "Link the fire or don't." storytelling objective due to this. DS2 does not get enough love for essentially setting up some of the best story and environmental beats of the series seen in DS3's Ringed City DLC.
@@Amaryryry DS2 legitimately brought me to tears when I realized you could enter Vendrick's dream and speak with him. His story is so deeply tragic but yet hopeful. He seeks to atone for his failures by ensuring you learn from him.
This is the type of speech made by a dead kings resting corpse halfway through an adventure time episode, followed by Finn making a fart joke of some sort
When I did my first playthrough of Elden Ring, I named him after King Vendrick. He was a pyromancer and two handed sword user and it felt like I was doing his story of seeking fire. There was even the Last Giant that we had to subdue to claim its strength of fire for ourselves. Though the Dark Souls series is my favorite and always will be, and everyone was great just like Vendrick, Aldia, and Dark Souls 2 will always be a hidden gem.
Vendrick is mentioned in some items as the "Old King of want" and Aldia is supposed to be the scholar that teached Prince lothric about the flame and influence him to let it fade... He is also in some spells descriptions.
@@GilbertTheGilbertGuy it could be kathee, Sulyvahn or Aldia. But My vote is for Aldia since it is mentioned that the tutor or Lothric was "the first scholar" and Aldia is literally named the "scholar of the first sin" in ds2. Also there are statues of the first scholar in the grand archives of ds3 and they are literally aldia but in a humanoid form. But.. at the end You choose who You want it to be since the lore of dark souls is designed like that.
Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. I am Vendrick, ruler of Drangleic. What do you see in the flames? As flame rises, so does it fade. Such is the way of things. I fail to see your design, young moth. But, I see very little, these days...Seeker of fire, conqueror of Dark. I, too, sought fire, once. With fire, they say, a true king can harness the curse. A lie. But I knew no better...I am no king. I am more fit to be a jester...I was unaware of my own blindness. We are feeble vessels, with feebler souls. We would cast aside the prop of life, only to face greater hardship. Are you another such fool? Or something more? Seeker of fire, you know not the depths of Dark within you. It grows deeper still, the more flame you covet. Flame, oh, flame...I am king of this wretched, unravelled kingdom. I subdued the Giants, and claimed their strength. So that I might step closer to fire...Drangleic will fall, the fire will fade, and the souls of old will reemerge. With Dark unshackled, a curse will be upon us...And men will take their true shape...One of the Father of the Abyss' spawn, that confounded quintessence of humanity. The Abyss once had form, but then dissipated. And yet, traces of its existence endured. Each fragment, thirsting for power, spread Dark, with no relent. My dear Shandra...was one such fragment. A feeble, tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other. Driven by insatiable lust for a worthy vessel. Fire came to be, and with it, Disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, Light and Dark. Dark was seen as a curse. Shadow is not cast, but born of fire. And, the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow. Inherit fire, and harness the Dark. Such is the calling of a true leader...Only...Is this our only choice? Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. Seek strength. The rest will follow...
The work of the person who gave voice to Vendrick did an exceptional job, managing to convey the melancholy of a king who knows he will lose everything no matter how hard he tries not to lose it. The years will pass, new FromSoftware games will come, but for me, Dark Souls 2 will always be on a pedestal
@@earlkzb the name "ocellote", the name that oceiros mentions is very similar to "shanalotte", I like to think that oceiros is Vendrick looking for shanalotte, since according to his lore, ocelotte was born from dragons and shanalotte was raised by dragons, something almost similar but thinking that makes me happy XD
I always come back to this video and Aldia's. Elden ring came very close, but these two are still the best written characters in all of fromsoft's games.
For me was: "What DO YOU want, truly? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely..." All the others in the 3 games was: "Oh no, we have to link the fire for the gods! - to banish te curse! - to bring back the ligth!" or "You have to let the flame fade - be our dark lord" He is the only one who gives the desicion of decide to you, cause was you who seek after that power.
Vendrick didn't want a world where we had to light the fire or bring about the dark age. He wanted to create a new vision, which he instilled in the bearer of the curse. That is why there is not Bearer of the Curse in the SOC. Unlike the Chosen Immortals. Because they both followed in the footsteps of their own kings. The Chosen Undead-Gwyn, Bearer of the Curse-Vendrick. Little Cinder Lord Ludleth is the only man who thinks like Vendrick in Dark Souls 3. "I wanted to create a new vision" is what these words summed up. At the end of the game, we actually put an end to everything with the usurpation of fire. At the end of time there is only a world of devastated kingdoms covered with ashes, just us and Gael. In a way, Vendrick's wish came true because there is no more fire or darkness, just ashes.
the whole world was consumed by flames and there is nothing left to burn at the end of time, now those who created the first flame can move on to the next universe to repeat the process, with new means and a new face.. the lands between are next
I believe Vendrick is talking about "strength of soul/character", something about having the strong mind and willpower of a "True Monarch" not literal strength as in physical prowess. After all, what led him to his fate was his lack of understanding of himself, of mankind, and of the true nature of Nashandra.
@robertspeedwagon982 exercising the body will exercise the soul. It his hard, and painful. Enduring that because you know it is good to do so well always build strength of character.
I always feel so sad hearing Vendrick speak of the events that happened in the land of Drangleic, he’s such an amazing character and I love him so much.
I think some people are missing the point of ds2's story. It didn't matter that aldia and vendrick discovered the truth. Dark Souls 2's story is to show you one of the hundreds of cycles the world is going through, and the consequences of said cycle. It makes sense they were forgotten, bcause they didn't matter. Nothing in dark souls 2 ultimately did. Just like all the other hundreds of kingdoms and unnamed undead.
Vendrick seems to have had the Dark deep within him based on how he talks about the Flame. Or maybe not. I dunno. But given that he went Hollow I'd think he was just as Human as the player. What song is playing in the background?
As Kaathe says, every human has a dark that mirrors the Abyss itself, it's the true human nature, Vendrick experiences in his life (not linking the fire, marrying Nashandra, etc.) just make he to comprehend this in a very profound way, for a normal human. The song are "Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack :-)) Cheers
"Oh grasping creature, a king relinquishes not the hand." Sounds like Vendrick might have had some vestige survive to elden ring. Not stated explicitly, but the Royal Remains could be just that.
Godfrey is literally based on him, the looks, the background story (going out of his way to kill the giants because the queen told him so), the Royal lineage, everything traces back to Vendrick. Some even would say Dark Souls 2 would've been what Elden Ring is, given the fact they had a much bigger idea of a game back then but the consoles couldn't handle such a huge project. The fact that Miyazaki developed Elden Ring alongside Tanimura (DS2 late dev) shows how much influence DS2 had on the final product
Not saying its intended but since Nashandra is so famously week for a final boss. I like to think Vendrick could defeat her, but he didn´t want that. He couldn´t kill her, but also couldn´t give her the throne. Only a true monarch, could make such a choice.
The voice acting of DS2... It's a masterpiece... I even think that it's the best in the series. In DS1, the voice actors underact in places, in DS3, on the contrary, they overact, and they put too much emphasis on laughter, which, it seems, is appropriate, but gradually gets bored. And in DS2, almost all the characters are voiced perfectly. Vendrick, Aldia, Navlaan, Grandahl... Only the voice acting of Sekiro and Bloodborne can be compared with this...
@@ArtoriasTheRock I'm really not impressed with Elden Ring's duel wielding. It's basically DS3's paired-weapon mechanic without the paired weapons. Don't mistake me, I think Elden Ring is the pinnacle of Fromsoft's catalogue. And it is certainly the best thing Miyazaki ever put his name on. But he had a lot of help. From the likes of G. R. R. Martin, to the man responsible for saving DS2, Yui Tanimura.
I always thought that retroactively, Lordran was the first great kingdom, Lothric was among the last while Drangleic was just one of many unimportant and insignificant kingdoms that had very little to do with the fate of the world. So it was (most likely unintentionally, keeping in mind the rough development) made to be forgotten
@@stanislavkinov4948 That is exactly the lore of DS2. But DS3 shits on it by making Lordran a hop and a skip away from Lothric, timewise, even though the lore of Lothric is that it is as unimportant as all the other kingdoms. DS2 got a bunch of fuckin cameos. And a single bonfire area in the DLC. Anyway, I don't care about that. Miyazaki can do whatever he wants, as he is an artist. What I care about are meaningful mechanical improvements over DS1, DS3, and even Elden Ring. DS2, in 2014, after almost not ever seeing the light of day, brought in bonfire ascetics, meaningful NG+ additions/changes, true duel-wielding plus powerstancing, meaningful covenants, Fucking unequivocally balanced PVP, and the ability to invade someone, whether they are alone, "unkindled", or even if they have beaten every boss in the game. These among many other marked improvements in the sub genre of Souls-like video games are things miyazaki abandoned.
With everything that goes on in the three dark souls games. I don’t think the abyss and most of the creatures that are supposed to be “creatures of the dark.” Are actually creatures of the dark. I feel like that was another lie that Gwen made. Or maybe he unknowingly conjured it. Because when the first flame appeared, that was when disparity formed. And one of the duos of disparity was light and dark. But if those two were created by the first flame, then what actually comes when the first flame dies? So I think things like the abyss and Manos were actually more creatures of shadow byproducts of the first flame. The only thing I’m really not sure about is whether Gwen conjured as just another means of scaring people into wanting to link the first flame. That it has always existed since the first flame ignited. Or even the abyss and everything that has come of, it has been conjured up by Gwen not that he purposely manufactured it. It’s hard to tell, and it’s all just baseless theories almost. I’d welcome anybody’s opinion on this
Sort of. In Dark souls III and II said that the actions of gwyn, forcing the light era to last is what corrupted the dark. And with his curse among the humans to slowly decay as the era of dark comes, forcing other beings to sacrifice from time to time to ease the curse. It's also stated that no matter how many times passed, the kindle of the light will never die due the link Gwyn made on it.
@ i’m not sure about that last part. Because I think the whole purpose of the fire keeper ending in DS3 is specifically that the first flame had been finally extinguished. And yes, she mentions that she could see distant stars, but that’s simply because with the fire keeper ending the cycle has finally been fixed. Mord Gwen essentially made the entire world hollow with his curse. That’s why by the time the third game happens the world itself is just tired
Ngl people who skipped ds2 misses out on a lot Even if it was a bad game, it's honestly the most memorable one for me. I've played dark souls 1, 2, and 3, but I only ever replayed dark souls 2 the most, modded and vanilla
DS2 SOTFS lore is probably the best in the series with expanded Vendrick, Aldia and DLCs. DS3 lore is decent, but I think the DLC with Gael's lore is among the best in the series as well.
Unfortunately I don't have the separated tracks anymore (recorded this 6 years go, lol), I would have to recreate it, although I don't think it's needed because fortunately there are several uploads from other people here on youtube, many of them voice only. These other audios only differ from my edit in the lack of pauses that I made to flow better with the music and they normally have all the vendrick lines, mine hasn't.
I'm glad you care for this old video! I don't have the image anymore, I made it 6 years ago :-( The Vendrick and Nashandra busts I took from the fan comics made by lordranandbeyond project. "Aldia" is a Dante Alighieri art that I unfortunately don't remember the artist. These are some things with which you can work with, you can always screenshot the video in full screen and try to make the wallpaper through that, it will not be the same quality of the original image, but too solve that you could use a deep learning AI like deep-image to upscale the image quality.
YAAA ALLAHHHH AS FLAME RISES SO DOES IT FADE😭 DS2 IS THE MOST ROMANTIC SOULS GAME the kings, the queens, the paths, the simps, the fellow companion (lucatiel is best one) and so on vendrick my king you are not perfect but i love u with all my heart
Is there a way for me to add spanish subtitles? Ds2 is my fav souls and this video is pure art, I'd love to try and translate it as best as I can in spanish
For anyone wondering what this wonderful soundtrack is, I just found it:
1st part: Jessica Curry - Golden Ratio - th-cam.com/video/F8xb6H6bgVM/w-d-xo.html
2nd part: Jessica Curry - Standing Stones - th-cam.com/video/udU882DNO3A/w-d-xo.html
Saw your other comment, somehow I can't see it here, but I can see in the cellphone notifications. Thank you so much for the comment and for sharing your emotions, I'm always amazed when someone feels touched by this video, Jessica's music indeed helps a lot! Really recommend you to play the games that she worked as composer, such as Dear Esther and Amnesia Machine for Pigs, no doubt your feelings will be the same as when you see this video. I'll also pin your comment since people from time to time keep asking for the songs ;-)
@@earlkzb I was trying to find the soundtrack with the help of Shazam, but Vendrick's dialogue made it difficult, so I posted a comment asking for the songs' names in case someone could help; immediately afterwards I tried one last time at parts where there was 2-3 seconds of uninterrupted music and I found it. The original comment was rendered useless, so I deleted it and that's why you cannot find it anymore. Moral of the story: never give up I guess 😅.
Thank you for pinning the comment, the souls community is a sucker for soundtracks tbh and I'm glad I can help them find good songs. Jessica has some great music to make things impactful, it's not like boss OST, it's more atmospheric. I'm sure folks will appreciate her music, especially when heard in the environment it was created for.
Most of all, thank you, Earl KZB, once again for this amazing video. I honestly listen to Vendrick more frequently than I would like to admit.. the bittersweet emotions I feel whenever I do send me chills... Dark Souls II's story and main characters are spectacular, and it's the reason I consider it a flawed masterpiece.
hullo mi os vobsreck
of course its jessica curry lol
@@earlkzb Hi Earl, may I ask if the music you used in this video is copyrighted?
Is it possible for me to use them for my own fan-made Dark Soul mashup video (non-profit)?
Or should I contact Jessica personally and ask for any possible authorization?
Thanks❤.
It's funny that Vendrick and Aldia know the true nature of the world and this supposed "curse" more than any character in Souls series and yet DS3 cast both of them aside like they're nothing.
ds2 may have taken place a long time after ds3. which could be true since in ds3 time is messed up
@@Mango-cp1im No, DS3 takes place after DS2 because in DS3, Drangleic is in ruins and the knights that survived are wandering around. Also some speculate that the First of Scholars who convinced Prince Lorhric to abandon the Firelinking curse is actually Aldia, but yeah, I do wish he was more present.
Ds3 is good for pvp and fan service. Can't change my mind
That's actually really sad. I didn't play ds3 yet, but judging by what I saw, it just looks like a giant ds1 fanservice.
The bosses look amazing though.
Sight, I least ds2 tried its own thing... And got a legendary amount of hate for it.
Kinda glad it does
Imagine Bearer of the Curse being an invader and a phantom. Dude's practically immortal
Love how he describes "his dear Shandra" as a feeble tiny thing, thirsting for power. Almost as if he can't bring himself to hate her, despite all she does :')
true
He is correct though, nashandra is described as the smallest fragment of Manus and she is a physical embodiment of his feelings of want. Think about how you enter the DLC in DS1. You're literally dragged in by him as he reaches through time and space to grab you because you have his precious pendant. If his feelings of want over a pendant were so much that he reached through time and space, imagine how strong his feelings of want must have been for actual power. She quite literally couldn't help it, she was a lust for power given flesh, so she obviously would lust after power. Alsanna is incredibly fearful which is why she keeps herself protected from harm with the ice on the stairs. She simply can't help being afraid, she is a human embodiment of fear. With all the time Vendrick had to think, he probably did begin to hate Nashandra for what he did before he came to realize she wasn't human, and thus didn't have the same emotional control humans have. Vendrick definitely doesn't blame her for what happened because while she may have tricked him, he too allowed himself to be tricked. He still chose to invade the giants and oppress the undead. Vendrick is one of the most introspective characters in anything ever. He has totally come to terms with what happened and harbors no ill will towards Nashandra.
he has no ennemies
Vendrick could kill her easy.
But he still had a little feeling to her.
No cuckwagon@@robertspeedwagon982
"Seek strength and the rest will follow" vendrick literally tells you to go strength build.
And he ended as a zombie cause of that. Nah, i'll stick to DEX and my lovely Scythe of the Forlorn
@@DestroyDEI he ended as a zombie because he was Dex build so he advice you to go strength.
@@cold00snow A DEX build using a greatsword? *sniffs* A lie will remain a lie!
@@DestroyDEI he was probably using astora greatsword
@@damirafliatonov13 Dammit, well played xD
"seek strength"
Put 99 points in Str, got it my king.
Not gonna lie, Vendirck and Aldia are the best characters in the trilogy
This is true. And this is an interesting truth.
Hands down,Joke aside. Vendrick,Aldia and Gael is the best character in all Fromsoftware game.
They 3 are human. (aldia can count as human before).
Why in Dark souls 2 everyone talks like a philosopher
Anyone can be a philosopher
@@adfkzaha24 Unreasonably wise
Because there's no hope
He's king vendrick. One of the 2 most enlightened people in the game. He has very strong souls. In addition, if you have an eternal life and in such a gray world, it is not difficult to reach philosophy. Especially for those living in Turkey like me.
BtW best philosopher and most enlightened person in the Game is
GAVLAN : Gavlan wheel gavlan deal.
very pure and very wise words.
@@yunusdev3002 Gavlan want soul. Many many soul. Gah hah!
My god, his voice actor did an amazing job portraying Vendrick
I can feel his words carving themselves inside my skull.
I am in love with this man's voice
I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here: Dark Souls 2 has to be, BY FAR, From's best story-telling venture. Say what we will about the gameplay and whatever else, and say whatever we will about the "B-team" and all the redos they had to do in development. The only game From has made that rivals Dark Souls 2 in story-telling is Dark Souls 1, and I am saying that having played Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, and watching multiple playthroughs of Bloodborne and Demon Souls.
Dark Souls 2 takes the curse of undeath and makes it personal; Before in the land of the gods, Gwyn being hollow meant that the world was on the brink. Every action you did was world-defining: Ringing the bells, conquering Sen's Fortress, Acquiring the the Lord Souls, Linking the Flame or letting it die. YOU defined the outcome of something larger than yourself, you "chosen undead." But things are different; you are not some prophesized curse-bound hero. You're a nobody. You're a nobody from an unnamed land, with nothing to call your own. Your reason for being here? Find a cure to the curse. To die.
When you encounter Gwyn at the Kiln, it's supposed to feel as if you stumbled upon the vestiges of god. When you come across Vendrick, you find a scared old man, hollowed away far away from all prying eyes. From Gwyn we learn the "reality" of the world, a fading flame. From Vendrick, we learn the truth, "A lie, but I knew no better." Dark Souls 2 has characters that have genuinely figured it out, Vendrick, Aldia, Shannalotte, and others. The world of flame and shadow was just a lie, and all this suffering the purchase of a single sin.
"Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"
The prophecy from ds1 isn’t real btw. There is no “chosen undead.” That’s only what they call the protagonist because they were the one to link the flame. The prophecy was just propaganda to get enough “chosen undead” to try and hope one of them would manage to do it. Throw enough shit at the wall and something will stick.
@@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf Exactly. "A lie will remain a lie," afterall.
I couldn't agree more. Dark Souls 2 is in my opinion much superior to the others in terms of storytelling, the aspect I find more important. I also think it's better than DkS 3 gameplay wise and it ties with 1, although it's more balanced. All in all the fact that it has the highest metacritic score is more than justified, it's a masterpiece.
I actually agree as well. I know very little about the lore of DS2, but still have a pretty good understanding of the story and what it was trying to get at. It still has that vagueness, but it's just clear enough to convey things properly, but also spark intrigue. DS1 was a lot more heavily dependent on environmental storytelling, and while it was good and had that spark effect as well, it was definitely less clear beyond it's very surface-level "Link the fire or don't." storytelling objective due to this. DS2 does not get enough love for essentially setting up some of the best story and environmental beats of the series seen in DS3's Ringed City DLC.
@@Amaryryry
DS2 legitimately brought me to tears when I realized you could enter Vendrick's dream and speak with him. His story is so deeply tragic but yet hopeful. He seeks to atone for his failures by ensuring you learn from him.
This is the type of speech made by a dead kings resting corpse halfway through an adventure time episode, followed by Finn making a fart joke of some sort
If there is one thing DS2 did the best in the series that is the NPC dialogues.
gavlan wheel, gavlan deal.
@@kenannetekimpasaevren7420 that perfect
Cursed one, take these.
Put them on, and please, stop being so weak. Heh heh…
And your wishes granted
And your wishes granted
And our wishes... granted
When I did my first playthrough of Elden Ring, I named him after King Vendrick. He was a pyromancer and two handed sword user and it felt like I was doing his story of seeking fire. There was even the Last Giant that we had to subdue to claim its strength of fire for ourselves. Though the Dark Souls series is my favorite and always will be, and everyone was great just like Vendrick, Aldia, and Dark Souls 2 will always be a hidden gem.
Has thy journey ended with the Frenzied Flame? For you'll have found a flame, thought perhaps not the flame you initially sought after.
It’s very interesting that not only did Vendrick and Aldia come to the same conclusions, but they even use similar words.
Ds2 is by far the deepest souls game.
I love Dark sous 3 but man, completely ignoring Vendrick and Aldia was criminal
The only reference to Vendrick is the siege of the Ringed city but that's about it.
Its even funnier because they literally get the lore wrong on the kings shield description
Vendrick is mentioned in some items as the "Old King of want" and Aldia is supposed to be the scholar that teached Prince lothric about the flame and influence him to let it fade... He is also in some spells descriptions.
@@kron3409 No it's obviously Kaathe that influenced Lothric.
@@GilbertTheGilbertGuy it could be kathee, Sulyvahn or Aldia. But My vote is for Aldia since it is mentioned that the tutor or Lothric was "the first scholar" and Aldia is literally named the "scholar of the first sin" in ds2. Also there are statues of the first scholar in the grand archives of ds3 and they are literally aldia but in a humanoid form.
But.. at the end You choose who You want it to be since the lore of dark souls is designed like that.
Man... i can listen to his voice forever
This part in the game is really emotional, you can feel the loneliness and sadness on Vendrick voice in every line, amazing video!
"Inherit fire, and harness the dark. Such is the calling of a true leader. Only... Is this our only choice ?"
Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. I am Vendrick, ruler of Drangleic. What do you see in the flames? As flame rises, so does it fade. Such is the way of things. I fail to see your design, young moth. But, I see very little, these days...Seeker of fire, conqueror of Dark. I, too, sought fire, once. With fire, they say, a true king can harness the curse. A lie. But I knew no better...I am no king. I am more fit to be a jester...I was unaware of my own blindness. We are feeble vessels, with feebler souls. We would cast aside the prop of life, only to face greater hardship. Are you another such fool? Or something more? Seeker of fire, you know not the depths of Dark within you. It grows deeper still, the more flame you covet. Flame, oh, flame...I am king of this wretched, unravelled kingdom. I subdued the Giants, and claimed their strength. So that I might step closer to fire...Drangleic will fall, the fire will fade, and the souls of old will reemerge. With Dark unshackled, a curse will be upon us...And men will take their true shape...One of the Father of the Abyss' spawn, that confounded quintessence of humanity. The Abyss once had form, but then dissipated. And yet, traces of its existence endured. Each fragment, thirsting for power, spread Dark, with no relent. My dear Shandra...was one such fragment. A feeble, tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other. Driven by insatiable lust for a worthy vessel. Fire came to be, and with it, Disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, Light and Dark. Dark was seen as a curse. Shadow is not cast, but born of fire. And, the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow. Inherit fire, and harness the Dark. Such is the calling of a true leader...Only...Is this our only choice? Seeker of fire, coveter of the throne. Seek strength. The rest will follow...
The work of the person who gave voice to Vendrick did an exceptional job, managing to convey the melancholy of a king who knows he will lose everything no matter how hard he tries not to lose it. The years will pass, new FromSoftware games will come, but for me, Dark Souls 2 will always be on a pedestal
William Houston is very competent to do tragic characters. He also gave his voice to Chester (DS1), Oceiros (DS3), and Djura (Bloodborne).
@@earlkzb the name "ocellote", the name that oceiros mentions is very similar to "shanalotte", I like to think that oceiros is Vendrick looking for shanalotte, since according to his lore, ocelotte was born from dragons and shanalotte was raised by dragons, something almost similar but thinking that makes me happy XD
I've had a really, really bad day.
I knew this speech would comfort me, like always, thank you
Courage l'ami ! Un petit coucou de France
"Seek strength. The rest... will follow."
Kinda do the same myself, tbh. It has helped, and it still helps me today.
@@vulcain9760
@@irpsicologiayeducaciongrup8251 true powerful words
Fun fact: Vendrick shares the same voice actor with Marvelous Chester from DS1.
And djura from Bloodborne
Most darksouls voice actors are recurring. Its kind of nice actually. Shows the cycle a little.
I always come back to this video and Aldia's. Elden ring came very close, but these two are still the best written characters in all of fromsoft's games.
Best voice acting too
@@stud_ley So true bestie
"Seek strenght. The rest will follow..." those words are so true and strong. Not "everyone has worse life than you" bullshit.
Wonder how you feel about this comment now, a year later.
For me was: "What DO YOU want, truly?
Light? Dark? Or something else entirely..."
All the others in the 3 games was:
"Oh no, we have to link the fire for the gods! - to banish te curse! - to bring back the ligth!"
or
"You have to let the flame fade - be our dark lord"
He is the only one who gives the desicion of decide to you, cause was you who seek after that power.
Vendrick didn't want a world where we had to light the fire or bring about the dark age. He wanted to create a new vision, which he instilled in the bearer of the curse. That is why there is not Bearer of the Curse in the SOC. Unlike the Chosen Immortals. Because they both followed in the footsteps of their own kings. The Chosen Undead-Gwyn, Bearer of the Curse-Vendrick. Little Cinder Lord Ludleth is the only man who thinks like Vendrick in Dark Souls 3. "I wanted to create a new vision" is what these words summed up. At the end of the game, we actually put an end to everything with the usurpation of fire. At the end of time there is only a world of devastated kingdoms covered with ashes, just us and Gael. In a way, Vendrick's wish came true because there is no more fire or darkness, just ashes.
the whole world was consumed by flames and there is nothing left to burn at the end of time, now those who created the first flame can move on to the next universe to repeat the process, with new means and a new face.. the lands between are next
"Seek strength, the rest will follow" Whenever someone asks me why I work out; it's because of this.
I believe Vendrick is talking about "strength of soul/character", something about having the strong mind and willpower of a "True Monarch" not literal strength as in physical prowess. After all, what led him to his fate was his lack of understanding of himself, of mankind, and of the true nature of Nashandra.
@robertspeedwagon982 exercising the body will exercise the soul. It his hard, and painful. Enduring that because you know it is good to do so well always build strength of character.
I may have disagreed before but I do think strength of body bequeaths strength of mind.
I always feel so sad hearing Vendrick speak of the events that happened in the land of Drangleic, he’s such an amazing character and I love him so much.
This is like therapy to me. Listening to this with my eyes close is like meditation. Thank you
Dark souls 2 easily has the best dialogue and characters of the trilogy and maybe the best overall.
Indeed. No other souls game have dialogues as powerful as Aldia's and Vendrick's.
I think some people are missing the point of ds2's story. It didn't matter that aldia and vendrick discovered the truth. Dark Souls 2's story is to show you one of the hundreds of cycles the world is going through, and the consequences of said cycle. It makes sense they were forgotten, bcause they didn't matter. Nothing in dark souls 2 ultimately did. Just like all the other hundreds of kingdoms and unnamed undead.
Sadly Dark Souls 3 ruined that
"seek strength"
on my way to gym Sir Vendrick
Vendrick seems to have had the Dark deep within him based on how he talks about the Flame. Or maybe not. I dunno. But given that he went Hollow I'd think he was just as Human as the player. What song is playing in the background?
As Kaathe says, every human has a dark that mirrors the Abyss itself, it's the true human nature, Vendrick experiences in his life (not linking the fire, marrying Nashandra, etc.) just make he to comprehend this in a very profound way, for a normal human. The song are "Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack :-)) Cheers
from time to time I come back here again to listen to it
I often watch this when I feel down. The ending bit has stuck with me a lot.
"Seek strength, the rest will follow" is such an amazing line. It says so much with so few words.
The best -simple- motivation quote without bs :')
I seriously watch this every 1-2 days and usually multiple times.
I can listen to Vendrick talk all day
Seeker of fire
Coveter of the throne
Conqueror of dark
Deliverer of crowns
Thank you for this! Vendrick is the true chosen undead!
just love how both vendrick and aldia tried to fix and find a way out of this damned existence but both failed in their own ways
Today (03/11/2024) this game turns 10 years old...
Ngl, i almost cried when he asks us to inherit fire and harness the dark, and the music in the back starts to grow.. damn thats emotional.
I'd switch voices with this man any day.
meh, using it for mondane day to day convos seems like a waste
Aldia asks you the real questions. He questions whether your will is free
I still love the philosophycal part of this game
Flame, oh flame...
Elden ring, O Elden ring
@@RaggenZ don't know man, Elden didn't have anyone like Aldia or Vendrick
@@hamzashinwary4215 sir Gideon Ofnir was a poor attempt
@@RaggenZ there's an incantation in elden ring called "Flame, O Flame!"
@@hamzashinwary4215Godfrey is literally a remake of Vendrick
Dark souls 2 my beloved
the way he lowers his voice the second time he calls our title (seeker of fire) is threatening and sad at the same time
Chills all the time
I can’t stop coming back to this video, I wanna cry every time I hear it.
"Seek strength. The rest will follow." this is the most accurate in our society today
_With Dark unshackled, a curse will be upon us._
_And men will take their true shape. . ._
If I had this voice I would simply never stop talking
Damn hearing the Dear Esther music really threw me off. Great Edit!
"Oh grasping creature, a king relinquishes not the hand." Sounds like Vendrick might have had some vestige survive to elden ring. Not stated explicitly, but the Royal Remains could be just that.
Godfrey is literally based on him, the looks, the background story (going out of his way to kill the giants because the queen told him so), the Royal lineage, everything traces back to Vendrick. Some even would say Dark Souls 2 would've been what Elden Ring is, given the fact they had a much bigger idea of a game back then but the consoles couldn't handle such a huge project. The fact that Miyazaki developed Elden Ring alongside Tanimura (DS2 late dev) shows how much influence DS2 had on the final product
this is so beautiful. i can't stop watch it.
Vendrick used the last of his strength before hollowing to make the player a true king - Incapable of hollowing.
i love aldia and vendrick 😭
He who peered into the very essence of the soul!
1:38 flame oh flame...
I absolutely love his Voice. Its just magnificent.
Really cool, i was will like see more of this.
Dark souls 2 have amazing dialogue lines. Thanks for the comment, maybe one day I'll make more of this kind. :))
@@earlkzb I'm waiting for it :)
Not saying its intended but since Nashandra is so famously week for a final boss. I like to think Vendrick could defeat her, but he didn´t want that. He couldn´t kill her, but also couldn´t give her the throne. Only a true monarch, could make such a choice.
The voice acting of DS2... It's a masterpiece... I even think that it's the best in the series. In DS1, the voice actors underact in places, in DS3, on the contrary, they overact, and they put too much emphasis on laughter, which, it seems, is appropriate, but gradually gets bored. And in DS2, almost all the characters are voiced perfectly. Vendrick, Aldia, Navlaan, Grandahl... Only the voice acting of Sekiro and Bloodborne can be compared with this...
u have no idea how much i love this your video man, thx for real
So Vendrick is basically saying that might is right and good the interest of the strong.
Seek strength, the rest will follow.
Acquire all that power by your own hand is what gives you the option of choice.
I still can't get over how Miyazaki chose to ignore EVERYTHING that DS2 innovated on, when making DS3.
at least elden ring brought back dual wielding
@@ArtoriasTheRock I'm really not impressed with Elden Ring's duel wielding. It's basically DS3's paired-weapon mechanic without the paired weapons.
Don't mistake me, I think Elden Ring is the pinnacle of Fromsoft's catalogue. And it is certainly the best thing Miyazaki ever put his name on. But he had a lot of help. From the likes of G. R. R. Martin, to the man responsible for saving DS2, Yui Tanimura.
I always thought that retroactively, Lordran was the first great kingdom, Lothric was among the last while Drangleic was just one of many unimportant and insignificant kingdoms that had very little to do with the fate of the world. So it was (most likely unintentionally, keeping in mind the rough development) made to be forgotten
@@stanislavkinov4948 That is exactly the lore of DS2. But DS3 shits on it by making Lordran a hop and a skip away from Lothric, timewise, even though the lore of Lothric is that it is as unimportant as all the other kingdoms.
DS2 got a bunch of fuckin cameos. And a single bonfire area in the DLC. Anyway, I don't care about that. Miyazaki can do whatever he wants, as he is an artist. What I care about are meaningful mechanical improvements over DS1, DS3, and even Elden Ring. DS2, in 2014, after almost not ever seeing the light of day, brought in bonfire ascetics, meaningful NG+ additions/changes, true duel-wielding plus powerstancing, meaningful covenants, Fucking unequivocally balanced PVP, and the ability to invade someone, whether they are alone, "unkindled", or even if they have beaten every boss in the game.
These among many other marked improvements in the sub genre of Souls-like video games are things miyazaki abandoned.
@@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY Not timewise at all. It's the world folding in on itself.
I like how Aldia is represented by Dante Alighieri
I watch this video at least once a day
lol this and Aldia
Glad to read this. You're always welcome
This... Is this our only choice?
Didn't know Aldia had Dante Alighieri's face
With everything that goes on in the three dark souls games.
I don’t think the abyss and most of the creatures that are supposed to be
“creatures of the dark.”
Are actually creatures of the dark.
I feel like that was another lie that Gwen made. Or maybe he unknowingly conjured it.
Because when the first flame appeared, that was when disparity formed.
And one of the duos of disparity was light and dark.
But if those two were created by the first flame, then what actually comes when the first flame dies?
So I think things like the abyss and Manos were actually more creatures of shadow byproducts of the first flame.
The only thing I’m really not sure about is whether Gwen conjured as just another means of scaring people into wanting to link the first flame.
That it has always existed since the first flame ignited.
Or even the abyss and everything that has come of, it has been conjured up by Gwen not that he purposely manufactured it.
It’s hard to tell, and it’s all just baseless theories almost.
I’d welcome anybody’s opinion on this
Sort of. In Dark souls III and II said that the actions of gwyn, forcing the light era to last is what corrupted the dark. And with his curse among the humans to slowly decay as the era of dark comes, forcing other beings to sacrifice from time to time to ease the curse. It's also stated that no matter how many times passed, the kindle of the light will never die due the link Gwyn made on it.
@ i’m not sure about that last part.
Because I think the whole purpose of the fire keeper ending in DS3 is specifically that the first flame had been finally extinguished.
And yes, she mentions that she could see distant stars, but that’s simply because with the fire keeper ending the cycle has finally been fixed.
Mord Gwen essentially made the entire world hollow with his curse.
That’s why by the time the third game happens the world itself is just tired
His Voice gives me goosebumps
Vendrick and Aldia remind me of Nihilism and Nietzche
Ngl people who skipped ds2 misses out on a lot
Even if it was a bad game, it's honestly the most memorable one for me. I've played dark souls 1, 2, and 3, but I only ever replayed dark souls 2 the most, modded and vanilla
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK I LOVE THIS!! , THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT!
0:17 followed by the Darksouls 3 menu theme just slaps.
DS2 has bad lore they said ...
while it has better lore and characters than DS3 .
For all the problems DS2 had, saying the lore was one of them is just being biased
DS2 SOTFS lore is probably the best in the series with expanded Vendrick, Aldia and DLCs. DS3 lore is decent, but I think the DLC with Gael's lore is among the best in the series as well.
I need this audio file without the music.
If you find it give me the link and I'll do the same if I find it first, deal?
found it in the comments lol,
Hello. "Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack.
@@hawkwood9257 Thanks but I meant I need the Vendrick dialogue WITHOUT the background music lol.
@@ratatoskr6324 🤦♂️
Hey dude I will pay you if you upload or send me the Vendrick dialogue audio files without the music.
Unfortunately I don't have the separated tracks anymore (recorded this 6 years go, lol), I would have to recreate it, although I don't think it's needed because fortunately there are several uploads from other people here on youtube, many of them voice only. These other audios only differ from my edit in the lack of pauses that I made to flow better with the music and they normally have all the vendrick lines, mine hasn't.
But if you really need the voice only for this particular audio with this pauses let me know. I could make the effort when I have some time
@@earlkzb Thanks I found them.
such an incredible voice, always loved, but Aldia is not joking either
It’s a shame DS2 had such a messy development
and still, such a masterpiece.
Vergil: is this your motivation?!
what is the song going in the background
Hello. "Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack.
@@earlkzb Thanks
King Aldrich from Amphibia.
😬😩😳🐛
Cries in dex build 😢
Hi, i love your video so much, could you please give me a link from where i can have this wallpaper? i like it so much!
I'm glad you care for this old video! I don't have the image anymore, I made it 6 years ago :-( The Vendrick and Nashandra busts I took from the fan comics made by lordranandbeyond project. "Aldia" is a Dante Alighieri art that I unfortunately don't remember the artist. These are some things with which you can work with, you can always screenshot the video in full screen and try to make the wallpaper through that, it will not be the same quality of the original image, but too solve that you could use a deep learning AI like deep-image to upscale the image quality.
@@earlkzb thank you so much, also what's the name of the music in the background?
@@theflame45 "Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack.
@@earlkzb thank you so much! Keep up the souls content.
Where did you take this picture?
Nashandra original draw came from?
Can someone tell me what piece is used in this video?
Found it in the comments lol,
"Golden Ratio" and "Standing Stones" by Jessica Curry. Both from Dear Esther soundtrack.
@@joelcarrasco8993 thank you
UP
Look up Vazard - Seeker Of Fire he uses these lyrics brilliantly 👏
YAAA ALLAHHHH
AS FLAME RISES SO DOES IT FADE😭
DS2 IS THE MOST ROMANTIC SOULS GAME
the kings, the queens, the paths, the simps, the fellow companion (lucatiel is best one) and so on
vendrick my king
you are not perfect but i love u with all my heart
Does anyone have the link to the art in the video?
What’s the song?
may i have the wallpaper plz
Music name please?))
They're all in the pinned comment now :-) thanks for the comment
Back
Is there a way for me to add spanish subtitles? Ds2 is my fav souls and this video is pure art, I'd love to try and translate it as best as I can in spanish
yes since italian and arabic was added by ppl
Sad
The firts song??????